CAA Heracles (Earth-5875)

"The group consisted of the destroyer Heracles, commanded by Captain Veredi, as well as the frigates Arabia and Vostok."

- - Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth

The CAA Heracles was a Hillsborough-class destroyer of the Colonial Administration Authority. Captained by Maribeau Veredi, the Heracles was a part of Battle Group 4, becoming the only surviving ship of the battle group after encountering the Covenant ship Rapid Conversion.

History
"The Colonial Administration Authority sent a battle group to respond to the alien threat. They survived less than fourteen seconds before two of the three destroyers [sic] in the group were obliterated, and the remaining destroyer, the Heracles, was forced to retreat."

- - Codename SURGEON Following the loss of contact with Shanxi, the CAA scout ship Argo was sent to investigate the occurrence, but never returned. The CAA then sent its Battle Group 4, led by Captain Maribeau Veredi and consisting of the ships Heracles, Arabia, and Vostok, to investigate.

Upon arriving in the Epsilon Indi system, the team discovered Shanxi has been attacked and glassed by the Covenant, as one of their ships attacked them as soon as they exited slipspace. Before their escape, however, the Heracles received a Covenant transmission in English, where their Hierarchs stated: "Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument." Veredi and his vessel became the only survivors as soon as they returned to Reach, and after giving the warning to the UNSC, Vice Admiral Preston Cole assembled him and more forces to retake the planet.