Editing Babd Catha Forerunner vessel

{{Status|Canon}}
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{{Individual ship infobox
|name=Babd Catha Forerunner vessel
|image=[[File:Babd catha forerunner complex.jpg|300px]]
|manufacturer=
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|engine=
|slipspace drive=Crystal resonance based drive{{Ref/Book|Id=Warfleet|HWF|Page=10-11}}
|hull=
|countermeasures=
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|firstuse=
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|battles=[[Fall of Reach]]
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|affiliation=*[[Ecumene]] {{C|formerly}}
}}
{{quote|Commander, you've been wondering what your Spartans died for? They died for this.|Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]] to [[Carter-A259]]}}
A '''[[Forerunner starship|ship]]''' of [[Forerunner]] design was embedded within the [[Babd Catha Ice Shelf]] on [[Reach]] ''circa'' [[97,445 BCE]], with debris from its crash spread out across the [[Eposz]] region.{{Ref/Site|Id=bulletin|D=10|M=10|Y=2014|URL=https://blogs.halowaypoint.com/en-us/blogs/headlines/posts/the-halo-bulletin-4-16-14|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=The Halo Bulletin: 4.16.14}} Positioned at a tilted angle, the vessel appeared to be roughly disk-shaped, though its true size was concealed by the glacier in which it was embedded. Parts of the ship were visible in an ice cavern underneath [[SWORD Base]], as well as a nearby mountain range. The interior of the ship housed a [[holography|holographic]] data terminal.{{Ref/Level|Id=HR|HR|The Package}}{{Ref/Map|HR|Breakpoint}}

==Overview==
===Design details===
The ship used a crystal resonance based [[Slipstream space|slipspace]] [[Slipspace drive|drive]].{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

==Operational history==
The ice cavern housing most of the vessel was home to one of Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]]'s labs and had evidently been under excavation by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] for some time.{{Ref/Reuse|HR}} By summer [[2552]], ONI had marked a number of artifact sites that seemed to form a trail leading from [[CASTLE Base]], the site of the [[Menachite portal complex]], to the immediate region of SWORD Base, suggesting that the ship was outbound along this trajectory when it crashed.<ref>[[:File:Reach map.png|Halsey's map of Reach]]</ref>

According to Dr. Halsey, the ship held secrets that could turn the tide of the [[Human-Covenant War]] — a "latchkey" discovery that Halsey compared to the inventions of the conical bullet and the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]]. However, when the [[Covenant]] began attacking the facility on [[2552#August|August 29, 2552]], the decryption was only partially complete. Using [[M8 Wolf Spider|Wolf Spider turrets]], the [[Spartan-III]]s of [[NOBLE Team]] were able to hold off the Covenant long enough for Halsey to finish the decryption. The ship, along with SWORD Base, was completely destroyed by an explosive charge.{{Ref/Reuse|HR}}

Through Cortana, Dr. Halsey was able to retrieve navigation data from the Forerunner ship; this data contributed to the discovery of [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 04]].{{Ref/Level|HR|Lone Wolf|Quote=And because of you, we found Halo, unlocked its secrets...}}{{Ref/Book|HM|Page=89 & 95}} After the Human-Covenant War, the [[Armor customization (Halo 5: Guardians)#Visors|Starfire]] [[Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance|VISR]] was developed to decrypt the data extracted from the ship, but it would take decades before even a fraction of the site's archived secrets were decrypted.{{Ref/Game|H5G|Armor customization (Halo 5: Guardians)|Armory|Detail=Starfire VISR description}}

==Production notes==
The ship was designed by [[Bungie]] environment artist [[Paul Russel]].{{Ref/Site|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://picasaweb.google.com/114253662089061571624/HaloReach#5573898160705691906|Site=Picasa Web Albums|Page=Paul Russel > Halo: Reach}} In a commentary video for the multiplayer map [[Breakpoint]], level designer Jason Cam presented the idea that the reason for the structure's tilted angle and unusual placement was a result of an accident with [[Slipspace translocation|teleportation]]. However, he was quick to denounce the canonicity of the idea.{{Ref/YouTube|OC-Qncg6kV8|Bungie|Halo: Reach - Quick Look Breakpoint|Time=234|D=01|M=6|Y=2020}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:BabdCathaConcept.jpg|Concept art of the ONI excavation site
File:Reach_Bbd_cth_ONI_lab.jpg|The main ONI research facility near the derelict ship
File:DrHalseysLabOuterView.jpg|Halsey's lab, overlooking the core of the vessel.
File:Breakpoint.jpeg|Another section of the wreck, under investigation by ONI
File:Forerunner Star.jpg|A panorama of the tilted vessel seen on the multiplayer map "[[Breakpoint]]".
File:Forerunner Spaceship eld.png|Eld on one of the "fins" of the vessel
File:Forerunner Slipspace Drive.jpg|Slipspace drive of the ship.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Reach]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{Mo}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Forerunner|ships|category=no}}
[[Category:Reach locations]]
[[Category:Forerunner ships]]