Siege of Paris IV

The Siege of Paris IV was a major engagement of the Human-Covenant War between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant on the human colony of Paris IV, taking place in 2549.

Battle
According to his CSV, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson captured a crate of Covenant plasma grenades during the battle, from which he absorbed a 1,200-rad cumulative dose of radiation. This exposure caused Johnson to contract Boren's Syndrome. The staff sergeant later received a commendation for bravery during the battle.

However, the Covenant did shoot down many shuttles in the process. They glassed the city of Mimir and some of the surrounding area including a highway clogged with civilians and their vehicles. Molly Patel, her mother Brigid, and her father Gotam managed to escape much of the direct glassing in a tunnel at Cochineal Pass. Despite this, Gotam and Brigid would die in a car crash.

Aftermath
Following the battle, much of the UNSC would pull out of the system and the planet was ultimately glassed by the Covenant, resulting in heavy civilian casualties for the UNSC. Molly Patel would later be rescued by Sergeant Johnson and several Marines. She would be one of very few people to survive the glassing of the planet, leaving the media to dub her "the miracle child".

In reality, Johnson did not actually contract Boren's Syndrome during the battle. The Office of Naval Intelligence fabricated the radiation story as part of a cover-up (known as the "Paris/BS Spoof") in order to hide Johnson's involvement in the top-secret ORION Project. Dr. Catherine Halsey would later mistake the falsified report of Johnson's service on Paris IV as factual, reasoning that he had acquired an immunity to the Flood due to his Boren's Syndrome. Johnson however did receive a Commendation for Bravery for his actions in the battle.

List of appearances

 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo: Legacy of Onyx