Battle for Translocation portal Epsilon

Previous:	Raid on Anodyne Spirit
Concurrent:	Operation: WOLFE
Next:	Battle of the Maze Rift
Battle for Translocation portal Epsilon
Conflict:	Second Ark Conflict
Date:	October 12, 2559
Location:	Translocation portal Epsilon, Installation 00
Outcome:	Banished victory
Details Belligerents Banished United Nations Space Command Dhas Bhasvod's Covenant Keepers of the One Freedom Commanders Let 'Volir James Cutter Dhas Bhasvod Castor Strength Thousands of personnel At least one regiment

The battle at Translocation Portal Epsilon was a massive three-way battle fought on October 12, 2559, as part of the Second Ark Conflict. It involved the three primary combatants of the conflict, the Banished, the UNSC forces of UNSC Spirit of Fire, and the newly-resurgent Covenant loyalists led by Dhas Bhasvod. At the time of the battle's opening, all three forces were stranded on the Ark well outside of the Milky Way galaxy. As such, when the Banished were able to open a slipspace portal back into the galaxy (thanks to a concurrent mission taking place on Reach), all three mobilised in an attempt to take control of the portal and gain a chance to return home.

Later in the conflict, the Keepers of the One Freedom returned through the active portal aboard Atriox's personal Lich, Pegoras. While they initially fooled the Banished into believing they were allies, they ultimately elected to align with the loyalist Covenant in an attempt to fire the Halo Array.

Background

The Second Ark Conflict began in spring 2559, with the arrival of UNSC Spirit of Fire on the Ark. After coming into contact with the Banished, who had themselves arrived in late 2558, the two became entrenched in a long war for control of the megastructure. Spirit of Fire lacked a slipspace drive with which to escape the facility, while the Banished assault carrier Enduring Conviction was destroyed in the fighting. As such, both forces became stranded with no means of escape.

In summer 2559, the Banished launched a salvaging operation to scavenge the remains of High Charity. While the ensuing disaster saw the release (and eventual containment) of the Flood parasite, it also allowed the Banished to recover from High Charity a Forerunner entanglement dish. Voridus was able to repair the dish to functionality, allowing Atriox to send a message back to Escharum in the Milky Way galaxy; an order to assemble forces on Reach and excavate a portal complex buried under Menachite Mountain. Doing so would allow for a way to return Atriox back to the galaxy, in combination with activating a similar portal on the Ark itself. Banished forces led by Okro 'Vagaduun then launched an attack on the landing site of Anodyne Spirit with the aim of recovering the slipspace crystal interred within to use to activate the portal. Anodyne Spirit had been landed on the Ark by the Prophet of Truth at the end of the Human-Covenant War, with a contingent of troops assigned to guard it under the command of Prelate Dhas Bhasvod. These troops had survived the end of the battle for the Ark and remained hidden inside the keyship for seven years; when 'Vagaduun's raid entered the ship, the Covenant defenders were alerted to the ongoing conflict on the Ark and emerged from their hiding. While the Banished did ultimately steal the crystal, they also awoke the echelons of still-loyal Covenant, who in turn joined the wider conflict on the Ark.

The battle

The battle for Translocation Portal Epsilon took place concurrently with a similar effort led by Escharum on Reach. On Reach, Escharum tasked three clans; the Clan of the Ravaged Tusks, Legion of the Corpse-Moon and Keepers of the One Freedom were tasked with finding and excavating the Menachite portal complex. Ultimately, the Keepers were able to activate the portal using one of their human operators to activate the control pylons there. The Banished knew that once the portal was active, their marooned enemies on the Ark would attempt to storm it, and so prepared fortified defensive positions in advance. The Clan of the Long Shields were deployed by 'Volir at the West Ridge Observation Point as a support force on the flanks of the battle, denied the glory of front-line combat due to their failures in the Flood outbreak months earlier.

Once active, a single Lich dropship, Pegoras, used the portal to return to the Milky Way, stewarding Atriox and his Exodus Guard. During the arrival ceremony, the Keepers stole the Lich at gunpoint; their still-active belief in the Covenant religion meant that they still held the belief in firing and activating the Halo Array, and the chance to journey to the Ark meant that goal was closer than ever. Atriox allowed their treason, reasoning that they would be swiftly killed by the thousands of Banished troops on the other side of the portal anyway - and that he needed his forces on Reach fresh to fend off an imminent attack from the UNSC.

On the Ark, the disgraced shipmaster Let 'Volir was given charge of the Banished contingent there in Atriox's absence, and tasked with defending the portal site from the dual Covenant and UNSC attacks. This resulted in a three-way skirmish involving thousands of personnel from all sides. The portal itself was located around 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) over the Ark's surface, looking down a large valley, which the Covenant and UNSC were advancing up. While both the Covenant and UNSC were aware of, and unhappy about, one another's presence, they were more focused on attacking the Banished. The UNSC air forces included flights of outdated F-29 Nandaos and S-14 Baselard attacking from port and covering a flight of B-65 Shortsword bombers, while Covenant Banshees and Seraphs covered flights of Phantoms and Spirits. The two air formations were positioned in such that craft overlapped slightly and engaged fire, though were not focused on one another.

On the ground, a regiment-sized UNSC ground force consisting of M808S Scorpion tanks and more than a hundred M12 Warthogs advanced on the Banished lines, covered from the air by AV-22 Sparrowhawk and AV-14 Hornet aerodynes, around 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the portal site itself. At the rear of this formation lay a Forward Operating Base consisting of M312 Elephant recovery vehicles, XRP12 Gremlin electronic warfare vehicles and a flight of D77 Pelicans ready to transport infantry to the front line. On the Covenant side of the offensive, Wraiths and Ghosts led a similar charge.

At 2212 hours Military Standard Time, the Keeper-operated Pegoras emerged from the Translocation Portal Epsilon into the middle of the quagmire. The sudden translocation of the Lich meant that when it reemerged from slipspace, it fused with a B-65 Shortsword occupying the exact same position in space. Pegoras' reentry caused confusion in the Banished ranks, leading Let 'Volir to contact the Lich and demand answers. While initially suspicious of the Lich's peculiar arrival, he was persuaded by Castor and Inslaan 'Gadogai that Atriox was aboard (though unable to answer), and that he was required to cover the Lich's arrival with some of the Banished's Banshees and Seraphs. 'Volir responded by tasking two talons of varied craft to cover Pegoras, though the now-disabled Lich was unable to manoeuvre and land. When 'Gadogai proved unable to transmit a proper authorisation code, 'Volir retasked the talons to rejoin the main battle - even despite the claims that Atriox would have his head. As such, the Lich proceeded to head into UNSC airspace, resulting in Veta Lopis being tasked to ward off a potential UNSC threat to the Lich. Unbeknownst to the Keepers, Lopis was a double agent working for the Office of Naval Intelligence, and so instead tried to covertly signal to the UNSC to target the Lich, by transmitting the fake authorisation code "Foxtrot-Papa-Foxtrot" - the phonetic codes for FPF, or final protective fire. By doing this, Lopis hoped that the UNSC would shoot down the Lich and in turn, prevent the Keepers from activating the Halos. When Pegoras crash-landed at the West Ridge Observation Point, the Lich was intercepted by Covenant troops under Bhasvod initially there to kill the craft's occupants, though Castor and Dhas Bhasvod were able to strike an agreement to work together in recognition of their shared goals - lighting the Halos. However, under the encourage of Intrepid Eye (a Forerunner ancilla masquerading as a holy oracle to mislead the combined group), they agreed that they would need to keep up the main assault on the portal site in order to keep their enemies from noticing their new objective to find a Cartographer.

Due to Pegoras' return from Reach and the uncertainty surrounding Atriox's return, Let 'Volir was reluctant to close the portal. Reasoning that the Banished could hold off the combined onslaught for a short time longer, he instead decided to keep the portal open to keep the UNSC squarely focused on it, and not Pegoras. He then ordered the Clan of the Long Shields to investigate Pegoras' crash site while the enemy force was distracted. However, by the time they arrived at Pegoras, they found the site deserted and most of its equipment abandoned, save for a swarm of kralidonk wildlife scavenging the dead. While investigating the wreck, they recovered a message that had been left by Veta Lopis, intended for UNSC forces, informing that the Keepers of the One Freedom had landed on the Ark. As such, they reasoned that Castor was here to fire the Halos, and that the Long Shields were the only clan in a position to stop him, due to not partaking in the wider battle.

Aftermath

It is unclear for how long the portal remained active after the ensuing Battle of Epsilon Clarion, or for how long the battle for the translocation portal continued. However it ended, neither the Covenant nor Spirit of Fire were able to dislodge Banished defences and use the portal for their own means. After his injury and near-death at Epsilon Clarion, Dhas Bhasvod noted that the time he would need to heal and rebuild his fighting skin would be time not spent recovering the slipspace crystal, and time he would be unable to use the portal to reunite with the San'Shyuum flotilla at Cloister.

List of appearances

• Halo: Divine Wind (First appearance)