Battle of Ares IV

''Note: this page is not a work of canon, and is purely a work of fiction, not intended to be taken as truth. this is not a part of the Halo Universe.''

Introduction
the Battle of Ares IV was one of the last engagements of the war between UNSC and Elite forces, and is notable for the expulsion of the Elites from the Covenant during the conflict, the near-release of the Flood, and one of the few four-sided conflicts of the war.

Prelude
returning from a year-long campaign at Minorca II, which ended in the destruction of the planet by the UNSC, the UNSC Halcyon-Class Cruiser Aeneas returns to the Sol System, above Earth. aboard is an elite series of units - a detachment from the 506th ODST Regiment, one from the 427th Marine Rifle Regiment, and 23rd Naval Air Squadron - as well as the SPARTAN II Divisions Grey Team, returning from combat. brought up to date with recent events, the Aeneas and its crew are merged with the rest of Earth's massive defensive fleet.

at the same time, the Covenant Assault Carrier Bringer of Holy Light, commanded by Fleet Master Zuro Dun 'Xoramee, docked at High Charity, takes aboard a prophet, the Minister of Acquisition. under the pretense of escorting him to the Salia System, to negotiate with subversive elements, they meet up with the rest of its Fleet, of thirteen CCS-Class Battlecruisers and another Assault Carrier, and make a slipspace jump to Earth, to attempt to excavate the Ark, and begin the Great Journey.

upon emerging, the fleet engages the human fleet - the Holy Light taking tremendous damage from an Anti-Matter planted by Master Chief Petty Officer Michael SPARTAN-117, it makes an emergency slipspace jump, accidentally bringing along the nearby Aeneas and its forces.

Space Battle
the two ships emerge in the Theta Ares System, and prepare to engage one another in combat. this is interrupted by an assault by a fleet of United Rebel Front vessels, attempting to occupy the planet themselves. the Aeneas's crew manage to abandon the ship before its crash landing on the planet, but the Holy Light manages to decimate the rebel fleet before making a crash landing of its own.

Ground Battle
all three sides set up bases of operations - the URF occupies the long-abandoned capitol of Tenochtitlan, the Covenant fortify their ship's crash site, while the UNSC occupies an abandoned Office of Naval Intelligence facility. almost immediately, the UNSC launches a salvage effort, retrieving numerous vehicles, as well as valuable weapons, ammo and supplies.

Covenant Attacks
the Holy Light's sensors pick up energy signatures from a Forerunner facility directly beneath the city, and the prophet orders an immediate attack to secure it, above the protests of the ships Field Master, Tulo ' Kotarqee. at the same time, he secretly orders the ships Brutes to find and destroy the UNSC base. the attack on the city fails with the URF, for once, having the advantage. the Brute effort fails only thanks to the timely arrival of the salvage team, and the Brutes are forced to retreat, something unthinkable to the Elites. the leaders of both attacks are punished - the Brute Chieftain is executed on the spot, while the Field Master is confined to his quarters. the prophet deploys a Special Operations Team, lead by Special Operations Commander Kora 'Morhekee, to locate an alternate entrance to the facility.

UNSC engagements
the UNSC recieves a slipspace communication from Earth, garbled but readable - a rescue fleet has been despatched, and should be there soon. the UNSC forces endeavor to capture a portion of the city, specifically the Space-Elevator. a team is deployed to use a tunnel, located in a nearby swamp area, to insert underground - the team disappears. two ODST Companies and Grey Team are inserted via Falcon Wing, securing the space-elevator themselves, as well as other important areas. within a few hours, the structure is under UNSC control, and heavily defended

Alliances
Grey Team and a squad of ODST's are despatched to locate the missing marines. they enter the tunnel, and discover the Forerunner facility - as well as the reanimated bodies of the missing marines, controlled by the Flood. they manage the take refuge in a saferoom - and encounter the Elites of the SpecOps team. forging an uneasy alliance, the two groups agree to work together to escape from the facility, and seal the Flood in.

however, the Flood manage to use other tunnels and passageways and erupt within the city, quickly infecting the entire URF, with the UNSC troops escaping just in time. they regroup at the facility, seal off its own set of tunnels, and reinforce their defences.

meanwhile, the prophet orders the ships Brutes to rise up in pre-arranged mutiny, and the Elite crew fights to keep control of the ship. the SpecOps team arrives, with the UNSC troops as prisoners - they soon become humanity's ambassadors, as the Fleet Master reqests an alliance and assistance. the Spartans assist in the recapturing of the ship, while the Covenant evacuate the UNSC base.

the SpecOps Elites and Grey Team return to the Aeneas crash site and retrieve a NOVA Bomb to sterilise the planet, and escape, detonating a Fury Tac Nuke behind them, to stop the Flood from repairing the Aeneas. the Holy Light takes off after some hasty repairs, and enters slipspace as the Bomb detonates.

Epilogue
electing to remain at the site of the planet's destruction, the carrier meets up with the rescue fleet - which includes two Elite-held Covenant Frigates, who inform them that the tides of war have changed.

after they have jumped again, more URF ships arrive, discovering a chunk of the planet with a fragile atmosphere. search teams are dspatched to look for survivors.

they find them...