First Battle of Albion

The First Battle of Albion was an engagement of the Human-Covenant War between the United Nations Space Command and Covenant at the human Outer Colony of Albion in the Alpha Vulcanus system. The battle of Albion would last approximately four days, with the UNSC committing the Spartan-II programs, and Green Team.
Ultimately, Albion was glassed by the Covenant resulting in the deaths of roughly all but five percent of the planet's population, after which it was abandoned by the UNSC.
== Battle ==
At 04:33 Hours on June 18, 2530, Albion was found by the Covenant Fleet of Righteous Vindication, who eliminated the planets small defensive fleet, before launching an invasion of the planet, reaching its capital of New Dover on the third day of the battle. One of the first units committed in the defence of New Dover was the city's police force, the New Dover Metropolitan Police (the NDPD), were called up to assist with initial city defence operations against the invaders. Nearly all of whom were massacred within the first few hours of contact, including best-friends, police officer Daniel Grey and police mechanic, Pierce Shepard who had volunteered to assist in the defence efforts. Elsewhere their wives Megan Grey and Jemma Shepard were attempting to evacuate when a Covenant infantry lance attacked the building that the Grey's and Shepards both lived in, with both sacrificing themselves so that both families children, Beth Grey and Ayrton Shepard could escape.
During this time Spartan-II teams Blue and Green Team would be deployed to the planet, fighting several defensive operations centred around New Dover, preventing the Covenant from overrunning the evacuation sites scattered across the city. However, civilian casualties were still high, due to the presence of a CCS-class battlecruiser above the city, which denied orbiting UNSC warships a clear shot to shoot the ship down, allowing it to freely bombard the city, whilst its compliment Type-26 Banshee fighters harassed the evacuation transports, shooting down the majority. Eventually, the UNSC Navy was able to deal with this threat, using six Paris-class Frigates to drive the ship out over the bay that New Dover was located on, allowing a pair of orbiting Marathon-class cruisers to shoot down the ship with a combined MAC barrage.
On June 21, the final day of the battle, Joseph-122 of Green team encountered Ayrton and Beth, who had managed to survive the night in the besieged city, attempting to head to one of the evacuation zones. With all but the children for company, and later support, he succeeded in escorting both children to the evacuation point, where he placed them both aboard a waiting transport, which with the destruction of the CCS, was able to successfully escape the planet.
At 14:28 Hours on June 21, 2530, the UNSC issued a general evacuation order to all surviving UNSC Forces on Albion, who withdrew from combat with covenant forces to surviving UNSC ships waiting in orbit, before jumping to slipspace out of the system, just as the covenant began glassing the planet.
== Aftermath ==
The battle was a victory for the Covenant, with an unknown number of military casualties on both sides, along with all but an estimated five percent of the population of the planet being killed in addition to the planet being glassed and abandoned by the UNSC.
After being evacuated, the orphaned Ayrton Shepard and Beth Grey would be moved to the New Berlin City Orphanage on Cygnus, before being recruited into the Spartan-III Programs Alpha Company, becoming Ayrton-A384 and Beth-A173 respectively.
Category:Battles