Insurrection

The Insurrection is the proper name given to an undeclared civil war fought between Earth's primary fighting, scientific, and exploratory agency, the United Nations Space Command and various loosely organized groups of rebels over control of the Outer Colonies, between the 2490's and the 2530's. Originally confined to Epsilon Eridani and the Eridanus System, by 2530 it had spread to several other systems.

Originally, the breakaway movements started as disquiet against the Colonial Administration Authority's oversight of the Outer Colonies, with the colonists tired of the organization's bureaucracy. Starting as peaceful protests, after years of frustrating negotiations some groups began to use more forceful methods, eventually abandoning diplomacy in favor of terrorist tactics. What had once been widespread support for the Insurrectionists quickly dried up at the outbreak of violence. Though they started out targeting only military and Colonial Administration targets, as the UNSC counterinsurgency operations began more and more innocent people were caught in the crossfire.

The supporters of the Insurrection were known in slang as "Innies", which was ironic if one considered how much the "Innies" wanted 'out'.

By 2524, the Insurrection had claimed a million lives. The various rebel groups had become extremely adept at creating improvised explosive devices difficult for the UNSC to detect, and therefore stop, and had struck many high profile targets, even in orbit above Reach itself. Opponents of the war believed the simplest solution was to simply give the rebels their autonomy - for the UNSC to pull out, and let the rebels have their independence. However, the value of the colonies made them simply too important to abandon.

Different groups used different tactics. The Insurrectionists of Epsilon Eridani preferred to use terrorist tactics, striking targets with explosives to sow fear and chaos in the region. The United Rebel Front of 111 Tauri, however, seemed to have an extensive paramilitary operation, including commandos, armored personnel carriers, and automated security drones. Another prominent group focused more on space combat, capturing UNSC warships (such as the corvette Callisto and the frigate Bellicose) and turning them against the UEG in bloody ship to ship duels. It is likely that there were other groups scattered throughout UNSC territory.

It is interesting to note that both the Spartan-I and Spartan-II Programs have links to the Insurrection. The first generations of supersoldiers were created right near the beginning of the unrest, while the latter were specifically created to deal with the projected results of the Insurrection - full-scale war within twenty years. After the attack of the Covenant, both assets were re-prioritized to deal with the new alien enemy.

A certain number of Insurrectionists believed that the Covenant would welcome them into their ranks, and also belived that the UNSC was somehow responsible for starting the war. This belief was eventually proved incorrect after the Battle of the Rubble.

Legacy

Ironically, the Insurrection may have ensured the UNSC's victory in the Human-Covenant War. As Codename: SURGEON stated in his 2552 report on Admiral Preston Cole:

Indeed, from the Insurrection came the Spartan-IIs, the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, and ships with Titanium-A Armor, all of which would prove crucial in the humanity's fight against the Covenant.

Known Insurrectionist Factions

• United Rebel Front
• Eridanus Rebels
• Secessionist Union
• Unnamed Rebel Group

Known Star Systems of Insurrection Activity

• Epsilon Eridani System
  • Tribute
  • Reach
• Eridanus System
  • Eridanus II
  • Eridanus Secundus
• 111 Tauri System
  • Victoria
• 23 Librae System
  • The Rubble
• Epsilon Indi System
  • Harvest
• Mamore

Timeline

2494

• Callisto Incident - A group of insurrectionists board a UNSC Corvette, Callisto and kill the crew. A naval engagement ensues as three UNSC light destroyers are sent to hunt down the captured ship.

• Insurrectionist forces take control of Eridanus II, establishing their own secessionist government in the wake of the coup d'état.

2496

• UNSC forces begin their campaign to retake Eridanus II, deploying a battle group of unknown size to engage the makeshift Insurrectionist defense fleet. Despite the UNSC's best attempts at removing the entrenched rebellion, ONI fails to discover the location of their base. This hollowed-out asteroid would remain a safe haven for Insurrectionists for another three decades.

2502

• Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE - Jerald Mulkey Ander, the leader of the Secessionist Union on Harvest is assassinated by Avery Junior Johnson.

2513

• Operation: TREBUCHET. Fighting breaks out in the Eridanus System first, particularly at Eridanus II and the space around it, as rebels supporting the system's breakaway from the UNSC build a small navy of civilian craft and attempt to take over the system. The disorganized Eridanus Rebels are eventually brought together by Colonel Robert Watts.
• The UNSC responds harshly, sending a Fleet of Destroyers and Carriers to the system to combat the rebel fleet. The resulting battle pitted the UNSC against at least one hundred smaller rebel craft. The UNSC forces defeated their rebel counterparts with little difficulty. During the battle, the rebels were routed and the remnants of their fleet fled into the asteroid belt to Eridanus Secundus. They would eventually establish a fully functional asteroid base and began conducting raids again by 2525.
• A ground campaign begins on Eridanus II, as units from the 9th Marine Expeditionary Force are sent to the planet in force, hoping to capture leaders of the movement and pacify the population. One of these units, the first Battalion of the 21st Marine Division commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ponder, was involved in a disastrous mission to try and capture a rebel leader - the second in command - in Elysium City, which ended in the leader's family being killed and Ponder wounded and demoted.

2524

• Fighting continues, now in Epsilon Eridani. By this point, the war has taken over a million lives, the majority of which being civilians. A Marine Battalion is posted at the colony world of Tribute, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Aboim and supported by the corvette UNSC Bum Rush and air support from Hornets. The battalion attempts to put a stop to rebel bomb makers. Two special warfare squads, led by Staff Sergeants Avery Johnson and Nolan Byrne, are involved in disastrous operation in June. Byrne's team is killed during a hostage situation at a Jim Dandy restaurant near Casbah city. Thirty-Eight civilians, three Marines, and two rebels are killed in the bombing. Byrne and Johnson are pulled from the system, and later sent to Harvest.
• Luxury liner National Holiday is destroyed by insurrectionists above Reach.

2525

• Assault on Eridanus Secundus - A team of SPARTAN-IIs are sent to Eridanus Secundus to eliminate Colonel Robert Watts. They succeed in doing so, crippling but not destroying the rebel infrastructure in the Eridanus system.
• Shortly afterwards, the Spartans were sent to halt a rebellion on Jericho VII.
• Operation: TREBUCHET was abruptly concluded with the start of the Human-Covenant War after the First Battle of Harvest. Though the Insurrection continued for a long time, the rebel threat in the system was rapidly decreased with the threat of the Covenant present. In the meantime, many of the rebels, seeing that the UNSC offered the only real protection against the overwhelming Covenant force, ceased to resist, and either submitted to the UNSC's control or hid themselves away from both UNSC and Covenant attack.

2531

• SPARTAN-IIs assault Camp New Hope on the planet Victoria and eliminate General Howard Graves, a prominent insurrectionist leader.

2535

• Scyllion Warehouse District Riot.
• Battle of the Rubble: The Rubble, an insurrectionist asteroid habitat is destroyed.

2537

• Insurrection of Mamore.

2552

• Massacre at Eridanus Secundus: A group of insurrectionists still hiding in Eridanus Secundus are killed by the Covenant after helping a group of UNSC forces.