UNSC Southern Cross

"Usque in finem."

- Ship motto

The UNSC Endeavor (hull code: DD-347) is a venerable Beagle-class assault destroyer, and one of two ships to have participated in the Harvest Campaign and the Siege of Sol. The latest in a lineage that hailed back to the seventeenth century, the Endeavor is one of thirty-five destroyers built to trial the installation of state-of-the-art hangar facilities on light-tonnage warships. While still possessing two full-sized fusion reactors, a relatively-high acceleration and as thick a hull as the baseline class, its armaments were lacking thanks to the removal of several Archer missile pods and the down-scaling of its Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. Despite these significant drawbacks, it remained a solid vessel which outlived the sisters it was built alongside.

Design
Like all Beagle-class destroyers, the UNSC Endeavor shares most of its hull and superstructure design with the Halberd-class destroyer. At 480 metres in length, it was only five metres shorter than the design it was based on. Past its arrowhead bow, the differences are minimal. This mainly involved replacing certain areas of the hull with 0.4 metres of durasteel armor, which sacrificed protection for speed, as well as a number of keel-mounted thrusters to hold it up while operating in a planet's atmosphere. The bow is slightly different, with a larger hangar bay that is half-again as large as on its more common counterparts, and a smaller upper hull. The hangar is divided into two sections; a long flight deck that is located on the upper floor, and a general-purpose bay that accommodated both dropships and ground vehicles on the lower one. Both decks use different airlocks, so they can launch and receive different squadrons at the same time. However, only aircraft entering the front hangar door can benefit from the advanced gravitic breaking system. The upper plate on the bow that ran between the raised plates of titanium-A battleplate is unusual in that had a series of automated elevators and armatures that could rearm and refuel up to three space fighters in the middle of battle. Intended as a forward-thinking feature, it was hoped that the UNSC would introduce a smaller interceptor model to take advantage of it. No such aircraft would ever reach the light of day, so the system lies unused. In homage to its maritime namesakes, the Endeavor is often seen sporting red-or-blue war paint resembling waves on its bow and wings.

In terms of armament, the UNSC Endeavor 's original ship-to-ship armament consisted of two Series-2, light coil MACs. The Series-2 MACs were intended for use on corvettes, and fired far smaller slugs in exchange for higher speed and quicker recharge times. Backing this up were 18 M58 Archer missile pods, each with five silos. These were general-purpose missile pods that are effective against other ships, but could also be used against larger gunships and space fighters if necessary. They could also carry a vast assortment of warheads, with armor-piercing and counter-shielding being the most popular. It lacks the M870 Rampart emplacements, and in their place are eight M37 Suppressor turrets, each with twin-linked 279mm naval autocannons. They could be used for defeating missiles, but they were intended for use against other ships and space fighters. Instead, 19 M710 20mm turrets were installed for this purpose. For use against far slower and heavier opponents, two M81273 fusion rockets were embarked, each with a variable payload. Like on regular Halberd-class destroyers, a Mark 45 fire director was used to vastly increase its accuracy at extended ranges.

Refits
As a former CMA warship, the Endeavor was typically initially passed over by UNSC officials when it came to upgrades, with any improvements made coming from reclaimed parts that belonged to scrapped vessels. This was partly fueled by their disapproval in combining the roles of destroyer and transport, as it was not able to fulfill either role as well as many other vessels already in service. However, as it continued to survive engagements with the Covenant, refits were eventually authorized that steadily built upon its capabilities, with these often being implemented between large-scale repairs.

By 2532, the Endeavor had received a small suite of improvements, as five years of constant action would obviously cause severe wear on its systems. While most of its systems replacements were minor and hardly affected its performance, with its powerplant, electronics, and even its superstructure being modified to some capacity, two significant changes were made. The first was the installation of a TN-91sy/n Triad targeting suite taken from the, an older computer network that allowed for better coordination of nearby Archer missile swarms and plotted more accurate fire from its naval autocannon battery. The second was a controversial array of radiators at exposed parts of the ship, which while it enabled the Endeavor to overclock its reactor and engines well above their designed limits, left holes in its armor that was never fully addressed over its lifespan. The only other noteworthy change was the increased complement of point defense guns, in a desperate attempt to better protect it from plasma torpedoes and the unexpectedly-resilient Covenant strikecraft. Because the shipwrights had to rely on whatever weapons were available, it was not composed of one homogeneous type of turret, including others such as the M810 Helix and various models of Rampart guns.

In 2532, after suffering extensive damage following the Battle of Boundary, the Endeavor limped to the regional shipyards of Passage, where she underwent its first major refit. This was an expansive affair, involving the modification of vital internal equipment, the movement or mutation of its armor and hull, and the removal of dozens of makeshift repairs made over the last seven years. Most prominently, its forward bow was angled downwards and expanded in size, originally to allow for the installation of a third MAC. However, high demand for such weapons saw the space being given over to supercapacitors, munition storage, and more accommodations for Marines and pilots.

Construction and commissioning
The destroyer that would be christened the Endeavor first began construction in orbit of Chi Rho by the local construction company Diadel Systems, who had been subcontracted by SinoViet Heavy Machinery to construct a number of modified destroyers for the Colonial Military Administration. It was first laid down on August 22, 2518 as the third of the thirteen destroyers built of its batch, which ended with the completion of the UNSC Heart of Midlothian in late-2522. As its previous two sisters allowed Diadel to identify and fix many issues with manufacturing and shipping of parts, the destroyer would suffer no construction delays, with its fabrication actually being accelerated at least two months ahead of schedule. It was launched on January 27, 2519 to complete the fitting-out process.

As construction came to a close, the destroyer was subjected to a rigorous set of space trials, intended to test the operation of its systems and general integrity. This consisted of a series of hard burn accelerations, sensory tests, and close-orbit passes. The third trials were notable in that the ship was caught in an intense comet bombardment that saw large and small shards of rock impacting to the destroyer's hull, forcing it to undergo extreme evasive maneuvers to escape damage. One of these turns saw it unintentionally collide with the MSV Ivory Tower, a large maintenance tug that attempted to rescue it. The damage would delay its commissioning, but the minimal, almost superficial extent showed that the destroyer was much more ruggedly built than was first believed by the shipbuilders. It was commissioned as the CMA Endeavor on March 19, 2519, and was delivered to the CMA a mere three days later. It would depart the Ectanus 45 system, manned by a new rookie crew under the command of Lieutenant Commander Asia Vespa.

Insurrection
The CMA Endeavor first served in the 173rd frigate flotilla, a light naval unit that operated in the Lurone, Rawadi, and Rowena Sectors of FLEETCOM Sector 2. In this guise, it was primarily used to conduct light troop movement through the region, where it ferried elements of the 276th Colonial Army Battalion towards unrest hotspots on Pumice and Cadence. It lent naval support where possible, but thanks to the small-scale of the fighting, and the Endeavor 's lack of atmospheric thrusters, its support was generally limited to logistics and coordination. Other tasks included convoy protection duties to the habitats of Campbell's Landing, in an effort to deter losses to piracy in a navigational hazard zone around it. Most of these tasks were quiet affairs, as nobody realistically wanted to pit themselves against a Colonial Navy destroyer.

In October 2521, the Endeavor was reassigned into the 114th Rapid Strike Squadron, the largest and most active CMA naval unit in the Asgard Stratum, as a replacement to the. This reassignment was also to partially cover the refit of the carrier, with the Endeavor taking over some of its servicing duties for the four months it was in dock. Within the 114th, the destroyer was supposed to assist any starships in distress, where it would quickly move to dock and embark any crew and cargo that can be saved from disabled craft and fight off any attackers. The agricultural content of these freighters meant that it was vital that shipping losses were kept to a minimum, and the Endeavor was involved with the rescue of 19 civilian freighters and four warships during 2522 alone. However, the 114th's power meant that its escorts were responsible for tracking and hunting down any significant insurgent elements in the region, as well as reinforce any CMA garrisons that were struggling to put down unrest. For this need, the destroyer participated in putting down the insurrections of Madrigal, Green Hills, and especially Redstow VI, where it supported ground incursions with orbital strikes at the cost of escalating civilian casualties. However, the sudden increase in readiness and activity, as well as the now-notoriously low standard of training given to CMA recruits, meant that the Endeavor 's largely-inexperienced crew were seen as both incompetent and lazy. This was almost dangerously so, as it almost fired upon allied vessels on several occasions; this reputation would only be erased following the start of the Human-Covenant War.

In February 2523, Vespa stepped down as the Endeavor 's commanding officer, and was replaced by Lieutenant Commander Chi Kariuki. An ambitious officer, it was under her leadership that the destroyer became host to sympathizers of the Biko Independence Army. At first, the only assistance the crew offered were leaked communiques sent through the squadron, and Kariuki's desire to impress saw these quickly shut down. It was only through negotiations and bribery of her communications officer, Lieutenant Patryk Adamczyk, that operations escalated. Throughout the rest of the year, the Endeavor actively assisted the BIA's efforts by providing dead drops of infantry equipment and firearms, starship munitions such as Archer missiles, and even entire vehicles and dropships when possible, all of which was smuggled back to Biko. This assistance was also afforded to other Insurrectionist groups, where it misdirected CMA and UNSC forces by providing false sensor reports. It even faked the deaths of Godfrey's Commandos during Operation: THUNDERBIRD, one of the Secessionist Union's most elite forces, where the commandos were temporarily folded into the ship's crew following the destruction of their corvette.

All of this eventually culminated in a scandal. In early 2524, the BIA used many of the weapons they stockpiled in their fifth uprising, and were swiftly put down by UNSC forces. Analysts from ONI Section One were brought in to scour through the wreckage, as well as interrogate one of the captured insurrectionists for information. While they were able to determine that the equipment was stolen from the CMA, the exact origin was ultimately unknown as their prisoner did not survive. As a result, ONI covertly seeded teams of investigators among CMA garrisons to hunt it down. One of these teams, composed of Chief Warrant Officer 4 Kores Van Schalkwyk and his Navy handler Lieutenant Theodora Papadopoulos, were officially serving as trainers for the Endeavor 's when they were captured by the ship's crew. It was only when they escaped and intercepted one of the weapons drops left behind that they obtained solid proof that connected the destroyer to not only the BIA, but also exposed the rampant insurgent activities in the region. The Endeavor was immediately suspended from operations, and its entire crew were detained and interrogated by Section 1. Many would be pressured into resigning from the CMA, LCDR Kariuki and several of the senior officers were court-martialed for negligence, and the few that were released were reassigned. The ship itself was thoroughly swept of any listening devices, and its databanks were recovered for further analysis. When it finally returned to service in January 2525, it would be under an entirely-new crew.

Human-Covenant War
The CMA Endeavor 's first actions in what would become known as the Human-Covenant War occurred in May 2525, when it was sent to investigate the loss of the CMA cruiser Urban Encroachment in the Upada Sector. A four-week search was extended into six when a second starship, the CMA Empyrean Jewel, disappeared in the same region. No traces of either starship were discovered, which worried the regional command that both ships had been hijacked. As a result, it was ordered to rendezvous with the frigate CMA Raltstown to escort merchants through the Asgard Stratum in hopes of deterring raids.

However, when the civilian craft of the CAA Astrography Charting Mission deployed to the Aurna Sector failed to check in, the entirety of the 114th Rapid Strike Squadron was sent in to locate them on July 13. After 16 days of searching, the Endeavor reported the recovery of Item-291X - an alien fragment that appeared to be some sort of hull fragment. Two days later, the destroyer met up with another CMA corvette to verify the discovery of the wreckage belonging to one of the Mission's command ships, the CAA Babyloniaca. In addition, preliminary analysis of the damage was undertaken, where it was discovered that it had been subject to an intense bombardment of high-temperature bolts, which breached all decks and fused a number of crucial propulsion systems. More importantly, the Endeavor 's weapon officers and chief engineer both noted that the damage could not have been caused by any known weapons they were aware of. The Endeavor towed the wreckage back to their home base at Biko so it could be analyzed further. Both Item-291X and the Babyloniaca were instrumental in convincing the regional CMA command to permit the 114th Squadron to remain in the area, although no further ships would be dispatched to assist them. This was because they believed that an unprecedented Insurgent operation was underway, which led to more squadrons and armies being deployed in the adjacent Mid-Rim colonies instead.

On October 26, the Endeavor arrived in the CRT-99-LP system to exchange supplies with the corvette CMA Johnston, only to find itself participating in the Skirmish of CRT-99-LP. In an action lasting a minute and a half, the destroyer took several blows with the much smaller alien ship, breaching D-deck on the bow and killing 4 people. Meanwhile, the only hits from the human side were from a salvo of one of the Endeavor 's naval autocannons, as its missiles were either shot down or jammed. While it did force the raider to flee, no damage was registered. Once it disengaged, the destroyer immediate began a rescue of the Johnston 's 13-strong crew, although only a single comatose survivor was recovered.

Both ships returned to the nearest CMA outpost in the Gibson system, although the Johnston had to be towed back as it could not travel under its own power. They filed an urgent report to CMA Command regarding engagement with unidentified alien vessels. This was not long after the CMA Heracles returned from Harvest, where its crew claimed that a massive alien capital ship had routed its Battle Group. Surprisingly, all three ships received orders by the UNSC High Command, signed by the UEG Minister of Defense, to head with best possible speed to the nearest UNSC naval base at Falakuna in the 18 Scorpii system. All three ships were temporarily grounded as ONI Section One teams combed over them for any intelligence on their potential adversary. These included thorough interrogations of the crews, inspecting the sensor readings taken during the battle, and inspecting the damage to discover new insights. Repairs were halted while this process was ongoing.

On November 1, the UNSC declared a state of emergency, forcibly placing all CMA personnel and property under its direct jurisdiction. As a result, the destroyer was rechristened the UNSC Endeavor, and major software upgrades were implement to allow it to interface with the UNSC battlenet and communications systems.

Outer Colony Campaigns
The chaos that immediately followed the discovery at Harvest saw the UNSC Endeavor hectically redeployed to wherever the Navy felt it would be the most useful, with these reassignments happening either following the destruction of the battle group it was attached to, or while it was undergoing major repairs. It initially fought with Vice Admiral Preston Cole's Battle Group X-Ray during the Second Battle of Harvest, as the crew already had limited combat experience fighting against the Covenant. Here, it flew in the vanguard with sixteen other frigates and destroyers to screen the fleet from any missiles and fighters launched from the, and suffered extreme damage at the hands of the larger capital ship. A number of close attacks awarded it with the complete destruction of its entire bow surface, including the detonation of its entire keel thrust assembly that forced it out of formation. However, its countermeasure spamming in combination with the efforts of nearby escorts blinded the gunners on the battleship, which was crucial in saving additional UNSC ships from destruction.

The UNSC Endeavor participated in the Battles of Green Hills and Alpha Auriga with Battle Group X-Ray, but the small size of its MACs eventually led to Cole transferring the destroyer into a support role. Instead, between October 2526 and February 2527, it served in a wolfpack with two other Halberd-class destroyers, where they raided Covenant supply lines. Thirteen ships were claimed over that four-month period, but further success was halted when the flotilla was ambushed and routed, leaving the Endeavor the only survivor. Once it finished repairs in June 2527, the destroyer was assigned Battle Group D, an assault armada embroiled in the ongoing Harvest Campaign. There, it switch positions between fleet escort against enemy warships, planetary support vessel, and armed supply transport to and from the assault ship Spirit of Fire. The Endeavor 's performance were crucial to turning the tide for the invasion forces, where its most significant contributions were offering orbital support and replenishment during the Second Siege of Utgard, and the annihilation of a major Covenant base. It stayed here until May 2528, when a swarm of 263 space fighters and five corvettes overwhelmed and almost destroyed the Endeavor. Only the arrival of the cruiser Prophecy saved the destroyer, although the mauling it received was so grave that the destroyer was pulled from the campaign altogether.

The UNSC Endeavor would be reunited with the 114th Rapid Strike Squadron after this point, as the last three years of constant combat left them desperate for new ships. The 114th flipped between emergency response and planetary defense, and the action was so frequent that none of the ships were given enough time to repair themselves before they were committed back to action. The Endeavor participated in no less than 56 separate engagements over the next seven years, many of these being minor engagements to rescue stricken starships. There were some major campaigns, however, with the Battle of New Tharsis in 2531 standing out. Following a major refit which installed atmospheric engines for the first time, the Endeavor was used as a secondary command ship for Rear Admiral Ashok Raymond. It was under his command that the destroyer daringly pursued Covenant warships deep into the planet's atmosphere, and its presence above the major cities were instrumental in beating back their forces long enough for the planet and its infrastructure to be successfully evacuated. In addition, they also denied them access to a minor Forerunner installation.

In August 2532, Commander Shannon Hambleton took command of the UNSC Endeavor, and it was under her leadership that the destroyer fought in some of the most successful actions of its entire career. An incredibly talented naval commander, her unorthodox use of tactics revolving around slipspace drives led to a number of shocking victories being attained. The Skirmish of LV-427g saw the destruction of a far larger by the destroyer alone, while the Battle of the Hydra system saw elements of the 114th Squadron successfully pull off a risky attack on the Covenant fleet's flank, where the casualties inflicted extended the campaign by at least six weeks. However, losses were still being sustained; the Endeavor was the only starship of its unit to survive the last stand at Hollow Point, and it was almost destroyed in drydock when the Covenant attacked Chi Rho only weeks later. It was only after these last two battles that the destroyer first displayed its iconic warpaint consisting of a blood-red wave on its bow and lower wings, a trait that would be retained for the rest of its service.

Siege of the Inner Colonies
Throughout the end of the 2530s, and until the end of the 2540s, the UNSC Endeavor was primarily assigned to the 14th Defense Fleet, where the vast majority of its duties pertained to air superiority and ground support. This was because that the Endeavor was largely one-of-a-kind, as few other destroyers were capable of operating within a planet's atmosphere. The Battles of Miridem, Heavensward, and Iota Persei were exceptionally hard on the crew and complement, and these also reflected that the Endeavor was increasingly ferried further along into the Western Hemisphere of Human Space. Huge losses were recorded among its ground complement; it became a sad joke that the Endeavor required a new infantry battalion every three months. This wasn't far from the truth; the ground element of the destroyer suffered in excess of 70% casualties in most engagements.

After 2548, in spite of the routine refits it received during repairs, a number of breakdowns led to the UNSC Endeavor being recalled into the core regions of human space. It was assigned to counterinsurgency and commerce protection patrols around the Epsilon Eridani system, as well as mobile slipspace detection duties, rather common assignments for warships believed to be too old for the frontlines. These low-level tasks meant that it did see on-and-off use as a first station for recruits fresh out of the academy, where combat against the occasional insurgent corvette or Covenant storm cutter gained them valuable experience. In any case, the only thing that saved it from the scrapyard were the mounting casualties, and any warships still able to fly and shoot were retained until it was no longer economical enough to repair them.

Right before the Fall of Reach, the Endeavor was undergoing an engine overhaul over Tribute when the Covenant's Combined Fleet of Righteous Immolation attacked the system. It could not launch from the drydock until the morning of August 31, as attacks on its drydock delayed efforts to ready it for combat. When it finally did launch, it supported the defense by providing Longsword support, where it protected the critical shipyards and assisted with the destruction of a CCS-class battlecruiser that assault Casbah City. Eventually, the overwhelming Covenant fleet destroyed the shipyards and forced the Endeavor and the rest of the local naval element to regroup in range of the planetary mass drivers. On September 5, while full evacuation of the colony was underway, the best five ships still intact there - the most powerful being the new heavy cruiser March on Stormwell - were secretly ordered to embark their troops and make way for Circumstance to act as a diversion for Operation: LAST STRAW. In the fourteen-hour long engagement, the battle group attempted to break through the armada that laid between them, with only the Endeavor and a single other frigate successfully reaching a position to deploy their ground forces. It was the Endeavor that ended up picking up the survivors of the failed mission, among which included the survivors of a SPARTAN-III team, and it departed the Epsilon Eridani system while under pursuit in the late hours of September 7 as it made its way for Earth.

Skilful application of the Cole Protocol allowed the Endeavor to throw off its pursuers before it arrived at the Sol system, but a reactor and engine failure meant that it had to be towed the rest of the way to Mars. Now reassigned under the Home Fleet, it was still being repaired when the UNSC Navy was mobilized ahead of the Battle for Earth, and the desperation saw every starship in drydock launch. Although it fought against the initial thrust from the Fleet of Sacred Consecration, the Endeavor saw most of its action around South-East Asia, where it was redeployed constantly based on need. On November 28, it joined Battle Group Luck in the Gulf Offensive, where it was supposed to destroy or drive off the two battlecruisers that guarded the road to Cairo. Repeated keel hits from plasma torpedoes forced it down onto the beaches of the Red Sea, but the subsequent destruction of the enemy starships meant it was still relatively intact following the battle. As a result, the UNSC used it as a staging base, and salvaged its Archer missiles, nuclear warheads, and communications arrays for use in later campaigns.

Crew
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Captains

 * CPTN Taylor Gai (January 2519 - March 2519): Commanded her during her space trials.
 * LCDR Asia Vespa (March 2519 - February 2523): Transferred to command the frigate CMA Swipe Left.
 * LCDR Chi Kariuki (February 2523 - October 2524): Court-martialed and dishonorably discharged by ONI.
 * LCDR Costică Ionescu (January 2525 - January 2526): Killed during the Second Battle of Harvest.
 * CMDR Wieland Hauer (March 2526 - February 2527): Killed during the Skirmish of CP-99 system.
 * LCDR Anargul Eldar (May 2527 - 2530): Field-promoted to the rank of Commander and transferred to Naval Command of Drawn.
 * CMDR Shannon Hambleton (2532 - 2537): Promoted to the rank of Captain and transferred to the.
 * CMDR Tom Žagar (2549 - present)

Bridge officers

 * LT Patryk Adamczyk (September 2522 - October 2524): Communications officer, discharged by ONI.

Miscellaneous
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 * CWO4 Kores Van Schalkwyk (March 2524 - October 2524): UNSC technical liason and trainer, transferred following the completion of his mission.
 * LT Theodora Papadopoulos (March 2524 - October 2524): UNSC naval liason, transferred following the completion of her mission.