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During the midst of the meeting, the {{UNSCShip|Vanishing Point}} relayed a message informing the Task Force that a Covenant [[Bloodstar Flotilla|flotilla]] of five [[corvette]]-equivalent vessels was on approach to Seoba, with an ETA of twenty-two minutes. Ascot ordered all Prowler crews to scramble and evacuate the surface within seventeen minutes. The Task Force agreed to continue the operation as planned, using the Black Daggers to board the Covenant fleet, with Crowther insisting on using the SPARTANs to guard the three-hundred insurrectionist prisoners while they loaded onto the {{Class|Banta|transport}} ''[[Emmeline]]''.<ref name="SS11"/> | During the midst of the meeting, the {{UNSCShip|Vanishing Point}} relayed a message informing the Task Force that a Covenant [[Bloodstar Flotilla|flotilla]] of five [[corvette]]-equivalent vessels was on approach to Seoba, with an ETA of twenty-two minutes. Ascot ordered all Prowler crews to scramble and evacuate the surface within seventeen minutes. The Task Force agreed to continue the operation as planned, using the Black Daggers to board the Covenant fleet, with Crowther insisting on using the SPARTANs to guard the three-hundred insurrectionist prisoners while they loaded onto the {{Class|Banta|transport}} ''[[Emmeline]]''.<ref name="SS11"/> | ||
The departure of the prowlers alerted [[Tel 'Szatulai]] to the human stealth capabilities, and he resolved himself to capture one of the human ships to learn more about how they were successfully able to avoid Covenant detection systems. The [[Intrusion corvette]]s had a roughly 80% effective cloak system and had thus entered the system undetected and the orbital traffic around Biko continued as usual, indicating the insertion had been | The departure of the prowlers alerted [[Tel 'Szatulai]] to the human stealth capabilities, and he resolved himself to capture one of the human ships to learn more about how they were successfully able to avoid Covenant detection systems. The [[Intrusion corvette]]s had a roughly 80% effective cloak system and had thus entered the system undetected and the orbital traffic around Biko continued as usual, indicating the insertion had been successful. The Sangheili ordered the flotilla to open fire on the ice quarry to bombard it from orbit and attempt to shoot down any vessels that may try and escape.<ref>''Halo: Silent Storm'', Chapter 12</ref> The [[Chancellor's Guards]] would notice this barrage and respond with force, with Nyeto estimating they would destroy the fleet within the hour.<ref name="SS14"/> | ||
The bombardment hit the {{UNSCShip|Starry Night}}, Ascot's prowler, and downed the ship. By this point, most of the 21/SAB had departed, with the final company in [[Night Flight]]. Crowther denied requests for the Prowlers to return to the ground to assist as he didn't want to lose any more ships. In response, John-117 ordered the insurrectionist prisoners in [[Subsurface maintenance grotto 6M430]] to begin boarding the ''Emmeline'', listening out in case the SPARTANs were given a new assignment. Eventually, he | The bombardment hit the {{UNSCShip|Starry Night}}, Ascot's prowler, and downed the ship. By this point, most of the 21/SAB had departed, with the final company in [[Night Flight]]. Crowther denied requests for the Prowlers to return to the ground to assist as he didn't want to lose any more ships. In response, John-117 ordered the insurrectionist prisoners in [[Subsurface maintenance grotto 6M430]] to begin boarding the ''Emmeline'', listening out in case the SPARTANs were given a new assignment. Eventually, he realized that his SPARTANs were the only ones left in a position to help the downed Prowler, and sealed the rebels inside the transport to ensure they couldn't escape. He proceeded to begin assisting, recognizing that if the aliens captured the ''Starry Night'', they could learn everything about humanity including the location of [[Earth]]. The ''Emmeline'' then departed Seoba.<ref>''Halo: Silent Storm'', Chapter 13</ref> | ||
The squad set out without | The squad set out without authorization from Crowther, but were soon given authorization once they explained the risks involved with leaving the ''Starry Night''. Due to the sublimation fog in the quarry, a remnant of the earlier battle, it was impossible to see and so the SPARTANs maintained a spacing of ten meters to ensure their search pattern worked. The squad found the ''Starry Night'' impacted into the quarry wall, with a Covenant intrusion corvette lowering itself into the quarry to begin salvaging the ship. The mission changed from recovery to asset denial, with the SPARTANs aiming to detonate the [[Fury tactical nuclear weapon]] in the ship's engineering compartment. The Covenant deployed several [[Type-32 Ghost]]s manned by [[Jiralhanae]] to engage the SPARTANs, while the supersoldiers prepared to use their [[M301 grenade launcher]]s to fire on the Prowler and cause an avalanche. The Covenant ship continued to drop several [[Extra-vehicular activity|EVA]]-equipped Sangheili, Jiralhanae and [[Kig-Yar]], while Nyeto began using the remaining Prowlers to try and take out the Covenant from the air. The SPARTANs were able to combine fire on the area below the Prowler impact site, and the avalanche dropped the prowler onto the quarry floor - encasing the SPARTANs in ice.<ref name="SS14">''Halo: Silent Storm'', Chapter 14</ref> | ||
The SPARTANs freed themselves from the ice and began to engage the Covenant infantry who were crawling all over the ship, preparing to board. Several more Ghosts maintained position on the quarry floor, supported by three more Covenant recovery ships. By this time, Blue Team had made their way inside the ''Starry Night'' and were beginning to arm the nuke, as well as recovering four ODST survivors and Avery Johnson. The team intended to use the ship's escape pods to launch out of Seoba's low gravity to escape the nuclear blast. Nyeto's bombing run only served to hurry the aliens, as they began to prepare a recovery device to lift the Prowler off Seoba. John began to attack the aliens on the outside of ''Starry Night'', killing several Sangheili [[Silent Shadow]] and Kig-Yar. The nuke armed with a thirty-second timer and the UNSC forces inside the ship jettisoned the escape pod, leaving the remaining SPARTANs on the ground sprinting away from the downed Prowler. Due to MJOLNIR's EMP shielding and Seoba's thin atmosphere, the nuke's area of effect was minimal and the SPARTANs were able to narrowly outrun the blast radius before the nuke went off. Crowther then returned to pick up the survivors.<ref>''Halo: Silent Storm'', Chapter 15</ref> | The SPARTANs freed themselves from the ice and began to engage the Covenant infantry who were crawling all over the ship, preparing to board. Several more Ghosts maintained position on the quarry floor, supported by three more Covenant recovery ships. By this time, Blue Team had made their way inside the ''Starry Night'' and were beginning to arm the nuke, as well as recovering four ODST survivors and Avery Johnson. The team intended to use the ship's escape pods to launch out of Seoba's low gravity to escape the nuclear blast. Nyeto's bombing run only served to hurry the aliens, as they began to prepare a recovery device to lift the Prowler off Seoba. John began to attack the aliens on the outside of ''Starry Night'', killing several Sangheili [[Silent Shadow]] and Kig-Yar. The nuke armed with a thirty-second timer and the UNSC forces inside the ship jettisoned the escape pod, leaving the remaining SPARTANs on the ground sprinting away from the downed Prowler. Due to MJOLNIR's EMP shielding and Seoba's thin atmosphere, the nuke's area of effect was minimal and the SPARTANs were able to narrowly outrun the blast radius before the nuke went off. Crowther then returned to pick up the survivors.<ref>''Halo: Silent Storm'', Chapter 15</ref> |