Battle of Sigma Octanus IV: Difference between revisions

*** Gettsyberg

*** Alleigence

The battle in the space above Sigma Octanus IV is two fold. The first part of the battle consists of Commander Keyes takes his lone destroyer, the ''Iroquois'' rushes to intercept the Covenant. However, Keyes faces a stronger force than he anticipated. Through brilliant manuvers and some quick thinking, Keyes is able to destroy 3 of the 4 Covenant ships. For details involving this battle, see the [[Keyes Loop]]. Unfortuately, 1 of the ships manages to escape. This is significant because this is the first battle in which a Covenant ship had fled the battle. The pride and honor of the Elite ship masters obligates them to stay in a battle until they or all of the enemy are all destroyed. Keyes is perplexed by this but his superiors shrug off the revelation. This is one of the only space battles when the UNSC is able to win when outnumbered 4:1.

The second part of the space battle involves the UNSC fleet of 47 ships and lead by Admiral Stanforth against a smaller but techincally stronger Covenant fleet. This part of the space battle is unique in two ways. It is unique because it is one of the few major victories that the UNSC has had in space (despite major losses) since Harvest was retaken. Also, in this battle new tactics were used. One of the most prevalent was the useage of a refit station to provide cover for the UNSC fleet. Anothe is the staggered salvo tactic used by the UNSC fleet, allowing the first two sets of MAC rounds to disable the enemys' shields while the third punches through the ships.