Battle of Harvest: Difference between revisions

On [[2525#November|November 1, 2525]], the UEG's [[United Nations Space Command]] was ordered to full alert.<ref name="for117"/> In response to the alien threat, the UNSC's [[Central Command]] moved to create a battle group of forty [[warship]]s to retake Harvest. Retired [[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]] was selected by Central Command 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 name="he458">'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''pages 458-460''</ref> On [[2525#November|November 2, 2525]], [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Jack Hopper]] and [[Lieutenant]] [[Demos]] visited Cole and convinced him to lead the battle group. Reinstated as a vice admiral of the [[UNSC Navy]], Cole was given command of [[Battle Group X-Ray]] in [[2525|December of 2525]],<ref>[[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 begun preparing himself for the battle. He reviewed 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. Cole was given the {{Class|Valiant|super-heavy cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Everest}} as his [[flagship]]. After ensuring that his crew was battle-tested and competent, he requested numerous modifications to ''Everest''.<ref name="he462"/> The [[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|The super-destroyer is destroyed]]

{{Quote|Fix bayonets.|Vice Admiral Preston Cole during the final charge, quoting Colonel [[Wikipedia:Joshua Chamberlain|Joshua Chamberlain]] from the American Civil War<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 471''</ref>}}