Battle of Meridian

Battle of Meridian
Conflict:	Human-Covenant War
Date:	2548–2551
Location:	Meridian, Hestia system
Outcome:	Covenant victory Meridian glassed Covenant learn of the existence of the Ark and the Portal; unknowingly uncovering Earth's location
Details Belligerents United Nations Space Command Covenant Commanders Captain Edmund Persie High Prophet of Regret Strength UNSC Air Force UNSC Navy Orbital defense grid At least 1 Mark IX Mantis ADS At least 3 CAS-class assault carriers Solemn Penance 18 Type-27 Mantis Heavy Covenant infantry Sangheili Kig-Yar Casualties Most vessels 18 Type-27 Mantis Heavy infantry casualties

"Almost immediately after Meridian was recaptured by the UEG, the Covenant arrived. Captain Edmund Persie of the UNSC Sevenfold Gates fought to the last, but was forced to order what few ships remained to fall back to the edge of the Hestia system. Within five hours of Captain Persie's retreat, Meridian was glassed, and all life there was eradicated."

— The History of Meridian, presented by the Free Frontier Education

The Battle of Meridian 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 glassed by the Covenant in 2551.

Prelude

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.

The battle

Meridian was discovered by the Covenant in 2548, 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. The first prototype for the 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 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". 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.

Shortly after the Unified Earth Government had taken full control of the world, the Covenant returned to Meridian in the same year and the Battle of Meridian continued. The Covenant's sheer power eventually destroyed most of the world's resistance, though Captain Edmund Persie of UNSC Sevenfold Gates continued to fight against the Covenant as the battle neared its end. Eventually, Persie and the remaining vessels in Meridian's defense fleet were forced to retreat to the edge of the Hestia system. Five hours after the Navy's retreat, Meridian had been glassed by the Covenant.

At least three CAS-class assault carriers glassed the moon, including the 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.

Aftermath

Some time later in 2552, the High Prophet of Regret's Stewards successfully decrypted the Luminary, which revealed the existence of the final home of the Forerunners, as well as a portal that led to it. The Luminary also revealed the location of this portal, "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 humanity.

Meridian was not completely lost; although the UNSC did not return to the world for the rest of the Human-Covenant War, 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, 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. 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.

Chalybs Defense Solutions had numerous facilities on Meridian that were abandoned during the battle, and later destroyed when the world was glassed. As a result, companies such as Acheron Security and Naphtali Contractor Corporation took over production of many of CDS' products.

Gallery

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  Meridian is glassed

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  Covenant forces hunt for relics on Meridian

List of appearances

• Halo: Reach
  • Dr. Halsey's personal journal (First mentioned)
• Halo 2: Anniversary
  • Terminals (First appearance)
• Halo 5: Guardians (Mentioned only)