Prelude to War
Journal of Lord Admiral Terrance Hood January 1, 2553
It is said if you want to see the future just look behind you. Power is constantly changing like the wind, and war finds a way to worm itself into the pages of history. It is clear one cannot outrun the past.
The end of the Human/Covenant War held such promise of a new beginning. But this new beginning started many other things. New boundaries, new players, a new enemy
The Human/Covenant War effectively brought an end to the First Insurrection. Most of the insurgents joined the UNSC against the alien menace. Only a few minor pockets remained with most being subdued by the UNSC or wiped out by the Covenant. With most of the key leaders dead it seemed that the insurrectionists efforts had been brought to an end.
We could not have been more wrong the Insurrectionist did return larger, stronger and more determined than ever. Alongside the older groups such as the United Rebel Front, new insurgent groups emerged such as the New Colonial Alliance and the Colonial Defense Front. The Colonial Defense Front would take the mantle as the foremost Insurrectionist movement absorbing the weakened URF and the up and coming NCA along with the various dissident factions of the First Insurrection. The CDF would build up a vast interplanetary support network across the Human Colonies. They were joined by thousands of Outer Colonists angry at the UNSC for abandoning them.
All choices have consequences and while they may not always be immediate they are inevitable. Despite our efforts there was only so much we could do for the colonies and we were faced with an impossible choice. In our attempt to save the Inner Colonies, we were forced to abandon many of the Outer Colonies. As a result many of the planets we swore to protect found themselves at the mercy of the Covenant. The suffering that followed caused many of the colonists harbored a great deal of resentment towards the UEG.
In 2540 a group of revolutionaires took advantage of the situation and embarked on a relief campaign. With a massive fleet of assorted vessels, they traveled to the colonies picking up refugees and bringing them to 'refuge points' (colonies untouched by the Covenant) including Venezia, Talista, Gao, Gilgamesh, Victoria and Aleria. Because of this the colonists called them a 'colonial defense force'. The rebels soon adopted this title and the Colonial Defense Front was born led by a mysterious figure under the codename Spartacus.
They started off with 680 soldiers and 32 commandoes, but as they were saving colonists they were also recruiting. Their numbers swelled quickly as time progressed. We were so focused on fighting the Covenant we never gave the CDF much thought since at the time they seemed to be nothing more than a joint relief effort. Because of this their activities were pushed to the back of our minds and this allowed the CDF to expand it's influence. Throughout the course of the war, the CDF interacted heavily with the outer colonies all the while building up it's own strength through any means short of terrorism.
The actions of the CDF included prison breaks such as the Midnight Facility which swelled their ranks with former rebels and new recruits one of note was Colonel Robert Watts. The former leader of the United Rebel Front became a mentor to the fledgling group and advised them on courses of action Much of their equipment the CDF had to either beg, borrow, buy or in most cases steal. Raids on supply depots gave them much needed equipment such as weapons, medicine, vehicles such as warthogs and pelicans and smaller ships like Corvettes and freighters.
We normally associated the attacks and loss of assets with the Covenant, never once thinking that rebels were involved. In order to fund their activities, the CDF used their various contacts to forge alliances with a number of companies. Some had most of their businesses taken over by larger companies, while others became suppliers of the CDF.
Due to the success of Eridanus Secundus, the CDF developed a network of bases comprised of hundreds of hollowed out asteroids. This allowed their operations to avoid the prying eyes of ONI. Aside from strongholds some of these asteroids became settlements, shipyards, factories, scrapyards, warehouses and other types of facilities to suit their convenience.
By the time the war ended in 2552 we believed the rebels to be finished and the end of the war would usher in a new era of peace. It was one of the biggest miscalculations since the Carver Findings. When the war ended the CDF had a firm foothold from which to operate from and as colonies were resettled, dozens quietly suceeded.
The Colonial Defense Front set out with two rules.
1: Terrorist tactics will not be tolerated. Any person of group that does so will be immediately put to death.
2: Never consort with the Covenant Remnant against felllow humans
In order to show how serious they were about this. The CDF rounded up all the known members of the Freedom and Liberation Party and had them all executed. Those that escaped went into hiding and were labelled as Excommunicado.
Their was still one problem the CDF had than needed to be resolved. While their soldiers were moderately equipped and they had plenty of standard vehicles and smaller ships they needed bigger guns if they were to face the might of the UNSC.
In a twist of irony the solution to their problem would come at the end of the war. A new age dawned on humanity, new ships, and weapons were being made. As this happened, Older assets were being scrapped, mothballed or put in storage. It was an opportunity the CDF did not ignore and many of these assets found themselves in rebel hands.
For years they stayed under the radar as much as they could with Spartacus going to great lengths to avoid being discovered. But without the Covenant to fight them, ONI was able to focus in the CDF recent activities. Eventually their existence was exposed by Spartan IV Fireteam Osiris, who stumbled across one of their operations by pure chance. With their cover blown Spartacus decided come into the light. On June 12th 2560, the Colonial Defense Front issued a broadcast to every human colony declaring their existance and intent. The Rebel Leader Spartacus issued this statement under a mask to all the colonies.
Citizens of the of the Unified Earth Government. For too long the colonists have been blind to a devious enemy. One that cares only to extend it's own interests and agendas, one that spreads naught but misinformation to hide it's crimes against our people. An enemy that resides within the highest level of authority.
As I speak on the capital world of Earth, The Office of Naval Intelligence LIES to the colonies, while continuing to scheme and murder to make itself higher than the influence of Earth. We are those who have suffered the extent of their wrath first hand. We are the betrayed, the forgotten, the abandoned. We are the Colonial Defense Front and we will not rest until ONI has paid the price for it's transgressions.
Now to our brothers and sisters, for decades we have been forced to hide in the shadows. But a new age has allowed us to even out the playing field. I call upon you to join us and aid in exposing ONI for what it truly is. Make no mistake we are revolutionaries not terrorists. If anyone engages in such lowly tactics their lives will pay the forfeit.
When this proclamation came out the High Command scoffed and with reason. The Insurrectionists of the past were not only disorganized but were ill equipped to handle the might of the UNSC. Their fleets were improvised at best and their weapons sorely out-dated. They believed that the Colonial Defense Front would be put down swiftly just like all the others.
A heated argument erupted over the CDF's ultimatum. Miranda Keyes, Terrance Hood and a greater part of the UNSC wanted to avoid another conflict and were willing to negotiate a compromise. Margaret Parangosky, Serin Osman and the rest of ONI on the other hand were against it , but not for the reasons most people thought. ONI saw this insurrection as a way of gaining authority over the UEG. They also felt that if the rebels got what they wanted it would weaken the UEGs position as leaders of humanity. After several days of debating President Ruth Charet sided with ONI.
Parangosky decided that the best course of action was to cut the head off the snake so she made plans to capture the rebel leader. But Spartacus proved to be more evasive than anticipated mainly because nobody knew what he looked like or what his real name was. This continued until a sleeper agent was able to point them in the right direction. Her name was Maya Sankar but the rebels knew her as FERO a prominant rebel leader.
With the information she needed, Parangosky sent a team of Spartan IV's led by Jameson Locke after Spartacus while he was overseeing one of his operations on earth itself. Unfortunately Spartacus was prepared for this and set a trap for them.
The fireteam infltrated the rebal base and burst into the command center. The room was empty save for a lone figure wearing a mask and a trenchcoat. The masked figure slowly turned around showing little sign of distress or surprise.
The struggle that followed resulted in all 10 Spartans being rendered unconscious. After his would be captors were incapacitated Spartacus cleared the base and retreated back to his main headquarters to plan his next move. ONI's hopes to take out the leader failed and the Second Insurrection had officially begun.