UNSC Midsummer Night

"Dmitri Zheng"

- Jean Mawikizi

The UNSC Midsummer Night (FFG-209 ) was a in service with the UNSC Navy during the Human-Covenant War.

Ectanus 45 system
In 2535, the Midsummer Night was equipped with stealth systems by ONI while stationed on Chi Rho in the Ectanus 45 system. The frigate was assigned to help enforce the Cole Protocol on civilian ships, led by Commander Dmitri Zheng. Lieutenant Jacob Keyes was also transferred to the ship. The Midsummer Night traveled to the edges of the Ectanus 45 system, shadowing a civilian freighter, Finnegan's Wake, that had slowly edged its way past the system's elliptic plane. To ensure that the freighter's navigation data had been deleted, Keyes led a boarding team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers into Finnegan's Wake.

However, the freighter turned out to be an Insurrectionist ambush. Several of the ODSTs were killed by explosives that were set off, but the Midsummer Night was too far to notice. Finnegan's Wake triggered an emergency beacon, attempting to lure the frigate closer to the freighter so Finnegan's Wake could self-destruct and destroy both ships. However, due to Keyes' strategy, most of the ODSTs made it off the freighter safely and the Midsummer Night was not damaged when the insurgents on Finnegan's Wake desperately activated the self-destruct mechanism in a failed attempt to kill the ODSTs.

Charybdis IX
Following the Finnegan's Wake incident, the Midsummer Night was assigned to helping the Office of Naval Intelligence operatives in Charybdis IX's capital city, Scyllion. The ONI operatives had discovered Covenant weapons modified for human use being distributed to the city's rioters and required aid from the Midsummer Night to discover the origins and distributors of the weapons. Upon arriving in the Charybdis system, Major Akio Watanabe and Keyes were sent to met the ONI operatives in the Scyllion Warehouse District. However, with escalating riots throughout the city, the Insurrectionists distributing the modified weapons attacked the UNSC personnel and were supported by rioters. As the three surviving UNSC personnel in the city, Keyes, Watanabe, and Captain Corinthia Hansen, made their way to the rooftops, they asked the Midsummer Night for ODST support. However, it would not arrive for twenty minutes.

While waiting for support, rioters and rebels led by Jason Kincaide attacked the UNSC survivors. In the following firefight, Kincaide and Watanabe were killed. Shortly after, several ODSTs were deployed from the Midsummer Night and the rest of the rebels were eliminated. After the riots were quelled, Keyes and Hansen were brought aboard the Midsummer Night, now with the coordinates leading to the origins of the modified weapons. However, Zheng discovered that a Covenant fleet just entered the system. While Keyes and Zheng were in favor of using the Midsummer Night to make a last stand alongside the three UNSC destroyers guarding the planet, Hansen ordered them to track the Kestrel, a freighter that had supplied Kincaide with the modified weapons. Reluctantly, the Midsummer Night dropped Hansen off at an orbiting depot and the frigate left the Charybdis system, leaving just as the Covenant began to attack the planet.

Battle of the Rubble
The Midsummer Night trailed the Kestrel for nearly a week, eventually following it to the 23 Librae system. The freighter made its way to the asteroids orbiting a gas giant in the system, Hesiod. The Midsummer Night's crew quickly discovered that the asteroids, known as the Rubble, around Hesiod were connected and populated by Insurrectionists and Kig-Yar. Badia Campbell, the frigate's navigations officer, revealed herself as a rebel-sympathizer and mortally wounded Zheng and shot Dante Kirtley and Rai Li. While Keyes and Campbell wrestled for control of her sidearm, she gained the upper-hand and proceeded to commit suicide. Campbell had damaged the ship's fusion core coolant system, leaving the frigate nearly disabled. At Zheng's orders, Keyes attacked the Rubble's fleet of freighters, with the Midsummer Night being damaged with a mass driver round. After surrendering to the overwhelming Insurrectionist forces, Zheng gave Keyes command of the frigate and succumbed to his wounds. The Midsummer Night ejected its Shiva-class nuclear missiles to show that it did not intend to attack, allowing Rubble forces to board the frigate.

The Midsummer Night was forced to dock with the Habitat Asuncion asteroid and the frigate's crew was given the option to become a resident of the Rubble or be held in prison cells. At some point, the rebels partially repaired the frigate.

Battle of Metisette
Later, the Rubble's AI, Juliana, helped free the crew of the Midsummer Night. After discovering the Unggoy army Reth had created on one of Hesiod's moons, Metisette, was preparing to attack the Rubble, Keyes prepared to launch a counter-attack to destroy the Covenant forces. Keyes retook control of the repaired Midsummer Night and used the frigate to attack Metisette. Meanwhile Kig-Yar and Rubble ships battled over the Rubble's mass drivers and Keyes kept the Midsummer Night away from Infinite Spoils, Reth's flagship that was capable of overwhelming the frigate in seconds. As it closed down on the moon, the Midsummer Night performed a high-speed SOEIV deployment to deliver ODSTs and Spartan Gray Team down to the Redoubt on the surface of Metisette. The Midsummer Night came under fire from Kig-Yar anti-aircraft guns, and slowed down, to allow the pods to drop, before speeding off out the atmosphere again. After the Spartans and ODSTs destroyed the Kig-Yar targets, Midsummer Night launched five Pelican dropships to pick up the survivors. After all personnel were aboard the frigate, the Redoubt's sensors were destroyed by the frigate's last Shiva.

After the Rubble crashed into Metisette to destroy the Unggoy army, Keyes used the Midsummer Night to protect Habitat Exodus while the Rubble's citizens were evacuated inside it, during which the frigate was damaged. However, the Exodus could not make a slipspace jump to safety like it intended to do. Keyes decided to convince the Rubble Security Council to travel to an Inner Colony, which was still possible at the time. The Midsummer Night escorted the Exodus to Falaknuma, an Inner Colony in the 18 Scorpii system.

While the Midsummer Night was being repaired over the planet and the Rubble's citizens were being evacuated, Keyes was transported to the planet's surface, debriefed, and promoted by Commander Hadley and Admiral Preston Cole. Prior to his promotion to Captain in 2552, Keyes continued to serve aboard this frigate until he was transferred to the, a UNSC destroyer.

Crew

 * Before the Raid on Finnegan's Wake:
 * Commander Dmitri Zheng — Commanding officer; killed in action over Hesiod
 * Lieutenant Jacob Keyes — Commanding officer after Zheng's death; formerly executive officer
 * Lieutenant Dante Kirtley — Navigations officer; formerly communications officer
 * Lieutenant Junior Grade Rai Li — Weapons systems officer
 * Second Lieutenant Jason Burt — Communications officer
 * Lieutenant Badia Campbell — Navigations officer; committed suicide over Hesiod
 * Major Akio Watanabe — Office of Naval Intelligence liaison, killed in action of Charybdis IX
 * Petty Officer Jeffries
 * First Lieutenant Canfield
 * Second Lieutenant Faison
 * Finlay
 * Markov

Trivia
The frigate's name is a reference to A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play by William Shakespeare.

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: The Cole Protocol