Task Force Yama

Task Force Yama was a splinter group of the UNSC Navy's Battle Group X-Ray, under the command of Captain Halima Ascot. The  would serve as a logistics-support ship, while the   served as Ascot's flagship. In 2526, the Task Force participated in the Battle of Biko and Operation: SILENT STORM.

Operation: SILENT STORM
In early March 2526, Task Force Yama split off from Battle Group X-Ray under the orders of Vice Admiral Preston Cole. The task force's main objective was to escort the SPARTAN-IIs led by John-117 and the ODSTs of the 21st Space Assault Battalion into battle against the Covenant fleet so that they could board as many of their vessels and stations as possible. Then, using nuclear weapons and other high-yield explosives, they would destroy the ships from the inside, within their nearly impenetrable energy shields. If successful, this operation would disrupt Covenant supply lines and weaken their forward fleets, giving the United Nations Space Command more time to prepare. Captain Halima Ascot, commander of the was selected to take command of the entire task force for the duration of Operation: SILENT STORM.

The leadership personnel for this operation were briefed by Vice Admiral Cole aboard the on March 8, as the task force rested in deep space within the Polona sector. Soon after the briefing, the task force entered slipspace for Biko in the Kolaqoa system. With a Covenant fleet already glassing the nearby colony of Etalan, Biko was expected to be the next target and the perfect place to initiate Operation: SILENT STORM. As such, an ice quarry on its moon of Seoba was selected to be Task Force Yama's staging ground as they awaited the Covenant fleet's arrival.

During the ten-day voyage through slipspace, the Spartans trained with the ODSTs in the Vanishing Point ' s mission preparation hold. The Spartans made short work of the marines in every exercise until Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson taught them new, unorthodox strategies that were much more effective against the supersoldiers. After four days of training, Colonel Marmon Crowther had them all gather in the drop hangar to discuss the specifics of the plan. Despite their performance against his ODSTs, Crowther was skeptical about deploying the Spartans to the front lines due to their inexperience on the battlefield as well as their apparent young age, much to John-117's frustration.

Seoba and Biko
Intending to using an abandoned Ice Quarry on Biko's third moon, the Task Force was unexpectedly ambushed by the United Rebel Front, who also used the Quarry as a staging location for a coup. Although the Spartans and the Black Daggers managed to defeat the Insurrectionists, they still managed to shoot down the and Starry Night, killing Captain Ascot. Though Covenant forces tried to capture the still relatively-intact Starry Night, the Spartans rescued the Prowler's surviving crew and activated its self-destruct, a one-megaton Fury tactical nuclear weapon that destroyed the Intrusion corvette that was trying to take the Prowler on board.

Shortly after, the Covenant Fleet of Inexorable Obedience attacked Biko with the task force attempting to help defend the planet. Due to Insurrectionist warnings, the Covenant was successfully able to protect against boarding actions and the task force lost five more Prowlers, but the Spartans used the time to go on a secret side mission to Etalan where they successfully destroyed the Covenant logistics fleet, forcing the Covenant to call in another for resupply and exposing their support world of Zhoist to Doctor Catherine Halsey.

Zhoist
The task force, split into Dagger Force and Sierra Force, next launched an attack against Zhoist. By this point, it had become clear that the task force's new commander, Lieutenant Commander Hector Nyeto was in fact an Insurrectionist attempting to sabotage the Spartans. Before departure, Colonel Marmon Crowther promoted John-117 to Master Chief Petty Officer and placed him in charge of Sierra Force with secret new orders that foiled Nyeto's attempt to betray the task force to the Covenant. Nyeto was forced to flee to slipspace, escaping with the three Prowlers of Ghost Flight which all turned out to be crewed by Insurrectionists. Though the Black Daggers aboard were blown into vacuum, they were later rescued by the. Another Prowler was lost on approach to Zhoist, but the task force was able to complete its mission, destroying the Ring of Mighty Abundance, two of the Ten Cities of Edification and inflicting massive casualties upon the Covenant.

Composition
Task Force Yama comprised of three squadrons of s and s, each being led by a.
 * Slipper Flight
 * Ghost Flight
 * Quiet Flight
 * Hush Flight
 * Watch Flight
 * Sierra Force
 * Dagger Force
 * Several S-14 Baselard Space Strikers
 * Slipper Flight
 * Ghost Flight
 * Quiet Flight
 * Hush Flight
 * Watch Flight
 * Sierra Force
 * Dagger Force
 * Several S-14 Baselard Space Strikers
 * Quiet Flight
 * Hush Flight
 * Watch Flight
 * Sierra Force
 * Dagger Force
 * Several S-14 Baselard Space Strikers

List of appearances

 * Halo: Silent Storm
 * Halo: Oblivion