Editing Battle of Sunaion

{{Era|Post}}

|next=[[Subjugation of Earth]]

|image=[[File:Battle Of Sunaion.png|350px]]

|place=[[Sunaion]], [[Sanghelios]]<ref name="BOS"/>

*[[Fireteam Osiris]] boards Sunaion's [[Guardian]]

*[[Jul 'Mdama]]'s [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|Covenant]] utterly defeated

|side1=*[[Swords of Sanghelios]]

*[[United Nations Space Command]]

|side2=[[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction]]

|side3=[[Created]]

|commanders2=[[Kitun 'Arach]]†<ref name="fifty caliber">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-fifty-caliber '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder - Fifty Caliber'']</ref>

|forces1=*Several [[Brigantine]]s

*Several [[Carrack]]s

*Several [[Blockade Runner]]s

*Several [[Man O' War]]s

*At least one [[Type-56 Lich]]

*Several [[Type-57 Phantom]]s

*Several [[Type-54 Banshee]]s

*[[Fireteam Osiris]]

|forces2=*Several Brigantines

*Several Carracks

*Several Blockade Runners

*Several  Man O' Wars

*Several Type-57 Phantoms

*Several [[Type-57 Spirit]]s

*Several Type-54 Banshees

*Several [[Type-56 Shrike]]s

*Several [[Sangheili]]

*Several [[Unggoy]]

*Several [[Kig-Yar]]

*Several [[Mgalekgolo]]

|forces3=*One [[Guardian]]

*Several [[Phaeton|Phaeton gunship]]s

*Several [[Promethean Soldier]]s

*Several [[Promethean Knight]]s

*Several Sangheili

|casual2=All ships and vehicles, and most infantry

|casual3=All forces

{{Quote|Today the Covenant will fall! Sanghelios will be free!|Arbiter Thel 'Vadam to his forces, as he leads them into combat<ref name="BOS"/>}}

The '''Battle of Sunaion''' was a major engagement of the [[Blooding Years]] fought in the city of [[Sunaion]] on [[Sanghelios]] on [[2558#October|October 27, 2558]], with the joint forces of the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] and the [[United Nations Space Command]] battling the remainder of [[Jul 'Mdama]]'s [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|reformed Covenant faction]]. The battle ultimately led to the complete destruction of 'Mdama's Covenant.<ref name="BOS"/>

In [[2558#October|October 2558]], [[human]] [[smart AI]] [[Cortana]] and [[Forerunner]] [[ancilla]] [[Warden Eternal]] began summoning [[Guardian]] constructs throughout the [[Milky Way|galaxy]] to their position on [[Genesis]] to allow them to enact their plans of enforcing the [[Mantle of Responsibility]] with [[artificial intelligence]]s as its "[[reclaimer]]s".<ref name="genesis">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[Genesis (level)|Genesis]]''</ref> Meanwhile, Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]]—who had been working with [[Supreme Commander]] [[Jul 'Mdama]]'s [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|Covenant]]—learned of Cortana's plan while on the Forerunner planet of [[Kamchatka]] with 'Mdama. Halsey contacted the rest of the [[United Nations Space Command]] and offered her information on the Guardians and Cortana in exchange for her "rescue" from Kamchatka. In response, [[SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan-IV]] [[Fireteam Osiris]] was [[Battle of Kamchatka|dispatched]] to Kamchatka, where they retrieved Halsey and assassinated 'Mdama.<ref name="osiris">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[Osiris (level)|Osiris]]''</ref> At the same time, [[John-117]] and the rest of [[Blue Team]] went AWOL after learning that Cortana had survived her apparent [[New Phoenix Incident|destruction]] and sought to find her. Cortana led them to the human [[Outer Colony]] of [[Meridian]], where the [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartans]] were taken to Genesis aboard a local Guardian. Fireteam Osiris, who had been in pursuit of Blue Team following their mission at Kamchatka, witnessed their departure and returned to {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} to discuss their next course of action.<ref name="evacuation">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[Evacuation]]''</ref>

Meanwhile, without their leader, 'Mdama's Covenant was beginning to fracture, with several soldiers even deciding to align themselves with [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]]'s [[Swords of Sanghelios]].<ref>'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[Enemy Lines]]'' - [[Mission Intel]]</ref> While some Covenant members, such as [[Cha 'Kulma]], believed that the Covenant needed to regroup at [[Hesduros]], the majority of the Covenant chose to attack [[Sanghelios]] and the Swords of Sanghelios with their remaining forces rather than "''suffer the dishonor of a tactical retreat''".<ref>'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''Swords of Sanghelios'' - [[Mission Intel|Sangheili Personal Log 503]]</ref> The city of [[Sunaion]] in the [[Csurdon Sea]], which had remained neutral during the ongoing [[Blooding Years]], was viewed by the Covenant as an optimal staging site against the Swords of Sanghelios, as the city gave the Covenant quick access to the coasts of [[Yermo]] where Arbiter Thel 'Vadam's [[Vadam|land]] was located. However, the Swords of Sanghelios learned of this plan and quickly established a forward operating base on the nearby shores of the [[Nuusra]] territory. Seeking to finally eradicate the Covenant,<ref name="sunaion">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/locations/sunaion '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Sunaion'']</ref> 'Vadam traveled to the [[Elder Council Chamber]] in Nuusra to lead the Swords of Sanghelios' inevitable attack on the Covenant. However, the Covenant ended up attacking the Swords of Sanghelios' military installations across Nuusra, leading to [[Battle of Nuusra|a large battle]].<ref name="sos"/>

On ''Infinity'', in order to both locate Blue Team and stop Cortana, Fireteam Osiris was tasked with traveling to Sanghelios and aiding the Swords of Sanghelios in eliminating the Covenant to allow them to access the nearby Guardian to travel to Genesis. Making arrangements with the Swords of Sanghelios,<ref>'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[Reunion]]''</ref> Osiris was brought to Sanghelios' surface by the Swords of Sanghelios on [[2558#October|October 27, 2558]] and the Spartans promptly assisted in the battle at Nuusra. After helping the Arbiter fight off Covenant forces at the Elder Council Chamber,<ref name="sos"/> Osiris and the Arbiter returned to the Swords of Sanghelios' nearby encampment with Halsey and Spartan Commander [[Sarah Palmer]]. Osiris was tasked with locating a Forerunner [[Constructor]] at one of the Guardian's nearby support stations to allow Halsey to input commands into the construct to force it to activate the Guardian.<ref>'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[Alliance]]''</ref> The Spartans continued to aid the Swords of Sanghelios in the battle at Nuusra while they located a Constructor. After doing so, they returned to the encampment, and Halsey inputted her commands into it and the construct took off to activate the Guardian at Sunaion. The Swords of Sanghelios regrouped and the Arbiter led them into battle to eradicate the Covenant at Sunaion.<ref>'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[Before the Storm]]''</ref>

{{Quote|Swords of Sanghelios, today Sunaion will fall, and with it, the Covenant! To me, brothers.|Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, leading his forces into combat<ref name="BOS"/>}}

[[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]], [[Fireteam Osiris]], and many [[Sangheili Storm]] of the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] boarded a [[Type-56 Lich]], which led a flight of [[Type-57 Phantom]]s and [[Type-54 Banshee]]s to [[Sunaion]]. Meanwhile, the [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|Covenant]] ground and air forces at the city were assaulted by numerous Swords of Sanghelios [[warship]]s, including [[Blockade Runner]]s, [[Man O' War]]s, [[Carrack]]s, and [[Brigantine]]s.<ref name="BOS"/> Covenant forces during the Battle of Sunaion were led by several [[Sangheili]] commanders, including [[Sangheili Warrior|General]] [[Kitun 'Arach]].<ref name="fifty caliber"/> The Covenant heavily defended the city with numerous automated [[Type-56 Shrike|Type-56 "Shrike" Anti-Aerospace Turrets]] attacking the Swords of Sanghelios ships. The Arbiter's squadron narrowly avoided the Shrikes, while bombarding Covenant ground forces, before eventually deploying 'Vadam, Osiris, and two Sangheili Storm onto a platform in the city. Immediately after landing, the Spartans and Sangheili eliminated nearby Covenant forces and disabled a Shrike turret. While 'Vadam led his forces into combat throughout Sunaion, Osiris embarked to the far end of the city where the Guardian was located, agreeing to disable Shrike anti-air turrets along the way to aid the Swords of Sanghelios. As the battle raged, more of the Swords of Sanghelios' [[fleet]]—including ''[[Havoc]]'', ''[[Onslaught (ship)|Onslaught]]'', and ''[[Revolution (ship)|Revolution]]''—arrived and the flight wing leader ordered [[Jardam Wing]], [[Lar Wing]], and [[Siqtar Wing]] to focus their fire on Covenant air forces. Osiris engaged Sangheili, [[Kig-Yar]], and [[Unggoy]] forces and disabled the Shrikes to allow the Swords of Sanghelios' fleet to get closer to the city.<ref name="BOS"/>

As Osiris disabled Shrike turrets, the Swords of Sanghelios were able to provide the Spartans and their own forces with air support. To aid in their defense of Sunaion, the Covenant warships began deploying several [[Covenant drop pod]]s at the city to bring more soldiers to the ground battle. Additional Covenant forces were deployed to Osiris' location via [[Type-57 Spirit]] [[dropship]]s in an effort to stop the Spartans. However, the Spartans were able to battle their way past Covenant soldiers and soon discovered three Shrikes firing upon Swords of Sanghelios ships, with the power source of one of the turrets protected behind an [[Energy shielding|energy shield]]. Nonetheless, Osiris was able to eliminate the Covenant forces guarding the anti-air turrets and promptly disable all three Shrikes. Contacting 'Vadam, Spartan [[Jameson Locke]] of Osiris informed the Arbiter that the Shrikes were disabled at their location, and the Arbiter sent several Phantom dropships to the Spartans' location to deploy his soldiers. After Osiris cleared a [[landing zone]] for the Swords of Sanghelios air forces, Phantoms soon arrived and deployed many Sangheili soldiers into battle.<ref name="BOS"/>

{{Quote|Hunt them to the last. Today we extinguish the Covenant's light forever!|Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, as the Swords of Sanghelios eliminates remaining Covenant forces<ref name="BOS"/>}}

Afterwards, [[Shipmaster|Shipmistress]] [[Mahkee 'Chava]] contacted Fireteam Osiris and informed them that too many Shrikes remained for her to ferry them to the Guardian's location. However, she provided the Spartans with an alternative route to the Guardian—a passage to Sunaion's undercity that would allow direct access to the Guardian. As the Spartans descended down an [[elevator]] to the undercity, Locke contacted 'Vadam to inform him of the concussive blasts that would be set off once the Guardian was activated and warned him to move the Swords of Sanghelios' fleet away from the city before the construct's activation so that only the Covenant's fleet would be damaged. Continuing through the undercity, Osiris continued to encounter numerous Covenant forces as they fought their way to the Guardian's position. Meanwhile, the [[Constructor]] had managed to activate the Guardian and numerous [[Promethean]] forces began arriving at Sunaion, attacking both Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios forces. In the undercity, Osiris continued forward and fought their way through a large amount of Covenant soldiers attempting to block the Spartans' path. Osiris soon encountered two [[Mgalekgolo]] at the edge of the undercity and, after defeating the Mgalekgolo, the Spartans took an elevator back into the higher parts of Sunaion, eliminating Unggoy soldiers in the elevator along the way.<ref name="BOS"/>

[[File:Halo 5 - Sanghelios Guardian.jpg|thumb|250px|The Guardian above Sunaion, as Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios air forces battle nearby.]]

Meanwhile, the Prometheans were proving to be a difficult opponent to the Swords of Sanghelios and were killing many of their soldiers near the Guardian's site. As Osiris arrived back at the main part of the city, they moved past numerous dead Covenant forces as the Swords of Sanghelios were pushing them into retreat. However, the Guardian began rising out of the water and entered its activation process, as it started releasing its concussive blasts upon the city. Osiris began sprinting towards the Guardian to make it aboard the construct before it departed, but the Guardian's concussive blasts began damaging the buildings they were moving on, forcing them to avoid falling debris and crashing Covenant ships. The Spartans soon encountered [[Promethean Crawler]]s attacking Covenant forces. After eliminating the Crawlers, Osiris encountered 'Vadam killing a [[Promethean Knight]]. Together, the Arbiter and four Spartans fought alongside each other to eliminate Promethean forces, including Crawlers, Knights, [[Promethean Watcher|Watchers]], and [[Promethean Soldier|Soldiers]]. As the five held off against numerous Prometheans, the [[Warden Eternal]] arrived at Sunaion. However, after a long battle, Osiris and 'Vadam succeeded in destroying the Prometheans and the Warden's physical form at Sunaion.<ref name="BOS"/>

With the Prometheans defeated, the Guardian began preparing its final activation procedures before departing to [[Genesis]] via [[slipstream space]]. Commandeering a [[D79-TC Pelican]], Spartan Commander [[Sarah Palmer]] and Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] arrived at Osiris' location and picked them up to bring them to the Guardian. As Swords of Sanghelios forces decimated the last of the Covenant air forces, a Covenant Banshee managed to damage the humans' Pelican. However, Palmer succeeded in flying the damaged dropship over the Guardian, allowing Osiris to jump onto the construct just as it departed into slipspace to Genesis.<ref name="BOS"/> The Guardian severely damaged Sunaion from both its concussive blasts and its departure into slipspace, and parts of the city began collapsing into the water below.<ref name="sunaion"/> However, 'Vadam was successful in leading the Swords of Sanghelios in eliminating the remaining Covenant forces in the damaged city, ending the battle.<ref name="BOS"/>

{{Quote|The Guardians sounded their mighty call, and tore the stars apart. They brought us here. The ships of believers and heretics alike were flung to the fertile ground, where the survivors engage in a glorious slaughter. Yes, to die here, in the home of the gods, is the highest honor. I cannot wait.|[[Muki 'Jahma]], following the battle between surviving Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios soldiers on Genesis<ref name="genesis mi">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''Genesis'' - Mission Intel</ref>}}

While the Swords of Sanghelios proved victorious at Sunaion and successfully eliminated the Covenant on Sanghelios, Fireteam Osiris was brought to Genesis alongside several Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios ships that were inadvertently transferred to the planet by the Guardian.<ref name="genesis"/> The ships were promptly flung to the surface of Genesis once the Guardian arrived at the planet, with the survivors engaging each other in combat.<ref name="genesis mi"/> Once at Genesis, Osiris succeeded in meeting up with [[Blue Team]], where the Spartans learned of [[Cortana]]'s plan to use the Guardians to enforce the [[Forerunner]]'s [[Mantle of Responsibility]]. In subsequent actions against the [[Warden Eternal]]'s [[Promethean]]s and the surviving Covenant forces brought to Genesis, Osiris and Blue Team were unable to stop Cortana from forming an alliance of [[artificial intelligence]] called the [[Created]] and dispatching her collected Guardians at Genesis to worlds throughout the galaxy to enforce the Mantle by disabling technology on all worlds the Guardians arrived at, including several human worlds.<ref name="guardians">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[Guardians (level)|Guardians]]''</ref>

Eventually, Osiris and Blue Team returned to Sanghelios, using a Pelican to land at the Swords of Sanghelios encampment at [[Nuusra]]. The Spartans met with Arbiter 'Vadam, Spartan Palmer, and Doctor Halsey, and the group began planning their next course of action to combat Cortana and her Created.<ref name="guardians"/>

*Spartan Commander [[Sarah Palmer]]

*Spartan [[Jameson Locke]]

*Spartan [[Edward Buck]]

*Spartan [[Olympia Vale]]

*Spartan [[Holly Tanaka]]

*Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]]

===Covenant===

*[[Sangheili Warrior|General]] [[Kitun 'Arach]]

*[[Khret 'Thanta]]

*[[Tsodon 'Sakua]]

*[[Muki 'Jahma]]

*[[Kit Pitlimp]]

*[[Proon Glibwik]]

File:HM-Battle of Sunaion.jpg|Spartan Locke and Thel 'Vadam fighting Sangheili Storm during the battle in ''[[Halo Mythos]]''.

*''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]''

{{Reflist}}