Battle of the Rubble

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Battle of the Rubble
Conflict:	Human-Covenant War, Insurrection
Date:	2535
Location:	The Rubble, 23 Librae system.
Outcome:	UNSC/Insurrectionist victory Leads to the Battle of Metisette UNSC/Rubble forces cease-fire and prepare for the imminent Kig-Yar invasion
Details Belligerents United Nations Space Command Sympathizing Rubble citizens Covenant Under the High Prophet of Regret's command Covenant Under the High Prophet of Truth's command Sympathizing Insurrectionists Insurrectionists Sympathizing Rubble citizens Commanders Lieutenant Jacob Keyes Spartan Jai-006 Commander Zheng† Major Faison† Zealot Thel 'Vadamee Reth Pellius Peter Bonifacio Shipmistress Chur'R-Mut Rubble Security Council Diego Esquival† Strength Orbital Drop Shock Troopers UNSC Naval crew One Stalwart-class light frigate Gray Team 2 civilian freighters Mighty Sparrow (captured late in battle) Petya Rubble civilians One Covenant destroyer One Kig-Yar ship 5 Sangheili Zealots Thel 'Vadamee Zhar Saal Veer Jora 'Konaree† Unggoy Hundreds of small Kig-Yar raiders Jiralhanae Kig-Yar Unggoy Rubble Defense Force guards Insurrectionists Rubble Defense Force Insurrectionist sympathizers Badia Campbell Casualties Several ODSTs Major Faison Commander Zheng All crew on Retribution's Thunder save four zealots Jora is euthanized All Jiralhanae killed by Truth's orders. Many, if not all, hired Rubble Defense Force guards Diego Esquival Badia Campbell Unknown number of Rubble civilians and Rubble Defense force

The Battle of the Rubble was an engagement fought between various factions of Covenant and human forces mainly for navigational data that led to Earth and other human population centers, as well as a large asteroid called Exodus. It took place at some point in 2535.

Prelude

After Madrigal's glassing, a Kig-Yar ship entered the 23 Librae system and began scanning the Lagrangian asteroids trailing the gas giant Hesiod. However, some of the asteroids had become a settlement known as the Rubble for insurrectionists and Madrigal refugees. While the Rubble's inhabitants were deciding if they should attack or flee, smuggler Peter Bonifacio contacted the Kig-Yar ship and came into contact with Reth. Reth reported this to the Prophet of Truth.

While the Prophet of Regret was unable to find the human homeworld, the Prophet of Truth devised a plan to have the Kig-Yar merchants, lead by Reth, ally themselves with humans in order to find its location. Originally, they pretended to be allies with the insurgents and refugee citizens, and even made a trade agreement with the insurrectionists that they would hand them Covenant weapons in exchange for slipspace drives whilst waiting for the opportunity to capture navigational data that led to Earth. The Kig-Yar bided their time and waited for the right moment to strike.

The weapons the insurrectionists were handed were modified and sent to other rebels across human space. When Regret found some of the weapons on sale on High Charity, not knowing that they were part of Truth's plan, he sent some of the Covenant's top soldiers to silence the "rebels". Meanwhile, the UNSC sent the stealth-equipped light frigate UNSC Midsummer Night to investigate the source of the Covenant weapons. Earlier, the SPARTAN-II Gray Team had been sent to the Rubble to eliminate all traces of navigational data with Earth's coordinates.

Battle

When Gray Team arrived at the Rubble, they immediately set about to prepare for a prolonged stay. They managed to steal a freighter, the Petya, and fitted it with a military-grade slipspace drive.

Meanwhile, Ignatio Delgado was assigned by the Rubble Security Council to protect a data chip that contained the coordinates to Earth. However, he and his copilot, Melko Hollister, were attacked by some Kig-Yar who wished to steal the data. Delgado managed to distract the Kig-Yar long enough for Hollister to escape and board their ship, Distancia. Delgado however was wounded and was about to be killed when he was rescued by one of the Spartans of Gray Team, Adriana-111. She asked for the data in exchange for helping him. Delgado refused however. She performed first-aid on Delgado and gave him an emergency contact beacon, telling him that if the data chip was attacked again, he should activate the beacon. Unfortunately for Delgado, Hollister had died while escaping with the data, putting the skirmish at a pyrrhic victory for the Rubble.

Meanwhile, the Rubble's AI Juliana noticed Gray Team's movements and disabled the Petya. She gave them a compromise: she'll give them the location of any navigation data in the Rubble in exchange for helping her protect the Rubble from the Kig-Yar.

Later, the Covenant destroyer Retribution's Thunder and the raider A Psalm Every Day arrived in the 23 Librae system to search for the Kig-Yar "rebels". Two two vessels soon discovered the Rubble, but A Psalm Every Day attacked and disabled Retribution's Thunder so that they could claim sole credit for the discovery. Thel 'Vadamee and his crew were taken captive and stored within one of the habitats. The Midsummer Night arrived shortly after while stalking the Kestrel but was taken out with a mass driver round and missile fire from the Rubble Defense Force. Commander Dmitri Zheng was shot by rebel-sympathizer Lieutenant Badia Campbell but pushed himself to lock the arm codes for the Shiva-class nuclear missiles on board and fired them away to dispose of them.