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The Battle of Cleveland was an engagement between the UNSC Defense Force and the Covenant Military that took place in Cleveland, Ohio on Earth during the Second Battle of Earth.[1]
Purpose
The purpose of the occupation was to find and retrieve the Key of Osanalan, a Forerunner artifact revealed by Colonel James Ackerson during his interrogation. Ackerson told it was a necessary component for the firing sequence of the Halo array to properly initiate it. The Key does not exist, however:[2] Ackerson simply told the Covenant about it to save his brother. The Covenant would not destroy the city before getting the Key, and Ruwan's knowledge of the Key would help him escape.
Arranging a plan with a squad of marines, Ruwan was injected with an organic material that is trackable and surrendered himself to the Covenant forces, claiming to be the Key. The Brutes brought him aboard the Harbinger of Piety before the Minister of Inquisition, who questioned him of Halo but the civilian was confused. Inquisition revealed he knew about the tracking material inside him and presumed that it was a homing beacon for rescue; Ruwan corrected him: it was a targeting vector for MAC Platform Nassau to fire on the ship, destroying it and killing everyone aboard.
Aftermath
Because of their gullibility, the Covenant wasted resources and effort in searching Cleveland for the non-existent key and lost a minor Prophet as a result. A brute beheaded Ackerson as for this.
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