Battle of Miridem

The Battle of Miridem was an engagement between UNSC and Covenant forces on the planet Miridem in 2544.

Spatial Engagement
Long range sensors on Miridem detected a Covenant fleet exiting slipspace near the edge of the system. Defending the world of Miridem were four Hope-class Destroyers, seven UNSC Frigates, two Halcyon- and one Marathon-class Cruiser, in addition to five Orbital Defence Platforms. These were met by a Covenant force comprised of one Assault Carrier, six CCS-class Battlecruisers, five Covenant Cruisers and four Covenant Frigates, which were attempting to destroy the human presence in the system. In the opening moments of the battle, the Assault Carrier and three CCS-class Battlecruisers were obliterated by the ODP's opening salvo, depleting their charge but destroying Covenant forces just before they entered weapons range. However, the Covenant returned fire and destroyed three of the Platforms and disabling the fourth with plasma torpedoes. The UNSC's three cruisers opened fire, destroying one Cruiser and disabling a CCS-class, while a total of fifteen MAC rounds from the Frigates and Destroyers finished the disabled vessel off and scored kills against a further two cruisers. The Covenant returned fire, gunning for the three Cruisers. The Covenant were now close enough to the planet to launch landing craft, which they did, and, protected by Seraphs, engaged in a fierce aerial battle between the fleets and the planet. Squadrons of C709 Longsword-class Interceptors engaged the Seraphs, destroying many but not preventing thousands of Covenant ground troops from landing.

Although succeeding in destroying one Halcyon, two Hope-class Destroyers, the Courageous and the Starlit Sky, and three UNSC Frigates, deliberately turned into incoming plasma torpedoes, sacrificing themselves to protect the cruisers. The UNSC's returning volley crippled another Covenant Cruiser and two frigates, though following this three of the four remaining frigates were destroyed, as well as the remaining Halcyon-class. The one Marathon-class Cruiser survived because a third Hope-class Destroyer put itself between a plasma torpedo and the vessel, saving it. By this time, the vast majority of civilians had been evacuated on transports being protected by the UNSC fleet, so the Navy retrieved its surviving Longsword fighters, remaining ground forces and the contingent of SPARTAN-IIs which had been engaged on the ground. Following this, the three remaining UNSC ships, one Frigate, one Destroyer and one Cruiser, evacuated via slipspace jump on random coordinates, and the Covenant's remaining Frigate, Cruiser and two CCS-class Battlecruisers moved in to glass the planet and obliterate the few remaining unlucky stragglers.