Sebastian T. Shelby

"This is Lord Sebastian T. Shelby, all personnel take heed; stand your ground. Make them pay for every inch and regret ever crossing this fleet. I look forward to seeing you on the other side."

- excerpt from Sebastian T. Shelby's speech during the Battle of Midvale, 2526

Vice Admiral Lord Sebastian T. Shelby, 37th Viscount of Whitelaw was a well-regarded flag officer who died during the early years of the Human-Covenant War.

Cold War and Insurrection
As the Viscounty had a long tradition of military service, beginning with General Sir Montgomery A. Shelby during the Rainforest Wars, Sebastian was encouraged - indeed, expected - to enlist within the UNSC. He undertook his officer training at the Academy at Mare Nubium, and upon receiving his commission in 2481 was initially posted on the UNSC A Time To Kill, an old that was serving out its final years in SolCore. Frustrated with such a quiet posting, he pulled some of his family's connections in order to transfer him further out into the colonies. He transferred onto several ships that served closer and closer to the boundary that defined the UNSC's and CMA's designated security zones, where the tension of the UNSC-CMA Cold War and with the Outer Colonials began to have an effect on the young man. His professionalism, calmness, and ability to carefully choose his words were crucial in avoiding several instances where encounters with CMA ships could have turned bloody. The most famous being the Tripoli Incident, where a CMA ship was damaged by an unknown attacker and under paranoia thought it was from a UNSC vessel. It was Shelby who volunteered to negotiate, and not only convinced them to stand down but even receive UNSC assistance. When his family requested that he retire and return home, Shelby refused, knowing he could do more on the frontlines.

Although Shelby was considered to join the UNSC's diplomatic corps, the outbreak of the Insurrection, and the subsequent crisis of rebellion, the rise of the Secessionist Union, and the subsequent infighting in the CMA's ranks allowed him to instead take charge of a warship, the light destroyer UNSC Galahad. He garnered himself a reputation for restraint, respectful charisma, and preference for action to reinforce his intentions, though this put him at constant risk. He lost the Galahad in 2496 protecting a hospital ship, and was injured after clashing with turncoat CMA ships in the Greydowns. Still, he earned himself numerous allies for his deeds, which eventually culminated in him becoming a commodore-admiral in 2506. His first command of a battle group in the Apollo Sector established the signature hallmarks of his command style; to place an emphasis on civilian disaster relief and support, and enforce a strict rules-of-engagement to avoid causing unnecessary damage. It was also at this time that he took command of his favorite command ship, the Hermes-class light cruiser UNSC Elysium.

With the death of his father Lenard in 2513, Shelby was appointed the 37th Viscount of Whitelaw, but the need for experienced officers forced him to remain in the field. Now a Vice-Admiral, Shelby was now responsible for conducting Operation: TREBUCHET's naval matters across the Madara Fringe and Aquilla Region, organized under the UNSC's 19th Expeditionary Fleet. However, by this time the disappointments and setbacks with his command style were beginning to mount. The hardened United Liberation Front insurgents were able to keep the UNSC forces under attack from all sides, and despite his direct orders against it, revenge bombings on civilian populations were being conducted. Meanwhile, attrition on his fleet of frigates and destroyers and a lack of cooperation from the local corrupt CMA garrisons were spreading Shelby's fleet thin. With mounting criticism, Shelby was eventually replaced as regional fleet commander in 2516. Instead, now at a desk job, he focused himself on reforming the UNSC Navy's training regimen. Though he was successful in part of improving their skill, his suggestions to improve discipline were generally ignored.

Human-Covenant War
When the Human-Covenant War erupted, Shelby requested to be reassigned back to a frontline role, a request that was not accepted until late 2527. By this point, the threat of the Covenant was now well-demonstrated with the loss of several colonies. As a result, Shelby was given command of the UNSC's Eighth Colonial Fleet, largely made up of reactivated reserve warships from both UNSC and the now-defunct CMA's inventory. He was assigned to protect the Hydra Region, in the event the Covenant attempt to outflank the UNSC's defenses in the Asgard Stratum or threaten the regional breadbasket of Midvale. A forty ship-strong battle group, led by his friend Rear Admiral Dustin Troy, were later dispatched to protect Nuevo Cuzco due to ONI's intelligence reports that it may be raided by a small Covenant fleet. These inaccurate reports would later lead to the bloodshed that was to follow.

In 2528, the colony of Midvale came under attack from a detachment from the Combined Fleet of Virtuous Ascendancy. Seeing that he was heavily outnumbered, Shelby attempted to recall Troy's ships to reinforce himself. Unfortunately, fatal communications problems meant that he was unaware that they had already been destroyed two days by the very same fleet they were now facing. As a result, the 44-strong battle group he committed to the battle was badly defeated, with 34 ships lost during a battle that lasted less than an hour. Among its number was Shelby's flagship, the Elysium, where the admiral was injured and had to be evacuated by his surviving bridge officers. The battle was over so quickly that little of Midvale's population was able to flee, and subsequently perished during the planet's glassing.

Such a massive loss of life had a profound effect on Shelby, who had never before experienced the Covenant's might and superiority. Vowing to fight as hard and as long as possible to prevent another massacre like Midvale, as he recovered he began making huge changes to what remained of the Eighth Fleet. Only MAC-armed vessels remained in his battle line, and the older Ares missiles were either concentrated or replaced with Archer missiles wherever possible. More importantly, he changed up his overall strategic plans: battle groups charged with the same operation had to provide mutual support so they could not be destroyed in detail, and he'd adopt a policy of deploying massive, concentrated raiding fleets to tie up enemy ships. And, above all, he intensified drilling to ensure that his crews will not falter in battle.

As a result of these changes, the Hydra Front would become among the bloodiest and most fiercely-fought theaters at the time during the Covenant War. Between 2528 and 2533, Shelby led his fleet in the course of eight campaigns: Jagati, Viridian, Pumice, Helios Secundus, Yihsin, Bohemia, and Boundary. Yihsin was a stunning success, where he baited the Covenant into attacking a colony that had already been completely evacuated, causing them to expend both time and resources fighting over a worthless rock. Later, he received a reprimand at Boundary for overruling ONI's order to ground an evacuation ship, allowing a sizable number of the Insurrectionists there to escape. In the end, not a single one of these battles would be won in the end, however each inflicted devastating losses on the Covenant and allowed most of the civilians in the region to be resettled in the Inner Colonies. As planned, massed raids were staged into Covenant space, leading to the near-destruction of a major Covenant naval base at Einjel V. Unfortunately, the Eighth Fleet took horrendous losses; two of his flagships and almost 250 other vessels, more than the 160 they started out with, would be destroyed in battle. For his efforts, he would be knighted in 2532. Shelby's stubborn defenses became infamous even among the Covenant, who nicknamed him the "Bulwark Fleetmaster".

Shelby's last battle would be above the military center of Kingston in 2535. The Vice Admiral used the concentrated might of his fleet and the substantial fortifications of the planet to resist the Covenant in a four-month siege. The arrival of Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree and his powerful core fleet towards the end of the battle defeated the Eighth Fleet and forced them to rout. With the survivors under pursuit and knowing they could do no more to protect the colony, Shelby pulled a huge gamble. He charged his flagship towards the Covenant fleet and, after a speech that questioned their pride and honor, challenged their leader to a duel, with the whole act distracting the entire armada enough to allow the rest of the ships under his command to escape without further attacks. In the end, his challenge was taken up by Shipmaster Shiru 'Naganee, who quickly defeated the old admiral and destroyed his ship in a hail of largely-ceremonial plasma fire.

Legacy
In the immediate aftermath of his death, the Covenant temporarily pulled away from Kingston to celebrate his death. A week-long feast was conducted throughout the entire Combined Fleet in Shelby's name, with Shiru 'Naganee being elevated to the title of Fleetmaster for his achievements. This gave the Covenant the time they needed to refuel and consolidate their forces within that region of space before commencing their attack once again. However, not all of it was positive. Despite being present at the Admiral's final battle, Xytan 'Jar Wattinree was criticized for his refusal to duel him, with many outright questioning his honor. This would prove to be the final straw for many, which forced him to lead the campaign on the ground of a number of subsequent worlds to regain their trust.

His death would also have a significant impact on the lives and careers of others. Shipmaster 'Nagan was promoted for his accomplishments and was rewarded with command of the battlecruiser High Harbinger. It was the beginning of not only his prestigious wartime military careers but also his first of many encounters that led to him becoming one of the strongest advocates of the Human-Sangheili alliance that would follow twenty-years later. This would also be the start of Captain Shinano's career, who would go on to become Fleet Admiral of the Second Fleet.

Personality and traits
As a child, Shelby was best described as an intelligent, if lonesome and driven, young boy. He isolated himself away from the other children because of his nobility but remained modest and humble. He quickly understood his position as a firstborn commanded no real power, so never ordered people around nor bragged about it. Instead, he knew it meant he had higher standards to meet, and wanted to achieve the goals he set himself and rarely accepted help. He made this up with his near-obsessional dedication to his studies, practicing revisions from his lessons in his free time thanks to pressure from his position to do well. However, he often butted-heads with people who were lazy, unable to understand why they couldn't drive themselves to reach the average mark. This led to several confrontations in which Shelby fought against his classmates in early high school, though fortunately, he became more tolerant and calmer as time went on. He did not pursue relationships even this early, believing it to be a waste of time that could be allocated to his studies - this was also because he saw that the only ones interested romantically envied his nobility status. In fact, he rarely seemed to have fun, with the exception to his swordsman lessons which he enjoyed immensely. Out of school, he was well-mannered, mature and highly disciplined, always being a good host to visitors by politely pampering them. The only downside to this pressure and expectations from his family is that he did encounter minor anxiety which manifested itself as panic attacks during times of stress.

Shelby spoke in a very proper, very well-calculated way with words. His accent was easily identified as being from English nobility, speaking loudly but softly in a way that still commanded attention and respect. He always included his manners and referred to people by their rank and last name, except with people he was close to in which he would refer to their first names or even nicknames, like with the command crews on his flagships. However, he could get quite bombastic when it came to his inspirational speeches, often drawing his sword and pointing it at the enemy.