Battle of Meridian: Difference between revisions

|date=[[2548]]–[[2551]]<ref name="universe">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/locations/meridian '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Meridian'']</ref><ref name="terminal">'''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''', ''[[Terminal/Halo 2: Anniversary|Terminal 14]]''</ref>

|place=[[Meridian]], [[Hestia system]]<ref name="universe"/>

*Covenant learn of the existence of the Ark and the Portal; unknowingly uncovering [[Earth]]'s location<ref name="terminal"/>

|commanders1=Captain [[Edmund Persie]]<ref name="evacuation intel">'''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''', campaign level, ''[[Evacuation]]'' - [[Mission Intel]]</ref>

|commanders2=[[Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret]]<ref name="terminal"/>

|forces1=*[[UNSC Air Force]]<ref name="universe"/>

*At least 1 [[Mark IX Mantis ADS]]<ref name="h4evg111">'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 111''</ref>

*18 [[Type-27 Mantis|Type-27 Mantis]]<ref name="h4evg111"/>

|casual1=Most vessels

|casual2=*18 Type-27 Mantis<ref name="h4evg111"/>

The '''Battle of Meridian'''<ref name="h4evg111"/> was an engagement of the [[Human-Covenant War]] between the [[United Nations Space Command]] and [[Covenant]] at the [[human]] [[Outer Colony]] of [[Meridian]] in the [[Hestia system]]. Beginning in [[2548]], the Battle of Meridian continued for three years as the Covenant attempted to diminish the UNSC's strong resistance on the world. Ultimately, Meridian was [[Glassing|glassed]] by the Covenant in [[2551]].<ref name="universe"/><ref name="terminal"/>

 

[[Meridian]] was a major [[human]] [[Outer Colony]] with a robust economy and a large [[United Nations Space Command]] presence, home to several major military contractors that provided the UNSC with equipment, including [[Chalybs Defense Solutions]]. Within the final years of the [[Human-Covenant War]], most of Meridian's population had believed they had somehow survived the [[Covenant]]'s onslaught throughout the Outer Colonies. However, the Covenant had discovered the world in [[2548]] and, realizing Meridian's value to the rest of the UNSC, sought to blockade Meridian.<ref name="universe"/>

Meridian was discovered by the [[Covenant]] in [[2548]],<ref name="h5 glassed">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level ''[[Glassed (level)|Glassed]]''</ref> and the [[moon]] quickly came under siege as the Covenant attempted to cut off supply lines from Meridian to other fronts in the war. However, the [[United Nations Space Command]] fiercely fought against the Covenant invaders, with Meridian's impressive [[UNSC Air Force]] garrisons and extensive orbital defense grid.<ref name="universe"/> The first prototype for the [[Mark IX Mantis ADS|HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX "Mantis" ADS]] engaged in an action known as the "Cherbourg Run", in which it successfully engaged eighteen heavily guarded [[Type-27 Mantis|Type-27 Anti Aircraft Cannons]], also known as "Mantis". The success of the prototype in the "Cherbourg Run" is one of the theories of why the walker was eventually called "Mantis".<ref name="h4evg111"/> Ultimately, the UNSC was able to defend Meridian against the Covenant for three years and was eventually able to repel the alien invaders in [[2551]].<ref name="universe"/><ref name="journal">'''[[Halo: Reach]]''', ''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''</ref>

 

At least three {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}}s glassed the moon, including the [[Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret]]'s ''[[Solemn Penance]]''. Following the battle, a [[Covenant Special Operations]] team was dispatched by the Prophet of Regret to the moon's surface to search for Forerunner artifacts. The team retrieved a [[Luminary]] and delivered it to Regret aboard his [[flagship]].<ref name="terminal"/>

Some time later in [[2552]], the High Prophet of Regret's [[Steward]]s successfully decrypted the Luminary, which revealed the existence of the [[Installation 00|final home of the Forerunners]], as well as a [[Portal at Voi|portal that led to it]]. The Luminary also revealed the location of this portal, "[[Earth|Erde-Tyrene]]". Regret assembled the [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration]] and ordered the fleet to head for the world at once. Unbeknownst to Regret, Erde-Tyrene was the Forerunner name for Earth—the homeworld of [[human]]ity.<ref name="terminal"/>

 

Meridian was not completely lost; although the UNSC did not return to the world for the rest of the Human-Covenant War,<ref name="h5 glassed"/> Meridian's glassing had been rushed and incomplete. While many human settlements were destroyed and the moon's oceans had evaporated, Meridian's atmosphere remained largely intact to allow resettlement,<ref name="ms intel">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''Meridian Station'' - Mission Intel</ref> though it was now polluted with the after-effects of the glassing including tiny glass particles in the air that rendered parts of the world unbreathable without air filters.<ref name="unconfirmed intel">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[Unconfirmed]]'' - Mission Intel</ref> Nonetheless, Meridian was resettled by the [[Liang Dortmund Corporation]], who sought to make the world completely habitable again. The corporation brought former Meridian residents as well as opportunists seeking profit to the world to aid in "deglassing" Meridian's surface and restoring the world to its former state.<ref name="universe"/>