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"The UNSC Blood of Kings, the one ship the covenant can't put down!" - An unnamed UNSC Officer
The UNSC Blood of Kings (hull classification CBC-16) is a Modified Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser in service with the UNSC Navy, (often informally referred to as Kings by the UNSC). The ship is infamous within the UNSC Navy for being the only ship to serve throughout the Human-Covenant War, participating in many battles and often coming back badly damaged (earning her the nickname's Bloody Kings, by the dockyard workers, and Lucky Kings by her crew).
History
The Blood of Kings was built at the Reyes-McLees Shipyards on Mars (Like the equally famous UNSC Pillar of Autumn), being laid down during 2493. However, in 2495 the ship was cancelled and what had been built remained untouched in Mars' orbit.
In early 2496 Doctor Robert McLees, selected the ship's hulk to be modified into a target ship to test an experimental crossbracing and Honeycomb style design, (later used on the Halcyon-class light cruiser). The conversion, utilising parts from other cancelled Valiant's proceded at a leisurely pace, until in 2497, construction of the ship, as the nearest unbuilt Valiant to completion, was ordered resumed. However, due to the modifications during her conversion being too time-consuming and costly to reverse, it was decided to complete the ship to a modified design, utilising the crossbracing and Honeycomb style design as a fully operational warship. A decision which would later prove invaluable as this later would allow the ship to receive catastrophic damage and survive later in her career.
On June 25, 2498, the now Modified Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser was launched from her shipyard, becoming the final member of her class to be built in the process, to begin her working up, prior to being commissioned on September 24, 2498 and sent to the Outer Colonies.
Insurrection
Ships emblem of UNSC Blood of Kings (CBC-16)
Following her commissioning into the UNSC, the Blood of Kings would participate in multiple combat operations as a major heavy unit and Fleet Flagship against the insurrection.
In 2504, the ship would serve as a base of operations for Operation: TANGLEWOOD, giving ORION Project operators a staging ground for the mission and for providing support for the forces participating in the operation.
In 2513 the Blood of Kings would participate in Operation: TREBUCHET, where she would serve in a front-line role as a heavy unit of the UNSC, often being sent to areas of the theatre where her heavy firepower was required, be that in space or in support of units on the ground.
Human-Covenant War
When the Human-Covenant war broke out, Blood of Kings was on station in the Eridanus system as a part of the clean-up stage of Operation: TREBUCHET. However, when the threat of the Covenant was fully realised following the Battle of Harvest, where a single Covenant warship single handily destroyed more than a quarter of the UNSC fleet brought in to contain it before it fell. The Blood of Kings was therefore immediately reassigned to Admiral Preston Cole's Third Fleet, as Flagship of Battlegroup Romeo, under the Command of Vice-Admiral Richard 'Basher' Hooker, operating as a forward element of the fleet, and as a reserve fleet flagship in the event that Cole's flagship, the UNSC Everest was disabled.
The Kings would not always be attached to the Third Fleet, often she and her battlegroup would be dispatched to assisting other battlegroups in other theatres of war, In the case of the Battle of Jericho VII, she would be assigned to the Fourth fleet for 3 years. During this time the ship proved herself as an invaluable asset in the field, as she could receive a level of punishment that only a Halcyon could barely survive. Even the commanders of other warships recognised her importance as her presence repeatedly ensured the survival of several UNSC warships, due to her ability to draw enemy fire and live to fight another day, albeit badly damaged each time. In 2538 Vice-Admiral Hooker was promoted to the rank of full Admiral and was reassigned to the Second Fleet, he was replaced in command of Battlegroup Romeo by the then newly minted Vice-Admiral Terrance Hood, having recovered from his earlier setback and worked his way up to the rank of Vice-Admiral, after proving himself in command of another of the Third Fleets Battlegroups.
Battle of Manticore
In 2541, Hood and Battlegroup Romeo would be dispatched to join the Twelfth Fleet at the colony of Manticore, upon arrival, Hood learned that the Fleets admiral had been killed in action at the start of the battle, as had all the other senior officers, and as the most senior officer remaining, Hood was temporarily promoted to the rank of full Admiral and was told to assume command of what remained of the fleet for the final days of the battle. The Battle of Manticore was considered a disaster for the UNSC, as although civilian casualties were light, the UNSC suffered heavily, primarily on the ground as the Covenant had managed to land a sizeable invasion force prior to the arrival of Kings and Battlegroup Romeo, who after reestablishing a command structure, had managed to force the Covenant fleet out of orbit.
This, however, could not salvage the situation on the ground, as even with the deployment of Spartan III teams the colony was declared lost and ordered abandoned, however, before this order could be fully issued, Ground command was destroyed forcing the Twelfth to co-ordinate the evacuation of Manticore with limited intelligence. One key piece of information not known to the Navy was the location of the Spartan III teams Grizzly and Fox, who had been sent to torch and burn an ONI server farm, and who in all of the chaos of the evacuation would have been left behind, had a request for fire support from Spartan Jake-A384 not been received by the crew of the Blood of Kings, alerting the Navy to their presence and allowing them to be rescued before their position was overrun.
The Blood of Kings during the Battle of Manticore in 2541.
Although the Battle of Manticore was a defeat, Admiral Hood was praised for his effective leadership, and skill in salvaging as much manpower and equipment that would have overwise been lost, including the rescue of Spartan III personnel. In recognition of this Hood was permanently promoted to the rank of Full Admiral before taking command what remained of the Twelfth Fleet, and transferring his flag to the newly commissioned Carrier UNSC El Alamein, allowing the Kings to go into a much-needed refit before rejoining the Third Fleet.
Battle for Alluvion
After a 9-month refit, Kings would partake in the Battle for Alluvion in 2542, now under the command of Rear-Admiral Sofia Radkov, who would use Kings and Battlegroup Romeo as a Vanguard force, striking hard and fast at exposed flanks in the Covenant lines, which worked until Thel 'Vadamee's Fleet of Particular Justice arrived in system, destroying several ships of Battlegroup Romeo before they could withdraw. Under the threat of losing one of its best fleets and its best admiral, HIGHCOM would order Cole to withdraw his mauled Third Fleet and leave Alluvion to its fate, with the remnants of Battlegroup Romeo and Cole's own Battlegroup X-Ray being the last to leave the system, just as the Covenant began to glass parts of the defenceless planet.
Battle of Psi Serpentis
- Main article: Battle of Psi Serpentis
In 2543, Blood of Kings would participate in Psi Serpentis, the infamous battle known in navy lore as 'Admiral Cole's Last Stand'. Kings would jump into the system with the rest of Battlegroup India, before making the previously unheard of in-system jump to the gas giant Viperidae, the first of it's kind in UNSC history. As the covenant fleet approached Cole would split the fleet into two groups, his own Battlegroup X-Ray which would steer to put the gas giant on their starboard side, whilst the second battlegroup, Battlegroup Romeo, led by Rear-Admiral Radkov aboard Blood of Kings would steer to starboard, putting Viperidae on their port side. This move prompted the covenant to themselves split their fleet to counter Cole, unknowingly falling for his trap, as when the two Covenant groups were unable to support themselves, Battlegroup Romeo arced around Viperidae, in order to cut into the exposed flank Covenant fleet, heading towards Battlegroup X-Ray. This move allowed the majority of Cole's fleet to bring their guns to bear on a now divided and numerically weaker Covenant fleet, inflicting heavy damage in return for losing a third of the fleet, Kings, however, was largely undamaged by this manoeuvre.
After this, the two fleets would reform, and the Covenant would begin to pursue Cole's fleet around Viperidae, Cole, however, would keep his fleet out of range of Covenant weapons, before breaking contact, allowing them the chance to open the distance, in order to turn to reengage the enemy fleet. As the Covenant, rounded the gas giant, they found a new fleet of human ships on a direct intercept course, this fleet was made up of ships belonging to the Insurrection, led by Cole's former lover, Lyrenne Castilla, whose aid he had recruited for the battle some weeks prior. This attack would further damage the remaining Covenant ships, as Castilla's ragtag fleet tore through the enemy formation at flank speed, before jumping out after clearing the other side, allowing Cole's following fleet clear lines of fire on the disorganised Fleet.
However, a second, much larger Covenant Fleet would then jump in behind Battlegroup India, threatening to annihilate the UNSC fleet in a crossfire. Cole, knowing this would transmit to Rear-Admiral Radkov ordering her to enact 'contingency plan Delta'. Ordering her to take command of the remaining UNSC ships, and retreat from the system, whilst he would 'cover' their retreat with the Everest. Cole would then lure the Covenant fleet into Viperidae's atmosphere, issuing a broadcast to the pursuing Covenant ships, boasting of his own achievements while scoffing at their claim to righteousness, allowing Battlegroup India to escape mostly unmolested, with Kings bringing up the rear of the UNSC formation, drawing fire from the few ships that tried to engage. The ship would, therefore, have 'front row seats' for when Admiral Cole, having lured the over 200 ship strong fleet into position, would use the Everest's stockpile of 100 Shiva nuclear missiles (which had been loaded specifically in the event of contingency plan Delta being enacted) directly into Viperidae's core, causing the planet to go Nova and annihilate anything in its blast radius, including the entire Covenant fleet, the Everest and Cole.
After the battle, Rear-Admiral Radkov would return the remains of Battlegroup India to UNSC held space, and bring news of Cole's death to humanity. Footage captured from several ships, including Kings would be analysed, together with information gathered about Cole's preparations prior to the battle. Leading some to believe that Cole had, in fact, survived the battle along with his ship, and had 'retired' to be with his lover, Lyrenne Castilla, along with his crew, who had been handpicked by Cole weeks prior, all of whom were noted as being 'war-weary' and having 'nothing left to live for'. This theory could not be proven as several key logs from Cole to Radkov were found to be 'corrupted beyond salvage' which the Vice-Admiral claimed to be as a result of the damage the ship had taken in the battle, and when questioned by ONI Radkov would claim she had no knowledge of Cole's intentions and stated that he had perished along with his ship when Viperidae had exploded, which has led to some speculating that Cole enlisted her to cover-up his survival.
Battle Honours
Insurrection
- Operation: TANGLEWOOD (2504)
- Operation: TREBUCHET (2513-2525)
Human-Covenant war
- Harvest Campaign (2526-2531)
- Battle of Jericho VII (2532-2535)
- Battle of New Harmony (2537)
- Battle of New Constantinople (2537
- Battle of Manticore (2541)
- Battle for Alluvion (2542)
- Battle of Psi Serpentis (2543)
- Battle of Miridem (2544)
- Battle of Sargasso (2546)
- Battle of Skopje (2547)
- Battle of Meridian (2548-2551)
- Battle of Fumirole (2552)
- Battle of Sigma Octanus IV (2552)
- Battle of Reach (2552)
- Battle of Earth (2552)
Trivia
The name 'Blood of Kings' is of no relation to the book series of the same name, the name came from the author when (aged 12) trying to come up with 'the most badass' name for a warship.