Wellsley
Biographical information
Began service:	May 1, 2469[1]
Ended service:	September 22, 2552[2] (aged 83)
Gender:	Male programming[3]
Description:	Stern-looking man with longish hair, prominent nose, and a collared coat; supposed to look like an 18th century British officer[3]
Color(s):	Blue[4]
Political and military information
Affiliation:	United Nations Space Command
Functionality:	Military assistant[3]
Service number:	WLS 3982-0[1]

"Then God help you, because if your plan fails, no one else will have the power to do so."

— Wellsley to Major Antonio Silva, after Silva ignored Wellsley's advice regarding the Flood.

Wellsley (AI Serial Number:WLS 3982-0)^[1] was aUnited Nations Space Command 4th generation, Class-C militarydumbAI who was assigned to theOrbital Drop Shock Troopersbattalion on theUNSCPillar of Autumn. He helpedMajorAntonio Silva andFirst LieutenantMelissa McKay set up and operate theAlpha Base onInstallation 04. Wellsley was ultimately consumed in the destruction of theTruth and Reconciliation.^[5]

Biography[edit]

Entered service[edit]

Wellsley was created onMay 1, 2469.^[1]

Fall of Reach[edit]

On August 30, 2552, during theFall of Reach, Major Antonio Silva reported to Wellsley thatSpartans had taken all theM90 shotguns from the aft rack on thePillar of Autumn.^[6]

Pillar of Autumn[edit]

On September 19, Wellsley helped Major Antonio Silva debriefFireteam Raven on the approaching Covenant threat during thePillar of Autumn's approach to Installation 04, informing them thatCaptainJacob Keyes had put the ship onCombat Alert Alpha so Raven had to defend the ship from invading parties. During the defense Wellsley informed Raven that the ship'sM910 Rampart point defense network was down and to assist in bringing them back online; when Raven did that he overrode the controls so they could use them to hold off external threats to the ship. After Raven had cleared out an area near escape pods, Wellsley told Raven about Keyes crashing the ship, and suggested they should swiftly get into their drop pods.^[4]

Landing at Halo[edit]

As part of theUNSC Insertion Protocols, Wellsley was onboard Major Antonio Silva's drop pod.^[7] During the descent toInstallation 04, Wellsley picked out a butte on the surface for Silva to act as an effective home base for the scattered UNSC forces on Halo. Wellsley then sent a message to the rest of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers about the location, and told Silva that the Covenant owned that location.^[8]

Later, he also warned Silva about a Covenant motorized counterattack, which he compared to the French cavalry charge at Waterloo, much to Silva's annoyance. To which Silva then used anInfantry square with A and D Company to counter the threat.^[8]

Wellsley eventually got in contact withCortana, who was withJohn-117 rescuing crew members fromClass-3 Bumblebees, and sent aD77 PelicanEcho 419 to pick them up. Wellsley also got in contact with Captain Jacob Keyes and the other surviving crew prior to their capture telling them his group and Cortanas were busy at the moment.^[9]

He assisted Pelicans such asEcho 136 get troops prepared for the assault on Alpha base, and after the assault was done helped get the rest of First Lieutenant Melissa McKay's battalion to the base.^[9]

Rescuing Keyes[edit]

After Alpha Base was secured, Wellsley, Cortana, and Major Antonio Silva concocted a mission to rescue Captain Jacob Keyes, who was being held on the Covenant shipTruth and Reconciliation. In preparation for this mission, Wellsley concocted an array of signals that was able to trick Covenant technicians into believing UNSC dropships were one of their own.^[10]

Effort to take back the Autumn[edit]

Since Fireteam Raven landed on Installation 04 Wellsley guided them, though a mobile communications link, on a journey to thePillar of Autumns crash site to assist First Lieutenant Melissa McKay in an effort to take back the ships crash site, and on September 20 Raven arrived.^[5] During the battle Wellsley provided information support, and after the skirmish he informed Raven that Major Antonio Silva will brief them on the current scenario after they returned to Alpha Base.^[11]

Covenant Alpha base attack[edit]

On September 21, when PelicanCharlie 217 appeared near Alpha Base, Wellsley recommended Com Tech First ClassMary Murphy to get more information out of the pilot, questioning how they even knew about the base, and put the base on full alert, also prepping a medical team. As Charlie 217 was landing, it turned out to be filled withSpecial Operations Sangheili, Wellsley noticed six heavy duty signatures, just as Alpha base was being overrun. To handle the upcoming forces, Wellsley recommended First Lieutenant Melissa McKay and Major Antonio Silva handle the Covenant in the mesa while he dealt with the Covenant at the pads.^[3]

Murphy then took the safeties off the anti-air defenses and gave control to Wellsley, after which she and her two companions then were slaughtered by the Elites, Wellsley, witnessing the murders, killed the lights and notified Silva to then send a properly equipped team to deal with the Sangheili inside. At the same time, while control to the anti-air was too late to hit the first dropship, and was ineffective against theType-26 Banshees, Wellsley managed to shoot down the second out of the six approaching Covenant dropships.^[3]

After the attack, Wellsley made a report on the event that concluded that the Covenant were searching for John-117. Wellsley also believed that the Covenant dismissed the Marines and Naval personnel as little more than a nuisance, and the enemy had since changed their minds, monitoring human radio traffic, conducting recon and so on.^[12]

Covenant Alpha base attack[edit]

At some point Major Antonio Silva and Wellsley debriefed Fireteam Raven on the situation that had happened, including the known information on the ring they were on before the Covenant attacked for a second time.^[5][13]

The Flood[edit]

After the Flood attacked Alpha base forces, Wellsley believed that Installation 04 was constructed to house them and keep them under control. Wellsley also had scans of the Flood corpses.^[14]

Wellsley and Cortana managed to link up again, and Cortana told him their plan to destroy thePillar of Autumn. Major Antonio Silva then planned to have Wellsley take a crack at flying theTruth and Reconciliation if Cortana couldn't make it to the ship.^[15]

Assisting John-117[edit]

On September 22, Wellsley directed Fireteam Raven to a ice canyon to assist John-117 disable the pulse generators, debriefing them on the Flood threat. During extraction Raven got hit and their ride was taken down.^[5][16]

After Raven was recovered and was on route to thePillar of Autumn, Wellsley commanded Raven to allow John-117 to detonate thePillar of Autumn's fusion drives.^[17]

Truth and Reconciliation assault[edit]

When the surviving Marines and ODSTs captured theTruth and Reconciliation, Wellsley sided with First Lieutenant Melissa McKay and attempted to convince Major Antonio Silva not to leave until they were sure that every lastFlood on the ship was exterminated.^[2]

When McKay cut the communications to the engines, the Covenant ship lost control and crashed on Installation 04. He was fully aware of McKay's actions and just before the ship crashed, he told Silva that if he could be proud of one thing, it was that he had taught McKay well. Wellsley was presumed lost in the crash, as was almost the entire remaining UNSC presence on the ring.^[2]

Appearance, personality and traits[edit]

Appearance[edit]

As with allAIs, Wellsley had the ability to choose hisappearance. He had a blue hologram,^[4] chose to appear as a stern-looking man with long hair, a prominent nose, and a collared coat,^[3] and so resembled his namesake,Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, even being created exactly 700 years after his birth.

Personality[edit]

Wellsley was created to act as a military assistant. Though he was less capable than asmart AI, he was useful for managing battlefield logistics.^[5] He often referred to his victories as though he were the actual Duke and not an artificial re-creation, which annoyed many of his acquaintances.^[8]

Storage[edit]

Wellsley was hardware-bound, housed in a command drop pod.^[5] During the battle of Installation 04 Wellsley was stored in an armored matrix that was often slung on Major Antonio Silva's shoulder.^[2]

Trivia[edit]

• InHalo: The Fall of Reach,LieutenantHikowa mentions thePillar of Autumn having a secondary AI for "point defense", though this AI is not named.^[18] It is possible, though unconfirmed, that Wellsley was this other AI as no other AIs are mentioned as being present on thePillar of Autumn in relevant media. InHalo: Fireteam Raven's first level,Escape, Wellsley directs Fireteam Raven to take control of the ship's point defense guns, enabling their manual controls for the fireteam to use - adding further credence to this idea.

• In certain prints of the novel Halo: The Flood, his name is often spelled as Wellesley; this however is never used in subsequent appearances or mentions.

Gallery[edit]

• 

  A render of Wellsley fromHalo: Fireteam Raven.

• 

  Side view of Wellsley's face fromHalo: Fireteam Raven.

List of appearances[edit]

• Halo: The Flood(First appearance)
• Halo: Fireteam Raven

Sources[edit]

• Human AI
• AI characters

• Articles with conjecture