First Battle of Elysia

The First Battle of Elysia was a battle between the UNSC and the Covenant Empire that took place on the planet of Elysia in the Outer Colonies in 2548.
== Background ==
Elysia was a rich, semi-tropical planet dominated by rolling coastal grasslands and archipelagos in the Outer Colonies. The planet was an extremely popular tourist destination and was home to several sprawling cities with a total planetary population of around 1,201,000 in 2548.
On March 15th, 2548, a Luminary aboard Vetan 'Hanamee's flagship would point the fleet towards a large Forerunner structure beneath the surface of an unknown planet. On March 18th, Vetan 'Hanamee's fleet would exit slipspace in Elysia's outer orbit, and would commence a planetary invasion as soon as a Human presence on the surface was confirmed.
== The Battle ==
=== Initial Invasion ===
==== Battle of Carpentaria ====
The first engagement of the invasion would take place in the city of Carpentaria. The attack came as a surprise as UNSC elements on the planet had not had enough time to prepare for the first waves of attacks. Police in the city were slaughtered and numerous civilians were put to the sword before the arrival of a sizable UNSC force that'd drive the first wave from the city. Following four following waves of aerially-inserted ground attacks, the Covenant ended their attack on Carpentaria temporarily. It would be a Pyrrhic battle for the UNSC as it ultimately would lead to the UNSC not being able to deploy enough elements to defend Coral.
==== Disaster at Coral ====
The Covenant would launch a surprise attack at Coral during the Battle of Carpentaria. The limited number of UNSC forces in the immediate area did not arrive fast enough nor in large enough numbers to drive off the Covenant, and the Covenant would massacre approximately 90% of the city's occupants. Following this, Colonel Devin Weeks, in command of ground forces, ordered the retreat of all UNSC forces to all unoccupied major cities in order to prevent another disaster and concentrate on defending valuable areas.
==== Orbital Engagements ====
Battlegroup "Safari" would lead the defense of the planet's orbit, seeing little success in holding off the Covenant's advance. The relatively inexperienced leaders of the fleet, of which was of low priority due to Humanity mostly abandoning the Outer Colonies, ordered the fleet to withdraw into the planet's atmosphere. The Fleet of Divine Purity would send a small number of smaller vessels to pursue the fleet, and would deploy most of the fleet's assets to the ground. Ultimately, it was the decision to split the fleet up like this that would cost the fleet the battle in the coming weeks.
=== Elysia Under Siege ===
==== Rural Engagements ====
As the Covenant began to deploy large numbers of ground forces to the surface in rural areas, engagements began between rural militias and the Covenant. Despite causing a minor nuisance for the Covenant and stalling their second attack on Carpentaria, these rural militias would be "pacified" by the Covenant by March 21st. The Covenant would establish a Spire near the Forerunner structure they had been initially searching for, which would peak the interests of the UNSC. UNSC forces would stop engaging the Covenant in rural areas without express orders from Colonel Weeks on the 23rd of March.
==== Second Battle of Carpentaria ====
Following the pacification of resistance in rural areas by March 23rd, and the arrival of large enough numbers of ground forces, the Covenant would launch a second attack on Carpentaria, beginning on March 25th, supported by aerial elements and a SDV-class Corvette. The well dug-in military elements lead by Colonel Weeks fought for every inch of ground in Carpentaria, turning it into an incredibly devastating battle for both sides, though the Covenant's aerial superiority seriously tipped the battle in their favour. Colonel Weeks would send out a high priority message to the remaining portions of the defense fleet, who had wiped out the Covenant vessels that had chased them during their retreat. With the intervention of the fleet, the UNSC was able to destroy the Corvette that was severely hindering UNSC operations, and would restore aerial dominance over the city. The Battlegroup would not stay to assist Colonel Weeks' forces in the battle in order to drive Covenant forces away from the city. The Second Battle of Carpentaria would continue on until April 7th.
==== Reinforcements Arrive & Turning Tides ====
Captain James Coleman, who was relatively close to the planet when his vessel, the UNSC Ivory Coast, had detected it's frantic distress signals. Knowing the strategic importance of the planet and that high-value individuals, like Colonel Devin Weeks, would deploy to the planet. Arriving with the UNSC Ivory Coast and 8 other vessels on the 29th of March, the Battlegroup would immediately join up with the scattered elements of Battlegroup "Safari" and began to prepare for a decisive orbital engagement. James Coleman would, in order to lift the pressure being exerted on Carpentaria, deploy significant reinforcements, including Fireteam India and Theo-783, to the planet's surface, the reinforcements being pivotal in turning the tide of the ground battle on Elysia. 
In orbit, James Coleman and the combined fleet launched an attack on Covenant elements present in orbit. Due to the Covenant having split up their forces earlier, they would be decisively wiped out by the attack, sending Covenant forces on the ground into disarray and causing all Covenant vessels in atmosphere to withdraw to orbit to face the new threat, severely hindering the Covenant effort in the battle.
==== Destruction of Covenant Ground Forces ====
The UNSC would launch an operation under Colonel Devin Weeks and Theo-783, with the assistance of Fireteams India and Uniform Six along with several Marine platoons with the intention of destroying the Covenant Spire and prevent any reliable way for the Covenant to deploy forces to the ground. Following aerial assessment, it was noted that the Spire, due to the Covenant's need to access the subterranean Forerunner structure, had begun to stop projecting a shield for an hour each day to facilitate the transport of resources and men into and out of the structure. Exploiting this, the teams would be inserted into the opposite end of the structure, some 7 kilometers to the north-east, where they'd move through the structure and easily avoid the few individuals from the Covenant that were allowed inside of the structure. Once near the entrance, and after waiting approximately two hours, the teams moved out of the structure and planted a HAVOK Nuclear Device near the base of the Spire. The ground teams then returned to the structure, taking a Type-29 Shadow through the relatively open central pathways of the structure and detonating the HAVOK warhead once they were a safe distance away. Aerial assessment directly following the concluding of the operation noted that the attack was more devastating than intended, with essentially the entire Covenant army in the area being wiped out.
==== Covenant Retreat ====
Following the destruction of the spire, Covenant forces stopped receiving a steady flow of reinforcements on the ground as all potential reinforcements were either engaged in orbit or wiped out. Due to this, and the tide of the battle having turned some time ago, the Second Battle of Carpentaria concluded on April 7th. Numerous other battles in population centers across the planet also concluded around this time. Fireteam Uniform Six would go missing on the same day when being sent back into the structure to assess the damage done to the structure.
In orbit, James Coleman and the UNSC Fleet would drive the remaining elements of the Fleet of Divine Purity away from the planet, with them suffering almost total destruction following a series of decisive space engagements. Vetan 'Hanamee would flee with his flagship on April 9th, ending the battle.
== Aftermath ==
Following the end of the battle, Colonel Devin Weeks, Captain James Coleman, Theo-783 and a number of other important personnel would meet in the conference room aboard the UNSC Ivory Coast. Patrol teams would be sent to the surface to search for Fireteam Uniform Six, though they would find absolutely no leads apart from that the Fireteam didn't make it to the Spire, seeing as there was no signs of an engagement and the presence of Covenant survivors reinforced this. A generally accepted theory among ONI was that Uniform Six defected to the Insurrection, though both Colonel Weeks and Captain Coleman have opposed this idea.
In order to make up for the complete destruction of the Fleet of Divine Purity, Vetan 'Hanamee would use data recovered by his scribes from the luminary in the structure on Elysia to locate a series of significant Forerunner artifacts. Upon presenting these artifacts, he was fully pardoned by the council, and would infact be commended for his service.
Elysia would not recover fully until after the war, when tourism would become commonplace once more, and more civilians would move to Elysia from the war-torn Inner Colonies. A monument to Colonel Devin Weeks, Captain James Coleman and Theo-783 would be erected in Carpentaria in 2553. A war reunion was held in Carpentaria in 2558, the ten year anniversary of the battle.Category:Battles
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War