Editing Battle of Alpha Corvi II

{{Era|HCW}}

{{UC}}

|prev=[[Battle of Chi Ceti IV]]<ref name="HCD1">''[[Halo: Collateral Damage]]'', ''[[Halo: Collateral Damage Issue 1|Issue #1]]''</ref>

|next=[[Battle of Bliss]]<ref>''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''</ref>

|conflict=[[Covenant War]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

|date=[[2525#December|December 3, 2525]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

|place=[[Alpha Corvi II]], [[Alpha Corvi system]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

|side1=[[File:Perfect White UNSC logo.png|25px]] [[United Nations Space Command]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

[[United Rebel Front]]

|side2=[[File:H5Covenant Logo2.png|25px]] [[Covenant]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

|commanders1=*[[Lieutenant Commander|LCDR]] [[Yao]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Petty Officer]] [[John-117]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

CAPT [[Whitaker]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

|commanders2=Sangheili [[Sangheili Field Marshal|Field Marshal]]<ref name="HCD2"/>

|forces1=*1 {{Class|Epoch|heavy carrier}}<ref name="HCD1"/>

*2 {{Class|Halberd|destroyer}}<ref name="HCD2"/>

*2 {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*1 {{Class|Marathon|heavy cruiser}}<ref name="HCD1"/>

*1 {{Class|Paris|heavy frigate}}<ref name="HCD1"/>

*2 {{Class|Vindication|light battleship}}s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[D77-TC Pelican]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[F-99 Wombat]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[GA-TL1 Longsword]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*1 unidentified ground vehicle<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Blue Team]] (4 [[Spartan-II]]s)<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Marines]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

*Militias<ref name="HCD1"/>

*Terrestrial battleships<ref name="HCD1"/>

|forces2=*7 {{Class|CCS|battlecruiser}}s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*2 {{Class|CPV|heavy destroyer}}s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Type-25 Spirit]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Type-28 Spirit]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Type-26 Banshee]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Type-44 Phantom]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Sangheili Minor|Sangheili minor]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Sangheili Major|Sangheili major]]s<ref name="HCD2"/>

*[[Sangheili]] [[Sangheili Ultra|evocati]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Sangheili Zealot|Sangheili zealot]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Jiralhanae]] [[Jiralhanae Minor|minor]]s<ref name="HCD2"/>

*[[Kig-Yar Minor|Kig-Yar minor]]s<ref name="HCD1"/>

*[[Unggoy]] [[Unggoy Minor|minors]]<ref name="HCD1"/>

|casual1=

|casual2=

The '''Battle of Alpha Corvi II''' was one of the earliest conflicts of the decades-long [[Human-Covenant War]], fought between the [[Covenant]] and the combined forces of the [[United Nations Space Command]] and local [[insurrectionist]]s on [[Alpha Corvi II]].<ref name="HCD1"/>

==Prelude==

In the short time that the [[UNSC]] and the [[Covenant]] had been aware of one another, the Covenant had begun to probe various [[Outer Colony]] worlds.<ref name="HCD1"/>

{{Quote|no=two|q1=They just came down and started killing people. Everybody.|Whitaker|q2=That's what they do. And that's what we're here to stop.|John-117|A leader of a [[URF]] militia describes the attack and John responds in confidence.}}<ref name="HCD1"/>

[[File:HCD-BRattack.png|thumb|left|300px|The Covenant forces that attacked Black Reef killed everyone in sight indiscriminately.<ref name="HCD1"/>]]

On [[2525#December|December 3, 2525]], a substantial [[Covenant]] force emerged from [[slipspace]] near [[Alpha Corvi system|Alpha Corvi]] and proceeded to move toward the system's [[Alpha Corvi II|second planet]].<ref name="HCD1"/> [[UNSC]] ships in orbit mounted a defense but a number of Covenent [[dropship]]s managed to land troops on the surface. At just three hours after first arriving in the system, [[Alpha Corvi II]]'s largest city, [[Jamshid]], was under assault by the main contingent of ground-based hostiles. [[Marines]] were holding their own there but enemy reinforcements were anticipated.<ref name="HCD1"/>

It was at this point that the four young [[Spartan-II]] warriors picked to comprise [[Blue Team]] were briefed on the attack.<ref name="HCD1"/> They were ''en route'' to the system aboard the {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}, {{UNSCship|Persian Gate}}. [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Yao]] informed the [[Spartan]]s that they would be dropping on the outskirts of Jamshid and engaging the Covenant from the rear. Their objective was to lessen the pressure on the main UNSC garrison within the city so that a proper counterattack could be prepared. It was also imperative, they were told, that they operate independently of [[Unified Ground Command|Ground Command]] and refrain from having any contact with anyone from the [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] whatsoever.<ref name="HCD1"/> The ''Persian Gate'' arrived at the besieged planet around thirty minutes following the Spartans' briefing and was met with urgent messages from officers on the ground. A separate group had detached itself from the main Covenant force and had landed troops near the island mining settlement, [[Black Reef]]. There was no UNSC presence there, but the town was being defended by local [[insurrectionist]] militias affiliated with the [[United Rebel Front]]. In light of this new information, Blue Team was redirected to Black Reef and ordered to neutralize the invaders there and discover why it was being targeted. During their insertion via a [[D77-TC Pelican]],[[Nora]], an [[A.I.]] on the ''Persian Gate'', introduced the Spartans to various scouting and reconnaissance enhancements their armor was outfitted with for this mission, including prototype [[active camouflage]] technology.<ref name="HCD1"/>

{{Quote|no=two|q1=This ain't our fight, Whit. Why should we help them after what they did to Watts?|[[Miguel]]|q2=You heard what he said about Harvest, Miguel? That's why.|Whitaker|Whitaker shuts down any thoughts of going back on their new undesirable but necessary alliance with the Spartans.}}<ref name="HCD1"/>

[[File:HCD-BTfighting.png|thumb|300px|right|By working with the URF, Blue Team was able to steer the Covenant troops right into its line of fire.<ref name="HCD1"/>]]

Blue Team was set down in a ground vehicle on the beach and immediately began taking fire from rebels encamped a short distance away.<ref name="HCD1"/> [[Kelly-087]] and [[Fred-104]] recommended taking them out quickly so they could move on to deal with the Covenant, but [[John-117]] opted for a different option. He activated his active camouflage and crept up on the small band, only revealing himself when he could reach out and touch their apparent leader. John identified his team as being responsible for [[Operation: TALON|capturing]] Colonel [[Robert Watts]] and argued there was no way they could hope to beat them. He told them what had [[First Battle of Harvest|happened]] to [[Harvest]] and through appealing to their immediate common enemy, was able to get the leader, [[Whitaker]], to agree to work together for the time being. At John's insistence, he ordered his squad to circle around and rendezvous with the rest of their forces at the edge of a lagoon. From there, they would hit the Covenant from one side and drive them toward where Blue Team lay in wait. In order to keep an eye on their uneasy allies, John sent along a surveillance [[drone]] to keep a visual on them. The insurrectionists took up position as planned and opened fire, catching the small contingent of aliens by surprise and sending them running. Blue Team too unloaded on them with [[BR55 battle rifle]]s when the distance between them closed. During the fighting, John's drone was destroyed by a shot from a [[Kig-Yar]]'s [[Type-25 plasma pistol]]. The [[Sangheili]] and [[Kig-Yar]] that remained escaped into the mouth of a tunnel that led deep into the mines beneath the reef's bedrock. John was determined to pursue them, not least of which because he was curious about [[Kindler|a strange device]] a Sangheili took in with him. Whitaker informed him that though the mine was an expansive mess of tunnels, it only had the one entry and exit, meaning the enemy was trapped within it.<ref name="HCD1"/>

The sudden new arrival of Covenant reinforcements in orbit prompted LDCR Yao to have Nora contact Blue Team.<ref name="HCD1"/> Yao let them know that a host of new dropships were inbound. Most of them were heading for Jamshid, but three Spirits would reach Black Reef in just three minutes. The naval battle over the planet looked to now be going very badly for the [[UNSC]]. Without any hesitation, Whitaker volunteered to hold the mine entrance with his people so the Spartans could pursue the others that had vanished within. Some militia started to question their leader's willingness to help the [[titanium]]-clad warriors, but Whitaker had only to remind them what John had said about Harvest. Soon, the Spirits were unloading Sangheili on the island who were met with a hail of bullets from the URF rebels.<ref name="HCD1"/> At some point after this, a plan enacted by the rebels triggered a cave-in that trapped Blue Team and its prey in the mine.<ref name="HCD2">''[[Halo: Collateral Damage]]'', ''[[Halo: Collateral Damage Issue 2|Issue #2]]''</ref> Despite this, the alliance with the URF held and both groups continued to fight the Covenant together, now with the goal of also keeping a [[Forerunner]] artifact buried deep underground out of its hands.<ref name="HCD3">''[[Halo: Collateral Damage]]'', ''[[Halo: Collateral Damage Issue 3|Issue #3]]''</ref>

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