User:SomethingDifferent/Fall of Volta

The Fall of Volta, also referred to as the Battle of Volta, was an extended engagement in the Human-Covenant War. It was faught on and around the human colony of Volta fought between the UNSCDF and the Covenant from January 11th to February 27th, 2552.

Background
Following the failed efforts at Ariel, the Covenant continued to search for Forerunner artifacts in UNSC controlled space. Intelligence gathered from Ariel lead the Covenent to Volta, a heavily populated human colony on the outer rim of the Epsilon Eridani system. On January 10th, 2552 the Covenant mobilised a fleet and proceeded towards Volta.

Opening complications
"Damn Innies, civil unrest is the last thing we need right now."

- UNSC Officer

In the early hours of January 11th, 2552, contact with Volta's three largest cities, Josikov, Venrod and Lister, was lost, prompting local UNSC forces to suspect rebel doings. Being collectively home to 73 million civillians, a large contingent of Army troopers were sent to each city. Later that same day command received scrambled messages of gunfire and screaming before all fell silent that same night.

The following morning the UNSC forces amassed an even larger force than the previous one, consisting of over 30 thousand Army troopers, a SPARTAN team and six Frigates this time. Expecting to be met with firm rebel resistance, the Frigates split into pairs and proceeded to each city to cripple ground-based units of the rebels. Instead, they were met with an enourmous energy shield surrounding each city, immune to all forms of weaponry and unable to be seen through. UNSC forces immediately knew that this meant the Covenant were on Volta and, in response, temporarily withdrew to devise a plan.

UNSC countermeasures
"We're mobilising every Naval and Army asset we can to take back what is ours. The Covenant are not going to know what hit 'em."

- Army trooper.

Baffled as to how the Covenant arrived on the planet undetected, local UNSC forces dramatically increased their numbers in the remaining cities, as well as around defensive installations. Fourteen additional UNSC Navy warships arrived in orbit around the planet, geosynchronus with the occupied cities. It was then that they were further confused as to why there were no Covenant ships in orbit. This prompted the UNSC forces to launch a full scale counterattack on the largest occupied city, Josikov.

Remembering that the energy shield was immune to conventional weaponry, command authorised the use of MAC rounds to attempt to penetrate the shield. Such a decision was met with stiff opposition from a number of UNSC Officers. On January 12th, several warships fired their MAC guns upon the shield surrounding Josikov, and to their satisfaction the sheild was disabled as a result. What they unearthed, however was a massive Covenant encampment, rather than the 35 million strong city.

Covenant response
Following the revealing of the sheer magnitude of the Covenant ground force, a fleet of eleven vessels uncloaked themselves directly above the six UNSC warships responsible for the strike on January 13th. Immediately the Covenant vessels successfully destroyed those of the UNSC, and soon after deployed an additional garrison of troopers to the surface to combat the advancing UNSC Army. The eight thousand or so troopers originally bound for the liberation of Josikov found themselves pitted up against an overwhelming force of 55 thousand Covenant soldiers, they dug in and began what would be a three day struggle against a larger force in a desperate attempt to capture the encampment..

In response to the devestation suffered at the hands of the Covenant, all Army assets were recalled from Venrod and Lister, and ordered to proceed towards what was formerly Josikov. The fourteen remaining UNSC warships moved to intercept the Covenant fleet consisting entirely of Corvettes. Knowing what had become of Venrod and Lister, a significant portion of the UNSC Home Fleet were enroute to Volta, a journey which would take two days.

Space battle and concurrent ground engagement
Intel transmitted from the destroyed vessels gave the UNSC the advantage of knowing what the Covenant fleet consisted of. They knew that their fourteen vessels, of which five were Marathon-class ruisers, would likely prevail in the skirmish if they could draw the opposing vessels away from the city, and towards the Super MACs some distance away.

Thirteen of the UNSC vessels formed around the eleven canons while a Frigate made a slipspace jump right into the middle of the Corvettes, before jumping back to the UNSC formation. Believing they had the battle on the ground under control, Shipmaster Svee Lantamee lead all the Covenant vessels towards the UNSC. Upon exiting slipspace within UNSC weapons range, Lantamee's fleet was fired upon by the Super MACs. Eleven of the eighteen Covenant warships perished, as well as four additional ones from the UNSC vessel's volley of fire. The remaining four Covenant ships exited the system via slipspace jump, but not before Lantamee's ship was struck by Archer Missle fire and disabled. Two frigates engaged the damaged vessel in ship to ship combat before Lantamee initiated its self destruct sequence, which destroyed both Frigates and the ship itself. Following the victory, the UNSC Heavy Frigates Saratoga and Grafton made landfall to reinforce the Army's assault on the Covenant occupied site. Meanwhile the remaining vessels held their position around the MAC platforms.

The ensuing space battle meant that the engagement on the ground was fought without the use of airborne assets. Hastily constructed fortifications proved insufficient to repel the attacking Covenant and as a result the Army troopers were constantly on the retreat. A Covenant force of twenty thousand, consting mostly of Grunts, Jackals and Elites were in pursuit of the fleeing UNSC forces. Upon reaching an immense rocky escarpment, the UNSC forces scaled its face and found themselves with a significant height advantage over the Covenant. This engagement at varying altitudes proved too much for the Covenant, who sustained heavy casualties in the assault. By dawn January 15th over five thousand Covenant infantrymen had been neautralised, compared to just 371 for the UNSC.