Preston Cole: Difference between revisions

In [[2525#February|February 2525]], the UNSC lost contact with the Outer Colony of [[Harvest]] and [[Battle Group 4]] was dispatched to the [[Epsilon Indi system]] to discover the reason for loss of contact. Upon arriving at the system, the battle group quickly discovered that Harvest had been [[Glassing|glassed]] by the alien [[Covenant]]. The battle group was [[First Battle of Harvest|attacked]] by [[Covenant cruiser]] ''[[Rapid Conversion]]'' and only the badly damaged {{CMAShip|Heracles}} was able to return to Reach with word of the incident.<ref name="for117">'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''pages 117-126'' (2010)</ref> In response to the alien [[Human-Covenant War|threat]], Central Command moved to create a battle group of forty [[warship]]s to retake Harvest. Cole was ultimately selected by CENTCOM to lead this force; a "fallen hero" that lived a scandalous retirement, Cole served as an easy scapegoat if CENTCOM's counterattack on the Covenant failed. Additionally, Cole was considered to be a brilliant commander during the Insurrection that was willing to sacrifice himself and anyone under his command to complete his task.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''pages 458-460''</ref> On [[2525#November|November 2, 2525]], ONI had Lieutenant Commander [[Jack Hopper]] and Lieutenant [[Demos]] visit Cole and convince him to lead the battle group. Reinstated as a vice admiral of the Navy, Cole was given command of [[Battle Group X-Ray]] in [[2525|December of 2525]],<ref name="timeline">[[Xbox.com/Halo/Timeline|'''Xbox.com''', ''Halo Storyline'']]</ref><ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 461''</ref> conceived as the largest assembled fleet at that point in human history.<ref name="for117"/><ref name="enc299">'''Halo Encyclopedia''', ''page 299'' (2011)</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 88''</ref> By [[2525#November|November 12, 2525]], Cole had begun preparing himself for the battle by reviewing data and reports from previous encounters with the Covenant at Harvest and [[Chi Ceti IV]], and realized that Covenant [[energy shielding]] would prove to be troublesome in battle. With the {{Class|Valiant|super-heavy cruiser}} {{UNSCShip|Everest}} serving as his [[flagship]], Cole requested numerous modifications to the cruiser. He ensured that his crew was battle-tested and competent,<ref name="he462"/> and [[artificial intelligence]] [[Sekmet]] was chosen as Cole's shipboard AI on ''Everest''.<ref name="he465">'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole", ''page 465''</ref>