Editing Ket-pattern battlecruiser

{{Title|''CCS''-class battlecruiser}}

{{Era|Covenant|Human|UNSC|HCW|Post|FA}}

{{Ship Class Infobox

|name= ''CCS''-class battlecruiser

|image=[[File:HR CCS Pro.png|375px]]

|manufacturer= [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]]

|class=Cruiser

|engine= [[Repulsor engine]]s

|slipspace drive=Equipped

|length={{Convert|1782|m|ft}}<ref name="ENC">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 265''</ref><ref name="EVG">'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 41''</ref>

|width={{Convert|862|m|ft}}<ref name="ENC"/><ref name="EVG"/>

|height={{Convert|230.8|m|ft}}<ref name="StnLfts">'''[http://halo.bungie.org/misc/sloftus_covenantcruiser/ Covenant CCS-class Battle Cruiser]'''</ref>

|shield gen=Equipped

|hull=Unidentified material

|armament= *Several [[pulse laser turret]]s

*Several [[Plasma turret|plasma torpedo turrets]]<ref name="EVG"/>

*Two [[energy projector]]s

|complement=*[[Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle]]

*[[Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle]]

*[[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft]]

*[[Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage]]s

*[[Type-28 Troop Carrier]]s and/or [[Type-52 Troop Carrier]]s

*[[Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter]]s

|misc-title=Capacity

|misc= Hundreds of vehicles

*Air and ground warfare<ref name="EVG"/>

*Planetary occupation<ref name="EVG"/>

|era=*Pre-war era

*[[Human-Covenant War]]

*[[Halopedia:Timeline#Post-war era|Post-war era]]

|affiliation=*[[Covenant Navy]]

*[[Sangheilian armed forces]]

*[[Covenant remnant]] splinter-faction

{{Quote|Mother of God... I'd never thought I'd get close to one of these things. How the hell are we supposed to get inside that monster?|UNSC Marine during the first raid on ''Truth and Reconciliation''.}}<ref name="T&R">'''Halo: Combat Evolved'', campaign level ''[[The Truth and Reconciliation]]''</ref>

 

The '''''CCS''-class battlecruiser''' is a [[Capital ship|capital warship]] in the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] [[Covenant Navy|Navy]]. It is one of several [[cruiser]] types used by the Covenant, each of which has a different design, size, and function.<ref name="EVG"/><ref name="ENC"/>

The ''CCS''-class battlecruiser is a mid-sized capital ship that is used in both offensive and defensive roles. This type of ship is known for its large personnel and equipment capacity, which makes it ideal for infantry, vehicle, and matériel deployments during ground engagements.<ref name="ENC"/> The vessel is well known for its offensive capabilities, often participating in ship-to-ship combat and in [[glassing]] operations. The ''CCS''-class battlecruiser, while not the largest cruiser in service with the Covenant, is the most prominent of the Covenant's ships, and is used in large numbers at the heart of nearly every Covenant invasion force.<ref name="EVG"/> They are often deployed in three-ship battlegroups.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level ''[[The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn]]''</ref>

 

Since the beginning of the Covenant, the battlecruiser has consistently been the hegemony's primary mode of intragalactic transportation.<ref name="waypoint"/> For the centuries leading up to the [[Human-Covenant War]], the ''CCS'' was involved in every major event in the Covenant's history, including both peace and conflict. Countless ''CCS''-class battlecruisers were used during the Human-Covenant War in operations ranging from fleet engagements to glassing. They were considered among the most dangerous of Covenant ships and often spearheaded invasions.

The earliest known UNSC encounter with a ''CCS''-class battlecruiser occurred in [[2526]].<ref>[[Data pads|Data pad 10]]</ref><ref group="note">According to ''Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp'', UNSC [[Battlegroup 4]] encountered the ''CCS'' ''Rapid Conversion'' during the investigation of [[Harvest]]. However, ''Halo Wars: Genesis'' and ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', both of which were released prior to the comic, indicate that the battlegroup encountered a [[Covenant super-destroyer]]; the article regards the former accounts, which corroborate one another, as canon. Regardless, data pad 10 confirms that the ''CCS'' class was encountered as early as 2526.</ref> Two ''CCS''-class vessels were present at the [[Battle of Arcadia]] in [[2531#February|February 2531]].<ref>'''Halo Wars''', campaign level ''[[Arcadia City]]''</ref> Several battlecruisers were later encountered by [[Admiral]] [[Preston Jeremiah Cole|Preston Cole's]] [[Battle Group India]] at the [[Battle of Psi Serpentis]] in [[2543|April 2543]]; these ships, as well as the rest of the Covenant fleet, were destroyed when Cole's flagship, [[UNSC Everest|''Everest'']], caused the nearby gas giant [[Viperidae]] to go nova.<ref group="note">According to ''The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole'', the ''CCS''-class battlecruiser was first encountered at the Battle of Psi Serpentis in 2543. This contradicts ''Halo Wars: Genesis'', which shows Cole's fleet engaging such vessels in [[2526]]; ''Halo Wars'', in which two ''CCS''-class ships are encountered at Arcadia in 2531; data pad 10, which states that the [[Assembly]]'s findings about glassing were derived from observing the ''CCS'' class in 2526; and ''Halo: The Essential Visual Guide'' and the ''Halo Encyclopedia'', which state that the vessel was encountered throughout the war.</ref> The largest known deployment of ''CCS''-class battlecruisers was during the [[Fall of Reach]] in [[2552|summer 2552]], in which dozens of such vessels were used in the invasion of [[Reach|the planet]]. During the [[Battle of Aszod]], one was destroyed by [[Spartan-B312]] with an [[Onager]] [[mass driver]].

As Reach was being glassed, several ''CCS''-class battlecruisers from the [[Fleet of Particular Justice]] pursued the {{Class|Halcyon|cruiser}} {{UNSCship|Pillar of Autumn}} to [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 04]]; after arriving at Halo on [[2552#September|September 19]], ''Pillar of Autumn'' disabled several battlecruisers, most notably ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]''. UNSC forces [[Raids on the Truth and Reconciliation|raided]] the ship three times, first to rescue [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]],<ref name="T&R"/> then to recover the captain's [[command neural interface]], and finally to recover the ship and use it to escape to [[Earth]]. However, [[First Lieutenant]] [[Melissa McKay]] understood that doing so would allow [[the Flood]] to infest Earth; she thus severed the fiber-optic link between the engines and the [[bridge]], causing the ship to crash and killing everyone aboard.<ref name="McKay">'''Halo: The Flood''', ''page 332''</ref> On [[2552#October|October 20, 2552]], thirteen battlecruisers of the [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration]] participated in the [[Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret's]] [[Battle of Earth|botched invasion]] of Earth; only one of these vessels, ''[[Pious Inquisitor]]'', survived, though more would be deployed to Earth during the [[Prophet of Truth]]'s continuation of the invasion.<ref>'''Halo 3: ODST'''</ref>

After the [[Great Schism]] erupted on [[2552#November|November 3]], ''CCS''-class battlecruisers played crucial roles on both sides. A [[Unidentified Flood-captured battlecruiser|Flood-infected battlecruiser]] broke through the [[Sangheili]]'s blockade of [[Installation 05]] and arrived at [[Voi]], [[Kenya]] on November 17; the Flood forms released by this vessel were glassed by the Sangheili [[Fleet of Retribution]], which arrived moments later.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref> At the [[Battle of Installation 00]] on [[2552#December|December 11]], both sides made use of several ''CCS''-class battlecruisers; though the loyalist Covenant forces outnumbered the Sangheili-led [[Covenant separatists|separatists]] three-to-one, the Fleet of Retribution triumphed, turning the tide of the last battle of the Human-Covenant War. As the Great Schism continued throughout the [[2559|following seven years]], the Sangheili and the [[Jiralhanae]]-led remnants of the Covenant continued to make use of ''CCS''-class battlecruisers.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', '''The Return''', ''page 506''</ref> By [[2557]], a [[Covenant remnant|splinter faction of the Covenant]] had marshalled a formidable fleet of at least sixteen ''CCS''-class battlecruisers, as well as a single {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}} [[flagship]]. These vessels were used during the Covenant remnant's invasion of the [[Forerunner]] [[shield world]], [[Requiem]].<ref name="terminal">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/Universe/detail/halo-4-terminal-jul-mdama/0f378de5-e0e3-4f31-a1e1-2a363af4094d '''Halo Waypoint:''' ''Halo 4 Terminal: Jul 'Mdama'']</ref> After finding the {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}}, one approached the ship with its shields down, not expecting a threat, in order to deploy boarding parties. However, the [[John-117|Master Chief]] destroyed it with one of the ''Forward Unto Dawn's'' [[M4093 Hyperion nuclear delivery system|Hyperion nuclear missiles]]. Several were also destroyed when the gravity well of Requiem pulled them in.

Nearly two kilometers from stem to stern, the standard battlecruiser follows the typical architecture of a Covenant ship: a sleek, amphibious design with sweeping contours, bulbous sections, and perfect symmetry,<ref name="waypoint">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/theuniverse/tech/gallery/battlecruiser/355706b7-6bd3-480a-89b7-6986e8cd03a3?page=2 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''CCS-class Battlecruiser'']</ref> with either two or four fin-like structures beneath the bow. It is shaped this way to allow for mobility in atmosphere during the deployment of infantry, as well as for a significant level of agility when in combat in orbit.<ref name="ENC"/> Unlike the larger {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}} and the more aggressively deployed {{Class|CPV|heavy destroyer}}, the battlecruiser serves in a somewhat intermediary role: a fully weaponized warship with the ability to apply meaningful military deployment. For this reason it is frequently utilized, easily surpassing the numbers of any other known Covenant vessel.<ref name="EVG"/>

''CCS''-class battlecruisers are typically armed with several dozen energy weapons, which are used both in ship-to-ship combat and in glassing operations.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved PC Strategy Guide''', ''page 73''</ref> These weapons include [[pulse laser turret]]s, very powerful speed-of-light weapons that fire high-intensity laser bolts, radiating energy in the blue wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum,<ref name="EVG"/> though they sometimes fire nearer the red wavelength.<ref name="Package">'''Halo Legends''', '''The Package'''</ref> The turrets are chitinous pods featuring insect-like antennae and are located at various points around the vessel.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''',' ''page 123'', ''page 146'' (2010 edition)</ref><ref name="StnLfts"/>

The battlecruiser also has weapon emplacements along its lateral lines. These weapons include [[plasma torpedo]] turrets, which fire long, powerful lances of blue-white, amber, or red plasma contained and guided by a shaped magnetic field.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 8'', ''page 22'' (2010 edition)</ref><ref name="Package"/><ref name="EVG"/><ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 21'', ''page 33'' (2010 edition)</ref><ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Covenant]]''</ref> The ship also possesses two [[energy projector]]s, or "cleansing beams", located on the ventral surface - one fore and one amidships, concentric with the [[gravity lift]].<ref name="EVG"/> In addition to their use in space combat, the energy projectors are used for low-altitude glassing operations. They can seemingly be charged before firing, causing a powerful initial blast,<ref name="NA">'''Halo: Reach''', ''[[New Alexandria (level)|New Alexandria]]''</ref> though they are typically fired as a free-flowing beam.<ref name="tsavo">'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[Tsavo Highway (level)|Tsavo Highway]]''</ref><ref name="Highway">'''Halo 3: ODST''' campaign level ''[[Coastal Highway]]''</ref> This beam is typically bluish white,<ref name="tsavo"/><ref name="Highway"/><ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo Wars'''</ref><ref>'''Halo Legends''', ''Origins''</ref> though it also may be red<ref name="NA"/> or purple.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign levels ''[[Cairo Station (level)|Cairo Station]]'' and ''[[Regret (level)|Regret]]''</ref><ref group="note">The purple beams seen in ''Halo 2'' are emitted from assault carriers' energy projectors, though it is reasonable that a battlecruiser's energy projectors could also emit purple beams.</ref> These different colors likely represent varying beam intensity.

Buried deep within the vessel's heart is the control center, also known as the bridge and the Combat Information Center (CIC),<ref name="ENC"/> from where the entire ship's operations are coordinated. Typically occupied by only the highest-ranking officers, the control center is a large room with a centralized bridge platform overlooking the rest of the room. [[Holography|Holographic]] controls line the outer perimeter of the raised dais. The viewscreens are also holographic projections, visible at the forward end of the room near the ceiling. The viewscreens can either display exterior views of the ship's surroundings or can display tactical data. They can also be synchronized to the onboard security cameras and can display ship schematics.<ref name="T&R"/><ref name="waypoint"/><ref name="StnLfts"/>

====Brigs====

The ''CCS'' has at least two brigs for holding prisoners. Each is a rectangular room with four force field-secured cells on either side, for a total of eight per brig. Each cell can accommodate a large number of prisoners, although normally only one is placed in each cell, probably for security purposes against the possibility of an organized escape attempt. The cell barriers appear to use the same technology as the [[shield door]]s that are common to Covenant installations and vessels, though they obviously do not allow passage from one side to the other. Even plasma bolts and ballistic projectiles can not pas through the fields. The shield barriers can be lowered by a holographic control panel on a raised platform on the far side of the brig opposite the entrance. The cells are arranged at the periphery of a spacious room, with guards patrolling them. The guards usually have [[active camouflage]], using their stealth to monitor the prisoners.<ref name="T&R"/><ref name="StnLfts"/>

====Cargo bays====

The ''CCS''-class battlecruiser has multiple storage bays. These bays are connected to cargo hatches and corridors that allow the transfer of matériel from other bays to either the gravity lift room or to the hangar bays. The storage bays are two-level expanses that contain weapons, food, and military equipment crates, in addition to storing both land and air vehicles.<ref name="T&R"/><ref name="StnLfts"/>

The ''CCS''-class battlecruiser contains four bisected hangar bays; two to starboard and two to port. They are each three-tiered, with a large amount of space between the floors and ceilings of each level. Each three-tier bay has two retracting metal doors. The bays feature [[energy barrier]]s over the openings to allow ships to pass through them while retaining atmosphere and pressure inside the ship. These barriers deny the movement of all forms of matter attempting to enter or leave the hangar bays. Each launch area in the bay is capable of housing dropships and [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshee attack craft]]. Retracting elevators in the decking of each bay are used to ship Covenant ground and air craft into the bays for launching or for gravity connection to a waiting dropship. These elevators lower into holding areas adjacent to cargo bays.<ref name="StnLfts"/><ref name="waypoint"/>

Like most Covenant warships, the ''CCS''-class battlecruiser is equipped with a single ventrally mounted [[gravity lift]], enabling quick and easy transportation of personnel, vehicles, equipment and supplies to a planet's surface. A large, circular platform can be detached and lowered to the ground to provide a stable surface for disembarking and embarking troops, vehicles, and matériel. The platform has six interlocking hinges and is carried with the ship; when the cruiser is in position over a planet's surface, the six interlocks retract and the beam repels the platform at a controlled decent to the surface. Once on the ground the platform acts as an anchor for the ship. The ship can make use of the gravity lift without the platform, but it must remain in position.<ref name="StnLfts"/><ref name="waypoint"/> When attached to the ship, the central gravity platform doubles as the firing port for the energy projector,<ref name="EVG"/> like that of the ''CAS''-class assault carrier and the {{Class|CSO|supercarrier}}.

The gravity lift bay is similar in design to the cargo bays except that it is only one level high. The gravity lift's door mechanism is situated in the center of the room, with cargo and personnel hatches located around the rectangular bay's walls. Several gravity lift bays are on board the cruisers, not far from the cargo and shuttle bays. Each bay has four cargo hatches along opposite walls for vehicle transfer.<ref name="T&R"/><ref name="StnLfts"/>

====Corridors and doors====

The class features a labyrinthine network of curved corridors, with circuitry concealed behind purple metal casings. At junctions, gaps in the ceiling and floor appear to accommodate [[Huragok]] maintenance personnel, allowing them to float between levels easily and quickly.  

Like those of the {{Class|SDV|heavy corvette}}, the doors on the ''CCS''-class battlecruiser open by a three-way system. Unlocked doors are outlined in white light, while locked ones have crimson light. They are protected from electronic intrusion by a 128,000-bit modulating encryption key, but this key can be penetrated by a sufficiently advanced [[artificial intelligence]] within minutes.<ref name="T&R"/>

====Engines and engine room====

The ''CCS''-class battlecruiser it outfitted with two large tritium plasma-powered<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 331''</ref> [[repulsor engine]]s for sublight propulsion. The ship's [[Slipstream space|slipspace]] field generators are fine-tuned enough to make much more efficient and lower-power transitions to slipspace than UNSC ships; making the vessel faster at traveling through the alternate dimension. Covenant ships are also capable of greater precision in exiting Slipspace at a given location.<ref name="StnLfts"/>

The engine room contains fiber-optic cables that run from to the control room. These cables are very delicate and, if severed, can cause the vessel to crash.<ref name="McKay"/>

==Ships of the line==

{{CCS-class}}

{{Linkbox|gallery=yes|gallerypage=Images of Covenant battlecruisers}}

*In ''Halo 3'' and ''Halo 3: ODST'', all ''CCS''-class battlecruisers have the ''[[Marathon]]'' logo on their launch bays.

*The battlecruisers featured in ''Halo 3'' and most later media have four fins instead of two, like those of the ''Truth and Reconciliation''.

*During the development of ''Halo 2'', ''[[Solemn Penance]]'' was originally going to be a ''CCS''-class battlecruiser, as seen in the [[Halo 2 E3 Demo|E3 2003 demo]].

* In the level ''New Alexandria'' in ''Halo: Reach'', if the player performs the [[flyable Pelican and Phantom]] Easter egg and flies inside one of the the ''CCS''-class battlecruisers outside of the map, they will find a small cube in the center of either ship. It is a cube map, which contains the texture for the vessel.

File:CCS-concept.jpg|Early concept art of a ''CCS''-class battlecruiser.

File:Covenant Attack Ship.jpg|Concept art by [[Eddie Smith]].

File:1214508748 Cc decks.gif|An overlay of the interior of the ship.

File:HR CCS-class BC TurnRef.jpg|Turnaround reference of the ''CCS''-class battlecruiser.

File:HR CCS layout ref.jpg|Layout reference of the CCS-class battlecruiser.<ref group="note">The layout reference image is compiled based on both all the canonical information as viewed in ''Halo: Combat Evolved'', the novels, the latest reference guides, and the ''Halo Legends'' episode ''The Package''. If new information contradicts this information, the image will be updated accordingly.</ref>

File:cc stats.gif|''CCS''-class battlecruiser statistics compiled by [[Stephen Loftus]].

File:HCE-CCSBattlecruiser-HangarBay-screen.jpg|An external view of the ''Truth and Reconciliation'''s hangar bays.

File:HCEA-CCSBattlecruiser-HangarBay.jpg|External view of the ''Truth and Reconciliation'''s hangar bays in ''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''.

File:DeliverHope - CCSHangar.png|Covenant forces boarding [[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantoms]] in a hangar bay on a ''CCS''-class battlecruiser from ''[[Deliver Hope]]'' trailer.

File:DeliverHope - CCSBattlecruiser.png|A ''CCS''-class battlecruiser hovering over a ruined city during the [[Battle of Fumirole]].

File:CCS Shield Collapsing.jpg|A ''CCS''-class battlecruiser with its shield collapsing by the explosion of an [[Fury tactical nuclear weapon|MFDD]].

File:CCS Covenant Battlecruiser.png|An underbelly view of a ''CCS''-class battlecruiser from ''Halo 2''. Note the design shares similarities to the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' from ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.

File:CCS-Battlecruiser-Overview.png|Dorsal, starboard, and ventral views of the ''CCS''-class battlecruiser from ''Halo 3''.

File:CCS Legends.jpg|A ''CCS''-class battlecruiser firing its plasma torpedo and pulse laser turrets in ''[[The Package]]''.

File:CCS-class Battle Cruise Holographic Rendering.jpg|A holographic rendering of a ''CCS''-class battlecruiser.

File:H4 campaign dawn.jpeg|[[Covenant remnant]] ''CCS''-class battlecruisers swarm the wreckage of the [[UNSC Forward Unto Dawn|UNSC ''Forward Unto Dawn'']]

*''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''

**''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]''

**''[[The Return]]''

**''[[The Package]]''

*''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''

*''[[Deliver Hope]]''

*''[[Halo 4]]''

<references group="note"/>

<references/>