Robert Watts: Difference between revisions

With the beginning of the Insurrection, Watts soon re-emerged in [[2494|June 2494]] as the commander of the [[Secessionist Union]]'s chapter on [[Eridanus II]] in the [[Eridanus system]].<ref name="universe"/><ref name="enc44">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''pages 44-45'' (2011)</ref> The Secessionist Union began preying on shipping [[freighter]]s in the Eridanus system, leading to the [[Eridanus Government]] requesting aid from the [[United Nations Space Command]].<ref name="enc34">'''Halo Encyclopedia''', ''pages 34-35'' (2011)</ref> However, by [[2495|January 2495]], Watts successfully orchestrated a takeover attempt on the government and effectively gained control of Eridanus II.<ref name="universe"/> Additionally, Watts' forces were able to amass a small [[fleet]] of spaceships through their contacts within the [[Colonial Military Administration]]. In [[2496|January 2496]], the UNSC finally responded to the Eridanus Government's requests with a major offensive dubbed [[Operation: CHARLEMAGNE]]. A [[battle group]] of [[warship]]s arrived at Eridanus II and engaged Watts' forces in the system, eventually breaking his hold on the planet.<ref name="enc44"/> Other insurgent factions allied with the Secessionist Union on Eridanus II were also splintered as the UNSC eliminated their leaderships.<ref name="universe"/>

Watts eventually realigned the surviving insurgent factions in the Outer Colonies and took command of them. Branded by the UNSC as a "united rebel front", Watts came to adopt the pejorative as a badge of honor and titled his unified faction the [[United Rebel Front]]. As the Insurrection continued, Watts led insurgent forces against the Colonial Military Administration on a number of worlds,<ref name="universe"/><ref name="enc44"/> and essentially commanded a majority of rebel activity in the Outer Colonies.<ref name="dirt109">'''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''', "[[Dirt]]", ''page 109''</ref> Eventually, Watts and the URF re-accumulated enough strength to attempt to overthrow the Eridanus Government once again; Watts hoped to use Eridanus II as a base of operations for the URF and drag the CMA into a costly guerrilla war.<ref name="universe"/> In [[2513]], Watts led an armed uprising on Eridanus II. Having anticipated the attack, the UNSC engaged United Rebel Front forces as part of [[Operation: TREBUCHET]]. A UNSC fleet of [[carrier]]s, [[cruiser]]s, and [[destroyer]]s attacked Watts' own fleet of roughly one hundred smaller spaceships,<ref name="for96"/> while some URF forces attempted to engage UNSC forces in a ground campaign on Eridanus II. During the conflict, several assassination attempts were made on Watts' life, including one made by [[Avery Johnson]] of the Marine Corps, though none were successful. An operation to capture Watts' second-in-command was also attempted, but failed.<ref name="ch112"/> Ultimately, much of the United Rebel Front's forces in the system were decimated by the UNSC before they could properly establish a presence on Eridanus II.<ref name="universe"/> Ordering the mass exodus of insurrectionist forces on the planet, knowing their survival in battle to be impossible, Watts was taken by [[Pelican]] to ''[[Iliad]]'', a captured {{Class|Charon|light frigate}} which he used as a [[flagship]] as he coordinated both the resistance and evacuation. When ''[[Gateway (ship)|Gateway]]'', another URF warship, experienced difficulties with its [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|slipspace drive]], Watts utilized towing cables on ''Iliad'' to rip apart a [[UNSC cruiser]] that threatened ''Gateway'' and sent its debris into a collision course with another cruiser, destroying both ships. Afterwards, ''Gateway''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s issues were resolved and both ships fled the battle through [[slipstream space]] along with the surviving remnants of their fleet.<ref name="bc1">'''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp]]''', ''Issue #1''</ref>

===Capture and arrest===

{{Quote|Stop! My men are coming. You think I'm alone? You're all dead. Drop your weapons.|Robert Watts to Blue Team, seconds before his capture<ref name="for112">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 112'' (2010)</ref>}}

Eventually, in [[2525]], rough coordinates of Eridanus Secundus were leaked to the Office of Naval Intelligence. ONI quickly organized [[Operation: TALON]],<ref name="universe"/> a mission to use the newly commissioned supersoldiers of the [[SPARTAN-II program]] to travel to the asteroid to capture Watts alive to allow ONI to interrogate him with the hopes of learning about URF movements and the identity of rebel spies with [[UNSC Fleet Command]]. Comparing the asteroid's approximate coordinates with the movements of the insurgent-captained {{Class|Parabola|freighter}} ''[[Laden]]'', the Spartans were tasked with infiltrating the freighter to potentially reach Eridanus Secundus.<ref name="for96"/>

==Personality and traits==

Robert Watts was a resourceful<ref name="enc79"/> and charismatic leader who was highly esteemed by his peers. As a colonel of the [[UNSC Marine Corps]], Watts was a highly regarded and decorated commander. Watts once was a true believer in the ideals of the [[Unified Earth Government]], though he grew disillusioned with the government and its [[United Nations Space Command]] and its policies after years of first-hand experience with the independence movements of the [[Outer Colonies]] during his service in the Marine Corps. His experience in engagements, charisma, and success allowed him to eventually gain influence among [[insurrectionist]]s and led to him creating the [[United Rebel Front]], a unified and somewhat organized composite of insurgent cells that Watts led against the UNSC and the [[Colonial Military Administration]] throughout human-occupied space.<ref name="universe"/> As the leader of the United Rebel Front, Watts was willing to fight alongside his forces in combat. When [[Gateway|one of his ships]] was threatened by UNSC forces, Watts led [[Iliad|his frigate]] against two [[UNSC cruiser]]s alone to defend the vulnerable ship.<ref name="bc1"/> Watts was skilled at evasion<ref name="enc79"/> and successfully avoided many assassination attempts during his time as a rebel.<ref name="ch112"/> Throughout his campaigns against the UEG and UNSC at the [[Eridanus system]], Watts often preferred to operate within the system's [[asteroid]] belts.<ref name="dirt109"/> By doing so, he was able to avoid UNSC forces as the size of asteroid belts made it nearly impossible to search every asteroid for rebel outposts.<ref name="for96"/>