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The Fleet of Sacred Consecration[3] was the Covenant fleet under the command of the High Prophet of Regret. Originally composed of thirteen CCS-class battlecruisers and two CAS-class assault carriers, the fleet suffered tremendous losses when it accidentally stumbled upon the heavily-defended planet Earth.[4]
History
After the Prophet of Regret discovered the location of the Ark Portal from a Forerunner Luminary unearthed in the aftermath of the Battle of Meridian,[5] he quickly conjured a small excavation fleet to uncover it. He was unaware that the relic he sought after was located on humanity's homeworld.[4] His significantly outnumbered and out-classed fleet was quickly attacked by the UNSC Home Fleet's Fifth Fleet, consisting of eight Marathon-class heavy cruisers and sixty-seven Stalwart-class light frigates under the command of Fleet Admiral Harper.[6]
The Covenant fleet then deployed hundreds of boarding craft at the orbital defense platforms defending the planet, in hopes of destroying a cluster with antimatter charges. They managed to destroy two orbital stations; the Athens and Malta station, clearing a path for Regret's flagship, the Solemn Penance to reach Earth.[6]
Meanwhile, the UNSC ships split into echelons, where one group of ships attacked the carriers and a second covered the cruisers. The combined firepower of Fleet Admiral Harper's fleet ensured the rapid destruction of many of Regret's ships, in spite of the numerous losses the human fleet was sustaining. The fleet's second carrier Day of Jubilation, staying above orbit, disabled at least one Marathon-class cruiser with an energy projector. At some point during the battle its shields were destroyed by the Home Fleet's concentrated assault, allowing a pair of Longsword fighters to punch a hole into the carrier's hull, thus exposing the hollow center housing the ship's reactor core. John-117 managed to disable the Covenant bomb meant for the Cairo and threw himself and the device into vacuum, activating it next to the core and propelling himself to safety, thus destroying the carrier.[6]
After UNSC forces in New Mombasa began to push Covenant troops back to Regret's landing zone, Regret decided to head to Halo Installation 05, which he located via the Luminary that had revealed him the Ark Portal as well as all the Halo rings.[5] He proceeded with an in-atmosphere slipspace jump, with UNSC ships UNSC In Amber Clad, UNSC Dusk, UNSC Coral Sea, UNSC Paris and UNSC Redoubtable following.[7] At least one other Covenant ship escaped the battle, the cruiser Pious Inquisitor, which would eventually become part of the Fleet of Retribution.[8] It was later destroyed after the war during a conflict with Kilo-Five.[9]
The battle in Earth orbit destroyed the vast majority of Regret's fleet, whose loss was compensated by the arrival of Truth's fleet, which proceeded to invade Earth only hours afterward.[4] The ultimate fate of the Solemn Penance is unknown.
Composition
Gallery
The fleet arriving near Io Station
The fleet engages the UNSC Home Fleet during the first stages of the Battle of Earth
Another view of the battle as the outnumbered Covenant fleet faces down the assaulting Home Fleet
Day of Jubilation is destroyed by an antimatter charge delivered by Spartan-117
List of appearances
- Halo 2 (First appearance)
- Halo 3: ODST
- Halo: Broken Circle (Mentioned only)
- Halo 2: Anniversary
- Halo: New Blood (Mentioned only)
- Halo Mythos
Sources
- ^ Halo 2, campaign level Cairo Station (Cortana: "Thirteen cruisers, two assault carriers")
- ^ Spartan Games: Covenant Assault Carrier
- ^ Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 180
- ^ a b c Halo Waypoint: Ten Twenty
- ^ a b Halo 2 Anniversary, Terminals
- ^ a b c Halo 2, campaign level Cairo Station
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 186
- ^ Halo Encyclopedia, page 185
- ^ Halo: Mortal Dictata
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