Human-Covenant War: Difference between revisions

The '''Human-Covenant War''',<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach (2001)''', ''back cover description''</ref> also known as '''The Great War''',<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe:''' ''[[Petra]]''</ref> was a major interstellar conflict pitting the [[Unified Earth Government]] and its [[United Nations Space Command]] against the [[Covenant Empire]] during the mid-26^th century between [[2525#February|February 11, 2525]] and [[2553|March 3, 2553]]. There were two additional factions sporadically involved in the conflict; them being the [[Flood]], and a small number of surviving Forerunner constructs. Both factions proved to be invaluable to the efforts of Humanity, as the information taken from [[Forerunner]] constructs and the Flood invasion of ''[[High Charity]]'' were helpful in [[Great Schism|splitting the Covenant apart]] in November 2552.

The war was instigated by the Covenant, whose [[High Prophet]]s discovered that Humans were directly related to the [[Forerunner]]s. In order to keep the Covenant intact, war was declared against Humanity. Over the next few decades, the Covenant, with superior firepower, numbers, tactics and technology, overpowered Humanity on hundreds of worlds, including heavily defended strongholds such as [[Reach]]. The Humans would only win scattered and costly victories.

The conflict was closely connected with, and the cause of, the [[Great Schism|Covenant Civil War]], both of which resulted in the final defeat of the Covenant Loyalists and [[Flood]]. The official cessation of hostilities occurred on March 3, 2553.<ref>[[Hillside Memorial]]</ref> The war was incredibly costly to both sides, with over twenty-three billion Humans and billions of Covenant killed during the hostilities and further heavy casualties during the Flood plague. The war ultimately lasted for a total of twenty-eight years.

Humanity and the Covenant first came into direct contact in February 3rd 2525, when a [[Kig-yar]] frigate, the ''[[Minor Transgression]]'', discovered a Human ship transitionining out of slipspace and subsequently raided the vessel. The raid continued to another unfortunate Human ship. Some time after, [[Sif]], Harvest shipping operations AI, investigated the raids and reported her findings to an [[Jilan al-Cygni|undercover ONI agent]].<ref group="notes">Prior to the contact, the AI and an [[Jilan al-Cygni|undercover ONI agent]] was unaware of the alien parties responsible behind the raid, thinking that it was one of the many common Insurrectionist activities.</ref> The ONI agent devised a trap for the raiding parties, which resulted in a [[Skirmish Over Harvest|minor skirmish]] between [[Staff Sergeant]]s [[Nolan Byrne]] and [[Avery Johnson|Avery Johnson,]] and the Kig-yar privateers. When the Covenant returned with another ship and a contingent of [[Jiralhanae]], the UNSC proposed a meeting (via pictogram) with the intention to make amends and to trade with the alien species. The Covenant met the UNSC on Harvest, but were only interested in claiming the relics that the [[Luminary]] had detected on Harvest, completely oblivious that the Humans were the "relics" in question. The meeting was botched after [[Osmo]], a member of the [[Colonial Militia]], — was attacked by a nervous [[Unggoy]] — who was part of a second Covenant force sent to look for the relics. As a result, a firefight erupted between the two groups and the Covenant retreated back to their ship.

The political ramifications of these relics were abundant, and two [[San 'Shyuum]] bureaucrats, the [[Prophet of Truth|Minister of Fortitude]] and the [[Prophet of Regret|Vice Minister of Tranquility]], were already scheming to use the supposed reliquary to inaugurate a new Age of Reclamation with themselves as the [[Hierarchs]] of the [[High Council]]. To do this, they needed the blessing of the Oracle of [[High Charity]]. When the two San 'Shyuum approached the [[Prophet of Mercy|Philologist]] to affirm on their behalf, the data from the ''Rapid Conversion'' caused [[032 Mendicant Bias|the long dormant Oracle]] to reactivate. Mendicant declared that the Covenant had been misinterpreting Forerunner symbols: the "relics" in question were the Humans, calling them [[Reclaimer]]s and his makers. This shocked the three San 'Shyuum, who concluded that the Humans were actually living [[Forerunner]]s who had been left behind when the others transcended. Although they were able to prevent Mendicant from taking the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] to take the Humans to deliver them to [[Installation 00|the Ark]], Fortitude concluded that if the masses learned that they might be left behind, they would rebel against the Prophets. Fortitude and Tranquility inducted the Philologist into their plan and ascended as the High Prophets of Truth, Regret, and Mercy. They declared that the Humans destroyed the reliquary on Harvest and ordered the entire race to be eradicated.

From that point on, the Covenant continued to attack and destroy the Humans where ever they were found, using their [[Luminary|Luminaries]] to find Human worlds. Though the UNSC forces fought bravely, their inferior technology and numbers meant that even a ''close'' victory was far from guaranteed. The Covenant also had an advantage in that they didn't need to fight planet-side to destroy the enemy; their ships simply needed to destroy the Humans' space-borne defenses and any other threats around the planet, and then reduce the planet's surface to glass with orbital plasma bombardments. The few victories achieved by the UNSC came about due to special tactical maneuvers, extensive use of nuclear weapons, as Human missiles and magnetic acceleration weapons were unable to compete with Covenant energy shields and plasma torpedoes and reinforcements in the form of Spartans if normal Humans were unable to accomplish a mission. This was far from a permanent solution, however, as after just six years of combat, space battles with the Covenant depleted the UNSC's nuclear stockpile to almost nothing.<ref>'''''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''''', page 34</ref> Over twenty-seven years, the Covenant whittled down the UNSC planet by planet.

Realizing the threat posed to Humanity by the Covenant, the UNSC [[Colonial Military Administration]] gave [[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]] the command of the then-largest fleet in Human history with orders to retake Harvest. Cole [[Second Battle of Harvest|retook Harvest]] in [[2526]], and then spent five years chasing the Covenant around the [[Outer Colonies]], fighting them and scoring victories at [[Alpha Aurigae System|Alpha Aurigae]], [[XI Boötis A System|XI Boötis A]], and [[Groombridge-1830]]. Meanwhile, the Covenant returned to Harvest, determined to recapture the planet. This led to a five-year long [[Harvest Campaign|series of engagements]] on Harvest between the Covenant and the UNSC. Because of the threat the Covenant posed, the UNSC began deploying the [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]]s, super soldiers originally trained to fight the [[Insurrection]]. The SPARTANs became one of Humanity's greatest — and most celebrated — defenders, showing an ability to turn the tide of battle. Their prowess was not lost on the Covenant, who came to fear the SPARTANs as [[demon]]s.

[[File:Vlcsnap-126257.png|thumb|250px|left|The [[Prophet of Regret]] converses with [[Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]] on the destruction of the Human race.]]

Despite their major numerical and technological advantages over Humanity, by [[2531]], the Covenant High Prophets had realized that the task of destroying an entire sapient species had a logistical burden beyond anything that the [[Covenant Military]] could muster without leaving Covenant space defenseless.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]''', campaign level ''[[Scarab (Level)|Scarab]]''</ref> In spite of the UNSC's inferiority in comparison to the Covenant, the Prophets apparently considered their armed forces to be powerful enough to pose a threat to the Covenant proper. The [[Prophet of Regret]] dispatched an [[Ripa 'Moramee|Arbiter]] to Harvest to claim a Forerunner [[Relic|artifact]] buried under the north pole of Harvest.

Preston Cole counter-attacked by leading a fleet composed of the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} and the {{UNSCShip|Prophecy}} back to Harvest after receiving a message from an [[ONI]] [[UNSC Prowler|Prowler]]. The battle was a Human victory despite major casualties. Upon discovering that the Covenant, under the command of 'Moramee, had excavated Forerunner artifacts in the northern polar region, [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[James Cutter]] deployed ground forces to remove the Covenant occupation. After a heated fight on the surface, the UNSC forces were able to examine the artifact, apparently some kind of star map, and realized that information from the map had led the Covenant to another UNSC colony: [[Arcadia]].

Despite the well-publicized victory at Harvest, the UNSC was already on the way to losing the war. A number of colonies had already been glassed by the Covenant or abandoned, including [[Eridanus II]], [[Dwarka]], and [[Chi Ceti IV]]. The UNSC's sole hope apparently lay with the SPARTAN-II Program. However, there were not enough Spartans to turn the tide of the war in favor of Humanity. Recognizing this, the Office of Naval Intelligence authorized the creation of the [[SPARTAN-III Program]]. The brainchild of [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]], these Spartans would be trained with a greater emphasis on stealth and teamwork, and would be sent on missions against high-priority targets that would be impossible even for elite units.

With the majority of the Outer Colonies glassed or abandoned, the UNSC faced an economic crisis as some of their [[Agriculture World]]s had been destroyed, leading to food shortages. On [[Charybdis IX]], food riots broke out. Meanwhile, Covenant forces began to encroach on the [[Inner Colonies]]. In response, the UNSC issued [[United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1]], otherwise known as the "Cole Protocol". It stated that no UNSC vessel may lead the Covenant to Earth or any other Human population center. Furthermore, all movement through space was restricted to [[UNSC Navy]] vessels. [[Insurrectionist]] attacks increased in the face of what they saw as a removal of their right to freedom of movement. Another development was the discovery of Insurrectionists using Covenant weapons modified for Human use. The UNSC saw this as a threat to security as the weapons may have been carrying Covenant homing beacons. The Covenant saw it as heresy that Humans would modify their weapons, and the [[Prophet of Regret]] dispatched [[Thel 'Vadam|Thel 'Vadamee]] to destroy the source of the modified weapons: [[The Rubble]].

Fleeing from the [[Battle of Charybdis IX]], the {{UNSCShip|Midsummer Night}} chased an Insurrectionist freighter to the Rubble and discovered that the Insurrectionists there had actually formed an alliance with a colony of [[Kig-yar]]. The Jackals were supplying the weapons and the Insurrectionists were modifying them. The crew of the ''Midsummer Night'', including its captain, [[Lieutenant (UNSC)|Lieutenant]] [[Jacob Keyes]], were captured, but later escaped and helped SPARTAN-II [[Gray Team]] and the Rubble's citizens stop an assault from the Kig-yar leader, [[Reth]], and 'Vadamee's forces. It later transpired that the [[Prophet of Truth]] had ordered the Kig-yar to ally with the Humans so that they could discover the location of [[Earth]] from stolen navigation data of through tracking devices in the weapons. Through this, the Covenant found two more worlds to attack.

But while the Covenant were winning the war, there was growing tension between the [[San 'Shyuum]] and the [[Sangheili]]. At first, the Sangheili had followed the Prophets command to destroy the Humans without question. But after more than twenty five years of war, Humanity's continued resistance in the face of certain death had deeply impressed the martial Sangheili. There was a growing consensus among the Sangheili that the Humans had earned the right to be offered membership in the Covenant, which the Prophets continued to reject. At the same time, the [[Jiralhanae]], the one race which could challenge the Sangheili's dominance of the Covenant military, were rapidly earning favor with the Prophets, as they were less-inclined to question orders.<ref>'''[[Conversations from the Universe]]'''</ref>  

Towards what appeared to be the obvious end of the war by 2552, the Office of Naval Intelligence was resigned to the fact that Humanity may only have months left before the Covenant destroyed the remaining Inner Colonies and moved on against Earth. To try and buy time, HIGHCOM ordered all available SPARTAN-IIs to return to Reach and leave on [[Operation: RED FLAG]], a mission to locate the Covenant homeworld and capture a Prophet to force the Covenant into a cease-fire.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page ??''</ref>

The last year of the war saw Humanity's largest defeat since the war's beginning, but also saw several of their greatest victories, coupled with the destruction of the Covenant as a galactic power. On [[Sigma Octanus IV]], the Covenant were [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV|defeated]]. On the ground, the SPARTAN-IIs secured a Forerunner [[Sigma Octanus IV Artifact|artifact]] covered in symbols that the Covenant tried to transport out of [[Cote d'Azur]]. However, in space, the Covenant placed a [[Spy Probe]] on the {{UNSCShip|Iroquois}}, which led the Covenant to the UNSC's stronghold and main headquarters, [[Reach]].  

The Covenant's first costly defeat was on and around [[Installation 04]]. Here, the Human survivors from the [[Halcyon-class cruiser|''Halcyon''-class cruiser]], the ''Pillar of Autumn'', managed to form an effective and surprising resistance to the Covenant. Unwilling to risk damaging the [[Halo|sacred ring]], the Covenant was forced to fight the Humans on Halo's surface rather than using its usual bombardment tactics. The Covenant found the Humans uncannily adapted to Halo's environment and very adept at fighting on the surface, with Human firearms and vehicles proving effective despite their technological inferiority. Unable to counter the guerrilla tactics employed by the Humans, the Covenant was soundly defeated in numerous raids, including one instance when the Humans boarded their grounded cruiser, the ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'', and successfully escaped with a group of captives, including the captain of the ''Pillar of Autumn'', Captain Jacob Keyes. The battle on Halo then suddenly took a turn for the worst for both sides when the Covenant accidentally released an ancient and deadly parasitic race called the [[Flood]]. The Flood, having been imprisoned within Halo for many thousands of years, spread quickly throughout the ring, killing or assimilating every unsuspecting Human and Covenant in their path.   

Long before the events around Halo, the classified UNSC colony of [[Onyx]] had been designated the headquarters and training ground for the SPARTAN-III Program. However, the UNSC had no idea that the planet was in fact a huge [[Forerunner]] construct, integral to the [[Halo Array]], and containing trillions of [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]]. After John-117's destruction of Alpha Halo, the Sentinels were roused by the disruption of the Halo network and the portal leading into the [[Shield World]] at the planet's core began to close. At this time, a small group of SPARTAN-IIIs were training in a top honors exercise on the surface. After the Humans failed to exchange the proper counter-responses, the Sentinels relabeled the "[[Reclaimer]]s" as aboriginal subspecies and began to exterminate them. Led by [[Kurt-051]], the SPARTAN-IIIs fought a guerrilla war against the Sentinels until Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] arrived on Onyx and explained the wider situation. Knowing that the Forerunner technology buried in Onyx's core could turn the tide of the war for Humanity, Halsey used Forerunner technology to send a message to [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Terrence Hood|Sir Terrence Hood]], requesting reinforcements. Hood deployed [[Blue Team]] to Onyx, who stole a [[Covenant Destroyer]] to reach the planet in time.

*A damaged Human civilian freighter, ''[[Horn of Plenty]]'', suffers a Slipspace drive malfunction from Harvest to Madrigal, forcing the unmanned freighter to exit back into normal space. A Covenant vessel, ''[[Minor Transgression]]'', comes into contact after hours of the freighter's isolation. The Covenant vessel targets the freighter, and a Jackal boarding crew enter.

*In an effort to better protect the remaining Human worlds, the UNSC implements the [[United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1|Cole Protocol]].

*Covenant forces begin to swarm into the [[Inner Colonies]]. For several years the war falls into a pattern: Humans win isolated battles, typically during ground operations, but at a horrible cost. In space combat, the Humans are losing at a precipitous rate, and one by one, the colonies fall.

*On March 6 the [[Battle of 18 Scorpii]] takes place. In the battle prior-unknown Independent/Insurrectionist Human forces assist three UNSC destroyers in defeating a Covenant CPV destroyer.

*[[Operation: FIRST STRIKE]]. Six [[SPARTAN-II]] super soldiers route and destroy a fleet of 500 Covenant warships preparing to jump to Earth. This is the single greatest victory, for the Humans during the entire war and the single greatest loss to the Covenant.

*[[Battle of Earth]]. 15 Covenant ships assault Earth, defended by the [[UNSC Home Fleet]] and 300 ODPs. The Covenant were not expecting the heavy Human presence, as well as their new orbital MAC defenses, and are completely destroyed save for the Prophet of Regret's [[Regret's Carrier|Assault Carrier]] and the [[Pious Inquisitor]]. However, a fleet of Covenant capital ships appears soon after, prolonging the battle.

*The very first Covenant species to encounter Humanity were the [[Kig-yar]], the [[Unggoy]], the [[Huragok]], and the [[Jiralhanae]], - in that order - all prior to the inception of the war.

*Avery Johnson was the only Human to witness both the beginning and end of the Human-Covenant War, as he was present when [[Harvest]] was attacked and saw Truth killed, which signified the end of the war. He was also the first Human to kill a Covenant member.