Battle for Translocation portal Epsilon
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
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| Battle for Translocation portal Epsilon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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[edit]
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.[5] 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.[6]
The battle[edit]
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.[7] Ultimately, the Keepers were able to activate the portal using one of their human operators to activate the control pylons there.[8][9] 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.[5]
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.[4]
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 Sho