April 3rd 2553


The fleet exited slipspace right over the unhabited planet. The group consisted of three Marathon-class cruisers, each of which were accompanied by their own complement of 8 Frigates each and a further complement of 4 Longsword fighters per Frigate. The fighters were launched from their hangar bays as soon as the ships had entered the space a few thousand kilometers away from Theta and the fleet began to close in.
"Readings clear: there is zero sign of any enemy activity," the leading Marathon cruiser's AI reported to his Rear Admiral. The Admiral nodded and soon the order to descend to the surface of the planet was given out. Over the next few hours, preparations were made with terraforming instruments being checked and rechecked and UNSC Marines making sure their survival gear was up to standard.

As the fleet lowered itself towards the surface, the Admiral fixed his gaze on his personal datapad. The planet had four different locations highlighted on it, each several miles in size.
"Those are spots that suffered the least from the glassing years ago. I suggest we allocate our resources to those sectors if we are to make a successful start."
The Admiral nodded. "Send out the order, I want our equipment and troops divided equally between the four spots. Any remainders should stay on their ships in case any additional supplies are required by ground teams."
"Yes sir."

April 4th 2553


"Status?" The Admiral said as he entered the bridge of the Marathon cruiser. It was early in the morning and the yellow sun of Theta only just began to illuminate the clear skies of the desolate planet. The cruiser itself was hovering above the surface just above the cloud layer, accompanied by the two other Marathon cruisers.
"All four groups have reached their destinations and our terraforming equipment has officially been deployed. Step one, which is to resaturate the soil is underway with the planting of vegetation soon to follow. Infantry are also in the process of setting up atmospheric conversion units around the perimeters of the sites. Estimated completion date of all of these activities: under a week to put a rough estimate."
The Admiral nodded.

The equipment they were working with was very expensive and in the case of the atmospheric conversion equipment, they were very large and took hours to days to assemble. The units themselves would launch into different layers of the atmosphere around the sites and begin to re-arrange molecular bonds of the toxic gases into different gases such as nitrogen and oxygen that were needed to stimulate Earth-like conditions. The process was sophisticated but still took a lot of time.

April 20th 2553


Thanks to the conversion units, the atmosphere began to show some sogns of recovery, however it waa obvious that the units would need to remaim up there for months to years in order to ensure full and successful recovery after the damaging effect the Covenan't glassing attacks had on the ecosystem. Still, other progressions were being made with all four lands being successfully fertilised and vegetation planted. The oxygen was just about enough to allow for these plants to grow,  so progression towards successful terraforming was already afoot.

Now began the building of borders and structures within these territories for volunteering colonists that would help resettle on the planet and work towards advancing the terraforming efforts for years to come. This process was much simpler as all that needed to be done was to assemble pre-designed structures and walls in their correct places. Of course, radiation checks were also conducted but it turned out the sites were inherently the least radioactive due to being the least damaged during the bombardment.

However, storms and temperatures akin to nuclear winters were prevalent with shards of glass occasionally being thrown across the planet by the powerful wind storms of the planet. In order to counter these phenomenons, the ships would quickly ascend above the clouds while infantry would find cover in specially designed bunkers. Tests were also conducted on the borders to ensure their self defense functions against such storms were also operational to protect the cities and their inhabitants.

April 24th 2553


There hadn't been any hostile activity since the battle that had taken place the day before. However, The Admiral made sure to leave one Marathon cruiser accompanied by some UNSC frigates outside the planet in constant orbit in case anything else popped up.
"Our adversaries were merely pirates. Kig-yar to be more precise. Their strategy was efficient but nearly not enough against out Marathons. If there were Sangheilli aboard those ships, the outcome may have been different." The AI said.
"Its been a month since the end of the war, and the Elites went back to their home world. I doubt we'll see any opposition from them anytime soon. At least for as long as this new truce holds." The Admiral replied. "We can't afford to show signs of weakness. It's why we're out here. To show the galaxy that we can recover quickly. We're tenacious, humanity will rebuild as much as we have to."

"A gross mis-allocation of resources can also be a way to describe it, with respect. The way I see it, a lot of money and labour could have been invested in other, more important endevours. Such as technological upgrades in light of the Covenant and Forerunner technology recovered from the UNSC's exploits all over and outside the galaxy." The AI replied.

"All in due time I guess." The Admiral said. "How're we doing groundside?"
"Cities are almost established comletely. All that needs doing now is the terraforming procedures to finish and the successful transportation of civilians to the planet."
"So far so good then." The Admiral said as he gazed out ot the frontal viewing port.

May 1st 2553


The civilians had arrived and began to land in their respective, chosen cities. Their occupations were all specialised with miners, agriculture experts, scientists, engineers and doctors being part of the different families. If the UNSC were to establish and maintain a presence, they needed people who'd know what to do in any scenario.
The colony ships were beginning to enter the atmosphere, escorted by a few Frigates. With these new arrivals came a backup fleet to ensure nothing went sideways. No one could risk a Covenant attack at a time like this. Not when civilian lives were especially at stake.

After a few hours of settling and getting aquainted, the civilians began to move into their homes. The atmospheres around the cities had been successfully adjusted for them and continued to spread outwards over the entire planet. The process was gradual and slow, but the wait was worth it. Vegetation has begun to grow successfully which showed the land was finally fertile. For the first few years, supply ships would continue to visit the planet with food and resources until the civilians were finaly able to establish a successful, sustainable workflow - under the guidance of the UEG of course.

July 10th 2553


Everything had been successfully established. The civilians were working towards developing an economy for the planet and while the land grew more and more fertile. The atmosphere as a whole was slowly becoming breathable outside the territories and the UNSC began to establish mining platforms over the entire planet to dig up the glassed surface and break it down or replace it with soil. It wasn't going to be easy and the endevour was predicted to take years of hard work. But time was one thing they seemed to have an infinite amount of.

One subject of worry however, was the emergence of a small object from slipspace right above the planet. The object disappeared almost as fast as it appeared and no one knew what it was though many suspected a Covenant scout ship of some kind. The incident took place a month ago but the fleet, that had tripled in size by now were constantly on alert.
Tactical command had been given to the Admiral by the higher-ups in the UNSC, for which he was thankful but deep down he felt pressured. Now the fate of the entire colony was in his hands. One slip-up and years of work invested would be gone a lot sooner...

July 21st 2553


It finally happened. The first Covenant battlegroup emerged from slipspace but were immediately obliterated by the overwhelming UNSC presence. But now a larger fleet had arrived and it soon became obvious that the engagement would last a long time. A couple of ships were left inside the atmosphere of the planet while all other ships flocked to space to meet the enemy there. And soon, the clash started and kicked off a gruelling battle. Many UNSC frigates were destroyed in the ensuing battle but the UNSC held their ground firmly. Thanks to the downfall of the Covenant months ago, their equipment and technology was nowhere near up to par and in some instances, CCS battlecruisers were destroyed by mere Frigates. The only real challenges were the Covenant destroyers which were only matched in might by the Marathon cruisers. Only one Marathon cruiser sustained critical damage as an outcome with the others recieving minor need of repair. 

The Admiral had put his ship at the front of the fleet and it was his cruiser that had taken the most hits. He knew it wouldn't be able to hold up for much longer but he continued to fire, evade and distract the enemy ships while his subordinate ships took the opprtunities to finish them off. However, the tracking abilities of the plasma torpedos caused the ship to sustain more and more damage and it soon became apparent that the ship was on the verge of destruction...

July 22nd 2553


Colonisation efforts continue to take place with significant improvements made each day. Mining and drilling operations also continue 24/7 with changing shifts to ensure the utmost productivity.
The space engagement the day before had ended only a few hours ago and reinforcements were on their way. The local fleet had lost a quarter of its assets including the Rear Admiral's Marathon cruiser. The Admiral himself and his entire crew perished with the destruction of the ship. Colonisation and terraforming operations are now headed by a new Captain. Estimated time of arrival for the backup fleet is a few hours to a full day, however in light of the recent attack, enemy losses were almost completely absolute. They'd be wise not to return or it'd be a long time before they even try to.

August 3rd 2553


No sign of enemy activity for months. Workflow has improved and continues to do so with no apparent cause for concern in anything regarding the equipment, colonists, workers or the fleet. Supplies continue to arrive monthly and at this rate, it had been predicted that the entire planet would be successfully reterraformed within a few months to maybe a year or two.

Nontheless, the UEG has officially declared Theta recolonised.