Editing Second Fleet of Solemn Accord

On July 17, 2552, the Second Fleet fought [[UNSC]] forces at the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]]. At 0625 hours, the fleet was detected on the edge of the system. The 48 UNSC warships, formed a tight "checkerboard" formation that allowed for them to fire all their MAC guns simultaneously at the Covenant fleet with a single massive volley. When the battle commenced, the Second Fleet took a severe beating from the UNSC's opening MAC salvo, but quickly returned fire with a salvo of plasma torpedoes. The repair station {{UNSCShip|Cradle}} moved in front of the UNSC formation, blocking the Covenant fleet's first salvo, at the cost of the station and its entire crew. This allowed the UNSC ships to dedicate all the power from their reactors to recharging their MAC guns, and the UNSC ships were thus quickly able to fire a second salvo after the destroyed ''Cradle'' drifted away.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', Chapter 21, ''page 193''(2001 paperback); ''page 222''(2010 paperback)</ref>

After this salvo, only eight Covenant vessels remained: cruisers and destroyers. The Second Fleet was then engaged by the UNSC fleet, which responded by releasing its Seraph fighters and opening heavy fire on the UNSC ships. During the battle a [[Covenant stealth ship]] was attempting to receive data on a [[Sigma Octanus IV artifact|Forerunner artifact]] from their forces planetside. However, it was spotted by the {{UNSCShip|Iroquois}}, the ''Iroquois'' attempted to destroy the stealth ship with Archer missiles, but the ship jammed the missiles' guidance locks, causing them to miss. In response, the ''Iroquois'' then rammed the stealth ship, halting the data transmission. Soon after the remnants of the Second Fleet retreated.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', Chapter 21, ''page 193''(2001 paperback); ''page 196''(2010 paperback)</ref>