Silver City

"So as it turns out, the Covenant are here to stay. The Arbiter is leaving a naval force behind to defend Earth, and that force needs a starport to call home. Fair enough. They want to build a port on Luna. That's fine. There's a lot of real estate that just opened up there. But rumor has it that they specifically requested a patch of land on the western hemisphere, the leading edge of the moon. The Separatists don't just plan to garrison Earth. They're going to march around it on patrol."

- Staff Sergeant Joseph Barnes

The Silver City (Qerenoka: Zesikandas) is a major civilian center and military base established by the Concord of Reconciliation in the Oceanus Procellarum, Luna.

History
The Silver City's origins laid in the Treaty of Arusha, signed by the Schismatics at the time. It stipulated, among other things, that they would be granted a permanent base of operations in the Sol system, which would allow their ships and armies to resupply themselves in the Human Sphere and would guarantee a fleet to defend the system. What form this took was subjected to significant debate: Arbiter Thel 'Vadam desired it to found it in East Africa, close to the Kenyan Excession so his forces could watch over the artifact. The civilian leaders of the regional nations and the United Earth Government vehemently opposed this, due to concerns with the population's response to such a large ex-Covenant presence on Earth and lingering distrust over the Sangheili themselves. In response, the UNSC Navy proposed that the Covenant build a remote space station or use one of the lesser-populated moons of Neptune.

Ultimately, both sides compromised. The Arbiter's coalition was given land the size of New York City on the leading face of Luna. Given a lease of 99-years (which could be revoked if the treaty was violated), what would become the Silver City was designated as part of the Schismatic's territory, governed by Sangheili secular and religious laws rather than those of humanity. When the first foundations were laid, the plan was to build a naval command base and embassy for future diplomatic discussions.

At some point, the Silver City's unique legislative characteristics led to severe tension. An ODST was caught drawing graffiti in the Silver City that equates "The Light of High Charity" to the glassing of human colonies, infringing on their blasphemy laws. He was arrested, and though he was briefly broken free by his colleagues, he was quickly recaptured and put on trial. However, Thel 'Vadam himself arrived to testify for him, citing an old law prevented those born outside of the Covenant's borders being sentenced for religious crimes. This led to the case being dismissed, and served as a precedent for all future cases that involve humans.

Layout
It is not clear that HIGHCOM knew just how large the spaceport would be when they granted a land-lease to the Separatists. The Schismatics immediately laid down several Citadel-type prefabricated structures to house command staff and laborers. They then set about scouring away the regolith and carving nine channels into the lunar bedrock. These channels would eventually become drydocks large enough to house warships. These channels radiated out from a single point, and coincidentally due to the Covenant's use of a base-12 number system, the channels roughly correlate with hours on a clock. The channels at six, nine, and twelve o'clock were dug long enough to fit CAS Assault Carriers, while the remaining positions at five through one o'clock are merely large enough to house CPV-class heavy destroyers.

At the center of the semicircle, the base of a great tower began construction. This base would house the machinery, supplies, and the laborers who worked in the dry-docks. As the tower grew, docking rings were added at approximately 1200 and 2100 meters in height, allowing additional ships to dock for resupply.

If Silver City was a clock, the 'wedge' formed by the two, three, and four-o'clock positions were taken up by accommodations for the warriors, sailors, and servants, as well as Human civilians working alongside the Schismatics. These living spaces were initially divided up into twelve wards, but as the city grew beyond the initial perimeter, more wards were added. By 2580, Silver City had twenty-seven wards.

The Perimeter was a circular shield wall that encompassed the drydocks and the initial settlements. The shield wall consisted of three parts: an interior ring of shield projectors and an exterior ring of reinforcers. Between the two rings was a gutter cut as deep as 120 meters into the lunar bedrock. Only a sustained assault that destroyed the reinforcement ring would breach the shield. As the civilian district grew outside the perimeter, the perimeter in that section was reconstructed into an elevated causeway. Traffic between the inner and outer city had to pass through arches on bridges that could be retracted within five minutes.