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| Battle of Seoba | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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March 18, 2526 [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Abandoned ice quarry, Seoba, Biko planetary system, Kolaquoa system | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The Battle of Seoba was an engagement early in the Human-Covenant War between forces of the United Nations Space Command and several Insurrectionist factions, and later the Covenant. It took place on the moon of Seoba, the third moon of Biko.
Background
Operation: SILENT STORM
- Main article: Operation: SILENT STORM
Early in the war with the Covenant, UNSC leadership realised that they would not be able to match the Covenant one-for-one in space combat. Following successful SPARTAN-II boardings of the Unrelenting and Radiant Arrow, Vice Admirals Preston Cole and Michael Stanforth decided that the Spartans would next be employed to take on a larger operation - boarding and destroying a Covenant fleet of warships, while Battle Group X-Ray provided a distraction.[2]
To assist the operation, Task Force Yama was assembled consisting of several Razor-class prowlers and the Point Blank-class stealth cruiser UNSC Vanishing Point. Twelve SPARTAN-II supersoldiers and the ODST 21st Space Assault Battalion were assigned to the fleet, with Captain Halima Ascot in charge of the Prowler fleet and Colonel Marmon Crowther given operational command of ground forces. The planet Biko, home to three resource-rich moons and a series of shipyards, was in the path of the Covenant conquest and thus selected as a staging ground for the operation. If the Covenant skipped attacking the planet, then the UNSC had a forward operations base in what would now be Covenant space; if the Covenant did attack the planet, Yama would be able to attack the Covenant while they were distracted.[2]
Insurrectionist presence
By 2526, the war with the Covenant was still largely unknown to the general public, with the large fleet movements to the Outer Colonies something of a mystery to the civilian populace, including the Insurrectionists. On March 12, many rebel organisations had been summoned to the frigate Bellicose for a meeting; there, General Harper Garvin of the URF and Lyrenne Castilla, captain of the Bellicose, informed many rebel faction leaders of the stark reality of the Covenant and their war against the UNSC. Petora Zoyas, representative for the Gao Liberation Force, informed the congregation of the SPARTAN-II program and Operation: SILENT STORM, citing a source within Task Force Yama for the information. With the news that the Covenant would be attacking Biko in short order, Erland Booth vocalized his concern for the planet and the Biko Independence Army. The meeting devised a plan to help the Insurrection take advantage of the situation; many rebel groups would supply troops to assist the BIA in executing a coup on the Bikoan chancellor, taking over the planet and offering it to the Covenant in the hopes of being able to ally with the aliens against the UNSC.[1]
The insurrectionists established their base in an old abandoned ice quarry on Seboa, the planet's third moon. The insurrectionists planned to use the quarry as a staging ground, before attacking and controlling Biko's orbital facilities.[1] The combined Insurrectionist force fortified the quarry with several bunkers, M41 Vulcan rotary cannons, a convoy of Civet armored fighting vehicles and hundreds of infantry.
Operation: ICE DANCE
- "All personnel: Operation: ICE DANCE is no longer a drill. Repeat, no drill."
- — Marmon Crowther.[3]
Independently to the Insurrectionists, Task Force Yama also selected the same quarry as a perfect place to hide their prowlers until such a time as the UNSC and Covenant began the Battle of Biko. Operation: ICE DANCE was formed as an opportunity to let the SPARTANs and ODSTs of the 21/SAB rehearse a deployment under fire. With a full platoon, a SPARTAN-II in Mark IV MJOLNIR and an ONI special advisor - Avery Johnson - in the drop bay of UNSC Ghost Song - the troops would practice the deployment on landing in the quarry. Upon exiting slipspace however, the mission changed; the Prowlers had detected the insurrectionist plans to overthrow the chancellor, and the mission was now one of clearing the quarry so the Task Force could hide there.[3]
Climbing the mountain
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Covenant arrival
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List of appearances
- Halo: Silent Storm (First appearance)
Sources