Battle of Harvest

Summary
On February 3, 2525, an orbital platform near the UNSC colony of Harvest detected an unknown object on its long range radar. The object was constructed with materials unlike anything seen before. All contact with Harvest was lost soon after. The Colonial Military Administration sent the scout ship Argo to investigate. That ship arrived in-system on April 20, but other than a brief transmission to confirm it arrived in the system, no further reports were made. In response, UNSC Fleet Command assembled a battle group consisting of the destroyer Heracles as well as the frigates Arabia and Vostok. They entered the Harvest System on October 7 and discovered the once-lush planet to be completely incinerated and the surface melted down to glass. All three million inhabitants were presumed dead. The battlegroup soon then found the vessel responsible for the attack still orbiting the planet. The vessel, which was identified later as belonging to the alien alliance known as the Covenant then launched an immediate attack upon the three UNSC ships. Only one, the Heracles, managed to limp back to Reach, badly damaged. The Heracles returned with a message that was sent to them, pre-translated, saying, "Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument".

In response, the UNSC was placed on full alert and on November 1; Vice Admiral Preston Cole mobilized the largest space fleet in human history to retake Harvest.

Vice Admiral Cole's war fleet defeated the Covenant ships at Harvest in 2531. The victory was celebrated and publicized on every colony all the way to Earth. The UNSC media however didn't mention that Cole had won only because he outnumbered the Covenant three to one, and even then, he had lost two-thirds of his fleet.

UNSC
Commander: Vice Admiral Preston Cole

20? Vessels (Various classes)

Covenant
Commander: Unknown

Between seven and ten ships.

Timeline
2525 2531
 * February 3: Contact with Harvest, an outer colony, is lost shortly after the colony itself had made contact with an unknown object. The Colonial Military Administration sends the scout ship Argo to investigate
 * April 20: The Argo arrives in-system and makes one confirmation transmission. No further reports are received.
 * October 7: A UNSC battle group consisting of one Destroyer (UNSC Heracles, Captain Veredi) and two Frigates (UNSC Arabia and  UNSC Vostok) enters the Harvest system and discovers that everything on the planet has been completely incinerated and the surface melted down to glass. This is later dubbed "glassing". In orbit around the remains of the colony world is a single alien ship, which proceeded to attack the battle group, destroying both Arabia and Vostok and badly damaging the Heracles. Intercepted communications identify the enemy as "The Covenant". The message "Your destruction is the will of the Gods... and we are their instrument" is broadcast in UNSC language.
 * November 1: Vice Admiral Preston Cole mobilizes the largest space fleet in human history to retake Harvest.
 * Cole's war fleet engages the alien warships gathered in orbit over the destroyed colony, scoring a victory (though the battle cost Cole two-thirds of his battle group). Only a last minute tactical inspiration turned the tide of battle. After returning to Earth, Cole-promoted to Admiral-learns that a number of outlying colonies have been destroyed, leaving behind no survivors. Cole begins to move his fleet around, trying to intercept the invaders. Ground and ship-to-ship battles begin in earnest, raging throughout the Outer Colonies. During one ground engagement, Human forces capture one of the aliens. Before succumbing to his wounds, interrogators learn that the aliens refer to themselves as "the Covenant" (roughly translated).

Characters

 * Vice Admiral Preston Cole
 * Cole Protocol
 * Ensign William Lovell
 * Captain Veredi

Vessels

 * Argo
 * UNSC Heracles
 * UNSC Arabia
 * UNSC Vostok