Editing Mona Lisa

{{Era|HCW}}

|image=[[File:MonaLisa_ominous.png|300px]]

|class=Converted [[freighter]], meant to transport prisoners

|crew=Guards and at least one [[ONI]] operative, [[John Smith]]

|passengers=Prisoners; [[Sangheili]] and [[human]]

|role=Transportation of prisoners and ore to and from penal colonies.

|destroyed=[[2552|October 25, 2552]]<ref name="Catalog">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/catalog-interaction/4c3e1c6f-6519-4ee0-83a4-4bac13bf07a3/posts?page=46#post454 ''Halo Waypoint'': Catalog Interaction (post 2976443)]</ref>

|affiliation=[[Unified Earth Government]]

|namedcrew=[[Murray]]

'''''Mona Lisa''''' was a [[prison ship]] that was in service during the later years of the [[Human-Covenant War]].<ref name="tml234">''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]'', "[[The Mona Lisa]]", p. 234-235</ref>

==Specifications==

Being a prison ship, it was a converted [[freighter]], meant to transport prisoners and ore to and from [[Penal colony|penal colonies]]. It was mostly unarmed.

A large and heavy vessel, the ''Mona Lisa''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[hangar bay]] was located near the front on the lower decks, near the prison cells. The [[bridge]] was situated at the uppermost decks, with the kitchen, mess, infirmary and berths, the majority of which were repurposed as cargo holds, in the decks between them.{{Ref/Reuse|tml234}} 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.<ref>''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe'', "The Mona Lisa", p. 265</ref> The ship also had an expansive recycling plant<ref>''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe'', "The Mona Lisa", p. 274</ref> and a cavernous [[Engineering|engine room]].<ref>''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe'', "The Mona Lisa", p. 320</ref>

==Operational history==

Some time after the [[Battle of Installation 04]], the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] [[ONI Section Three|Section III]] scientist [[Major]] [[John Smith]] and his team took command of the ship. Intending to use it as a research laboratory for the [[Flood]] in order to find a way to control the parasite, they also brought [[Sangheili]] prisoners on board 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 used both human and Covenant prisoners to experiment on it. However, the Flood soon broke quarantine and infected the ship,<ref>''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe'', "The Mona Lisa", p. 307-309</ref> beginning the process of building a [[Proto-Gravemind]] to attempt [[Slipstream space|FTL travel]] without needing access to the bridge, which was locked off.<ref>''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe'', "The Mona Lisa", p. 328</ref>

Shortly afterward, the Office of Naval Intelligence sent a [[prowler]], {{UNSCShip|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. They split up, with the mission of initiating the [[United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1|Cole Protocol]] by purging the ship's navigational databases, but were quickly alerted to the horrors of the ship.<ref>''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe'', "The Mona Lisa", p. 261</ref> Among its survivors were [[Henry|"Henry"]], an Elite who teamed with a prisoner named [[Patrick Rimmer]],<ref>''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe'', "The Mona Lisa", p. 288</ref> and John Smith, the ONI operative responsible for the experiments on board, who had locked himself into the panic room near the medical bay.<ref>''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe'', "The Mona Lisa", p. 324</ref>

The squad was slowly whittled down as the action continued, until they reach the escape pods. Only four members of the squad survived ([[Zhao Heng Lopez|Lopez]], [[James MacCraw|MacCraw]], [[Clarence]], and [[Ngoc Benti|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 and during this pause, MacCraw took off in one of the escape pods. A wounded Benti jumped on Clarence and took 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 to 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.<ref>''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe'', "The Mona Lisa", p. 338-342</ref>

*The ship was named after the famous painting ''[[wikipedia:Mona Lisa|Mona Lisa]]'' painted by Leonardo da Vinci.

*The ''Mona Lisa'' bears a striking resemblance to the [[deadspace:USG Ishimura|''USG Ishimura'']] from the video game [[deadspace:Dead Space|''Dead Space'']]. Like the ''Mona Lisa'', the ''Ishimura'' was overrun by an alien parasite - the [[deadspace:Necromorphs|Necromorphs]] - capable of infecting dead hosts.