The Battle for Epsilon IV

The Battle of Epsilon IV was fought between the UNSC and Covenant Alliance. It took place in July 28th through August 2nd of 2535.  The First Battle 

On July 28th the Epsilon IV defence fleet picked up an in system slip space rupture. The Fleet Captain, Captain Web immediatly ordered his fleet of to engage the covenant fleet, but not before sending a distress signal to Lord Admiral Darnath. The UNSC ships charged into the Covenant battle line. in the first hour the UNSC lost 4 Frigates with only killing a covenant Cruiser. As the Battle raged for 3 more hours the UNSC Prowler Watch your back armed all of its Nuclear mines and charged the Covenant Battle ship Judgment. While the ship was still a mile a way the prowler went into slip space and exited a hundred yards in front of the Judgment. The Prowler rammed into the battle ship at just under the speed of light. When the Prowler was over the Judgments engine reactors the ships nuclear mines detonated completetly ahhnilating both ships alone with 4 light Cruisers, 1 destroyer and baddly damaging an Assault carrier. Dissapointingly the crew of the Watch your back died in vain as the entire Defence fleet was already destroyed.

Message Recieved

On July 29th Navcom Admiral Darnath received the distress signal from Epsilon IV. He immediatly dispatched the defence fleets of Epsilon III and Epsilon VI to rendeveux with the Fleet already at Epsilon V. Admiral Darnath gave the strike force command to Fleet Admiral Vor. When Vor recieved his orders to move he only grudgingly followed them not understanding why his fleet was being redeployed. When Fleet Admiral Vor's ships rallied with the other two fleets all three commanders instantly saw the grave situaition they where in as what would call for a fleet of 90 UNSC warships? It was only here that the Fleet Admiral and two Fleet Captains heard of the Covenant attack on Epsilon IV. Admiral Darnath Designated the Fleet Battle Group Epsilon. Admiral Darnath immedatly ordered the fleet to go to Epsilon IV and secure the planet.

The Second Battle

On the early morning of July 30th the 90 ships of battle group Epsilon arrived just outside of Epsilon IV on the opposite side of the planet as the Covenant where. As the fleet Commanders put together a battle plan the Covenant fleet attacked. Fleet Admiral Vor was forced to throw away all their previous options and attack the Covenant fleet head on. As the two races ships charged towards each other the admiral ordered the UNSC Vostok, UNSC Tannenberg and UNSC Voltry Kej to leave the fight head strait to the plannets surface. The Admiral knew he needed to get troops on the ground to protect the Defence guns on the surface. He then dispatched 15 Frigates to cover the ships heading towards the surface from Covenant attack. As the two main fleets became within range the UNSC fleet let loose with their MAC guns. The opening barrage against the Cruisers at the for front of the fleet were dessimating. 1 Cruiser was destroyed while another was crippled. This would normally be celebrated by the commanders but Fleet Admiral Vor had set his sights on the assault carriers and Battleships. Before the battle the admiral ordered all the frigates to engage the assault carriers while his heavy Cruisers and destroyers engage the Battleships. Just as the fleet was budging through the cruisers a Covenant assault carrier fled the fight and went to the planet surface. Alone with the Assault carrier 3 covenant Cruisers went to attack the 3 UNSC ships heading to the surface. The 15 UNSC Frigates engaged the 3 Cruisers. When the Cruisers came within range the Frigates opened up with their MAC guns and Archer missles against the closest Cruiser the resulting barrage completly destroyed the cruiser.

Back at the main fleet engagement as the UNSC fleet moved closer to the battleships 2 assault carriers moved in to block there path. On Admiral Vor's command the remaining 75 ships all opened fire one the assault carrier on the right. The Combined firepower from MAC guns and Archer Missles took its sheilds out in the first 20 seconds of firing. The remaining rounds and ordance literally blew the carrier in half making the perfect hole for the fleet. The Frigtes here split up to engage the remaining assault carrier. The Cruisers and destroyers immediatly opened up on the Battleship. Unfortunaltly the rounds and missles did not affect the sheilds at all. It was after this first barrage that the battleship opened up with its plasma and pulse lasers. The opening attack from the two battleships destroyed 2 ships and crippled 3 others. As the stalemate continued for another 36 minutes the Frigate UNSC Albany ordered its crew to abbanded ship. The captain took personal command and drove the ship into the front of the battleship. This valorus act took out the battleship's sheilds and upper decks. This was the opening Admiral Vor needed. His force engaged the Battleship with all their archer missle,MAC's and Shiva Nuclear missles. The devastaing ordance blew the ship apart. The fleet's Frigates destroyed the assault carrier but being stuck in a stalemate with the battleships cost the fleet dearly. Admiral Vor ordered his 30 remaing ships to the edge of the system to lick their wounds. Unlike the Watch your back the UNSC fleet destroyed 15 of the 20 Covenant ships. The Prophet of Justice was left with a single battleship and only 2 cruisers and 2 destroyers, and the battle was just beginning.

 The Ground War 

As the UNSC Vostok, UNSC Tannenberg, and UNSC Voltry Kej entered the planet's low atmosphere the 19th ODST battalion and Spartan Teams prepared to drop to the surface in their SOEIV's. At 2:25 pm Spartan Blue and Red teams deployed from the UNSC Tannenberg to one of the planets defence guns. Their orders where to help the defence force defend the guns batteries. Once the Spartans where on the ground they fortified the defence guns and waited for the 223rd marine battalion to reinforce them.Later 8 Pelican dropships carring marines and armour from the 223rd battalion flew in to deploy the reinforcements at Spartan Blue and Red teams positon. On the way in 4 covenant Banshee fighters intercepted the Pelicans and their 5 Longsword fighter escorts downing 3 pelicans and 1 Longsword. The other 5 Pelicans made it safely to the drop point. Elsewhere the 19th ODST Battalion deployed with the 556th Battalion to some of the planets defense laser batteries some 5 kilometers outside of Adrenus.

Meanwhile a mile away from the capital city of Adrenus the covenant assault carrier began assaulting the city. The ship began its attack by launching a plasma torpedo at the cities orbital elevator. The entire city went into complete chaos as the elevator fell a top their heads. The carrier then proceeded to glass the city killing thousands of civilians which afterwards dozens of Phantom dropships poured out of the ships hangers deploying hundreds of troops. The civilians and defence units in the city fled the covenant and went to the defence lasers that the 19th ODST battalion held. Unbeknown to the civilians they brought the covenant army with them. By nightfall the civilians and capital defence units met up with the ODST's and 556th Marine Battalion. At 11:32 pm the first covenant forces crashed into the UNSC lines and the first battle with ground forces was fought. By 11:29 am on July 31st the first covenant wave was halted. The two sides stared at eachother from fortified positions.

The Revant 

By noon of July 31st the Brute controlled Frigate Revant entered the battle in an in atmosphere slipspace exit. Reports say that the frigate was fleeing UNSC forces and made a random Slipspace jump but that has yet to been confirmed by ONI. The Frigate exited over the glassed Capital of Adrenus and immediatly supported the covenant ground troops by deploying their Brutes.

Left in the ruins of the Capital building in Adrenus the planets A.I Stephen, retaliated against the covenant. He commandeered two UNSC Frigates and a Marathon Class Cruiser that were being repaired from the Battle of Iron. All three ships weapons were out of operation but the enginges were fully functional. Stephen Flew the ships at the brute frigate attempting to destroy the ship by ramming it. The Revent saw the ships coming towards it and fired its two broadside Pulse lasers. The lasers destroyed the two frigates but the Cruiser was untouched. putting all power to the enginges Stephen rammed the cruiser into the frigate. The resulting explosion Annhilated the ships and scorched 16 acres of land.