User:07 Contrite Witness/114th Rapid Strike Squadron

, also known as Battle Group Schreiber and later Battle Group Executor after it changed ownership, was a formation of naval vessels that serviced the CMA and later the UNSC Navies. It was a frontier unit primarily homeported at Biko in the Polona Sector, composed of no more than 13 ships at its height and often operated with fewer than half that number during its last years within the Human-Covenant War.

The 114th Squadron was officially created to counter piracy in its home sector, and as such would frequently escort fleets of civilian freighters as they traveled through notorious low-security regions. However, it also conducted everything from scientific experiments, to assisting the deployment of naval infrastructure, to mediating disagreements as the Insurrection worsened, largely due to the overstretched nature of all CMA forces in the region. The general expectation that they would arrive before any other forces to assess the situation and provide a detailed report to the next arriving fleet was typically ignored, and it rarely participated in operations with another squadron or battle group due to few other units being available in their sector.

When the Human-Covenant War began, the 114th Rapid Strike Squadron was incorporated into the UNSC Navy and ordered first to intercept any Covenant vessels it detected. It earned a reputation as saviors of doomed ships and stations, fighting through insurmountable odds to rescue stranded crews, although not without cost; by 2531, only two surviving warships were part of the pre-War unit. Aside from isolated raiding skirmishes, it participated in the Harvest Campaign and the Battle of Midvale, before it was finally annihilated during the Battle of Hollow Point in 2535. Although there were hopes to reform it, the destruction of the shipyards of Chi Rho led to its formal disbanding.

Fleet elements

 * (CA-319), : Constructed by Charybdis IX's Radcliffe & Co. Shipwrights and commissioned in 2485, the Executor was a 'founding' ship of the 114th Squadron, and would be apart of the unit for much of its history. Destroyed during the Battle of Hollow Point in 2535.
 * (DD-347), Beagle-class assault destroyer: Constructed by Chi Rho's Diadel Systems and commissioned on March 19, 2519. A rare example of carrier-destroyer, the Endeavour was the sole ship to survive the fate of the Squadron, and lived to see the war's conclusion in 2552.

Former ships

 * (DDL-281), : Constructed by SinoViet Heavy Machinery over Siberia Prime and commissioned in 2514, the Corona Infinity was disabled by its own wingmates during a failed hijacking attempt in 2521. It would be scrapped in 2522, with its components being recycled to keep other Hillsborough-class destroyers in service.
 * (CC-191), : Constructed by Great White Shipwrights in the Indra Asteroid Cluster and commissioned in 2511. Nicknamed the Unbeatable or simply the Scribe, the Schreiber was the designated flagship and commanded the squadron all through the Insurrection. It was eventually destroyed near Campbell's Landing in 2528, sacrificing itself to give the civilians time to evacuate.
 * (CVL-436), : Constructed by Great White Shipwrights over Gao and commissioned in 2502, the CMA Achernar was the squadron's primary fighter carrier and designated logistics vessel. Destroyed during the Battle of Midvale in 2526.