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Preston Cole: Difference between revisions
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===The Covenant War begins=== | ===The Covenant War begins=== | ||
{{Quote|This first encounter with the aliens is a test—for them and us. So far we have failed that test. We have to show them that we cannot be so easily defeated. We have to win no matter the cost.|Vice Admiral Preston Cole, in a personal log written on [[2525#November|November 15, 2525]]<ref name="he462">'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 462''</ref>}} | {{Quote|This first encounter with the aliens is a test—for them and us. So far we have failed that test. We have to show them that we cannot be so easily defeated. We have to win no matter the cost.|Vice Admiral Preston Cole, in a personal log written on [[2525#November|November 15, 2525]]<ref name="he462">'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 462''</ref>}} | ||
In [[2525#February|February 2525]], the UNSC lost contact with the Outer Colony of [[Harvest]] and [[Battlegroup 4]] was dispatched to the [[Epsilon Indi system]] to discover the reason for loss of contact. Upon arriving at the system, the battle group quickly discovered that Harvest had been [[Glassing|glassed]] by the alien [[Covenant]]. The battle group was [[First Battle of Harvest|attacked]] by [[Covenant cruiser]] ''[[Rapid Conversion]]'' and only the badly damaged {{CMAShip|Heracles}} was able to return to Reach with word of the incident.<ref name="for117">'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''pages 117-126'' (2010)</ref> In response to the alien [[Human-Covenant War|threat]], Central Command moved to create a battle group of forty [[warship]]s to retake Harvest. Cole was ultimately selected by CENTCOM to lead this force; a "fallen hero" that lived a scandalous retirement, Cole served as an easy scapegoat if CENTCOM's counterattack on the Covenant failed. Additionally, Cole was considered to be a brilliant commander during the Insurrection that was willing to sacrifice himself and anyone under his command to complete his task.<ref | In [[2525#February|February 2525]], the UNSC lost contact with the Outer Colony of [[Harvest]] and [[Battlegroup 4]] was dispatched to the [[Epsilon Indi system]] to discover the reason for loss of contact. Upon arriving at the system, the battle group quickly discovered that Harvest had been [[Glassing|glassed]] by the alien [[Covenant]]. The battle group was [[First Battle of Harvest|attacked]] by [[Covenant cruiser]] ''[[Rapid Conversion]]'' and only the badly damaged {{CMAShip|Heracles}} was able to return to Reach with word of the incident.<ref name="for117">'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''pages 117-126'' (2010)</ref> In response to the alien [[Human-Covenant War|threat]], Central Command moved to create a battle group of forty [[warship]]s to retake Harvest. Cole was ultimately selected by CENTCOM to lead this force; a "fallen hero" that lived a scandalous retirement, Cole served as an easy scapegoat if CENTCOM's counterattack on the Covenant failed. Additionally, Cole was considered to be a brilliant commander during the Insurrection that was willing to sacrifice himself and anyone under his command to complete his task.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''pages 458-460''</ref> On [[2525#November|November 2, 2525]], ONI had Lieutenant Commander [[Jack Hopper]] and Lieutenant [[Demos]] visit Cole and convince him to lead the battle group. Reinstated as a vice admiral of the Navy, Cole was given command of [[Battle Group X-Ray]] in [[2525|December of 2525]],<ref name="timeline">[[Xbox.com/Halo/Timeline|'''Xbox.com''', ''Halo Storyline'']]</ref><ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 461''</ref> conceived as the largest assembled fleet at that point in human history.<ref name="for117"/><ref name="enc299">'''Halo Encyclopedia''', ''page 299'' (2011)</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 88''</ref> By [[2525#November|November 12, 2525]], Cole had begun preparing himself for the battle by reviewing data and reports from previous encounters with the Covenant at Harvest and [[Chi Ceti IV]], and realized that Covenant [[energy shielding]] would prove to be troublesome in battle. With the {{Class|Valiant|super-heavy cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Everest}} serving as his [[flagship]], Cole requested numerous modifications to the cruiser. He ensured that his crew was battle-tested and competent,<ref name="he462"/> and [[artificial intelligence]] [[Sekmet]] was chosen as Cole's shipboard AI on ''Everest''.<ref name="he465">'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 465''</ref> | ||
[[File:Outcome of Second Battle of Harvest.png|thumb|250px|right|Cole's defeat of the Covenant at Harvest]] | [[File:Outcome of Second Battle of Harvest.png|thumb|250px|right|Cole's defeat of the Covenant at Harvest]] | ||
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[[File:Cole Mem.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Vice Admiral Cole's [[ONI Memorial|memorial plaque]] located at ONI's [[Alpha Site]] at [[New Mombasa]], Earth]] | [[File:Cole Mem.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Vice Admiral Cole's [[ONI Memorial|memorial plaque]] located at ONI's [[Alpha Site]] at [[New Mombasa]], Earth]] | ||
Following Cole's presumed death, a day of mourning was proclaimed on [[2543|July 28, 2543]], as humanity grieved for the loss of the man who had arguably been its greatest hero.<ref | Following Cole's presumed death, a day of mourning was proclaimed on [[2543|July 28, 2543]], as humanity grieved for the loss of the man who had arguably been its greatest hero.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 483''</ref> By [[2552]], there existed a painting in the [[UNSC High Command|HIGHCOM]] [[HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6|Facility Bravo-6]] at the [[UNSC Security Council]] chambers entitled ''[[Admiral Cole's Last Stand]]'', a tribute to Cole's final showdown at the Battle of Psi Serpentis.<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 100'' (2003); ''page 125'' (2010)</ref> After Cole's death, the Covenant's campaign throughout the Outer Colonies continued with renewed efforts, as they swarmed UNSC defenses to push their way into the Inner Colonies.<ref name="p486"/> | ||
In [[2552#December|December of 2552]], ONI operative [[Codename: SURGEON]] stated that AIs [[Phoenix]] and [[Lackluster]] had analyzed the footage from the Battle of Psi Serpentis and had calculated that there was an 89.7% chance that Cole survived and escaped in an emergency slipspace jump; before the battle, he had consulted the [[Reach super-AI network]] to calculate the parameters for a jump in conditions identical to those at Viperidae. ONI operatives theorized that Cole had used the crippled {{UNSCShip|Io}}—a cruiser that Cole had requested for use in the battle, but never used—as a substitute for ''Everest'', prematurely detonated a flock of Archer missiles in front of his ship as a decoy to prevent anyone from seeing the slipspace rupture, and then safely escaped. A major issue in the theory pertained to the fate of Cole's crew; it was unlikely that Cole would kill his own crew by abandoning them on ''Everest'' nor could he have convinced the entire crew to agree to a wartime desertion. However, prior to the battle, Cole conducted a massive personnel transfer, possibly intending to fill his ranks with those that were either sympathetic to his motives or were unwaveringly loyal to him. Cole could have also detained potential dissenters among his ranks in [[cryo-chamber]]s indefinitely.<ref name="p486"/> | In [[2552#December|December of 2552]], ONI operative [[Codename: SURGEON]] stated that AIs [[Phoenix]] and [[Lackluster]] had analyzed the footage from the Battle of Psi Serpentis and had calculated that there was an 89.7% chance that Cole survived and escaped in an emergency slipspace jump; before the battle, he had consulted the [[Reach super-AI network]] to calculate the parameters for a jump in conditions identical to those at Viperidae. ONI operatives theorized that Cole had used the crippled {{UNSCShip|Io}}—a cruiser that Cole had requested for use in the battle, but never used—as a substitute for ''Everest'', prematurely detonated a flock of Archer missiles in front of his ship as a decoy to prevent anyone from seeing the slipspace rupture, and then safely escaped. A major issue in the theory pertained to the fate of Cole's crew; it was unlikely that Cole would kill his own crew by abandoning them on ''Everest'' nor could he have convinced the entire crew to agree to a wartime desertion. However, prior to the battle, Cole conducted a massive personnel transfer, possibly intending to fill his ranks with those that were either sympathetic to his motives or were unwaveringly loyal to him. Cole could have also detained potential dissenters among his ranks in [[cryo-chamber]]s indefinitely.<ref name="p486"/> | ||