Alpha Base (Installation 04): Difference between revisions

The [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] occupied this mesa when they discovered the ring, using mostly a light complement of [[Unggoy]], [[Kig-Yar]], and [[Sangheili]], as well as several [[Banshee]]s to guard it. It provided a good view of the surrounding areas, and the steep embankments around it made it hard to reach from the ground. Strategically placed [[Shade]] turrets also made the mesa difficult to assault from the air.

When the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was attacked above the Halo by opposing Covenant forces, the [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODSTs]], under command of [[Major]] [[Antonio Silva]], abandoned the ship aboard Human Entry Vehicles. As the ODSTs fell through the ring's atmosphere, the [[Artificial Intelligence]] [[Wellsley]] tagged the Covenant base as '''HS2604''',<ref name="flood48">'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', ''page 48''</ref> suggesting that it would be ideal as a base for Silva's operations. Wellsley suggested the base be named 'Gawilghur',<ref name="flood48"/> after a fortress that Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, laid siege to in India. Major Silva shot down Wellsley's request and stated that most of the Marines would not be able to pronounce the name correctly.

The majority of ODSTs landed around the base. Silva ordered [[First Lieutenant]] [[Melissa McKay]] to take the butte. <ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', ''page 59''</ref> McKay led an assault through a pass that was thought to lead to the top of the butte. As McKay and her company began their climb, the Covenant launched a preemptive strike against Silva. The attack consisted of an estimated one hundred [[Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle|Ghost]] rapid assault vehicles.

With half of his forces committed elsewhere, Silva ordered his A and D companies to form an "infantry square": an all-round defense formation that, coupled with the hilly natural terrain, gave the ODSTs a better chance of survival against the Ghosts' fixed weapons. To start, the Sangheili drivers fought very poorly. Several Ghosts fired upon each other or collided in their haste to score a kill. Eventually, a more experienced commander took charge and ordered the Ghosts to move around the square counter-clockwise and then to attack the lowest pit in the square. Human casualties increased and the square started to break. Silva responded by reinforcing the pit, ordering his [[M19 SSM Rocket Launcher|M19 missile]] operators to rotate their salvoes, and having his sniper team concentrate on the commander. As an apparent afterthought by the Covenant, Banshees attacked late and were quickly eliminated by M19 launchers. Finally, with the commander and 50% of their men dead, the attackers retreated, some carrying extra riders on their Ghosts. From that attack, the UNSC suffered 23 killed in action and 16 wounded in action, of which 6 were critical cases. Finally, Silva was able to order his [[D77-TC Pelican]] dropships to attack the butte and give Lieutenant McKay air support and distract the Covenant.

McKay, despite casualties, had made a good deal of progress moving up the butte. At last she made it to a "back door" into the butte. She fired an M19 missile into it, which struck an ammunition store and cleared the room of all hostiles. She and her company entered to find an elevator to the surface of the butte. As a result of the battle, the UNSC managed to gain a base of operations. It is unknown how much of a defense Silva put into guarding this back door, but apparently the Covenant were unable to use it to gain access to the base during later assaults.

Despite now having this strategic foothold, Silva still had a great deal of problems. The ODSTs were equipped with enough food and supplies to last 2 weeks. However, that was not the case with the 63 crewmen that the [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]] [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]] had been able to rescue. Also, the dropships were running low on fuel and the base was not adequately prepared for a Covenant counter-attack. Silva therefore ordered McKay to go to the downed ''Pillar of Autumn'' and recover whatever supplies that she could find. The raid was a success with only a minimum of UNSC casualties, while several enemy Ghosts and a [[Type-25 Troop Carrier|Spirit]] dropship were destroyed. The Marines and ODSTs were able to secure a sufficient amount of fuel, food and ammunition. Two 50mm autocannons were also recovered, a contingent of [[M12 Warthog Light Reconnaissance Vehicle]]s, and four [[M808B Main Battle Tank|M808B Scorpion]] tanks. Unfortunately, no ammunition could be found for the Pelicans, limiting their usage to transport only. Some of the supplies, LRVs, and Marines were lost in the return trip due to Covenant resistance.

The second battle was [[Zuka 'Zamamee]]'s attempt to get into the base and kill the Master Chief. Approximately six [[Type-28 Troop Carrier|Spirit dropships]] full of Covenant and the captured [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelican]] ''[[Charlie 217]]'' full of cloaked [[Sangheili]] commandos participated in the attack. The Pelican managed to touch down and release the Sangheili within before its landing pad was doused in fuel and lit. However, Zuka 'Zamamee and several Sangheili had already fled and began in search of the Chief. Before being killed by the [[Stealth Sangheili]] led by Zamamee, a valiant crewman, [[Cho (Navy technician)|Cho]], gave the AI Wellsley control of the 50mm autocannons, with which he was able to eliminate 1 Spirit dropship. The remaining dropships released their troops further away from the base and attempted to assault it thus. Snipers expertly inflicted heavy casualties on the disembarking troops. Two of the recovered [[M808B Main Battle Tank|Scorpion Tanks]] had been entrenched and were able to cut down much of the onslaught, including the [[Field Master|Field Commander]]. With their leader dead, lesser Sangheili attempted to assume command with little success. In addition, the Covenant were able to employ the [[Type-56 Lich]] ''[[Upright Chalice]]'' in their attack, using it to deploy vast quantities of troops onto the base directly, before ODST [[Fireteam Raven]] were able to hold off the attack.<ref>'''[[Halo: Fireteam Raven]] level:''' [[Alpha Base (Halo: Fireteam Raven level)|Alpha Base]]</ref>In the end, all remaining Covenant were either captured, killed, or forced to retreat. [[Yayap]] and [[Zuka 'Zamamee|Zamamee]] were able to survive by stealing one of the [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees]] that the [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marines]] had been able to salvage.

Due to successful raids and the attack upon the ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'', at least four [[Shade]]s, were set up in defense of the base. Unfortunately, these turrets had limited effectiveness against dropships. Also, 15 operational Covenant [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees]] were recovered. A basic perimeter was set up and monitored through motion trackers by Wellsley. Pelicans had quick strike teams in place if there was a perimeter breach that could respond in about two minutes. Finally, a combination of LRVs and captured Ghosts were used as patrols, effectively combining power and speed.

At its strongest point, the bases defenses were as followed:

*A contingent of LRV Warthogs.

*The appearance of Alpha Base, as depicted in ''[[Halo: Fireteam Raven]]'', bears extremely heavy resemblance to the Forerunner structure found in the skybox of the ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' [[Anniversary Map Pack]] map [[Ridgeline]]. Notably, the doorway structures leading to the base's interior sections bear heavy resemblance to the map's red and blue bases and the overall structure exhibits extremely similar architecture. furthermore, Ridgeline's map description states that ''"This idyllic cliffside once served as a UNSC staging area''"<ref>'''[[Halo: Reach]] map description:''' [[Ridgeline]]</ref>, indicating that the staging area referred to in the map description is, in fact, Alpha Base (or a [[War Games]] map based on Alpha Base).