Battle of Reach

The Battle of Reach was one of the largest and bloodiest engagements in the Human-Covenant War. It was fought between the UNSC Defense Force and the Covenant in August 2552.

Background
Despite suffering a severe defeat at the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, the Covenant managed to place a tracking device on the and use it to find Human colony worlds. When the Iroquois returned to Reach, the Human presence, and its extent on that world was disclosed and later revealed to the Covenant fleet. Ironically, the location of Reach was already known to the Covenant via a previously recovered Forerunner artifact which indicated that Reach was the location of yet another artifact.

Less than two months after the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, a large Covenant fleet converged on Reach to recover the artifact and cleanse the human presence. With horrendous casualties sustained by both sides, the Covenant eventually routed the defenders and proceeded to glass the planet with the exception of the Highland Mountains and CASTLE Base, the location of the artifact.

The artifact itself, a crystal, would later escape Reach and be destroyed, with only a few fragments falling into Covenant hands. .

August 30, 2552:

 * 0447 Hours: The Remote Scanning Outpost Fermion detects incoming Covenant vessels. An emergency message is relayed to FLEETCOM. The Outpost then self-destructs per the Cole Protocol due to an unsecured science library and nearby Covenant forces.


 * 0500 Hours: A fleet of 314 Covenant vessels exits Slipspace on the edge of the system.


 * 0517 Hours: Admiral Roland Freemont (FLEETCOM Sector One commander) issues a general order to all vessels in the Reach, Jericho, and Tantalus systems. All vessels and stations initiate the Cole Protocol and rush to rally point ZULU.


 * 0534 Hours: Covenant vessels make pinpoint Slipspace jumps attempting to destroy any incoming or outgoing human vessels before they can regroup. A Covenant Carrier targets the but is destroyed.


 * 0545 Hours: The Covenant vessels begin a frontal assault. As the Covenant and Human fleets engage above Reach, it seems to be a stalemate, as Covenant ships take out UNSC ships, while the UNSC ships and MAC cannon take out an equal number. The first salvo by the UNSC vessels destroys a third of the remaining Covenant fleet. A previously unknown Covenant warship, called a Supercruiser by Captain Keyes, arrives and destroys several UNSC ships while outside human weapons range.


 * 0558 Hours: Station Gamma Dockmaster AI Doppler is unable to implement the Cole Protocol on the, an ONI prowler docked at Reach Station Gamma, due to measures taken to maintain the secrecy of Operation: HYPODERMIC. Doppler sends priority message to FLEETCOM concerning this violation. Covenant intrusion software detects this oversight, and the Covenant deploy troops to seize the NAV database aboard the Circumference.


 * 0616 Hours: The Spartan soldiers are dispatched from the Pillar of Autumn. SPARTAN-117, SPARTAN-058, and Spartan-James form Blue Team and go aboard the Dock to destroy the Circumference, while the remainder form Red Team and head to the surface of Reach to defend the power generators for the MAC guns. James goes MIA when a needler hits his T-PACK and propels him into space during combat. Blue Team continue through the station, rescuing Sergeant Johnson, Private O'Brien, Private Bisenti, and Private Jenkins from Jackals and Elites.


 * 0620 Hours: The Covenant fleet retreats from the system after deploying dropships. The UNSC fleet fires on the ships, destroying many. Hundreds of boarding craft land on Reach.


 * 0621 Hours: The boarding craft are landed and the armory is overrun and the Covenant fleet returns to the system. The then Covenant split their 150+ remaining ships. One fleet attacks the UNSC ships, while another takes out the MAC cannons and send in troops to land on Reach. The UNSC try to split their 50+ remaining forces to engage the Covenant, but there are too many platforms to cover and too many casualties. The Supercruiser continues to destroy UNSC ships, allowing the other ships to attack the MAC cannons.


 * 0631 Hours: Red Team is shot down. They have no choice but to jump from the crashing Pelican and make a "hard landing" on the ground. Results in 4 dead and 6 seriously injured.


 * 0637 Hours: The Spartan team on the Circumference mission returns to the Pillar of Autumn. Only SPARTAN-117 and clinically dead SPARTAN-058 make it back, with Sergeant Johnson, Private O'Brien, Private Bisenti, and Private Jenkins.


 * 0647 Hours: The Pillar of Autumn, pursued by a dozen Covenant vessels, retreats from the system, arriving at Installation 04.


 * 0649 Hours: Red Team sets up defenses around ODG Facility A-331.


 * 0711 Hours: SPARTAN-104, SPARTAN-029, and SPARTAN-087 plant a nuclear warhead though the gravity lift in a landing Covenant cruiser, leaving SPARTAN-029 missing, (presumed dead) in the process.


 * 0720 Hours: The Covenant destroy ODG Facility A-331 by aerial bombardment (glassing), though some Spartans escape. The surviving MAC guns are now offline and are quickly destroyed by plasma torpedoes. Remaining UNSC vessels have no choice but to retreat. The Covenant warships are split into two groups: 5 ship teams that hunt down the surviving UNSC vessels and a group of ships that align themselves in formation and begin to glass Reach.

Aftermath
The loss of Reach, the single-largest center of UNSC military operations after Earth, was a disaster for humanity. The overwhelming loss of soldiers, starships, and civilians hastened the seemingly-inevitable defeat of the human race, as Earth was the only true military stronghold still intact at this point. What was left of Reach was subsequently placed under Covenant control, and the humans were forced to abandon the system altogether.

The loss of Reach also led directly to the discovery of Halo Installation 04, orbiting the Forerunner colony of Threshold. The human forces of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn fought a major ground campaign against the Covenant on Halo's surface, which soon led to the discovery of the Flood. Although most of the Covenant and human forces died in this engagement, they succeeded in quelling the threat posed by the Flood. However, the introduction of this previously-unknown species only intensified the odds faced by the humans.

Space Assets

 * Carriers
 * , Supercarrier
 * Cruisers
 * Destroyers
 * Frigates
 * Not known
 * Prowlers
 * Other/Unknown Type
 * Remote Sensing Station Fermion
 * Frigates
 * Not known
 * Prowlers
 * Other/Unknown Type
 * Remote Sensing Station Fermion
 * Not known
 * Prowlers
 * Other/Unknown Type
 * Remote Sensing Station Fermion
 * Other/Unknown Type
 * Remote Sensing Station Fermion
 * Remote Sensing Station Fermion
 * Remote Sensing Station Fermion

Personnel

 * Admiral Roland Freemont
 * Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb
 * Captain Jacob Keyes
 * Master Chief Petty Officer John-117
 * Linda-058
 * Kelly-087
 * Spartan-James
 * William-043
 * Frederic-104
 * Malcolm-059
 * Joshua-029
 * Lieutenant Hall
 * Lieutenant Dominique
 * Lieutenant Aki Hikowa
 * Ensign William Michael Lovell
 * Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson
 * Flight Officer Mitchell
 * Private Wallace A. Jenkins
 * Private Bisenti
 * Private O'Brien
 * Corporal C. Errera
 * Chief Petty Officer McRobb
 * Lieutenant, Junior Grade Bill Streeter
 * Lieutenant, Junior Grade David Brightling