Joseph Harper: Difference between revisions

|rank=[[Fleet admiral]]<ref name="h2"/>

{{Quote|no=two|q1=This is Fleet Admiral Harper, we are engaging the enemy!|Joseph Harper|q2=Negative, Admiral. Form a defensive perimeter around the cluster.|Terrence Hood|Fleet Admirals Joseph Harper and Terrence Hood as the Battle of Earth begins<ref name="h2"/>}}

[[Fleet Admiral]] '''Joseph Harper'''<ref name="lootcrate2">'''[[Halo Legendary Crate]]''', ''[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #2]]''</ref> ([[service number]] '''07959-90021-JH''')<ref name="h2a"/> is a [[human]] flag officer of the [[UNSC Navy]]. Towards the end of the [[Human-Covenant War]], Harper commanded the [[Fifth Fleet]], as well as the {{Class|Marathon|heavy cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Canberra}}, his [[flagship]]. Along with Fleet Admiral [[Terrence Hood]], Harper led UNSC forces during the [[Battle for Earth]] in late [[2552]].<ref name="lootcrate2"/>

In the final years of the [[Human-Covenant War]], [[Fleet Admiral]] Joseph Harper served as the commander-in-chief of the [[Fifth Fleet]], taking command of the expeditionary [[fleet]] on [[2548|January 20, 2548]].<ref name="lootcrate2"/> His [[flagship]] was the {{Class|Marathon|heavy cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Canberra}}.<ref name="h2a"/> In [[2552#May|May 2552]], Harper organized the defenses of [[Earth]] in preparation for a possible [[Covenant]] attack. Harper had all [[warship]]s with functional [[MAC]]s self-deployed or towed to rally points, and personally assessed the security team deployed by the {{UNSCShip|Chevalier}} to [[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo Station]] in preparation of the arrival of Fleet Admiral [[Terrence Hood]], [[Chief of Naval Operations]]. Following the [[Fall of Reach|Fall]] of [[Reach]], all remaining forces of the [[UNSC Navy]] were consolidated into a single command grouping under the [[UNSC Home Fleet]] on [[2552#September|September 5, 2552]]. Harper was appointed senior flag officer and given primary administrative and tasking authority over all aerospace assets within the [[Sol system]], as per emergency security directives authorized by [[UNSC High Command]] and approved by the [[UEG Security Council]]. On [[2552#October|October 9, 2552]], the [[UEG Strategic Forecasting and Scenario Planning Group]], as well as the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] and the [[UNSC Special Topics Committee]], concluded that [[human]]ity was almost certainly doomed following the losses sustained during the [[Covenant]]'s invasion of [[Epsilon Eridani]]. However, Harper did not agree with this assessment.<ref name="lootcrate2"/>

On [[2552#October|October 10, 2552]], [[Battle Group Rhino]] of the [[Third Fleet]] approached twelve unidentified vessels with outdated [[civilian]] [[Identification friend or foe|IFF]] codes near [[Enceladus]]. Upon approach, eleven of the vessels promptly fled the system, leading to Battle Group Rhino attacking the remaining vessel. The [[carrier]] {{UNSCShip|Totem Lake}} was lost with all hands, and Battle Group Rhino disengaged and returned to the UNSC defense line. [[Vice Admiral]] [[Williams]] of the Third Fleet requested permission to reengage the remaining hostile vessel, but was denied by Harper. On [[2552#October|October 13, 2552]], anomalies were detected near [[Argyre Planitia]] on [[Mars]]. A team deployed by [[Naval Special Warfare Command]] discovered [[Active camouflage|cloaked]] remote sensor platforms of undetermined origin. After consultation with [[Admiral]] [[Margaret Parangosky]], [[Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence|Commander-in-Chief]] of ONI, Harper issued a priority-1 stand-down.<ref name="lootcrate2"/>

{{Quote|First echelon, you're with me—blanket those cruisers, take 'em out one by one. Second echelon, keep those carriers busy.|Fleet Admiral Joseph Harper, leading the Fifth Fleet<ref name="h2"/>}}

On [[2552#October|October 20, 2552]], the [[Battle for Earth]] began when the Covenant's [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration]] arrived in the Sol system, unaware of the system's human presence.<ref name="h2"/> Harper and Hood coordinated the orbital defense of Earth,<ref name="lootcrate2"/> with Harper leading the Fifth Fleet to engage the Covenant fleet while Hood commanded Earth's [[orbital defense platform]]s. Harper desired to engage the Covenant fleet on their way to Earth, though Hood had him form a defensive perimeter around Cairo Station's battle cluster. Harper led the first echelon of his fleet against the thirteen {{Class|CCS|battlecruiser}}s of the Covenant fleet, while the rest of his fleet engaged the two {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}}s. Despite substantial losses, the Fleet of Sacred Consecration eventually managed to break through Earth's defenses and launch a ground assault upon the planet.<ref name="h2"/>

Later in the battle, on [[2552#November|November 17, 2552]], Covenant fleet elements began excavating a [[Forerunner]] [[Portal at Voi|slipspace portal]] near the [[Kenya]]n town of [[Voi]] on Earth. [[Battle Group Victory]] vectored to support [[UNSC Air Force]] and [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] forces clearing [[Type-27 Mantis]] emplacements nearby, allowing for Harper to authorize an in-atmosphere MAC strike against the Covenant's flagship, the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]]. However, the MACs had no effect against the [[keyship]] and the portal was activating, resulting in spatial distortions that damaged the [[artificial gravity]] systems of the nearby ships.<ref name="lootcrate2"/> The remaining Covenant forces, and a small group of allied UNSC and [[Sangheili]] ships under the [[Fleet of Retribution]], entered the portal, leading to [[Installation 00]] and ultimately the [[Battle of Installation 00|final battle]] of the war.<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level, ''[[The Storm]]''</ref> Meanwhile, with the bulk amount of Covenant forces in the system gone, UNSC forces began a counteroffensive against the Covenant. Remaining Covenant forces fortified themselves across [[North America]]. On [[2552#December|December 3, 2552]], Harper directed [[Operation: MARSH FLASH]], which successfully eliminated clusters of [[Jiralhanae]] leadership attempting to activate an artifact in [[United Republic of North America|Arizona, URNA]].<ref name="lootcrate2"/>

On [[2553#February|February 1, 2553]], Harper no longer commanded the Fifth Fleet, though continued to serve in the UNSC Navy by at least [[2554|April 6, 2554]], compiling reports on the actions he took to prepare Earth's defenses for a Covenant attack.<ref name="lootcrate2"/>