Editing Battle of Netherop (2526)

{{Status|Canon}}
{{New content}}
{{Battle infobox
|prev=[[Battle of Mesra]]
|conc=
|next=[[Battle of Alpha Aurigae]]
|image=[[File:Oblivion CoverArt.jpg|300px]]
|conflict=[[Human-Covenant War]]
|date=[[2526#June|June 7, 2526]]
|place= [[Netherop]]
|result='''Tactical UNSC/Covenant draw'''
*Failure by the UNSC to recover the ''[[Steadfast Strike]]''
*Failure by the Covenant to recover the [[Luminal Beacon]]s
*[[Nizat 'Kvarosee]] and most of [[Defenders of the Sanctum|his remaining forces]] permanently exiled on [[Netherop]]
*[[Netherop]] [[orbital mine shell|space-mined]] by the Covenant to prevent anyone from landing there ever again
*Failure by the Covenant to completely eliminate the human forces and vice versa
*Stranding of [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Amalea Petrov]] and several others on Netherop

'''Strategic Flotilla of Unsung Piety victory'''
*Successfully planted at least one [[Luminal Beacon]] on the human forces
*Escape of two vessels to continue the plan to destroy ONI
|side1=[[File:Halopedia Era UNSC.png|25px]] [[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2=[[Flotilla of Unsung Piety]]
|side3=[[File:H5Covenant Logo2.png|25px]] [[Covenant]]
|commanders1=[[Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO]] [[John-117]]
|commanders2=[[Fleetmaster]] [[Nizat 'Kvarosee]]
|commanders3=*[[Hierarchs]]
*Unnamed [[Sangheili Ultra]]
|forces1=*[[Task Force Pantea]]
**{{UNSCShip|Kayenta}}
**{{UNSCShip|Chaco}}
**{{UNSCShip|Cibola}}
**{{UNSCShip|Mesa Verde}}
**{{UNSCShip|Rio Grande}}
*1 ONI salvage ship
**{{UNSCShip|Phyllis Wheatley}}
*1 {{Class|Razor|prowler}}
**{{UNSCShip|Night Watch}}
*4 [[Spartan-II]]s
**[[Blue Team]]
*1 Marine battalion
*[[Castoffs]]
|forces2=*[[Flotilla of Unsung Piety]]
**9 [[intrusion corvette]]s
***''[[Quiet Faith]]''
***''[[Still Devotion]]''
***''[[Silent Truth]]''
***''[[Divine Whisper]]''
**1 [[Covenant frigate]]
***''[[Steadfast Strike]]''
|forces3=*[[Fleet of Swift Justice]]
**1 {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}}
**1 [[Covenant cruiser]]
**5 [[Covenant destroyer]]s
**3 [[Covenant frigate]]s
*[[Silent Shadow]]
|casual1=*Heavy
**{{UNSCShip|Night Watch}}
**{{UNSCShip|Phyllis Wheatley}}
**At least one {{Class|Halberd|light destroyer}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=Chapter 19|HOblv|Chapter=19}}
**1 Pelican
**Heavy ground casualties
|casual2=*Most of the [[Flotilla of Unsung Piety]]
**''[[Steadfast Strike]]''
**''[[Still Devotion]]''
**''[[Divine Whisper]]''
**Seven [[intrusion corvette]]s
*Heavy ground casualties
|casual3=*Moderate
}}

The '''Battle of Netherop''' was a battle that occurred when [[Blue Team]] attempted to capture a downed [[Covenant frigate]] on the planet [[Netherop]]. However, it was also a trap by rogue [[Fleetmaster]] [[Nizat 'Kvarosee]] which turned into a three-way conflict with forces from the [[Covenant]], particularly the [[Silent Shadow]].

==Prelude==
In the waxing months of the [[Human-Covenant War]], and weeks after the overwhelmingly successful [[Operation: SILENT STORM]], humanity's best chance for survival is to disable a [[Covenant frigate]] filled with valuable technology that could help them win the war. It rests on [[Netherop|an inhospitable world]] and is offered to the UNSC by [[Nizat 'Kvarosee|the same disgraced Covenant fleetmaster]] who failed to stop the [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-IIs]] in Operation: SILENT STORM.

==Battle==
{{Expand-section}}

==Aftermath==
{{Expand-section}}
The [[Prophet of Truth]] covered up [[Nizat 'Kvarosee]]'s actions and the true nature of the events on [[Netherop]], making it so that the [[Covenant World Registry]] made no mention of an [[orbital mine shell]] around Netherop, just the loss of the ''[[Radiant Arrow]]'' and the ''[[Steadfast Strike]]'' and that the Prophet of Truth had deemed the losses to be a sign of divine displeasure and forbade all Covenant vessels from entering the system.{{Ref/Novel|Out|4}} Nizat's exile on the planet was omitted with [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]] only having heard of the events up to Nizat and his forces fleeing from [[High Charity]] and a general order from the [[Hierarchs]] that Nizat be killed on sight. The Silent Shadow also apparently left behind [[Blademaster]] [[Menuz 'Ra'ashai]] to help enforce the exile, although he ended up joining forces with Nizat during his years stranded on the planet.{{Ref/Novel|Out|13}}

Over the next thirty-three years, Nizat and [[Defenders of the Sanctum|his forces]] waged an ongoing war against Petrov and her forces, unaware that the Covenant was eventually defeated. The exiled Covenant forces would discover leftover [[Precursor]]{{Ref/Novel|Out|Chapter=17}} technology that allowed them to create armor that they called [[Sanctum's Hide]] and a weapon that they called the [[Divine Hand]]. However, Petrov and her forces were able to kill a number of Nizat's people over the years, leaving him with only six remaining followers, while the humans had children and their numbers only increased as time went on.{{Ref/Novel|Out|Chapter=7}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=Out9|Out|Chapter=9}} Nizat became more and more fanatical as time went on, but his followers, aside from Tam, started to become disillusioned by their harsh life.{{Ref/Reuse|Outcasts}}

About a year after the battle, the UNSC sent a rescue mission to Netherop. A Prowler sneaked into orbit and established contact with Petrov. However, the orbital mine shell destroyed both Pelicans that were sent to Netherop's surface. Not prepared to clear a full mine shell and unwilling to risk twenty lives to save eight, the captain called off the mission but he promised that a better-equipped mission would come back when it was feasible. True to the Prowler captain's word, the corvette {{UNSCShip|Alpina}} came years later and worked to punch through the mine shell. On the third day, the ''Alpina'' made contact with the UNSC survivors and promised that a Pelican would collect them before the next evening, having apparently found a way through the mine shell. However, Nizat was able to use the Divine Hand to destroy the ''Alpina'' and the third rescue mission that came after it.{{Ref/Reuse|Out9}}

Thirty-three years after the battle, the UNSC and the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] would [[Battle of Netherop (2559)|return]] to [[Netherop]] seeking [[Divine Hand|a weapon]] capable of destroying [[Cortana]]'s [[Guardian]]s. The mission would see the dismantling of the orbital mine shell, the rescue of the stranded UNSC survivors from the Battle of Netherop, and the elimination of Nizat and his surviving forces.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Outcasts|Out}}

==Trivia==
*Although what happened to [[Nizat 'Kvarosee]] and his ground forces is revealed in ''[[Halo: Outcasts]]'', no mention is ever made of the fate of the [[Flotilla of Unyielding Piety]] or the outcome of the plan to destroy ONI that Nizat set into motion during the battle.

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Oblivion]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Outcasts]]'' {{Mo}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources|3}}
{{Human-Covenant War}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Netherop}}