Operation: METEORITE

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Previous:	Battle of Promise
Next:	Defense of Concord
Operation: METEORITE
Conflict:	Human-Covenant War
Date:	c.July 13, 2551
Location:	Aboard the Triumph of Tolerance in orbit of Promise
Outcome:	UNSC victory Successful retrieval of data from the kelguid on High Charity Destruction of the Triumph of Tolerance and the Minister of Harmony's experiments
Details Belligerents United Nations Space Command Covenant Commanders MCPO John-117 SGTMAJ Avery Johnson Minister of Harmony Strength Libra Team 1 SPARTAN-II 1 SPARTAN-I Marine POWs 1 Orbital Drop Shock Trooper 1 captured Spirit 2 captured Seraphs 1 Halberd-class light destroyer UNSC Burden of Proof 1 Covenant agricultural vessel Triumph of Tolerance Sacristan Order Sangheili Jiralhanae Kig-Yar Unggoy Mgalekgolo Elsedda-pattern Banshees Seraphs Spirits Karo'etba-pattern Ghosts Zurdo-pattern Wraiths Casualties Heavy Most Marines Near total Triumph of Tolerance

"Op started simple enough: drop in, grab the goods, get out before anyone notices. Well, guess what? They noticed."

— Avery Johnson

Operation: METEORITE was a UNSC operation in July 2551. The UNSC's goal for the operation was to acquire data from the kelguid onboard the Covenant agricultural vessel Triumph of Tolerance that would lead them to High Charity and lay the groundworks for the then-upcoming Operation: RED FLAG.

Background

In July 2551, the UNSC discovered that the Covenant logistics vessel Triumph of Tolerance remained in orbit over the glassed human colony of Promise. With no other Covenant ships in the system, Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb saw it as an opportunity to send a team in to infiltrate the Covenant ship and recover its kelguid. Having previously captured one decades earlier during the Battle of Seoba, Whitcomb and Dr. Catherine Halsey hoped to learn the location of the Covenant homeworld.

The two recruited Spartan-II Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 to lead the mission while Colonel James Ackerson pushed for the Hungry Buzzards to be the rest of the team. However, John-117 refused, and instead requested Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, an ORION supersoldier who he had previously worked with during Operation: SILENT STORM. The Spartan planned to infiltrate the Triumph of Tolerance using a Spirit dropship that the Hungry Buzzards had previously captured.

Battle

Boarding

Using their captured Spirit dropship, Spartan-II Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and ORION supersoldier Avery Johnson, operating as Libra Team, were able to sneak aboard the Triumph of Tolerance and began fighting their way to the bridge. In one of the ship's labs, they encountered the Minister of Harmony who demonstrated the effects of his experiments on a Jiralhanae. Harmony fled while unleashing successive waves of troops that the two supersoldiers had to fight through on their way through the ship.

Rescue

As they continued, John-117 picked up a UNSC signal and convinced Johnson to deviate from their mission and investigate. The two encountered a squad of Marine POWs led by Lieutenant Williams who had managed to escape from custody.

Learning of other Marines imprisoned on the ship, Libra Team joined forces with Williams' squad to fight through one of the habitat domes and rescue them all. Together, they liberated all of the POWs, killed a high-value target, and disabled a power node. Johnson ordered the Marines to head to the hangar bay and secure a method of exfiltration while the supersoldiers pressed on to the bridge.

Data recovery

Fighting through the Covenant crew, Libra Team reached the Triumph of Tolerance's bridge where the crew was trying to lock down the Covenant battlenet and encrypt the nav data. John-117 and Johnson killed the bridge crew, including two Hunters, and John-117 downloaded the kelguid's data. Harmony appeared on a viewscreen to taunt them, planning to relay his findings to the Hierarchs, before Johnson cut him off by destroying the screen.

With the data in their possession, the two proceeded to fight their way back to the hangar bay for exfiltration. Libra Team were able to take control of a transit platform which carried them down the length of the ship, although they had to fend off Covenant attackers.

Space engagement

Upon reaching the hangar, the two found that the Marines had fought off a Covenant counterattack and secured two Seraphs. With Harmony still alive, Williams and Johnson decided that they had to destroy the Triumph of Tolerance and the San'Shyuum's experiments. Johnson contacted the UNSC Burden of Proof for a fire mission, but was informed that the Covenant ship's shields were too strong for the UNSC ship's weapons to penetrate without Libra Team finding a way to weaken them. Williams and the Marines volunteered to take out the power generators which would disable the shields for a couple of minutes, but it was a certain suicide mission as there would be no time to escape.

In space, the supersoldiers engaged and destroyed a squadron of Elsedda-pattern Banshees. Williams warned that they were seeing power surges, suggesting that the Triumph of Tolerance was preparing for an emergency slipspace jump or to call for backup. To stop it, Libra Team used their Seraphs to destroy several plasma cannon turrets and four external relay nodes, leaving the Covenant ship stranded and distracted. Williams reported that the first generator was down and the Covenant wasn't happy about it.

Libra Team redeployed to the debris field left over from the UNSC ships destroyed defending Promise for better cover. The Marines sent out a Covenant dropship with their wounded which John-117 and Johnson defended from attacking Banshees and Seraphs, enabling the Marines to reach the rendezvous point.

The Burden arrived and the Seraphs moved in to serve as fighter cover for the attack run. Covenant fighters moved in to attack the Halberd-class light destroyer, but were stopped by the hijacked Seraphs. Williams reported that they had lost Robins and Kimura, but were closing in on the last generator. Harmony fled from his doomed ship in a command shuttle, giving a final taunting transmission. Despite attempts to stop him, Harmony successfully evaded the UNSC forces and escaped. The Triumph of Tolerance fired on the UNSC destroyer, but failed to stop it despite inflicting damage while Libra Team cleaned up the last of the fighters.

The Covenant ship was shaken by a large explosion, and the shields and weapons went down as Williams' team took out the last generator and then lost contact. The Burden fired a MAC round into the Covenant ship, destroying the Triumph of Tolerance and Harmony's experiments.

Aftermath

Libra Team rendezvoused with the UNSC Burden of Proof where Johnson recommended the fallen Marines for a posthumous commendation. Johnson was contacted by Dr. Catherine Halsey and the two speculated on whether or not the Minister of Harmony had other such ships. Halsey revealed that the mission had been a success and she had found High Charity's location in the kelguid's data. The success of Operation: METEORITE, and Operation: RED FLAG, would be overshadowed the following year with the Fall of Reach and the end of the war.

Production notes

Meteorite is also the name of the folder holding the game files for Halo: Campaign Evolved.

Gallery

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  The UNSC's Spirit approaching the Covenant vessel.

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  John-117 and a Sangheili fighting aboard the vessel.

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  John-117 in battle in the ship's habitat dome.

List of appearances

• Halo: Hungry Buzzards (First mentioned)
• Halo: Campaign Evolved (First appearance)