Operation: TORPEDO

Operation: TORPEDO was an UNSC operation to eliminate a Covenant refinery on the inhabited moon Pegasi Delta, orbiting 51 Pegasi B, in the 51 Pegasi System. The engagement took place on July 3, 2545.

Background
The aim of Operation: TORPEDO was to destroy a Covenant deuterium/tritium refinery, on the planet Pegasi Delta. These chemicals were used in the Covenant's plasma reactors, therefore making this refinery an excellent refueling plant for Covenant ships, right on the edge of UNSC space. The destruction of this supply point would triple the length of Covenant resupply and buy the UNSC valuable time to recover from the ravages of war. This time would be spent regrouping in the wake of numerous crushing defeats at the hands of the Covenant Navy.

Long range nuclear bombardments were met with failure as the Covenant ships shot the weapons out of the sky, and neither a regular invasion nor an ODST insertion were considered worth the attempt. The operation was then assigned to the newly commissioned Spartan-III Beta Company, attached to the.

The outcome was a Beta Company victory, but at great cost. All Spartan IIIs, with the exception Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091, were killed. However, all Covenant forces groundside as well as several Covenant ships were also eliminated.

History
At 1135, the 300 SPARTAN-IIIs of Beta Company landed on the planet, Pegasi Delta, via Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pods. Nine SPARTANs hadn't survived, either killed by the impact or by Covenant forces. At first, initial resistance was light, as the Covenant had not yet realized how big the force was. Soon, however, Covenant Seraphs began their strafing runs, prompting the hiding SPARTANs to abandon their stealth and rush to the factory for safety. As more Seraphs appeared, a few SPARTANs attempted to hold them back with missile launchers, and succeeded in destroying two, forcing the remaining Seraphs to cancel their runs.

The Seraphs, instead, began bombing the SPARTANs, killing dozens of them. Thousands of Jackals and Elites joined the assault. In response, the surviving SPARTANs charged, their speed and reflexes helping them kill hundreds of Covenant soldiers until "the field ran with rivers of gore and blue blood".

Suddenly, seven Covenant Cruisers landed, and with them, were thousands of Elites. Half of the remaining Beta Company turned to face the new threat in an attempt to buy time for their fellow soldiers. Team Foxtrot rushed to the factory, their only solution. Adam-B004 was mortally wounded, but stayed back to hold off the Covenant forces so his team could rush ahead. When the remaining members arrived, they immediately began to set explosive charges on the core. Min-B174 was setting his timer when the EM field triggered his charge, vaporizing him.

The last two of Team Foxtrot, Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091, then jumped off a cliff and into the ocean to escape from the explosion of the core. The two nearly drowned, but managed to swim ashore, where they found that everything else had been vaporized, including the cruisers. Eventually, they made it to the Black Cat prowler, and were extracted from the planet.

Aftermath
Although the UNSC won strategically, they lost almost all of Beta Company. The Covenant suffered a heavy blow that saved thousands, if not millions, of human lives.

Additionally, Lucy would suffer from "posttraumatic vocal disarticulation" for the rest of her life, preventing her from speaking.

July 3, 2545

 * 0435 Hours: The three hundred Spartan-IIIs of Beta Company are dropped out of Slipspace by UNSC All Under Heaven in Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pods.


 * Eight s are landed in strategic locations around the target and one STARS is dropped to orbit the planet.


 * 1135 Hours: 291 Spartan-IIIs land on the surface of Pegasi Delta within drop pods. Nine Spartan-IIIs unaccounted for and are presumed dead.


 * Spartan-IIIs regroup into fireteams. Covenant Seraph fighters begin strafing runs, killing dozens.


 * Surviving Spartan-IIIs begin frontal charge of refinery-city. Strafing continues.


 * Sniper Jackals fire on charging Spartan-III's. Spartan-III's reduced to 200 active soldiers. Several Spartan-IIIs with M19-B missile launchers destroy multiple strafing Seraphs with a Bravo maneuver, discouraging remaining fighters.


 * Thousands of Jackals and Elites rush from cover within the factory to face the two hundred remaining Spartan-III's.


 * The attacked Spartans panic and declare code Omega Three. Seven Covenant Cruisers descend from above the factory.


 * Covenant Cruisers launch dropships and deliver troops to the surface via Gravity Lifts. Forces engage remaining Spartan-IIIs.


 * Team Foxtrot arrives at the facility core. Adam-B004 is shot while holding off pursuing Covenant forces and Min-B174 is killed by a premature charge explosion. Last two remaining Spartan-IIIs, Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091, successfully overload the core and escape over a cliff into the ocean.


 * Survivors of Beta Company are slaughtered. Facility explodes, destroying all Covenant forces within range, including the seven Covenant Cruisers.


 * Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091 retreat aboard one of the pre-inserted Black Cat subprowlers and fall back to UNSC controlled space.

Trivia

 * The date, July 3, is possibly a reference to Pickett's Charge, a Confederate infantry assault on the Union lines that occurred on July 3, 1863 and was the climax of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.


 * Noble Six was said to have survived Operation: TORPEDO, despite Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091 being the only previously known survivors. In truth, Six was taken out of Beta Company immediately before TORPEDO commenced.


 * This battle bears a great resemblance to the Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans stood against thousands of enemies, with next to no survivors.