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| {{Title|UNSC ''Point of No Return''}} | | {{Era|GOO|HE}} |
| {{Status|Canon}} | | {{ratings}} |
| {{Infobox/Ships | | {{title|UNSC ''Point of No Return''}} |
| |name = ''Point of No Return'' | | |
| |image =
| | {{Individual ship infobox |
| |caption =
| | |name = UNSC ''Point of No Return'' |
| |modules =
| | |image = |
| {{Infobox/Ships/Individual | | |class = [[Stealth Cruiser]]/[[UNSC Prowler|Prowler]] |
| |country = [[Unified Earth Government]]
| | |length = 485 meters {{Verify}} |
| |country flag = {{Icon|UEG}}
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| |name = ''Point of No Return'' | |
| |class = {{Class|Point Blank|prowler}}{{Ref/Generic|See [[#Production notes]]}} | |
| |namesake = [[Wikipedia:Point of no return|Point of no return]] | |
| |identification =
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| |operator = [[UNSC Navy]]{{Ref/Reuse|Page 43}}
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| |manufacturer = [[Watershed Division]]{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
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| |architect =
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| |laid down =
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| |launched =
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| |commissioned =
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| |decommissioned =
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| |fate =
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| |status = In active service as of [[2552#December|December 31, 2552]]{{Ref/Anthology|Evo|The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole}}
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| |captains =
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| |ai =
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| |motto =
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| |badge =
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| }}
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| |hide-characteristics=
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| |nocollapse =
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| |type = [[Prowler]]
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| |length = {{Convert|1591|ft|m|sp=us|disp=flip}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22|Enc22|Page=128}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc09|Enc09|Page=252}} | |
| |width =
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| |height =
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| |mass = 1.1 million tonnes{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
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| |power = [[Fusion reactor]]
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| |maneuver drive = Baffled [[fusion drive]]s{{Ref/Novel|Id=GOO2|GoO|Chapter=2}}
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| |slipspace drive = [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] | | |slipspace drive = [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] |
| |crew = | | |shield gen = None |
| |complement = At least 24 [[S-14 Baselard]]s{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS19|HSS|Chapter=19}}{{Ref/Reuse|HSS20}} | | |hull = Resistance to several [[Pulse Laser]] bursts |
| |troops =
| | |complement = |
| |hull =
| | *Ablative Baffles |
| *[[Titanium-A armor|Titanum A battleplate]] | | *Counterelectronic Systems |
| *[[Stealth ablative coating]]{{Ref/Novel|Id=GOO3|GoO|Chapter=3}}
| | *Matte Black ablative stealth coating |
| |shielding =
| | *Texture Buffers<ref name="Page 43">[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]] page 43</ref> |
| |sensors =
| | |passengers = 20 [[UNSC]] officers |
| |ew = Communications-jamming{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS7|HSS|Chapter=7}}
| | |othersystems = |
| |armaments = | | *Radar Invisible |
| *1 [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|20F9B9 MAC]]{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
| | *Insulating layers |
| *5 [[Shiva-class nuclear missile|M947 Shiva nuclear missile]] delivery system{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
| | *Counterelectronics |
| *80 [[Archer missile#M42 Archer|M42 Archer missile]] pods{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS20|HSS|Chapter=20}}
| | |role = [[ONI]] Field Command |
| *4 [[M66 Sentry autocannon]] turrets{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
| | |firstsight = [[2531]] |
| *20 [[M910 Rampart point defense network]] turrets{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
| | |lastsight = [[2552]] |
| |aircraft =
| | |affiliation = [[UNSC Navy]], [[ONI]] |
| |air facilities = Multiple [[hangar bay]]s including
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| *Command hangar{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS16|HSS|Chapter=16}}
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| *Drop hangar{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS7|HSS|Chapter=7}}
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| *Aft fighter hangar{{Ref/Reuse|HSS19}}
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| *Various maintenance hangars{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS17|HSS|Chapter=17}}
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| }} | | }} |
| The '''UNSC ''Point of No Return''''' is a {{Class|Point Blank|prowler}} in the [[United Nations Space Command]]'s [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]. It is one of the most advanced and secret ships ever built by the UNSC. | | |
| | The '''UNSC ''Point of No Return''''' is one of the most advanced and secret ships ever built by the [[UNSC]]'s [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], classified as a [[Stealth Cruiser]]. |
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| ==Background== | | ==Background== |
| The ''Point of No Return'' is the wartime command and control platform for ONI Section Three. The existence of the vessel is highly classified: officially, the ship does not even exist. Very few have actually seen the ship, only a handful have ever been aboard, and fewer than twenty officers have access to its most sensitive areas.<ref name="Page 43">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 43''</ref> The ship is crewed by people from all military branches of the UNSC and multiple [[artificial intelligence]]s maintained solely by ONI. | | The ''Point of No Return'' is the wartime command and control platform for ONI Section Two. The existence of the vessel is highly classified: officially, the ship does not even exist. Very few have actually seen the ship, only a handful have ever been aboard, and less than twenty officers have access to its most sensitive areas.<ref name="Page 43"/> The ship is crewed by people from all military branches of the UNSC and multiple [[AI]]s maintained solely by ONI. |
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| ==Service history==
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| In [[2531]], [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]] met on ''Point of No Return'' with [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Aaron G. Gibson]], [[Rear Admiral]] [[Ned Rich]], and [[Vice Admiral]] [[Margaret Parangosky]] to discuss the [[SPARTAN-II program]]. They decided to grant Ackerson permission to begin the SPARTAN-III project.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 43-49''</ref> Later, the ship retrieved [[Kurt-051]] after he had been "killed" in action in the [[Groombridge 34 System]].<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 57''</ref> During that operation to shut down a malfunctioning slipspace drive, Kurt noticed that the ship's holding cage was the size of a destroyer, though it had the angles found on [[UNSC prowler|prowlers]]. He noted that the concept of a large stealth ship was seemingly oxymoronic, as the larger a ship is, the more exponentially-difficult it is for the ship to maintain stealth.
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| In [[2537]], Admirals Rich and Parangosky met with Spartan-051 and [[Senior Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]] again to inform him that the [[SPARTAN-III Program|SPARTAN-IIIs]] of [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company]] had been killed and to begin training the SPARTAN-III [[SPARTAN-III Beta Company|Beta Company]].<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 79''</ref>
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| The ship survived the [[Human-Covenant War]]. On [[2552#December|December 31, 2552]], [[Codename: SURGEON]] filed a report to [[Codename: USUAL SUSPECTS]] entitled "[[Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J.]]" The report was filed from UNSC ''Point of No Return'' in synchronous orbit on the far side of [[Luna]]. This was the last reported action of the ship and its current whereabouts remain unknown.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''page 487''</ref>
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| ==Design== | | ==Operational History== |
| Technically considered a [[UNSC prowler|prowler]], the ''Point of No Return'' is the largest ever built, easily the size of a [[UNSC destroyer]]. Constructed in parts and then assembled in deep space, the ship is completely radar invisible thanks to [[stealth ablative coating]], and when her engines run below 30 percent she is as dark as interstellar space. It also contains a room called "[[Odin's Eye]]", a chamber surrounded by a [[Faraday cage]] that blocks all electronic signals.{{Ref/Reuse|Page 43}}
| | In [[2531]], [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]] met here with [[Captain]] [[Gibson]], [[Rear Admiral]] [[Rich]], and [[Vice Admiral]] [[Margaret O. Parangosky]] to discuss the [[Spartan-II]] project. They decided to grant Ackerson permission to begin the [[Spartan-III]] project.<ref>[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]] pages 43-49</ref> It was the ship that later picked up [[Spartan-051]] after he had been "killed" in action in the [[Groombridge 34 System]].<ref>[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]] page 57</ref> During that same operation to shut down a malfunctioning Slipspace Drive, [[Kurt-051|Spartan-051: Kurt]] noticed that a holding cage for a ship was the size of a destroyer, though had the angles found on prowlers. He said it was an oxymoron; a large stealth ship. |
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| ==Production notes==
| | In [[2537]], Admirals Rich and Parangosky met with Spartan-051 and [[Senior Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]] again to inform him that the first 300 Spartan-IIIs of Alpha Company had been killed and to go ahead and begin training Beta Company of the Spartan-III project.<ref>[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]] page 79</ref> |
| While not explicitly confirmed, it is extremely heavily implied that the ''Point of No Return'' is a {{Class|Point Blank|prowler}}, as introduced in ''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]''. In ''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', the ''Point of No Return'' is stated to be "easily the size of a UNSC destroyer", while the ''Point Blank''-class measurements provided in the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)|Halo Encyclopedia]]'' notably explicitly provide the exact same length as the {{Class|Halberd|light destroyer}}. This is a notable change; the ''Point Blank'' was first designed for the [[Sins of the Prophets]] fan mod, in which it is notably larger. This active change away from the source material to a specific number on par with the ''Halberd'' almost certainly corresponds with aligning the ''Point Blank'' with ''Ghosts of Onyx''{{'}}s statement about the ship's size. The ''Halo Encyclopedia'' also went out of its way to mention the "stealth cruiser" nomenclature as being a nickname applied to the ''Point Blank''-class, rather than a sweeping broad sub-categorisation of UNSC spacecraft - somewhat reinforcing that there are presumably not a series of stealth cruiser classifications in the navy.
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| Additionally, ''Silent Storm'' also introduced the concept of Prowler naming schemes; [[Ghost Flight]] Prowlers all have names with ''Ghost'' in their title - ''[[UNSC Ghost Song|Ghost Song]]'', ''[[UNSC Ghost Star|Ghost Star]]'', ''[[UNSC Ghost Wind|Ghost Wind]]'' and so forth for the other themed flights featured in the book. Similarly, the ''Point Blank''-class ship introduced in ''Silent Storm'' alongside the {{UNSCShip|Vanishing Point}} share the "''Point''" nomenclature seemingly inherent to this stealth cruiser classification. As such, this article treats the ''Point of No Return'' as a ''Point Blank''-class prowler.
| | On December 31st, [[2552]], [[Codename: SURGEON]] filed a report to [[Codename: USUAL SUSPECTS]] entitled "Historical/Psychological Analysis of [[Preston Cole|Cole, Preston J.]]" The report was filed from UNSC ''Point of No Return'' in synchronous orbit on the far side of [[Luna]]. This was the last reported action of the ship and its current whereabouts remain unknown.<ref>[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]], page 487</ref> |
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| Finally, ''Silent Storm'' author [[Troy Denning]] has also noted that he considered the ''Vanishing Point'' part of the same design as ''Point of No Return'', though ultimately the final decision fell to [[343 Industries]]. Given the information presented in the ''Halo Encyclopedia'', it would seem that they have continued this interpretation.{{Ref/Twitter|TDenningauthor|1037460400130928643|Troy Denning|Quote=is the Point of No Return meant to be the same design as the Vanishing Point?<br>Yes, but I'm not the official authority. 343 could identify them as different classes at a later point, if necessary for a story/game purpose. That possibility remains open.|D=16|M=04|Y=2022}}
| | ==Complement== |
| | Technically considered a Prowler, the ''Point of No Return'' is the largest one ever built, easily the size of a [[UNSC Destroyer]]. Constructed in parts and then assembled in deep space, the ship is completely radar invisible thanks to [[Stealth Ablative Coating]], and when her engines run below 30 percent she is as dark as interstellar space. It also contains a room called "[[Odin's Eye]]", a chamber surrounded by a [[Faraday Cage]] that blocks all electronic signals.<ref name="Page 43"/> |
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| ==List of appearances== | | == Trivia == |
| *''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'' {{1st}} | | *The ship has a room entitled the ''[[The Cage]]'' that only 20 officers in the galaxy have access to. |
| *''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
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| **''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]'' {{Mo}}
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| ==Sources== | | ==Sources== |
| {{Ref/Sources}}
| | <references/> |
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| {{DEFAULTSORT:Point of No Return}} | | {{Template:Prowlers}} |
| [[Category:Cruisers]] | | [[Category:Human Starships|Point of No Return]] |
| [[Category:Prowlers]]
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| [[Category:UNSC ships]]
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