Editing Battle of Circinius IV

{{Status|Canon}}

{{Battle infobox

*At least 3 {{Pattern|Ceudar|heavy corvette}}s

The '''Battle of Circinius IV''' was an engagement between [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] and [[Covenant]] forces on the colony of [[Circinius IV]] in mid-[[2526]]. It was not only one of the first battles of the [[Human-Covenant War]], but also one of the first deployments of [[SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan-IIs]].<ref name="FUD 3">'''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn''', ''Part 3''</ref>

After the [[First Battle of Harvest|first engagements]] on [[Harvest]], [[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Section II]] kept the Covenant invasion secret from the general population. This encompassed the denizens of Circinius IV (including the staff and cadets of the [[Corbulo Academy of Military Science]]) in what was likely the first application of the recently introduced [[WINTER CONTINGENCY (protocol)|WINTER CONTINGENCY]]. However, the academy's superintendent, [[Daniel Black|General Black]], was informed. As preparation for a possible attack, Black discreetly increased the readiness of the [[UNSC Marine Corps|UNSC Marine]] garrison posted in the academy and authorized limited communications blackouts under the guise of routine maintenance procedures.  Unfortunately, these preparations would prove ineffective against the Covenant.

On April 26, 2526, the Covenant launched a surprise attack on Circinius IV. Three {{Pattern|Ceudar|heavy corvette}}s entered the atmosphere and attacked Corbulo Academy. Locally stationed Marines provided an initial defense of the academy and the evacuation of the cadets via the school's [[space elevator]] was begun immediately. Orbiting UNSC vessels soon deployed [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] directly onto the campus. However, one of the Covenant corvettes fired on the elevator, causing it to collapse on the school and halt the evacuation. Since all the cadets and staff had converged near the elevator for evacuation, the collapse of the elevator killed many members of the academy. Moments later, the survivors came under attack by [[Sangheili]] and [[Kig-Yar]] troops.{{Ref/Reuse|FUD 3}}

The Spartan led the survivors to the academy's exterior, where they were ambushed by [[Kig-Yar Sniper]]s. Cadet Sullivan was wounded during the firefight, but survived.  After dispatching the snipers, they retreated from the combat zone in General Black's personal [[M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle|Warthog]].{{Ref/Reuse|part4}} During the drive, however, they came under heavy fire from more Kig-Yar and were eventually forced to abandon their vehicle.  Silva was killed by a [[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|needler]] round, and the rest of the group was attacked by a pair of [[Mgalekgolo]]. John-117 depleted all his ammunition killing one of the Mgalekgolo, leaving him with only a single grenade.  He decided to take on the remaining Mgalekgolo alone, buying the surviving cadets time to escape. However, Cadet Lasky volunteered to distract the alien while John-117 got into position.  Lasky successfully drew the Mgalekgolo's fire, allowing John to plant the grenade under its armor. The resulting detonation blew the Mgalekgolo to pieces.  

A [[SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan-IV]] NPC at the beginning of the ''Halo 4'' campaign level ''[[Shutdown]]'' may occasionally refer to the Circinius IV conflict. He claims that the anniversary of the battle occurred "just last week", despite the level being set in late July.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1appHwo4MbU '''YouTube''' - ''Halo 4: Shit Marines Say'']</ref> While this is likely to be a simple oversight, it is possible that the battle for the planet was prolonged due to a UNSC reprisal (much like the [[Harvest campaign|extended campaign]] to reclaim [[Harvest]]) and continued well into July.