Operation: TORPEDO

Operation: TORPEDO was a UNSC operation to eliminate a Covenant refinery on the inhabited moon Pegasi Delta, orbiting 51 Pegasi B, in the 51 Pegasi system. The engagement took place on July 3, 2545.
==Background==
The aim of Operation: TORPEDO was to destroy a Covenant deuterium/tritium refinery, on the moon Pegasi Delta. These chemicals were used in the Covenant's plasma reactors, therefore making this refinery an excellent refueling plant for Covenant ships, right on the edge of UNSC space. The destruction of this supply point would triple the time it would take the Covenant to resupply their fleets and buy the UNSC valuable time to recover from the ravages of war. This time would be spent regrouping in the wake of numerous crushing defeats at the hands of the Covenant Navy.
Long range nuclear bombardments were met with failure, as the Covenant ships interdicted the strikes with point defense weapons. Neither a conventional invasion nor an ODST insertion were considered feasible. The operation was then assigned to the newly commissioned SPARTAN-III Beta Company, attached to the .
The outcome was a Beta Company victory, but at great cost. All SPARTAN-IIIs, with the exception of Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091 were killed. However, all Covenant forces groundside as well as seven Covenant cruisers were also eliminated.
==History==
At 11:35am, the 300 SPARTAN-IIIs of Beta Company landed on the planet, Pegasi Delta, via Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pods. Nine SPARTANs did not survive, they were either killed on impact or by Covenant forces. At first, initial resistance was light, as the Covenant had not yet realized the size of the attacking force. Soon, however, Covenant Seraphs began their strafing runs, prompting the hiding SPARTANs to abandon their stealth and rush to the factory for safety. As more Seraphs appeared, a few SPARTANs attempted to hold them back with missile launchers, and succeeded in destroying two, forcing the remaining Seraphs to cancel their runs.
The Seraphs, instead, began bombing the SPARTANs, killing dozens. Thousands of Jackals and Elites emerged to repel the assault. In response, the hundreds of surviving SPARTANs charged, their speed and reflexes augmenting their close quarter combat abilities so that "the field ran with rivers of gore and blue blood."Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 21
Hopes of a clean extraction were dashed when, seven Covenant Cruisers landed, disembarking thousands of Elites. Half of the remaining Beta Company turned to face the new threat in an attempt to buy time for their fellow soldiers. Team Foxtrot rushed to the factory, as the Covenant would be unable to bombard them without destroying their own assets. Adam-B004 was mortally wounded, but stayed behind to hold off the Covenant forces in order to cover the rest of his comrades. When the surviving members of the strike force arrived at the objective, they immediately began to set explosive charges on the core. Min-B174 was setting his timer when the surrounding EM field triggered the explosive, vaporizing him.
The last two members of Team Foxtrot, Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091, then jumped off a cliff and into the ocean to escape from the explosion of the core. The SPARTANs nearly drowned, but managed to swim ashore. Eventually, bothy reached a Black Cat prowler. They searched for more survivors, but there wasn't any: they two were the only ones, and were extracted from the planet. In the end, Beta company's sabotage destroyed not only the Covenant refinery, but the seven cruisers dispatched as reinforcements.
==Aftermath==
Although the UNSC achieved a major strategic victory, Beta company was effectively annihilated as a fighting force. The Covenant in return suffered a heavy blow that would prevent them from refueling close to UNSC space.
Additionally, Lucy-B091 would suffer from "post-traumatic vocal disarticulation," preventing her from speaking.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 27
==Timeline==
===July 3, 2545===
*0435 Hours: The three-hundred SPARTAN-IIIs of Beta Company are dropped out of Slipspace by UNSC All Under Heaven in Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pods.
*Eight s are landed in strategic locations around the target and one STARS is dropped to orbit the planet.
*1135 Hours: 291 SPARTAN-IIIs land on the surface of Pegasi Delta within drop pods. Nine SPARTAN-IIIs unaccounted for and are presumed dead.
*SPARTAN-IIIs regroup into fireteams. Covenant Seraph fighters begin strafing runs, killing dozens.
*Surviving SPARTAN-IIIs begin frontal charge of refinery-city. Strafing continues.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 16
*Kig-Yar Snipers fire on charging SPARTAN-IIIs. SPARTAN-IIIs reduced to 200 active soldiers.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 17 Several SPARTAN-IIIs with M19-B missile launchers destroy multiple strafing Seraphs with a Bravo maneuver, discouraging remaining fighters.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 20
*Thousands of Jackals and Elites rush from cover within the factory to face the two hundred remaining SPARTAN-IIIs.
*The attacked SPARTANs panic and declare code Omega Three. Seven Covenant Cruisers descend from above the factory.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 22
*Covenant Cruisers launch dropships and deliver troops to the surface via Gravity Lifts. Forces engage remaining SPARTAN-IIIs.
*Team Foxtrot arrives at the facility core. Adam-B004 is shot while holding off pursuing Covenant forces and Min-B174 is killed by a premature charge explosion. Last two remaining SPARTAN-IIIs, Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091, successfully overload the core and escape over a cliff into the ocean.
*Survivors of Beta Company are slaughtered. Facility explodes, destroying all Covenant forces within range, including the seven Covenant Cruisers.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 25-26
*Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091 retreat aboard one of the pre-inserted Black Cat subprowlers and fall back to UNSC controlled space.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 27
==Trivia==
*In the Halo: Reach VGA trailer, SPARTAN-B312 was said to have survived Operation: TORPEDO, though Noble 6 was taken out of Beta Company immediately before TORPEDO commenced.
*This shares similar traits to the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC in which 300 Spartans fought and all perished. Even the fact than only two survived matchs that battle.
==Sources==
ru:Операция_"Торпеда"
Pegasi Delta
Category:UNSC Victories
Category:Operations