Battle of Netherop (2526)

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Battle of Netherop
Conflict:	Human-Covenant War
Date:	June 7, 2526
Location:	Netherop
Outcome:	Tactical UNSC/Covenant draw Failure by the UNSC to recover the Steadfast Strike Failure by the Covenant to recover the Luminal Beacons Nizat 'Kvarosee and most of his remaining forces permanently exiled on Netherop Netherop space-mined by the Covenant to prevent anyone from landing there ever again Failure by the Covenant to completely eliminate the human forces and vice versa Stranding of Lieutenant Commander Amalea Petrov and several others on Netherop Strategic Flotilla of Unsung Piety victory Successfully planted at least one Luminal Beacon on the human forces Escape of two vessels to continue the plan to destroy ONI
Details Belligerents United Nations Space Command Flotilla of Unsung Piety Covenant Commanders MCPO John-117 Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee Hierarchs Unnamed Sangheili Ultra Strength Task Force Pantea UNSC Kayenta UNSC Chaco UNSC Cibola UNSC Mesa Verde UNSC Rio Grande 1 ONI salvage ship UNSC Phyllis Wheatley 1 Razor-class prowler UNSC Night Watch 10 F-29 Nandao squadrons Echo One 4 Spartan-IIs Blue Team 1 Marine battalion Castoffs 1 captured Ekesan-pattern Umbra Flotilla of Unsung Piety 9 intrusion corvettes Quiet Faith Still Devotion Silent Truth Divine Whisper 1 Covenant frigate Steadfast Strike 5 Wuzum-pattern Spectres Fleet of Swift Justice 1 CAS-class assault carrier 1 Covenant cruiser 5 Covenant destroyers 3 Covenant frigates 1 Mokol'ta-pattern Spirit 2 Ekesan-pattern Umbras Elsedda-pattern Banshees Gigas-class fighter-bombers Silent Shadow Casualties Heavy UNSC Night Watch UNSC Phyllis Wheatley At least one Halberd-class light destroyer 1 Pelican Heavy ground casualties 70 percent of the Wheatley crew Most of the Flotilla of Unsung Piety Steadfast Strike Still Devotion Divine Whisper Seven intrusion corvettes Heavy ground casualties Moderate At least one ship

The Battle of Netherop was a military engagement fought in mid-2526 between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, alongside a faction of Covenant defectors led by the disgraced former-fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee, known as the Flotilla of Unsung Piety. The engagement was engineered by 'Kvarosee with the intent of regaining his prestige in the Covenant after his failures in the Battle of Zhoist earlier that year, with the intent of drawing in, and killing, the SPARTAN-IIs who had inflicted his prior defeat. This involved the use of a downed Covenant frigate, Steadfast Strike, as a target for a UNSC capture operation which could be used by Nizat to draw the Spartans in and also reveal the location of humanity's homeworld.

During the operation, 'Kvarosee's forces were pursued by a Covenant fleet, the Fleet of Swift Justice, which led to a large three-way confrontation on and in orbit of Netherop, ultimately culminating in the destruction of Steadfast Strike by the Covenant to deny its use to both the UNSC and 'Kvarosee. By the battle's end, 'Kvarosee and his followers were marooned on Netherop alongside a surviving stranded contingent of UNSC troops led by Lieutenant Commander Amalea Petrov, leading to an intermittent thirty-year conflict on the ground that would last until a decisive engagement in 2559.

Background

In 2525, the Covenant empire declared a war of genocide on humanity and began deploying its fleets into human space to destroy their colony worlds. One such fleet was the Fleet of Inexorable Obedience led by Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee, responsible for burning numerous worlds. The United Nations Space Command responded to these incursions by assembling a specialised task force with the goal of striking back into Covenant space, a mission dubbed Operation: SILENT STORM. SILENT STORM ultimately concluded with a UNSC attack on the Covenant world Zhoist, resulting in the destruction of its orbital ring and several cities.

During the fighting at Zhoist, Fleetmaster 'Kvarosee's forces failed to adequately defend the planet and as such were disgraced in the eyes of the Covenant leadership. This was further compounded with the destruction of the warship Almighty Persuasion and the irreplaceable Luminal Beacon housed aboard it, a Forerunner artefact capable of having its location tracked from anywhere in the galaxy. As such 'Kvarosee took the blame for the calamity at Zhoist and, despite his protests, was set for assassination by the Hierarchs with no way to restore his honor.

Seeing no way out of his peril, and desperate to prove his competence, 'Kvarosee went rogue alongside a cadre of shipmasters and troops personally loyal to him, the Flotilla of Unsung Piety. Together they staged a plan to lure in the UNSC by presenting them with an opportunity they could not pass up, which would allow them to plant the final surviving Luminal Beacon for the UNSC to discover and take back to their homeworld. After raiding