Battle for Tribute

The Battle of Tribute was an engagement of the Human-Covenant War that took place on and around the planet Tribute in the Epsilon Eridani system in August 2552, between the Covenant and the United Nations Space Command.

The battle
After the Covenant began their invasion of Reach on July 24, they also attacked the other colonies in the system, including Tribute. ODST Corporal Taylor Miles was present during the evacuation of the colony, and witnessed the near total destruction of the UNSC Navy escort fleet in orbit as they protected civilian refugees where the fleet suffered 90% losses. Army forces also participated in the battle.

The battle apparently lasted for some time, as the Covenant continued to blockade the planet. SPARTAN-II Team Black was sent to Verge to destroy a beacon supplying the Covenant ships with helium used as fuel in their reactors. Team Black succeeded in their mission, presumably hindering the Covenant assault.

Battle of Casbah
Multiple SPARTAN-III fireteams engaged the Covenant assault force in the capital, Casbah City, as did an unknown number of SPARTAN-IIs. One of these SPARTAN-III teams stayed behind, holding off a large Covenant force so a small number of remaining civilians could escape the colony; they were ultimately killed, though their mission was successful.

Aftermath and legacy
Tribute was glassed in the conclusion of the battle, although it would be restored to a habitable state in the postwar years.

During the battle, the freighter Floral Express fled the planet while carrying colonial refugees. Presumably following a random slipspace trajectory per the Cole Protocol, the ship arrived near Installation 03 in the Khaphrae system on October 8th. This would lead the Office of Naval Intelligence to uncover the Composer after the war, which would be secured on nearby Ivanoff Station.

In 2558, the 's SPARTAN-IV complement used a simulation of the Casbah theater for their War Games training to honor the sacrifice of the SPARTAN-IIIs who died there.

List of appearances

 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Blunt Instruments
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo 4