Callisto Incident

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Callisto Incident
Conflict:	Insurrection
Date:	January–March 2, 2494
Location:	26 Draconis system
Outcome:	UNSC victory The Insurrection is sparked
Details Belligerents Unified Earth Government Levosia terrorists Commanders Harold Lewis† Unknown Strength One corvette UNSC Callisto One UNSC Navy battle group Three light destroyers UNSC Buenos Aires UNSC Jericho UNSC Las Vegas UNSC Callisto Insurgent forces Casualties Callisto and crew Buenos Aires and crew Jericho and Las Vegas crippled Loss of Callisto Numerous insurgents aboard Callisto

"With tensions rising on both sides, violence once again rocked the Outer Colonies. It was the Callisto Incident that tipped the scales."

— Curator

The Callisto Incident was a violent encounter between forces of the Unified Earth Government and local terrorists from Levosia in the 26 Draconis system, ultimately inflaming violence across the Outer Colonies and triggering the Insurrection. While patrolling the 26 Draconis system, the corvette UNSC Callisto conducted an inspection aboard a merchant ship that turned tragically violent when shots were fired, resulting in thirty deaths.

Callisto would later be hijacked by terrorists, forcing the United Nations Space Command to respond by deploying a battle group of three destroyers. The following engagement resulted in the destruction or crippling of all four warships involved, with Callisto disabled by the destroyer UNSC Las Vegas under the command of Lieutenant Preston Cole.

Prelude

In January 2494, the distant Outer Colony of Levosia in the 26 Draconis system was suspected of diverting refined selenium and technetium—utilized in the manufacture of Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engines—to the black market to yield massive profits. Aside from lost taxes, the Unified Earth Government realized that it could not allow slipstream space engine components to fall into the hands of the growing rebellious factions throughout the Outer Colonies; in response, the United Nations Space Command sought to investigate the matter. The UNSC's Central Command ordered the UNSC Navy to blockade and search all ships in the 26 Draconis system for suspected contraband.

The incident

Initial actions

"The Callisto was taken and its computer system gutted and replaced. The insurgency was now armed."

— Codename: SURGEON

The corvette UNSC Callisto was patrolling the 26 Draconis system, when the corvette stopped and performed a routine inspection of a trading vessel by boarding the ship and searching its cargo. The merchant crew of the vessel was nervous due to rumors of impressments during similar searches in the Outer Colonies. Some at ONI would later suspect that this rumour was deliberately started by rebel sympathizers. The inspection went tragically awry when a weapon was drawn and shots were exchanged, resulting in the deaths of three naval officers and twenty-seven merchant crewmen; no contraband was located on the trading vessel. This incident sparked outrage throughout the entire 26 Draconis system and the rest of the region.

Thirty-seven days later, Callisto ordered a similar merchant ship to stand by and allow an inspection and the crew of the trading vessel courteously allowed naval officers to board. However, when the officers entered the cargo bay, they found it empty. Suddenly, the bay doors opened and the officers were ejected into space. The "merchant" crew then boarded the unsuspecting Callisto and murdered the remainder of her crew. Callisto was now hijacked by local terrorists, with her computer system gutted and replaced. As the terrorists began using Callisto against UNSC forces in the system, the UNSC responded aggressively, sending a battle group of three light destroyers tasked with locating Callisto. The battle group was le