Raid on UNSC Infinity

{Era|Post}}

''This article is about the 2553 battle. For the 2558 battle, see Second Battle of Requiem.''

The Raid on the UNSC Infinity was a skirmish between the United Nations Space Command and the New Colony Alliance in early 2553. The battle marked the first time that SPARTAN-IVs were deployed in combat.

Insurrectionist Arrival
"We are outnumbered and we are outgunned... but our spirit is stronger."

- Ilsa Zane rallying her team prior to arriving on the Infinity.

The battle began after a group of Insurrectionist scouts found the semi-complete hidden in the safety of the Oort Cloud. The scouts reported back to Isla Zane, a former ONI operative turned dissident. Zane contacted Admiral Mattius Drake, leader of the post-war Insurrection group, the New Colony Alliance, and offered to capture the massive vessel with all hands, in return for a massive sum of money. Drake agreed and Zane assembled a hand-picked team to carry out the heist. Using standard-issue UNSC engineer uniforms and a captured Dartert, the Insurrectionists landed in one of the massive vessel's crowded loading bays, and dispersed throughout the ship to await further orders.

Seizing the Bridge
"Good afternoon, Infinity. My name is Ilsa Zane, and I have control of this ship."

- Ilsa Zane addressing the crew immediately after securing the bridge.

While the other Insurrectionists moved into position, Ilsa Zane located and tailed Captain Del Rio. Taking advantage of the incomplete vessel's minimal security detail, she waited until they were alone before confronting the captain, surrounding him with her henchmen, and disarming him. They then held the captain at gunpoint and made their way to the bridge, where the stunned crew was taken utterly by surprise. Zane manually disconnected Infinity's A.I., Aine, from the bridge's holotank and took control of the all the ship's systems. As the other Insurrectionists corralled the bridge crew and captain into a nearby safe room, Zane used the PA system to warn all occupants of the vessel against any retaliatory action. At the time Jun-A266 and Commander Lasky were showing the new SPARTAN-IV fireteam around S-Deck. Hearing Zane's threats, the SPARTANs armored up and began heading for the bridge.

The Fight Begins
"Palmer, if she does get security running again and sees us coming --"

- SPARTAN Davis

"Well then, Davis, she'd better not see us coming."

- SPARTAN Palmer

Using Infinity's surveillance system, Zane easily saw the SPARTANs coming and acted on her earlier threats by venting all oxygen from S-Deck through Infinity's airlocks. SPARTAN Holst procured a pair of oxygen masks in time to save the unarmored Jun and Lasky from suffocation, and the group made for the captain's ready room. Meanwhile, while the bridge crew was mostly helpless in the safe room to which they had been confined, Captain Del Rio managed to access a terminal and access the ship's security systems in the hopes of shutting them off. This required both the CO and XO to input their half of the codes. With XO Lasky unaccounted for, Del Rio input his codes and waited for updates from any mobilized UNSC forces. Once in the ready room, Lasky accessed the private computer network and saw that half the code was already keyed in. He put his own override codes in and then contacted Del Rio. Lasky briefed Del Rio on their end of the situation and remotely unlocked the door to the safe room. SPARTANs Palmer and Davis reached the nearest airlock undetected and crawled onto Infinity's hull, slowly scaling the side of the massive vessel and climbing up to the bridge. At the same time as they were preparing to breach the bridge's observation area, the rest of the fireteam, along with Jun and Lasky, was ambushed by a group of Insurrectionists. SPARTAN Holst saved Lasky from a barrage of rifle fire by using himself as a human shield. Jun, Scruggs and Thomas engaged in a brief firefight with their ambushers before Lasky trapped the attackers by closing all nearby blast doors. With the roaming Insurrectionists contained, the group headed towards the bridge to rendezvous with Del Rio and the two SPARTANS.

Retaking the Bridge
"Palmer, we get one shot at this."

- SPARTAN Davis

"I'm of the opinion that if she wants to see people spaced, we can arrange her spacing."

- SPARTAN Palmer

With Insurrectionist forces contained and the bridge crew free, all that remained for UNSC forces to do was to retake the bridge. As SPARTANs Davis and Palmer prepared to breach the bridge windows, Ilsa Zane attempted to coordinate a final Insurrectionist counter-attack. The SPARTANs shattered the bridge's observation window and re-entered Infinity. The bridge began to decompress as the ship vented atmosphere through the shattered window, pulling all nearby Insurrectionists out into the vacuum of space. Ilsa Zane disarmed Palmer before the SPARTAN could shoot her and then proceeded to engage in a fistfight while Davis eliminated the remaining Insurrectionists. Zane grabbed Palmer and prepared to deliver a killing blow, at which point Del Rio gained access to the bridge and manually re-connected Aine with the bridge console. Aine then proceeded to open the ship's emergency containment doors, stopping Zane from killing Palmer and giving the latter a chance to counter-attack, knocking the Insurrectionist out into space. Aine then closed the containment doors, re-securing the Infinity.

Aftermath
"SPARTANs are why you know Drake's Insurrection -- the New Colony Alliance -- is growing each day... SPARTANs are why you are still in possession of Infinity."

- Commander Musa debriefing HIGHCOM

An ONI prowler picked up Ilsa Zane immediately following her ejection from the Infinity and managed to resuscitate her. All Insurrectionist survivors of the attack were promptly placed in ONI custody. Through high-level bargaining, Commander Musa managed to ensure the autonomy of the SPARTAN-IV Program from ONI or Navy overhead. This would usher in a new military age for the UNSC, and would serve as a catalyst to the post-war Insurrection.