UNSC Io
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UNSC Io was a cruiser in the UNSC Navy during the Human-Covenant War.[1]
Service history
In March 2543, Io served as the command element of Battle Group Sierra-3, escorted by the destroyers UNSC Seattle and UNSC Thermopylae. On March 6, the battle group engaged a Covenant Sinaris-pattern heavy destroyer in the 18 Scorpii system, with both destroyers sustaining moderate damage while Io herself took heavy damage - including its Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine being rendered inoperable. With Io's slipspace drive destroyed, the commanding officer of the battle group faced a tough decision - pull back the destroyers and leave Io to be destroyed, or commit all three ships to the fight with the tacit understanding that all three would almost certainly be destroyed.[1]
The need to decide was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a "ghost fleet" of insurrectionist spacecraft in the system led by the frigate Bellerophon, which engaged the Covenant vessel and destroyed it before promptly leaving the battlefield without ever making communications contact with the UNSC forces present. Io's captain transmitted a thanks and a wish of luck to the fleet before they left.[1]
After the battle, Io was taken to a space dock for repair, though on March 9 was deemed by Vice Admiral Preston Cole to be too badly-damaged to save. Cole instead requested that Io be towed from dock to his fleet, following the suggestions of Captain Wren - who had devised a plan to use the cruiser as a fire ship.[1]
In the Battle of Psi Serpentis on April 18, UNSC Io was one of the many vessels present in Cole's armada, though was never used as intended. Later speculation by Codename: SURGEON in the report Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J. indicated that Admiral Cole may have used the ship as a decoy to convince both the Covenant and the UNSC that he was killed during the action when he may have in fact escaped in his flagship UNSC Everest.[1]
List of appearances
- Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
- The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole (First appearance)
Sources
- ^ a b c d e f g Halo: Evolutions - The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole, section Seven: The Covenant War: The Battle of Psi Serpentis (2543 CE)
