Battle of Netherop (2526)

The Battle of Netherop was a battle that occurred when Blue Team attempted to capture a downed Covenant frigate on the planet Netherop. However, it was also a trap by rogue Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee which turned into a three-way conflict with forces from the Covenant, particularly the Silent Shadow.

Prelude
In the waxing months of the Human-Covenant War, and weeks after the overwhelmingly successful Operation: SILENT STORM, humanity's best chance for survival is to disable a Covenant frigate filled with valuable technology that could help them win the war. It rests on an inhospitable world and is offered to the UNSC by the same disgraced Covenant fleetmaster who failed to stop the SPARTAN-IIs in Operation: SILENT STORM.

Aftermath
The Prophet of Truth covered up Nizat 'Kvarosee's actions and the true nature of the events on Netherop, making it so that the Covenant World Registry made no mention of an orbital mine shell around Netherop, just the loss of the Radiant Arrow and the Steadfast Strike and that the Prophet of Truth had deemed the losses to be a sign of divine displeasure and forbade all Covenant vessels from entering the system. Nizat's exile on the planet was omitted with Arbiter Thel 'Vadam only having heard of the events up to Nizat and his forces fleeing from High Charity and a general order from the Hierarchs that Nizat be killed on sight. The Silent Shadow also apparently left behind Blademaster Menuz 'Ra'ashai to help enforce the exile, although he ended up joining forces with Nizat during his years stranded on the planet.

Over the next thirty-three years, Nizat and his forces waged an ongoing war against Petrov and her forces, unaware that the Covenant was eventually defeated. The exiled Covenant forces would discover leftover Precursor technology that allowed them to create armor that they called Sanctum's Hide and a weapon that they called the Divine Hand. However, Petrov and her forces were able to kill a number of Nizat's people over the years, leaving him with only six remaining followers, while the humans had children and their numbers only increased as time went on. Nizat became more and more fanatical as time went on, but his followers, aside from Tam, started to become disillusioned by their harsh life.

About a year after the battle, the UNSC sent a rescue mission to Netherop. A Prowler sneaked into orbit and established contact with Petrov. However, the orbital mine shell destroyed both Pelicans that were sent to Netherop's surface. Not prepared to clear a full mine shell and unwilling to risk twenty lives to save eight, the captain called off the mission but he promised that a better-equipped mission would come back when it was feasible. True to the Prowler captain's word, the corvette came years later and worked to punch through the mine shell. On the third day, the Alpina made contact with the UNSC survivors and promised that a Pelican would collect them before the next evening, having apparently found a way through the mine shell. However, Nizat was able to use the Divine Hand to destroy the Alpina and the third rescue mission that came after it.

Thirty-three years after the battle, the UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios would return to Netherop seeking a weapon capable of destroying Cortana's Guardians. The mission would see the dismantling of the orbital mine shell, the rescue of the stranded UNSC survivors from the Battle of Netherop, and the elimination of Nizat and his surviving forces.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Oblivion
 * Halo: Outcasts