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After the [[Covenant]] [[First Battle of Harvest|attack]] on [[Harvest]] and the beginning of the [[Human-Covenant War]], Joshua and the rest of the Spartan-IIs were brought to the [[Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex]], where [[Rear Admiral]] [[Michael Stanforth]] and the AI, [[Beowulf]], briefed them on the emerging Covenant threat. In response, the training of Joshua and the rest of the Spartan-IIs was accelerated, and the Spartans were sent to [[Chi Ceti IV]] in the [[Chi Ceti system]] to receive their new [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor]] from the [[Damascus Materials Testing Facility]] in order to aid in combat against the alien threat.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 121'' (2010)</ref> While en route to Chi Ceti IV aboard the {{Class|Paris|heavy frigate}}, the {{UNSCShip|Commonwealth}}, they were [[Battle of Chi Ceti|attacked]] by the Covenant [[warship]], ''[[Unrelenting]]''.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 127'' (2010)</ref> The ''Commonwealth'' was able to ward off the ''Unrelenting'' and the Spartans were deployed to Chi Ceti IV with Halsey, where they each received a set of armor.<ref name="for141">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 141'' (2010)</ref> While the Spartans were returning to the ''Commonwealth'', the ''Unrelenting'' returned and engaged the frigate. To provide aid to the ''Commonwealth'', John had Joshua and the other Spartan-IIs use [[thruster pack]]s to embark towards the ''Unrelenting'' so that they could destroy the warship with [[Anvil-II air-to-surface missile|Anvil-II AS missiles]], though only John, Kelly, and Sam made it aboard.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 147-150'' (2010)</ref> | After the [[Covenant]] [[First Battle of Harvest|attack]] on [[Harvest]] and the beginning of the [[Human-Covenant War]], Joshua and the rest of the Spartan-IIs were brought to the [[Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex]], where [[Rear Admiral]] [[Michael Stanforth]] and the AI, [[Beowulf]], briefed them on the emerging Covenant threat. In response, the training of Joshua and the rest of the Spartan-IIs was accelerated, and the Spartans were sent to [[Chi Ceti IV]] in the [[Chi Ceti system]] to receive their new [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor]] from the [[Damascus Materials Testing Facility]] in order to aid in combat against the alien threat.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 121'' (2010)</ref> While en route to Chi Ceti IV aboard the {{Class|Paris|heavy frigate}}, the {{UNSCShip|Commonwealth}}, they were [[Battle of Chi Ceti|attacked]] by the Covenant [[warship]], ''[[Unrelenting]]''.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 127'' (2010)</ref> The ''Commonwealth'' was able to ward off the ''Unrelenting'' and the Spartans were deployed to Chi Ceti IV with Halsey, where they each received a set of armor.<ref name="for141">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 141'' (2010)</ref> While the Spartans were returning to the ''Commonwealth'', the ''Unrelenting'' returned and engaged the frigate. To provide aid to the ''Commonwealth'', John had Joshua and the other Spartan-IIs use [[thruster pack]]s to embark towards the ''Unrelenting'' so that they could destroy the warship with [[Anvil-II air-to-surface missile|Anvil-II AS missiles]], though only John, Kelly, and Sam made it aboard.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 147-150'' (2010)</ref> | ||
===Radiant Arrow=== | ===''Radiant Arrow''=== | ||
{{Main|Skirmish over Netherop}} | {{Main|Skirmish over Netherop}} | ||
By early [[2526]], Joshua served as the leader of [[Gold Team]], which was then composed of [[Naomi-010]], [[Daisy-023]], and [[Grace-093]] as well. On [[2526#March|March 5]] of that year, Joshua, his team, and eight other Spartans were organized into an assault squad led by [[John-117]] with orders to board and capture a [[Covenant frigate]], ''[[Radiant Arrow]]'', orbiting the planet [[Netherop]]. To accomplish this, they were deployed from the [[prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Starry Night}} for an [[Extra-vehicular activity|EVA]] [[Boarding|boarding action]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS1|HSS|Chapter=1}} Using a flight of [[Type-27 Banshee]]s for cover, the Spartans stealthily approached the alien vessel.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS2|HSS|Chapter=2}} They [[Skirmish over Netherop|boarded]] the frigate via its underslung hangar and eliminated the Covenant forces stationed there without the rest of crew realizing they had been boarded. As [[Blue Team|Blue]] and [[Green Team]]s pushed further into the alien vessel, John instructed Joshua and his team to collect weapons and corpses to be piled into the Banshees, which would then be pushed out into space for ONI to recover and study. Once that task was completed, Gold Team acted as support for Blue and Green, watching their backs. As the two forward teams continued on, a sensor operator aboard the ''Starry Night'' "accidentally" broadcast a transmission on the Spartans' [[COM|SQUADCOM]], revealing their presence to the frigate's crew. Unbeknownst to them, the crewman's apparent mistake was part of an [[insurrectionist]] plot designed by [[Hector Nyeto]], who intended to get the Spartans killed. With their presence known, Blue and Green Teams split up, with John leading his team to the bridge. John was unable to prevent the frigate's [[shipmaster]] from activating a [[self-destruct]] sequence, forcing him to order all of his teammates to abandon ship immediately. All of the Spartans—including Joshua—made it to safety before the ''Radiant Arrow'' detonated.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS3|HSS|Chapter=3}} | By early [[2526]], Joshua served as the leader of [[Gold Team]], which was then composed of [[Naomi-010]], [[Daisy-023]], and [[Grace-093]] as well. On [[2526#March|March 5]] of that year, Joshua, his team, and eight other Spartans were organized into an assault squad led by [[John-117]] with orders to board and capture a [[Covenant frigate]], ''[[Radiant Arrow]]'', orbiting the planet [[Netherop]]. To accomplish this, they were deployed from the [[prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Starry Night}} for an [[Extra-vehicular activity|EVA]] [[Boarding|boarding action]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS1|HSS|Chapter=1}} Using a flight of [[Type-27 Banshee]]s for cover, the Spartans stealthily approached the alien vessel.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS2|HSS|Chapter=2}} They [[Skirmish over Netherop|boarded]] the frigate via its underslung hangar and eliminated the Covenant forces stationed there without the rest of crew realizing they had been boarded. As [[Blue Team|Blue]] and [[Green Team]]s pushed further into the alien vessel, John instructed Joshua and his team to collect weapons and corpses to be piled into the Banshees, which would then be pushed out into space for ONI to recover and study. Once that task was completed, Gold Team acted as support for Blue and Green, watching their backs. As the two forward teams continued on, a sensor operator aboard the ''Starry Night'' "accidentally" broadcast a transmission on the Spartans' [[COM|SQUADCOM]], revealing their presence to the frigate's crew. Unbeknownst to them, the crewman's apparent mistake was part of an [[insurrectionist]] plot designed by [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Hector Nyeto]], who intended to get the Spartans killed. With their presence known, Blue and Green Teams split up, with John leading his team to the bridge. John was unable to prevent the frigate's [[shipmaster]] from activating a [[self-destruct]] sequence, forcing him to order all of his teammates to abandon ship immediately. All of the Spartans—including Joshua—made it to safety before the ''Radiant Arrow'' detonated.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS3|HSS|Chapter=3}} | ||
===SILENT STORM=== | ===SILENT STORM=== | ||
{{Main|Operation: SILENT STORM}} | {{Main|Operation: SILENT STORM}} | ||
A few days later, Joshua, Gold Team, and the rest of the Spartans that had participated in the pervious mission were given a new assignment. [[Operation: SILENT STORM]] would have them and the [[ODST]]s of the [[21st Space Assault Battalion]] boarding and destroying Covenant vessels and [[Space station|station]]s in an attempt to slow their destructive [[Massacre of the Outer Colonies|advance]] through the [[Outer Colonies]]. For the duration of the operation, the Spartans would be assigned to [[Task Force Yama]], a small fleet of prowlers that would serve as both transport and support. As [[Fleet of Inexorable Obedience|a Covenant fleet]] was [[Attack on Etalan|currently]] [[glassing]] the colony of [[Etalan]], the nearby world of [[Biko]] was chosen as the theater for the [[task force]] to launch its first attack. Specifically, [[Seoba Ice Quarry|an abandoned ice quarry]] on its third [[Natural satellite|moon]] of [[Seoba]] was selected to house the prowlers until the time was right.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS5|HSS|Chapter=5}} | |||
During the ten-day voyage through [[slipspace]], Joshua and the other Spartans trained with the ODSTs in the {{UNSCShip|Vanishing Point}}'s mission preparation hold. The Spartans made short work of the marines in every exercise until [[Staff Sergeant]] [[Avery Johnson]] taught them some unorthodox strategies that proved much more effective against the supersoldiers. After four days of training, [[Colonel]] [[Marmon Crowther]] had them all gather in the drop hangar to be briefed on the specifics of the operation. Despite their exemplary performance against his ODSTs, Crowther was skeptical about deploying the Spartans to the front lines due to their inexperience on the battlefield as well as their apparent young age, much to their frustration.{{Ref/Reuse|HSS5}} | |||
===Seoba=== | |||
{{Main|Battle of Seoba}} | |||
Upon Task Force Yama's arrival in the [[Kolaqoa system]] on [[2526#March|March 18, 2526]], Colonel Crowther planned to practice the mass deployment of the Spartans and his ODSTs into the Seoban quarry, in an exercise dubbed Operation: ICE DANCE. However, [[insurrectionist]] forces were detected in the very same quarry, prepared to stage a coup against Biko's chancellor. Crowther decided that ICE DANCE would proceed as planned, but now with the objective of taking the quarry.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS7|HSS|Chapter=7}} An intense [[Battle of Seoba|battle]] ensued, with the Spartans leading the way. Blue Team focused on destroying a convoy of [[Civet]]s moving to repair the rebels' damaged communications relay as the other Spartans—including Joshua's Gold Team—were engaged elsewhere.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS8|HSS|Chapter=8}} Ultimately, the insurgents were defeated and the quarry fell under UNSC control.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS10|HSS|Chapter=10}} | |||
The next day, [[Captain (NAVCOM)|Captain]] [[Halima Ascot]], commander of Task Force Yama, held a meeting to discuss the events of the previous day's battle. John was reprimanded for his maverick actions at the start of the battle, and his Spartans' experience was called into question once more. Due to Lieutenant Commander Nyeto's loose lips, the truth about their young ages was revealed to the small group of key personnel present at the meeting. Because of this, Colonel Crowther refused to send the Spartans into battle again, instead ordering them to guard the insurrectionist prisoners captured during the fighting and prepare them to be sent to Biko to be processed. While this meeting was being held, a Covenant [[Bloodstar Flotilla|flotilla]] arrived in-system and began heading for Seoba.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS10|HSS|Chapter=10}} | |||
As the rest of Task Force Yama mobilized to meet the alien vessels, Joshua and the other Spartans were sent to [[Subsurface Maintenance Grotto 6M430]] where they would direct the captured insurgents onto [[Emmeline|a transport]]. While the line of roughly 300 prisoners marched onto the vessel, John noticed that a group of them were hiding the presence of an officer, [[General]] [[Harper Garvin]] of the [[United Rebel Front]]. He had the line halt, which Joshua questioned, saying that they needed to get the prisoners headed toward Biko before the Covenant got to Seoba. John pulled Garvin out of the line so that [[ONI]] could interrogate him later. He began trying to pry information out of John, but this effort was interrupted when a situation with Captain Ascot's [[flagship]] was relayed over the task force's command channel. The {{UNSCShip|Starry Night}} had been shot down on takeoff, crash-landing back into the quarry some distance away. Crowther was unable to send a unit of his Black Daggers to search for survivors without putting more prowlers at risk. Since they were the only unit available to assist, John decided that he and his Spartans would go for the ''Starry Night'' once the transport was loaded. After sending Garvin back to his people and ordering the transport pilot to launch, John had his Spartans move out, much to the concern of Joshua and [[Kurt-051]]. Not only would they be disobeying a direct order from Crowther, operating without the support of the task force in such a situation would be very risky.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS13|HSS|Chapter=13}} | |||
{{Expand-section}} | {{Expand-section}} | ||