Editing Keyes Loop

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[[File:Keyes_Loop.jpeg|thumb|275px|The "Keyes Loop", as drawn by Captain Keyes for Dr. Halsey.]]

The '''Keyes Loop'''<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page 156''</ref><ref>'''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'''</ref> was a famous space tactical maneuver first executed by the then-[[Jacob Keyes|Commander Jacob Keyes]] at the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]] in [[2552]]. The result was one of the rare naval victories achieved by [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] over [[Covenant]] forces and it led to Keyes' promotion to [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] by [[Admiral Stanforth]]. It also provided a badly-needed morale boost to the whole fleet.

Arriving over [[Sigma Octanus IV]] in response to a possible impending Covenant attack, the [[UNSC destroyer|destroyer]] {{UNSCShip|Iroquois}}, under the command of Commander Keyes, found itself outmatched by the arrival of a Covenant battle group consisting of one {{Class|DDS|carrier}}, one [[Covenant destroyer|destroyer]], and two [[Covenant frigate|frigates]] (medium-sized support ships). They were only expecting four medium-sized ships.

Commander Keyes resolved to attack by deciding to set the ''Iroquois'' on a collision course for the destroyer at emergency acceleration while launching a nuclear warhead in what seemed the wrong direction. The two escorting frigates proceeded to launch one [[plasma torpedo]] each, but the ''Iroquois'' managed to evade by utilizing the [[emergency thruster]]. Having missed their target, the plasma came about and continued to track and home in on the UNSC warship.

The trailing ordnance was to prove critical to the success of Keyes' strategy. A last minute course correction allowed the ''Iroquois'' to merely graze the destroyer's shields rather than smash directly into the ship properly, resulting in the destruction of a large portion of the ''Iroquois''' armor (Keyes' tore through two meters of titanium armor, and subsequently breached every bottom deck of the ''Iroquois''). However, the tracking plasma torpedoes were unable to correct themselves for the sudden maneuver of their target and, consequently, hit the Covenant destroyer instead. A heavy salvo of [[Archer missile]]s sent the remainder of the Covenant warship to its destruction.

With the momentum built up during the first phase, the ''Iroquois'' performed a slingshot maneuver around the planet. Once safely away, the nuclear warhead deployed earlier was detonated, completely draining the shields on the two frigates. Having completed its orbit, the ''Iroquois'' resumed its attack and destroyed the two frigates with two heavy [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC]] rounds and hundreds of its remaining Archer missiles. Its escorts destroyed, the carrier disengaged and escaped out system. Before leaving, it dropped 34 dropships and a [[Covenant stealth ship|stealth ship]] to continue the ground assault. Later, the carrier hailed the rest of the attack fleet to Sigma Octanus IV.

In the aftermath of the battle, the ''Iroquois'' was damaged to the point that it almost required a complete overhaul. Fifteen percent of the electronics had to be replaced due to [[EMP]] burnout from the Shiva. Eight magnetic coils had to be replaced as well, disabling the MAC for a time. One of the emergency thrusters had to be refilled. The engines' vents had fused together due to extreme heat and would need a complete overhaul to get them fully operational. Even after refit aboard the {{UNSCship|Cradle}}, only 50 percent power was available. Finally, and most dangerously, all of the bottom armor and bottom decks had been eroded by the Covenant destroyer's shields were replaced. Commander Keyes was offered by the ''Cradle'' to repaint the ''Iroquois'' but he declined so that he would never forget the ship's battle scars.

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