United Nations Space Command: Difference between revisions

[[File:UNSC Fleet.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[UNSC Home Fleet]] engages the Covenant over Earth.]]

By October of [[2552]], the Covenant haphazardly discovered the position of the human home world, Earth, and sent a [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration|preliminary task force]] there, believing it to be the location of the [[Installation 00|Ark]], an ancient Forerunner relic. They encountered staunch resistance, and were initially fended off. Further complications arose from the political and religious crisis that emerged in the wake of a UNSC operation to assassinate the [[Prophet of Regret]], and the secession of the [[Sangheili]] from the hegemony, leading to the [[Great Schism]]. Overnight, the Covenant was thrown into chaos. Nevertheless, by November, the forces loyal to the [[Prophet of Truth]] had subjugated large parts of Africa and devastated much of the planet. Only the offensive lead by [[Commander]] [[Miranda Keyes]] through the [[Portal at Voi|Forerunner portal]] uncovered in [[Africa]], and the arrival of the [[Sangheili]] [[Fleet of Retribution|fleet]] prevented the eventual destruction of the UNSC and Earth itself.

The UNSC and [[Swords of Sanghelios|their Sangheili allies]] launched a joint operation to destroy the Covenant once and for all at the Ark. Fight against 3:1 numerical superiority in space, and even greater forces garrisoned on the Ark, the allies were able to stop Truth from firing the Halo Array. In addition, the Sangheili known as [[Thel 'Vadam|the Arbiter]] killed Truth, the Covenant's last remaining leader, while SPARTAN-117 led the ground effort to destroy the Covenant's remaining forces. On March 3, [[2553]], the Human-Covenant War officially ended in a victory for the UNSC and the Covenant separatists, but at a high price. Most major military outposts, along with countless colonies had been destroyed. Earth, despite the loss of billions to orbital bombardment, remained battered but standing. An estimated twenty-three billion civilians were killed between 2525 and 2553.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', "[[Palace Hotel (short story)|Palace Hotel]]", ''page 358''</ref>