Battle of Netherop (2526): Difference between revisions

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*[[Nizat 'Kvarosee]] and most of [[Nizat 'Kvarosee's faction|his remaining forces]] permanently exiled on [[Netherop]]

'''Strategic Nizat 'Kvarosee's faction victory'''

|side2=[[Nizat 'Kvarosee's faction]]

**At least five other ships

In the waxing months of the [[Human-Covenant War]], and weeks after the overwhelmingly successful [[Operation: SILENT STORM]], humanity's best chance for survival is to disable [[Covenant frigate]] filled with valuable technology that could help them win the war. It rests on [[Netherop|an inhospitable world]] and offered to the UNSC by [[Nizat 'Kvarosee|the same disgraced Covenant fleetmaster]] who failed to stop the [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs]] in Operation: SILENT STORM.

The Prophet of Truth covered up [[Nizat 'Kvarosee]]'s actions and the true nature of the events on [[Netherop]], making it so that the [[Covenant World Registry]] made no mention of an [[orbital mine shell]] around Netherop, just the loss of the ''[[Radiant Arrow]]'' and the ''[[Steadfast Strike]]'' and that the Prophet of Truth had deemed the losses to be a sign of divine displeasure and forbade all Covenant vessels from entering the system.{{Ref/Novel|Out|4}} Nizat's exile on the planet was also omitted with [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]] only having heard of the events up to Nizat and his forces fleeing from [[High Charity]] and a general order from the [[Hierarchs]] that Nizat be killed on sight. The Silent Shadow also apparently left behind [[Blademaster]] [[Menuz 'Ra'ashai]] to help enforce the exile, although he ended up joining forces with Nizat during his years stranded on the planet.{{Ref/Novel|Out|13}}

Over the next thirty-three years, Nizat and [[Nizat 'Kvarosee's faction|his forces]] waged an ongoing war against Petrov and her forces, unaware that the Covenant was eventually defeated. The exiled Covenant forces would discover leftover [[Precursor]]{{Ref/Novel|Out|Chapter=17}} technology that allowed them to create armor that they called [[Sanctum's Hide]] and a weapon that they called the [[Divine Hand]]. However, Petrov and her forces were able to kill a number of Nizat's people over the years, leaving him with only six remaining followers, while the humans had children and their numbers only increased as time went on.{{Ref/Novel|Out|Chapter=7}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=Out9|Out|Chapter=9}} Nizat became more and more fanatical as time went on, but his followers, aside from Tam, started to become disillusioned by their harsh life.{{Ref/Reuse|Outcasts}}

About a year after the battle, the UNSC sent a rescue mission to Netherop. A Prowler sneaked into orbit and established contact with Petrov. However, the [[orbital mine shell]] destroyed both Pelicans that were sent to Netherop's surface. Not prepared to clear a full mine shell and unwilling twenty lives to save eight, the captain called off the mission, but he promised that a better-equipped mission would come back when it was feasible. True to the Prowler captain's word, the corvette {{UNSCShip|Alpina}} came years later and worked to punch through the mine shell. On the third day, the ''Alpina'' made contact with the UNSC survivors and promised that a Pelican would collect them before the next evening, having apparently found a way through the mine shell. However, Nizat was able to use the Divine Hand to destroy the ''Alpina'' and the third rescue mission that came after it.{{Ref/Reuse|Out9}}

Thirty-three years after the battle, the UNSC and the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] would [[Battle of Netherop (2559)|return]] to [[Netherop]] seeking [[Divine Hand|a weapon]] capable of destroying [[Cortana]]'s [[Guardian]]s. The mission would see the dismantling of the orbital mine shell, the rescue of the UNSC survivors from the Battle of Netherop, and the elimination of Nizat and his surviving forces.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Outcasts|Out}}