Steadfast Strike

The Steadfast Strike, nicknamed by UNSC analysts as the Lucky Break, was a spacecraft serving in the Covenant military.

Layout/hull
The Steadfast Strike was a Covenant frigate of unknown classification. Accordingly, the ship was shaped like a "long-necked disk", with a dovetail stern.

Armament
The Steadfast Strike was equipped with energy shielding for defense. It carried multiple weapon systems including secondary pulse laser turrets and a primary unspecified weapon system. Additionally, the frigate carried a self-destruct system.

Crash-landing on Netherop
In 2526, the Steadfast Strike was one of many Covenant warships participating in the Outer Colonies theater of the Human-Covenant War. Following the end of Operation: SILENT STORM, the ship was one of several stolen from the Covenant by now-branded traitor Nizat 'Kvarosee, inducted into his Flotilla of Unsung Piety alongside a number of intrusion corvettes. 'Kvarosee intended to use the Steadfast Strike as bait to lure in the Spartans who destroyed the Ring of Mighty Abundance and two of the Ten Cities of Edification. This plan would involve the ship being "destroyed" by UNSC forces and left for the Spartans to recover; with 'Kvarosee detonating the ship's self-destruct once they were aboard to kill the "demons".

At 21:00 hours on June 3, 2526, the ship was beset upon by a wolf-pack task force of s known as Task Force Pantea in orbit of Netherop. The ship engaged the destroyers Kayenta, Chaco, Cibola, Mesa Verde  and Rio Grande, during which it took much damage over a long span of time. In the destroyers' opening MAC volley, they knocked out the frigate's energy shielding and primary weapon systems, leaving it defenseless. Instead of destroying the frigate, Kayenta Captain Greyveld recognised the opportunity and did not attempt to destroy the Steadfast Strike. At one point in the engagement, the Strike's stern was hit by missile impacts, as the Halberds continued to fire volleys of Archers at the disabled frigate. The Steadfast Strike responded in kind by swinging to hard port, attempting to bring her flank around to fire a broadside of the ship's pulse laser turrets. The lasers made hits on the destroyers' armored hulls to little effect, and the frigate's hull dipped into Netherop's mesosphere, ultimately sending the downed ship crashing through Netherop's atmosphere onto the ground.

Following impact with the surface, Steadfast Strike was not fully destroyed, and a number of its pulse lasers remained online long enough to shoot down a Pelican dropship deployed by UNSC Chaco to investigate the crash site. The Office of Naval Intelligence deployed a ship to take posession of the wreck for salvage and study, though its onboard crew did not have the expertise necessary to secure a Covenant frigate. As such, Blue Team were extracted and redeployed from the concurrent Battle of Mesra to insert onto Netherop and capture the frigate intact. In recognition of its high strategic value, the Steadfast Strike (whose name was unknown to the UNSC forces) was nicknamed by the humans the "Lucky Break".

List of appearances

 * Halo: Oblivion