Editing Operation: FIRST STRIKE

{{Era|HCW}}
{{References}}
{{Battle infobox
|prev=[[Massacre at Eridanus Secundus]]
|conc=
|next=[[Battle of October 10]]
|name= Operation: FIRST STRIKE
|image=[[File:FS cover full.jpg|300px]]
|conflict=[[Human-Covenant War]]
|date= [[2552#September|September 13, 2552]]
|place=[[Tau Ceti system]]
|result=Decisive UNSC victory
*Covenant armada destroyed
*Covenant invasion of the [[Sol system]] delayed
|side1=[[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2=[[Covenant Empire|Covenant]]
|commanders1=*[[Vice Admiral]] [[Danforth Whitcomb]]†
*[[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]]
|commanders2=*[[Prophet of Truth]]
*[[Tartarus]]
|forces1=*Hybrid vessel ''[[Gettysburg]]-[[Ascendant Justice]]''
*[[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-IIs]] [[Blue Team]]:
**[[John-117]]
**[[Frederic-104]]
**[[Linda-058]]
**[[Grace-093]]
**[[William-043]]
*[[Lieutenant Haverson]]
*[[Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb]]
*[[Sergeant Major]] [[Avery Junior Johnson]]
*[[UNSC]] [[AI]] [[Cortana]]
|forces2=*''[[Unyielding Hierophant]]''
*Over 500 vessels (various classes) 
*[[Unggoy]], [[Kig-Yar]], [[Mgalekgolo]], [[Sangheili]], [[Jiralhanae]]
|casual1= 
*Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb 
*Lieutenant Elias Haverson 
*One SPARTAN-II
**[[Grace-093]]
*''Ascendant Justice''
|casual2=All but approximately 12 vessels
*''Unyielding Hierophant''
}}
{{Quote|We're going to take this fight to the Covenant. We're going to launch a first strike.|John-117}}

'''Operation: FIRST STRIKE''' was a raid by survivors of the [[Battle of Installation 04]] and the [[Fall of Reach]] on the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] space station ''[[Unyielding Hierophant]]'' on [[2552#September|September 13, 2552]]. It was the largest UNSC victory since the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]],{{Ref/Reuse|Alamo}} and the most decisive since [[Admiral]] [[Preston Jeremiah Cole|Preston Cole's]] last stand at the [[Battle of Psi Serpentis]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''' - '''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]'''</ref>

==History==
===Background===
Having discovered the location of [[Earth]], Covenant forces under the command of the [[Prophet of Truth]] were building a [[Truth's fleet|massive invasion fleet]], consisting of about five hundred ships to invade humanity's homeworld. Truth kept his knowledge of Earth's location hidden from his fellow [[Hierarchs]], [[Prophet of Regret|Regret]] and [[Prophet of Mercy|Mercy]]. The assembly of the fleet, which was led entirely by the [[Jiralhanae]], also remained secret; Truth planned to have the Jiralhanae [[Changing of the Guard|usurp]] the [[Sangheili]] as the [[San'Shyuum|Prophets]]' protectors, simultaneously eliminating his fellow Hierarchs.<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/theuniverse/events/complex/ten-twenty/f4adbef8-e9bc-44f8-aefa-d8e9b69f7139 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Ten Twenty'']</ref>

After discovering Truth's plan, and the location of ''Unyielding Hierophant'' in the [[Tau Ceti system]], from a piggybacked transmission, the [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Cortana]] and [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN]] [[John-117]] formulated a counter plan that would result in either a massive victory or the deaths of the remaining active SPARTAN-IIs.

===The raid===
[[File:HM-UnyieldingHierophant.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Blue Team's commandeered Spirit dropship approaching ''Unyielding Hierophant''.]]
In a desperate attempt to stop the massive Covenant armada from invading Earth, the five Spartans aboard the hybrid vessel [[UNSC Gettysburg|''Gettysburg'']]-''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' - John-117, [[Frederic-104]], [[Linda-058]], [[William-043]], and [[Grace-093]] - infiltrated the Covenant repair and refit station ''Unyielding Hierophant'' via a captured [[Type-25 Troop Carrier|Spirit dropship]]. After landing in a vast hangar, the Spartans began to sneak through maintenance access and ventilation tunnels until they found the station's [[Pinch fusion reactor|reactor core]].{{Ref/Reuse|Alamo}}

As the Spartans approached a large temple-like atrium, they were ambushed by Jiralhanae guards. During this ambush, Grace was killed when the Covenant tracked her [[COM]] signals; after the immediate threat was eliminated, John activated Grace's [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V|MJOLNIR suit's]] [[fail-safe detonation system]], killing the investigating Covenant soldiers.<ref name="Alamo">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 328-333''</ref> The Spartans then fought their way to a reactor room and set the generators to overload. Once the reactors were set to overload, the Spartans returned to the atrium, opened the [[airlock]]s, and blew out a heavily enforced window that enclosed the atrium with hijacked [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees]], sucking all Covenant forces inside the atrium into space.{{Ref/Reuse|Alamo}}

Around this time, Cortana's attempts to hack the [[Covenant battle network]] was discovered and she was forced to make hundreds of copies to protect herself. She successfully opened the airlocks and interfered with the Covenant's communications by repeating error messages on their COM systems endlessly. The Spartans then traveled to the far side of a nearby moon and unexpectedly met the {{UNSCShip|Gettysburg}}, now separated from ''Ascendant Justice'', which [[Vice Admiral]] [[Danforth Whitcomb]] and [[Lieutenant]] [[Elias Haverson]] had taken to the system's [[Oort cloud]] to gather intelligence from a distance. Having realized that destroying the station would not be enough to stop the threat to Earth, Whitcomb had ''Ascendant Justice's'' [[slipspace]] drive mounted on the ''Gettysburg'' while he and Lieutenant Haverson used the ''Ascendant Justice'' to lure the Covenant fleet into a trap.

Vice Admiral Whitcomb and Lieutenant Haverson then took the ''Ascendant Justice'' and crashed straight into the ''Unyielding Hierophant''. Using a hologram, Whitcomb pretended to have the [[Forerunner]] [[Forerunner crystal|crystal]], which had been found beneath [[CASTLE Base]] on [[Reach]], aboard the ship and challenged all Covenant forces in the system to try and take it from him. The Covenant battleships all gathered around the ''Ascendant Justice'' and the overloading battle station, attempting to take the crystal from Whitcomb. The station then overloaded and exploded, killing Whitcomb and Haverson, destroying most of the Covenant fleet, and saving Earth from impending invasion.{{Ref/Reuse|Alamo}}

===Aftermath===
After using a spy drone to view what remained of the fleet, the crew of the ''Gettysburg'' made a random [[Slipstream space|slipspace]] jump away from the battlefield and then finally to Earth using the ''Ascendant Justice's'' slipspace drive, which had been fitted to the human ship. The crew then warned Earth of the Covenant's intent to invade the planet.

Meanwhile, on ''[[High Charity]]'', [[Tartarus]], the [[Chieftain of the Jiralhanae]], informed the Prophet of Truth of the armada's destruction. Truth was disturbed by the disaster but otherwise regarded it as a minor setback. He told Tartarus to have the surviving ships rendezvous at their designated coordinates.  These ships would later reinforce the [[Prophet of Regret]]'s forces during the Covenant's initial attack on Earth.   

Covenant pilots also recovered three tiny shards of the Forerunner crystal from the debris. Tartarus presented these shards to Truth, who instructed Tartarus to reward the pilots, then quietly eliminate them in order to ensure that his plans were kept hidden from the rest of the Covenant.

==Timeline==
*'''0510 Hours:''' John-117 presents the plan to the crew of the ''Gettysburg'' - ''Ascendant Justice''. After much hesitation, Vice Admiral Whitcomb approves.
*'''0530 Hours:''' The hybrid vessel passes through the Covenant armada in slipspace and launches a single Spirit dropship. The dropship contains the SPARTAN-IIs: John-117, Fred-104, Linda-058, Grace-093, and Will-043. The dropship is undetected by the Covenant forces. The hybrid ship then hides behind a nearby moon.
*'''0610 Hours:''' The dropship docks aboard the ''Unyielding Hierophant''. The Spartans make their way through access pipes and conduits.
*'''1551 Hours:''' The Spartan team enters a temple inside the station. They are ambushed by a group of Jiralhanae temple guards.
*'''1555 Hours:''' Grace-093 is killed when the guards triangulate her location by intercepting her COM transmissions. John detonates Grace's armor, killing the investigating Covenant troops.
*'''1600 Hours:''' The Spartan team fights into the reactor room, where Cortana's copy initiates an overload of all 512 fusion reactors.
*'''1610 Hours:''' ''Gettysburg'' and ''Ascendant Justice'' de-link. ''Ascendant Justice'' heads into the midst of the Covenant fleet, hoping to draw more Covenant vessels close to the station as it is detonating. Aboard are Vice Admiral Whitcomb and Lieutenant Haverson.
*'''1620 Hours:''' The Spartan team uses Banshees to escape the station.
*'''1625 Hours:''' ''Unyielding Hierophant'' explodes, destroying approximately 488 of the 500 vessels in the area and heavily damaging the remainder.{{Ref/Reuse|Alamo}} 
*'''1630 Hours:''' The human survivors, including the remaining Spartans, [[Staff Sergeant]] [[Avery Junior Johnson|Avery Johnson]], and Cortana, as well as many [[Huragok]], return to Earth aboard the ''Gettysburg''. ''Gettysburg'' is outfitted with ''Ascendant Justice''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s slipspace drive, allowing better precision in slipspace calculations.{{Ref/Reuse|Alamo}}

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]'' 
**''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''
**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition|Limited Edition]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{Mo}}

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

{{Human-Covenant War}}
[[Category:Human-Covenant War|First Strike]]
[[Category:UNSC Victories]]
[[Category:Operations]]