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{{Status|Canon}}
{{Disambig header|the larger battle to control the cruiser later on in the conflict|the first raid conducted by John-117 to rescue Captain Keyes|Raid on the Truth and Reconciliation}}
{{battle infobox
{{battle infobox
|name    = Raid on the ''Truth and Reconciliation''
|name    = Battle for the ''Truth and Reconciliation''
|image    =
|image    = [[File:HCEA 2ndBattleOfTheTruthAndRec.jpg|300px]]
|previous = [[Battle of Reach]]
|prev    = [[Battle for the Control Room]]
|conc    = [[Battle of Installation 04]]
|conc    = [[Battle of Installation 04 #Destroying the Autumn|Mission to destroy Halo]]
|next    = [[Battle of Alpha Base]]
|next    = [[Skirmish over Threshold]]
|conflict = [[Human-Covenant War]]
|conflict = [[Human-Covenant War]]
|date    = September 19th, 2552
*[[Battle of Installation 04]]
|place    = [[Installation 04]]
|date    = [[2552#September|September 22, 2552]]{{Ref/Site|Id=Raven|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/thats-so-raven|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - That's So Raven|D=02|M=11|Y=2021}}
|result  = Human Victory
|place    = ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' landing zone, [[Installation 04]]
*Captain Keyes rescued
|result  =  
*Hundreds of Covenant dead
*Initial UNSC victory{{Ref/Reuse|TF12}}
|side1=[[United Nations Space Command]]
*Total destruction of ''Truth and Reconciliation'' and all forces involved{{Ref/Reuse|TF12}}
|side2=[[Covenant]]
|side1={{Icon|UNSC HCW}} [[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2={{Icon|Covenant FB}} [[Covenant]]
|side3=[[Flood]]  
|commanders1=
|commanders1=
*[[Captain|CAPT]] [[Jacob Keyes]]
*[[Major|Maj.]] [[Antonio Silva]]†{{Ref/Reuse|TF12}}
*[[Major|Maj.]] [[Antonio Silva]]
|commanders2= Minor [[Prophet of Stewardship]]{{Ref/Reuse|Priority}}
*[[Master Chief Petty Officer|MCPO]] [[John-117]]
|commanders3= [[Proto-Gravemind]]†{{Ref/Reuse|Keyes}}
*[[Cortana]]
|commanders2= [[Orna 'Fulsamee]]†
|forces1 =
|forces1 =
*1 [[Pelican]] ([[Echo 419]])
*[[John-117]]
**[[Carol Rawley]] piloting
*Three [[D77-TC Pelican]]s
*Two Fireteams
*312 [[human]]s
*several freed Marines
**235 [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marines]] and [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODST]]s
*1 SPARTAN-II (John-117)
**76 [[UNSC Navy|Naval]] personnel
*AI: [[Cortana]]
|forces2=
|forces2=
*[[Sangheili]]
*[[Sangheili]]
*[[Unggoy]]
*[[Unggoy]]
*[[Kig-yar]]
*[[Kig-Yar]]
*4 [[Mgalekgolo]]
*[[Mgalekgolo]]
*[[Shade]]s
*[[Covenant Special Operations]] strike team
**[[Special Operations Sangheili]]
**[[Special Operations Unggoy]]
|forces3=
*[[Pod infector]]s
*[[Flood combat form|Combat forms]]
*[[Flood carrier form|Carrier forms]]
|casual1=
|casual1=
*36 Marines
*All UNSC forces destroyed
|casual2=
|casual2=
*Orna 'Fulsamee
*All remaining forces destroyed
*120 Covenant soldiers
**''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]''
|casual3=
*All remaining forms killed
}}
}}
During the [[Battle of Installation 04|ongoing campaign]] on [[Installation 04]], the {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' became the focus of an '''ongoing battle''' between the forces of the [[Covenant]] defenders, the [[Flood]] and the [[United Nations Space Command]]. The majority of the battle focused on a protracted struggle between the Flood and the Covenant for control of the ship, though the arrival of an ODST force late in the battle ultimately saw the vessel's capture and destruction.


This skirmish on the [[CCS-class Battlecruiser]] ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' hovering over [[Installation 04]] in September 2552 that involved multiple [[UNSC Marine Corps|marines]] and [[Spartan 117]] and [[Cortana]], a [[UNSC]] [[AI]].
==Prelude==
On September 19, 2552, the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was one of the several {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}}s to take part in a [[Battle over Installation 04|space engagement]] over [[Installation 04]]. During the fighting, the ''Reconciliation'' was heavily damaged by {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} and forced to land to conduct maintenance and repairs, leading to the vessel being employed as a base of operations for Covenant ground forces on the ring.{{Ref/Generic|[[The Halo Conflict]]|Truth and Reconciliation}} That evening, the ship was the subject of a [[Raid on the Truth and Reconciliation|raid]] conducted by a team led by [[John-117]], using the simultaneous [[Raid on the Pillar of Autumn|raid on the downed ''Autumn'']] as a distraction.{{Ref/Level|HCE|The Truth and Reconciliation}}


==Raid==
The raid was very damaging to the Covenant on the ring, with the ship's [[shipmaster|commanding officer]] [[Lat 'Ravamee]] killed and the fact proven that humans could trick the Covenant's detection systems. In response, the perimeter surrounding the ship's [[gravity lift]] was fortified and teams began a compartment-by-compartment sweep of the ship to ensure no humans remained in hiding.{{Ref/Novel|Id=TF|HTF|Chapter=4}}
After word got out of [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] Keyes' capture by Covenant forces and being held onboard the cruiser ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'', a rescue plan was needed urgently.


Major Antonio Silva planned out the mission and sent in over a dozen ODSTs in Pelican ''[[Echo 419]]'', along with [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]], a SPARTAN-II.
Later on in the [[Battle of Installation 04|conflict]], a series of [[Battle of Installation 04#Covenant fleet unrest|squabbles]] between the [[Fleet of Particular Justice]]'s [[fleetmaster]], [[Thel 'Vadam]]ee and the assigned [[Minor Prophet]], the [[Prophet of Stewardship]], saw the former attempt to board the carrier ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' - resulting in the Minor Prophet retreating groundside and establishing the still-grounded ''Truth and Reconciliation'' as his base of operations.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Priority|HTF|Section=Adjunct|Detail=[[Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit]]}}


The Master Chief and the ODSTs were dispatched in the area surrounding the Covenant [[CCS-Class Battlecruiser]]. Using both his [[S2 AM Sniper Rifle]] and [[MA5B Assault Rifle]], the Chief fought his way to the ship's [[Gravity Lift]] loading zone, where the ship discharged multiple waves of troops and a pair of [[Mgalekgolo]].  
==The battle==
===Flood attack===
As the conflict on Alpha Halo bore on into its later stages, the fleet's command element issued a general order to evacuate the ring due to the ever-increasing growth of the [[Flood]] parasite. However, the parasite ultimately was able to attack the cruiser, ultimately managing to disable it before it could comply with the order. As a consequence, the Covenant deployed a strike team to begin the process of eradicating the infestation and readying the ship for lift-off. What followed was a long and bloody engagement, as Covenant forces fought to clear the ship's many compartments while the Flood continued to pour into the canyons surrounding the landing site.{{Ref/Level|Id=Keyes|HCE|Keyes}}


Once inside, the marines were ambushed by sword-wielding stealth Sangheili and other Covenant. This is odd as just a few seconds before this happened, Cortana had stated that she detected no Covenant forces within the ship, although she may have been using visual references and since the covenant were on the other sides of the doors she may have been decieved and it might be because the Elites that initially ambushed them were in Active Camoflauge further supporting the visual theory. This is wrong because there were many Covenant forces later found on board the ship. After fighting through a storage depot and a large hangar, the marines made it through to the ship's command center, where they killed the [[Ship Master]] and many other troops. While the Chief rescued Keyes and three marines, the marines (including either Seargent Johnson or Pete stacker), holding position in the control center, were attacked by two more Sangheili. They then fought their way back to the hangar, where Keyes hijacked a Covenant Dropship and flew it out of the hangar, killing two Hunters in the process.
===John's return===
Having successfully escaped the clutches of [[343 Guilty Spark]] and temporarily disabled the ring's [[Phase pulse generator|firing mechanisms]], [[Cortana]] was able to use the internal [[fusion reactor]] in the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V|armour]] of John-117 to [[Slipspace translocation|teleport]] the Spartan to the ''Truth and Reconciliation''. Having established the need to destroy the ring, the duo determined that the best outcome was to use Captain [[Jacob Keyes]]' [[Command neural interface|CNI transponder]] to detonate the ''Pillar of Autumn''{{'}}s fusion drives; hopefully blowing up the ring in the process. However, the Captain had been regarded as MIA since his disappearance in the [[Outbreak at the Containment Facility|Flood facility outbreak]] - with the only clue to his location being his CNI interface's transmission being located at the ''Truth and Reconciliation''.{{Ref/Reuse|Keyes}}


== Losses ==
The [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN]] was ultimately able to fight through the ship's seemingly-endless waves of Flood and Covenant attackers to the [[bridge]] - where he discovered that he was too late to save Keyes. Instead, the Flood had begun amassing biomatter in the bridge to construct a [[Proto-Gravemind]], with Keyes at its centre. With no other options left, John punched through Keyes' skull to recover his neural interface, before escaping to the hangars to steal a [[Type-26 Banshee|Banshee]] and escape to the crash site of the ''Pillar of Autumn''.{{Ref/Reuse|Keyes}}{{Ref/Book|HM|Section=The Battle For Alpha Halo|Page=98}}
=== Covenant ===
The covenant lost many soldiers from either their crew or the invasion force re-routed from reach, either way there were causalties in the high hundreds even the low thousands, this was noticed by Zuka' Zanamee when he returned to th Truth and Reconciliation and saw mountains of bodies beeing dropped down the grav lift.
=== UNSC ===
The UNSC lost surprisingly little amounts of soldiers , out of the ten that were dropped off from Echo 419 most make it to the gravity lift, then there are re-enforcements and then they all go up the grav lift, the master chief leaves them in the control room and when he comes back they've all been killed (its odd since in the game all the ODSTs that were dropped off are killed but in the book HALO: THE FLOOD Seargent Johnson and Chips Dubbo both make it off as well as several other ODSTs.). Master Chief as well as all the other marines/navy personel as well as the captain make it off unscathed.


== Trivia ==
===UNSC capture===
* In this mission, which ever seargent you're accompanied by, be it Johnson or Stacker, will be killed once you reach the bridge of the Truth and Reconciliation. This will not affect their appearances in other games or missions.
While they attempted to rescue Keyes, Cortana was also able to link back up with the UNSC forces at [[Alpha Base (Installation 04)|Alpha Base]] and inform them of the current situation; the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' was spaceworthy and the ring was soon to be imminently destroyed. Consequently, Major [[Antonio Silva]] began to plan an operation to let his [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODST]] [[battalion]] escape the ring, by capturing the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' for themselves. If all went well, either Cortana or [[Wellsley]] would be able to fly the cruiser, at which point they would return to [[Earth]] with an intact Covenant vessel full of data on the Covenant and the ringworld, Flood and Covenant prisoners and a myriad of technology samples to reverse engineer.{{Ref/Novel|HTF|Chapter=11}}


{{Stub}}
On September 22, seventy-six hours after the initial [[Landing on Installation 04|landing]] on the Installation, the operation commenced, despite warnings by Wellsley that the Flood's continued presence aboard the ship could well endanger all life on Earth. However, Silva rejected the AI's suggestion, due to the officer's own ego and hubris.{{Ref/Novel|Id=TF12|HTF|Chapter=12}}
 
In total, the human force consisted of fifteen scavenged Banshees, 236 [[UNSC Marine Corps|marines]] armed with close-quarters weaponry (the total surviving infantry complement under Alpha Base's command), 76 [[UNSC Navy|Naval]] personnel armed with scavenged Covenant [[Type-25 plasma pistol|plasma pistols]] and [[Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle|rifles]] and three [[D77-TC Pelican]] with which to transport them. The Naval personnel were lightly armed as to allow them to carry supplies, and a group of sixteen individuals were deemed to have critical skills essential enough to warrant two Marine bodyguards each.{{Ref/Reuse|TF12}}
 
By this time, the Covenant force had been depleted enough by their fight against the Flood that only around fifteen Banshees remained in the air to conduct combat air patrol operations for the ''Reconciliation'', resulting in the craft being taken by surprise by the surprise attack launched from sunward by the fifteen human-piloted Banshees. Within a minute of fighting beginning, half of the Covenant Banshees were taken out of action, and the rest split off into individual dogfights. The attack was followed up by a rapid insertion via Pelican, with Lieutenant [[Peterson]] and his fellow pilots deploying a force of forty-five ODSTs led by Silva into the cruiser's shuttle bay to assault the ship's control room.{{Ref/Reuse|TF12}}
 
Simultaneously, a ground attack was launched by [[Melissa McKay]] on the gravity lift site, utilising an advantage of knowledge gathered from the previous raid on September 19. However, the ODSTs faced stubborn resistance, with the Covenant having thrice-fortified the ship compared to the defenses encountered two days prior. Rocket-equipped teams fired their rockets at the defending [[Sangheili|Elite]]s and [[Mgalekgolo|Hunter]]s before throwing [[M9 fragmentation grenade|grenades]] into the mix - clearing the defending party in thirty-six seconds. This team was designated to assault the ship's engineering bay, allowing UNSC forces effective control of the ship for flight. Thanks to the lightning attack conducted by the ODSTs, the humans were able to take control of more than 80% of the ship and capture the Prophet of Stewardship in short order, sealing off the compartments with known enemy activity for dealing with later. Instead, Silva prioritised getting the ship online and operational, vowing the make sure the cruiser was off the ground before the ring was detonated.{{Ref/Reuse|TF12}} In response to his capture, the Prophet of Stewardship sent out an emergency rescue request to the Fleet of Particular Justice, though the request was ignored as the fleet began to move to safe cover behind the gas giant [[Threshold]].{{Ref/Reuse|Priority}}
 
As pre-flight preparations were conducted and personnel loaded onto the ship, the occupying humans continued to be periodically attacked by Flood hidden in the ship's access pathways. This circumstance caused McKay and Wellsley to urge Silva again to keep the ship grounded until all Flood presence could be cleared, though the request was once again refused. Ultimately, this answer came in the form of a fiber-optic cable linking the bridge to engineering, required to keep the ship operating. Initially, the now-infected [[Wallace Jenkins]] had attempted to lunge for the cable to prevent the Flood outbreak from spreading further though failed due to his restraints, ultimately inspiring McKay to do the same. The officer proceeded to detonate a grenade on the cable, causing the control links from the bridge to the engines to be severed, resulting in the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' crashing onto the surface of Installation 04.{{Ref/Reuse|TF12}}{{Ref/Book|HWF|Section=Truth and Reconciliation|Page=62-63}}
 
==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]''
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
*''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]'' {{Mo}}
 
==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}
 
{{Engagements in the Battle of Installation 04}}
[[Category:Engagements in the Battle of Installation 04]]

Latest revision as of 08:34, August 29, 2024

This article is about the larger battle to control the cruiser later on in the conflict. For the first raid conducted by John-117 to rescue Captain Keyes, see Raid on the Truth and Reconciliation.

Previous:

Battle for the Control Room

Concurrent:

Mission to destroy Halo

Next:

Skirmish over Threshold

Battle for the Truth and Reconciliation
HCEA 2ndBattleOfTheTruthAndRec.jpg

Conflict:

Human-Covenant War

Date:

September 22, 2552[1]

Location:

Truth and Reconciliation landing zone, Installation 04

Outcome:

  • Initial UNSC victory[2]
  • Total destruction of Truth and Reconciliation and all forces involved[2]
Details
Belligerents

United Nations Space Command

Covenant

Flood

Commanders

Minor Prophet of Stewardship[3]

Proto-Gravemind[4]

Strength
Casualties
  • All UNSC forces destroyed
  • All remaining forms killed
 

During the ongoing campaign on Installation 04, the Ket-pattern battlecruiser Truth and Reconciliation became the focus of an ongoing battle between the forces of the Covenant defenders, the Flood and the United Nations Space Command. The majority of the battle focused on a protracted struggle between the Flood and the Covenant for control of the ship, though the arrival of an ODST force late in the battle ultimately saw the vessel's capture and destruction.

Prelude[edit]

On September 19, 2552, the Truth and Reconciliation was one of the several Ket-pattern battlecruisers to take part in a space engagement over Installation 04. During the fighting, the Reconciliation was heavily damaged by UNSC Pillar of Autumn and forced to land to conduct maintenance and repairs, leading to the vessel being employed as a base of operations for Covenant ground forces on the ring.[5] That evening, the ship was the subject of a raid conducted by a team led by John-117, using the simultaneous raid on the downed Autumn as a distraction.[6]

The raid was very damaging to the Covenant on the ring, with the ship's commanding officer Lat 'Ravamee killed and the fact proven that humans could trick the Covenant's detection systems. In response, the perimeter surrounding the ship's gravity lift was fortified and teams began a compartment-by-compartment sweep of the ship to ensure no humans remained in hiding.[7]

Later on in the conflict, a series of squabbles between the Fleet of Particular Justice's fleetmaster, Thel 'Vadamee and the assigned Minor Prophet, the Prophet of Stewardship, saw the former attempt to board the carrier Ascendant Justice - resulting in the Minor Prophet retreating groundside and establishing the still-grounded Truth and Reconciliation as his base of operations.[3]

The battle[edit]

Flood attack[edit]

As the conflict on Alpha Halo bore on into its later stages, the fleet's command element issued a general order to evacuate the ring due to the ever-increasing growth of the Flood parasite. However, the parasite ultimately was able to attack the cruiser, ultimately managing to disable it before it could comply with the order. As a consequence, the Covenant deployed a strike team to begin the process of eradicating the infestation and readying the ship for lift-off. What followed was a long and bloody engagement, as Covenant forces fought to clear the ship's many compartments while the Flood continued to pour into the canyons surrounding the landing site.[4]

John's return[edit]

Having successfully escaped the clutches of 343 Guilty Spark and temporarily disabled the ring's firing mechanisms, Cortana was able to use the internal fusion reactor in the armour of John-117 to teleport the Spartan to the Truth and Reconciliation. Having established the need to destroy the ring, the duo determined that the best outcome was to use Captain Jacob Keyes' CNI transponder to detonate the Pillar of Autumn's fusion drives; hopefully blowing up the ring in the process. However, the Captain had been regarded as MIA since his disappearance in the Flood facility outbreak - with the only clue to his location being his CNI interface's transmission being located at the Truth and Reconciliation.[4]

The SPARTAN was ultimately able to fight through the ship's seemingly-endless waves of Flood and Covenant attackers to the bridge - where he discovered that he was too late to save Keyes. Instead, the Flood had begun amassing biomatter in the bridge to construct a Proto-Gravemind, with Keyes at its centre. With no other options left, John punched through Keyes' skull to recover his neural interface, before escaping to the hangars to steal a Banshee and escape to the crash site of the Pillar of Autumn.[4][8]

UNSC capture[edit]

While they attempted to rescue Keyes, Cortana was also able to link back up with the UNSC forces at Alpha Base and inform them of the current situation; the Truth and Reconciliation was spaceworthy and the ring was soon to be imminently destroyed. Consequently, Major Antonio Silva began to plan an operation to let his ODST battalion escape the ring, by capturing the Truth and Reconciliation for themselves. If all went well, either Cortana or Wellsley would be able to fly the cruiser, at which point they would return to Earth with an intact Covenant vessel full of data on the Covenant and the ringworld, Flood and Covenant prisoners and a myriad of technology samples to reverse engineer.[9]

On September 22, seventy-six hours after the initial landing on the Installation, the operation commenced, despite warnings by Wellsley that the Flood's continued presence aboard the ship could well endanger all life on Earth. However, Silva rejected the AI's suggestion, due to the officer's own ego and hubris.[2]

In total, the human force consisted of fifteen scavenged Banshees, 236 marines armed with close-quarters weaponry (the total surviving infantry complement under Alpha Base's command), 76 Naval personnel armed with scavenged Covenant plasma pistols and rifles and three D77-TC Pelican with which to transport them. The Naval personnel were lightly armed as to allow them to carry supplies, and a group of sixteen individuals were deemed to have critical skills essential enough to warrant two Marine bodyguards each.[2]

By this time, the Covenant force had been depleted enough by their fight against the Flood that only around fifteen Banshees remained in the air to conduct combat air patrol operations for the Reconciliation, resulting in the craft being taken by surprise by the surprise attack launched from sunward by the fifteen human-piloted Banshees. Within a minute of fighting beginning, half of the Covenant Banshees were taken out of action, and the rest split off into individual dogfights. The attack was followed up by a rapid insertion via Pelican, with Lieutenant Peterson and his fellow pilots deploying a force of forty-five ODSTs led by Silva into the cruiser's shuttle bay to assault the ship's control room.[2]

Simultaneously, a ground attack was launched by Melissa McKay on the gravity lift site, utilising an advantage of knowledge gathered from the previous raid on September 19. However, the ODSTs faced stubborn resistance, with the Covenant having thrice-fortified the ship compared to the defenses encountered two days prior. Rocket-equipped teams fired their rockets at the defending Elites and Hunters before throwing grenades into the mix - clearing the defending party in thirty-six seconds. This team was designated to assault the ship's engineering bay, allowing UNSC forces effective control of the ship for flight. Thanks to the lightning attack conducted by the ODSTs, the humans were able to take control of more than 80% of the ship and capture the Prophet of Stewardship in short order, sealing off the compartments with known enemy activity for dealing with later. Instead, Silva prioritised getting the ship online and operational, vowing the make sure the cruiser was off the ground before the ring was detonated.[2] In response to his capture, the Prophet of Stewardship sent out an emergency rescue request to the Fleet of Particular Justice, though the request was ignored as the fleet began to move to safe cover behind the gas giant Threshold.[3]

As pre-flight preparations were conducted and personnel loaded onto the ship, the occupying humans continued to be periodically attacked by Flood hidden in the ship's access pathways. This circumstance caused McKay and Wellsley to urge Silva again to keep the ship grounded until all Flood presence could be cleared, though the request was once again refused. Ultimately, this answer came in the form of a fiber-optic cable linking the bridge to engineering, required to keep the ship operating. Initially, the now-infected Wallace Jenkins had attempted to lunge for the cable to prevent the Flood outbreak from spreading further though failed due to his restraints, ultimately inspiring McKay to do the same. The officer proceeded to detonate a grenade on the cable, causing the control links from the bridge to the engines to be severed, resulting in the Truth and Reconciliation crashing onto the surface of Installation 04.[2][10]

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - That's So Raven (Retrieved on Nov 2, 2021) [archive]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Halo: The Flood, chapter 12
  3. ^ a b c Halo: The Flood - Adjunct: Priority Broadcast Log/Eleventh Cycle, Third Unit
  4. ^ a b c d Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level Keyes
  5. ^ The Halo Conflict, Truth and Reconciliation
  6. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level The Truth and Reconciliation
  7. ^ Halo: The Flood, chapter 4
  8. ^ Halo Mythos - The Battle For Alpha Halo, page 98
  9. ^ Halo: The Flood, chapter 11
  10. ^ Halo: Warfleet - Truth and Reconciliation, page 62-63