Battle of Ma-at

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Battle of Ma-at
Part of Operation First Strike and the Defense of the Veil

Date:

14 February 1931 CE

Location:

In orbit over Ammut and its moons / Ma-at / Far Rim

Outcome:

Decisive Geth victory

  • Complete operational failure for the Migrant Fleet
  • Quarians suffer worst losses of the conflict
  • Hostilities between the two powers enter a "cold war" state for one hundred years.
Belligerents
QuarianInsignia.jpg
Migrant Fleet
GethInsignia.png
Geth
Commanders
QuarianInsignia.jpg
Niro'Wumos

QuarianInsignia.jpg
Zoto'Vosar

QuarianInsignia.jpg
Sila'Feesa
GethInsignia.png
Unit V3700

GethInsignia.png
Unit F6458
Strength
Casualties
  • 1,350 marines killed
  • 5 transports destroyed
  • 57 ships destroyed, 25 severely damaged
  • Admiral Zoto'Vosar killed
  • 1 anti-aerospace gun destroyed
  • 34 geth troops killed
  • 18 ships destroyed, 24 severely damaged
 
"And so ended Niro'Wumos' career as an admiral..."
— Admiral Meeh'Mor vas Vaachol regarding his predecessor's failure at the Battle of Ma'at.

The Battle of Ma-at was a limited ground/large-scale naval engagement near Ammut in the Ma-at system between a large detachment of the Heavy and Patrol fleets, and several squadrons of the Geth Navy: it was the largest engagement of the conflict, and was the final of three engagements early in the Quarian-geth conflict that became known pejoratively as "Niro's Blunders". Niro'Wumos, as a result of his failures in orchestrating the battles at Pahhur and Jeli'skah, was pressured by the quarian leadership to develop a bold new plan for retaking their home cluster, which he had assured was a simple task. This pressure, and Niro's poor military experience, led to the development of what he called the Ma'at strategy: a plan to conquer the Far Rim by deploying a fleet to conquer it by force, and thus open up a second front. The plan was coordinated with Admiral Zoto'Vosar vas Wejol of the Patrol fleet, who he needed to pull off the attack. The hope was to use FTL to jump directly into the Ma-at system, where forces would be deployed to take control of the geth moons and seize control of their anti-aerospace batteries, while the fleet held off the geth fleet: the hope was not to beat the geth in a naval battle, but to hold them off long enough that the geth's own AA could defeat them. The plan was ambitious, but the quarian colonel Sila'Feesa in charge of the ground assault was highly skeptical of her small force's ability to capture their assigned objectives, calling it 'suicide'. Regardless, the Admiralty Board approved the plan against Zoto'Vosar's wishes, and the attack commenced on February 14, 1931 CE.

As expected, the entire assault was a failure. Upon arriving, the quarians immediately split their fleet into two sections: Niro's Heavy fleet was to loop around the gas giant Ammut and "surprise" the geth fleet in dock there. While Niro's fleet kept the geth busy, Zoto's Patrol fleet would slip in and deploy their three marine regiments at their assigned drop points, with Colonel Sila'Feesa left to do the rest. Firstly, as a result of poor intelligence, the geth were not where they were reported to be, but were actually on patrol on the other side of the system. Secondly, while able to deploy their troops without any hassle, the geth's anti-aircraft guns cut through the transports easily, causing 13% of the assault forces to be killed before touching the ground. The rest ended up being deployed all over the place, allowing the geth to isolate them in small pockets, making a coordinated assault impossible. As a result, Zoto called off the assault and extracted the remaining troops, hoping to bombard the defenses from orbit. As a result, Zoto's flagship, the QMFV Wejol, was destroyed by one of the geth's planetary guns, and the Patrol fleet retreated and regrouped with Niro's fleet over Ammut. The geth fleet responded by this time, and in a last ditch attempt, Niro charged the geth ships. In the end, Niro was thoroughly defeated, losing two thirds of his forces, and returned to the Migrant Fleet in disgrace.

This defeat would mark the end of Niro's career. The Admiralty Board, including Zoto'Vosar's successor, Meem'Reezh, voted to have Niro'Wumos removed as an admiral: the only time in the Fleet's history where this occurred. Niro later lamented in his memoir that he deeply regretted that his lack of experience lead to so many deaths, and ultimately blamed the Conclave for pressuring him: he died two years later. Due to the devastating losses of the battle, the quarians ceased open hostilities for the next one hundred years.

Prelude[edit | edit source]