Rally Point Zulu was a point in the space surrounding the planet Reach that was designated as a staging area for all UNSC warships in the Epsilon Eridani system on the final day of the Fall of Reach: August 30, 2552.[note 1] At this rally point, all recalled ships would attempt to repulse the newly-arrived Covenant Fleet of Particular Justice, which had come to crush all remaining resistance and glass the planet after a month and a half of conflict. The appropriate UNSC vessels were alerted by UNSC Alpha Priority Transmission 04592Z-83, sent by Admiral Roland Freemont, the leader of the FLEETCOM Sector One and of the Epsilon Eridani Fleet.[1]
At first, 100 UNSC warships united at Rally Point Zulu, with 52 more arriving minutes later and the Template:UNSCship arriving shortly after that.[2] The assembled vessels ultimately failed to defend Reach from the Covenant attack. Within minutes, all but a fraction of the ships at Rally Point Zulu were destroyed. The Covenant then pressed through the shattered defensive line, destroyed the now-inert orbital defense platforms, and began glassing the planet.[3]
Note
- ^ In earlier printings of Halo: The Fall of Reach, Admiral Freemont recalled all ships in the "Epsilon Eridani, Jericho, and Tantalus systems". However, it is since been revealed that Tantalus is actually another planet in the Epsilon Eridani system; "Jericho" presumably refers to the Lambda Serpentis system, which was invaded by the Covenant in 2535. The 2011 Definitive Edition of The Fall of Reach changes Freemont's order to extend only to the Epsilon Eridani system.
List of appearances
- Halo: The Fall of Reach (First appearance)
- Halo: Fleet Battles