Earth (Earth-5875)

"Fight for her."

- Bulletin poster

Earth, also known as Sol III, is the third planet in the Sol system, and one its four terrestrial worlds. It is the homeworld of humanity, capital of the Unified Earth Government, and headquarters of the United Nations Space Command and the Colonial Marshal Bureau. Populated by ten billion people, Earth was the most populated human world before the invasion of the Covenant, which severely reduced the numbers to a one billion in 2552.

Prehistory
It is believed that Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago, while the first single-celled organisms of the planet originated about 3.9 billion years ago. It is believed that the ancestor of modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago.

Forerunner-Xenomorph War
Near the end of the Forerunner-Xenomorph War, forerunner Lifeworkers traveled to Earth and indexed many of its species, including humans, as part of the Conservation Measure to preserve the remaining life in the Milky Way galaxy after they activated the Halo Array. Following the Didact's composition of most of the human population on Installation 07, the Librarian took the surviviving humans on Earth and sent them to Installation 00, where they, alongside all survivng species, would be safe from the pulse of the Halo's fire.

After the activation of the Halo Array, humans were devolved back to their planet, where they started to re-develop their culture and civilizations.

Development of civilization and Modern Age
Following their recovery on Earth, humans became hunter-gatherers, and remained so for the next hundred thousand years later, as civilizations began to form. By 1914, much of the world was divided between two factions: the Triple Entente, consisting of the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States of America, against the Central Powers, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, among many other nations which shared their ideals. At the end of World War I in 1918, the Central Powers were defeated and the Allies prospered until a massive economic depression that gave rise to Fascism, Nazism, and Communism in multiple European countries. A new World War soon erupted in 1939, between the Allies, consisting of Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States later on, alongside many other nations, against the Axis, consisting of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Empire of Japan. The Axis were finally defeated in 1945, and the Earth suffered its only nuclear attack following the American attack on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the end of the war, the victorious nations founded the United Nations, in order to prevent future conflicts and settle international disputes peacefully, becoming the predecessor of the UNSC. In 1957, humans made their way into space through the Space Race, first with unmanned probes, and by 1961, humans had already personally ventured into space. In 1969, humans stepped on extraterrestrial soil after landing on the Moon.

After the end of World War II, humanity would never engage in such a huge conflict, although smaller conflicts and proxy wars soon ensured, such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the War on Terror, which severely fractured the political landscape. In the early 21st century, the rise of terrorism became a major threat to many nations on Earth, while many small conflicts and wars broke through countries. However, despite this, no wars on the scale of both World Wars occurred for the next two centuries.

Interplanetary colonization and conflicts
By 2080, the national governments of Earth, under the guide of the United Nations, started to settle colonies on other planets across the Sol system. But the expansion came with many problems, and in the mid-22nd century, two dissident factions emerged duo to this; the neo-communist Koslovics and the fascist Jovian Settlement Defense Front (SDF), which not only started fighting one another, but also the United Nations.

In March to June 2160, the SDF attacked the United Nations Colonial Advisors on Io, leading to a three month conflict between the faction and Earth's military forces. As the fight became bloodier and more intense, the national governments of Earth, Luna and Mars sought to support their settlements, sparkling numerous proxy-wars that increased the planet's militarization. In 2162, an armed conflict known as the Rainforest Wars commenced in South America, between the UN, the SDF, and the Koslovics, leading to off-planet conflicts. In December 2163, the three forces clashed on Mars, leading to the Mars Campaign, where the first extraterrestrial deployment of UNSC Marines occurred, as Marines destroyed numerous Koslovic bases, which led to the permanent alteration of military doctrine. In 2164, the UN amassed a large military force, the United Nations Space Command, which started the Interplanetary War against SDF and Koslovics through the Sol system. Through strength and massive propaganda, the UNSC was able to effectively destroy the dissidents. However, the aftermath of the war led to a massive military with no enemy to fight against, overpopulation, famine and falling economy.

The problem was solved in 2191, following the discovery of element zero on Mars by the expeditionary mission Ares One, leading to the creation of the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, enabling superluminal travel through the domain known as slipstream space. In 2205, the Unified Earth Government (UEG) revealed their first colony ships, recruiting the best and brightest military men and civilians to set out and form the Inner and Outer Colonies, which ended the overpopulation problem on Earth, which became capital of the UEG, with their first colony, Reach, becoming the headquarters of the UNSC.

The Secession and the First Contact War
For the next four hundred years, humanity entered in a period of stability and peace, until civil unrest broke in the Outer Colonies between various groups which sought to seceded from the UEG. Rising from minor setbacks to a major threat to the government's existence, the climate led to the UNSC to form the ORION Project, and later on, the SPARTAN-II Program, to create super soldiers to quell the rebellion, which escalated into the Secession. The principal seceding faction became the Sovereign Colonies, and after its downfall, it paved the path to numerous new factions to emerge, such as the United Liberation Front, the New Colonial Alliance, and Cordis Die.

The inter-conflicts were rendered moot and meaningless when an alien fleet unprovoked appeared and attacked the colony Shanxi in 2552, leading to humanity's first contact with intelligent alien life - the Covenant hegemony. For the next thirty-three years, humanity faced extinction and slaughter at the hands of the Covenant during the First Contact War, where billions of civilians and soldiers were alike were killed, 90% of the UEG's colonies were lost, and finally, in August 31st, 2585, Reach was invaded and destroyed by the Covenant. Through the war, the UNSC operated under the Cole Protocol, which dictated that no UNSC or human ship targeted by the Covenant should retreat to Earth, in order to ensure the secrecy of the planet's location. During the course of the war, the Covenant were never able to discover Earth's location duo to the Cole Protocol, rendering Earth the last stronghold of humanity in September 2585.

However, Earth was accidentally discovered by the Covenant on October 20th, 2585, after the Prophet of Regret discovered its location, initiating the final battle between the UNSC and the Covenant.

Battle of Earth
On October 20, 2825, the Covenant entered the Sol system, with the Fleet of Sacred Consecration being detected around Io. After Io Station discovered the Covenant's presence on the system, it quickly alerted the UNSC, and the UNSC High Command decided to wait duo to their several limited resources instead of allowing Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett counter-attack. The Covenant started its invasion by breaking through Earth's orbital defenses above the Mediterranean Sea through antimatter charges planted by boarding forces. After the Covenant fleet tried entering the planet after the major gap they opened, they were annihilated by the UNSC, which destroyed most of the battlecruisers, but which failed to destroy the assault carriers. Soon after, however, one of the assault carriers was destroyed by SPARTAN-II John-117, but the other, commanded by the Prophet of Regret, was able to breach the atmosphere and assault New Mombasa, on Kenya.

As soon as it entered the city, Regret's assault carrier, Solemn Penance, deployed numerous ground forces to New Mombasa, which immediately started building defense emplacements and structures to reinforce the sites they acquired from battles against the UNSC. The UNSC In Amber Clad was the first ship to respond, sending John-117, Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and members of the 7th Shock Troops Battalion. The Covenant eventually left both New and Old Mombasa when the Prophet of Regret ordered them to retreat and executed a slipspace jump while still hovering the city, which tore much of the city apart.

Meanwhile, numerous Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were dropped from the UNSC Say My Name in order to assist the In Amber Clad, only for the slipspace rupture prevent them from dropping in the battle, which killed most of the ODSTs, sending them scattered across the city. However, one ODST squad was able to survive the event thanks to last-minute orders to land on Alpha Site, concluding their new operation of securing the city's Superintendent-class AI. After the completion of the mission, the squad saw the arrival of Fleet of Certain Fulfillment on the planet.

The Covenant returned even stronger, and duo to the previous attack, were easily able into penetrating Earth's orbital defenses. The Covenant engaged SPARTAN-II Blue Team, later sent to Onyx, at Mount Erebus, the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Centennial Orbital Elevator, in Havana, Cuba. The Covenant started deploying numerous forces across major Earth cities, such as Cleveland, Ohio, URNA, led by the jiralhanae Lepidus and the san'shyuum Minister of Inquisition; but the attack was repelled after the efforts of numerous ODST officers and Colonal James Ackerson's self-sacrifice. The hegemony also attacked Paris, France, and Sydney, home to HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6, the headquarters of the UNSC. Despite their attacks, the enormous damage and loss of life, HIGHCOM was able to survive through the use of underground facilities. The UNSC was unable to repulse the other fleets around the planet, mainly those landing in Kenya, at the ruins of New Mombasa. After breaking through Earth's defenses once again, ships that added to the Fleet of Certain Fulfillment, led by the Prophet of Truth, arrived, and continued digging the ruined Mombasa in order to uncover the Excession.

Following the return of John-117 aboard the Covenant Dreadnought from the Battle of Installation 05, the SPARTAN disembarked on Earth's atmosphere following a failed assassination attempt against Truth. Landing on Africa, he was recovered by a group of UNSC Marines, Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and taken to the hidden Kenyan base Crown's Nest. With the aid of Johnson, 'Vadam, and Commander Miranda Keyes, John was able to breach the Covenant's bases in Tsavo, disabling anti-air defenses near the Excession, which the UNSC incorrectly inferred to be the Ark. While the strike was able to destroy all ground forces, it was unable to defeat the Prophet of Truth, who took the Dreadnought and traveled through the portal generated from the Excession. Only moments after, Earth faced its first and only xenomorph invasion and outbreak, but thanks to the help of the newly arrived Swords of Sanghelios Fleet of Retribution, led by First Blade Rtas 'Vadum, the UNSC was able to contain and destroy the xenomorphs, and traveled through the portal in pursuit of the remnants of the Covenant. Traversing through the Excession, the UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios were able to finally crush the Covenant and bring an end to the hegemony.

Post-war
After the UNSC/Swords of Sanghelios victory after the Battle of Earth and the Battle of Installation, the First Contact War officially ended in March 2586, with the signing of the Treaty of 2585, on Sanghelios, seeing the end of all hostilities between humanity and the sangheili and the development of cooperation between the two species, although both largely went into their separate ways and saw new conflict within. Most cities which were ruined during the battles took many months, and some even years, to be fully repaired following the massive loss of life and infrastructural, as the UNSC and the UEG focused on tightening their military and resources. The government of the colonies returned to the UEG by the UNSC, and following the completion of the UNSC Infinity, the ship became mostly orbiting Earth as its first line of defense against potential Covenant remnant threats. A large influx of asylum seekers from the many Covenant's former species became a common occurrence on the planet, leading to many hate crimes and public outcry, which mobilized a security crisis on Earth, with UEG authorities and local police forces being tasked with preventing violent dissidents among the alien refugees from undertaking attacks against humans. One such threat included a terrorist threat on Rio de Janeiro.

Topography
"Earth. Man, what a shithole."

- - Ron Johner Earth is the homeworld of humanity, and thus is the archetype by which the species measure other planets they colonize regarding hability, from climate to atmosphere, among many others. The goal of terraforming and colonizing planets across the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy is to create similar environments to that of Earth so humans can live on them: there were a total of 156 human colonies by 2552; after the First Contact War, only a fraction of these existed.

Earth is estimated to be approximately 4.5 billion years old. It has a solid iron core at its center, which possess a liquid later through it. This creates an effect that generates powerful magnetosphere, which has kept Earth from losing all of its water and other organic volatile compounds. The planet's core is surrounded by semi-fluid magma, where solid, light crust floats. The planet is incredibly active geographically, possessing numerous plate tectonics that causes volcanoes and natural springs to dot in the surface, as well as earthquakes.

Earth lies in Sol's liquid water zone, with water being widely found in oceans that cover 70% of the planet. The other 30% encompasses the terrain surface, which is divided among four landmasses (that humans separate into seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania) and thousands of islands across the oceans. The planet is maintained by a thin atmosphere, maintained by the planet's surface biomass, having 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, while the remaining gases contain a mix of argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapor.

Earth spins on its axis once in every 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds. The axis is tilted 23° from its orbital plane, causing seasonal changes as it orbits Sol. Earth holds a large amount of natural resources, ranging from minerals to other substances produced by the planet's biomass, such as petroleum, coal, wood, and natural gases. These resources were continuously used by humans to develop their technology, but as time went by, they became exhausted, which led to the colonization of other planets in the Sol system, and later on, outside of it.

Terrain and climate
Earth's geological activity led the planet to possess a varied terrain across its surface. Plate tectonics and erosion control the process of formation of surface features, these include mountain ranges, plains, valleys, mesas, and canyons, which are commonly found in deserts, while tundra, forests, icecaps, and grasslands are found at the poles. Earth can be divided into three major climate zones: the tropics, ranging from each side of the Equator, the polar regions at North and South Poles, and the temperate zones located in-between the former two. These in turn are divided into minor zones, which vary depending on their distances in relation to the Equator, their proximity to large water bodies, and local geography, such as mountains.

Humans started modifying the planet's terrain after their discovery of agriculture around 8000 BCE, which allowed for the creation of massive cities linked by organized trade routes that stretch for thousands of kilometers between land and sea. In the 19th century, humanity started to alter the climate of the planet by introducing industrial by-products. By the 21st century, Earth's environment started to severely degrade, leading to environmental crisis and overpopulation concerns, but still remained habitable.

Sapient

 * Human

Non-sapient

 * Alligator
 * Bat
 * Bear
 * Bison
 * Blue whale
 * Bonobo
 * Cat
 * Chicken
 * Clam
 * Cockoach
 * Crab
 * Cricket
 * Crocodile
 * Dodo (extinct)
 * Dog
 * Eagle
 * Elephant
 * Firefly
 * Fish
 * Gigantopithecus (extinct)
 * Goat
 * Gorilla
 * Honey badger
 * Honey bee
 * Horse
 * Jackal
 * Koi
 * Lizard
 * Louse
 * Mammoth (extinct)
 * Mantis
 * Mastodon (extinct)
 * Mongoose
 * Monkey
 * Moose
 * Mounring wabler
 * Otter
 * Owl
 * Parrot
 * Pelican
 * Penguin
 * Pigeon
 * Rat
 * River dolphin
 * Rhinoceros
 * Scorpion
 * Seagull
 * Snail
 * Snake
 * Spider
 * Squid
 * Squirrel
 * Starling
 * Swallow
 * Trout
 * Tuna
 * Turkey
 * Turtle
 * Vulture
 * Warthog
 * White sturgeon
 * Wildebeest
 * Wolf
 * Wolverine
 * Worm
 * Zebra

Locations
Earth has seven continents, each with their own different climates and varied cultures.

Africa

 * Diego Garcia
 * Kenya
 * Mombasa
 * New Mombasa
 * Mombasa Tether
 * Old Mombasa
 * Nairobi
 * Voi
 * Weyland-Yutani Factory Complex 09
 * Tsavo
 * Tsavo Highway
 * Crown's Nest
 * Outpost C9
 * Tanzania
 * Mount Kilimanjaro
 * GWC Trans-African Pipelines
 * Zanzibar Island
 * Wind Power Station 7

Oceania

 * Australia
 * Sydney
 * HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6
 * Sydney Synthetic Intellect Institute
 * Western Australia
 * Perth
 * Swanbourne
 * Beta-5 Division Ordnance Testing Facility
 * Gilbert Islands
 * Aranuka

Asia

 * Borneo
 * Borneo Space Tether
 * China
 * Beijing
 * Korea
 * Seongnam
 * Special Warfare Center
 * India
 * Mumbai Push
 * Pakistan
 * Pawa
 * Russia
 * Japan

North America

 * United Republic of North America
 * Arizona
 * New Phoenix
 * Boston
 * Massachusetts
 * Chawla Base
 * Ohio
 * Akron
 * Cleveland
 * Greater Chicago Industrial Zone
 * Industrial Zone 08
 * Tactical Autonomous Robotic Defense System
 * Old Chicago
 * New York City
 * Unified Earth Government Senate Chamber
 * Missouri
 * Mark Twain
 * Mexico City
 * Base Segundo Terra
 * Vancouver
 * Firebase Vancouver
 * Cuba
 * Havana
 * Centennial Orbital Elevator

South America

 * Brazil
 * Brasília
 * Rio de Janeiro
 * Firebase Rio
 * Argentina
 * Buenos Aires

Europe

 * European Union
 * United Kingdom
 * England
 * London
 * Firebase London
 * Hull
 * Hertfordshire
 * Borehamwood
 * Scotland
 * Greater Czechoslovakian Authority
 * Germany
 * Essen
 * Beweglichkeitsrüstungsysteme Testing Facility

Antarctica

 * Ross Island
 * Mount Erebus

Arctic

 * Arctic Ocean
 * UNSC Weather Station Z/41

Orbital

 * Athens Station
 * Cairo Station
 * Gateway Station
 * Malta Station
 * Nassau Station
 * Oaxaca Station

Trivia

 * Earth on Wikipedia.