Editing Setting:Halo/Covenant (section)

==Covenant Planets and Colonies==

Only a few dozen Covenant worlds remain. The Great Crusade saw them reduced to three worlds, each of which believed itself the last survivor, saved only by the outbreak of the Horus Heresy. During this titanic conflict, Covenant fleet elements regathered and reconquered two hundred worlds, strategically falling upon planets that had sent their Imperial Army contingents elsewhere or to planets crippled by Traitor-Loyalist infighting. During the Forging, the Hierarchs swore a secret deal with Roboute Guilliman that they would go to war with the Ork Empire of Gorgarok if he spared them the vengeance of the Space Marines. The agreement lasted two thousand years. Since then, the fortunes of the Covenant have both waxed and waned, but the prophecies have clearly shown that the end is very soon.

'''High Charity:''' The most well known Covenant base, city and mobile moon. High Charity is one of the most heavily defended worlds in the Covenant as it carries the last known Forerunner ship called a Dreadnought-Class, that uses its mighty engines to power the moon itself. Bristling with over hundreds of Covenant Assault and Super Carriers, and armed with weapons so ferocious that it can eat through an entire Imperium Crusade fleet. The city itself resembles a flying giant purple mushroom, and is in fact, constructed on the last rocks of the former homeworld of the San'Shyuum, called Janjur Qom.

'''Janjur Qom:''' The lost homeworld of the San'Shyuum, Janjur Qom is said to hold the great secrets of the gods or, in some tales, to be the place of paradise for all who find it, of any species.
	
[[File:Sanghelios.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Sangheili's capital city, home and planet. '''Sanghelios''']]

'''Sanghelios:''' Sanghelios was the homeworld of the Sangheili, a dry and arid wasteland. It fell to human forces in the Dark Age of Technology. The Covenant regained it during the Age of Strife, only to lose it again to the Iron Warriors. Presently, it hosts a thriving Imperial Hive world, but, with the return of the Parasite, the Sangheili are mustering an apocalyptic armada to take it back.

'''Doisac:''' The Jiralhanae's homeworld and a classified Death-World, the planet suffers from extreme gravity, unpredictable magnetism, mass volcanism and massive tidal waves that engulfs half the planet every month or so. Infamous to the Tau, since it was the sight of the ''Kroot Blood-Massacre'', where five entire Kroot War-Spheres crash-landed on the planet. Within moments, all the Kroots saved for seven Kroot Shapers were butchered, slaughtered and eaten by the planets violent and carnivorous natives.
	
'''Te:''' This is where the Lekgolo and M'galekgolo originated from, although it looks like a gas-giant at first, it is in fact a planet with solid ground. This was also the site of the ''Taming of the Hunters'' where the Covenant subdued the Lekgolo after they found out that some of them were eating the artifacts of the Holy Forerunners, and others were not. Nowadays crossing the surface of Te is considered so dangerous, that not even the [[Catachan Jungle Fighters]] can survive it.

'''Eayn:''' The homeworld or, more accurately, the homemoon of the Kig-Yar, is a Terra-sized body orbiting the gas-giant Chu'ot. It is dominated by the two massive supercontinents of Ruuht and Ah'lomet that cover almost the entire surface of the moon and is surrounded by asteroids the size of mountains. The Imperium attempted to take the world in the Righteous and Harmonious Fists Campaign, grinding over 95% of the population with the inexorable might of the Imperial Guard. Due to circumstances elsewhere, the Imperium had to withdraw and Eayn has since been repopulated. The system is more than ever a lair of alien pirates and a menace to the regions surrounding it.

*'''T'vao:''' An asteroid and Kig-Yar colony that is orbiting the same home-system as Eayn, this is where all T'vaoans, offshoots of the Eayn Kig-Yar subspecies, can trace their ancestry here. Because of their different gravity and environment, the T'vaoan has evolved to be tougher, faster and stronger than their lightweight cousins.

'''Balaho:''' A chill, dreary and poisonous world--home of the Unggoy. Aggravating its native harsh clime, reckless pollution has so stained the surface that corrosive storms now scourge the atmosphere. The industrial resources have been mostly depleted, with the surviving Unggoy clinging to life vast underground shelter complexes. Orks arrived in M39 and have occupied large stretches of the planet ever since. With little value on Balaho, the Covenant does not wish to expend its resources taking it back. Instead, it sends raw troops there to 'blood their claws.' The Orks have largely gone feral and are endemic rather than a serious threat, but should another Waaaagh arrive, will likely overwhelm the defences.

'''Palamok:''' The Yanme'e Hive-World (Quite literally), over twice the size and gravity of Holy Terra, Palamok may resemble the old Terran records of the Ancient Carboniferous-era. This planet teems with hostile insects and amphibians of tremendous size.

'''Joyous Exultation:''' This airless moon was once an important mining facility and Imperial Navy shipyard. During the Righteous and Harmonious Fists Campaign, the Imperium invaded the Kig-Yar homeworld of Eayn. Rather than reinforcing Eayn, the Hierarchs elected to strike at the campaign staging point and supply line. A Covenant Armada descended upon this moon, pulverized the garrison fleet and engaged in mass warfare with the Imperial Navy's CCCVIXth Lunar Vacuum Corps across the lifeless rocks. Even before the conclusion of the war, the Shipmasters had already converted the facilities to manufacturing Covenant vessels. Using Joyous Exultation as their own staging point, the Covenant have waged wars of wrath upon several Imperial planets, reducing them to feral worlds void of any industrial capacity. For its part, the Imperium considers the reconquest of Joyous Exultation necessary to security in the sub-sector and will launch an attack as soon as is practical. 

'''[[Obsidius:]]''' A timeless world brought into being by the will of the gods, Obsidius boasts incomparable weapons built into the very skin of the planet. Many Covenant took refuge here during the Great Crusade, as the Emperor's minions were utterly unable to approach without being vaporized. To this day, Imperial star charts label the system as Perditus, so that none may approach upon pain of ex-communication and death. Seven times in history, Ork Waaaghs have attempted to make planetfall, each time suffering incineration before even touching the atmosphere. In 958M41, a Necron Blight Swarm fell upon the system. Although the ancient weapons wreaked ruin upon their fleet, their weapons also rained down ruination from orbit and numerous phalanxes teleported to the surface. Unprepared for anyone getting past their 'divine defences,' the Covenant nonetheless mustered an army to challenge the invaders. War scourged the surface for months, with the Necrons sabotaging every piece of pre-Covenant technology they encountered. With the ancient mysteries wrecked, the metallic invaders departed. Obsidius is no longer protected by incomparable weapons but the Imperium does not know this and the Covenant have rebuilt it into a daunting conventional stronghold-world.

[[File:Hive_hub.jpg|200px|thumb|left|'''Sheal 'Onis''' as seen from Imperial Orbit.]]

'''Rtam 'Oldo'ra:''' This Sangheili garden-world and recruiting post lay on the fringes of Ultima Segmentum. Hive Fleet Kraken swept in in 988M41, brushing aside the few cruisers and orbital platforms which opposed them. The Tyranids descended upon the surface, devouring all opposition. On land, the Covenant army won several victories but the great devourer encircled and choked them out. The remaining Covenant ships retreated to the world of Musk Angelos, where they hid in the outer system out of range of Imperial batteries. Having consumed Rtam 'Oldo'ra, the Tyranids followed and fell upon Musk Angelos. At this moment, the Shipmasters struck, catching the devourer between the defensive batteries and their own weapons. It was not enough. All the Covenant vessels were torn apart.

Having received a message about the terror of the Parasite's return, a much greater Covenant armada arrived to find both Rtam Oldo'ra and Musk Angelos as lifeless husks. The fleetmaster had been born upon Rtam 'Oldo'ra and he swore sure vengeance upon the great devourer. The armada hunted the splinter fleet, at last catching it in empty tracts of the vast void, and fighting a vast hit-and-run battle over months, whittling down the Tyranids where they could not replenish themselves. When they were down to ten hive ships, the Tyranids responded by scattering each in a different direction. The fleetmaster split the armada into three, with orders to rendezvous after destroying their prey.