Battle of Mombasa: Difference between revisions

|image=[[File:Fleetwatch.jpg|300px]]

*[[Huragok]] [[Quick to Adjust]]<ref name="Catalog">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2997288_Is-there-an-actual-name-for-Vergil.aspx#post2997288 '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Is there an actual name for Vergil?'']</ref> defects and gives knowledge to the UNSC.  

|side1=*[[United Nations Space Command]] <br>

*[[New Mombasa Police Department]]

|side2=[[Covenant Empire]]

*Heavy civilian casualties<ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', ''game intro''</ref>

{{Quote|This is the only place on [[Earth]] the [[Covenant]] decided to land. That [[Prophet of Regret|Prophet]] is going to tell us why.|Admiral [[Terrence Hood]]}}

The '''Battle of Mombasa''' was a part of the [[Battle for Earth]], taking place in late [[2552#October|October 2552]]. Over the course of the battle, [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] forces captured the city of [[Mombasa]], [[Kenya]] and it was quickly retaken in a matter of hours by the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]].<ref name="outskirts">'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level, ''[[Outskirts]]''</ref><ref name="metropolis">'''Halo 2''', campaign level, ''[[Metropolis]]''</ref> However, after the [[High Prophet of Regret]]'s retreat, the city was occupied by another, larger Covenant force sent by the [[Prophet of Truth]].<ref name="bnet">[http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=16989 '''Bungie.net''': ''Bungie Weekly Update: 01/23/09'']</ref> In the aftermath of the battle, [[Portal at Voi|the Portal]] to [[Installation 00|the Ark]] was eventually found by the Covenant, which would prove to be a major determining factor in the final outcome of the [[Human-Covenant War]].<ref name="coastal">'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', campaign level, ''[[Coastal Highway]]''</ref><ref name="waypoint">'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''', ''"Ten Twenty" history article''</ref> Years after the war's end, a movement known as "[[Project Rebirth]]" emerged to endorse the eventual rebuilding of Mombasa in the aftermath of the War.

On October 20, during the opening stages of the [[Battle for Earth]], a single {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}}, the ''[[Solemn Penance]]'', broke through the [[UNSC Home Fleet]]'s defensive lines and entered Earth's atmosphere.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level, ''[[Cairo Station (level)|Cairo Station]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''', ''page 90''</ref> The ship hovered stationary above the island city of New Mombasa in Kenya, deploying infantry and mechanized support from the [[Uplift Nature Reserve]].

The city was relatively lightly defended, with only [[New Mombasa Police Department|NMPD forces]] as well as some Marine units present.<ref>'''Halo Graphic Novel''', ''pages 86-98''</ref> Some additional military units had been transferred to the city, along with Earth's other tether cities, following the [[Fall of Reach]] to bolster their defenses in case of a Covenant invasion. These included [[E2-BAG/1/7]] as well as some [[UNSC Army]] forces.<ref name="palace">'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', "[[Palace Hotel (short story)|Palace Hotel]]", ''page 367''</ref>

In the opening stages of the battle, even some civilians took up arms in an attempt to defend their city, joining the Marines under command of a [[unidentified Marine officer (Mombasa)|Marine officer]].<ref>'''Halo Graphic Novel''', ''pages 92-93''</ref> However, this allowed for most of the citizens of New Mombasa to evacuate from the city to Old Mombasa using boats destined for other surrounding cities.<ref>'''Halo Graphic Novel''', ''pages 97 and 98''</ref> While some of the [[magLev train|train]] tunnels collapsed during the attack, some civilians were able to escape using trains as well.<ref name="sadie">'''Halo 3: ODST''', "[[Sadie's Story]]"</ref> More [[UNSC Marine Corps]] and [[UNSC Army]] units later poured into the region after the initial attack, some of which arriving from [[Diego Garcia]] near India.<ref>'''Halo Encyclopedia''', ''page 296'' (2011 edition)</ref>

[[File:H2A - Pelicans.jpg|thumb|left|250px|UNSC reinforcements from the ''UNSC In Amber Clad'' arrive in New Mombasa.]]

Over the course of the battle, the Covenant deployed several [[Type-47B Scarab|Scarab]] assault platforms in both the old and new sections of Mombasa, with many of them targeting the city's space elevator.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', "[[Palace Hotel (short story)|Palace Hotel]]", ''page 363''</ref> The UNSC managed to trap and destroy many of them in the narrow streets of the city.<ref>'''Halo 2''', multiplayer map ''[[Turf]]'', level description</ref>

The Pelicans carrying Spartan-117 and the Marines entered the ''In Amber Clad'', which followed the assault carrier into Slipspace. Just before the Carrier jumped, remaining ships of the UNSC Home Fleet deployed dozens of [[Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs]] down to the city in [[Operation: BUMRUSH|an effort to infiltrate the carrier]], only to be caught by the [[Electromagnetic pulse|EMP]] blast in mid-flight, destroying their navigational and safety systems, plunging them and their [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]] occupants to almost certain death. It is likely that only [[Alpha-Nine|one Squad]] survived, having changed their course away from the carrier at the last moment. Many of the city's buildings were heavily damaged but remained standing, including the Mombasa Tether. The rupture also created a large crater in the mainland, north of New Mombasa, revealing a section of the Forerunner portal.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[Prepare To Drop]]''</ref> This event would later become referred to as the New Mombasa Slipspace Event, and would lead to the reactivation of the old [[NATO]] [[Outpost C9]]<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''' - ''[[High Ground]] map description''</ref>

[[File:H2A In Amber Clad intercept.png|thumb|right|250px|The ''UNSC In Amber Clad'' gives chase as Regret's flagship prepares to flee New Mombasa.]]

During the battle, the Covenant brought the [[Conduit]]—a Forerunner device capable of opening [[slipspace portal]]s—to New Mombasa.<ref name="opa">'''[[Halo: Spartan Strike]]''', ''[[Operation A: Orphic Spear]]''</ref> A [[Type-25 Spirit|Spirit]] [[dropship]] carrying a [[data pad]] with information pertaining to the Conduit was shot down by [[UNSC]] forces.<ref name="ss1">'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', campaign level ''[[Mission 1: New Mombasa Nightmare|New Mombasa Nightmare]]''</ref> When the data pad's relevance to the Conduit was realized by the UNSC, a [[squad]] of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers was [[Operation: WINDOW PANE|sent to recover it.]]<ref name="opa"/> Covenant forces awaiting extraction at the crashed Spirit were attacked by the ODST squad and the [[Sangheili]] [[Field Master]] carrying the data pad was killed, With the data pad, the UNSC used the information gained to pinpoint the location of the Conduit in the city.<ref name="ss2">'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', campaign level ''[[Mission 2: On Top of the World|On Top of the World]]''</ref> The ODST squad was directed to a Sangheili task force carrying the Conduit. After a brief engagement, the ODSTs managed to procure the Conduit from the Covenant and the device was delivered to a nearby UNSC convoy.<ref name="ss3">'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', campaign level ''[[Mission 3: Conduit|Conduit]]''</ref>

The Covenant responded by assaulting the convoy with waves of infantry. Though the ODST squad and several Marines attempted to defend the convoy from attacking Covenant forces, a Sangheili Field Master dropped down from his Spirit into the [[M313 Elephant|Elephant]] carrying the Conduit, retrieved the device, and escaped the engagement aboard the dropship. The ODSTs gave chase and,<ref name="ss4">'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', campaign level ''[[Mission 4: Reversal of Fortune|Reversal of Fortune]]''</ref> eventually, the Spirit was shot down. The squad located the dropship's crash site and attacked its surviving occupants. When the Field Master and his [[Kig-Yar]] bodyguards were eventually eliminated, the Conduit was reclaimed by the UNSC.<ref name="ss5">'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', campaign level ''[[Mission 5: Wounded Quarry|Wounded Quarry]]''</ref> The ODSTs took the Conduit aboard a [[M12 Warthog|Warthog]] and were ordered to leave the city as the nearby ''Solemn Penance'' entered slipstream space over Mombasa.<ref name="ss6">'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', campaign level ''[[Mission 6: Last Exit|Last Exit]]''</ref> When the resulting slipspace rupture destroyed the city, the ODSTs were killed and the Conduit was believed to have been destroyed as well.<ref name="opb">'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', ''[[Operation B: Steadfast Pursuit]]''</ref> However, the Conduit entered slipspace to save itself from destruction and arrived at [[Installation 03]].<ref name="opc">'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', ''[[Operation C: Valiant Hammer]]''</ref>

Concurrent with the search for the Conduit, an [[unidentified ODST squad]] participated in the battle with orders to retrieve information the Covenant were interested in. Commandeering a [[Grizzly]] tank, the squad rescued marines who had recovered an emergency broadcast from a downed [[AV-14 Hornet]], stating that its crew had captured a series of [[Forerunner symbols|Forerunner glyphs]] from the Covenant. The squad then trekked their way to the site, recovered the glyphs, and escaped the city before the ''[[Solemn Penance]]'' jumped into slipspace.<ref name="ope">'''[[Halo: Spartan Strike]]''', ''[[Operation E: Brother’s Keeper]]''</ref>{{clear}}

Knocked off their course by the slipspace rupture, two ODST drop pods made rough landings: Gunnery Sergeant [[Edward Buck]]'s pod in [[Lumumba]], and Captain [[Veronica Dare]]'s in nearby [[Tayari Plaza]]. Buck fought his way to Tayari Plaza to help Dare, killing large numbers of Covenant troops including a [[Mgalekgolo]] pair, but upon making it to her pod, he discovered that the Captain had disappeared. With no idea what his objective was now, Buck took the decision to reunite with his squad and then extract them from the city as fast as possible.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[Tayari Plaza (level)|Tayari Plaza]]''</ref>

Remote-controlled [[F-99 Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle|F-99 UCAVs]] were sent to the city to maintain air supremacy over the [[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantom]]s and [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshee]]s. Meanwhile, Marines at the Uplift Reserve, led by a [[Taylor H. Miles|surviving ODST]] began to take out [[Type-26 Wraith|Wraith]]s blocking their way to the rendezvous point. Eventually, the Mombasa Tether, already damaged by the jump, collapsed, with miles of debris from the tether scattered across East Africa. The collapse also killed the Colonel.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[Uplift Reserve (level)|Uplift Reserve]]''</ref>

After the UNSC reclaimed the Covenant landing zone in Uplift Reserve, defending the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s [[ONI Alpha Site|local headquarters]] became the top priority. Ninety minutes after the slipspace event, Marines began falling back to the building as advancing Covenant Wraith convoys prepared to lay siege to Alpha Site. The Marines were forced to fight through enemy forces in the [[Kizingo Boulevard|Boulevard]] that led to the ONI site before falling back further into the ONI complex.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[Kizingo Boulevard (level)|Kizingo Boulevard]]''</ref>

Within the ONI compound, the Marines and the NMPD forces destroyed the bridge leading to the base, in hopes of slowing down the advancing Covenant forces. This did not, however, stop the incoming dropships, but slowed the advance. The human forces fell back to the base's courtyard, which they defended against waves of Covenant attackers, before falling back into the interior of the main building. Again, they fended off multiple waves of Covenant. They then activated [[M168 Demolition Charge|explosives]] inside the complex, to destroy it in order to prevent the Covenant from accessing the Superintendent's data facility deep under the building. The Marines and the police forces evacuated to the roof, where they were picked up by an [[D77C-NMPD Pelican|NMPD Pelican dropship]]. Six hours later, the building was still burning from the explosions.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[ONI Alpha Site (level)|ONI Alpha Site]]''</ref>  At the time, the survivors of the siege were unaware that destroying the building had alerted a newly-constructed [[Yanme'e]] hive beneath the building in the Superintendent's data facility, making it much more difficult for UNSC forces to reach the data core later on.<ref name="data">'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[Data Hive]]''</ref>

While the Alpha Site was destroyed, Edward Buck and his squad's sniper, [[Kojo Agu]], made their way to the top floors of the [[NMPD Headquarters]] building, where they were to be picked up by Pelican with two other ODSTs already onboard. However, the dropship was shot down before landing, and it crashed on another rooftop killing the pilot on impact. Buck and Agu fought their way across the rooftops, and eventually reached the crash site, where they fought off waves of attacking Covenant using heavy weapons from the Pelican. Finally, a [[Jiralhanae Chieftain]] dropped off from a [[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantom]], killed an NMPD officer and severely wounded Agu. The squad managed to kill the Chieftain, after which they decided to evacuate through the train tunnels which led into Old Mombasa.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[NMPD HQ (level)|NMPD HQ]]''</ref>

By nightfall of October 20, nearly all human forces in the city had either been evacuated or destroyed. Among the few survivors were the members of Buck's ODST squad, who arrived at [[Kikowani Station]] near the city's northeastern seawall, only to realize that the station, as well as [[Kikowani|its surroundings]] had been flooded by [[water]], making escape through train tunnels impossible. The squad decided to hijack a Phantom dropship, in which they succeeded. Buck escorted the rest of the squad through the flooded sections of the city in a [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshee]]. The area was filled with Covenant forces, including a [[Type-47B Scarab|Scarab]]. After destroying the Scarab, they managed to fly out of the city, when Buck suddenly realized he knew where Captain Dare was and decided to go back to find her, inside the Superintendent's [[New Mombasa Data Center|data center]]. During the battle, arriving Covenant cruisers began excavating the area around the crater created by the slipspace rupture.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[Kikowani Station (level)|Kikowani Station]]''</ref>

 

Around the same time, a lone ODST only known as "[[the Rookie]]", thought dead by the rest of the squad, woke up in his pod, on the edge of a rooftop in [[Mbaraki]]. The city was already occupied by the Covenant, with no UNSC resistance left. The Superintendent aided the Rookie to survive in the city and look for clues for what happened to his squad. Upon finding objects related to his squad, he envisioned what had happened to them over the course of the day. After wandering around the city for a while, the Rookie received a distress message from Dare, who was inside the Superintendent's data facility deep under the city. He made his way to a subway entrance, and descended down an elevator shaft, to Sublevel 7 of the data center.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[Mombasa Streets]]''</ref> At this point, the underground tunnels had become infested with [[Yanme'e]], who had built massive hives in the area.<ref name="data"/>

 

The High Prophet of Regret would arrive upon [[Installation 05]] along with the ''In Amber Clad''. The ring's location was from a Luminary on [[Meridian]].<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level, ''[[Delta Halo (level)|Delta Halo]]''</ref>

The UNSC would not discover the actual purpose of the Covenant's arrival on Earth until two weeks after the [[Battle of Installation 05]]; most of the information was presumably received from the Huragok that had absorbed [[Vergil]]'s data. By this point, the [[Prophet of Truth]] had already arrived in Sol System on the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] with the remainder of [[Truth's fleet|his fleet]] with him.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level, ''[[Coastal Highway|Epilogue]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo 3'''</ref>

The remnants of New Mombasa were liberated after Truth's fleet retreated to [[Installation 00|the Ark]] and were subsequently defeated, with [[Operation: MARSH FLASH]] beginning as part of the [[URNA Southwest Campaign]]. Years after the war's end, a movement known as "[[Project Rebirth]]" emerged to endorse the eventual rebuilding of Mombasa in the aftermath of the War.<ref>'''McFarlane Toys/Halo Point Prizes''', ''Campaign Master Chief''</ref>

*Judging by the timeline, New Mombasa was supposed to be over a thousand kilometers further south than Old Mombasa due to geographical latitude placement. This could be an oversight by Bungie due to geographical emplacement; by 1900 hours, near the equator line, the sun has already set, while on the level NMPD HQ, at 1936 hours the sun is still setting.<ref>''Halo 3: ODST'', campaign level, ''[[NMPD HQ (level)|NMPD HQ]]''</ref><ref>''Halo Timeline year 2552'', [[2552]]</ref>