Editing Operation: SILENT STORM

{{Status|Canon}}

|conflict=[[Human-Covenant War]] {{C|[[Massacre of the Outer Colonies]]}}, [[Insurrection]]{{Ref/Reuse|HSS5}}<ref name="HSS24">''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'', Chapter 24</ref>

|date=[[2526#March|March 8]] - [[2526#April|April 15, 2526]]{{Ref/Reuse|HSS5}}<ref name="HSS27">''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'', Chapter 27</ref>

*Decimation of the [[Fleet of Inexorable Obedience]]{{Ref/Reuse|O69}}

|side1=*[[United Nations Space Command]]{{Ref/Reuse|HSS5}}

|side2=*[[Covenant]]{{Ref/Reuse|HSS5}}

*[[Insurrectionist]]s

**[[United Rebel Front]]<ref name="HSS6">''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'', Chapter 6</ref>

**[[Gao Liberation Force]]

**[[Biko Independence Army]]

**[[People's Occupation]]

**[[Venezian Militia]]

With the initial reconquest of Harvest successful at a high price, it became clear to UNSC command that the war was unlikely to be won through sheer naval superiority due to the aliens' vastly superior technology. Realising the UNSC needed time to fully mobilise for war and to develop technology sufficient of fighting the new threat, Vice Admiral Cole convened a meeting to devise Operation: SILENT STORM. Inspired by Sergeant Johnson's successful boarding of ''Minor Transgression'' and the successful boardings of ''[[Unrelenting]]'' and ''[[Radiant Arrow]]'' by [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II]]s the year prior, Cole intended to use the SPARTANs supplemented by an [[ODST]] space assault [[battalion]] to infiltrate and plant [[nuclear weapon]]s on Covenant vessels and staging points behind enemy lines - disrupting the enemy supply lines and invasion while the UNSC could prepare.

Following the predicted enemy attack patterns, the UNSC estimated that the next colony world in the Covenant conquest would be [[Biko]]. Task Force Yama would covertly infiltrate Bikon airspace and land in a deserted [[Seoba ice quarry|ice quarry]] on the moon of [[Seoba]] and wait until the Covenant had engaged regular defensive forces in orbit before infiltrating unnoticed amidst the chaos. Depending on the outcome, the distracted Covenant fleet would then be beset upon by Cole's [[Battle Group X-Ray]] or destroyed by the SPARTAN infiltration.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS5}}

With the Covenant invasion of the outer colonies strong, the [[Insurrectionist]]s hoped to spare their worlds by aligning with the aliens to fight against the UNSC - unaware of the aliens' genocidal intent. [[Lyrenne Castilla]] called for a conference aboard her frigate ''[[Bellicose]]'', consisting of the leaders of a number of rebel cells. The groups invited to the conference included the [[United Rebel Front]], [[Gao Liberation Force]], [[Biko Independence Army]], [[Venezian Militia]], [[Freedom League]] and [[People's Occupation]]. Here, the group discussed plans to ally with the aliens and drew up a plan. The Gao Liberation Force (GLF), represented by [[Petora Zoyas]] and wanting to increase its influence, divulged its knowledge of Operation: SILENT STORM and the imminent attack on Biko - knowledge gleaned from the group's spy within Task Force Yama. The Biko Independence Army (BIA) was outraged by the UNSC plan to use Biko as a "sacrificial lamb", and demanded immediate action. Hoping to use the Covenant to attack the UNSC and destroy the SPARTAN supersoldiers - who had been successfully rooting out the [[Insurrection]] for years - the rebels would present this knowledge to Covenant, with the promise of more to come on the condition that Biko and other rebel-aligned worlds be spared from the onslaught.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS6}}

===Battle of Seoba===

Upon arriving at Biko's third moon of [[Seoba]], [[Task Force Yama]] soon realized that the moon was the [[Insurrectionist]] staging ground for their coup.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS7}} Trying to land [[ODSTs]] on the moon’s quarry through aerial drops, the [[UNSC]] force suffered severe losses, with one company of the [[21st Space Assault Battalion]] taking over 30% casualties, although three [[Spartan-II]] teams (including [[Blue Team]]) were able to stop the Insurrectionists from reporting news of the attack to their superiors. After taking several hundred [[Insurrectionist]] prisoners, who [[Colonel]] [[Marmon Crowther]] put in the hands of the Spartans to guard while the [[ODST]] battalion withdrew to orbit. [[John-117]] was able to find former UNSC Major General [[Harper Garvin]] among the prisoners. It was then that a flotilla of [[Covenant]]  stealth ships, led by [[Blademaster]] [[Tel 'Szatulai]], visually spotted seven [[UNSC]] [[Prowlers]] and engaged their larger force in an attempt to capture one of the superior [[UNSC]] stealth ships. In this engagement, [[Captain]] [[Halima Ascot]] was killed when her [[prowler]], [[UNSC Starry Night]], was downed and crashed near the Seoba Ice Quarry. [[Blue Team]] were able to make their way to the crashed [[Starry Night]] and activate its onboard [[Fury tactical nuclear weapon]] to destroy the [[prowler]] and sensitive information on its data logs, including, among other things, the location of [[Earth]]. During the battle, [[Commander]] [[Hector Nyeto]] attempted to get the Spartans killed by delaying an attack run on the Covenant ships, but all Spartans survived and two more Covenant ships were eventually destroyed by Nyeto’s squadron.

{{Main|Battle over Etalan}}

{{Main|Battle of Zhoist}}

[[Category:UNSC victories|SILENT STORM]]