Editing Battle of the 78th Thema

{{Era|Forerunner}}
{{Battle infobox
|prev=[[Battle of Kan Pakko]]
|conc=
|next=Battle near [[Jad Sappar]]
|name=Battle of the 78th Thema
|image=
|conflict=[[Forerunner-Flood war]]
|date=
|place=Path Terrulian, 78th Thema
|result='''Forerunner victory'''
|side1=[[Forerunner]]s
|side2=[[Flood|The Flood]]
|commanders1=[[Falchion|The Falchion]]
|commanders2=[[Gravemind]]
|forces1=[[Warrior-Servant]] [[Forerunner fleet|fleet]]
*12 [[Fortress-class vessel]]s
*700,000 [[Harrier-class vessel]]s
*Large number of [[sentinel]]s
|forces2=*100,000 infested vessels
**400 [[Forerunner dreadnought|dreadnoughts]]
|casual1=Numerous sentinels
|casual2=All forces
}}

The '''Battle of the 78th Thema''' was an engagement fought between the [[Forerunner]]s and the [[Flood]] in Path Terrulian within the 78th Thema. One of the penultimate battles of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], it ended in a rare Forerunner victory in this stage of the conflict. The battle itself represented a portion of a larger engagement, waged across four [[thema]]s.<ref name="p212">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 212-214''</ref>

==Background==
With the remaining Forerunners escorted to safety, eventually to be evacuated to the [[greater Ark]], the Forerunners concentrated their last battle fleets to the defense of a region of space consisting of four [[thema]]s standing in the brink of complete infestation. Fleets were withdrawn from [[Path Kural]],{{Ref/Reuse|p212}} which had been lost to the Flood, becoming part of a [[Burn]].<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 251''</ref>

The organization and force distribution of the battle followed the established doctrine of Forerunner space warfare, fundamentally based upon abstract membranes extending into higher dimensions and combining [[Slipstream space]] transit vectors with scalars measuring potential outcomes. These multi-dimensional complexes made up a hypersphere which combined slipspace transit arrays and tactical probability scalars, both of which were adjusted as the engagement progressed and outcomes were determined.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 211''</ref>

The action in the 78th Thema was part of the [[Warrior-Servant]] forces' first [[clench]], under the command of the [[Falchion]]. The clench encompassed nineteen systems, all of which had been formerly linked by [[star road]]s. The first flex of the membrane leading to the clench began at the inner edges of Path Terrulian, a pre-stellar nebular region surrounded by old, cooling stars, along with an abundance of [[asteroid]]s as well as rocky and icy planets. The Falchion's forces in the clench consisted of twelve [[Fortress-class vessel]]s, largely stationary due to [[reconciliation]] debt, acting as apex control stations for 700,000 smaller [[Harrier-class vessel]]s. The opposing Flood force was estimated to comprise over 100,000 vessels, the most powerful of which being 400 [[Forerunner dreadnought|dreadnoughts]].{{Ref/Reuse|p212}}

==Battle==
The Flood fleet arrived at Path Terrulian ''en masse'', using [[Precursor]] [[neural physics]] superluminal transit. Seemingly caught by surprise by the Forerunner military presence in the region, the Flood ships were momentarily vulnerable upon arrival as they radiated multiversal residues. The Falchion immediately ordered a group of cloaked harriers, positioned in advance, to launch a series of precision strikes against the incoming Flood ships. Instead of using easily detectable [[directed energy weapon]]s or projectiles, they utilized their gravity slings to launch local asteroids at high velocities into the emergence fields of the Flood-controlled vessels, enabling the harriers to remain untraceable for a time. The barrage of asteroids interfered with the transmission of the arriving ships, vaporizing half of the vessels directly, while the rest managed to evade and reposition themselves, scattering across several thousand kilometers. A multi-pronged force of uncloaked harriers engaged the remaining Flood vessels with their energy beams, quickly destroying one-third of the infected ships.{{Ref/Reuse|p212}}

The remaining Flood ships were rapidly rendered harmless; mostly intact but lacking any offensive capability. The Falchion intended to salvage the Flood ships' corrupted [[ancilla]]s, deploying ancillas under his own command to examine the ships and retrieve their designators, which were then delivered to [[sentinel]]s deployed from one of the apex fortresses. Aided by the harriers, the sentinels breached the shields and hulls of the drifting Flood vessels and boarded them in order to reprogram their control ancillas. At first, this effort seemed to be successful, as the Forerunner automatons had supposedly been proofed against the Flood's [[logic plague]]. However, upon entry and contact with the infected ships' ancillas, the sentinels were rapidly subverted by the Flood. As a result, the Forerunners were forced to destroy the infested vessels one by one, along with the corrupted sentinels.{{Ref/Reuse|p212}}

==Aftermath==
The isolated tactical victory in the battle did little to slow the Flood's spread across the galaxy; the [[Capital]]'s system was conquered by the Flood shortly afterward, resulting in the [[Ecumene Council|governance]] and [[Forerunner Fleet Command|strategic command]] of the [[ecumene]] being transferred to the [[greater Ark]]. Acknowledging the futility of the attempts to salvage Flood-controlled ships and ancillas due to the constantly adapting nature of the logic plague, the Forerunners soon completely abandoned this program in favor of destroying any infested ships outright.<ref name="s214">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 214-215''</ref>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' {{1st}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Forerunner-Flood War}}
[[Category:Battles]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:78th Thema}}