Battle of Sigma Octanus IV: Difference between revisions

{{Era|HCW}}

{{Battle

|prev=[[Siege of Paris IV]], [[Fall of Arcadia]]

|image=[[File:Sigma Octanus battle.jpg|300px]]

|date=July 17, 2552 - July 18, 2552

|place=[[Sigma Octanus system|Sigma Octanus System]], above planet [[Sigma Octanus IV]]

|result=[[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] strategic victory.

*Covenant successfully repelled.

Covenant tactical victory.

*[[Forerunner]] [[Sigma Octanus IV artifact|artifact]] retrieved.

*Locations of [[Installation 04]]{{Citation needed}} and [[Reach]] learned.

|side1=[[United Nations Space Command]]

|side2=[[Covenant Empire|Covenant]]

*[[Vice Admiral]] [[Hieronymus Michael Stanforth]]

*[[General]] [[Kits]]†

*[[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]]

*[[John-117|MCPO]] [[John-117]]

[[Battle Group Leviathan|UNSC Battle group Leviathan]]

*48 vessels

**15 [[UNSC destroyer|Destroyers]] {{citation needed}} <ref group="note">The ships fired a salvo of 63 MAC rounds (''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach|Halo: The Fall Of Reach]]'', page 193), thus 15 ships must've had 2 MAC guns.</ref>

***{{UNSCShip|Iroquois}}

***{{UNSCShip|Lancelot}}

**30 [[UNSC frigate|Frigates]] {{citation needed}} <ref group="note">48 -15 -2 -1 = 30</ref>

***{{UNSCShip|Gettysburg}}

***{{UNSCShip|Allegiance}}

***{{UNSCShip|Fair Weather}}

**2 [[UNSC carrier|Carriers]]<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach|Halo: The Fall Of Reach]]''', ''page 155''</ref>

**1 [[Marathon-class cruiser|Cruiser]]  

***{{UNSCShip|Leviathan}}

*1 repair-refitting station

**{{UNSCShip|Cradle}}

*1600 [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marines]]

*1 platoon of [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]]s

*24 vessels

**[[Covenant destroyer|Covenant Destroyers]]

**[[Covenant frigate|Covenant Frigates]]

**1 {{Class|DDS|carrier}}

**1 [[covenant stealth corvette|stealth ship]]

**[[Kig-yar|Kig-Yar]]

*25 ships destroyed (12 ships severely crippled)

**[[General (rank)|General]] [[Kits]]

**[[Devesh Bhasin]]

*All forces in [[Côte d'Azur]], presumably all forces on planet surface

*18 ships destroyed

{{quote|We've come to take [[Sigma Octanus IV]] back from the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]]. To do that, we're going to kill every last one of them.|[[John-117]] to [[Corporal]] [[Harland]]}}

 

==The Battle==

{{main|Keyes Loop}}

 

However, over [[Sigma Octanus IV]], [[Commander (UNSC)|Commander]] [[Jacob Keyes]], commanding officer of the [[UNSC destroyer|UNSC Destroyer]] [[UNSC Iroquois|''Iroquois'']], realized that the large mass was in fact a [[battle group]] of Covenant ships after reading a report by [[Fhajad-084]]. The Covenant ships were flying in close formation; Large masses bend slipspace more easily than in real space, creating the illusion of a single large mass when there are in fact several. Keyes concluded that the mass was comprised of four [[Covenant frigate|Covenant Frigates]]. However, when the Covenant battlegroup exited slipspace, the ''Iroquois'' found itself outmatched by the arrival of not four frigates but one {{Class|DDS|carrier}}, one [[Covenant destroyer|destroyer]], and two [[Covenant frigate|frigates]] (medium-sized ships).

Despite the hopeless tactical situation, Commander Keyes resolved to attack. The ''Iroquois'' set a collision course for the destroyer at emergency acceleration while launching a nuclear warhead in what seemed to be the wrong direction. The two escorting frigates proceeded to launch a salvo of [[plasma]], but the ''Iroquois'' managed to evade by utilizing the emergency thruster. Having missed their target, the plasma came about and continued to track and home in on the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] warship.

The trailing plasma was to prove critical to the success of [[Keyes Loop|Keyes' strategy]]. A last minute course correction allowed the ''Iroquois'' to merely "graze" the destroyer's shields rather than smash directly into the ship properly, resulting in the destruction of a large portion of the ''Iroquois''' armor (Keyes had torn through 2 meters of titanium and had breached every bottom deck of the ''Iroquois''). However, the tracking plasma was unable to correct for the sudden maneuver of their target and, in consequence, impacted on the destroyer instead. A heavy salvo of [[Archer missile]]s sent the remaining Covenant warship to its destruction.

With the momentum built up during the first phase, the ''Iroquois'' performed a slingshot maneuver around the planet. Once safely away, the nuclear warhead deployed earlier, was detonated, completely draining the shields on the two frigates. Having completed its orbit, the ''Iroquois'' resumed its attack and destroyed the two Frigates with two heavy [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC]] rounds and hundreds of [[Archer missile]]s.

Its escorts destroyed, the carrier then disengaged and escaped out system but not before leaving 34 dropships and a small ship to continue the ground assault.

Upon landing, the Marines set up their command center, [[Alpha Headquarters]] and a forward base, [[Firebase Bravo]]. The troopers were forced to operate with little intelligence of the surrounding area. Satellite scans were rendered useless by the fog and jungle canopy. Kits failed to realize that the Covenant had established a strong presence in the jungle, including a new race which was yet to be encountered by the UNSC; the [[Mgalekgolo|Hunters]]. [[Lieutenant]] [[McCasky]] was ordered to take his platoon to observe Covenant activity in [[Sigma Octanus IV/Grid 13 x 24|Grid 13 x 24]]. They traveled to the area by [[M12 Force Application Vehicle|Warthog]], but almost the entire platoon was wiped out by Hunters save for [[Corporal]] [[Harland]], [[Private]]s [[Fincher]], [[Walker]] and [[Cochran]]. Harland ordered a retreat as soon as he clearly saw the Hunters, but despite this Cochran was still wounded by a [[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|Needler]]. Although hounded by [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees]], the fireteam managed to destroy all pursuing Covenant and fall back safely. They found that [[Firebase Bravo]] had been completely overrun by Covenant forces and its survivors were systematically being hunted down and slaughtered. When they made it back to [[Alpha Headquarters]], they found that that had also been mostly destroyed, with only fourteen enlisted men surviving on the planet's surface. Corporal Harland was forced to assume command.

With the failure of the Marine strike team, the [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-IIs]] were sent in. Arriving at the destroyed H.Q., the squad, consisting of [[John-117]], [[Frederic-104]], [[James-005]], [[Kelly-087]], [[Joshua-029]], [[Linda-058]], and six others quickly secured the base. After they arrived, Spartan 117 broke them into three four-man teams and personally assumed command of [[Blue Team]]. He sent Red and Green teams on their missions, then slogged through the jungle, arriving at Côte d'Azur. Entering the storm drains, [[Blue Team]] discovered a new Covenant race, the [[Huragok|Engineers]]. Investigating Covenant activity in the [[Côte d'Azur Museum of Natural History]], Blue Team discovered that the Covenant were scanning what appeared to be a simple piece of igneous rock, and sending the information to a ship in orbit. The team entered a protracted firefight with two Hunters, which was a victory at the expense of James' arm, recovered the rock, and escaped.

With a group of surviving civilians evacuated, the SPARTANs returned to H.Q. and detonated a [[HAVOK Tactical Nuclear Weapon|HAVOK nuclear warhead]], destroying Côte d'Azur and removing the Covenant presence on the planet. Other cities on the planet would be destroyed, such as [[Caracas]], [[Huiren]], [[Silma]] and [[Enfield]], either due to similar Covenant invasion or to preemptive destruction by the UNSC to deny the Covenant the objects they sought.<ref name=BRAVADO>[[Halo Waypoint]] - [http://www.halo.xbox.com/Content/assets/en-us/ONI/239409409548923768/DDR-A340021-2300-07-18-52.pdf Data Drop Two]</ref>

[[File:Battle of Sigma Octanus 4.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|The UNSC fleet engaging the opposing Covenant fleet over Sigma Octanus IV.]]

With the ground battle continuing, more UNSC ships arrived in orbit over Sigma Octanus IV. At 0625 hours, a fleet of Covenant vessels were detected on the edge of the system. The 48 available UNSC warships, including the ''Iroquois ''and Stanforth's flagship, the Marathon-class cruiser ''Leviathan'', formed a tight "checkerboard" formation that allowed for them to fire all their [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC]] guns simultaneously at the Covenant fleet with a single massive volley. However, this restricted the mobility of the UNSC fleet, and left them unable to evade the extremely accurate Covenant plasma torpedoes. When the battle commenced, the Covenant fleet took a severe beating from the UNSC's opening MAC salvo, but promptly returned fire with a salvo of plasma torpedoes. The repair station ''[[UNSC Cradle|Cradle]]'' moved in front of the UNSC formation, acting as a sacrificial shield, and absorbed the Covenant fleet's first salvo, at the cost of the station and its entire crew. This allowed the UNSC ships to dedicate all the power from their reactors to recharging their MAC guns, and the UNSC ships were thus quickly able to fire a second salvo after the destroyed ''Cradle'' drifted away.

After this salvo, only eight Covenant vessels remained: cruisers and destroyers. The UNSC fleet then scattered and proceeded to engage the Covenant fleet, which responded by releasing its [[Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter|Seraph]] fighters and opening heavy fire on the UNSC ships. The ''Iroquois'' spotted a Covenant [[DAV-class light corvette|stealth corvette]] in orbit above the planet and attempted to destroy it with a barrage of Archer missiles, but the attack was foiled when the stealth ship jammed the missiles' guidance locks, causing them to miss. In response, ''Iroquois ''simply rammed the ship, stopping the Covenant from gaining planetside data. The remaining Covenant vessels soon fled the system.

The battle was one of the few major victories that the UNSC had in space (despite major losses; less than ten ships remained intact after the battle) since [[Harvest]] was retaken. Admiral Stanforth had especially planned this battle to be a much needed victory and morale boost for humanity.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page 160''</ref> It introduced the tactic of using a refit station to protect UNSC ships. The Covenant, however, had only come for the data retrieved from the Forerunner [[sigma Octanus IV artifact|crystal]] transmitted from the planet, which revealed to them the location of [[Installation 04]].

A spy probe attached to the destroyer ''Iroquois'' led the Covenant to [[Reach]], which they attacked a few days later. It later transpired that the Covenant had learned the location of one of the Halos from the transmission, which they planned to activate to begin the [[Covenant religion|Great Journey]].

As a result of the battle, there were much debris left in orbit around Sigma Octanus IV. [[HAZMAT]] teams swept the area but the area around the planet would remain a navigational hazard for the next decade.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'''</ref>

*'''0320 Hours:''' 4 Covenant ships consisting of 1 ''DDS''-carrier, 1 [[Covenant destroyer|destroyer]] and 2 [[Covenant frigate|frigates]] arrive in the system. The UNSC ''Iroquois'' engages the enemy and requests reinforcements. The {{UNSCShip|Gettysburg}} and {{UNSCShip|Allegiance}} respond and begin heading for Sigma Octanus.

*'''0500 Hours:''' 47 additional UNSC vessels arrive in the system. Admiral Michael Stanforth, aboard the {{UNSCShip|Leviathan}}, takes command.

*'''0520 Hours:''' Reinforcements of 1600 marines, led by [[Kits|General Kits]], begin landing around Côte d'Azur

*'''0625 Hours:''' Covenant vessels begin appearing on the far edge of the system.

*'''2130 Hours:''' Repair station ''[[UNSC Cradle|Cradle]]'' moves to protect UNSC Fleet. First salvos are fired by Covenant vessels.

*[[John-117|Spartan-117]]

*[[Frederic-104|Spartan-104]]

*[[James-005|Spartan-005]]

*[[Kelly-087|Spartan-087]]

*[[Joshua-029|Spartan-029]]

*[[Linda-058|Spartan-058]]

File:Covenant-4.jpg|The ''UNSC Iroquois'' unleashes a volley of Archer missiles against the Covenant stealth corvette.  

File:Covenant Stealth Corvette Collides with UNSC Iroquois.jpg|The ''Iroquois'' rams the Covenant [[DAV-class light corvette|stealth corvette]].

==Note==

<references group="note"/>

<references/>

[[Category:UNSC Victories]]

[[Category:Battle|Sigma Octanus IV]]