Mona Lisa
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Mona Lisa | |
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Prison ship (converted freighter)[1] |
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Role: |
Transportation of prisoners and ore to and from penal colonies[1] |
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| Service information | |
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Mona Lisa was a prison ship that was in service during the later years of the Human-Covenant War.[1]
Design details[edit]
Like other prison ships, the Mona Lisa was a converted freighter meant to transport prisoners and ore to and from penal colonies. The vessel had minimal defenses and few firearms kept aboard as a precaution against prison breaks,[1] and it was observed to be in noticeably rough shape by the time of its discovery on October 25, 2552.[4][6]
Layout[edit]
A large and heavy vessel, the Mona Lisa's hangar bay was located near its front on the lower decks, not far from the prison cells. The bridge was situated at the uppermost decks while the kitchen, mess, infirmary, and berths—the majority of which were repurposed as cargo holds—in the decks between them.[1] In the ship's infirmary, there was a small safe room that could only be opened from the inside as a precaution against a prison riot.[7] The ship also had an expansive recycling plant[8] and a cavernous engine room.[9]
Service history[edit]
Flood outbreak[edit]
- Main article: Skirmish on Mona Lisa
Some time after the Battle of Installation 04, the Office of Naval Intelligence Section Three scientist Major John Smith and his team took command of the ship.[5] Intending to use it as a research laboratory for the Flood to attempt to find a way to control the parasite, they also brought Sangheili prisoners aboard to be used as test subjects. The ship then jumped to the wreckage of Installation 04 in the Soell system, where they recovered samples of the Flood and experimented with it using both human and Sangheili prisoners. However, the Flood soon broke quarantine and infected the ship,[3] beginning the process of building a Proto-Gravemind to attempt FTL travel without needing access to the bridge, which was locked off.[10]
Shortly afterward, the Office of Naval Intelligence sent a prowler, the UNSC Red Horse, to assess the status of the Mona Lisa. A squad of Marines among her crew was sent to investigate it, at first presuming it derelict as they had intentionally not been informed about the ship's true purpose. They split up, with the mission of initiating the Cole Protocol by purging the ship's navigational databases, but were quickly alerted to the horrors of the ship.[11] Among its survivors were "Henry," a Sangheili who had teamed up with a prisoner named Patrick Rimmer in order to survive,[12] and John Smith, the ONI operative responsible for the experiments aboard the Mona Lisa,[3] who had locked himself in a safe room near the medical bay.[7]
The squad of Marines was slowly whittled down as they attempted to escape the ship. Only four members of the squad survived long enough to reach the corridor leading to the vessel's escape pods: Sergeant Lopez, Private MacCraw, Clarence, and Corpsman Benti), along with Henry and Rimmer. Upon reaching the escape pods, Clarence shot Rimmer and it was revealed that he was an ONI operative sent to make sure no one but the Marines escaped the ship. The remaining survivors were caught in a standoff pointing guns at one another as the Flood was approaching their position. During this pause, MacCraw took off in one of the escape pods. A wounded Benti jumped on Clarence, pushing them both out into the hallway where they were overtaken by the Flood. Sergeant Lopez, the leader of the squad, and "Henry" fought over the last remaining escape pod, presumably resulting in one or both of their deaths. The ship was subsequently destroyed by a Shiva-class nuclear missile launched from the Red Horse in order to contain the Flood.[4][13]
Trivia[edit]
- The ship was named after Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting of the same name.
- The Mona Lisa bears a striking resemblance to the USG Ishimura from the video game Dead Space. Like the Mona Lisa, the Ishimura was overrun by an alien parasite—the Necromorphs—capable of infecting dead hosts.
Gallery[edit]
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Browse more images in this article's gallery page. |
Concept art and turnarounds of the Mona Lisa.
A schematic of Mona Lisa.
A holographic readout of the ship.
The Mona Lisa's bridge.
An aft view of Mona Lisa.
The ship floating amongst the debris of Installation 04.
The side of the ship, with a Pelican visible.
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
- The Mona Lisa (First appearance)
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Lopez 0932 hours
- ^ a b Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Benti 1530 hours
- ^ a b c d Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Lopez 1613 hours
- ^ a b c Halo Waypoint: Catalog Interaction (post 2976443)
- ^ a b Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Lopez 1510 hours
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Lopez 1304 hours
- ^ a b Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Lopez 1440 hours
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Benti 1450 hours
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Benti 1608 hours
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Benti 1613 hours
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Burgundy 1349 hours
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Benti 1510 hours
- ^ Halo: Evolutions - The Mona Lisa: >Lopez 1624 hours
