Merg Vol's Covenant

This Covenant faction was one of the several splinter groups of the former Covenant who continued to worship the Forerunners and began to oppose the UNSC after the end of the Human-Covenant War. The group was led by Sangheili Zealot Merg Vol.

Draetheus V
"The fighting started when a splinter sect of Covenant ignored the Ceasefire of 2552 and attacked UNSC forces. By the time the fighting was done... Well, it didn't end well for the UNSC and Covenant, either one."

- Roland

In 2554, led by Sangheili Zealot Merg Vol, the faction attacked Draetheus V and its moon X50 and clashed with the UNSC for control of the Forerunner relics present there. Two SPARTAN-IVs, Sarah Palmer and Edward Davis, participated in the campaign. The UNSC was successful in alerting the planet of Merg Vol's Covenant invading and evacuation began. Early in the battle, the faction quickly took control of the moon.

Later in the battle, Merg Vol discovered the true purpose of Draetheus V's moon: it was a Forerunner device that was used to build or destroy planets. Vol's Covenant forces activated the primary weapon of the X50 construct. Directed toward the planet, the beam began to disintegrate Draetheus V, destabilizing it. Though Davis managed to deactivate the device, it was too late for Draetheus V which had already begun to break up. Enormous slabs of rock were slowly floating away from the planet's surface and both UNSC and Covenant troops were scrambling to get to safety as the UNSC continued to evacuate the planet. Merg Vol's Covenant continued to attack the planet and the UNSC quickly realized that Draetheus V was ill-prepared for a full evacuation while his Covenant ground forces were rapidly losing morale. There was not enough transportation to allow everyone to leave Draetheus V as much of the UNSC's aircraft had been destroyed in the initial stages of the battle. However, the UNSC raided a Covenant airfield and stole numerous Covenant Spirit dropships. With the help of Spartan Sarah Palmer, 23 Covenant dropships carrying civilians made it off the planet while stranding Vol's Covenant ground forces who had just had their only way off of Draetheus V stolen.

While defending the moon, Spartan Edward Davis was killed by overwhelming Sangheili forces. In order to ensure that the civilians evacuated safely, Palmer was ordered to return to X50 and kill Merg Vol who provided the remaining Covenant forces with a rallying point and cry. As a result, Merg Vol had to be eliminated if the colonists were to escape safely. Palmer was able to steal ground commander Parg Vol's personal transport and use it to sneak past Merg Vol's Covenant fleet in orbit of X50. On the moon's surface, Palmer fought her way to the Forerunner structure, eliminating Merg Vol's most devout followers who were defending the approach to the structure in an icy gorge. Palmer was able to eliminate his Covenant forces, including Merg Vol's six most loyal lieutenants. After arriving at the structure, Palmer engaged Merg Vol himself and despite the cult leader activating the structure's defense systems, Palmer was able to defeat him and execute Merg Vol. Before escaping in Parg Vol's ship, Palmer sabotaged the Forerunner device so that it could never be used by anyone again.

Shortly after the battle, the UNSC discovered a looping transmission of low-frequency static from X50. Palmer and UNSC forces returned to the moon to investigate. However, the UNSC quickly realized that Covenant forces remained on the moon. After fighting through numerous Covenant soldiers, Palmer discovered that the message had originated from her Spartan compatriot Davis, moments before his death. She shut the device down in order to allow her friend to pass away peacefully.

Dissolution
After the Battle of Draetheus V and the death of Merg Vol as well as many of his lieutenants, his Covenant faction was dissolved. One of its surviving members, Parg Vol, joined the reformed Covenant led by Jul 'Mdama. However, he was later assassinated by Fireteam Crimson in February 2558 during the Requiem Campaign.

Military structure
As in the Covenant hegemony, the Sangheili served as this group's military leadership caste, albeit free from the Prophets who had betrayed them. The Unggoy likewise continued to serve as cannon fodder. The Kig-Yar were deployed as snipers and light infantry. The group had Jiralhanae Jumpers and Chieftains employed for reasons unknown, which were deployed very rarely. The group may have employed Mgalekgolo, though it is unclear whether this was so.

Notable individuals

 * Merg Vol - The faction's religious and military leader; killed during the Battle of Draetheus V by Spartan Sarah Palmer.
 * Parg Vol - Commander of the faction's ground forces who had his personal transport stolen during the Battle of Draetheus V. Survived the battle and dissolution of the faction; later became a freelance assassin and arms dealer before joining Jul 'Mdama's reformed Covenant. Assassinated by Fireteam Crimson during the Requiem Campaign in February 2558.

Military assets
Merg Vol's Covenant utilized much of the same equipment that the original Covenant used. Most Unggoy used the Type-25 plasma pistol while Kig-Yar troops made use of Type-33 Needlers. Sangheili personnel were typically armed with the Type-51 plasma repeater. Higher-ranking members of the group used the Type-33 Needler and Type-52 focus rifle. Jiralhanae within the faction regularly used Type-25 Brute Shots and Type-2 gravity hammers. Type-32 Ghosts and Type-26 Wraiths made up the majority of the faction's ground vehicles with Type-52 Anti-Aircraft Wraiths serving as anti-aircraft artillery. The faction also made use of the Type-38 Tyrant and mega turret. Like the original Covenant the Type-26 Banshee remained as the main aircraft of the faction. Both Type-25 Spirits and Type-52 Phantoms were used as troop transports with at least one Phantom gunboat being used as Parg Vol's personal transport. The faction's fleet was composed of at least four s and five s.

Most members of Merg Vol's Covenant, regardless of species, wore armor that saw common use during the Human-Covenant War. However, Vol himself wore a variant of the Zealot combat harness common to Zealots from Hesduros, which is ubiquitous in Jul 'Mdama's Covenant.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Spartan Assault