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Battle of Sigma Octanus IV: Difference between revisions
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{{Main|Keyes Loop}} | {{Main|Keyes Loop}} | ||
On July | On July 17, 2552, [[Ensign]] [[William Lovell]] logged a large gravitational anomaly inside [[Slipstream space]]. Deciding that it could not be any form of Covenant starship based on its immense size, Lovell passed it off as an asteroid, sent his hourly report, and thought nothing more of it.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 137-138''</ref> | ||
However, over [[Sigma Octanus IV]], [[Commander (UNSC)|Commander]] [[Jacob Keyes]], commanding officer of the [[UNSC destroyer|UNSC Destroyer]] [[UNSC Iroquois|''Iroquois'']], realized that the large mass was in fact a [[battle group]] of Covenant ships after reading [[UNSC Astrophysics Journal 034-23-01|a report]] by [[Fhajad-084]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 141''</ref> The Covenant ships were flying in close formation; large masses bend slipspace more easily than in real space, creating the illusion of a single large mass when there are in fact several. Keyes concluded that the mass was comprised of four [[Covenant frigate|Covenant Frigates]]. However, when the Covenant battlegroup exited slipspace, the ''Iroquois'' found itself outmatched by the arrival of not four frigates but one {{Class|DDS|carrier}}, one [[Covenant destroyer|destroyer]], and two [[Covenant frigate|frigates]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 170''</ref> | However, over [[Sigma Octanus IV]], [[Commander (UNSC)|Commander]] [[Jacob Keyes]], commanding officer of the [[UNSC destroyer|UNSC Destroyer]] [[UNSC Iroquois|''Iroquois'']], realized that the large mass was in fact a [[battle group]] of Covenant ships after reading [[UNSC Astrophysics Journal 034-23-01|a report]] by [[Fhajad-084]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 141''</ref> The Covenant ships were flying in close formation; large masses bend slipspace more easily than in real space, creating the illusion of a single large mass when there are in fact several. Keyes concluded that the mass was comprised of four [[Covenant frigate|Covenant Frigates]]. However, when the Covenant battlegroup exited slipspace, the ''Iroquois'' found itself outmatched by the arrival of not four frigates but one {{Class|DDS|carrier}}, one [[Covenant destroyer|destroyer]], and two [[Covenant frigate|frigates]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 170''</ref> | ||
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With the ground battle continuing, more UNSC ships arrived in orbit over Sigma Octanus IV. At 0625 hours, a fleet of Covenant vessels were detected on the edge of the system. The 48 available UNSC warships, including the ''Iroquois ''and Stanforth's flagship, the ''Marathon''-class cruiser ''Leviathan'', formed a tight "checkerboard" formation that allowed for them to fire all their [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC]] guns simultaneously at the Covenant fleet with a single massive volley. However, this restricted the mobility of the UNSC fleet, and left them unable to evade the extremely accurate Covenant plasma torpedoes. When the battle commenced, the Covenant fleet took a severe beating from the UNSC's opening MAC salvo, but promptly returned fire with a salvo of plasma torpedoes. The repair station ''[[UNSC Cradle|Cradle]]'' moved in front of the UNSC formation, acting as a sacrificial shield, and absorbed the Covenant fleet's first salvo, at the cost of the station and its entire crew. This allowed the UNSC ships to dedicate all the power from their reactors to recharging their MAC guns, and the UNSC ships were thus quickly able to fire a second salvo after the destroyed ''Cradle'' drifted away.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 222''</ref> | With the ground battle continuing, more UNSC ships arrived in orbit over Sigma Octanus IV. At 0625 hours, a fleet of Covenant vessels were detected on the edge of the system. The 48 available UNSC warships, including the ''Iroquois ''and Stanforth's flagship, the ''Marathon''-class cruiser ''Leviathan'', formed a tight "checkerboard" formation that allowed for them to fire all their [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC]] guns simultaneously at the Covenant fleet with a single massive volley. However, this restricted the mobility of the UNSC fleet, and left them unable to evade the extremely accurate Covenant plasma torpedoes. When the battle commenced, the Covenant fleet took a severe beating from the UNSC's opening MAC salvo, but promptly returned fire with a salvo of plasma torpedoes. The repair station ''[[UNSC Cradle|Cradle]]'' moved in front of the UNSC formation, acting as a sacrificial shield, and absorbed the Covenant fleet's first salvo, at the cost of the station and its entire crew. This allowed the UNSC ships to dedicate all the power from their reactors to recharging their MAC guns, and the UNSC ships were thus quickly able to fire a second salvo after the destroyed ''Cradle'' drifted away.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 222''</ref> | ||
After this salvo, only eight Covenant vessels remained: cruisers and destroyers. The UNSC fleet then scattered and proceeded to engage the Covenant fleet, which responded by releasing its [[Type-31 | After this salvo, only eight Covenant vessels remained: cruisers and destroyers. The UNSC fleet then scattered and proceeded to engage the Covenant fleet, which responded by releasing its [[Type-31 Seraph|Seraph]] fighters and opening heavy fire on the UNSC ships. The ''Iroquois'' spotted a small Covenant [[Covenant stealth ship|stealth craft]] in orbit above the planet and attempted to destroy it with a barrage of Archer missiles, but the attack was foiled when the stealth ship jammed the missiles' guidance locks, causing them to miss. In response, ''Iroquois ''simply rammed the ship, stopping the Covenant from gaining planetside data. The remaining Covenant vessels soon fled the system.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 226''</ref> | ||
==Aftermath== | ==Aftermath== | ||