UNSC Nelson

The UNSC Nelson (hull number CVB-139) is a modified Punic-class supercarrier in service with the . Funded for construction to a modified design, the Nelson was built as a purely space-combat oriented carrier, in direct contrast to its other Punic peers. The Nelson sacrificed most of her ground combat capability in order to receive a far more capable arsenal of weapons, and heavier armour. Commissioned into the fleet in late 2524, she would see heavy service during the . She is one of the few ships in the UNSC Navy to have been built before the conflict and survive until the very end. Despite the advent of the upon the Orion Arm, the Nelson still serves as the UNSC's bulwark against the darkness, and shall continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
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==Service History==
===A Lonely Hulk, 2501 - 2524===
The UNSC Nelson originally began life as the CMA Actium, part of a planned Flight III of supercarriers for the . Laid down originally in 2501, the Actium would be the first to be constructed outside of the CMA's Zeus Special Assembly Plant over Steinhold after its seizure by the UNSC. As such it would be built at Camber by SinoViet Heavy Industries, although this more open, vulnerable shipyard saw it as a prime target for both Insurrectionist raids and ONI sabotage.
As time progressed, however, the CMA were gradually running out of funds to continue construction for their Punics. With part of their budget gutted and sent to the UNSC to assist in fighting the Insurrection, construction halted on the last two vessels, the Leyte Gulf and Taranto in 2504, then the Falkirk in 2505, and finally the Actium was halted on the slipway in 2506, with only the lower half of her fuselage constructed. She would remain in the dock, not completed nor scrapped, as SinoViet was unsure on whether or not to keep her. The Office of Naval Intelligence, however, would incentivise them to keep the hull intact for the time being.
In 2518, over twenty years after the Actium had began construction, the UNSC finally stepped in. They ordered for the Actium to be built to a new set of standards, as given out by the UNSC's Bureau of Ordnance. The head of BuOrd, Admiral Richard Watkins, used his considerable influence to arrange for the Actium to act as a psuedo-testbed for potential doctrinal steps. As such, the Actium, whilst commonly referred to as a supercarrier, is in fact more closely related to a battlecarrier, on the fence between regular Punics and the UNSC's spatial superiority vessels of the Vanguard-class battleship. 
The ground combat assembly areas were ripped out and replaced with either ammunition storage for Archer missile pods and point defence weapons, or new hangar spaces for GA-TL1 Longsword fighter-bombers. The amount of Titanium-A1 battleplate was increased significantly across the ship, with a minimum of four metres and a maximum of six metres around the observation/command deck, the thickest ever put on a UNSC warship.
The most major change in terms of weaponry was the addition of two Series 6 CR-01D Super MAC weaponsThe same Magnetic Accelerator Cannons mounted on the Vanguard-class battleship.. The doubling of the ship's main armament made it an extremely potent ship-to-ship combat vessel. The added Archer missile pods, point defence guns and naval coilguns solidified its reputation within ONI's design community that it would either be an unstoppable force of nature, or an extremely useless white elephant. Originally both the Actium and the Leyte Gulf were to be converted to this modified design, however BuOrd were restricted by budgeting, and as such were forced to only progress with the conversion of the Actium, now renamed the UNSC Nelson. 
Beginning reconstruction and redesign in 2519, issues with the structural implementation of another two SMAC systems delayed the fitting out process and would cause a number of issues with the weapons later on in her service life. Nevertheless, she was finally commissioned on the 21st of October, 2524, exactly 719 years after the Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Nelson's final victory.
=== Prewar Activity, 2524 - 2525===
In December 2524, after working up around Reach and Circumstance, the Nelson left for its first patrol in the Rantale System, a known hotspot for Insurrectionist activity. Escorted by the frigates Ray of Light and Orpheus, the Nelson immediately came under attack after entering the system from four Insurrectionist frigates, recently stolen from the scrapyards at Camber, before they were due for decommissioning.
In a six-minute engagement, the Nelson sank all four frigates. The engagement highlighted not only the power of the Nelson, but also the weakness of the frigates manufactured by SinoViet's Camber subsidiary, Albright Shipyards. This forced an inquiry into the strength of Albright Shipyards, revealing several flaws in all of the shipyard's products, some 43 frigates and destroyers. 
During 2525, rumours began to spread throughout the crew of several engagements with an unknown force around the Outer Colonies. This was put to rest when the UNSC officially confirmed the destruction of Harvest and Second Base by an alien force known as the Covenant, and the usurpation and annexation of the CMA by the UNSC. The UNSC Nelson was immediately recalled from its patrol near Camber, and redeployed to Reach. There, it was integrated into the newly formed Battlegroup Sarissa, under command of Rear Admiral Franklin Wright.
===Unicorn and Harvest, 2525 -2530===
Despite being the most powerful asset of Battlegroup Sarissa, it was decided that as it was the largest and therefore most dangerous ship in the squadron, enemy Covenant formations would target it, endangering the battlegroup's command staff. As such, Wright would establish the UNSC Markgraf, a Marathon-class heavy cruiser, as his flagship. Admiral Wright was considered by many to be a cautious commander, a reputation crafted after years of service during the Insurrection. Despite his reservations, Wright would be forced to enter his fleet into action against a force he had never faced before, as the Unicorn Terror began.
The Unicorn Terror began with the glassing of the planet Unicorn, hence the name. Fully eighteen colonies would be glassed in a three month period, leaving little for Battlegroup Sarissa to defend. However, fate would turn as a Covenant force of sixteen warships would enter the Muni System, where Sarissa had martialled to resupply and repair. The five capital ships and twenty escorts had interlinked their defence coordination with the planet's lone orbital defence station, a prototype Casablanca-class Heavy MAC. 
In a fierce fifty-minute engagement, the Covenant fleet was forced to retreat, leaving behind the wrecks of three CCS-class battlecruisers. However, the MAC station had been boarded and destroyed, and fifteen UNSC vessels had been destroyed, including the newly-commissioned carrier Izumo. Battlegroup Sarissa had taken 60% casualties, and it would take four months until repairs were completed and new ships were assigned to bring the squadron back up to operational capability. The Nelson had distinguished itself in the battle, destroying one Covenant battlecruiser and heavily damaging another. The Nelson's exceptionally thick Titanium-A1 battleplate was shown to be effective against most Covenant weapons, as the plasma torpedoes struggled to burn through the dense armour plating.
Despite the UNSC's success in repelling a Covenant attack, however, this setback would do little to affect the outcome of the campaign. As Battlegroup Gremlin rotated in to replace the battered Battlegroup Sarissa, a much larger Covenant force jumped in system, forcing all UNSC forces to retreat and leave Muni to its fate. Battlegroup Sarissa would be disbanded in April, and the Nelson was transferred to the Heimdall Fleet, the organisation responsible for retaking the planet of Harvest. At its peak, the force was 79 ships strong, formed around the battleship UNSC Leonidas. The Nelson was the headquarters of the fleet's Combat Aerospace Patrol (CAP) and spacecraft command, managing up to eighty squadrons at a time of Longswords, Nandaos, Baselards and Shortswords. 
It served in this role for 18 months, until it was rotated out and replaced with the Epoch-class carriers Corinth and Majestic. This came just in time too, as the Covenant Fleet of Valiant Testimony would join battle with the UNSC task force in the Third Battle of Harvest in 2529. Almost the entire fleet would be destroyed, giving rise to the mythos of the Nelson as a 'lucky ship', preventing a task force's destruction simply due to its presence.
After its transfer, the Nelson was sent back to the Epsilon Eridani System for a refit at the Anchor 17 star-base above Circumstance. It underwent refits for seven months, receiving more point defence cannons, new magnetic coilguns, more efficient MAC coil energy capacitors, and an expanded flight ops bridge, being retrofitted with the option to use a 'dumb' AI to increase efficiency. After this refit, it underwent trials at Reach and Tribute, participating in wargames with other Punic supercarriers. These exercises found that the new energy capacitors for the MACs on the Nelson increased the MAC velocity by 30%, and the range by 25%. These refits and wargames took a total of eight months, whereupon in recognition of her service, Captain Roberta Sanderson of the Nelson was promoted to Junior Commodore and given command of a frigate squadron. Her replacement was the newly-minted Captain , who would take command in November 2530.
===Harper's Wild Ride, 2530 - 2533===
====ENVY====
After assuming command of the Nelson, Captain Harper, a savvy political operator within the navy, used his connections and called in favours to establish a naval unit under his command, centered around the Nelson. After organising a force of nine escort vessels, Captain Harper then requested permission to organise several deep-penetration raids in to Covenant-controlled space. Such operations had never been done before, and there was a genuine concern for losing one of the UNSC's most capable ships in such a risky mission. Nevertheless, after several weeks of correspondence with UNSC HIGHCOM, and several backdoor deals with the , Harper prevailed. In March 2531, the Nelson and its escorts were deployed to enact Operation: ENVY, a mission to destroy high-value Covenant supply convoys and rear-echelon military bases. 
Unfortunately, as the force was due to depart, the crew received news that a UNSC force had been decisively defeated at the planet Pueblo II. This loss was compounded by the news that the Nelson's former captain, Roberta Sanderson, was the commander in charge of the squadron, which had been destroyed. This news had the effect on the crew, as Captain Harper later said:
After a two week slipspace journey, the Task Force CopenhagenNamed after Admiral Nelson's stunning victory in 1801. would exit slipspace on the 9th of April in the previously-undiscovered Yaan'ril System. This system contained one habitable planet being used as a Covenant shipyard, with four Onura-pattern supercruisers and two Esgem-pattern assault carriers in varying stages of construction orbiting the planet. These facilities were guarded by a fleet of four Covenant capital ships, and numerous escorts. The guarding fleet was the immediate priority of Battlegroup Copenhagen, and they engaged in battle. Unfortunately for most of the escorts, the blind jump calculations would lead to the ships exiting slipspace in close proximity to the Covenant picket ships.
The Nelson's weapons were the deciding factor of the skirmish. Her four Super MACs wreaked havoc on the picket force, often causing collateral damage to the small single-ships on both sides. Whilst UNSC force was whittled away until just one other vessel remained, the cruiser Sydney, the Nelson more than made up for the UNSC's loss of numbers through her sheer firepower. Rear Admiral Eleanor Rigby, then a Junior Weapons Officer on the bridge of the Nelson, described the Nelson's destructive force:
After twenty-five minutes of combat, the Nelson's weaponry fell silent. The entire Covenant force in the system had been destroyed in its entirety, with only the Nelson and Sydney remaining. Despite their success, by no means had it been an easy fight. The Nelson had lost chunks of its armour plating in several places, most notably along the top deck. The armour had been penetrated at the ship's forecastle to the extant that you could enter the ship through the hole. Over 80% of her missiles had been expended too, and her MACs were down to three rounds each. Her reactor, which had been redlining throughout the battle, was also in danger of overloading, and as such the decision was made to return to Reach for repairs and refit. They would arrive at the fortress world on the 19th of June, taking extra care to avoid known Covenant force concentrations.
==== CORRIDOR ====
After the success of Operation: ENVY, The UNSC military command saw the usefulness of conducting another operation. However, due to the onset of a Covenant offensive, any offensive action was delayed as potential reinforcements and repairs were expedited to forces actively fighting on the frontlines. The Nelson also needed to be substantially repaired after the action, given its ferocity. By the time another such operation was possible in late 2532, UNSC HIGHCOM demanded extensive reconnaissance of potential targets to lower overall losses. Despite the success of ENVY, almost all of the fleet was destroyed due to the blind jump. Several ONI Prowlers were sent out on long-range surveillance missions in November 2532 to find possible targets. After three months of no contact, the prowler Bucephalus would report the Gorgana System as a prospective target. Several large refueling stations were observed, as were large mining facilities orbiting the system's methane planet. 
In preparation for the new mission, titled Operation: CORRIDOR, the squadron was repaired and reinforced. Although the Sydney had been withdrawn from the battlegroup to reinforce UNSC defensive squadrons in the Outer Colonies, twelve frigates and three destroyers were attached to Battlegroup Copenhagen, and a further addition was the modification of the Nelson to allow a Black Cat-class prowler to be fitted to the underside of the hull, for a quick deployment if further forward reconnaissance was required.
The battlegroup set off on Operation: CORRIDOR on the 19th of February 2533 for the Gorgana System. The force would arrive on the 5th of March, where they encountered all of the reported installations, as well as an defensive flotilla of four SDV-class heavy corvettes. The Nelson and destroyer Undertaker would quickly silence the Covenant corvettes, prompting the fleet to begin systematically destroying the system's stations. Despite Harper's careful planning, however, the Covenant were to respond to the presence of Battlegroup Copenhagen, and in less than two hours a force arrived to do battle with Harper's flotilla. 
Alerted to the presence of the fleet through their own stealth ships stalking the fleet, their slipspace vector outbound from the abandoned Cruxis System would be catalogued and reported to the regional Covenant command. Battlegroup Copenhagen was now boxed in, with the Covenant fleet blocking the UNSC force from its avenue of retreat. Captain Harper, aware that the entire force would likely be destroyed if decisive action wasn't taken, ordered the fleet to break, and run the gauntlet to the system's LaGrange Point. The escape was a near-run thing, as then-Commander Eric Gerasimov recounted for a UNSC Inquiry Board: 
Harper's order to break ranks and withdraw ensured the destruction of all escorting forces. All ships bar the Nelson would be sunk or scuttled before they even made it to the LaGrange Point, with the Nelson only surviving due to her durability and heavy armour. The armour may have been the only thing protecting the ship from destruction, with much of its starboard plating being burnt away by plasma fire, and twelve of the forty-eight magnetic coils powering its four MAC systems overheating and melting. 
Battlegroup Copenhagen had been destroyed by the Covenant ambush, and even though four refuelling stations, a deuterium mining rig and four warships had been destroyed, the benefits of the operations in no way outnumbered the cost. The Nelson would arrive at Reach, battered and cowed, on the 23rd of April. Captain Harper was reassigned from the Nelson, and as punishment was was given command of a backwater regional of UNSC space facing no action, where he would remain for quite some time. The Nelson would spend nine months in drydock receiving repairs and a substantial refit, along with replacements for the 1,587 personnel lost in the operation. Harper was replaced by Commodore , who would command the Nelson for the rest of the 2530s. 
===Battlegroup Yorktown, 2533 - 2540===
Due to the failure of Operation: CORRIDOR, any more offensive action in Covenant-controlled space was shelved indefinitely, sidelining over half a dozen plans to take light squadrons into Covenant-controlled space. Once her repairs were finished, the Nelson was attached to Battlegroup Yorktown, centered around the battleship UNSC Wisconsin. This battlegroup, consisting of 45 ships, was considered as the UNSC's rapid response force to intervene in any Covenant offensive operations at short notice. Led by Admiral Eric Darlan, the fleet participated in three campaigns and twenty-two single battles, in which seven planets were saved from glassing, and another thirty-two had to be evacuated and abandoned. 
Losses of Battlegroup Yorktown were so severe that of the original ships in the task force, only the Wisconsin and Nelson survived until the squadron's disbandment in 2540. The battlegroup's casualty rate was a staggering 500%, and yet despite this it was still the most successful battlegroup against the Covenant in UNSC history, excluding Admiral Cole's Battlegroup India. The battlegroup was eventually disbanded, when it was determined the doctrine of rapid response fleets were obsolete when dealing with capital ships that could destroy entire planets in mere hours. 
The campaigns also showed the capability of Commodore Hood, who was proven to be an expert tactician, strategist and ship-handler. He also introduced the concept of frigate-racking, whereby a large capital ship such as a Punic-class supercarrier could carry on its hull several Paris-class frigates, to allow the capital ships to travel with their own escorts. This concept was tested on the Nelson at the Battle of Warden, where the Nelson was able to travel ahead of the battlegroup with her own escorts, to prevent the Covenant destruction of the planet Warden and its capital city, Santa Cruz II. 
Hood's career was put on the afterburner, and he was catapulted from Commodore to Vice Admiral, and given command of all remaining UNSC forces in the Outer Colonies. He was replaced by Captain Keith Staten, who had originally served on the Nelson at its commissioning as the head of engineering. He would lead the Nelson in a wartime patrol near the edge of UNSC space, based at New Harmony. 
===Disaster at Redcoat Moon, 2541===
In November 2541, the Nelson was ordered to conduct a wartime patrol in neutral space, around the Illiad System. This region of space was notorious for the large and random asteroids that would fly through space, and would often hit starships if they couldn't evade in time. Captain Staten was new to the area, and had never operated in this area before. His executive officer, Commander Jacqueline Azana had served several tours in the area, where she witnessed firsthand the corvette George Custer's destruction at the hands of an asteroid twice its size.
Escorted by five frigates and two destroyers, the Nelson detected a signal echoing the shape and size of a Covenant assault carrier. Sensing a possible opportunity to destroy a Covenant capital ship without having to deal with an entire fleet, Staten ordered the Nelson to charge towards the motionless Covenant warship, despite the protests of Commander Azana, who suggested that a reconnaissance patrol with the onboard Prowler could be done first. 
This protest was ignored by Staten, who ordered the Nelson to continue at speed. It was then when a large asteroid the size of a UNSC frigate hit the Nelson, ripping a whole through several decks, destroying a docked Charon-class light frigate awaiting a top-up of supplies, and shearing off the front half of the command bridge. This was followed up by another two asteroids hitting two escorting frigates, destroying them both, and another asteroid heavily damaging the destroyer Stockton.
In the immediate aftermath of the hit, Commander Azana was left in charge as Staten had died when the asteroid impacted. Also dead were 30 bridge crew, 500 flight crew (whose living quarters were on the decks breached by the asteroid), and 100 marine personnel. This total did not include the deaths of all crewmen aboard the three frigates destroyed by the asteroid hits, and the heavily damaged destroyer. In total, the incident killed about 1800 personnel, and destroyed three frigates, as well as damaging the Stockton beyond repair, causing it to be scuttled later in the day.
The patrol was immediately ended, and all units proceeded back to New Harmony, where they then were sent to Reach for substantial repairs. When HIGHCOM found out about the incident, they were absolutely livid. An official inquest found that Captain Staten was completely at fault for the disaster, and as later reconnaissance patrols into the asteroid field found out, the signal was an echo created by a Covenant probe to trick UNSC ships into entering the asteroid field and risk damage or destruction. Commander Azana was commended for her attempts to stop the destruction, and was given command of the Nelson along with a promotion to Captain. It would take six months to fully repair the Nelson, and it would be welcomed back into frontline service on July 4th 2542.
===FLY SWATTER, 2542 - 2544===
As the Nelson was fully repaired, an operation conducted by a UNSC hunter killer group under the now-Admiral Harper was conducted, culminating in the Battle of Terra Invicta III. This engagement saw seventeen UNSC ships destroy fifty-four Covenant vessels, including two of the feared assault carriers. This stunning victory was not only a propaganda coup for the UNSC, but a doctrinal success for Harper and the Aggressors, who advocated for more incursions into Covenant space. These incursions were authorised, and almost 200 UNSC warships were redirected to begin planning for several operations intruding into neutral and Covenant space. 
The Nelson was one of the ships commandeered, and was the lead ship in Task Force Waller. The battlegroup, commanded by Admiral Eric Bougainville, consisted of twenty-one vessels. The ten battlegroups that made up the offensive fleet of Operation: FLY SWATTER were all made up of elite naval groups, led by experienced officers and crewed by veterans, as specifically requested by Admiral Harper, who would be leading the offensive from his flagship, the heavy cruiser Thunderstruck. 
The offensive kicked off in December of 2542, as all ten battlegroups made random slipspace jumps towards Covenant territory. Task Force Waller exited slipspace in the Pegasi Foxtrot System, a key Covenant mining depot, and rally point for invasion fleets. In the system was a fleet of thirty Covenant warships, only four of them combat-capable. The long-range MAC guns of the battlecruisers and the Nelson gutted the Covenant's capital ship advantage, as they destroyed two large battleships. The two remaining Covenant capital ships, an assault carrier and a smaller, but still capable light carrier, turned to face the threat, as did their escorts. 
Over the course of two hours, both battlegroups battered each other with MAC rounds, plasma torpedoes, nuclear missiles and plasma lances, until the remaining Covenant vessels were forced to retreat. Whilst Task Force Waller lost three frigates, a destroyer, and the cruiser High Voltage, they managed to inflict 27 casualties on the Covenant fleet, leaving only two light destroyers and a battlecruiser intact. After the retreat, Task Force Waller was given free reign in destroying the Covenant mining facilities. The resistance was so lacking, that the frigates Diamantina and Cairns began to compete over which vessel could destroy the most Covenant installations. 
Leaving the system on the 26th of December, they met with Task Force Emden at the Biko System, which had been gutted in a Pyrrhic victory at the Psi Octavius System. The remaining vessels were integrated into Task Force Waller, and the squadron set off once again looking for targets. After receiving a report from an ONI Prowler that a convoy of Covenant merchant vessels had halted at the Chimera System, Azana ordered the fleet to engage, arriving in-system on the 19th of January. The convoy, consisting of two light destroyers, a single corvette and seventeen heavy freighters, were caught completely off guard, with the escorts being destroyed in the first salvo. Despite the freighters' attempt to flee, most were destroyed in the process bar two vessels. ODST boarding parties would take severe casualties in the process of capturing these ships. Discovered in these vessels were replacement Wraith tank armour plates, Jackal shield gauntlet parts, and an intact lance of Covenant Ghosts. The equipment was quickly stowed in the Nelson's spacious storage bays, with the freighters then scuttled.
The fleet then left the system again, rendezvousing with the Phoenix-class fleet replenishment ship Menestheus. Once completed, the task force then set off again, to cause more damage in Covenant space. Operation: FLY SWATTER would continue on for the next fourteen months, until all forces were recalled as a new Covenant offensive began. The operation had been an enormous success, as despite losing thirty-four ships, the UNSC inflicted a serious amount of damage. Over 400 Covenant warships were destroyed, hundreds of freighters captured or sunk, and dozens of dozens of mining rigs, resupply stations and other support installations had been neutralised. The offensive also tied up several hundred Covenant warships in defending convoys and chasing after the UNSC battlegroups. 
All remaining UNSC ships arrived back at Reach on the 9th of July 2544, greeted with the news of Admiral Cole's sacrifice at Viperidae the year before. Both actions had destroyed 700 Covenant warships combined, and it looked as if the UNSC had put the Covenant on the backfoot. Things couldn't have been further from the truth. 
===The Nelson's Finest Hour, 2544 - 2550===
In response to the Battle of Viperidae and Operation: FLY SWATTER, the Covenant found themselves restricted in their operations. The severe losses of ships meant that the new Covenant field commander, Fleetmaster , would have to restrict his operational scope for the time being, at least until further reinforcements arrived from the Covenant Core. Due to this, he would elect to attack the strategically-vital Tirana System, one of the few UNSC bastions remaining outside of the Inner Core. At this time, the Nelson and its crew were enjoying some well-deserved R&R at Tribute, along with the remaining ships from Task Force Waller. They would only receive two weeks of their scheduled time of two months worth of leave, however, when they were recalled to their ships to deploy to Tirana. Formed into the adhoc Battlegroup Nelson with forty other vessels under the command of Rear Admiral Danforth Whitcomb, they would arrive in-system on the 11th of June 2544, where they immediately began to prepare the system's defences, as ONI prowlers had spotted a Covenant force martialing near Tirana. The Covenant force, the Fleet of Everlasting Entropy, was a deadly unit, helmed by the fearsome Fleetmaster Akro 'Navamee and had within it many elite forces, such as the Fra'shad Legion. Despite the odds, Whitcomb knew surprise would be his best weapon, and so prepared an ambush. Using cargo freighters as bait, he would position his force within the asteroid belt of the gas giant Tirana IV, waiting for the Covenant to arrive. Upon their arrival, and their classic doctrinal tactic of closing to engage the defenceless transports, Whitcomb would then encircle their force, destroying it in piecemeal fashion. 'Navamee would in fact fall for the trap, however quick-thinking would save his fleet from destruction as his fleet blasted through a portion of Whitcomb's cordon around them. The Nelson did not shrink away from the battle, destroying four warships, however the weak state of both Battlegroup Nelson and the Fleet of Everlasting Entropy would mean neither side wished to commit to another engagement. 'Navamee's force would remain around the newly-conquered planet of Epirus, whilst Whitcomb, the Nelson and the UNSC would expand the defences of Tirana. 
For the next six months, both sides would fight skirmishes in an attempt to drive the other back. UNSC convoys attempting to reinforce the planet would have to run the gauntlet to Tirana, battling Covenant light forces, and fighters such as Seraphs and Banshees. The first six months would cost both sides a combined total of eighty vessels, as more and more ships kept being fed into the meatgrinder. Six months would turn into two years, and two years would turn into seven, as the Siege of Tirana became a focal point for the fiercest space battles of the war. Whilst lacking the same numbers as Cole's Last Stand at Viperidae, and the single-battle significance as Muni and Terra Invicta III, the ferocity of the skirmishes and the endless casualty numbers that would run in the news in the Inner Colonies made Tirana a household name, as well as Admiral Whitcomb and the Nelson. 
The siege would finally end in a Pyrrhic victory for the UNSC, as the remaining Covenant fleet withdrew, taking their outposts and gains on other worlds in the system with them. The campaign had cost the UNSC over 140 ships, 750,000 soldiers, sailors and marines, and left one third of Tirana permanently glassed. However, it had been a victory. There would be no respite for humanity, however, as the Covenant's final offensives began. 
===The Waiting Game, 2550 - 2552===
The Nelson would begin 2550 by evacuating civilians from Meridian as further Covenant attacks attempted to batter down the fortress moon. This action would cost the Nelson, as she was heavily damaged in the action shielding merchant vessels and ships filled with refugees via her sheer size. Nevertheless, she would continue to operate in campaigns and withdrawals even after serious damage, only undergoing expedited repairs to necessary systems. Dozens of worlds had been glassed by December 2550, and the Nelson had been involved in a streak of losing battles and evacuations, many times barely escaping. It was in this period of time Captain Azana was promoted and given command of the UNSC's 12th Cruiser Squadron, being replaced in her role as captain by David Franklin.
The Nelson would arrive at Mars after the evacuation of civilians from the Psi Draconis System in late December, in desperate need of a major overhaul and refit. As such she would put in to SinoViet's Ganymede orbital drydock, where her crew and the drydock technicians would spend the next thirteen months refurbishing and repairing the vessel. The old and worn Heavy MACs would be stripped out and replaced by more powerful Super MACs stripped off of the hulk of a Vanguard-class battleship, and the secondary battery would undergo a serious refit. Four Viper coilgun batteries would be stripped and replaced with thirty-six pods of Howler missiles, and the point defence network would be ripped out and replaced with factory-fresh weapons and fire control systems. The engines would be refurbished, the slipspace drive replaced with a newer model from assembly lines in New Paris, and most of the portside armour plating, which had been burnt down to less than a metre of Titanium-A1 battleplate, would be replaced. The Nelson would exit drydock on the 16th of January 2552, and undergo sea trials for two weeks before being accepted back into service.
In January 2552, the UNSC HIGHCOM would make the decision to withdraw all heavy units to the main UNSC fleet bases and planets. Anything from heavy cruisers up was pulled back to the Inner Colonies' 'Stronghold' worlds. Earth, Reach, Concord, and Tribute became the redoubts of the UNSC's major fleet power, as the Covenant onslaught continued on. The Nelson, having just finished her refit, would find herself deployed to Earth as part of Fleet Admiral Harper's , leading a squadron of the UNSC's last few heavy carriers not deployed at Reach. Task Force 58, named after Admiral Raymond Spruance's World War Two fast carrier task force, contained the Nelson and seven other fleet carriers that had survived the costly withdrawals to the UEG's stronghold worlds. Combined it was a total of 3,350 spacecraft, from Longsword fighter-bombers all the way up to Pelican gunships and even Sabre interceptors.
It was in May 2552 that the Nelson, for the first time in its career, was equipped with an AI. The UNSC's AI research development centre in Potsdam, Germany, had created one of the first third-generation 'smart' AIs. The AI, named Fraser, would assist the overall management of the ship, as the organisation and deployment of the carrier's air group was given to the 'dumb' AI, Katie. The Nelson was the only ship in the UNSC's ever-dwindling fleet to be issued with two AIs, with the exception of the battleship Mars. 
For the next three months the Nelson would simply wait in orbit around Luna, running simulations and exercises that kept the crew ready for combat. By this time, the crew of the Nelson, and all other ships in the Home Fleet knew it was a matter of when the Covenant found Earth, not if. Whilst in some ships this caused a drop in morale, on the Nelson this realisation hardened the resolve of the sailors and pilots, and this morale boost extended to other ships in Task Force 58. However, no morale boost could make up for the news that Reach had been destroyed, which reached Earth in early September, from the few ships that managed to escape the catastrophe. 
The rest of the UNSC Home Fleet prepared for what may be their final stand, awaiting the arrival of the Covenant fleet in what would be humanity's equivalent to the Alamo. They would be given their chance on October 20, 2552, as the Prophet of Regret's Fleet of Sacred Consecration arrived in the Sol System.
===Earth Sustained Defence Campaign, 2552 - 2553===
The Nelson was in the middle of training up four new YSS-100 Sabre fighter squadrons when the Covenant fleet arrived. Immediately martialing Task Force 58, Fleet Admiral Hood gave the order for the task force to launch as many squadrons as possible, and to stay away from the Covenant battlegroup, due to his fear that losing carriers could be a blow to the UNSC's capability should more Covenant forces appear. The commander of Task Force 58, Daniel Burke, obliged, and deployed the carrier groups of the Hearthstone and Warrior, whilst keeping the remaining CAGs in reserve.
As the battle continued onwards, more and more fighter forces were deployed. Whilst several of the ODP platforms were destroyed, the Covenant fleet was taking losses, and Hood ordered the Nelson and Midway to close order with one of the Covenant assault carriers, as it made its attempt to break contact and get to the surface of Earth. However as they began to engage, another Covenant fleet entered realspace only several thousand kilometers away from the two supercarriers. The supercarriers attempted to withdraw with the aid of several covering frigates, however the Midway was gutted by a plasma beam from a Covenant supercruiser, spelling the end for the ship's service. The Nelson did escape, albeit at the cost of the escorting frigates and a metre of its port Titanium-A1 plating, taken away by the same plasma beam that destroyed the Midway.
For the next few days, the space battle raged on, as the UNSC and Covenant continually received reinforcements, escalating the battle. At its climax on the 5th November 2552, over eight hundred warships were involved in the fleet action, from UNSC corvettes to Covenant assault carriers. Task Force 58 over the battle turned from a carrier group into an ad-hoc battlefleet, containing frigates, destroyers, cruisers and battleships. The Nelson would take credit for the destruction of two CAS-class assault carriers, and assisted in the destruction of a number of other Covenant vessels. Upon the arrival of the Prophet of Truth's Forerunner dreadnought, and the reinforcements provided by the Arbiter's Fleet of Retribution, the Nelson and its remaining task force was augmented with the CCS-class battlecruisers Unforgiving Defiance and Devotional Diligence, and tasked with the destruction of the now seriously-outnumbered Brute-controlled ships in the Sol System. By the 12th of November, all resistance had ceased, and Earth was considered secure. The wrecks of over six hundred vessels, UNSC and Covenant, were littered across the solar system, however the UNSC Nelson had survived the battle, due to the superb ship handling of Captain Franklin and the augmentation of the ship's systems with the two AI. 
The Nelson would require a serious rebuild, however. Almost all of the port-side armour had been burnt through, several hull decks along the bottom of the ship had been breached, several of the SMAC's magnetic coils had overheated, and the ship's complement of 350 single ships had been reduced to just 23 Longsword fighters, almost all of whom were refugees from the destroyed carriers of the original Task Force 58. The Nelson, Spruance and Jupiter were the only three carriers to survive the Battle of Earth from Task Force 58. The 12,500 servicemen on board the Nelson at the beginning had been reduced to just 7,300. Breached sections of the hull killed hundreds, reactor technicians were melted by radiation leaks, air crew killed by bombing runs on the hangars, and the ODST complement had all dropped into Sydney, only to be killed to a man by Brute war packs.
The Nelson would be repaired and reinforced with new sailors and flight crew, and its complement of spacecraft would be fully restocked. By January 2554, the Nelson would be operating at full capacity, at the helm of a new task force: Task Force Marauder.
===Reconquest and Rejuvenation, 2554 - 2558===
The Nelson's service with Task Force Marauder was hectic. The battlegroup's existence was, officially, to conduct heavy reconnaissance of the UNSC's former colonies that had been glassed by the Covenant. However, in the more secretive tasking given to the squadron by ONI, their actual objective was to destroy all ex-Covenant Remnant forces in the Outer Colonies, regardless of their intention to humanity. The task force was also ordered to engage Insurrectionist activity across the Outer Colonies, and prevent any cooperation or purchase of weapons by rebel groups from alien vendors.
Led by the Nelson, the task force originally consisted of five destroyers and eighteen frigates, but by 2557 would grow to encompass 75 combat vessels and 14 support vessels based at the colony of Concord. It was so large that the flotilla was renamed Battlegroup Marauder in 2555 - this change in designation would lead to expanded support and combat assets. An example of this was the considerable Spartan detachment on board the Nelson, consisting of six Spartan-III/IV fireteams. By 2558, Battlegroup Marauder was considered to be the most capable battlegroup within the UNSC Navy, and the Nelson one of the most prestigious ships in the fleet.
Throughout the postwar period, Task Force Marauder would clear out Remnant bases and growing colonies on either abandoned or glassed worlds, securing them for eventual UNSC recolonisation. Whilst not the largest engagement, their Skirmish at Harvest was the most profound, with the Nelson orbital bombarding a colony of Kig-Yar attempting to establish a pirate base on the surface. It was widely talked about, inciting anti-xeno sentiment within the UEG due to the psychological impact an alien colony on the first destroyed human planet caused. Nelson and Battlegroup Marauder had destroyed dozens of alien remnant forces, and captured several Insurrectionist worlds for occupation by the UNSC.
Battlegroup Marauder would participate in the later stages of the Second Battle of Requiem, aiding the UNSC Infinity in clearing out surrounding Storm Covenant forces from the systems around the now-destroyed Shield World. At this point, however, the Battlegroup would be sidelined from major offensive actions after Second Requiem, anchored around Concord for the next few months. There, the battlegroup's commander, Admiral Jacqueline Azana, former captain of the Nelson, would unfortunately be killed in an Insurrectionist attack on Concord's UNSC General Headquarters in the capital city. Replaced by Admiral Theodore Moseby, Battlegroup Marauder would stay at Concord until the Created Crisis occurred in late 2558.
=== The Created Crisis, 2558 - 2561===
The first news the UNSC forces at Concord would receive of the Created uprising would come from an emergency transmission broadcast from Earth, warning of Cortana's reemergence and the destructive force of the Guardians she commanded, before it would be cut off via unknown means. This would give Battlegroup Marauder time to prepare for the assault on Concord, focusing on evacuating key UNSC and ONI personnel from the planet along with any and all munitions that could be secured. The flurry of operations was so fierce that aerospace traffic control on Concord struggled to keep up, instead deliberating evacuation efforts to Fraser, the Nelson's onboard AI. Despite suspicion, Fraser proved himself to be loyal to the UNSC, and even exposed two other smart AIs within Battlegroup Marauder that were part of the Created's domain. 
The Guardian scheduled to subjugate Concord would arrive five hours later, delayed by a malfunction in its slipspace drive. it would arrive to see the entirety of Battlegroup Marauder readying to leave Concord, having evacuated most UNSC forces from the planet in an attempt to discourage deadly force against the civilian population. Jumping to slipspace on the 28th of October 2558, Battlegroup Marauder would conduct a series of random and blind jumps, losing thirty-four ships in the process, before finally halting in the abandoned and unoccupied Darina System. Anchoring around Darina III-4, one of the moons around the system's sole planet, the command staff of Battlegroup Marauder would plan out their next course of action. 
Despite acknowledging the precarious situation the fleet was in, Admiral Moseby, supported by the Nelson's captain Erika Amarov, would order the flotilla to begin guerrilla operations against the Created, starting in the region of space surrounding Concord. Their first target, after dispatching Winter-class prowlers to reconnoiter several Created-controlled planets, would be a Forerunner mining facility on the planet Orikan, rediscovered by the Created AI Odysseus. Orikan, garrisoned by a potent force of Forerunner Armigers and Created-aligned ex-UNSC marines, was guarded from spatial attack by a sizable force of Jackal pirates, commanded from the DDS-class carrier Eck'lagal's Pride. Twenty-two ships of Battlegroup Marauder would enter the system on the 30th of November, deploying ODSTs and SPARTANs from the Nelson and the carrier Vengeance in a breakthrough operation to capture any mining equipment and data caches. 
The short naval fight that would subsequently follow would result in the destruction of all Jackal warships and Armiger warriors, with a sizable amount of ex-marines laying down their arms and being reintegrated with the force. Whilst some argued against this in the fleet, Moseby was adamant in their acceptance, due to the nature of their service - they had accepted service on the condition that they would not fight UNSC forces. In this regard Battlegroup Marauder would significantly expand its ground capability, and return to the Darina System, turned into a base of operations. Three weeks would be set aside for the expansion of facilities above and on the moon orbiting the gas giant, with a rudimentary mass driver set up on the planet in lieu of a substantial heavy lift capacity Moseby had forfeited when evacuating Concord, to load more equipment and supplies on board his vessels. 
On the 25th of December the Nelson would lead a small force of thirteen ships on a raid on a Created-aligned Jackal pirate base in the Sarkanda System, decimating the pirate base and destroying all the vessels anchored in-system. This would be followed on the 23rd of January with an ambush on a Created convoy transporting Armigers and Prometheans from Concord to Infernus, although this attempted operation would be stalled. The Nelson would withdraw having taken substantial damage, although shielding most of the escort vessels from Created fire. Only two ships would be lost in the raid, nevertheless it was an unfortunate defeat that would slow the tempo of Battlegroup Marauder's operations for the next month. Arriving back at Darina, the Nelson would receive minimal repairs due to the lack of support facilities capable of repairing the Nelson. The fleet's sole Cradle-class vessel, the Agamemnon, was barely able to restore structural integrity to the ship's portside armour, causing Moseby to move his flag from the Nelson to the battleship Superb to continue raiding operations. 
Contacts that the UNSC remnant had established on occupied worlds and independent albeit-Insurrectionist strongholds would report that the UNSC still had a sizable presence around the planet Delta Aximand, including several repair yards capable of servicing supercarriers such as the Nelson. Further investigation would reveal that the facility was in fact real, as established by the Nelson's AI, Fraser - a cloak-and-dagger operation run by the Office of Naval Intelligence during the Human-Covenant War to repair prowlers and ONI vessels, the system had remained undetected by the Created due to being an off-the-books support base only known to ONI itself.
The Nelson would begin the perilous journey to Delta Aximand on the 13th of May 2559, escorted by three frigates and carrying a full complement of spacecraft. Departing the Darina System at 09:12, less than three hours after the supercarrier's departure a Created Guardian would enter the system, systematically destroying all resistance and most vessels of Battlegroup Marauder. Greeted by the news upon arriving at Delta Aximand three weeks later, the Nelson's crew were demoralised, tired and at the breaking point. After seven months of constant operations and missions on a level not seen since the dying days of the Human-Covenant War, most of the crew had had enough. Docking with the system's Special Assembly Plant, the Nelson would remain in the confines of the drydock for nine long months, with the crew confined to the ship, conducting routine maintenance as shipyard technicians conducted a serious refit on the Nelson, with the limited materials available.
Fortune would turn for the UNSC Nelson, however, in September of that same year. Despite lying idly in her drydock for the better part of the year, the refit work had progressed slowly, mostly thanks to the ingenuity of her crew and the drydock techs. Their efforts would be supplemented by the arrival of a composite UNSC task force on the 16th. Made up of three frigates, a destroyer and a heavy cruiser, the garrison of Delta Aximand would soon learn they were but the vanguard of a far larger force, escorting a convoy of mobile UNSC repair stations and evacuees. In an extraordinary stroke of luck, these mobile repair stations had been carrying equipment, weaponry and replacement parts taken from the UNSC's largest fleet repair-and-replenishment base in the Outer Colonies, the fortress world of . 
Several of the larger orbital drydocks had been evacuated from the ex-CMA capital planet of Steinhold in the earlier years of the , which had been used to refit the CMA's Punic-class supercarriers during the . Given that the UNSC remnant force had loaded as much equipment as possible from these stations, they had given the opportunity for the Nelson to have new life breathed into it. Instead of dying a slow, painful death in an isolated, exile shipyard, the UNSC's fightingest warship would live to fight another day.
The Nelson would lie in drydock from September 2559 to September 2560, receiving a substantial refit and replenishment, the scale of which the vessel hadn't seen since its lengthy overhaul in 2551. The first segment the dock workers began on was her electrical systems. Only receiving casual repairs by her crew since the end of the Human-Covenant War, the systems were on the verge of overloading and shutting down completely, having been strained and under constant use for the past two years. The five week process involved the installation of brand new fibre-optic cables from the bow to the stern, direct integration of on-board AI with every individual system within the ship - something that had only been done on a a select number of ships beforehand - and the rewiring of all weapons systems to a series of separate electrical grids, segmenting the systems so if one grid failed, the remaining systems would not. 
As work on the warship's electrics wrapped up, the engines were the next target. Whilst not much could be done to improve them drastically, parts taken from Steinhold and manufacturing complexes on board the drydocks were put to work fabricating newer sets of systems, pipes and equipment, to replace the older, worn parts. Whilst this would not dramatically increase the Nelson's speed or maneouvrability, it would bring her back up to standard with her design specifications. Her reactor also received work at this time, replacing several high-risk ports and reactor tubes.
The Nelson next had her weapons upgraded. All remaining point defence guns were stripped from her hull, and replaced with newer systems, either recently-produced or recycled from ships due for scrapping. This did mean the warship had fewer point defence weapons than before, however the weapons were augmented with the installation of an AN/SEC-23 multirole laser system taken from the hulk of a Hermes-class surveillance cruiser - which doubled their effective range and greatly improved their targeting capability. The SMAC systems on board were repaired, however no major work was done to them - there were limits to what the Steinhold drydocks could accomplish with such limited resources on hand.
Finally, the last major changes were to occur to the onboard manufactories, hangars and spacecraft control. Much of the repair shops and hangars were refitted with the latest technology finding itself on newer UNSC carriers, and several manufactories close to the hangar, flight and repair decks were converted into fabrication centers for spare parts for Longswords, Pelicans and other spacecraft, whilst new lifts were installed to move between decks. With new facilities also came new squadrons and fighters, as six squadrons of and an experimental squadron of strike fighters were embarked aboard.
With the refit work completed in September of 2560, the Nelson worked up once more around Delta Aximand, preparing and training for her next operation. Commodore Julius Samori, the ranking officer in system who had delivered the convoy from Talitsa, was aggressive and a Concord native - and due to rumours of Cortana's death and the dispersal of the Created's forces, he received little resistance when he presented his plan for the liberation of his home planet.
=== Liberation Day, 2561 - ===
On the 23rd of December 2560, the resurgent Nelson, surrounded by the warships of Battlegroup Liberation, entered the , to be greeted by a scratch force of twelve Created-aligned warships - Kig'Yar mercenaries, AI constructs and ex-UNSC contractors, all taken completely by surprise. The fleet was destroyed within a matter of minutes, as a second UNSC force emerged from slipspace, this time carrying the experienced and vengeful veterans of the 19th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The garrison fleet swatted away, Battlegroup Liberation converged upon Concord, readying themselves for the long, grueling campaign ahead - despite the meagre defence fleet in orbit, the ground forces on Concord were well-equipped and numerous.
==Design Doctrine==
The design considerations of the UNSC Nelson were radically different to any preceding UNSC carrier. The classic, famous Orion-class assault carrier was known to be a fantastic ground support ship, with limited usefulness in space combat due to its terrible speed and lack of offensive weaponry. The Epoch-class heavy and unmodified-Punic-class supercarriers were good at space combat and ground support, but could not do either as well as the Orion-class or the UNSC's battleships, respectively. The Nelson was an experiment conducted by the UNSC, to evaluate how a supercarrier geared entirely towards ship-to-ship combat would fare, and if it was practical. 
Combining the armour and heavy weaponry of a UNSC battleship with the single-ship capacity and launch capabilities of a carrier was a step in a different direction, and unfortunately for its advocates, a step that would not be taken any further after the Nelson. Despite the funds being set aside for the conversion of the CMA Leyte Gulf (which was to be renamed Nimitz), this capital was quickly seized by ONI to fund the development of MJOLNIR armour, to be utilised by the SPARTAN-II program. Whilst not deliberately targeted at the concept of the 'battlecarrier', it had an unfortunate effect of stunting any further investigation into the idea, and it would not be looked at by UNSC scientists and doctrinal theorists until after the Human-Covenant War, notably when they had the wreck of a destroyed Covenant battlecarrier to study. 
The Nelson was built in several sections roughly 500 metres in length each. Whilst the staggered construction did somewhat weaken structural integrity, the strategic use of honeycomb bracings at certain joins in the hull, as well as the average of five metres of Titanium-A1 armour plating across the fuselage, meant that the vessel could take an astounding amount of hits from plasma torpedoes, and even glancing blows from plasma lances. However, it did have an issue along the bottom of the hull, where a large amount of the ship's maintenance and repair bays were situated, under the hangar decks. Due to the expansive bays, open rooms and high ceilings, the structural strength of the lower decks left much to be desired, which would be made known to the UNSC in the aftermath of the Disaster at Redcoat Moon. 
The addition of two extra SMAC weapons into the hull of the Nelson was an alarming decision for many design analysts in the UNSC's Bureau of Naval Construction, and ONI's Materials Group. It was felt that this added firepower was excessive, and two SMACs could do to the same job as four against any ship they were likely to face. However, the designers of the Nelson pushed on, managing to secure the four SMACs place in the ship. This small victory would have huge long-term ramifications, as the Human-Covenant War began. Its MACs made the Nelson the UNSC's heaviest hitter in terms of a full salvo, as no other ship in its arsenal even came close to its power. As such, the Nelson would be used sparingly, most of the time against larger Covenant vessels. The official tally of the ship's kills is that it has destroyed over five assault carriers, three supercruisers, two battleships, four light carriers, and twelve battlecruisers, along with a slew of other warships. However, it is the ship crew's belief that the actual tally is much higher. 
== Notable Locations==
=== Hangar Deck E1===
Hangar Deck E1 is a small enclosed hangar on the underside of the Nelson. Originally meant to be a facility specialising in the salvaging and repair of the carrier's fighter complement, the small size meant that it was mostly overlooked for use, being left vacated and abandoned. However, it has become a hotspot for the crew whilst on down time, acting as a den for the enlisted members of the crew. It is used to host game nights, alcohol distilling and to stash personal belongings that would be considered contraband by UNSC military law. The officers and captain of the vessel all know of its existence and use, however turn a blind eye, as it has become a way for the enlisted crew to let off steam.
===Admiral Hood's Rec Room===
Admiral Hood's Rec Room, named after the UNSC's most famous Chief of Naval Operations whilst he was commander of the Nelson, refers to a suite of rooms located upon the top deck of the Nelson. A remnant left over from the CMA's original plan for the Punic-class as mobile fleet support bases capable of containing amenities for the crew, the Rec Room is a huge space the size of several tennis courts. Containing an enlisted and officer's section, the Rec Room features views, lounging areas, a well-stocked and well-positioned bar, and even a games area for the crew to relax and rest whilst off-duty. The deck would be named after Admiral Hood in 2536, where it was said during the Battle of Alluvion in a Covenant ambush, Hood was forced to command the ship from the Rec Room due to the deck's exits being cut off by fires and the depressurisation of non-essential areas.The deck has undergone remodeling several times through refits, however the main shape has stayed the same and the amenities only expanded and upgraded. The bar too has remained unchanged, as The Drunken Admiral remains a favourite of the crew, with its 19th-Century style and Royal Navy memorabilia and artefacts, generously donated by Lord Admiral Hood's estate and the Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth. The historical piece that holds center stage in the small dining area of the Drunken Admiral, however, is the bell from the HMS Nelson, the British Second World War battleship. Traditionally, the bell is rung before any offensive operation taken by the ship, and supposedly Hood himself rang the bell when commanding the Nelson from the Rec Room at Alluvion. 
== Notable Crew ==
===Roberta Sanderson===
Roberta Sanderson was the first captain of the Nelson, leading it from their early victories at Rantale and Muni until the long tour of duty at Harvest that ended mere days before the Covenant counteroffensive wiped out most of the UNSC's vessels in the system. Known to many as a kind, calm and disciplined officer, Sanderson was also very affable and often took the time to meet with enlisted crew, having memorised most of the names of all in the ship's complement - by no means an easy task for a vessel as large as a Punic. Beginning her career as a junior gunnery officer on the battleship Arizona, her skill with the weapons systems she worked with - namely, the Arizona's powerful CR-01D Super-Heavy MACs - would be of great importance to her later career, especially when she assumed command of the Nelson in 2524. Sanderson would move around frequently in her career, seen as an exceptionally-talented officer that led to her career being fast-tracked. Serving as the executive officer on the cruiser Peitho, captain of the frigate North Face and later the cruiser Tasman would see her create cordial relationships with several high-ranking UNSC Navy officers, including the head of the Bureau of Ordnance, Richard Watkins - the main influence behind the refurbishment and reconstruction of the Nelson.
Upon the Nelson's commissioning in 2524, Sanderson was there waiting to accept command from Admiral Watkins and the UEG's Minister of the Navy, Celine Ada - and would receive the sword of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson himself, an item that would become the unofficial sigil of the captain of the Nelson. Sanderson's background in gunnery would lead to heavy emphasis on accuracy and first-strike capability, when on training exercises and in the field on operations. Sanderson's insistence on expert gunnery was what led to the Nelson securing its first kill at the Battle of Muni, and its reputation within the Heimdall Fleet as one of the best warships in service, design and crew-wise. Unfortunately, Sanderson's rising star would be shot down not long after leaving the Nelson, after her promotion to Commodore in 2530. Her valiant service and sacrifice of her command at the battle of Pueblo II, however, was in vain, as the planet would be glassed and her squadron wiped out to the last man. Her death was a tragic blow to the morale of the crew of the Nelson, however served as motivation to put their best foot forward when conducting Operation: ENVY.
===Joseph Harper===
Joseph Harper, whilst mostly known as the aggressive, competent flag officer that gained the moniker 'Lightning' after his series of high-profile raids against the Covenant in the early 2540s, was the second captain of the Nelson. Assuming command of the warship in 2530, Harper would work to keep the Nelson's crew in good condition, and endeavoured to ensure that they were always improving their skillsets. Harper would join the UNSC Navy as a Trainee Midshipman straight out of school in 2512, graduating fourth in his class at the on . Posted to the carrier Millennia, Harper would see his career placed on afterburner as he quickly proved himself to be an immensely-capable officer and leader. Volunteering to lead ground assaults on rebel positions during the would see him earn Lieutenant, and in the early days of the Human-Covenant War, the rapid expansion of the navy saw him promoted to Lieutenant Commander. Harper's service on the cruiser Nancy, and command of the carrier Sparviero, was headlined by his aggressive tactics that often saw him place himself and his ship in tremendous risk, however these stunts would win him battlefield victories, and earn him yet more accolades - especially due to his benefactor, Fleet Admiral Harry Gutierrez.
Admiral Gutierrez would retire from service in 2530, and would die soon after - however, his final act of service was to exert his tremendous influence to promote Harper yet another rank, and place him in command of the Nelson - making him one of the youngest captains in the UNSC, at age thirty-six. Harper would provide a new perspective on the captaincy to many of the crew, who had only served under Sanderson. Whilst not as affable or friendly as Sanderson, Harper was calm, collected and striking, with his management of the Nelson in battle an organised affair. His aggressive nature led to the offensive operations of ENVY and CORRIDOR, both led by Harper from the Nelson. As stated by many survivors of the two operations that witnessed Harper's leadership, his cool demeanour inspired many of the bridge crew to keep calm and carry on. However, despite crew testimony, CORRIDOR's abysmal failure would see Harper stripped of command and relegated to Commandant of the Mare Nubium Academy - where he would remain until circumstances assisted his return to active service. 
Harper would return to the frontline effort after successfully leading a deep-penetration raid that destroyed over forty Covenant vessels in 2541. Receiving a promotion to Rear Admiral, and encouraged by both Admirals and to lead further raids into Covenant territory, Harper would begin preparations for hiss largest offensive yet - Operation: FLY SWATTER. Harper would request for the Nelson by name, tracking her squadron's movements and engagements throughout the whole campaign. Upon FLY SWATTER's end in 2544, Harper would address the crew of the Nelson, in a televised speech now known as the 'Harper Address'. This speech, broadcast to the entire UNSC, advocated for nothing but tenacity and defiance against the Covenant, in what became the moment that familiarised the general public to the exploits of Harper. Whilst FLY SWATTER would end, and the Nelson and Harper would go their separate ways - Nelson to Tirana, and Harper to the Atlas Moons - Harper would inevitably end up as the commander of the UNSC Home Fleet in 2551, a fleet of which the Nelson was a part of. 
===Terrence Hood===
Terrence Hood's rise to Captain, and commander of the Nelson was an extremely messy affair. Whilst originally praised for his competency and brilliance in naval combat - spurned by the guidance and support of Captain - would lead to his rise to the command of the cruiser . However, Commander Hood's failure to locate a log buoy dispatched by Captain Cutter after the latter's disappearance in 2531, and the near-destruction of his vessel, led to his reassignment to the frigate . However, Hood's time with the frigate would be short-lived, as the Burlington's actions during the Battle of Nemphris would see to his promotion to Captain. Furthermore, upon the recommendation of then-Minister of the Navy Celine Ada - Hood's mother-in-law - the aging, British noble would be given command of the Nelson in April 2533, replacing Captain Harper. 
Hood was well aware the Nelson was his last chance to ensure he could continue his rise through the ranks, and took to command with great gusto. His firm, decisive mannerisms led to a well-organised, efficient bridge, with his crew affectionately calling him "Lord Hardass Hood". His actions during the Battle of Warden - where he debuted the frigate-racking tactic - were outstanding successes, bringing much-needed propaganda victories to the public. The Nelson's service with Battlegroup Yorktown was a meritorious affair, as Hood showed much pride in presenting his ship in the best light possible - to the top brass and the press. His time as captain of the Nelson is the longest in the ship's storied history, spending over seven years in command of the supercarrier, even rising to the rank of Rear Admiral, although he notably refused the command of a destroyer squadron when given the opportunity in 2538. 
Even when Hood left the Nelson in 2540, with a promotion to Vice Admiral and a new assignment as Officer Commanding, UNSC Forces Outer Colonies, his influence remained. After the Redcoat Moon Disaster, he ensured that Keith Staten was court-martialled and Commander Azana, the ship's executive officer since 2537, received command after the investigation. In 2544 he pulled strings for his friend, Admiral Whitcomb, to deploy the Nelson to the Tirana System, and would directly order the carrier to be integrated into the UNSC Home Fleet after its refit in 2552. The Nelson would remain Hood's favourite ship in the navy, even inquiring as to its whereabouts during the Created Crisis, as he had to flee from Earth and into hiding. Upon being asked by his Spartan bodyguard:
===Jaqueline Azana===
Jaqueline Azana was no stranger to the Nelson when she received command of the supercarrier in 2541. Her career started in 2525 as a junior engineering officer aboard the vessel, until in 2527 she was pulled off the ship to fill the slot of chief engineering officer on the cruiser Sydney after the Battle of . Azana's affinity for machinery allowed her to excel in this position, certainly assisted by her ability to work well with almost anyone. Her natural charm and likeability allowed the engineering crew on the Sydney to flourish, and these deeds were not unnoticed as she received a promotion to Commander, and a lecturing spot at the in 2531. At the academy she would be known by many of the students as a friendly, appreciative and patient teacher, however she began to be affected by the ever-constant reports flowing back to Mare Nubium of former students being killed in battles that were coming increasingly-close to Earth.
Azana would apply for a transfer out of the academy to a warship in active service in 2537, being stationed on the Nelson thanks to her exemplary record in engineering and her friendship with Mare Nubium's Commandant, Joseph Harper - who also happened to be colleagues with Admiral Hood. This set of extremely fortunate circumstances would start the chain of events leading to Azana taking command of the warship she had served on at the very beginning of her career, as Captain Keith Staten led her into the Disaster at Redcoat Moon. Azana proved her leadership skills in the immediate aftermath of the asteroid's impact on the Nelson, withdrawing the flotilla and organising damage control efforts on the Nelson and all the other vessels in the task force. 
Azana's quick thinking and immediate action after the disaster was noted by the committee formed to investigate the Redcoat Moon Disaster, which ultimately commended her for her actions and recommended she be elevated to the position of the Nelson's captain, a recommendation that was strongly supported by Admiral Hood. As such, Azana would lead the Nelson through the grim days of the late 2540s, with her leadership skills and engineering expertise critical to the ship's survival through pivotal battles, such as the Tirana Campaign and the Battle of Meridian. It was only after the Nelson entered into a period of substantial refit where she would be given a promotion to Rear Admiral, leading the 12th Cruiser Squadron in the fight from her flagship, the Canarias. Managing by some miracle to avoid the catastrophic defeats at Reach and Earth, Azana would end the Human-Covenant War at the planet of Concord, once a fiercely-contested battlefield that had bled dry, with the Covenant nowhere near the strategically-salient colony.
However, Azana's involvement with the Nelson would not end there. Post-war, Azana would be given command of Task Force, and later Battlegroup Marauder, leading the unit from the Nelson. The meritorious service of her flotilla would see her promoted yet again to Vice Admiral, destroying dozens of Insurrectionist and Covenant remnant forces in the Outer Colonies - which inevitably put a large target on her back, as the face of the UNSC's reclamation campaign. Ultimately, she would die on Concord to an Insurrectionist-placed bomb - so infamous was she that no less than seven different rebel groups claimed responsibility for the attack. In her honour, the Nelson's largest hangar was named after her, and a plaque dedicated to her would be set into the floor just in front of the door to the command bridge.
==Awards & Battle Honours==
====Awards==== 
*UNSC Unit Citation (Awarded 2525)
*Warspite Capital Ship Award (Awarded 2531)
*UNSC Unit Citation (Awarded 2542)
*Meritorious Service Conduct Medal (Awarded 2553)
*Royal Navy Nelson Award (Awarded 2554)
*UNSC Conspicuous Service Medallion (Awarded 2563)
*Preston J. Cole Warship Excellence Award (Awarded 2565)
====Battle Honours==== 
*Rantale (2525)
*Muni (2527)
*CORRIDOR & ENVY (2531-2533)
*New Pegasus (2534)
*Manticore III (2535)
*Alluvion (2537)
*First Warden (2538)
*First Atlas (2538)
*Dragon's Teeth (2539) 
*FLY SWATTER (2542-2544)
*First Tirana (2544)
*Second Tirana (2545)
*Third Tirana (2546)
*Epirus (2546)
*Fourth Tirana (2548)
*Brindisi (2550)
*Camber (2550)
*Second Meridian (2550)
*Earth (2552)
*Second Requiem (2558)
*Orikan (2558)
*Sarkanda (2558)
*Infernus (2559)
*Concord (2561-62)
===Campaign Ribbons=== 
*The Insurrection (2491-2525)
*Unicorn Terror (2526-2528)
*Harvest Campaign (2525-2531)
*Defence of the Outer Colonies (2531-2546)
*Atlas Moons Campaign (2538-2550)
*Tirana Campaign (2544-2551)
*Siege of the Greydowns (2548-2551)
*Defence of the Inner Colonies (2541-2552)
*Human-Covenant War (2525-2553)
*BARE NECESSITY (2554-2556)
*Created Conflict (2558-2562)
== Remarks ==
 April 4th, 2550.
 November 15th, 2525.
 December 9th, 2544.
 June 5th, 2559.
 March 18th, 2538.
 July 19th, 2551.
 August 1st, 2534.
==Gallery==
DT-FOTM Feb2024 - Runnerup UNSC Nelson.png|Fanon of the Month (FOTM) Card intended for February 2024 for UNSC Nelson by , card was made but article lost in a close, last minute vote.
==Notes==
Category:Carriers
Category:UNSC Starship
Category:UNSC