Battle of 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

The Battle of Draetheus V was a military engagement fought between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant remnant on the UNSC research colony of Draetheus V and its moon X50, after the Human-Covenant War. The Covenant came to seize a dormant Forerunner artifact, igniting one of the first conflicts in a new war with the UNSC.

The Battle
The Covenant's main objective was the Forerunner structure, UNSC command feared Research Facility Alpha would be crushed. Sarah Palmer, with a Marine detachment, infiltrated the Covenant artillery positions and destroyed them. Edward Davis later noticed the Covenant's heavy reliance on drop ship insertion. Spartan Davis realized they would be vulnerable to focused anti-aircraft fire, so, using M9 Main Anti-Aircraft Tanks, he began establishing air defenses west of the facility at a location designated Glacial Perch.

While Spartan Davis was successful in slowing the enemy advance, the Covenant forces were too overwhelming. Sarah Palmer began fighting her way upstream through the invasion in an attempt to reach one of the northern outposts. Her plan was to destroy Covenant air support and give the UNSC Hornets a chance to land near the outposts. The ultimate goal was to get off X50 and warn Draetheus-V of the Covenant invasion. Within an hour of their arrival at X50, the Covenant owned the moon. Despite the ferocity of the assault on X50, the UNSC forces on Draetheus-V had no idea anything was going on because the planet's unique magnetic resonance frequently made off-world communication nearly impossible.

Spartan Davis fought to hold the line on X50, while Sarah Palmer executed a plan to depart for Draetheus-V and warn them of the incoming Covenant invasion of the colony. Palmer ordered the Marines in the area to fall back to the Hornet landing zones. Only 6 Marines made it there alive. They held out against an overwhelming Covenant force until Palmer managed to escape.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Spartan Assault