Battle over Installation 04

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Battle over Installation 04
Conflict:	Human-Covenant War Battle of Installation 04
Date:	September 19, 2552
Location:	Over Installation 04, Soell system
Outcome:	UNSC Strategic Victory Pillar of Autumn crash lands on Installation 04 and is damaged beyond repair All personnel evacuated and become stranded on Installation 04 Covenant fail in destroying or capturing the ship
Details Belligerents UNSC Covenant Forerunner constructs (Indirectly) Commanders Captain Jacob Keyes AI Cortana Major Antonio Silva Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee Minor Prophet of Stewardship 343 Guilty Spark Strength Halcyon-class light cruiser UNSC Pillar of Autumn Longswords Knife 03 Knife 07 Knife 25 Knife 31 Fleet of Particular Justice Kerel-pattern assault carrier (1) Ruma-pattern light carrier (1) Mjern-pattern agricultural support ship (1) Ket-pattern battlecruiser (12) Destroyer (1) Morsam-pattern Seraphs Elsedda-pattern Banshees Ru'swum-pattern Phantoms Brhi Xur-pattern Leeches R'sisho-pattern Tickes Installation 04 Several Confidence-class weapon arrays Casualties UNSC Pillar of Autumn damaged beyond repair Heavy defending crew casualties Four Ket-pattern battlecruisers Truth and Reconciliation damaged Heavy boarding party casualties None

On September 19, 2552, the Halcyon-class light cruiser UNSC Pillar of Autumn entered the Soell system. What followed was a battle over Installation 04, as forces of the Fleet of Particular Justice attempted to stop the human forces of the cruiser from landing on Installation 04.

Prelude

The Pillar of Autumn and its Longsword escort arrive at Installation 04.

On August 30, the Pillar of Autumn fled the Fall of Reach, along with its complement of personnel. The ship was followed by the Fleet of Particular Justice, led by the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee, who hereby ordered all vessels of the fleet to contribute two fightercraft to advance recon pickets to ensure the human cruiser would not be able to slip past the fleet defenses, while the fleet held position on the far side of the ring. The fleet had arrived earlier than the Autumn thanks to their superior slipspace drive technology. The Minor Prophet of Stewardship would declare the matter one of religious significance and invoke his right to leadership, though this would be contested on the grounds of 'Vadamee, who insisted he would not relinquish command to a politician in combat. The two would convene aboard the fleet's flagship Seeker of Truth to contact High Charity for guidance, though no contact was able to be made, and no decision reached.

Upon arriving in the Soell system, the Pillar of Autumn deployed GA-TL1 Longsword fighters for sentry screening. The Prophet would order the Covenant fleet to hold fire on the cruiser for fear of damaging the ring, though 'Vadamee would later ignore this order anyway. The prophet would order the deployment of Leech boarding craft and an Ossoona, alongside ordering the battlecruisers Purity of Spirit and Undiminished Entelechy to perform secret close-range surveys of the installation.

The battle

Banshees attack the Pillar of Autumn.

The first shot fired in the battle was suffered by the Pillar of Autumn only twenty minutes after its arrival when a Seraph managed to slip through the cruiser's sentry screening. The fighter was shortly destroyed by one of the escort Longswords, though another wave of fighter