Ignis Corps

Category:Gamestrider1
Category:UNSC Army
Category:ODST
Category:Spartan
Category:Military
Category:Units
The Ignis Corps was an experimental division of the United Nations Space Command that was a mixed unit of Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and SPARTAN-III assets used as an effective rapid-response force to a multitude of engagements across the galaxy during the Human-Covenant War and post-war period. Based on the well-equipped Paris-class heavy frigate, the UNSC Arcadia's Revenge, the Ignis Corps participated in a number of high-risk engagements against Insurrectionists and the Covenant.
==History==
===Formation===
Following a costly victory for the UNSC at the Battle of Arcadia in 2531, the UNSC Arcadia's Revenge was commissioned to honor the lives of the many who died during the battle, being commissioned only two days after the event on February 12th, beginning construction on March 3rd, and finally launching on July 2nd to join the UNSC Navy's numbers.
The ship was equipped with a wide variety of troops, vehicles, and on extremely rare occasions, several Spartan-IIs and Spartan-IIIs from time to time, depending on the decisions of ONI and the particular mission requirements. Thus, the idea of Ignis Corps was proposed by an Arcadian ONI operative looking for vengeance, and the idea went through, with a multitude of assets incorporated into the ship to create the Ignis Corps.
===Human-Covenant War===
====Eridanus IX Campaign====
On July 6th, 2535, an insurrection began on the jungle world of Eridanus IX in the Eridanus system. The Arcadia was equipped with a full complement and deployed to quell the rebellion.
Following the ship's arrival in Eridanus IX's, she deployed heavy ground forces of Ignis to take down the well-entrenched insurrectionists. Eventually, despite numerous casualties, the Insurrectionist forces were driven off the planet or wiped out, resulting in the planet falling back under UNSC control. However, the victory was short-lived as the Covenant arrived merely hours later and glassed Eridanus IX, forcing the UNSC to retreat.
==== Battle of Provins ====
Throughout the opening years of the Human-Covenant War, the United Rebel Front suffered heavy losses as many of the planets they were operation on were glassed by the Covenant. The planet of Provins, which had been under URF control for some time, was spared from much of the early fighting, and the URF's remaining commanders decided to rally the majority of their military resources there, establishing heavy fortifications and bases on the various islands they rallied on.
Word of the URF's efforts inevitably reached the Office of Naval Intelligence. After spies confirmed the reports and rumors, Ignis Corps, an elite multi-branch unit, was equipped for battle and dispatched on the UNSC Arcadia's Revenge to attack and eliminate the last of the URF in a massive multi-island assault aided by local Colonial Police Force units.
Following a two-day campaign with heavy losses on both sides, particularly in the town of Provins and "Murder Valley," the UNSC took control of the planet. As a result of the battle, the United Rebel Front's military was considered defunct in the aftermath, and as such, the URF was unable to engage in any insurrection attempts for the remainder of the Human-Covenant War. The battle gained much fame among members of the Ignis Corps, existing as an inside joke between them.
==== Second Fall of Arcadia ====
On September 9, 2549, the Covenant returned to Arcadia with a massive fleet, one significantly larger than what was typically deployed to eradicate human colonies of Arcadia's size. Tasked to obliterate whatever remained of the human presence on Arcadia, the fleet was taken back to find that flora had overgrown the colony's cities while the remaining human settlers at Abaskun were living in a bizarre state of lawlessness and anarchy.
Shortly after exiting slipstream space, the Covenant fleet began bombarding Arcadia's surface with plasma. Arcadia's population attempted to evacuate the surface aboard civilian transport shuttles, though some Arcadians were left trapped on the planet unable to escape. The Covenant fleet took particular care in glassing every vital part of the planet, incinerating Abaskun and all major urban areas. The fleeing Arcadians attempted to evacuate aboard hundreds of transport shuttles, though the Covenant fleet shifted their main plasma beams to catch the shuttles' outbound trajectories, broiling the ships in orbit before they had a chance to even reach slipspace. Only a handful of shuttles escaped destruction.
Several Stalwart-class light frigates took part in the fighting, including the UNSC In Amber Clad, eventually conducting a fighting retreat. Elements of Ignis Corps had arrived on the planet in the opening hours of the battle tasked with evacuating crucial manpower and an Office of Naval Intelligence smart AI. A pair Spartan-IIIs on the planet, one being Spade-B243, were charged with handling and evacuating the AI, being hastily organized under the callsign "Green Team."
Once Ignis Corps met up with Green Team and Kilo Platoon, a unit of Arcadia's UNSC Marine Corps garrison, they moved to the ONI base where the AI was kept. Despite suffering from early rampancy, the AI was still functional and Spade-B243 was responsible for carrying the data chip the AI was stored on.To confuse the Covenant ground forces and avoid mass casualties, the combined force divided up their vehicle arsenal and split into two separate convoys each heading for the planned evacuation site of a nearby UNSC airbase, fighting through heavy Covenant ground force resistance on the way to the destination.
However, without the UNSC Navy in orbit trying to hold off the Covenant advance, more and more ships were slipping through into Arcadia's atmosphere, and a Ket-pattern battlecruiser arrived over the battlefield, glassing the airbase before the convoy arrived, forcing UNSC forces to divert to a hastily constructed forward operating base.
Continuing to suffer heavy losses as the convoys rushed to the FOB, a second Covenant battlecruiser arrived in orbit, glassing the nearest base, forcing the convoys to divert around to continue on to the base. Realizing the convoys were moving too fast, the fleet dropped a Deutoros-pattern Scarab directly on top of one of the convoys, which immediately destroyed the five nearest vehicles to it before continuing to move down the road attacking the convoy.
Amidst the chaos, Spade-B243 climbed onto the Scarab and destroyed its core from the inside, causing the walker to self-destruct and collapse. Largely unopposed, the remainder of the convoy drove the last of the length to the FOB. With all Covenant ground forces in the region closing in on their position, multiple D77-TC Pelicans landed at the FOB and began extracting. Green Team got onto the first Pelican and extracted immediately with the remainder of Kilo Platoon and the AI, while Ignis Corps boarded the next three Pelicans, though one was shot down fleeing the base as a third Ket battlecruiser appeared over the FOB. The last Pelican lifted off moments before the base was glassed. The survivors then extracted from the system and fled to Reach.
==== Fall of Reach ====
By 2552, the Arcadia, stationed at Reach in the Epsilon Eridani system, was busy being repaired and rearmed from a previous operation when the planet came under attack from the Covenant. During the battle, Ignis Corps was repeatedly deployed to assist in the evacuations of UNSC military bases and civilian population centers, suffering heavy casualties in the process.
As the UNSC fleet broke into shambles under the overwhelming force of hundreds of Covenant warships bearing down on them, any remaining ships retreated, and the defense of Reach quickly fell into chaos on the ground as Covenant ships laid waste to the planet. Extracting whoever they could from the battlefield before fleeing, the Arcadia retreated from the battle, suffering immense damage and barely escaping with anyone they could evacuate.
==== Battle for Earth ====
Having retreated from Reach, the Arcadia and whatever ships escaped along with them, minus the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, fled to Earth. At Earth, the UNSC Navy pooled almost all of their remaining ships and military assets, fearing the Covenant fleet was coming for Earth. Sure enough, only a few months after the Fall of Reach, the Covenant came for Earth.
John-117's actions during the battle were critical in turning the initial phases of the battle in the UNSC's favor. After one Covenant supercarrier was destroyed and the second departed the system to Installation 05, the battle remained relatively under UNSC control until the arrival of the rest of the Covenant fleets at Earth. The battle quickly turned into a horrific nightmare as Earth burned and Covenant ships endlessly streamed into the Sol system. Ignis was deployed across the globe as millions of distress signals were sent up calling for help.
=====Operation: MORNINGSTAR=====
After the arrival of the flood-infected ship, Indulgence of Conviction, on Earth, the city of New Mombasa quickly became an infested warzone as the occupants fought through the twilight to defend it. However, by nightfall the majority of the region was considered lost, with the Sangheili fleet resorting to glassing measures to stop the outbreak. However, after concerns were brought up about the Flood constructing a deep terrestrial hive to survive the cauterization, a group of marines and Sangheili volunteered to head into the containment zone to set a HAVOK nuclear charge in a deep strike dubbed "Operation: MORNINGSTAR".
In the late hours of November 17th, 2552, the operation commenced, with coalition forces quietly inserting into New Mombasa. However, they were quickly discovered by the Flood, who descended on them instantly with hundreds of Flood forms, killing or infecting several marines, but the initial assault was eventually stifled as the infected were gunned down by their own former brothers-in-arms.
Throwing infection pods from the tallest skyscrapers of New Mombasa, the coalition continued to suffer losses as they moved through the city, the Flood resistance growing even stronger as they approached the hive location. From previous fighting in the city, the Flood had also infected several UNSC M12 Warthog MAAVs and used them to ram groups of marines. Swarms of infection forms and infected marines, Sangheili, and Jiralhanae, assaulted the force.
After discovering the entrance into the Flood hive, the remaining forces of the coalition entered the hive, which proved to be an extensive network dug deep under the city by the Flood and was swarming with enemies. Blasting their way to the core of the hive, but suffering horrific losses in the process, the HAVOK nuclear charge was planted and armed. Planting the charge, the coalition was given 25 minutes to evacuate the city before the device detonated, destroying the hive and leveling the city, along with anyone still in it. Multiple D77-TC Pelicans were dispatched to evacuate survivors as they battled their way out of the hive.
At the evacuation site, now in the early morning hours of the next day, the Flood relentlessly attacked the survivors as they set up defenses and awaited the evacuation. Once the Pelicans arrived, the Flood swarmed over the vehicles, either completely destroying them or infecting them as the survivors' defenses crumbled. Observing the chaos from afar, an executive decision was made to remotely trigger a premature detonation of the nuclear device in order to prevent Flood forms from potentially escaping aboard a Pelican. The nuclear detonation could be seen for miles and it instantly vaporized the Flood hive, along with all Flood forms and remaining coalition survivors in the area.
The operation was devastating to Ignis Corps, seeing the near-total destruction of the unit, with the only members remaining being the ones who didn't participate in the battle.
=== Post-war ===
==== Operation: NULL FROST ====
During the Insurrection, Novanskoye, a small human outer colony world, faced an uprising by an insurrectionist faction that attacked the UNSC airfield on the planet. Lacking the equipment and firepower to hold off the insurrectionists, the UNSC forces opted to retreat, abandoning the airfield and the planet to the insurrectionists. Not deeming the planet worth the resources it would require to retake it, the UNSC decided to leave the planet alone for the rest of the Insurrection.
Novanskoye, due to its small size, little ship traffic, or population, and general unimportance to both sides, the planet was spared any fighting during the Human-Covenant War. After the end of the Human-Covenant War, the Covenant split into multiple remnant factions, either hoping to rebuild the Covenant, eliminate humanity, or just gain whatever power they could. When one of the remnant factions encountered the Novanskoye insurrectionists, the insurrectionists bought several Is'belox-pattern Banshees from them.
Once word of the insurrectionists possessing Covenant craft reached the UNSC, they deemed the retaking of the planet a priority and deployed the Ignis Corps, fresh from the Human-Covenant War, aboard the frigate UNSC Arcadia's Revenge, to retake the planet. On July 8th, 2553, the UNSC Arcadia's Revenge arrived in orbit of the planet in the early hours of the morning. Insurrectionist forces immediately began scrambling forces from the airbase and the surrounding town to establish defenses, and air assets were prepared, though the insurrectionists' banshees were held back in caution, not wanting to risk losing them immediately.
After being briefed, the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and several SPARTAN-IIIs of Ignis Corps were deployed, their drop pods landing in the mountains several miles beyond the town. The Arcadia's D77-TC Pelicans and UH-144 Falcons were deployed simultaneously to provide fire support and deliver vehicles to the battlefield. The insurrectionists deployed their inventory of vehicles to the outskirts of the town to defend against the attackers. Minor air battles began as the UNSC air support was engaged by insurrectionist attack helicopters.
Numerous insurrectionists and several light vehicles advanced beyond the defenses and into the forest where the drop pods had landed but were quickly ambushed and defeated by the ODSTs. With the SPARTAN-IIIs leading the charge, they advanced on the town. After reaching the town the Spartans and the UNSC air support quickly dealt with the insurrectionist vehicles, but insurrectionists had begun hiding in the town buildings and firing on UNSC troops from cover, causing the ODSTs to slowly clear each individual house of hostiles. During this moment of quiet in the sky as insurrectionist air assets retreated to a second line of defenses, UNSC Pelicans delivered several vehicles to the battlefield, including M808B Scorpion tanks and M12 Warthogs. The insurrectionists had also abandoned several vehicles in the battle, which the UNSC seized for their own uses as they pressed on to the second layer of defenses.
Despite their victories in the early stages of the battle, the UNSC would face heavy anti-air resistance on the second line of defenses, with insurrectionist air power and footsoldiers equipped with anti-air weapons firing on UNSC air support. A UH-144 Falcon was shot down along with a Pelican during the assault. UNSC Scorpion tanks retaliated by forming a battle line near a river and downing the remaining insurrectionist attack helicopters. Insurrectionist defenses quickly fell apart after the arrival of the ODSTs.
Running out of options, the insurrectionists deployed all their remaining forces, including their acquired Is'belox-pattern Banshees, previously kept hidden in the airbase's hangars, which attacked the UNSC forces pushing on the airfield, downing a second Pelican and causing it to crash on the runway. A SPARTAN-III and a team of ODSTs raided the air traffic control tower, capturing the operators and disabling communications to the Banshee pilots. The Banshees began strafing the airfield as ODSTs and vehicles streamed onto the tarmac. However, due to the inexperience of the pilots in handling their vehicles, several crashed onto the airfield, but being relatively undamaged, were swiftly commandeered by ODSTs, who took off to battle the remaining enemy fighters.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the UNSC ground forces had arrived at the airbase and began planting charges on the hangars, hoping to eliminate the remaining Banshees inside. The battle properly concluded once the remaining insurrectionist Banshees were shot down and the other Banshees were destroyed in their hangars. With the insurrectionist faction defeated, the UNSC was quick to reestablish proper control over Novanskoye, reclaiming the airbase and surrounding town, despite the heavy damage the location suffered during the battle. A local force loyal to the UNSC was put in place as Ignis Corps would return to Earth. Ignis would be debriefed by Office of Naval Intelligence personnel, which also confiscated the single remaining Banshee from the battle, claiming it to research. The captured insurrectionists would be detained by UNSC security forces and imprisoned at an unknown location.
Category:Ignis Corps