Editing John-117/Human-Covenant War

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Summarize}}
{{Battle infobox
|prev=[[Early life of John-117]]
|conc=
|next=[[John-117/Late War|John-117 at the Great War's close]]
|image={{tabcontainer|title1=2525|content1=[[File:John25252.png|300px]]|title2=2526|content2=[[File:John2526.png|300px]]|title3=2535|content3=[[File:JOhn2535.png|300px]]|title4=2544|content4=[[File:John 2.jpg|300px]]}}
|conflict-title=Involved conflicts
|conflict=*[[Insurrection]]
*[[Human-Covenant War]]
|date-title=Dates
|date=[[2525#December|December 3, 2525]] - [[2544]]
|place=*[[Alpha Corvi II]], [[Alpha Corvi system]]
*[[Netherop]], [[Ephyra system]]
*[[Seoba]], [[Biko]], [[Kolaqoa system]]
*[[Etalan]], [[Igdras system]]
*[[Naraka]], [[Buta system]]
*[[Circinius IV]], [[Circinius system]]
}}
This article details [[John-117]]'s actions during the [[Human-Covenant War]], up until the end of [[2544]].

===''Unrelenting''===
{{Main|Battle of Chi Ceti IV}}
{{Quote|no=two|q1=Spartans, this is what we've trained our entire lives to do. If we lose here, we lose everything.|John-117|q2=Sir, yes, sir!|Spartans|John reminds the Spartans of just how serious their task is.}}{{Ref/Film|TFoRAS}}
John was piloting the Pelican through through the exit burn of its orbital path by 2037 hours, carrying all the Spartans, Halsey, the three technicians from at the Damascus facility, and twelve spare suits of Mjolnir.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR14}} The {{UNSCShip|Commonwealth}}'s last known position was ten million kilometers in system from their previous rendezvous point, and it was this to this location that John was taking them. The Covenant ship was three million kilometers from the ''Commonwealth'' but closing that distance with every second. John confirmed with Halsey that their armor was usable in vacuum and then asked Sam for a overview of the dropship's weaponry. Sam let him know that the Pelican was equipped with thirty-two [[Anvil-II air-to-surface missile|HE Anvil-II missile]]s, so John in turn told him to assemble a team to go [[EVA]] and retrieve them from the rocket pods on the craft's wing's. Halsey flatly objected when he asked her permission to attack the Covenant ship, but relented when he explained he meant to [[Battle of Chi Ceti IV|board it]] using [[thruster pack]]s, not to go up against it with the Pelican. She transferred the bird's controls to herself so John could join the other Spartans in the rear. He motioned the techs to move to the forward cabin and ordered everyone else to grab a thruster pack. Sam handed him one of the warheads and Kelly passed him a pack. Thanks to an adhesive polymer Sam had applied, the missiles would be able to cling to their armor. John went over the plan with his Spartans, emphasizing that their target was the hole the ''Commonwealth'' had already put in [[Unrelenting|the ship]]. He said that if anyone missed then they should power down and wait to be retrieved. John was the one to punch in the code that opened the Pelican's rear hatch and the first one to launch, followed close behind by the others.[[File:FoR AS JohnUnrelenting.png|thumb|330px|left|Upon boarding the ''[[Unrelenting]]'', John thought it noteworthy that the ship was maintaining non-centrifugal [[artificial gravity]]. Doing so on [[human]] ships at the time consumed an enormous amount of energy, and John and Halsey had previously questioned whether the ship would even still have its shielding up, since they believed the damage done to it by the ''Commonwealth'' may have forced it to conserve power as much as possible.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR14}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc221|Enc09|Page=221}}]] While he rocketed toward the enemy ship at one hundred million kilometers per hour, he thought to contact Halsey to ask if she could have Captain Wallace create a diversion for them. Before long, the Covenant vessel was firing its [[pulse laser turret|pulse laser]]s at inbound [[Archer missile]]s. John was able to get his velocity to almost match that of the target by the time he reached it, but when he tried to find a handhold he came up empty due to its hull being covered by an [[energy shield]]. Around one hundred meters further along the surface, however, he noticed a [[pulse laser turret]] that the shield dropped around in whenever it had to fire. John carefully adjusted his vector and timed his approach so that he was able to slip beneath the shield the next time it dropped around the turret. He pulled himself along the exterior of the ship until he reached the hole that had been blasted into it. Only Kelly and Sam were waiting for him there, and they got no responses when they tried to reach any of the others over [[COM]] channels. The three who had made it traversed past multiple levels which the ''Commonwealth''{{'}}s [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|magnetic accelerator cannon]] had penetrated, eventually settling on the first deck and moving inward until they approached they had reached the approximate middle of the ship. John and Sam were able to force open a sealed set of sliding pressure doors so the trio could continue down another corridor. John began to repeat the same after reaching another set, but Kelly stopped him and instead opted to try to open them with a nearby button pad. It only took here three attempts at pushing different buttons to make the doors slide open, and the Spartans found themselves face-to-face with a bird-like alien: a [[Ruuht]]ian [[Kig-Yar]]. A trio of armor-piercing bursts from the Spartans' assault rifles made short work of it.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HTFOR14|TFoR|Chapter=14}}

Kelly picked up a radiation signature coming from deeper in the vessel, so they followed it down a side branch off of another corridor.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR14}} Kelly opened the next set of doors as she had before while John and Sam took flanking positions on either side. The Kig-Yar on the other side seemed to have known they were coming, as it was ready with an activated [[Kig-Yar point defense gauntlet|point defense gauntlet]] and fired an overcharged [[Type-25 plasma pistol]] as soon as doors opened. John would have been hit by the blast had Sam not shoved him out of the way and caught the full brunt of the weapon himself. Return fire from the Spartans was initially deflected by the alien's shield gauntlet while it continued to shoot and hit Sam, so John charged forward and slammed his foot into the shield, knocking it away. It was then a simple matter for him to jam the barrel of his rifle right into the Kig-Yar's mouth and splatter its blood and bits of bone on the wall behind it. John helped Sam up, who claimed he would be okay, and then policed the Jackal's gauntlet to pass on to Halsey for study. The room they found themselves in overlooked a chamber that held what the Spartans reasoned was either the ship's reactor or some kind of weapons system. A third Kig-Yar sighted them but scrambled for cover rather than engage. At this point, Sam asked for John and Kelly's Anvil warheads and said they ought to simply shoot out the glass which separated them from the next chamber and toss them down into it. John agreed and told him to set their timers so they would explode in three minutes after being armed. He then was forced to regretfully order Sam to remain behind to defend them while he and Kelly escaped, as his armor had been breached and he wouldn't be able to make it back to the Pelican or the ''Commonwealth''. Sam had already known this was to be his fate, but Kelly took some convincing on John's part. He and Sam parted with a clasping of hands, with John squeezing his. He grabbed Kelly's arm when she hesitated to leave and the two of them were soon forcing the nearest set of doors shut behind them. They raced back down the corridors the way they'd came until they were exiting the hole in the hull. They waited for an opportunity when a pulse laser fired and escaped through the gap in the ship's shield just as explosions tore through it behind them. Kelly clung to John as the Covenant vessel was finally torn apart pieces shooting past them. John then understood what Chief Mendez had meant differentiated lives wasted with those spent and knowing that the Covenant could in fact be beat, felt ready to go to [[Human-Covenant War|war]].{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR14}} He, Kelly, and all the other Spartans that had not made it on the Covenant ship made it back aboard the ''Commonwealth''.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD1}} On [[2525#December|December 1]], the {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Persian Gate}} appeared in the Chi Ceti system and took Halsey and the Spartans from the ''Commonwealth''. On the ''Persian Gate'', Halsey led a funeral service for Sam wherein an empty casket was ejected into space around Chi Ceti IV.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD1}}

===Alpha Corvi II===
{{Main|Battle of Alpha Corvi II}}
{{Quote|no=four|q1=You left them there. They fought for us and you left them there.|John-117|q2=They don't matter. Not in the big picture. We lost this battle. But it's one small part of a much larger war. that war is bigger than this planet. It's bigger than any one life. Even bigger than any one Spartan. We're fighting for the survival of human civilization.|Yao|q3=All due respect, ma'am, they fought for us and we should have fought for them.|John-117|q4=That will be enough, soldier.|Yao|John makes his dissatisfaction with abandoning allies to the Covenant clear to Lieutenant Commander Yao.}}{{Ref/Reuse|HCD3}}
[[File:HCD1 HalseyJohn.png|thumb|300px|left|Blue Team's actions on Alpha Corvi II were still not enough to endear the Spartans to the parts of the UNSC which knew about them, but they had slightly more success in that regard [[Operation: SILENT STORM|a few months later]].{{Ref/Reuse|HCD3}}{{Ref/Reuse|HSS23}}]]
On [[2525#December|December 3, 2525]], a substantial [[Covenant]] force emerged from [[slipspace]] near [[Alpha Corvi system|Alpha Corvi]] and proceeded to began an attack on the system's [[Alpha Corvi II|second planet]].{{Ref/Comic|Id=HCD1|HCD|Issue=1}} It was at this point that the four remaining [[Spartan-II]] warriors of [[Blue Team]] whom had participated in [[Operation: TALON]] were briefed on the attack while already ''en route'' to the system.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD1}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=TFORC9|TFoR|Chapter=9}} [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Yao]] told John and the others that they would be dropping on the outskirts of [[Jamshid]] and engaging the Covenant from the rear.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD1}} Their objective was to lessen the pressure on the main UNSC garrison within the city so that a proper counterattack could be prepared. It was also imperative, they were told, that they operate independently of [[Unified Ground Command|Ground Command]] and refrain from having any contact with anyone from the [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] whatsoever. After reviewing updated medical scans for the team, Halsey made sure to ask John if he was okay to fight, given the injuries he's taken before they'd gotten to Chi Ceti IV. John stated that he was fine and when asked whether he would tell her if he wasn't, he merely replied that she'd find out if that ever happened. Upon arrival at the planet, Blue Team was redirected to the mining settlement of [[Black Reef]] and ordered to neutralize the invaders there and discover why it was being targeted. During their insertion via a [[D77 Pelican]], [[Nora]], an [[A.I.]] on the ''Persian Gate'', introduced the Spartans to various scouting and reconnaissance enhancements their armor was outfitted with for this mission, including prototype [[active camouflage]] technology.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD1}} Both the Spartans' armor chassis and the additional modules applied to them for field testing had been designed as part of [[Project COBALT|Project: COBALT]], with John's suit in particular being given the designation COBALT CV.117.{{Ref/Comic|Id=HCDHC|HCD|Detail=hardcover}}

Blue Team was set down in an [[X-24 FAV]] on the beach and immediately began taking fire from [[United Rebel Front]] troops encamped a short distance away.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD1}} [[Kelly-087]] and [[Frederic-104]] recommended taking them out quickly so they could move on to deal with the Covenant, but John-117 opted for a different option. He activated his active camouflage and crept up on the small band, only revealing himself when he could reach out and touch their apparent leader. John identified his team as being responsible for [[Operation: TALON|capturing]] Colonel [[Robert Watts]] and argued there was no way they could hope to beat them. He told them what had [[First Battle of Harvest|happened]] to [[Harvest]] and through appealing to their immediate common enemy, was able to get the leader, [[Whitaker]], to agree to work together for the time being. At John's insistence, he ordered his squad to circle around and rendezvous with the rest of their forces at the edge of a lagoon. From there, they would hit the Covenant from one side and drive them toward where Blue Team lay in wait. In order to keep an eye on their uneasy allies, John sent along a [[surveillance drone]] to keep a visual on them. The plan worked, and Blue Team unloaded on the Covenant with [[BR55 battle rifle]]s when the distance between them closed. During the fighting, John's drone was destroyed by a shot from a [[Kig-Yar]]'s [[Type-25 plasma pistol]]. The [[Sangheili]] and [[Kig-Yar]] that remained escaped into the mouth of a tunnel that led deep into the mines beneath the reef's bedrock. John was determined to pursue them, not least of which because he was curious about [[Kindler|a strange device]] a Sangheili took in with him. Whitaker informed him that though the mine was an expansive mess of tunnels, it only had the one entry and exit, meaning the enemy was trapped within it.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD1}} Yao soon let John know that a host of new dropships were inbound. Most of them were heading for Jamshid, but three Spirits would reach Black Reef in just three minutes. Whitaker volunteered to hold the mine entrance with his people so the Spartans could pursue the Covenant forces that had vanished within.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD1}}
[[File:HCD-JohnYao.png|300px|thumb|Alpha Corvi II was not the first time John was conflicted between heeding orders and wanting to protect allies, and it would not be the last either.{{Ref/Novel|Id=TFORC7|TFoR|Chapter=7}}{{Ref/Level|Id=H4R|H4|H4:Reclaimer|Reclaimer}}]]
The passageway traversed by Blue Team took them more than thirty meters below sea level. When a light was sighted ahead Fred asked whether they ought to activate their [[active camouflage|camo]], but John opted to wait until just before a group of Sangheili, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy encircled them from multiple side tunnels.{{Ref/Comic|Id=HCD2|HCD|Issue=2}} Unfortunately, the Spartans were still possible to make out, so John decided to drop the camo as they engaged the enemy. After disposing of their ambushers, he led them through one of the passages they had come from until they came into a large chamber filled with enemy forces led by a [[Sangheili Field Marshal|Field Marshal]]. A skirmish erupted but was interrupted when the insurrectionists above triggered used [[satchel charge]]s and an [[M41 SPNKR]] to collapse the entrance to the mine. the resulting blast triggered a flood of water to rush into the chamber where the Spartans were fighting. When John ordered the others to sound off after escaping the flooding, it became clear that Linda had been separated from the others and was not responding to hails. John determined that their primary concern was still the completion of their mission, but that finding her would come afterward if necessary.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD2}} John and the two who remained with him continued to fight until the eventually made contact with Linda again, who had ended up just on the other side of a nearby cave wall.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD3}} She requested urgent backup from the others and John told her they would be there as soon as possible. He had Kelly launch her drone through a hole to the other side to determine whether or not they could simply blast through the rock. Satisfied that it would be possible, John attached an [[MX-8 explosive]] to a {{Pattern|Anskum|plasma grenade}} and used them both to knock a hole in the wall. The Spartans burst through to the other side, where they found more Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Sangheili waiting. Once all the Covenant were dead, Blue Team could focus its attention on escaping the rapidly flooding tunnels. Fred revealed that his armor had been breached by a cut from the Field Marshal's energy sword, but since their only way out would involve going underwater, John told him to just hold his breath and assured him they would make sure he got out. John had the team wait until the chamber they were in filled up completely and then led them out of the submerged mine toward the shore, with Kelly and Linda bringing up the rear to make sure Fred was okay.{{Ref/Comic|Id=HCD3|HCD|Issue=3}}

After emerging from beneath the waves, Nora made contact with the Spartans and informed them that the ground action in their immediate area was making it impossible for the Pelican ''[[Tango 807]]'' to extract them safely.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD3}} John affirmed that he and the others would clear a spot for it to land. Blue Team suddenly found themselves aided by Whitaker and a small group of other surviving rebels, with a few of them having even managed to hijack Blue Team's X24-FAV and now bring it to bear against the Covenant to aid the team. Once ''Tango 807'' landed John confirmed with its pilot that they were on their way. The Spartans and URF allies all made their way to the craft in order to escape the doomed planet, but only John, Kelly, Linda, and Fred were permitted aboard. John angrily repudiated their pilot for leaving the insurrectionists behind, but the man stood his ground as he had only been following orders. Once they were back aboard the ''Persian Gate'' John confronted Lieutenant Commander Yao about abandoning Whitaker and the others. He was incensed that though the rebels had fought for them, they had not done the same for them. Yao told him that was enough and stormed off. Halsey reminded John that keeping his team alive was all that had mattered in the end, and also then asked him if he had been able to see [[Forerunner|what]] the Covenant had been looking for under Black Reef. The ''Persian Gate'' soon [[slipspace|slipped]] away from Alpha Corvi II before it could be destroyed along with it.{{Ref/Reuse|HCD3}}

===Enemy of my enemy===
[[File:H4FUD Classified.png|300px|thumb|Footage of John's perspective of this particular mission was illegally obtained by the young cadet [[Michael Sullivan]], future Senior Communications Director for ONI.<ref name="H4FUD">''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]''</ref><ref name="WaypointMichaelSullivan">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/michael-%E2%80%98sully%E2%80%99-sullivan '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Michael "Sully" Sullivan'']</ref>]]
{{Quote|What matters is that our soldiers were fighting alongside the insurrectionists. Why would we protect the enemy?|[[Chyler Silva]] reacts to viewing leaked [[Helmet recorder|footage]] from John's helmet.}}{{Ref/Reuse|H4FUD}}
At some point during the first few months of [[2526]], at least John and Fred were deployed to support [[UNSC Marine Corps]] forces in a mission to capture a leader of the [[Insurrection]].{{Ref/Reuse|H4FUD}} John found and secured their target, but the man warned him that someone else was coming. The mission parameters suddenly changed dramatically when the arrival of the Covenant forced John and the others to briefly ally with the rebels against their common enemy. John ordered his squad to fall back as soon as it became clear a third faction was present.{{Ref/Reuse|H4FUD}}

===''Radiant Arrow''===
{{Quote|no=four|q1=I need to be sure you understand the risk. We're working at the edge of your armor's capability, with more unknown variables than we can count. If something goes wrong, there won't be much chance to recover.|[[Halima Ascot]]|q2=If you're saying we'd be on our own, Spartans are trained—|John-117|q3=I'm saying the ''Starry Night'' will do everything possible, but we're limited by orbital mechanics. It might be smart to wait for an opportunity that's not quite so marginal.|Halima Ascot|q4=With all due respect, ma'am, I disagree. We've been here a day already, and our luck won't hold forever. Sooner or later, an enemy patrol will spot the ''Starry Night'', or a second Covenant vessel will arrive, or the enemy commander will decide it's time to move on. I can think of a dozen things that might go wrong if we don't go now.|John-117|John convinces Captain Ascot to give the Spartans the green light to launch their attack.}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS1|HSS|Chapter=1}}
By [[2526|March 4 of 2526]], John and the rest of Blue Team had been assigned to the {{class|Razor|prowler}} {{UNSCShip|Starry Night}}.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS1}} They were joined by [[Green Team]], led by Kurt and also comprised of [[Anton-044]], [[Malcolm-059]], and [[Solomon-069]], and [[Gold Team]], led by [[Joshua-029]] and also including [[Naomi-010]], [[Daisy-023]], and [[Grace-093]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS3|HSS|Chapter=3}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS14|HSS|Chapter=14}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS15|HSS|Chapter=15}} The uninhabited planet of [[Netherop]] in the [[Ephyra system]] had been recently [[Glassing|glassed]] but by this point the only enemy vessel remaining in orbit was a Covenant frigate.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS22|HSS|Chapter=22}} The ''Starry Night'' observed the frigate for over twenty-four hours before the twelve Spartans gathered in the [[prowler]]'s drop bay by 0342 hours on March 5. The prowler's captain, [[Halima Ascot]], was hesitant to give the teams permission to go [[EVA|EV]] to [[Skirmish over Netherop|board]] the enemy craft given the large number of unknown variables, but John reminded her that current intelligence summaries indicated [[Unggoy|only one]] Covenant species didn't breathe [[oxygen]], meaning the frigate should support human life, and moreover argued that the longer they waited, the more things there were that could go wrong. From her place on the bridge, Ascot finally did relent and signaled that she would direct the ''Starry Night'' to begin a slingshot maneuver around the planet in five minutes' time. For this mission, each Spartan's Mjolnir had been temporarily modified to test skunkworks modifications and also tinted with a refractive coating that it was hoped would conceal them from the enemy. John was armed with an [[M99 Stanchion]], a [[Suppressor|suppressed]] [[MA5K carbine]], and an [[M6D magnum]].{{Ref/Reuse|HSS3}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS2|HSS|Chapter=2}} At three minutes from the start of the maneuver, John ordered final checks and for his part looked over his inspection partner, Fred. He believed this boarding action should be easier than the impromptu one he ordered previously at [[Chi Ceti IV]], but still reiterated that if anyone missed, thy should power down and wait to be rescued. Kurt questioned what had John so worried, but he denied he was and simply claimed he was confirming procedure and apologized for overbriefing, saying it was likely due to how much they still didn't know about the aliens. Encouraged by Joshua that the Covenant wouldn't know about Spartans either, John thanked him and then reminded everyone to not activate their rebreathers until they were clear of the hatch. With one minute left, each team lined up behind their leader, with each from the second row back holding on to the thruster pack of the Spartan in front of them. The ''Starry Night'' swung into the slingshot and the bay doors opened so they could leap from the craft. Their target was a group of five {{Pattern|Elsedda|Banshee}}s returning to the frigate. The plan was to covertly match orbits and velocities with the fighters and follow them into the larger ship. By the time John had reached equilibrium so he was headed directly for the Banshees they were eighty kilometers away.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS1}}

By 0402 hours, the Spartans were diving at a shallow angle into the planet's [[gravity well (physics)|gravity well]] at thirty-three thousands kilometers per hour relative to it.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS2}} When his [[HUD]] signaled it was time, John began to decelerate and flatten his angle of descent. Over the next forty minutes, he and the other Spartans crept stealthily toward the five fighters. When only eight minutes remained until the frigate would reappear over Netherop's horizon John had the assault squad form on him and begin to overtake the Banshees even more quickly, since the larger Covenant ship's sensor umbrella could pose a risk once the planet no longer was between them. The Spartans grouped together by team but were still careful to maintain at least one hundred meters' distance between each of them. Nine minutes later, John gave the signal to tighten the formation and arrange it so that each Banshee had at least two Spartans fifty meters below it. John and Fred climbed into an orbit directly behind the leftmost craft, stopping just two meters from it. Once they reached the mothership the Banshees bled off excess velocity and held position fifty meters beneath its belly. One by one, they rose past an [[energy barrier]] into the docking hollow beneath its tail, and the Spartans moved to follow the final one inside. John directed Fred and Kelly to deal with the pilot of the last Banshee and then used his Stanchion to begin firing on the occupants of the hangar, first taking out a [[Yanme'e]] and [[Unggoy]] in quick succession. Two further shots felled two [[Sangheili]], and following this John could see no more living targets so elected to dispose of the rifle so it would burn up in Netherop's atmosphere. His MA5K would be more useful inside the frigate. All twelve Spartans had managed to board the ship by 0502 hours without triggering any alarms.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS3}}{{Ref/Reuse|HSS2}}

Once it was evident they would be able to breathe the atmosphere on [[Radiant Arrow|the ship]], John gave the okay to switch off their rebreathers.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS3}} He ordered Gold Team to gather equipment to dump for collection and analysis by [[ONI]]'s [[Beta-3 Division]] and led Blue and Green teams to an oversize iris hatch at the back of the hangar. The hatch leaves retracted before John could find a control pad or mechanical release, revealing two oblivious [[Kig-Yar]] which were immediately s