An Alternative Human-Covenant War

This timeline for the Human-Covenant War diverges from the canonized timeline because of a single campaign promise made by Nils Thune while running for reelection as Harvest's governor.

Pre-War
It was 2524, and Nils Thune was in the middle of a close gubernatorial campaign against challenger Dale Jenkins. In order to gain votes in the tight race, Nils Thune proclaimed under his leadership, not one citizen of Harvest would be victimized by the Insurrection. To make good on his promise, he discreetly sent for a UNSC security expert to analyze the risk. The UNSC deployed Lt. Commander Jilan al-Cygni undercover as an efficiency expert. She arrived in system on August 21st, and learned that multiple ships had gone missing in the two months prior. Suspecting Insurrectionists, she requested the deployment of a scout ship and recommended that Governor Thune begin training a militia. The militia began training on October 15th under the command of Captain Ponder and his drill sergeants Nolan Bryne and Avery Johnson. The Prowler, CMA Argo arrived in system on January 13th of 2525.

Skirmish Over Harvest
The Skirmish Over Harvest occurred on January 17th, 2525, and nothing changed from the canonical timeline. The same day the government of Harvest requested a battle-group to be deployed. After analyzing data acquired from after-action reports, Argo requested an entire fleet six days later.

Skirmish On Harvest
The Skirmish on Harvest occurred on February 3rd, 2525. It was the first part of, what in the canonical timeline, is known as the First Battle of Harvest. Other than being classified as a separate event, nothing is changed from the canonical timeline.

First Battle of Harvest
First Harvest occurred on February 10th, 2525, and resulted in the destruction of the Jiralhanae cruiser Rapid Conversion and the CMA Argo. After stalling 7 days, the Jiralhanae chieftan, Maccabeus, began his attack-run on Harvest. The Argo moved to catch and intercept. The Argo eventually caught and took a position over the Rapid Conversion, along the way learning its four pods of Archer missiles were completely useless. Maccabeus ignored the Argo, believing no ship of Argo's tonnage could possibly be a threat to Rapid Conversion. The two exchanged point defenses fire, but the 50mm cannons of Argo were useless against the Covenant shields and the latter's pulse lasers tore were tearing through Argo's hull. Eventually, Argo rammed the Covenant cruiser with enough force to deplete its shields, but this sealed the Argo's fate. Fortunately for the civilians on Harvest, the Argo left a parting gift: a nuclear mine with a timer set to go off once the cruiser's shields were back online, sealing the harmful radiation inside. This left the system clear, allowing Harvest to send to Madrigal for a rescue attempt.