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| | {{Era|HCW}} |
| {{Title|''Ace of Spades''}} | | {{Title|''Ace of Spades''}} |
| {{Status|Canon}}
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| {{Outdated|Halo: Smoke and Shadow}}
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| {{Individual ship infobox | | {{Individual ship infobox |
| | |hideb=yes |
| |name = ''Ace of Spades'' | | |name = ''Ace of Spades'' |
| |image = [[File:HPOL Ace of Spades.jpg|300px]] | | |image = [[File:Ace of Spades.jpg|300px]] |
| |class = {{Class|Mariner|transport ship}} <small>(modified transport ship)</small> | | |class = {{Class|Mariner|transport ship}} <small>(modified transport ship)</small> |
| |engine=*Two [[Fusion drive]]s | | |engine=*Two [[Fusion drive]]s |
| *Six thruster units | | *Six thruster units |
| |slipspace drive=[[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] {{c|upgraded}} | | |slipspace drive=[[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] |
| |sensor=Advanced passive-sensor array | | |sensor=Advanced passive-sensor array |
| *Sensor-baffling suite | | *Sensor-baffling suite |
| |destroyed = | | |destroyed = |
| |lastsight = | | |lastsight = [[2557|January 2557]] |
| |battles = *[[Mission to Mount Kilimanjaro]] | | |battles = |
| |affiliation = | | |affiliation = Independent |
| |captains = [[Rion Forge]] | | |captains = [[Rion Forge]] |
| |namedcrew=*[[Cade]] (c. 255X - 2557) | | |namedcrew=*[[Cade]] (255X - 2557) |
| *[[Niko]] (2555 - ) | | *[[Niko]] (2555 - ) |
| *[[Kip Silas]] (2556 - 2557) | | *[[Kip Silas]] (2556 - ) |
| *[[Lessa]] (2555 - ) | | *[[Lessa]] (2555 - ) |
| *[[Little Bit]] (2557, 2558 - ) | | *[[Little Bit]] (2557 - ) |
| *[[Ram Chalva]] (2557 - )
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| *[[343 Guilty Spark]] (2557 - 2558)
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| }} | | }} |
| The '''''Ace of Spades''''', also called the '''''Ace''''', is a modified {{Class|Mariner|transport ship}} captained by [[Rion Forge]].<ref name="fire">'''[[Halo: Fractures]]''', ''[[Into the Fire]]''</ref> The ship was named after the ace of spades playing card Rion's [[John Forge|father]] used to attach to his left shoulder pauldron. | | The '''''Ace of Spades''''' is a {{Class|Mariner|transport ship}}.<ref name="fire">'''[[Halo: Fractures]]''', ''[[Into the Fire]]''</ref> |
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| ==History== | | ==History== |
| [[Rion Forge]] acquired the ''Ace of Spades'' sometime soon after she became the captain of another cargo ship, the ''[[Hakon]]'', in [[2551]]. Ever since she took it over, she made her own modifications to it so that by [[2557#January|January of 2557]], she considered it to have been "seven years in the making".{{Ref/Note|At most, Rion could have only worked on the ship for around six years, meaning that it was likely having work done on it by its previous owner.}} The crew of the ''Ace'' made a name for themselves as [[salvager]]s operating out of [[New Tyne]], [[Venezia]] and scoring finds all along the [[Via Casilina Trade Route]]. In July of [[2556]], the crew vacationed on Sundown, and by December of that same year, it fell into one of its largest paydays ever. Rion personally participated in a four-way bidding war for a small piece of a [[Forerunner]] navigational databoard at a small bazaar on [[Komoya]]. In January of the new year, the crew returned to Venezia after having been gone for six weeks. The ship was docked on E-level of a hangar bay of the [[New Tyne Airfield]] while Rion, [[Lessa]], and the newest hire, [[Kip Silas]], journeyed into the city. There, they received intel on a crashed ship on a moon in the [[Ectanus 45 system]] known as [[Eiro]], which they left for straightaway. The ship turned out to be the remains of the {{UNSCShip|Roman Blue}}, a {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}. While the crew was on the ''Roman Blue'', it was suddenly fired upon. Being the furthest away, Rion told the others to take off without her and that she would send a signal when she was clear. Despite the initial hesitation the rest of the crew agreed and made their way to the ship, promptly taking off and remaining hidden from the aggressors.{{Ref/Reuse|fire}} | | [[Rion Forge]] got ''Ace of Spades'' in [[2550]], making numerous additions to the ship over time. The staging bay had also been turned into a locker room early on, it was equipped with an array of gear for virtually any type of known weather and terrain. Rion also kept holostills and recordings of her [[John Forge|father]] in a desk in her quarters. Around [[2557]], Rion made an addition to the crew, [[Kip Silas]], an engineer, joining the siblings [[Lessa]] and [[Niko]], and the former marine, [[Cade]]. In January Rion received intel on a crashed ship on a moon of [[Chi Rho]], known as [[Eiro]], in the [[Ectanus 45 system]], and they left for the moon right away. The ship turned out to be the remains of the {{UNSCShip|Roman Blue}}, while the crew was on the ''Roman Blue'' they were suddenly fired upon. Being the farthest away, Rion told the others to take off without her and that she would send a signal when she was clear. Despite the initial hesitation the rest of the crew agreed and made their way to the ship.<ref name="fire"/> |
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| At some point, the ''Ace'' fell into the gravitational pull of the planet [[Jeren X]], though was able to survive the ordeal in some capacity.{{Ref/Novel|PoL|chapter=14}}
| | ==Specifications== |
| {{Expand-section}}
| | Aside from preparing for the next job, Rion used all of [[credit]]s on her ship, making several additions over the years. The additions include an advanced passive-sensor array, a military-grade [[slipspace drive]], two-pivoting [[fusion engine]]s on each wing, six thrusters, a sensor-baffling-suite, and souped-up navigation and communication systems that Niko used his technical expertise on. |
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| ===Search for the Librarian===
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| After attempting to steal a Forerunner [[Luminary]] from a Sangheili General [[Gek 'Lhar]], the ''Ace of Spades'' and her crew were captured by the ONI [[prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Taurokado}}. The ship was thoroughly searched, which resulted in [[Little Bit]], all of the crew's personal belongings, and salvage stripped from it. ONI forced [[Rion Forge]] to order the Fragmented Forerunner AI to cooperate with them before dumping the ship and crew with basically nothing.
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| Using information hacked from the prowler, the crew decided to investigate a distress call from [[Geranos-a]] in order to force ONI to negotiate and return their salvage. On the planet, they found the wreckage of the {{UNSCShip|Rubicon}} and [[343 Guilty Spark]], now inhabiting an [[armiger]] body. Escaping the arrival of ONI, Spark hijacked the ship and set course for [[Trove]] to use the ''Ace of Spades'' to continue his search for the [[Librarian]]. After witnessing a [[UNSC Navy|UNSC fleet]] nuking the debris field, Spark convinced the crew to work with him and took the ship to [[Triniel]] to get an [[upgrade seed]] to vastly upgrade the capabilities of the ''Ace of Spades''. From the untouched world, the crew was able to loot a treasure trove worth of salvage, but were disquieted by the fact that the planet was essentially a planet-wide tomb from the time of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]].
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| With the ''Ace of Spades'' upgraded, the crew set up a meeting with ONI, utilizing the bounty placed by [[Gek 'Lhar]] where they promised to trade Spark for everything ONI stole from them and all of Little Bit's projections and video files. Though ONI tried to betray the deal, the intervention of Spark and ''Ace of Spades'' upgrades allowed them to escape with everything they came for. The crew then kept their deal with Spark, [[Mission to Mount Kilimanjaro|taking him]] to [[Mount Kilimanjaro]] on [[Earth]] where Spark met with a [[Mind transfer|personality imprint]] of the Librarian, who helped Spark to see that the crew of the ''Ace of Spades'' were the friends he was looking for. Spark helped the crew to escape from the facility and remote-piloted the ''Ace of Spades'' to pick them up.<ref name="Renegades">'''[[Halo: Renegades]]'''</ref>
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| ===A new path===
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| After the encounter with ONI, the ''Ace of Spades'' hid out on Earth for a week. There, the crew held a funeral for [[John Forge]], who Spark revealed died destroying [[Trove]]. Spark offered his services as the ''Ace of Spades''<nowiki>'</nowiki> new shipboard AI while the crew pondered what to do with ONI still after them due to Spark and [[Gek 'Lhar]]'s bounty still upon their heads. With Spark to help them and [[Little Bit]]'s projections, the crew decided to continue their search for the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} and recognized that after that, they now had the luxury of choice with everything the Triniel loot would get them and the upgraded ship allowing them to go places and do things that they never could before.{{Ref/Reuse|Renegades}}
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| ==Design details==
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| The ''Ace of Spades'' is a decent-sized ship, but it isn't huge on crew space. Most of her volume is reserved for cargo. There are five crew quarters, the captain's quarters, a mess/lounger combo with an observation deck, a med bay with eight cryotubes, and a small attached gym with showers. Everything else is storage space, support systems, and engineering. Aside from preparing for the next job, Rion uses all her [[credit]]s on the ship, making several additions over the years. Early on, the staging bay was converted to a locker room and was equipped with an array of gear for virtually any type of known weather and terrain. The staging bay is connected to an airlock that leads to the hangar. Additions include an advanced passive-sensor array, a military-grade [[slipspace drive]], two-pivoting [[fusion engine]]s on each wing, six thrusters, a sensor-baffling-suite, and souped-up navigation and communication systems that Niko could use his technical expertise with. ''Ace's'' hull also was covered with [[Stealth ablative coating|black ablative coating]] at one point that gave it a dark edge and provides it with stealth capability. The coating requires regular maintenance, though it is rare that it requires consistent refinishing. When the ship is on the ground, a ramp leads into its cargo hold. From within the hold, stairs take one up to the second level, where a catwalk places one in a perfect position for performing maintenance on the track system. The mess hall/lounger holds a food dispenser and a table and chairs. Rion has a small desk in her quarters. Landing gear can be engaged.{{Ref/Reuse|fire}}
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| Due to a [[Forerunner]] [[upgrade seed]] designed and installed by [[343 Guilty Spark]], the ship has received many upgrades. The outer appearance is not at all changed, but instead has its existing materials strengthened by [[hard light]] bonding. Quantum and hard light filaments intertwine with the ship's existing systems, all directed by smart upgrade code written by Spark to create a custom integration between Forerunner technology and the ship's original specifications and technology. As a result, the upgrades are limited by the ship's human design. The fully integrated Forerunner technologies include stealth capability, upgraded weapons, comm and navigational systems kept within the framework of human operating functional capability. The biggest upgrade is to the ship's [[slipspace]] drive: a combination of the ''Ace of Spades'' existing drive, Forerunner translight technology and [[Slipspace flake|a flake]] of [[Slipspace core|Forerunner crystal]] make the ship far faster than any regular human ship.{{Ref/Novel|Ren|Page=226}} These upgrades allowed it to take off into slipspace faster than an ONI [[prowler]] could react or track and to escape from [[Earth]] undetected by the entire [[Home Fleet]].{{Ref/Reuse|Renegades}} However, even the upgraded slipspace drive had its limits to how far it could travel that Forerunner vessels lacked. For example, travel from the [[Orion complex]] to [[Earth]] - a journey of over a thousand light years - would take so long even with the upgraded slipspace drive that Rion would be dead many times over before it was completed, and the ship was only capable of traveling such a distance using a static [[slipspace portal]].{{Ref/Novel|PoL|38}}
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| ==Crew== | | ==Crew== |
| *[[Rion Forge]] — Captain | | *[[Rion Forge]] — Captain |
| | *[[Little Bit]] — [[Forerunner]] AI |
| *[[Lessa]] — Pilot | | *[[Lessa]] — Pilot |
| *[[Niko]] — Technology expert | | *[[Niko]] |
| *[[Ram Chalva]] | | *[[Kip Silas]] — Engineer and ship expert |
| *[[Little Bit]] — [[Forerunner]] [[ancilla]]; shipboard AI after being repaired by Spark
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| ===Former=== | | ===Forger=== |
| *[[Cade McDonough]] — Military expert; killed by [[Gek 'Lhar]] in [[2557#January|January 2557]] | | *[[Cade]] — Military expert; Killed by [[Gek 'Lhar]] in [[2557|January 2557]] |
| *[[Tesh]] — Engineer
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| *[[Kip Silas]] — Engineer and ship expert; expelled from the ship in March 2557 after his cover as ONI agent was discovered by Little Bit.
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| *[[Spark]] — Forerunner ancilla, formerly a ''hamanune''; left to be the caretaker of [[Bastion]]
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| ==Trivia== | | ==Trivia== |
| *The ''Ace of Spades'' is the only known human ship that has had Forerunner ancillas installed as shipboard AIs ([[Little Bit]] and [[343 Guilty Spark]], respectively).
| | The ship's name is likely a reference to the ace of spades playing card Rion's [[John Forge|father]] attached to his left shoulder pauldron. |
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| ==Gallery== | | ==Gallery== |
| <gallery> | | <gallery> |
| File:Halo Smoke and Shadow clean cover.jpg|The ''Ace of Spades'' on the cover of ''[[Halo: Smoke and Shadow]]''. | | File:Halo Smoke and Shadow clean cover.jpg|The ''Ace'' traversing near [[Chi Rho]]'s [[Communications satellite]]. |
| File:Renegades_AceOfSpades.jpg|The ''Ace of Spades'' on the cover of ''[[Halo: Renegades]]''.
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| </gallery> | | </gallery> |
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| **''[[Into the Fire]]'' {{1st}} | | **''[[Into the Fire]]'' {{1st}} |
| *''[[Halo: Smoke and Shadow]]'' | | *''[[Halo: Smoke and Shadow]]'' |
| *''[[Halo: Renegades]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Point of Light]]''
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| ==Notes==
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| {{Ref/Notes}}
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| ==Sources== | | ==Sources== |
| {{Ref/Sources}}
| | <references/> |
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| [[Category:Human ships]] | | [[Category:Ships]] |
