Battle Group Endymion

"Post tenebras lux."

- Unit motto

Battle Group Endymion is a UNSC expeditionary rapid response strike group operating since November 2556. It is one of a new generation of small and nimble battle groups designed in response to the changed military-political landscape of the post-Covenant War era, with a focus on a capability to respond to a wide variety of threats with a high speed and efficiency. Equipped with current-generation slipspace drives and Shaw-Fujikawa 'ansible' communicators, expeditionary battle groups such as Endymion are expected to be able to respond to threats within their assigned operational volume in a matter of days if not hours, a vast improvement over the weeks or months such a response would have taken during the Covenant War or the Insurrection.

Comprising the, two frigates and a prowler, the primary focus of Endymion is on speed and maneuverability, both of which are greatly valued in post-war UNSC doctrine. The group is not well equipped for carrying out extended campaigns or large-scale space engagements, but the need for such is rare in the post-war era; typically, rapid response groups such as Endymion are the first significant force to arrive at the site of a crisis, with follow-up actions such as reinforcements being assessed accordingly. Most of Endymion's operations consist of low-key deployments against various pirates and raiders along with the odd escort mission, though the group has partaken in a handful of larger campaigns. Endymion 's sister ship, the Hyperion's Thunder, leads a similar strike group, Battle Group Hyperion.

The Endymion 's pair of frigate escorts are differently optimized for their assigned tasks, as well as a prowler for reconnaissance and support. Additional ships may augment the battle group on specific missions. The frigates, designated Spear 1 and Spear 2, may "ride shotgun" on the Endymion 's exterior hardpoints during sublight cruising acceleration or in slipspace travel, as the Endymion is equipped with the most advanced slipspace drive of the group. Troops can transfer between the ships accordingly (e.g. if Spear 1 is deployed in advance of the rest of the group, which is occasionally the case).

Battle Group Endymion mainly operates within the further-flung subvolumes of FLEETCOM Sector 4. The volume is an astropolitically volatile region, intersecting the Orion-side Joint Occupation Zones, a number of abandoned, neutral or lawless systems, a handful of surviving Outer Colonies as well as a growing number of newly-founded colonies in the Hades Gulf, a several-hundred-light-year gap of largely un-colonized space between the hazy borders of the human sphere and what used to be the Covenant Empire. The trade flowing along the Pleiades Corridor trade route within the Hades Gulf as well as the various new colony worlds and supply stations also continue to attract various raiders, pirates and other delinquents to the region, meaning Battle Group Endymion has their hands full. On some occasions, Endymion's operations have even bridged over to ex-Covenant space proper.

As part of the UNSC's pact with the Concord of Reconciliation and due to the joint nature of the Hades Gulf's occupation, Endymion occasionally carries out joint operations with elements of the Concord, most prominently the Chikri-Merkaa Conflux.

Fleet elements

 * (CA-771), . Battle group command vessel. Constructed at Neos Atlantis' Tethys Shipyards and commissioned in 2556. Maintains a flight of Longswords as well as a Broadsword squadron along with various support and auxiliary sub-vessels.
 * (DD-417) / Spear 1, . Tip of the spear; specializes in fast attack and space combat. Maintains only a nominal troop complement by default, though forces can be transferred aboard if need be. The Fourth Horseman is the second warship to be hold the title of Spear 1, following the loss of the original (UNSC Elan Light) in mid-2557.
 * (FFG-223) / Spear 2, Charon-class light frigate [midlife-refit for current-gen specs]. Primary troop landing ship and secondary escort combatant vessel. In time, Ahab may be replaced by a new type of warship along with other aging spaceframes, though until then midlife upgrades can extend their viable frontline operational life for at least ten to twenty years, barring major technological leaps.
 * (PRO-49811), . Reconnaissance and electronic warfare support craft.

Troop complement
Overall, Battle Group Endymion's troop contingents are designed for speed and mobility, and tend toward specialization.
 * 191st Battalion, UNSC Marine Corps
 * NAVSPECWAR Group ONE—Expeditionary Force Theta
 * 71st Shock Troops Battalion
 * Fireteam HALBERD (SPARTAN-III)
 * Headhunter Team DAGGER (SPARTAN-III)
 * Naval Special Warfare Strike Teams (3)

ONI
Endymion maintains a small handful of ONI liaisons, in addition to the crew of the With Subtlety and Nuance, who are, as Prowler Corps personnel, formally under Section One's payroll albeit heavily integrated with Battle Group Endymion's conventional Fleet chain of command.

Endymion Science
While primarily a military operation, Endymion maintains a small scientific complement with various xenosciences specialists for unexpected findings requiring immediate attention. Endymion additionally houses the "science pod" UNSC Clarke Was Right (AGR-784), a. Possessing no slipspace capability, the class was essentially built on the spaceframes of refitted for research purposes after the Hadrian-class was replaced in mainline service. Aside from ferrying science personnel and equipment to groundside research sites, the Clarke Was Right is primarily used to conduct research into potentially dangerous Forerunner artifacts or other hazardous materials off-ship without endangering the core battle group, let alone the flagship. When the Clarke houses Forerunner artifacts, it always maintains an exclusion zone preferably in excess of a light-second to the main vessels of the battle group and uses ultra-secure point-to-point communication protocols, with the hazardous materials themselves handled in sealed Faraday enclosures. However, in situ research on the ground with all the appropriate countermeasures is preferred whenever it is feasible, as allowing Forerunner technology to come into contact with a UNSC vessel in the first place is deemed highly risky.

Transient/non-official elements
During joint operations, Battle Group Endymion is frequently supported by vessels from the Chikri-Merkaa Conflux, typically light capital ships such as corvettes, frigates or destroyers. On some occasions where mission parameters have demanded especially close cooperation, Endymion has maintained an embarked Conflux combat team, drawn from volunteers in the alien alliance's special force group known as the Foremost Legion. While the team's presence is above all a diplomatic gesture to better acclimatize the two sides to cooperation, initial results in unit integration and joint operations have shown promise, though doctrinal differences and misunderstandings continue to cause confusion.

List of known members
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NAVSPECWAR Group ONE
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 * MCPO Horatio Wolfram - senior non-commissioned officer
 * Fireteam Halberd
 * PO2 Maya-G067
 * PO1 Laura-G179 - team leader
 * PO1 Abraham-G195
 * PO2 Sigurd-G302
 * Team Dagger
 * PO2 Flynn-G228 - headhunter, team leader
 * Zahra-G098‎ - headhunter