Remnant War (Ajax 013)

The Remnant War was a large conflict between the Covenant Remnant, lead by the High Prophet of Deliverance, and an alliance of factions opposed to him, including the United Nations Space Command, United Sangheili Republic and it's protectorates, Jiralhanae Alliance, the Kig-Yar Union, and the Yanme'e Hives. 
Opening the war with a colossal invasion of their enemies, they were soon bogged down by their enemies. Having grossly underestimated the strength of his foes, the Prophet of Deliverance saw the war turn on him, and his death would mark the end of the war. 
==Background==
===Prelude===
The Remnant War was almost inevitable. With the allied victory over Doisac, survivors loyal to the Covenant fled into deep space, to distant sectors. With the end of the war, most were scrambling to piece together their broken empires, to assert their dominance and strengthen their position. In the dark sectors, where the Covenant had fled, there were brief and bloody wars of succession, as each warlord attempted to take command of the remaining loyalists. Eventually, a coalition was formed, with the High Prophet of Deliverance in high command.
These remnants would soon begin to gather their strength, and rebuild. Finding a number of relics, including an Oracle, they began to grow, attracting a few lost souls to them. During this time, they were monitored by the Office of Naval Intelligence, but were not a high priority, especially in the wake of the Reclamation Conflict, the growing Insurrection, and the Storm Insurgency. With other galactic events taking precedent, the Covenant Remnant could grow unmolested. 
In 2559, they made their presence known, expanding into the contested area of space known as the Frontier. No side had any sort of diplomatic contact with them, and their presence was a totally unknown factor. There were a large number of skirmishes on the borders of Human, Sangheili, Kig-Yar and Jiralhanae space, as the Remnants expansion came into conflict with other factions. This would grow, with slave raids becoming a regular occurrence. This prompted the erstwhile allies to move forces over and begin intense surveillance on the Covenant.
===Factions===
====Alliance====
=====United Nations Space Command=====
Bearing the brunt of the Remnant's attack, the Covenant realised too late that they had awoken a sleeping giant. With increasingly sophisticated ships, and advanced war fighting technology, mixed with a serious advantage in tactics and information warfare, the UNSC proved to be far too much trouble for the Covenant, and turned the tables on them. In particular, the numerous Spartans now employed by them proved to be their greatest instrument in the war, shattering the Covenant's best, time and again. 
=====Sangheili Republic=====
The Sangheili Republic had long prepared for this day, drilling their warriors, and rearming their fleets, growing stronger for the day the Covenant returned. Free of the religious trappings that the Prophets used to hold them in check, the Covenant expected a foe weakened by infighting, but found pragmatic warriors, ready to fight. They had also invested heavily in new technology, advancing past the technology allowed by the technocracy of the Prophets. 
=====Jiralhanae Tribes=====
A fair-weather participant, the Tribes of the Jiralhanae conducted a few operations in the war. Made up of the hundreds of clans who swore fealty to the Rule of Two Chieftains, they were initially hit by a forward spur of the Covenant invasion, and most Tribes acquiesced or outright joined them. Response was sluggish and ineffective at best, and the main counter-attack being led by the Tyraxus Tribe, and the Jiralhanae Tribes counter-invasion was also led by them. 
=====Kig-Yar Union=====
Much like the Jiralhanae, the response was lax, at best, with as many clans joining them as they did resist them. However, as the Covenant approached the Kig-Yar core systems, a furious defence was made, with notable leaders of their people, including Chol Von, pirate lord Dekd Nok, the thief Sav Fel, and privateer Trak F'Kor, all leading their own forces in disparate counter attacks. While unsuccessful alone, their combined forces actually made good gains on their enemy in space, but ground invasions faired poorly for them. Eventually, it came to their defence of Eayn, which used the asteroids of their home system, like their ancestors did centuries prior. 
=====Yanme'e Hives=====
While a relatively small sphere of influence, the Yanme'e Hives were hit head on in an attack by a marauding spur of the Covenant. Many queens banded together, setting aside old grudges to protect their nests from their onslaught. Tens of thousands of drones died in every engagement, choking the enemy with their dead. While the campaign was successful, it weakened them in the long run, allowing for their annexation years later. 
====Covenant And Allies====
=====Covenant Remnant=====
=====Pirate Clans=====
=====Allied Tribes=====
===Preparations===
====Remnant====
Deliverance's goal was always to be to invade his enemies. To this end, he ordered his forces to begin a military build up at a colossal rate. They turned out ships, tanks, weapons and new recruits at a high rate, and their forces earned experience in slave raids. They would also grow exponentially, seizing colonies from humans, Kig-Yar, Jiralhanae and Sangheili, expanding their reach, and their numbers of slaves. 
His intelligence agents would begin gathering information on their forces, using contacts in the neutral territories to build a picture of their enemy. In particular, their agents inside the Alliance and Union would gather substantial information, and began to extend talks to Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar clans, who's allegiance could be swayed, and piety could be exploited. His intelligence network grew substantially, extending even to human colonies. 
Most important, Deliverance earned the allegiance of several powerful pirate clans, allied under the single banner of Dekd Nok. This alliance was incredibly beneficial to both, as Deliverance supplied the pirates with military hardware, and the pirates replied with tithes of slaves and loot. Dekd Nok put his forces at the disposal of Deliverance, providing him with a massive increase in manpower. 
====UNSC====
The UNSC, caught between the Storm Insurgency and Growing Insurrection, was more than willing to simply ignore the Remnant, believing them to be no threat. ONI, however, was unsure of this, and began their own clandestine investigations. Realising the growing strength of their enemy, they attempted to buy time by placing buffers in front of them, and sabotaging their efforts. However, this would only delay them.
When the Remnant began attacking human colonies beyond the UNSC's jurisdiction, they began to take notice. Diverting forces from the dwindling Storm Insurgency, the UNSC would begin fortifying the sectors, in preparation, but had little idea of the massive scale of the invasion. However, the Hadre-Karida Plan allowed the UNSC to quickly mobilise reinforcements, allowing them to face the enemy on near equal terms. 
====USR====
While most in the Republic were happy to think the Covenant defeated and gone, there were some in military circles who long suspected they still survived, far from prying eyes, and waited the chance to strike back. The Imperator, in particular believed the Covenant would return, and used his considerable leverage to ensure the intelligence agency of the Republic, the Justiciars, kept tabs on his enemies. 
This would pay off, when the Justiciars not only discovered a build up of force and aggression, but also the existence of their spy network. The Imperator made a impassioned speak to the High Council to launch a pre-emptive strike, but was turned down in favour of a prolonged military campaign to take Hesduros from the Storm Covenant. Once this campaign was completed, he again attempted to get forces for a pre-emptive strike, but instead received forces with the authorization to defend Republic (And only Republic) space in the event of an invasion. 'Vadam would take these forces and prepare for the approach of his enemy. 
====Jiralhanae Alliance====
Life inside the alliance would always be marked by internal conflict, but as clans with known Covenant links began to actively resist the rule of the High Chieftains, the4 Alliance began to actively prepare for the Covenant invasion. Measures were taken to attempt to limit the rebellious clans, but ultimately, many would not be swayed.
The High Chieftains would instead strengthen their unified army as well as their private forces, in preparation. Deals would also be struck with neutrally aligned clans to bring them to their side. 
====KYU====
The Kig-Yar Union was woefully under-prepared for this, instead being consumed by their need for expansion and trade. The Republic would tell them how dangerous their position was, but ultimately they went unheeded. The Union would pay dearly for this, as the many clans would be swayed to the Covenant, and many more would turn to piracy. 
====Yanme'e Hives====
The Yanme'e Hives were technically a protectorate of the Republic, but unlike the Unggoy or Lekgolo protectorates, they lay directly in the path of the invasion. Their cluster of worlds would be placed in danger, and to counter this they made preparations. The Yanme'e's freedom was at stake, and while they had warships of their own, they were too few in number to resist a full scale invasion. To this end, the Republic sent ships and troops, intending to bolster their positions, and fortify their hives. 
==Remnant Invasion==
When the Remnant began their invasion, it was huge, unannounced and catastrophic. A dozen fleets invaded twenty different star systems simultaneously across multiple fronts. Unprecedented in size and scale, the huge forces involved threw defenders off guard as they huge attack rampaged through numerous sectors. 
===UNSC Front===
The UNSC front was initially one of their largest gains, but repeatedly the Covenant discovered their progress slowed, as slipspace anomalies prevented them from dropping out of slipspace close to their targets, instead being ejected at the far edge of the sector. The fully implemented Slipspace Scrambler system prevented easy access, and slowed them down enough for the UNSC to muster significant strength against them. 
====Greenwell, Initial Conquests====
Greenwell was the first planet struck in their invasion, but few details were discovered by the UNSC concerning the planet's fate. All that is known is that a massive Covenant force dropped out of slipstream space close to planet's moon. With no Scrambler system installed, it was possible for the Covenant to get as close as they liked. The colonial garrison briefly transmitted information concerning the size of the force attacking them, but the only communications satellite was destroyed just an hour after they initiated landings. 
Rapid response forces would arrive nearly a day later, with a handful of frigates to scout the enemy. Closing on the planet, they found it totally deserted. The world of 25,000 was completely destroyed, with major population centres bombed from orbit, and the wrecks of the handful of corvettes, and a few civilian craft, littering the planet's orbit. Landing a few teams to investigate, they managed to piece together what scant information they could. The Covenant Remnant invaded in force, bombing most of the settlements before landing, and butchering any who resisted. Looting and pillaging began, and many were taken prisoner, dragged into the holds of slave ships, and many others killed. Shortly after, they pulled back to their ships, obliterated any surface left standing on the surface, then jumped to slipspace. Now a number of fleets were penetrating into UNSC space. 
Now reports flooded in of multiple assaults across UNSC space. At least three more plaents had fallen, and another two under siege. The UNSC NAvy's local forces were no mobilising for battle, but had little intelligence on their next few strikes, resulting in catch up as they arrived shortly after the Covenant left. However, as the Covenant approached systems protected by the Scrambler Network, they found themselves lethally exposed. Dropping out of slipspace far from their target, their enemy not only had time to evacuate, but also to cause casualties without taking many of themselves. This changed at Castellum. 
The invasion force broke into four tendrils, pushing ever further into UNSC territory. The main push was made up of large Fleet of Divine Will, lead by Chieftain Lakvanus, while on his left and right flank was Chieftain Caesercus and the Prophet of Absolution, leading the Fleet of Expedited Vengeance, and on his left flank was the Prophet of Pity, Objection, and Chieftain Malearnus, leading the Fleet of Quickening Destiny and Fleet of Righteous Iconoclasm. Taking the far flank was the Chieftain Harunum, and the Fleet of Unspoilt Piety. At Castellum, the Covenant forces finally got the breakthrough they needed.
====Castellum====
During a hard fought battle to take the colony of Hen Sha, the fleet suffered losses while approaching the small colony, defended by only a frigate squadron. Caesercus' fleet made it in time to see the UNSC leave with most of the colonists. This occurred on two more worlds, leading Caesercus to postulate the UNSC devised some kind of gateway system, similarly to the legendary Maginot Line of Forerunner myth.
At Castellum, Caesercus happened upon an event of great luck. During the battle to take the colony, a UNSC Destroy was scissored into pieces by the focused energy projector fire of a battleship. The resulting microdebris, travelling at high speeds, perforated a cloaked Prowler in orbit and sent it crashing onto the planet. The ship wreck was secured by Caesercus' men, and the survivors, including a number of key operatives and officers, as well as any intact data, were taken to Caesercus' flagship. Under torture, many of the individuals spilled secrets, including scraps of information on the UNSC's Slipspace Scrambler technology. Eventually, piecing it together with information recovered from the wreck of the Prowler, he discovered their network of scramblers as well as their access codes, allowing him to bypass them. Rather than immediately disseminate this data, he kept it to himself and a few loyal officers, seeing it as a bargaining chip to rise in the ranks even further. To keep it secret, he threw the prisoners into the slave holds, or executed them, his officers feasting on them. Before he could act on his intelligence however, the Prophet of Pity committed large numbers of his forces to conducting a flanking manoeuvre. 
====Operation: DEFIANT STAR====
The Prophet of Pity, a hedonistic and impatient individual, had quickly become bored of the speed of his fleet's conquest. Pity instead took the advice of his top officer, Malernus, and diverged off to the east of the main advance, seeking to flank the bulk of the UNSC's defences. Followed by one of the Remnant's appointed Pirate Princes, Mak Kur, his substantial force looked to be in position to quicken the advance once again. Securing his inner flank was the Prophet of Objection, taking a fleet with him. 
To this end, they conducted a massive invasion of the Argon Sector, a collection of twenty-four sectors. Defence of these systems fell to the thirty-nine ships of Task Force Vengeance, who would be alone in stopping the several hundred-strong force until the arrival of Task Force Reaver in several days, and 16th Fleet in a week. 
The prowler, UNSC Raven, intercepted high level communications between Pity and Malearnus, showing that they intended to attack Argon Sector. In response, Task Force Vengeance headed to Ankara, their first target, towing several orbital defence platforms into position and laying mines in front of the enemy's point of arrival. Fighting valiantly to hold the colony until fully evacuated, the ever multiplying enemy numbers forced them to retreat, leaving thousands behind. 
They would retreat from world to world, inflicting casualties and ambushing the enemy where possible, while simultaneously fortifying their fleet base at Guinevere, as their final stand. Eventually, they were boxed in around the planet, forced into hit and run strikes to keep the Covenant at bay, while Malearnus was content to besiege them, and fortify the worlds he took. Pity proceeded off with his own ships, to plunder and burn as he liked. The Remnant took fourteen of the worlds in the sector, while a further six remained totally undefended. Eventually they managed to break through the defences around Guinevere, but on the surface found a mass of fortifications and determined defenders, who would throw them back after every assault. 
Thankfully, Task Force Reaver arrived and lifted the siege. They did this by ambushing the Prophet of Pity, forcing Malearnus to send the bulk of his forces to aide the Prophet, and then punch a whole through the encirclement so they could resupply the defenders. Reaver, facing the implacable advance of Pity and Objection, had to stall for time, at least long enough for the 16th Fleet to arrive. To do this, they would divide into smaller units and perform clandestine warfare, attempting to stall their advance.
Initially, Reaver would perform hit and run strikes against their staging areas, damaging ships and inflicting casualties. As the Covenant began adapting tactics to halt this, Reaver switched gears, instead attacking their supply convoys as they moved through slipspace, destroying vital supplies, including fuel and weapons, as well as attacking troop transports. Their attacks stretched their supplies thin, forcing them to postpone attacks and pull back to their defensive positions on Guinevere. Pushing the fleet to their limit, Reaver continued near unimpeded in their operations. This was teamed with their Prowlers laying minefields in their space lanes and around their fleet bases. These Prowlers would hamper the Covenant's ability to coordinate by jamming communications, or inserting false communications, leading them astray. 
They were later reinforced by Spartan special forces from Bravo Company, who were ordered to 'Butcher and Bolt'. They conducted numerous clandestine raids, including stealing large consignments of fuel, attacking bases with fireships, improvised slipsteam bombs and nuclear charges, attacked their listening posts, attacking their systems with viruses, and even starting a slave uprising on a occupied world. However, in their most destructive operation, they captured the Prophet of Objection and spirited him away for interrogation. In retaliation Malearnus released the pirate prince, Mak Kur, to sow discord behind enemy lines. 
Finally, the 16th fleet arrived, and their first action was luring Mak Kur into a trap, ambushing his entire raider fleet and pinning them against a gravity well, then destroying or capturing each and every ship in their fleet. The fleet was then split into three forces. Force Z broke the siege over Guinevere, destroying the Covenant ships still attacking it, and ousting them from the surface. Force X penetrated deep behind enemy lines and attacked their largest refuelling station, obliterating it from orbit and destroying any means of the enemy resupplying, before pulling out. The final unit, Force V, penetrated even further into the enemies territory, took their base of operations then turned it into an enormous trap, littering their base with nuclear charges. 
Now stretched beyond their limit, the Covenant forces pulled back to defensive positions under Malearnus, while Pity fell into a catatonic state. Learning from a captured communications post that Malearnus intended to rally his entire force and counter attack, 16th Fleet instead jumped head long into battle against him, intending to destroy him before he could rally his ships. Malearnus was almost immediately killed in the opening salvo, but the Covenant forces rallied, forcing the 16th to withdraw. Intercepted communications revealed that the Covenant survivors were being brought back into the main blitzkrieg assault. Once this reached UNSC command, Fleet Admiral Vancamp was ordered to move the bulk of his fleet to support 4th Fleet in facing the main advance. As such, Operation: DEFIANT STAR was considered over.
Vancamp himself would be left with a skeleton force to resist the numerous pirate bands and raiders that remained. This force was too few in number to take back the dozen or so worlds the Covenant conquered, giving them time to entrench. These worlds would be taken back until November, during a planet hopping campaign.
The Covenant took heavy casualties during the campaign, losing their three leaders, and nearly half of their ships and manpower. Those remaining would to be rerouted other war zones, or entrench themselves, fortifying their positions. One the eleven worlds the Covenant still held on to, they dug in, turning former settlements into imposing citadels, the colonists themselves sweating and bleeding to build these for their new masters. Those unfortunate few that couldn't be evacuated suffered the fate of being made slaves, or taken deeper into Remnant territory to be sold on.
The UNSC took heavy casualties, but ultimately come out victorious. However, their infrastructure in the sector was so badly damaged it'd be years before they returned to a measure of their former strength. The forces were left so drained they could only respond to skirmishes on the new border, and were incapable of taking back their lost worlds. They would stay that way for several more months. 
====Crowe's Landing====
Telling the Prophet in command of his fleet group, Absolution, of his discovery, Caesercus asked for all fleets in the region to be placed under his command so he could lead an all out attack on the human territory. Absolution, weary of this, demanded that he be allowed to supervise. Begrudgingly, Caesercus agreed. Caesercus now had a monstrous fleet at his disposal, with battle hardened crews and elite Legions. Under his flag he also had Absolution's close ally, Prince Jor Ruk, of the Bloodied Claw raiders. Drawn to the scent of blood, two allied Jiralhanae clans, the Akulus and Tyremus, and and allied clan of Kig-Yar, the Rath. They set course for Crowe's Landing. 
Crowe's Landing was defended by a Carrier Group, a Patrol Group, a dozen defence platforms, an Army Division and a air force, and the planet itself had been heavily fortified in preparation for the upcoming assault. Crowe's Landing itself was a extremely important target for the Covenant, as it was a military and trade hub, that linked to Republic territories. 
In order to maintain surprise, Caesercus dropped his fleet in behind a gas giant, and intended to scout the enemy position. However, he was given away when his allies, the Rath Clan, attacked a small mining station, alerting the defenders. Knowing their scrambler network was breached, they initiated short ranged scrambling, preventing the Covenant from jumping in. Punishing the Reth Clan, Caesercus was forced into a headlong rush, fronted by his allies who would absorb most of the fire. 
Despite an early advantage, sheer numbers overwhelmed the defenders, and Admiral Yuan was forced to signal a retreat, slipping out to behind one of the gas giant's moons, to regroup. From here Yuan would launch hit and run strikes, attacking the Covenant's supply lines. 
On the ground, a poorly coordinated orbital assault was launched, and was in turn hampered by an order by the Prophet that the planet cannot be bombed from orbit. On the ground, the allied clans went into a frenzy, aiming to capture and secure any and all loot they could, a portion of which would be paid as a tithe to the Covenant. At almost all positions the defenders dug in, forcing the enemy into bloody sieges. The one exception was the capital. Attacked by Caesercus himself, he attempted to capture the capital, and it's population, intact, so hye wore down the defenders with precise attacks. 
The first wave of reinforcements consisted of three Spartan companies, deployed via stealth ships. Making planetfall, they attacked the Covenant's rear, causing horrendous casualties then vanishing. Blackjack company, again deployed, chased the Akulus clan, and annihilated an entire clan in retribution for their massacre of a whole town. 
More reinforcements would arrive in the form of the Shadowed Night. Abandoning their defensive positions in Republic space, the secretive force assaulted the Covenant in an attempt to protect the population, and in defiance of the orders from the High Council not to render any direct aide to the UNSC. First reinforcing the beleaguered vessels, the Shadowed Night then dropped substantial warriors, each of them from the special forces of the Republic, allowing them to support the defenders. Despite this, they were still losing ground by the hour. 
Closing in on the capital, Caesercus' advance was slowed by Absolution's countermanding orders, and when he finally captured the city, he was ordered to give all his slaves as his tithe to the Covenant. This formed a gulf between the two, that would result in Absolution's downfall. The other major settlements fell one by one, but not without a fight. The Reth clan was almost totally annihilated by Cobra company, who stalked, hunted and sabotaged them at every turn. 
Finally, reinforcements arrived in the form of Task Force Gladiator. Composed of the 13th fleet, and numerous ground combat units, they linked up with the remains of the defence fleet and the Shadowed Night behind the gas giant, and formulated a plan. They elected to simply starve the enemy into submission, attacking their supply ships, denying them fuel, ammo and fresh personnel. This was combined with Prowlers attacking Covenant supplies deeper in their territory, even attacking them during slipspace travel. However, the desperation on the ground, and intel suggesting encroaching reinforcements, forced their hand. Fleet Admiral Meir rallied her ships for an attack, despite being out numbered three to one. 
Charging in under the cover of electronic warfare, their opening salvo looked promising, knocking out a number of high profile vessels, but the obvious disadvantage in numbers started to show, and they looked to be overwhelmed. The tide was turned by the sudden arrival of these unknown reinforcements, taking the form of A Republic fleet. Tearing their way into the heart of the fleet, and lead by the Imperator himself, they tore the enemy fleet asunder. The Imperator had been told to retrieve Kasr 'Revsar for disobeying orders, but interpreted those orders quite ingeniously, bringing with him a fleet to 'secure' the wayward commander, and would of course be forced to destroy any Jiralhanae in their paths. 
They combined fleet quickly landed reinforcements, alleviating the besieged cities, and attacking the capital. The majority of his armour was defeated by a pincer attack on the ground, and the arrival of the dreaded 7th Expeditionary Force and elite Republic Legions forced him into a retreat. Absolution fled back to his own capital ship using a Spire teleporter, but found himself with a Sangheili boot to his throat, since the officers loyal to Caesercus had pulled back, leaving his ship vulnerable. On the ground Caesercus posted the Tyremus clan, and all forces loyal to Absolution at the forefront of the fighting, while retreating with his own warriors, their loot, and as many slaves as they could. On the ground, the Tyremus clan and the forces loyal to absolution were destroyed. 
In orbit, Caesercus found himself surrounded and surrounded, with no means of escape. Believing himself doomed, his force was saved by the 'timely' intervention of Prince Jor Ruk. Jor Ruk reached him on a private channel and asked him if he required assistance. Knowing the scheming creature intended to ask for a price, Caesercus asked him what he wanted. Jor Ruk wanted 1/3rd of Caesercus' slave bounty. Caesercus begrudgingly agreed. Jor's force of agile and skilled raider ships punched a hole in the encirclement, crippling a number of vessels and drawing off more, allowing Caesercus to escape. Despite giving chase, Caesercus escaped to slipspace, the allied fleet unable to pursue because of their own casualties and substantial enemy presence remaining. Shadowed by a Prowler, the UNSC wouldn't easily forget what happened over the last few days. 
Despite achieving their strategic goals of destroying one of the UNSC's major trade centres, the loss of life and materiel was of catastrophic damage of the Remnant. Such was their losses, their blitzkrieg assault, in effect rolling over the UNSC, Republic and Alliance, was blunted. Losing nearly three quarters of the entire strikeforce, their loss of warships was unimaginable. Similarly, entire legions, and whole clans, were rendered extinct on the ground. Their colossal failure to protect their supply lines resulted in a massive loss of vital materiel, which starved their other assaults of desperately needed supplies, with many other strikes rolling to a stop as they ran out of food, ammunition and fuel. So many officers were lost, including Absolution, one of Deliverance's favoured lieutenants, that the upper echelons of the Remnant were torn wide open, a rift that wouldn't be sealed for another year. Forced to give up their gains, much of the Remnant's advances had to be surrendered in the face of renewed counter attacks by their enemies. 
Caesercus returned in shame, knowing he had failed so completely that his fate was all but sealed. Only his links to some of the old families that formed the high command of the Covenant prevented his trial and execution. It mattered little. Four months afterwards he was assassinated by a survivor of the Tyremus clan, who survived the near extinction of his clan during the battle. Caesercus' actions also caused a division between the Remnant and its allies. The clans allied to them felt they were being used as expendable cannon fodder, and Caesercus' actions proved this beyond a doubt. Many of these clans would distance themselves, or break away entirely. 
Prince Jor Ruk however, rose in fame. One of the few commanders to succeed during the battle of Crowe's Landing, of the 300,000 slaves captured, Jor owned almost half. Pragmatic and business like in his approach to the battle, his extortion of Caesercus resulted in wealth and bounty he could not imagine. His armada grew in size and strength and Jor would enjoy a great many more years of success, before the Office of Naval Intelligence turned their baleful gaze upon him, and he encountered and steady and slow decline as ONI chipped away at his empire.
The UNSC however, had gained strong links to the Republic military, who had come to their aid without cause. Their fragile alliance had been cemented, and Republic public opinion was swung by the Battle of Sastaras two weeks later. For Kasr, the next month was difficult. While Imperator Vadam's liberal interpretation of his orders allowed him to lift the siege, he was forced to bring his wilful protege back to Sanghelios for trial. Faced with a military tribunal, Kasr's direct defiance of order from the civilian government created friction between the council and the Republic military, many of whom sympathised with Kasr. When news of the battle of Sastaras reached Sanghelios, public opinion rallied behind Kasr, and many on the tribunal feared that punishing him would make him a martyr for the people, while rewarding him would deepen tension between the military and high council, so they did neither, and allowed him to return to his command. 
====First Battle of Mannheim====
The strategic world of Mannheim was one of the closest to the battlefront, and not only represented a massive bulk of the UNSC's industrial power in the region, with huge industrial out put and large orbital shipyards, it was also a vital staging point, and their central command for the war effort. This made it a target of utmost priority for the Covenant. Covenant infiltrators had managed to already make it to Midgard, and established a discreet slipspace beacon in low orbit, but it could only sustain a small attack squadron. Initially the plan called for them to slip in behind the orbital defence guns and attack the orbital command station, and glass portions of the planet, but the plan was revised in face of distressing news. The UNSC was constructing a . The two Zeus-class vessels on the front had totally devastated Covenant forces arrayed against them, and many had heard rumours that the classes' predecessor, the Infinity, was a fleet unto itself. 
Their plans were changed last minute, with the intention of destroying the ship in dry-dock rather than allowing it to escape to lead fleets against them. In the early hours of dawn, a squadron of seven battlecruisers slipped in under their sensor stations and orbital batteries, and immediately struck out towards Mannheim's main military shipyard, Port Midgard, expecting an unfinished warship to await them. Instead, they found the port of Mannheim to lay vacant. Suddenly without a target, and in hostile territory, the group floundered. Then, from the darkside of MAnnheim, emerged the massive shadow of the UNSC Invincible emerged, approaching them at top speed. Unbeknownst to the raiders, the UNSC had tapped into their encrypted comms, and knew they would arrive after the Invincible was finished. They decided to use this as the ship's shake down cruise, and an opportunity to strike a blow against the Covenant. Jamming their communications, then next hour turned what should have been a devastating raid into a game of cat and mouse, as the Invincible knocked out three cruisers in the opening salvo. The remaining four, without enough power to jump to slipspace, began evasive manoeuvres, making for the gas giant Jotunheim, hoping to hide in it's frozen rings. Of the survivors, another was destroyed, leaving three to hide amongst the rings. The Invincible took the survivors down with impunity, taking down one by firing a MAC slug straight through a massive ice rock to hit it, burying the unfortunate ship in ice, then hit the engines of the second as it tried to make a break for it, sending it tumbling into the gravity of Jotunheim to be crushed. The last ship hid long enough to charge it's slipspace drive, thinking it would escape. This merely acted as a beacon for the Invincible, which managed to hit it with a substantial number of MAC slugs, riddling it with holes and condemning it to an icey fate. 
The battle over, the Invincible slipped out of system to get to the front, continuing to cause tremendous casualties to the Covenant.
====First Battle of Akuze====
Akuze had long functioned as a vital fortress world for the UNSC, functioning as both a forward base and a vital staging area, for arming and sending units to the front. This marked it as the highest of priorities for the resurgent Covenant. So important was its capture that the mission was given to High Chieftain Cassius by the High Prophet of Deliverance. Here Cassius would earn the title of World-Breaker. 
UNSC intelligence had long discounted Cassius as little more than a brute, and a psychopath, having cannibalised one of his own siblings, usurped his uncle, murdered his whole family, and took several of his cousins as his mates. This underestimation resulted in a grevious loss for the UNSC. Taking charge of a large fleet, Cassius pressed his fleet in a singular, uncaring advance, jumping through several systems rich with UNSC defenders, and simply ignoring them. Eventually, he emerged at Akuze, undoubted by their orbital guns. Staying just out of their range, he sent waves of fighters and boarding vessels, hoping to punch a hole in their defences. Despite heavy casualties, his fanatical warriors managed to create an opening for him, allowing him to pour his fleet into the opening, and using it to remove the other guns. The orbiting fleet had little in terms of defence, being heavily out numbered, and possessing insufficient firepower to stop the blitzkrieg assault. Cassius himself lead the boarding of the command ship, so he might feast on the fool who would dare stand against him. 
Attaining orbital dominance, Cassius opened a round of orbital bombardment, hitting numerous strategic positions, but knowingly leaving the civilian centres intact. He then began his descent, bringing the majority of his ships to the ground, uncaring for the UNSC's defence. His first wave hit the ground, charging from drop pods, dropships, and scarabs dropped from low orbit. Rather than wait to establish a proper siege, he struck straight at the UNSC command centre, landing drop pods within it's grounds at the opening stages of the fight, and dropping two Scarab's directly onto the west barracks. With their perimeter already compromised, and the enemy quickly gaining ground, the UNSC established a last line of defence, hoping to use their heavy guns to ward off the Covenant long enough to mount a counter attack. Cassius was impressed by their ferocity, which not only repulsed his shock troops, but felled one of his Scarabs too. The UNSC forces imagined they would be afforded the opportunity to escape, but instead discovered the direness of their situation. Cassius' assault had been followed up with others, that had forced the UNSC to capitulate across multiple systems. Nobody would be coming to save them. 
The stranded UNSC forces instead shifted focus, seeking to occupy the Covenant for as long as possible, to allow the civilian populace to evacuate. For a time, this worked, allowing several million to escape, but once Cassius became aware of their plan, he launched bombers to flatten space ports, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded. Now Cassius was free to conduct the war as he pleased, looking to it as a grand hunt, instead of a military campaign. Every UNSC outpost was out manoeuvred, pounded with artillery, then charged by Covenant warriors. During the six days of bloodshed, it is alleged Cassius feasted on no less that twenty UNSC prisoners, and hundreds more were consumed by his warriors. Many more were taken prisoner, along with the civilian populace. Two weeks after landing, he controlled the planet, and every life upon it. Akuze was now strict in the hands of the Covenant, and formed a salient into UNSC territory. Happy with his work, Cassius returned to to Deliverance, to bring him the polished skills of the defeated. Akuze would be transformed into staging ground for the Covenant, becoming a constant thorn in the UNSC's side.
===Republic Front===
On the Republic front, the Covenant made gains, but at a high price. They bled intense at each colony, and even though the Republic did not yet have a functional scrambler network, they were meeting the Covenant in battle. The Covenant only achieved victorious through their superior numbers. 
====Aranal, Initial Conquests====
First contact was made at Aranal. Expecting an easy conquest of a distant colony, they instead found a Keep with well armed, and well trained militia, prepared to die for it. Dropping out of slipspace, the advance force immediately came under fire from planet side weapons. Launching waves of drop pods, they landed close to the structures of the keep, and attempted to storm it, but every attempt failed, and with every lose they lost significant numbers of men and materiel. 
Changing focus, they instead attacked the outer fortifications, attempting to knock out their defensive guns. Having to overcome the entrenched defenders through sheer numbers, they eventually knocked out a battery, allowing dropships to finally come in. Now that they had the ability to ferry fresh troops and armour to the surface, they pressed the attack on the keep. Every metre was a fight, as they attempted to overcome obstacles and fortifications, all the while under hails of fire, until they breached the outer keep. Finally overcoming the main line of defence, they laid siege to the survivors in the central keep. Rather than allow themselves to be captured, they committed ritual suicide, leaving the invaders without a single slave. Looting then demolishing it, they left soon after, being forced to leave the bodies behind. 
Three more worlds went in a similar manner. Heavily entrenched and well defended, they were forced to perform ground invasions. On their next three conquests, they were forced to go down without support and fight them out in bloody sieges, losing significantly more compared to their gains. However, their following conquests were against less die hard keeps and they surrendered rather than take their own lives. The Remnant took a fine bounty of slaves on these occasions, mostly made up of women and children. 
====Damask====
At Damask, the Remnant and the Republic had their first real show down. a small fleet clashed with a similarly sized force from the Fleet of Marauding Hate, lead by Longinius. Expecting an easy win, the Republic fleet deployed in a standard formation, expecting the Remnant fleet to charge in. Longinius, experienced at fighting the Sangheili, instead subverted this with a pincer attack, splitting the Republic formation and then destroying them with overwhelming firepower. Longinius personally boarded the flagship and collected the head of the fleet master to add to his collection. 
On the ground, they stormed the colony, butchering their way through the token guard remaining, and the local militia. Longinius lead the landing personally, taking the head of the local Kaidon for his trophy collection too. Rather than take slaves, they butchered the occupants and put their bodies on display. Longinius intended to taunt the Republic into a fight they couldn't possibly win. 
Following Damask, Longinius and his subordinates would attack, pillage and burn seven more worlds, and the Republic would continually lose ships in fights against Longinius. 
====Sacred Fealty====
The next major target of the Covenant was the important world of Sacred Fealty. A vital colony, with heavy industry and shipyards vital to the Republic fleets. Chieftain Eradus was tasked with leading a large force there, while Longinius continued to attack outlying sectors trying to draw the Republic away. The Republic refused to bite, and instead sent a large force to Sacred Fealty. Lead by the unconventional Fleet Master Ami 'Raik, they met the Covenant fleet in battle. The Covenant fleet wedged themselves against the planet, to prevent direct assault, instead, Raik had elements of her fleet perform pinpoint slipspace jumps into close range, almost right on top of the enemy fleet. Taking them by surprise, they immediately fired upon their command ships, decapitating them. Once their command capabilities were broken, the fleet was easy to pick apart piece meal. 
On the ground, Republic forces replicated their actions above by launching a drop pod assault into the centre of the enemy formation. Suddenly off balanced by a a large force of very angry Sangheili at the centre of their formation, they barely put up a fight when they were attacked by Republic armour which was air dropped a short distance away. The Covenant army, now on the back foot, attempted to regroup for a counter-attack, but the Republic forces maintained the pressure, and eventually over-ran the enemy position, routing the Covenant force in a glorious victory. 
After this victory, Fleet Master Ami 'Raik was personally seconded to the Imperator's command, to be deployed at his order. He planned to bring Longinius to battle, but the marauder, Longinius was difficult to bring to a fight. 
Shortly after the battle, the Special Operations Commander of the Republic, Kasr 'Revsar, picked up a distress call on United Nations Space Command channels, concerning the battle at Crowe's Landing. Leaving to aide them, in defiance of orders, and with the Imperator following shortly afterwards, he returned to a military tribunal in Republic space. Releived of command, he was taken back to Sanghelios for a special tribunal with the High Council.
====Sastaras====
Further behind Republic lines, and close to the UNSC border, the colony of Sastaras detected a pair of Covenant battlecruisers with a escort of heavy corvettes approaching. Requesting help on open channels, the Republic told them they sent a squadron, but it would be twenty hours before they got there. This transmission was intercepted by a UNSC cruiser, the São Paulo, who immediately responded, being close enough to reach the colony in just an hour. 
Dropping out of slipspace to the sight of the Covenant vessels attacking the colony, the São Paulo rushed headlong into the fight, while its substantial marine contingent dropped to the surface in an effort to bolster the defences of the settlement. Immediately destroying the first battlecruiser, the São Paulo fired off the entirety of its archer missile content, destroying two of the six escorts, with the other ships suffered a degree of damage. The cruiser entered 'knife fight' range, bringing to bear its heavy 350mm gauss cannons, along with its secondary 155mm guns, firing off every cannon at their targets. Caught in a desperate last stand, it soon became apparent just how out-gunned they were, as the ship took a pounding from hails of pulse laser and plasma cannon fire, the shielding failing, then the hull beginning to boil away. Entire decks were vaporised in conflagrations of white hot plasma, and one by one, systems on the ship began to fail, with the main guns being knocked out, and the 350mm turrets taking direct hits, with the sublight engines hit, the ship could no longer evade fire, and was now a sitting target. The death knell of the ship was a direct hit to its reactor, forcing it into a shut down. With their auxiliary insubstantial to keep the ship fighting, and boarding pods knocking at their door, they began a full evacuation, with what little power left being rerouted to the close in weapon systems, protecting the escape shuttles from enemy fighters. As hordes of warriors poured onto the stricken São Paulo, the remaining crew fought a desperate rear guard action so other crew members could escape. Eventually, the Covenant seized the crippled vessel, any surviving crew taken prisoner, to be shipped back to the Remnant core worlds as slaves. 
With their foe defeated, the Covenant turned their attention to the ground campaign. Despite the UNSC landing gunships and heavy armour, the Covenant would attack en-mass. The UNSC Marines, alongside the Keep militia, fought bitterly, refusing to give ground, while their anti-aircraft guns covered the few civilian transports capable of evacuating the people trapped on the ground. Each defence, barricade and redoubt was cleared one by one, at an enormous cost to the Covenant, until at last they conquered the keep. The survivors of the keep, including captured militia, and any civilians that could not be evacuated in time were taken prisoner, along with survivors of the São Paulo, and were taken back to Remnant space in chains. The Remnant towed the crippled hulk of the São Paulo back with them too as spoils. While the ship's A.I. and central computer system had been wiped, the Covenant would still be able to study many of the UNSC's recent innovations. 
Several hours later, when the Republic relief arrived, none quite knew what to make of the scene. Several destroyed Covenant warships orbited the world, alongside wreckage from a UNSC ship. When the made it down to the colony, they found the defenders bodies left where they fell, UNSC and Republic soldiers piled together where they'd fought and died together. Reporting this back to the High Council, they initially suppressed this report. Many of the crew serving on the relief force found it was unfair that the exploits of these brave men and women would go unheard, and intentionally leaked it. When the citizens of the Republic discovered the news about the Sastaras, where a UNSC ship had defied orders and rushed headlong into battle to protect the colonists, despite being massively out numbered, and sacrificed themselves to save hundreds of colonists, opinion rallied behind proponents of closer ties to the UNSC. This growing movement would also get behind Kasr 'Revsar, and saw his charges dropped and his command reinstated. 
====Battle of Glorious Light====
Shortly after Sastaras, a Remnant fleet of over twenty staged a surprise assault on the prominent Sangheili colony of Glorious Light. Exiting behind one of three moons, they were to attack and break through the atmosphere and glass as much of the planet as possible, in retaliation for several Sangheili attacks. 
Unknown to them, however, was the presence of the Imperator on the planet. He was overseeing government talks with local Sangheili who were threatening to rebel in the face of Covenant raids. The Imperator, one of the most tactically adept of the Sangeheili, caught something suspicious when the Remnant fleet entered the system, a flash of radiation given off from a reactor leak. He acted quickly and had the planets meagre defences deploy traps around the moon, unbeknownst to the Remnant fleet, who were in the sensor shadow of the moon. When the fleet, led by the tactical genius Longinius, exited the moons shadow to attack, they were caught in hundreds of mines, and their fleet was decimated. Longinius himself was forced to retreat, but one of his ships attempted to break through. The mighty destroyer plunged into the atmosphere, destroying one of the Frigates around the planet, as well as three orbiting defence stations. The ship attempted to pour down destruction on the planet—and came perilously close to killing the Imperator—but was destroyed by fire from the remaining Sangheili defence forces. This was one of Longinius's few defeats, and the battle prompted many more Sangheili to enter the military, bolstering their already incredible forces.
===Jiralhanae Front===
====Initial Invasion====
====Early Setbacks====
====Tyraxi Counter-Attack====
====Remnant Retreat====
===Union Front===
====War of the Pirate Clans====
===Others===
====Invasion of the Hives====
==Stalemate==
===Operation: RESOLUTE HAND===
Following the enemy's losses at Crowe's Landing, a force was mustered to counter-attack against the Remnant, with the UNSC and the Republic coordinating on a joint strike, intended to retake lost worlds. This planet hopping campaign started with the 13th and 21st Fleet engaging Covenant forces in an effort to push them back. 
The campaign started well, with a swift UNSC victory over Agripinna, but quickly bogged down during the invasion of Ankara and Castellum. At Castellum, the 13th Fleet stumbled upon the Fleet of Auspicious Vigilance, and in the short battle that followed, routed them entirely. Meanwhile, at Akuze, their primary target, the 21st Fleet was ambushed and cornered, and after taking heavy casualties, was forced to retreat, leaving Akuze in enemy control, and the deep salient into UNSC territory that it created. 
The Republic fared much better, with Tavular as their first target. There, the Imperator took the world, with it's defences and communications intact, hoping to lure reinforcements close. The trap was sprung by the Minister of Forgiveness, leading the Fleet of Imperative Obfuscation. In a brutal pincer attack, the Imperator trapped him between the orbital defences and his own fleet, using his flagship, the Ancient Curse to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy. At Damask, Fleetmaster Nomos launched hit and run strikes on the Fleet of Beholden Valour, knowing their fuel supplies were so low that they could not continue the fight. The Covenant withdrew, many of their ships running out of fuel. Nomos conquered the planet without ever engaging the enemy fleet. The Imperator and Nomos reunited during the invasion of Jorob, using special forces to sabotage the defences of the fleet base, and cut the Covenant off from their command, forcing them to lose all cohesion. The Republic struck in a pincer attack, eradicating the Covenant and conquering Jorob in one go. Soon after the lose at Akuze, the Imperator lead a strike at Aranal, invading the world, and adding the Minister of Forgiveness to the list of San'Shyuum claimed by his sword, Prophet's Bane.
With 21st Fleet withdrawing, Fleet Admiral Galia Meir and her 13th Fleet were trapped far behind enemy lines. Rather than retreat, they instead launched a series of daring raids, intended to damage the Covenant further. They immediately struck at the mining installation at Hal's Folly, destroying it and denying the Covenant vital resources. The Fleet of Baleful Sigils began pursuit, chasing them to the world of Grunwald, thinking it would be their opportunity to pin them down and destroy them. Unbeknownst to them, Meir had contacted the Imperator, and lead them into a trap, with the Fleet of Baleful Sigils trapped between the Imperator's fleet, and the 13th Fleet. They were quickly exterminated, with only the fleet master, Kyradum, escaping. 
The combined force made their way to Port Hammurabi, where their combined fire allowed them to destroy the Covenant staging area, and in the process kill much of their forward leadership, including Kyradum. With their forward staging areas destroyed, and much of their resources scattered, the Republic forces withdrew, with the 13th Fleet picking their way back to the UNSC.
The campaign resulted in heavy casualties for the Covenant, and denied them many vital resources. However, Akuze still remained in enemy hands.
===Battle of Blessed Grace===
Tyraxi counterattack
===Second Battle of Mannheim===
With the UNSC victories during Operation: RESOLUTE HAND the Covenant desperately needed a victory. To do this, they plotted to crush UNSC resistance by taking out their command at Mannheim, as well as destroy the majority of their industrial capability, smashing any ability for them to mount another counter-attack. Gathering at Akuze, the Fleet of Manifested Vengeance was one of the largest assembled in the war. Command did not fall to a Chieftain, Minister, or Prophet, but instead fell to a Prelate. Ula'Pheneh was an experienced warrior of the Prelate order, feared fleet commander, and a frightening tactician. His second in command was also a Prelate, Geh'Thtenek'Yur, a cunning commander. 
The forces gathered in secret, marshalling as much power as possible, before departing, purposefully choosing a longer route that avoided major space lanes, to keep themselves as obscured for as long as possible. 
However, the UNSC's counter-intelligence efforts had borne some fruit. They had picked up encrypted communiques, and deciphered them, learning that the Covenant was sending this colossal force towards Mannheim. The UNSC did not idly stand by, and instead began gathering forces at Mannheim, in preparation for defending the world. The UNSC gathered the 7th and the 9th Fleets, along with shoring up the already substantial orbital defences. In addition to this, the battered but defiant 13th Fleet was moored at Mannheim, further increasing the defence. Ground forces were reinforced with Army and Marine regiments, an ODST battalion, and five whole Spartan companies, including Titan, Raptor, Vandal, Vampire and Perseus companies. 
On December 19th, the Covenant fleet emerged, a massed group of almost 300 star ships. Expecting meagre defences, they instead encountered a massed UNSC fleet. Knowing that retreat was not an option, Ula'Pheneh pressed his attack. 
The opening exchange was nothing short of catastrophic, with each fleet pounding one another at long range. In the opening salvo, the fleets fired off their biggest guns, bringing down many ships. However, such an action would always end in a stalemate. Thtenek'Yur took his CAS-class Assault Carrier, Warrior's Faith, and used the ancient and deadly stealth technology built into, to cloak his ship and infiltrate UNSC lines. slipping in beneath the UNSC's defence net, it made its presence known by suddenly knocking out three defence platforms and scattering a cruiser squadron, before vanishing with a cloak again. Now with an opening, Pheneh pressed his an attack. Using this opening, he managed to get a number of starships close to the UNSC's position. 
Determined to secure a beachhead, the Prelate deployed rangers and boarding parties to secure the orbital tether above the capital of Neu Stuttgart. Cutting their way through the hull, they expected to find marine defenders, easy pickings. Instead, they opposed Vandal company. Encountering the Spartans in close combat, they fought tunnel by tunnel, hoping for some kind of advantage. Instead, they were butchered in the claustrophobic battlefield, the fast and deadly firefights ending in short order. Finding no purchase there, he switched focus instead to landing his troops on the ground. The first wave of drop pods secured vital landing fields around the town of Hummel, with the local forces being pushed out. These were followed by waves of Phantoms, as Seraphs and Banshees attempted to claw control of the sky away from the UNSC. Prelate Ula wasted no opportunities, and dropped a squadron of Scarabs, and descended himself in a Kraken. Securing their position, they built up defensive spires, allowing them to drop reinforcements onto the ground. 
Approaching Neu Stuttgart, they found it hard going, as the UNSC made them bleed for every metre of land they got closer, pounding them with artillery. The Covenant failed to gain the aerial victory needed, meaning the UNSC could still mount aerial counter attacks. They claimed one of the Scarabs in a low altitude bombing run, the victory was only fleeting however. The Covenant crashed into one of the UNSC defensive positions, and eventually overran it, entering the city proper. The lead Scarab tore through several armoured units, confident in it's abilities. However, the UNSC deployed a secret weapon to counter it. Having just finished trials on Arcturus, the M13 Dragon Armoured Battle System was deployed, actively hunting the Scarab during the battle. Nearly twice the size of the formidable Mantis ADS, with starship-like armour and heavy energy shielding, it encountered the Scarab and it's armoured column head on. Opening up the fight with a barrage of missiles that flattened the column, it knock out the Scarab's main gun with a slug from it's 120mm gauss gun. Following this, it laid waste to it's support with the 30m rotary cannon, shredding light and heavy armour with equal ease. Desperate to take it down, they focused thier fire, but found the goliath to be surprisingly nimble, backing up and away from their fights. When they arranged aerial attacks on it, its anti-air cannons struck down any attempts, clearing the skies above it. Darting out for the killing blow, it focused all it's fire on the Scarab, levelling the beast. Thinking himself immune to such war machines, the Prelate pushed on with the mighty Kraken, approaching the heavily defended southern district. Having already rampaged through heavy aerial and aground resistance, the machine looked unstoppable. However, as it fell upon the last line of UNSC defence, it came under concentrated aerial assault, its cannons coming under heavy fire. It was then that the Spartans of Raptor company made their move. Descending from the Lovell Finances building, the tallest skyscraper in the district, they used their thruster backs to assault it from above, making a landing on it's main deck. Although heavily out numbered, they pressed the attack, fighting their way inside the war machine, and killing those who guarded it. Knowing he was incapable of winning this fight, the Prelate seized a banshee and fled the fight. Sabotaging the mighty beast, the Spartans fought their way back off it and leapt to safety, escaping the stricken war machine as it crashed to the ground. 
With their Scarabs gone, and the Kraken fallen, the Covenant lost their balance. Renewed UNSC air assaults destroyed the majority of their armour, and the survivors retreated to the landing zones. The Prelate, and barely three thousand of his warriors, made it off world, escaping the battle. However, the UNSC wasn't done with him yet. Titan company had crept close to the positions of the Spire, and infiltrated their perimeter. As the Covenant forces fled through the portal held within, Titan managed to fling a nuclear charge inside the portal, transporting it to the Prelate's flagship. In an instant, his ship was vaporized, a nuclear fireball destroying it. 
With their fleetmaster gone, and the battle all but lost, the fleet mounted a fighting retreat. The Warrior's Faith continued to harry UNSC forces purusing the retreating Covenant, its advanced stealth technology making it almost impossible to defeat. Around a third of the Covenant fleet escaped, with the UNSC Cole at the head of pursuit forces. When the Covenant fled, the Faith travelled onto an alternate vector, the Prelate aboard having his own plans for the fight.
===Operation: STONE HAMMER===
With the Covenant defeated at Mannheim, UNSC Command began to focus on planning for a counter attack. However, the Covenant had heavily fortified themselves, meaning a blunt force attack would result in heavy casualties. Instead, they began plotting out possible means of out manoeuvring and conquering the Covenant forces, by finding a weak link in their defences. 
Admiral Liu Xiang, in charge of the recently arrived 18th Fleet, was put in charge of Operation: STONE HAMMER, with the intent of finding that weakness, and exploiting it. To conduct this mission, he was given operational command of several ONI and SOCOM assets, including radio intelligence, prowler squadrons, ODST forces, Force Recon, and Spartan units. 
Admiral Xiang opened up the operation by dividing his fleet it the various Battlegroups that comprised it, and began launching skirmisher operations, testing enemy defences with hit and run strikes, testing enemy response times, and probing for any weaknesses in the defences. Prowlers penetrated deep into enemy lines to observe the enemy, and perform deep reconnaissance, while fast corvette squadrons ran reconnaissance in force. Raids conducted by ODST squadrons and Spartan forces also tested the enemy, and gathered vital intel, informing them on the enemy's defences, fleet positions, and capabilities. 
During the operations, Xiang had found the one weakness in their almost impeccable defence. The world of Hannibal III lacked anything in terms of planetary defence, the orbital fleet not withstanding. The perfect staging area for assaults on Akuze, and deeper, it would be atarget for follow up assaults. However, Xiang's plan was put on hold, as Operation: RED CRYPT became top-priority.
===Operation: STEEL HOLDS===
A little known operation, Operation: STEEL HOLDS was in fact the UNSC's first large scale expedition into Remnant territory, with the aim of attacking the Covenant on their home territory. Highly classified, the order remained under top-tier security levels until within twenty hours of 8th Fleet's attack. 
During the previous intelligence gathering operation, the UNSC had gathered intelligence on Argo-II, a world used by the Remnant for massed food production. Orbital defences were lax, and it was somewhat distant from major fleet positions. This made it the perfect target. The UNSC intended to squeeze the Remnant, and Argo-II would be the first major target. Under a massive veil of secrecy, the 8th fleet was rallied and armed for an expeditionary conflict. Aside from the highest staff officers within the fleet, it was kept classified. 
8th Fleet, following vectors planned by Prowlers ahead of them, took a slightly longer route, one that avoided major Covenant positions and allowed them to remain undetected. Before their arrival, the prowler vanguard moved in the blockade the system, planting nuclear mines along major space lanes, and disabling out bound communications. With the stage set, 8th Fleet arrived in force, less than 1 AU from Argo-II. Unwilling to commit to a protracted fight, the UNSC opened up the fight with a massive barrage of enemy defences, knocking several defence satellites and a few monitor ships out of orbit. The rest were taken down by rapidly approaching frigate squadrons, opening up the path for the UNSC to conduct their ground invasion. 
Taking the orbital elevators, and launching waves of fighters and bombers, the UNSC conducted a ferocious blitz campaign, immediately seizing the advantage. Most of the Covenant air forces were destroyed on the ground, and even then were ill suited for an aerial campaign, instead being dedicated to counter-insurgency. With the skies secured, the UNSC began a bombing campaign at their leisure, dropping nearly 280,000 tons of ordnance on Covenant positions within a few hours. With the ground positions softened to a pulp, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and Force Recon dropped close to major enemy positions, and secured forward positions for follow up MArine forces. Under the watch of numerous gunships, 9th and 15th MEF dropped enmass, securing major positions on the northern and southern peninsulas of the central continent. Spreading at a meteoric rate, the UNSC meticulously cleared enemy positions, relying on massed fire power, and aerial gunships such as the Hobgoblin Gunship and Gladius Attack Bomber providing close air support. UNSC forces liberated slave camp after slave camp, and everytime they moved on, they burned down farm land and destroyed food supplies, leaving whole swathes of burnt territory. 
After only 6 hours, they controlled the majority of the central continent, and had pushed the Covenant into a small pocket. Instead of opting for a length siege, they simply bombarded enemy positions until there wasn't even anything left to defend. Even orbital strikes were brought into the mix. With the Covenant wiped out, and tens of thousands of slaves liberated. The UNSC retreated. In a final act of spite against their enemies, they conducted one final bombing campaign, using the weather control systems installed by the Covenant to bring dry wind storms to the world. Once the effect was achieved, the UNSC deployed fire bombs across large portions of the world's arable land, and left, uninterested in the result. The resulting fire storm kick started continent wide fires, and any crops and farm land left was burnt to a crisp. Any survivors who lived through the UNSC attack, and through the fires, were now trapped on a dead world, with no means of escape. With the job done, the UNSC retreated to friendly territory in the most direct manner, and escaped to safety. The Covenant, meanwhile, had just lost almost half of their total food supply, which spurred the invasion of Kanna.
===Operation: RED CRYPT===
Since the battle of Mannheim the previous year, the CAS-class Assault Carrier, Warrior's Faith, commanded be Prelate Geh'Thtenek'Yur, had gone on a rampage through UNSC territory, causing havoc. For four months, it went from planet to planet, coming out of slipspace without ever alerting any sensors, using it's stealth technology to make it to the planet, then launching and invasion, capturing as many prisoners as possibly then bombarding the rest from orbit, then disappearing like it was never there before. It left a trail of destruction across the frontier, attacking no less than eight planets, as well as many ships and stations. With this threat, the UNSC now shifted focus to finding the ship, and neutralising it. 
The UNSC began a massive intelligence operation to try and track the vessel, with patrols and active intelligence gathering. Every time the UNSC felt they were closing the net, or moved to intercept it during a raid, the Warrior's Faith slipped through again, escaping. Attempts to track it's communications also failed, as it no longer communicated with Covenant command, unless it was safely back in Remnant territory. It also released no planning information before operations, meaning it was impossible to predict it's movements. 
In an effort to track it's movements, the Erinyes Triumvirate on Mannheim leant their considerably processing capabilities to create a predictive map for his next strike. Using tactical information on his ship's effective range, the most likely targets, bases of operation, and previous targets, they created a map of possible targets, in hopes of catching him in the act. Acting on this intelligence, Mannheim command set up numerous patrol groups in hopes of catching it. 
A constant vigil was maintained for 48 hours during the predicted strike period, but nothing appeared. The UNSC suspected he may have become spooked, and never approached, or the predictive map may have been incorrect. Just as patrols were coming to an end, the Warrior's Faith arrived at the colony of Marigold. Coming out of slipspace, it approached the world at top speed, intending to quickly conduct the raid, and leave. Between it and the colonists was a pair of frigates, the San Marino and the Ulysses. Knowing they were vastly out gunned, their only hope was to stall the enemy vessel long enough for their reinforcements to arrive. Knowing they were doomed, both frigates immediate went on the offensive, in hopes of stalling the enemy. The opening salvo consisted of launching their entire stockpile of missiles, followed shortly by a barrage of nuclear warheads. Most missiles never even made it to their target, but they screened the nuclear warheads, allowing them to hit the enemy ship. While they failed to destroy it, they did blind it. Using this opportunity, they engaged evasive manoeuvres, and fired off every decoy and activated their electronic warfare systems, in hope of stalling it. For the next hour they played the most dangerous game of cat and mouse, breaking cover to fire on the enemy, then eluding them. However, it couldn't last forever. The San Marino was struck by pulse laser fire and disabled, her engines slagged behind use. Listing uselessly, she was no longer operation. The Ulysses attempted a last ditch rescue, but was struck with a energy projector, its reactor bisected. The ship was rocked by a series of explosions, and was gone. The massive carrier drew closer to the stricken frigate, intent of taking it as a prize. Rather than allowing themselves to be taken, the crew enacted one last act of defiance and started a Wildcast destabilisation of the reactor, and turned their own ship into a nuclear weapon, detonating themselves just as the Warrior's Faith neared. not enough to damage the ship, it was enough to disrupt it's shielding and sensors once again. 
The sacrifice of the crew of the San Marino bought enough time for their nearest support to arrive, in the form of Cruiser Squadron Archon. 
A squadron of seven ships, it was lead by the UNSC Archon, a Bellona-class Large Command Cruiser, and immediately entered engagement range. Separately to this squadron, the Prowler, Viper, arrived to investigate. At the opening of their arrival, the Warrior's Faith cloaked and backed up, intending to put some distance between itself and the enemy. The cruiser squadron spread out, with the mainline of Thor-class Cruisers breaking out ahead of them, while the powerful Ares-class Battlecruiser dropped behind them. Geh'Thtenek'Yur thought himself safe, the near-impenetrable veil of invisibility over his ship successfully hiding him from his opponents. In that moment of confidence, the UNSC struck. The Archon carried a massive magnetic sensor, designed to pick up stealth vessels such as his, and made it an easy target for the whole battlegroup. Syncing up targeting solutions, they simultaneously fired their main guns at the ship, 11 heavy MACs going off in thunderous unison. The Assault Carrier was struck, the slugs vaporising across its shielding and compromising it's stealth field. Suddenly lit up, and with its shields flaring in distress, the carrier tried to evade, and cloak once more, and once again, the UNSC cruisers fired, their secondary cannons rattling off a hail of slammer shells, lighting it up once more. It's return fire however, accounted for two cruisers, outright destroying one and crippling another, while a third was heavily damaged, but still operational, forcing it to withdraw. The six cruisers followed it closely, preventing it from cloaking for any length of time, and forcing it to maintain evasive manoeuvres. It was then, the seventh ship in the squadron, the Battlecruiser, made it's move. It had dropped far behind the rest of the cruiser group. During the entire fight, it had done nothing, only lazily tracked the now distant Covenant ship. Now with the Carrier about to jump to slipspace, it made its move. During the entire fight, it had been charging it's primary gun, and now it was brought to full power, it fired off a shot. Accelerating a 3000 ton slug of tungsten to a fraction of the speed of light, it ignored the shield and punched a hole through its starboard wing, leaving it venting a trail of plasma and atmosphere, and permanently compromising it's stealth capabilities. Cruiser Squadron Archon allowed it to flee, and Viper followed after it, tracking the wounded beast through Slipspace. 
Geh'Thtenek'Yur took the ship back to a hidden port, unaware he was being tracked by a Prowler, leading the UNSC right back at it. Hiding within an asteroid field, it was too narrow to attack successfully, so the UNSC quickly improvised. Rather than send a fleet, they instead conducted a long ranged carrier-based assault. The Super Carriers Invincible and Colorado stationed themselves several lightyears away, and began launching a massed air assault on the wounded Carrier. Waves upon waves, upon waves of F-406 Katana fighters, F/E-406 Wakizashi electronic warfare fighters, and I/B-660 Glaive heavy interdictors. Jumping in system, they started the engagement by crippling the monitor guarding the entrance to the dock, raking it with railgun fire and anti-ship missiles. Going down in flames, the fighters quickly over-ran the outer defences, taking out both the fighters and the defending corvettes, leaving the route to the stricken carrier exposed. The second wave of craft arrived, dropping massive payloads of anti-ship missiles, hammer the carrier with ease. Quickly become overwhelmed, it's point defence systems could not cope with the sheer number of fighters, and the punishment it was taking. the electronic warfare systems aboard the Wakizashi fighters saw that any counter-fire was inaccurate and weakened. 
The carrier shuddered under such a bombardment, as while each missile was a pinprick, it suffered so many that it was causing catastrophic damage. The ship attempted to break dock, trying another escape, as damaged as it was, but the fighters would not relent. Amid the carnage, the UNSC launched a daring raid, using the chaos as cover to invade the ship. A pair of Charon-class Subprowlers carried 40 Spartans from Blackjack Company to the carrier, allowing them to invade the ship. entering through a rent in the armour caused by repeated missile impacts, the Spartans boarded the ship and proceeded with their mission. By the time they got onto the ship, the first wave withdrew, and the third wave had begun its strike, escalating their attacks to the ship. 
Navigating the ship, the Spartans had three objectives. The first was to gather actionable intelligence from the ship, seizing communication ciphers and logs for review by ONI. The second was to gather intelligence on its ancient stealth systems, to find the reason behind it's incredible stealth technology. The last was to ensure Geh'Thtenek'Yur was killed and could not escape. Dividing into smaller units, they fought their way through the ship, with a brutal efficiency clearing corridor after corridor. The primary assault unit seized their communication's centre, and began tearing it apart, while their secondary unit managed to seize the chamber holding the stealth system, and began analysing it. Their primary mission completed, Commander-013, leader of Blackjack company, lead a small assault force to the bridge, cutting their way through sealed bulkheads to confront the Prelate. In the ensuing struggle, the genetically engineered San 'Shyuum fought the cybernetically enhanced Spartan to a standstill, neither able to best one another, and each laying down thunderous blows and numerous gunshots on one another. However, the Commander exploited a key weakness in Geh's enhanced physiology, and continued the fight. Whereas his conditioning, and his enhancements, allowed him to fight for extended periods, Geh's augmentations that afforded him peak strength had a time limit, before they took a tool on his body from overuse. Geh began to slow, and then began to stall from exhaustion, before finally missing a blow because of a seizure. His body failing him. Taking his opportunity, Ajax wedged a knife through his visor, into his cranium, killing him outright. 
The deed done, the Spartans evacuated with their hard earned intelligence, and took one of the still intact launch bays, allowing their prowlers to pick them up once again and evacuate them. With the ship now attempting to make an escape, the UNSC brought about the final blow. The fourth wave of fighters concentrated fire on the already scarred upper hull of the assault carrier, the torrent of missiles punching through and striking a number of vital power systems. It's delicate balance of reactors now compromised, the ship was overtaken by a runaway power failure, and the power cells were damaged in the carnage. The killing blow dealt, the strike force evacuated, just as the ship went critical, the fireball absorbing the asteroid field in a ball of flame. With that, the threat of both Geh'Thtenek'Yur and the Warrior's Faith, was ended.
===Battle of Maskiv===
In the run up to the planned counter-attacks, the Remnant plotted a flanking assault on the Republic colony of Maskiv, intending to draw the Republic away from the real target at Vespera. Mobilising a force close to the frontline, in clear sight of the Justiciars, the force, dubbed the Fleet of Blessed Victory, departed on a slipspace vector for Maskiv. Being a target of little strategic importance, it's defences were sub-par. Recognising the feint, but also the imminent danger to those he had sworn to protect. The Imperator gave fleet master R'tas Vadum, the Imperator's sword, what reserves he could spare, and dispatched him to hold up the enemy at Maskiv, long enough to confound them. 
Taking a group of seventy warships, and knowing he would be facing a force double that, he flew into battle regardless. Through gathered intelligence, Vadum knew he would arrive only a few hours before the Covenant fleet, leaving little time to prepare. He dispatched as many of his warriors to the ground, as many as he dared spare, and instructed them to dig in, and prepare for a lengthy battle. Each warrior in the fleet steeled themselves, knowing they only had to hold the enemy back, rather than destroy them outright. 
The Covenant fleet came out of slipspace just beneath the planetary disk, while Vadum was positioned just above it. Knowing his fleet was vulnerable, he kept as close to the planetary defences, hoping their fire power would help discourage the fleet. One of his strategic decisions though, was to bring a number of 'fast-ships', such as Heavy Corvettes, and Blockade Runners. These were a perfect compliment of his main fleet of heavy star ships, including the formidable Shadow of Intent. With the approach of the Covenant fleet, Vadum had his fleet adopt an unusual formation. His fast ships sank towards the ring of ice rocks, disappearing from sensors, while his heavy ships remained clusters, battlecruisers screening his assault carrier. He waited for them to rise from one of the thinner fields of ice in the ring, hoping to evade damage with careful navigation. While he recognised that hitting them at such distance was infeasible, especially given the awkward position between him and his enemy, he instead opted to open with energy projector fire. Initially thinking his aim was poor, as most shots clashed against the nearby ice rocks, the War Chieftain leading the counter attack realised too late what his plan was. Vaporizing the rocks around the enemy fleet, he created an intense and massive field of water vapour, blinding the enemy and making both navigation and attack difficult. With the front of the fleet slowing, his fast ships struck at the vulnerable rear. Several dozen Sangheili warships struck from the asteroid field, their superior agility and speed allowing them to weave in and out of the battle with ease. They hit at the unsuspecting rear echelons in a rapid attack, their first pass destroying three corvettes and heavily damaging a carrier. Leading the Covenant pursuers back into old and abandoned facilities in the ring, they used the terrain to their advantage, managing to flank and destroy their pursuers with ease. While they lost a score of their own ships, the casualties dealt were far greater. Coming out for a final run, they destroyed the carrier, a relentless bombardment of plasma torpedoes causing it to ignite, its internal supply of ammo and fuel catching fire, and causing an explosive fire to tear through the ship. They furthermore damaged a Heavy Cruiser, that since losing it's escort, was vulnerable to attack. It's thin armour and few defensive weapons lead to being punched through with hot plasma, losing both it's main gun and it's engines. The damage done, the attackers fled, returning to the main fleet. 
With the odds slightly evened in their favour, Vadum met the enemy at long range. The Covenant broke free of the dangerous vapour cloud, the sensor-blinding mist causing numerous casualties from navigation accidents and friendly fire. Now steaming straight towards one another, Vadum's fleet moved to a superior broadside position and began to offload as many shots as they could at the opposing force. Now in a disastrous exchange of fire, with numerous vessels suffering catastrophic damage, Vadum's forces were helpless to stop the Covenant moving past them. Despite heaping heavy casualties upon them, the Republic forces were helpless to stop the Covenant from landing close to the alpine cities on Maskiv. Waiting for them were thousands of Sangheili warriors, prepared to fight to the death to deny the Covenant. Desperate to gain a foothold, the Covenant assaulted the slopes, scaling defences as plasma rained down on top of them. Advancing over their own dead, the Covenant threw wave after wave of warriors at the defenders, beginning to push them back surely but steadily. Even armoured reinforcement proved fruitless, heavy fire failing to deter the attacks. The sound to retreat was given. The Republic forces fell back, to more defensible positions close to the city. All but one, at least.
Warriors of the Holdath Creche remained in their position, in the centre of the front line, holding their position. When the order to withdraw came through, the commanding officer feigned interference to allow his unit to hold position, with the Sangheili digging in. Steadily becoming surrounded, they only fought harder, defending a 500 metre strip of land strewn with destroyed buildings. Now fully cut off, they fought like monsters, repulsing every Covenant attack, seizing the enemy's weapons when their own ran dry, and using the corpses of their enemies and allies as cover. So ferocious was the defence, that the entire Covenant advance halted to focus on this tiny pocket of resistance. Sensing this pause, the defenders stormed back to their old positions with renewed vigour. The sudden counter attack knocked the Covenant forces off balance, and they never recovered. They were annihilated. 200 battered members of Holdath Creche were rescued, though for many years after they mainted they were never in need of rescue. 
Back in orbit, Vadum's stalling plan was beginning to reach breaking point. He'd forced the enemy into a protracted battle of attrition, which he was now beginning to lose. Facing another Assault Carrier, and heavily out numbered, the Shadow of Intent came under heavy fire, and it's escorts were too damaged, or spread to thin to defend her. Already damaged by enemy fire, the Victor's Right, a Templar-class Corvette, was ordered to withdraw, to join the counter attack. However, knowing it was far too damaged to retreat, and that the battle would soon be lost without drastic action, the shipmaster instead steeled his crew, and accelerated the ship into the enemy. Initially ignored, the Covenant fleet soon realised the single ship had entered a collision course with their flagship, but realised all too late. The Victor's Right slammed into the Assault Carrier, its armoured prow punching through the weakened armour and almost fully embedding itself inside the carrier. Now inside the ship, it was then the shipmaster and his crew revealed their plan. No simple suicide plot, they took up swords and rifles, and stormed through the ship, killing and butchering all they could as they fought their way to the pinch fusion reactor. Taking heavy casualties every step of the way their numbers dwindled but not before they fought their way into the outer chamber of the reactor. Out of ammo, and out of time, the survivors smashed the delicate reactor systems, and tossed satchels of explosives in the coolant systems. The reactor was compromised, and the ship vanished in a serious of tumultuous explosions, consumed in fire. 
Suddenly with the centre of their fleet gone, and their ground invasion having failed utterly, they retreated. They hoped, and prayed, they had bought enough time for the attacks at Kanna and Vespera. Vadum's forces, bloodied but defiant, were lauded as heroes, the many sacrifices there were long remembered, as heroes and legends amongst the Republic.
===Battle of Kanna===
In an effort to regain the initiative on the Republic front, the Covenant massed a fleet to take Kanna, one of the most important worlds on the UNSC frontier. A vital link, and an important supply of food, if the Covenant took it, they would now have a new foothold, and a massive food supply, offsetting their logistical problems. Lakvanus was appointed by the Prophet of Deliverance personally to take the world. He commanded dozens of lesser Chieftains, and bought the services of Dekd Nok, the dreaded Pirate Prince. 
Leading a massive fleet from Azaria, he approached Kanna at full speed, but the directness of his route alerted the UNSC. Defences began to mobilise immediately, with groundside forces digging in, and as many reinforcements rallied as possible. Admiral Vo Chi Gi was charged with leading Battlegroup Valiant and Battlegroup Morgana, and began to rally his forces for the up coming onslaught. Fleet Admiral Vladimir Tupolovitch and 5th Fleet was the nearest reinforcement, at Mannheim, but was several hours out. 
Admiral Gi's battle plan was simple. They open up on the enemy at the longest range possible, relying on electromagnetic support provided by the Tereus-class Escort Destroyer, UNSC Kursk. Lakvanus, meanwhile, opted to test his enemy's defences with probing assault, and used the gaps to land his ground forces, planning to conduct a mighty siege against vulnerable ground positions. Initial landings had been successful, but the Covenant underestimated their foes. Attacks on the primary cities of Aleph, Gimmel and Danel failed initially, forcing ground side officers to retreat. Instead of taking the major cities, they instead elected to take the 'Rice Line', a ring of smaller settlements built around a large stripe of rice paddies. Securing these positions, the Covenant engaged in a number of running battles with UNSC units, though neither side achieved any decisive victories. Instead, they were content to manage small raids against one another. Falling under the command of Barabus, they began to organise a solid force against the UNSC.
Despite the UNSC's resistance, the Covenant steadily gained ground, and began to advance towards Aleph. Engaging UNSC forces at the ridgeline south of the city, they won and outright routed the defenders, and assumed the path to Aleph was open. Desperate to gain a victory, and convinced the battle was already won, Lakvanus ordered the charge to go ahead. They charged, forming a line of armour and infantry two kilometres wide, approaching Aleph head on. It was then the defenders of Aleph revealed they were far from beaten. They ran straight into the maw of the UNSC's guns, and once they were too close to retreat, they opened fire. Machine guns, mortars, cannons, tanks, rockets, everything. As the front lines caved, trying to retreat, they were trampled by the waves behind them, and crushed. The result was 2500 dead Jiralhanae, across a 2 kilometre stretch, 400 metres deep. Any survivors were brutally executed by the UNSC. 
At Gimmel city, the Covenant's constant advances failed, and no matter how deep they managed to push into the city, one thorn constantly held it's ground, and pushed them back. A skyscraper belonging to Veloc Industrial, in south west centre, held against repeated attacks. Nicknamed Pavlov's tower, it held firm, beating back innumerable waves of Covenant forces, and standing defiant. Every time they surrounded it, they lost so many to the soldiers barricaded within that they were vulnerable to a counter attack, and lost ground again. Despite repeated attacks, and even the use of suicide soldiers, filled with a violent broth of battle stimulants, they failed to capture it, or even breach it. 
Despite the punishment heaped upon them, the defenders held their ground, in orbit and on the surface. Battered, bruised, and bloodied, but still defiant, they UNSC forces held long enough to relief to arrive. Fleet Admiral Tupolovitch arrived in system, with 5th Fleet at his back. The Covenant fleet now found enemy reinforcements approaching them at high speed, with the first wave of MAC slugs taking out Lakvanus' rear guard. 5th Fleet took the Covenant by complete surprise, immediately pushing them back. Using this opening, the UNSC dispatched their carriers to begin reinforcing the beleaguered forces on the ground. 
The counter-attack on the ground was fearsome, as ODSTs dropped in close to Gimmel and at unsecured bridges outside of Aleph, taking the positions, and the advantage, from the Covenant. With these beach heads secured, an Pavlov's Tower relieved at last, the surviving defenders, working with the ODSTs, secured forward positions, allowing heavy armour to be shipped in, suddenly and brutally turning the tide against the Covenant. Elsewhere, the UNSC deployed the assassin, Leonid-144, to decapitate brute leadership on the ground. He knocked out their forward head quarters, and in the process killed dozens of Jiralhanae, including a number of their Chieftains, contributing to their severe losses. He was then sent to terminate the evacuating Barabus, architect of the ground campaign, but only succeeded in wounding him. UNSC reinforcements pushed the Covenant back towards their landing zones at the Rice Line, and began to enact a heavy toll as the Covenant scrambled to escape, clambering onto evacuation ships. Those survivors on the ground tried to sue for peace, but that wouldn't work. The UNSC ground forces, vengeful after that fight, refused to hear it, and continued to fight, exterminating their enemy. 
However, Covenant ground forces did gain a small victory. During the battle, the Prowler Memorial was downed, and one of the officers, Jennifer J Anderson, and the AI Dahlia, were captured by the Covenant officer Barakus. A vile beast, he downed and destroyed the vessel, and one of his rivals, in the process, and made off with his prize, keeping them as a bargaining chip to increase his standing within the Covenant. 
The Covenant forces fell apart shortly after Barabus evacuated on the ground. With the fleet suddenly being hounded, and losing ships faster than thought possible, they began to retreat. A small squadron escaped by towing the wreck of a carrier, using it as a shield. They were allowed to escape, a UNSC probe following them into their slipspace wake and tracking them back. Lakvanus however, was not so lucky. Like his sons and his brother, he died fighting to take Kanna. His damaged ship was dealt a death blow by Tupolovitch's flagship, destroying the flagship, and signalling an end to the battle. 
A massive victory for the UNSC, they dealt tremendous casualties and blunted the Covenant's strongest attack, an action from which they would never recover, and signalled the start of their decline.
===Battle of Vespera===
Like the UNSC, the Republic sought a definitive victory to turn the tables on their foes, the Covenant. However, before them lay their greatest obstacle, the Marauder. Longinious was probably the only Jiralhanae the Sangheili feared, as his keen intellect and deep insight into the Sangheili psyche meant he was unbeaten on the field of battle. The Republic had to crush this foe, more than anything. 
In order to bring him to battle on their own terms, the Republic's intelligence agency, the Justiciars, laid an irresistible trap. Following up a skirmish between Republic and Covenant forces at the edge of their territory, they ejected an escape pod into the debris field. Contained inside was a corpse of a Sangheili warrior who'd died a few days earlier from his injuries. They dressed him as an officer, and gave him documents detailing defensive operations in Republic space. These falsified documents showed a weakness around Vespera, which appeared to have little in terms of defences, and far outside of the operational range of the Republic fleets, making it a perfect target.
The Marauder set upon this, the intelligence contained within being irresistible to him. He mobilised a massive fleet, and took the battle to Vespera. Emerging to face a platry fleet, he largely ignored them to make his ground landing, hundreds of Phantoms descending on the planet, seemingly unopposed. It was then the trap was closed. Four whole Republic Fleets emerged around the Marauder, and his Fleet of Marauding Hatred. With the Imperator, and one of his Grand Marshals leading the battle, the battle suddenly and violently turned into a massacre. Faced with one one, but two tactical geniuses, all of the Marauder's wits were useless. It was furthered hampered by the flanking actions of the Fleet of Hidden Shadows, Kasr Revak's fleet of stealth vessels. In orbit, the fleet was annihilated, countless warships torn asunder, and set aflame by plasma, and cast into the cruel gravity of Vespera, dragged to the planet below. On the world itself, the Republic and Remnant forces struck across the jungle covered ravines, mountains and hills of Vespera, with the Republic displaying many of their new and startling advances in technology. The Covenant were wholly outclassed, facing tactics, equipment, and war machines, the like of which they had never seen. Thousands died, their blood staining the soils of Vespera. As a frightful storm rolled in, the Republic, began a whole sale slaughter, sparing none from their wrath. 
Longinius, long considered the mightiest Sangheili slayer, was cornered in a deep valley, later referred to as the Valley of Blood on account of the bloodshed held within. Kasr 'Revak and his special forces spearheaded the assault. Cutting into the Jiralhanae forces with brute force, Kasr hacked his way to Longinius, and in a thunderous battle, he claimed his head, taking his helmet as a trophy. 
With the battle won, the Republic turned it's sights to the Remnant. The Covenant suffered an irreparable loss, not only losing hundreds of ships and thousands of warriors, but losing some of their most elite troops, and gifted commanders, Longinius among them.
==Counter-Attack==
===Operation: WARDOG===
With the Covenant suffering a string of disastrous defeats, the UNSC began formulating a large scale counter-attack, and for the first time began coordinating with the Republic on a strategic scale. The alliance began to plot a counter-attack, intended to cut the head of the Covenant and force them to break down. 
The first stage of the counter-attack was Operation: WARDOG. The UNSC campaign hinged on retaking Akuze, which served as a beach head in a massive salient in UNSC territory. Knowing full well that it cannot be left alone, the UNSC began preparations to retake the world. The first stage was to retake the strategically important world of Hannibal III. While the UNSC mustered a full scale force to retake Akuze, a smaller force was mustered to retake Hannibal III, and thus cut off vital supplies to Akuze. To do this, the plan called for numerous Spartan companies to be dropped onto the planet in a clandestine manner and conduct guerilla warfare against the Covenant occupiers, sabotaging planetary defences. 
Seven Spartan companies were deployed to the conflict, with Gladiator, Argo, Fortress, Warden, Bear, Shogun and Nemesis companies were deployed to Hannibal III to conduct operations. Covertly inserted at several key locations, they went to ground and began conducting aggressive actions against the Covenant. Over the span of 3 weeks, the Spartans enacted a campaign of absolute carnage, tearing apart aircraft waiting on the airfield in lightning raids, destroying factories, burning food supplies, sabotaging reactors, and butchering garrisons in the night. The Covenant became so scared they abandoned many outer positions, simply forfeiting territory to the Spartans. The Spartans reacted in kind by demolishing any anti-air units in the area, and securing landing zones, in the run up to the invasion force's arrival. By the time the UNSC Task Force arrived in system, most of the planet's defences had been destroyed, captured, or rendered inoperable. 
With a fast approaching UNSC force, the Covenant attempted to rally for the defence, but were so overstretched by the the Spartan incursions that they couldn't hope to defend. The UNSC came down on them with such a thunderous rage that their defence fleet on the ground couldn't hope to stop them. On the ground, Spartans secured vital positions, taking observation posts, cross roads, landing zones, and occupying outlying towns and villages, to a point that by the time the UNSC main force landed, they rolled on the last remaining Covenant stronghold. UNSC, bolstered by a heavy Spartan presence, fought a short and brutal house-to-house campaign, kicking the enemy from building to building, and routing strong points. Operation: WARDOG ended in total victory, with the Covenant forces completely annihilated. 
===Battle of Tul'argom===
At Tul'argom, the Republic engaged the Covenant fleet, not wishing to bring them to battle, or to gain a strategic advantage, but to enact vengeance. Tul'argom has a massive loss for the Republic, and the mean massacre that occurred in the wake of the battle, where the Covenant slaughtered and feasted on the colonists for days, had incensed the Republic. Now the Sangheili took their revenge. 
A Covenant fleet station had detected the approaching vanguard, believing only a small force was approaching them, and attempted to reinforce their position, bringing almost 100 ships to the defence. The Republic arrived with three times that. Suddenly and inexplicably out-gunned, the Covenant forces quickly lost cohesion, with morale collapsing before the first exchange of fire. With the enemy already breaking into a rout, the Republic forces surrounded and destroyed them piecemeal, with precision energy projector fire destroying most of the enemy fleet in the opening exchange, and assaults by fast ships and fighter squadrons rendered the remaining defenders useless, their torn, burning hulks crashing into the atmosphere. None were allowed to leave, with the survivors hunted down and purged before their ships could flee. 
With the high ground secured, the Republic began to meticulously land soldiers, establishing well protected staging areas for the conflict ahead. The central keep of Tul'agrom was famous for it's thick walls, and almost unassailable defences, in a modernist Sangheili fortress design. To complicate it, it was positioned in the midst of a high mountain range, making assault difficult. The final obstacle was the Covenant themselves, who had heavily entrenched the lowest reaches of the township that the Keep protected, through the mountain passes, up the bridges, and to the Keep itself. While a lengthy siege was out of the question, a brutal charge would cause such casualties that the Sangheili would defeat themselves. Instead, they opted for a carefully planned assault, that would seize enemy positions one by one. Taking landing fields out of the enemy's range, they landed large numbers of units on the ground, and began to advance on Covenant positions. While they approached the low land townships, forward commandos took out enemy artillery positions on the mountains, protecting their comrades below. Laying heavy fire on the enemy, they took the position by force, ousting the Covenant by force and heaping casualties on them as they tried to retreat. In the fighting through the mountains and valleys above, they used low flying Banshee squadrons to avoid enemy fire, and strike at ground positions, while heavy armour, mostly the beastly Demon Heavy Weapon Platform, its heavy armour and powerful cannon turning enemy strong points into molten craters. Special Operations units were dispatched to secure and hold vital bridges, preventing the enemy from sabotaging them, and holding until armour reinforcements would arrive. Carving a bloody path to the Keep, the Sangheili faced fearsome walls meant to keep out any defenders. Pitched over a frozen lake, with a single bridge into it, and layers of defence, the Sangheili opened up the battle of a hail of fire, bombarding the position with artillery, before advancing armour in an unrelenting advance. Fearing neither fire nor an icey tomb below, the Republic forces blew holes into the bastion, opening it up and allowing their comrades to cross the bridge safely. With the lower defences compromised, the Covenant attempted to retreat to the inner defences, but found themselves hard pressed and overrun. The streets became choked with the dead during brutal melee. Eventually, the Last Covenant forces were chased into the Elder chambers, and butchered, their blood covering tarnished and defiled Sangheili monuments. 
The Chieftain presiding over the Tul'agrom Keep was thrown from it's walls, a signal of the Republic victory. With the battle won, the Sangheili quickly moped up, sparing no expense. They were then reinforced, and departed for targets further afield.
===Second Battle of Akuze===
Since his victory there, High Chieftain Cassius had long lorded over Akuze, considering it his own fiefdom, with absolute rulership over the world. He had erected massive Covenant bastions, hundreds of slaves toiling and dying to do it. It became a throne world of the Covenant, fit for a Chieftain, or a Prophet. Cassius had long used it as a staging ground for his raids, and remained there for much of the war. The UNSC, after reconquering Hannibal III, the UNSC seemingly stalled. The Covenant assumed they ran out of steam and allowed it. Cassius was called back to Divine Ascension for the Feast of Spirits, a holy festival of Deliverance's own design, celebrating the holy passage of the dead. The UNSC, knowing Cassius would leave with most of his commanders, leapt upon the chance, and headed towards Akuze. 
This time the UNSC did not take any chances. The assault force consists of the 3rd, 7th, and 18th Fleets, with the forces spread out to hit the enemy on three fronts. 3rd Fleet dropped out at the edge of the system, and chose to assault the outer system defences, wrecking listening posts and destroying fuel and water stations in the outer gas giants. While they did this, 18th Fleet dropped out of slipspace on the opposite side of the system, in the shadow of the 4th planet, obscured from the enemy. Lastly, 7th fleet made an obvious fleet exit close to inner systems, waiting long enough for the enemy fleet to begin leaving their positions to engage them. As the Covenant fleet left their defensive positions to chase the UNSC, 7th Fleet fired the opening shots of the battle, with a massive nuclear bombardment of their orbital defences, knocking out a number of monitor ships and defence stations, then moving to the Covenant's rear. Now suddenly with a human fleet in front and behind them, the Covenant fleet attempted a fighting retreat, hoping to make it back to their fleet bases on the opposite side of the planet, where the might mount a defence. They ran a gauntlet of UNSC fire, taking long range fire as they hoped to escape their reach. Many of their ships fell, reduced to burning hulks. However, when they made it back to their fleet base, they found it gone, with most of their stations destroyed, and scattered, and another UNSC fleet approaching them head on. Now trapped between three UNSC fleets, the Covenant elected to pull back entirely, moving to the outer system where the could attempt to rally. The 18th Fleet gave chase, while 3rd and 7th began the ground invasion. 
The UNSC opened with an aerial assault on the second largest settlement on Akuze, Waltherstone. After aerial domination was attained, this was followed by aerial defence suppression missions, with flights of close support craft baiting and attacking enemy defences. Gaining a foothold in the north western hills of the city, the UNSC ousted the Covenant, using aerial support and rapidly deploying armour to take the position. Establishing this as their firebase, they brought artillery units down to establish supporting fire against the Covenant and bring down strong points. UNSC airborne units too key strategic positions across the city, establishing a offensive cordon that cut the enemy off from one another, and allowed them to spot enemy positions. Fighting over these positions grew especially intense, especially around Patterson Plaza and the Atryom Sinoviet building, both of which were captured by the UNSC, and held against counter-attack. Roving hunter-killer packs of UNSC gunship turned streets into kill zones, trapping the Covenant/ With the city just about lost, the Covenant organised a dusk retreat, using any vehicle available to take the northern highway out to their northern bastion. UNSC air power turned this into a massacre, with repeated air strikes turning the highway into a killing zone, choked with burnt out wrecks and smouldering corpses. The city was secured shortly after, with UNSC forces entrenching their positions. 
Now beginning massed landings at the protected fields southwards of Walterstone, and began sallying north to the capital, San Rene. Covenant forces had established fortifications across the plain, but most were ignored and bypassed by the UNSC, with token forces pinning them down with artillery and support fire. They instead struck straight at the capital, with the advance stopping just outside of range of the big guns defending the city. A head on attack was unwelcome, so an alternative solution was sought. Under the cover of night, UNSC special forces made a covert entry into the city perimeter, using old service tunnels to enter the city, and sabotage the power supply for the big guns. Once the timed charges were planted, they left, detonating them once they were safely out of the city. With their defensive line suddenly out of power, and the shield gates keeping the city segregated lost, the UNSC made their move. Armoured units hit the outer wall, the defenders barely able of halting the attack. UNSC switched to walker capable units to engage the enemy in urban fighting, with Mantis and Wolf units proving more than a match for the Covenant. With Cassius's Citadel in sight, the UNSC pushed the advantage, taking the fight up to the walls and pallisades of the fort, with the UNSC managing to break through in several key locations. At this point, most of the city was back in their hands, aside from a few small pockets. The remaining and most die hard Covenant fortified themselves in the temple at the centre of the Citadel, hoping for a glorious last stand. The UNSC instead dispersed them with flamer weaponry, putting the final defence down in a firestorm. With a UNSC flag raised over the Citadel, the rest of the Covenant forces crumbled, and soon began to surrender to the UNSC. 
For the first time in years, Akuze was now back in the UNSC's hands. Now, they had their sights on the greatest prize of all.
===Battle of Sheltered Sanctum===
Despite not being technically part of Operation: FIRE, the Sangheili attack on Sheltered Sanctum was effectively the opening blow. The Republic dispatched the Fleet of Burning Vengeance, commanded by Fleet Master Ferum 'Vulkar, to attack the enemy Fortress World of Sheltered Sanctum, to the far edge of their territory. A vital staging ground, listening post, and fleet base, Sheltered Sanctum had been vital for supporting many attacks on the Republic. While the facilities and fortifications were ageing relics from the Covenant's golden age, they still presented a formidable threat for the unwary and unprepared. The entire plan for the strike would be to draw the Covenant out of their core worlds, opening up the way for Operation: FIRE.
The main bulk of the Sangheili fleet emerged at the edge of the system, in full view of the enemy. Fleet Master 'Vulkar kept his fleet just outside of the enemy mobile defences, drawing the large battle stations out of their position close to Sheltered Sanctum. Once they were out of position, 'Vulkar initiated his master stroke. The bulk of the fleet performed a in-system jump, emerging beneath the orbital defences, and taking them down with short range boarding attacks. With the mobile stations suddenly floundering, the fleet initiated long range fire on their vulnerable rears, punching holes through their plating and bringing them down. One was destroyed, while the other limped away, unable to manoeuvre properly. Most of the enemy fleet was now routed, leaving 'Vulkar to prosecute the ground campaign in peace. Relying heavily on orbital bombardment, they managed to take vital ground positions, especially around the fortresses at Kur Golir, and Jyrak, opening them up for a ground invasion. 
Engaging in a bloody siege, the Republic forces burned their way through Covenant lines, relying on massed fire power to break them. At the steep peaks and mountain bases around Kur Golir, they were forced to engage in asymmetric warfare, and low level strikes, taking vital bridges in order to move up on advanced positions. Initially, the Covenant managed to push them back, having the advantage of the high ground, and entrenched positions. 'Vulkar, disappointed with their advancement, deployed his secret weapon. For the first time in the war, the Zealot chapters were set loose, and began engaging in clandestine strikes on the Covenant, appearing out of the darkness, and massacring whole Lances, then vanishing again. The Covenant, terrified by this implacable foe, abandoned their positions, in hopes for cowering in the shelter of Kur Goldir. The Republic made them pay a heavy price, harrying them all the way there, and smashing them with artillery once they were behind the doors. Vulkar brooked them no time to entrench, and melted the walls around the fortress with concentrated plasma fire. An opening made, the Sangheili stormed the gap with Scarabs, followed by heavily armoured shock troops and Lekgolo. The Covenant died in their droves, unable to mount any reasonable defence, and despite throwing themselves at the Sangheili, their lack of coordination resulted in total obliteration. The few survivors surrendered, but found the Sangheili had little mercy.
===Operation: FIRE===
For the first time in the war, the UNSC and the Republic were planning joint operations on a strategic level. Commanders at both side convened at Mannheim, though primary staging operations were done in secret, at coordinates in deep space. Both sides shared intelligence and resources, in order to bring about the end of their mutual enemy.
The joint operation would be focused on a decapitation strike, aiming to destroy the Covenant's leadership, and much of their infra-structure. Preceding operations at Akuze, Hannibal III, and Sheltered Sanctum had done much to lure Covenant forces out of their main defensive positions. With initial planning done, the invasion commenced, with expeditionary fleets journeying into Covenant space.
====Operation: SPITFIRE====
The opening salvo of Operation: FIRE, SPITFIRE was intended to cripple the Covenant's manufacturing capabilities, as well as deal a heavy blow to their largest fleet elements. The UNSC dispatched the 15th Fleet, while the Republic dispatched the Fleet of Long Shadows. The plan was simple, with a targeted strike at their orbital shipyards, which provided repair and refuelling for the whole Covenant fleet, and do whatever other damage they could. 
Their plan was to jump out behind the asteroid field at the edge of the Gethear system, then used engineers to strap rocket motors and engines to them and use them as improvised munitions. Asteroids were fired at Covenant fleet positions around Gethear, with the allied forces using them as both a weapon, and to cover their advanced. Despite the massed fire power possessed by the Covenant fleet, they were unable to stop these runaway asteroids, and as a result they careened through most of their orbital defences, devastating them. The follow up assault mounted by the Allies resulted in short, fierce fire fights, with massed cannon fire at short range. The initial advantage swung heavy in favour of the UNSC and Republic, with the Covenant being devastated by the asteroid tactic. The Republic fleet switched gears midway through the battle, with heavy ships deploying troops onto the massive orbiting shipyards, hoping to capture copious amounts of enemy materiel to bolster their own war efforts. Phantoms weaved through fire to deploy Sangheili Rangers, who cut their way through bulkheads to engage in close quarters fighting through the claustrophobic service tunnels and across strands. 
With the orbital battle becoming a losing fight, the Covenant withdrew their ships to atmospheric positions, taking positions around their space ports and mining installations. The UNSC made landfall northwards of the Covenant's main position, establishing siege units to head over to their fortified holdings. The bulk of their force formed an armoured spearhead, headed by Scorpion tanks screening for Mammoth heavies. They engaged two separate Covenant armoured units, inflicting massive casualties both times. 
The Sangheili opted for an alternative strategy, setting up a collection makeshift camps. Whenever the Covenant attempted to move forward, the Sangheili opted for an extremely unorthodox tactic, using a mixture of air units and highly mobile ground units to harry the enemy forces, rather than attack them head on. The resulting casualties forced the Covenant to withdrew back to their positions. The fighting escalated, with mounting casualties heaped on the Covenant, and any remaining warship brought down by concentrated fire. Their last few hold outs fell one by one, usually after protracted sieges. The final holdout was brought down by a joint attack, with the UNSC approaching from the north west, and the Republic hitting it further south. Neither made particular headway until UNSC Combat Engineers managed to dig under and destroy one of the walls, opening it up for a Republic Scarab to assault. The Republic also used several squadrons of Locusts to punch holes in the outer fortifications, allowing Sangheili to flood in. 
====Operation: WILDFIRE====
Just hours after Operation: SPITFIRE began, the Sangheili began the second phase of their attack. Their target was the world of Revered Bastion, an important religious site for the Covenant, and their spiritual capital. The Republic intended to so thoroughly crush their spirits here that they could never recover. The strategic goal of the operation though was to kill the Covenant's religious leadership, and cut the line of succession, by killing the High Prophet's brother, the Prophet of Foresight. 
The opening of this campaign would be a brutal assault by the Republic's top special operations commander, Kasr 'Revak. Taking the entirety of the Undying Shades Zealot chapter, and a few of his own warriors, they took a hijacked Covenant freighter, bound for Revered Bastion. Flying it to the world on the expected course, they made a diversion and accelerated it towards the Cathedral of The Risen, the largest religious site on Revered Bastion. Crashing through the marbled walls, it made an entrance through the hefty outer walls, and allowed the Zealots to enter it directly. The occupants of the temple consisted mostly of religious officials, the Prophet, his honour guard, and the temple guard. The warriors standing guard were all experienced veterans, and devoted fanatics. Leading the charge, Kasr 'Revak slammed into the dazed and confused template guard, followed shortly after by his Zealots. They entered a brutal melee, cutting their way through the enemies.
As the zealots fought on the ground, high above them, the Republic began their invasion. Squadrons of Republic ships began dropping out of slipspace close to Revered Bastion. Rather than begin attacking, they towed with them warships recovered from other battles, wounded wrecks with damage too great to salvage them. They flung them at the Covenant fleet as fireships, their reactors coming dangerously close to overload, and fully fuelled up. Upon reaching the Covenant fleet positions, these detonated in a maelstrom of nuclear fire, their reactors overloading. 
Back in the temple, the Zealots enacted a bloody purge, cutting their way through the Covenant, and all who stood in their way. Despite taking casualties, they continued to enact bloody vengeance, taking the heads of no less than sixteen San'Shyuum. The Prophet, guarded by the best Honour Guards, was cornered inside his church, and in a short fight, his head too was collected by Kasr. 
In orbit, the battle had turned into a slaughter, with the majority of the Covenant fleet obliterated by the fireship tactic. The remains were picked off piecemeal. The Republic had little interest in a protracted siege, and opted to open the ground invasion with a heavy orbital bombardment, killing tens of thousands on the surface. It became one of the largest Zealot deployments of the war, with no less than four full chapters being deployed, along with another dozen being represented, with the intent of simultaneously destroying as much of the Covenant leadership, razing as many of their holy sites as they could, and analysing and recovering any Forerunner relics and installations still on the world.
The ground invasion began in earnest with a devastating air campaign, and the Sangheili establishing camps in the foothills above the major settlements. Meanwhile, the Undying Shades held their position inside the Temple, until air forces could make it into the city and extract them. Through the night, and into the morning, the Republic conducted surgical strikes, coming out of the darkness to heap casualties on the Covenant, then slinking back. Before long, they began to overtake the main Covenant positions, routing most of the defences, and circling around and isolating strong points. One of the major engagements came when Sangheili forces marched on the Silvered Mountain complex, a series of Covenant fortifications built over the fore-end of a Forerunner vessel, buried under the mountain. The Covenant, made up of die-hard fanatics, refused to give ground, holding their mountain top fortress against all-odds. The Republic fought back with equal ferocity, clearing palisades and keeps, and steadily making their way up, level by level. Most of the time, it resorted to clearing bunkers at ranges too short to swing a hammer or a sword, resulting in hand-to-hand fought tooth and claw. Eventually, the Republic banners flew from the upper keep, though a few hold outs remained in the catacombs beneath, requiring a meticulous clearing. Once secured, excavation operations would begin, heedless of the war going on outside. 
A more clandestine operation during this time was the mission to recover an artefact, something the Republic keenly wanted to steal away from the Covenant. While the Covenant had an inkling of it's purpose, the Republic was unaware it was part of the Diaspora Lock. Originally the task fell on the remnants of the Devoted Sentries Zealot Chapter, a chapter so sorely depleted by war that they neared extinction. Aiding them in this were a rag tag group of unlikely warriors, including Helora, priestess of the warrior-god Kalmaras, and the human twins, raised the children of a Kaidon, Vaelana and Arkal 'Solodos. Shot down during their exfiltration, they were rescued by the timely intervention of Kasr 'Revak and his special forces. The relic was safely recovered, but was later lost during a Slipspace jump failure. 
Close to dawn, the Covenant managed to must a counter attack against Silvered Mountain, hoping the Sangheili had yet to dig it. Initially caught off-guard by the Covenant's willingness to launch a counter-attack at the time, they hadn't yet fortified their position. With a mass of Covenant forces approaching through the southern woodlands, the Republic opted to the most direct solution. Launching waves of Jinn bombers, they attacked the Covenant positions, dropping plasma munitions down onto the forest. The ensuing firestorm was so devastating that the attack was turned back, and a vast swathe of the forest was burn to cinders. 
Over the next 2 days, the Covenant and the Republic battled one another for superiority, with the front lines changing continuously. The ebb and flow of the battle was changed when the Republic launched an attack on a Covenant strong point northwards of the planetary capital. Featuring hastily erected fortifications, and crude trench works, previous attacks by the Republic had failed. This time, the Republic spared no expense, opening the battle with two hours of sustained bombardment, and supporting fire from a Templar-class Heavy Corvette. The battle was fierce, as the Republic forces slowly and steadily advanced towards the fortified position, ignoring the torrent of enemy fire coming at them. Reaching the Covenant positions, they entered into a brutal melee, fighting from trench to trench, clearing bunkers and weapon positions. A long and hard battles, the Republic eventually routed the Covenant from the position, opening up access routes down to the city. From there, the battle was largely a rout as Republic swept through the capital, conquering the city with ease. Within 24 hours, the capital was secure, and the enemy remnants retreated into the wilderness, where they were steadily hunted down and exterminated. 
While bloodied, the Covenant proved victorious. With much of the Covenant's spiritual leadership killed during the battle, the Republic succeeded, and opened up the path for more conquests.
====Operation: FLASHFIRE====
Two days after the attack on Revered Bastion, the 17th Fleet of the UNSC Navy arrived at the Azaria system, with the aim of crushing the Covenant fortress world. The throne world of High Chieftain Cassius, it was a vital target, of strategic value, and an important staging area for the attack on the capital, Pious Ascension. 
Despite Cassius not being in attendance on his own world, there was still a sizeable fleet, and heavy fortifications on the ground. While they world could be bypassed, the UNSC simple couldn't afford to leave a large fleet free to roam here, and desperately needed a forward staging area. 
The UNSC Fleet emerged from slipspace towards the edge of the system, and broke into their individual battlegroups, forming a wide formation. The Covenant fleet detected the forward vanguard of the UNSC forces shortly thereafter. The Covenant fleet was superior in numbers, but lacked on leadership, since recent casualties, and Cassius' absence, left any real unified commander for the fleet. With the UNSC fleet detected, the Covenant fleet broke off into splinter formations and made full speed towards it, suspecting it was the froward vanguard. As they neared it, they instead found it was the centre of the formation, a formation that now closed in around them. The UNSC began to open fire at long range, with MAC and missile barrages taking their toll. The Covenant fleet, now flying head first into an ambush, attempted to first make a stand, but as casualties mounted, they instead chose to retreat, pulling back towards Azaria. The UNSC didn't let them go easy, and heaped casualties on them. With half their fleet lost in the opening salvo, the Covenant fleet capitulated, and retreated to the far side of the planet, leaving the planet open to an orbital assault. 
The UNSC began their ground invasion with wave after wave of precision fire, launching cruise missiles and precision cannon fire on ground positions, and bombers performing attack runs on Covenant positions, hoping to soften them up enough for the infantry invasion. Anti-air positions, and defensive positions were eradicated by these strikes, and the remaining so heavily damaged that they were no longer operable. The UNSC's priority target for the first phase of the ground invasion was seizing the spaceport at Grathine, which was large enough to allow UNSC forces to land carriers, and mass deploy forces. ODST units were dropped into the valley below, while Force Recon units were deployed via a HALO jump. The Initial drop went well, but quickly ran into problems, as the ODST unit advanced into Covenant forces deployed to meet them in the valley. The Force Recon deployment meet with better success, taking up firing positions on the hill overlooking the space port, and directing close air support and artillery fire down on enemy positions outside of the space port. The ODST forces, initially bogged down fighting against superior numbers, took back the initiative, co-operating with high altitude gunships to pound enemies, and advance up the valley. Within two hours, they'd reached the space port, and broke through the perimeter defences. ODST forces advanced up the western runway, and secured several of the utility buildings. With the advantage taken, they they released the signal, showing the all clear for UNSC forces. 
Pelican dropships, carrying Marines and armour, came down to the position, and despite enemy fire, they made it to ground, and began deploying the bulk of their forces. With armour on the ground, the battle quickly shifted in favour of the UNSC, and casualties mounted. The UNSC secured the main access route, blocking reinforcements, and trapping the rest of the Covenant. Eventually, the attack came to an end, with the Covenant ousted from the space port, and the UNSC now possessing the means to mass deploy their forces. A Carrier, the UNSC Ikaruga, landed at the space port, allowing it to quickly deploy, while UNSC forces from other ships began to deploy. Soon, the UNSC had the bulk of their main force deployed, and began the advance towards the Covenant positions around Kuljur Fortress, Cassius' personal fortress. 
In support of this assault, the UNSC deployed small forces to positions in the lowlands south, establishing several forward bases. These forces began to surround the Covenant's main position, Taking the outer fortifications, and securing the dam to the east. In the west, at the base of the mountain fortifications overlooking Kuljur Fortress, Several Spartan companies were deployed, with Apache, Rubicon, and Nemesis company making a landing at the base of the fortress. These units advanced up the mountain side, maintaining absolute stealth until they came within a few dozen meters of mountain top fortresses themselves. Initiating the attacks, they charged over the top and began to butcher the defenders, who were so surprised by the assault that they could hardly withstand it. During the short and brutal attack, the UNSC took control of those positions, securing them and disabling the mighty artillery guns housed in the fortresses, 
With last obstacle out of their way, the UNSC moved to the final phase and began their assault on the the fortress itself. Roling up their biggest guns, the UNSC elected to pound the Covenant positions from afar, with Mammoth siege vehicles opening up the volley, followed by rockets, shells and mortars, and even heavy 440mm guns. Lastly, they assembled their major armoured push, supported by infantry, gunships, and two companies of Spartans, Perseus and Bear company, supporting as shock troops and line breakers. Forming the tip of the spear were the heavy M1202 Sabretooth Heavy Siege Tank, a fearsome heavy tank firing short-range mortars that could flatten heavy structures. With the thunderous artillery shower coming to an end, the Covenant found no relief as armour overran their position. The outer walls of the keep were demolished with ease, and Spartan forces securing the the main gate, and ousting the Covenant opposition. Spartans came into direct conflict with one of Cassius' feared Shock Legions, both battling over control of the outer citadel. The resulting conflict shattered the unbeatable image the Shock Legions had cultivated, with Bear Company massacring them in close quarters. 
The UNSC didn't spare any resources in their attack. They used flamethrowers to burn out bunkers and fortifications, and when they proved too tough, the UNSC carefully deployed VX-8 Nerve Gas, hundreds of Covenant soldiers dying in horrifying pain. For the UNSC, it was blood for blood, and no mercy was granted. After a bloody siege, the UNSC Phoenix was hoisted above the central bastion, signifying an end to the battle. Within seven hours, the planet was in a position to service and support expeditionary forces heading for the Remnant capital.
====Operation: HELLFIRE====
The planned deathblow against the Covenant Remnant, Operation: HELLFIRE was the planned strike against their capital world, Pious Ascension. A massive operation, it featured no less than four fleets, with both the UNSC, and the Sangheili Republic contributing their forces. They would face the Covenant Remnant core fleets, their battle hardened elites, and all on their home turf.
Category:Wars