Operation: BRAVADO

Operation: BRAVADO was a classified operation of the Office of Naval Intelligence Section Three.

History
On May 20th, 2544, in her personal journal, Doctor Halsey makes note of the project, stating how aside from the fact that it has proven useful in fighting back the Covenant threat, that she knew nothing of the operation.

At 1:00 P.M. on July 18th, 2552, the head of ONI Section Three, Hieronymus Michael Stanforth sent a response message to Margaret Orlenda Parangosky, the director of ONI, providing her with information on the events of the recent Battle of Sigma Octanus IV. In his message, he mentioned numerous UNSC vessels, such as the Leviathan, the Coenwulf, the Cradle, and the Iroquois. He also made note of numerous locations on Sigma Octanus IV, such as Caracas, Huiren, Côte d'Azur, Silma and Enfield, describing them as having become "parking lots" in the battle. After stating that the Covenant were transmitting some data from the planet before he had managed to destroy the beacon, he referenced Onyx, Meridian, Arcadia, and the Babd Catha Forerunner complex that Doctor Halsey was excavating on Reach. He claimed that 18 Covenant vessels were destroyed in the battle, and that it may take years for the planet to recover. Supposedly, this data is all relevant to BRAVADO.

At 3:25 A.M. on July 19th, 2552, Parangosky would respond to Stanforth, stating that informants on Verge were claiming the existence of an ultra radical wing of the People's Occupation. She concludes that such was to be expected for some reason, and that there was bigger news involving the Covenant. Apparently, ONI had been tracking the Covenant's advances over the past nine months, and were running statistical analysis in order to determine which colonies had higher chances of being raided. In her results, she stated that the chances of invasion for Epsilon Eridani was at 87.2%, and that it had never been that high in the past. She also states how Dr. Hasley has gotten on her nerves, as ever since she had uncovered the artifact of Reach, she had been rummaging through highly classified ONI files regarding Onyx. She then claims that her only reason for not addressing this with her, or causing the doctor trouble, was because she knew how fond Stanforth was of her. At the end of her message, Parangosky says that she'll be meeting Stanforth at Camp Hathcock, on Reach, later on.

At 2:50 A.M. on August 1st, 2552, Stanforth messages Parangosky back, claiming that he is preparing a battlegroup in the Epsilon Eridani system in preparation for the awaited Covenant attack. He states his concerns about Parangosky considering RED FLAG, and states that if used on Reach, the human death count would be astounding and that it would become a revolutionary point in the war. In the conclusion of his message, he states that he had attached a separate file outlining the plan for RED FLAG. He then attaches the plan for RED FLAG, with its foremost goal being to achieve a cease fire after capturing a Covenant "High Prophet". It can be assumed that the operation was not a full success, in this case.

Trivia
Operation: BRAVADO is a reoccurring aspect of the Data Drops, a series of files centered around the Fall of Reach, posted on Halo Waypoint.