Battle of Circinius IV
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The Battle of Circinius IV was a conflict between UNSC and Covenant forces on the colony of Circinius IV in mid-2526.[1]
Prelude
After the first engagements on Harvest, ONI Section II kept the Covenant invasion secret from a large portion of the general population, even as late as 2526. This included the cadets and staff of the Corbulo Academy of Military Science on Circinius IV. However, the Academy's superintendent, General Black, was informed. As preparation for a possible attack, Black discreetly increased the readiness of the UNSC Marine garrison posted in the academy and authorized limited communications blackouts under the guise of routine maintenance procedures.
Battle
- "...We are under attack."
- — Cadet Thomas Lasky
At some point in 2526, the Covenant began an assault on Circinius IV, targeting the Corbulo Academy of Military Science with three SDV-class heavy corvettes. Locally stationed Marines provided an initial defense of the Academy and the evacuation of the cadets via the school's space elevator was begun immediately. Orbiting UNSC vessels soon deployed Orbital Drop Shock Troopers directly onto the campus. However, one of the Covenant corvettes fired on the elevator, causing it to collapse on the school and halt the evacuation. Since all the cadets and staff had converged near the elevator for evacuation, the collapse of the elevator killed many of members of the academy.[1]
- John-117: "You are the only survivors."
- Michael Sullivan: "Of the school?"
- John-117: "On the planet."
- — John-117 notifying the cadets of the planet's near-total fatalities.
Corbulo's officer cadets were caught off-guard by this attack. General Black was killed within minutes of the attack; Colonel K.L. Mehaffey attempted to organize the surviving cadets inside the tunnels, though she too was quickly killed. As the surviving cadets attempt to escape, Marines and Covenant forces trade fire wildly, with the Marines being quickly overwhelmed. Cadet squad Hastati, composed of 6 cadets, quickly makes its way back to the building. They attempt to run to their training room, losing a member to a Zealot-class Elite. The surviving five make it to the training room, where they sent out a distress signal and attempted to arm up. However, they are forced to hide when the Elite breaks in. There the Elite killed another cadet and was about to finish off the others when Spartan John-117 killed the Elite. After he radioed fellow SPARTAN Kelly-087 about the survivors and requesting a Pelican extraction, he opened the cadets' lockers, allowing them to arm up.[2]
The Spartan led the survivors to the academy's exterior, where they were ambushed by Kig-Yar snipers. After dispatching the snipers, they retreated from the combat zone in General Black's personal Warthog.[2] During the drive however, Silva was killed, and the group was almost killed by a pair of Hunters. Nevertheless, the group reached the Pelican without more casualties just as the Covenant began glassing the planet.[3]
Gallery
Three Covenant corvettes descending toward Corbulo.
UNSC forces fighting the Covenant at Corbulo Academy.
The Covenant proceed to glass Circinius IV, completely destroying Corbulo Academy.
List of Appearances
- Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (First appearance)
Sources
