High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Recurring characters of Halo are organized below by their respective factions in the fictional universe. The multimedia franchise`s central story revolves around an interstellar war between future humanity under the auspices of the United Nations Space Command or UNSC, and an alien theocratic alliance known as the Covenant. The artifacts left behind by an ancient race known as the Forerunner play a central role, particularly the massive weapons, dubbed Halos, built to contain the parasitic Flood. Beginning with developer Bungie`s 2001 video game Halo: Combat Evolved, the franchise expanded to include the sequels Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach; the novels Halo: The Fall of Reach, Halo: The Flood, Halo: First Strike, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Halo: Contact Harvest, and Halo: The Cole Protocol; and the Halo Graphic Novel, among other works.