First Battle of Harvest

The Battle of Harvest was the first battle of the Human-Covenant War, and was fought between the UNSC and the Covenant

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. Several weeks later the Colonial Militia of Harvest, commanded by Captain Ponder, Staff Sergeant Byrne, and Staff Sergeant Johnson, conducted a peaceful meeting with the unknown alien conglomerate. Before the ship's appearance, Humans and Covenant had actually met before - Kig-Yar had raided trade ships several times, and once Byrne and Johnson had actually engaged four Kig-Yar and killed them in a quick skirmish. The plan went badly and the Attorney General of Harvest, along with one militiaman - Private Osmo - were lost to the gorilla-like aliens and their canon fodder, monkey-like foot soldiers, later confirmed to be Jiralhanae and Unggoy.

Governor Thune of Harvest then broadcasted a live bulletin to every com-pad on the colony, ordering all civilians to evacuate to the Capital of Utgard for the evacuation of Harvest. Many civilians chose not to withdraw, and they paid for their stubbornness a week later. At said time the aliens, later identified as the Covenant, descended to the surface of the colony, decimating the outer city of Gladsheim. After evacuating the population the colonial militia devised the evacuation plan with a Lieutenant-Commander al-Cygni's help.

Using captured intelligence, Captain Ponder, who was mortally wounded by the aliens, presented the aliens with what they called an Oracle, a holy artifact. Using the Oracle as a trap, the Humans attacked the enemy cruiser Rapid Conversion with the colony's Mass Driver, a primitive MAC gun, disabling the enemy cruiser. In the following confusion and the absence of the enemy air superiority, a militia strike team was sent up and secured the orbital station above Harvest, the Tiara.

After doing so approximately 360 cargo freighters full of evacuees ascended the orbital installations seven strands, exiting Harvest's atmosphere and entering slipspace. Only 215 of those escaped into slipspace, including the remaining militia which was cut down to about half strength. (214 of the containers carried at least one thousand refugees).