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{{Era|Forerunner|Post}}
{{Title|''Mantle's Approach''}}
{{Title|''Mantle's Approach''}}  
{{Status|Canon}}
{{Disambig header|the ship used in [[Halo 4]] and [[Halo: Silentium]]|the ship in [[Halo: Cryptum]]|Didact's ship}}
{{Disambig header|the ship used in [[Halo 4]] and [[Halo: Silentium]]|the ship in [[Halo: Cryptum]]|Didact's ship}}
{{Individual Ship Infobox
{{Individual ship infobox
|name=Mantle's Approach
|name=''Mantle's Approach''
|image=[[File:H4-MantlesApproach-ScanRender.png|150px]]
|image=[[File:H4-MantlesApproach-ScanRender.png|x300px]]
|manufacturer=Forerunner
|manufacturer= Master Builder's Fabricae<ref name="warfleet">''[[Halo: Warfleet]]'', p. 86-87</ref>{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P381|Enc22|Page=381}}
|model=
|model=
|role=Flagship
|role=Domination{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P381}}
|length={{Convert|142.7|km|mi|sp=us}}<ref name="VIS">'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', page 193</ref>  
|length={{Convert|142.7|km|mi|sp=us}}<ref name="VIS">'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 193''</ref>  
|height={{Convert|371.4|km|mi|sp=us}}<ref name="VIS"/>
|height={{Convert|371.4|km|mi|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P381}}
|width={{Convert|138.6|km|mi|sp=us}}<ref name="VIS"/>
|width={{Convert|138.6|km|mi|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}}
|mass=4.7 quadrillion metric tons{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P381}}
|engine=
|engine=
|slipspace drive=Equipped
|slipspace drive=Equipped
|hull=Held together by [[hard light]] bonds<ref name="VIS"/>
|hull=Programmable matter held together by [[hard light]] bonds and energy interlocks.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
|armament=*[[Composer]]
|armament=*[[Composer]]
*Heavy Ion Weapon System <ref name="VIS"/>
*1 [[heavy ion weapon system]]{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*Stasis Tension Driver <ref name="VIS"/>
*1 [[stasis tension driver]]{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*Multiple [[Forerunner light point defense gun|Light Mass Fusillade Cannons]]<ref name="VIS"/>
*40 [[torsion driver array]]s{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*[[Z-8060 Particle Cannon|Particle Cannon Network]]<ref name="VIS"/>
*1,700 [[light mass fusillade cannon]]s{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*[[Z-8250 Forerunner Artillery|Anti-Ship Artillery System]]<ref name="VIS"/>
*25,000 [[converging beam cannon]]s{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*[[Z-8060 Particle Cannon|Particle cannon network]]{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}}
*Anti-Ship Artillery System{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}}
**[[Z-8250 Forerunner Artillery|Z-8250 heavy artillery]]{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}}
**[[Forerunner light point defense gun|Z-8250 light artillery]]{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}}
|countermeasures=*Cloaking system<ref name="cloak">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 273''</ref>
*[[Torsion field]]s<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 262''</ref>
|misc4-title=Complement
|misc4-title=Complement
|misc4=*Numerous Promethean constructs
|misc4=*1 [[Strategos]]{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*25 [[Princeps]]{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*800 [[Navarch]]s{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*250,000 [[Praetorian]]s{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*5.5 million [[Venatore]]s{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*Over a billion Promethean constructs{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
**[[Promethean Knight|Knights]]
**[[Promethean Knight|Knights]]
**[[Promethean Watcher|Watchers]]
**[[Promethean Watcher|Watchers]]
**[[Promethean Crawler|Crawlers]]
**[[Promethean Crawler|Crawlers]]
|commission=[[Human-Forerunner War]]<ref name="VIS"/>
|commission=[[Human-Forerunner wars]]{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}}
|destroyed=[[2557|July 2557]]
|destroyed=[[2557#July|July 25, 2557]]<ref>'''[[Halo: Escalation]]''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 7|Issue #7]]''</ref>
|battles=
|battles=
*[[Forerunner-Flood war]]
*[[Forerunner-Flood war]]
**[[Battle of the greater Ark]]
**[[Battle of the greater Ark]]
*[[Second human-Covenant war]]
*[[Post-Covenant War conflicts]]
**[[Raid on Ivanoff Station]]
**[[Raid on Ivanoff Station]]
**[[Battle of Earth (2557)|Battle of Earth]]
**[[New Phoenix Incident]]
|fleet=
|fleet=
|namedcrew=[[Endurance-of-Will]]
|namedcrew=[[Endurance-of-Will]]
Line 39: Line 51:
}}
}}


The '''''Mantle's Approach''''' was the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]'s personal flagship.<ref>'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''', ''Section 3 Archive''</ref>
'''''Mantle's Approach''''' was an [[Orders of battle|unordered]] command vessel built specifically to serve as the personal [[flagship]] of the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P381}}<ref>'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''', ''Section 3 Archive''</ref> The only vessel of its kind, the ''Mantle's Approach'' played a pivotal roles in the final years of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]] executing the Didact's will by launching an army of [[Promethean#Mechanical Prometheans|machine-warriors]] that were effectively impervious to the [[Flood]], and later composing [[human]]s to create more of these warriors. The ship would remain on [[Requiem]] throughout the Didact's imprisonment, only to be awakened along with the [[Forerunner]]. The ''Mantle's Approach'' would ultimately be destroyed by [[John-117]] and [[Cortana]] with a well-placed [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|nuclear warhead]]. What remained of the ship's core escaped via an emergency [[slipspace]] jump to the [[shield world]] of [[Genesis]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P381}}


==History==
==History==
===Origins===
===Origins===
This massive vessel was once captained by the Didact at the height of Forerunner power. Built during the [[Human-Forerunner War]], it served as the Ur-Didact's personal command ship. While not the largest of Forerunner ships, the ''Mantle's Approach'' was the fastest and most heavily armed warship in the [[Forerunner fleet]].<ref name="VIS"/> The ship held a number of [[Z-330 Forerunner Escort|escort craft]] for transport within the vessel,<ref name="escort">'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 123''</ref> and at its height it possessed enormous support fleets of both manned and automated combat craft, including [[war sphinx]]es,<ref name="escort"/> [[sentinel]]s and internally-stored fighters.<ref name="VIS"/> During the Didact's assault on [[Omega Halo]], it had an escort of thousands of sentinels.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 261-262''</ref>
This massive vessel was once captained by the Didact at the height of [[Forerunner]] power. Built during the [[human-Forerunner wars]], it served as the Ur-Didact's personal command ship. The [[design seed]] of the vessel was not approved by the [[Ecumene Council]], but by [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]] himself.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/mantle-s-approach-size/db6315c7-a250-494b-8729-fe68dffeed1f/posts?page=2|Site=Halo Waypoint Forums|Page=Mantle's Approach Size|D=29|M=11|Y=2019|LocalArchive=Catalog/Archive/2014#Mantle's Approach Size}} While not the largest of Forerunner ships, ''Mantle's Approach'' was the fastest and most heavily armed warship in the [[Forerunner fleet]].{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}} The ship held a number of [[Twelfth-order escort|escort craft]] for transport within the vessel,<ref name="escort">'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 123''</ref> and at its height it possessed enormous support fleets of both manned and automated combat craft, including [[war sphinx]]es,{{Ref/Reuse|escort}} [[sentinel]]s and internally-stored fighters.{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}} During the Didact's assault on [[Omega Halo]], it had an escort of thousands of sentinels.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 261-262''</ref> Like many Forerunner warships,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 213''</ref> ''Mantle's Approach'' possessed a cloaking ability.{{Ref/Reuse|cloak}}


===Forerunner-Flood war===
===Forerunner-Flood war===
[[File:H4-Terminal-Village-Mantle.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Mantle's Approach'', moments before [[Composer|composing]] a human village.]]
[[File:H4-Terminal-Village-Mantle.jpg|thumb|250px|left|''Mantle's Approach'', moments before [[Composer|composing]] a human village.]]
During the final years of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], after being returned to the [[ecumene]] from his captivity at the clutches of the [[Gravemind]], the Ur-Didact reassumed command of the ''Mantle's Approach''. He used the ship to travel to [[Nomdagro]] and later when he followed the [[Librarian]]'s ship, ''[[Audacity]]'', to the [[greater Ark]]. Once there, he remained aboard the the ''Mantle's Approach'' in orbit over the Ark, where he was briefly visited by the Librarian. When the Ark fell [[Battle of the greater Ark|under siege]] by [[Flood]] forces, the Didact moved the ship to the nearby [[Omega Halo]] and used a [[Composer]], a device designed to transfer organic consciousness to software, integrated to the ship to harvest the essences of the [[human]] population transplanted on the ring. He then spontaneously departed aboard the ''Mantle's Approach'', headed for [[Requiem]], his primary [[shield world]]. He docked the ship inside Requiem and began to process the harvested human essences into new [[Promethean Knight]]s.<ref name="silentium">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 34''</ref>
During the final years of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], after being returned to the [[ecumene]] from his captivity at the clutches of the [[Gravemind]], the Ur-Didact re-assumed command of ''Mantle's Approach''. He used the ship to travel to [[Nomdagro]] and later when he followed the [[Librarian]]'s ship, ''[[Audacity]]'', to the [[greater Ark]]. Once there, he remained aboard the ''Mantle's Approach'' in orbit over the Ark, where he was briefly visited by the Librarian. When the Ark fell [[Battle of the greater Ark|under siege]] by [[Flood]] forces, the Didact moved the ship to the nearby [[Omega Halo]] and used a [[Composer]], a device designed to transfer organic consciousness to digital form, integrated to the ship to harvest the essences of the [[human]] population that had been transplanted to the ring. He then immediately departed aboard ''Mantle's Approach'', headed for [[Requiem]], his primary [[shield world]]. He docked the ship inside Requiem and began to process the harvested human essences into the next generation of [[Promethean Knight]]s.<ref name="silentium">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 34''</ref>


However, the Librarian had trailed her husband on the ''Audacity'', aiming to put an end to his genocidal schemes. With the admission of the Didact's lieutenant, [[Endurance-of-Will]], the Librarian entered the ''Mantle's Approach'' and confronted the Didact in the command center. She incapacitated the Didact, placed him in a [[Cryptum|combat Cryptum]] previously stored on the ''Mantle's Approach'' and sealed the Cryptum inside the core of Requiem.<ref name="silentium"/> She also sealed the ''Mantle's Approach'' itself within Requiem.<ref name="VIS"/>
However, the Librarian had trailed her husband on ''Audacity'', aiming to put an end to his genocidal schemes. With the admission of the Didact's lieutenant, [[Endurance-of-Will]], the Librarian entered ''Mantle's Approach'' and confronted the Didact in the command center. She incapacitated the Didact, placed him in a [[Cryptum|combat Cryptum]] previously stored on ''Mantle's Approach'' and sealed the Cryptum inside the core of Requiem.{{Ref/Reuse|silentium}} She also sealed the ship itself within Requiem.{{Ref/Reuse|VIS}}


===Modern era===
===Modern era===
After his awakening in [[2557|July 2557]], the Didact quickly escaped in his Cryptum and, once the necessary preparations were complete, he recoupled the Cryptum with the ''Mantle's Approach'' and took off immediately. He jumped to [[Ivanoff Station]] alongside a [[Covenant remnant]] fleet, intent on reclaiming the Composer. The Didact test-fired the Composer on the station, then proceeded to [[Earth]] to settle his personal war with humanity once and for all.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Composer (level)|Composer]]</ref>  Although Earth had been warned of the attack, the planet's [[MAC]] defenses were unable to stop the massive Forerunner ship.
After his awakening in [[2557|July 2557]], the Didact quickly escaped in his Cryptum and, once the necessary preparations were complete, he recoupled the Cryptum with ''Mantle's Approach'' and took off immediately. He jumped to [[Ivanoff Station]] alongside a [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|Covenant]] fleet, intent on reclaiming the Composer. The Didact test-fired the Composer on the station, then proceeded to [[Earth]] to settle his personal war with humanity once and for all.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Composer (level)|Composer]]''</ref>  Although Earth had been warned of the attack, the planet's [[orbital defense platform]]s and the [[Home Fleet]] were unable to stop the colossal Forerunner ship.


Unbeknownst to the Ur-Didact, however, [[John-117]] had survived the deadly pulse due to the Librarian's intervention. Pursuing the ''Mantle's Approach'' aboard a [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|nuclear-armed]] [[F-41 Broadsword]], the Spartan took out the ship's point defense turrets, allowing the {{UNSCship|Infinity}} to punch a hole through the ''Mantle'''s hull with its fore weapons. The Master Chief then fought his way through the ship, eventually finding the Didact controlling the Composer under an impenetrable force field. [[Cortana]] overloaded the shields by flooding the ship's mainframe with her rampant duplicates, allowing the Chief to confront and defeat the Didact with a [[Z-040 Attenuation Field Generator/Localized|pulse grenade]].<ref name="midnight">'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Midnight]]</ref>
Unbeknownst to the Ur-Didact, however, [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartan]] [[John-117]] had survived the Composer's deadly pulse thanks to immunization provided by the Librarian. Pursuing ''Mantle's Approach'' aboard a [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|nuclear-armed]] [[F-41 Broadsword]], the Spartan took out the ship's point defense turrets, allowing the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} to punch a hole through the ship's hull with her fore weapons. The Master Chief then fought his way through the ship, eventually finding the Didact controlling the Composer under an impenetrable force field. The AI [[Cortana]] overloaded the shields by flooding the ship's mainframe with her rampant duplicates, allowing the Chief to confront the Didact. Although John was no match for the Didact's powerful abilities, Cortana was able to immobilize the Promethean with [[hard light]] shackles, allowing the Chief to plant a [[Z-040 pulse grenade|pulse grenade]] in the Didact's armour. The resulting explosion knocked the Didact off balance and sent him falling into a slipspace portal underneath the Composer.<ref name="midnight">'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Midnight]]''</ref>


With the Composer already firing upon [[New Phoenix]], the Spartan manually detonated the HAVOK warhead as a desperate last resort. The ''Mantle's Approach'' was completely destroyed by the nuclear blast, taking the Composer along with it. The dying Cortana got the Chief out of the ship at the very last moment and created a [[hard light]] barrier around him, saving John's life at the cost of her own.<ref name="midnight"/>
With the Composer already firing upon [[New Phoenix]], [[Unified Republic of North America|URNA]], the Spartan manually detonated the HAVOK warhead as a desperate last resort. The Composer was destroyed by the HAVOK nuke, along with the majority of the ''Mantle's Approach''. The dying Cortana teleported the Master Chief out of the ship at the very last moment and created a hard light barrier around him, saving John's life. The remains of ''Mantle's Approach'' formed a debris field over Earth.{{Ref/Reuse|midnight}} Pieces of the ship's remains exited over [[Installation 03]] in the [[Khaphrae system]]. Some of the debris entered the atmosphere of the Halo installation—an event observed by SPARTAN-II [[Black Team]].<ref>'''Halo: Escalation''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 9|Issue #9]]''</ref>


==Trivia==
During the HAVOK nuke's detonation, self-preservation protocols shunted the core seed of ''Mantle's Approach'', including the remnants of Cortana's personality matrix, via emergency slipspace jump, to the nearest repair facility on record, [[Genesis]]. As a result, Cortana was able to access the [[Domain]] and cure her rampancy. Her comments when reuniting with John in [[2558#October|October 2558]] suggest that the ship's remains crashed on the planet.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/catalog-interaction/4c3e1c6f-6519-4ee0-83a4-4bac13bf07a3/posts?page=23#post454 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction (page 23)'']</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}<ref name="reunion">'''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''', campaign level, ''[[Reunion]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Cortana]]''': "I admit, after the crash here, I didn't think I'd see you again."</ref>
''Mantle's Approach'' resembles a [[w:c:masseffect:Reaper|Reaper]] (particularly of the ''Sovereign'' class) from the [[w:c:masseffect:Mass Effect|''Mass Effect'' universe]]. This may refer to the fact that [[Wikipedia:Keith Szarabajka|Keith Szarabajka]], the voice actor for the Ur-Didact, also voiced the Reaper [[w:c:masseffect:Harbinger|Harbinger]], who shares similar goals to the Didact. Namely, Harbinger seeks to convert all sufficiently advanced sentient life (particularly humanity) into mechanical form, creating a new Reaper.
 
==Design details==
The ''Mantle's Approach'' featured a core seed that acted as the heart of the ship. Even if the ship was destroyed, the core seed could rebuild it as long as it had access to raw materials of sufficient quality. The ship featured a specialized command sector known as the ''Hall of Command''. The ''Heroes' Walk'' housed the barracks, training grounds, museums, and halls of honors for the ship's Forerunners. After the Warrior-Servants voluntarily composed themselves, the section was no longer necessary. The ''Exalted Sepulcher'' was remodeled to service composed Prometheans. The ''Mantle's Approach'' was capable of constructing a billion Knight shells, but there were never enough essences available to fill them. Large numbers of empty Knight shells in maintenance cradles survived the ship's destruction and its' remnants arrival at Genesis.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}} The vessel possessed powerful shielding, able to shrug off attacks by the [[UNSC Home Fleet]] and orbital MAC platforms without any trouble. Only a shot from two of the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}'s main batteries managed to penetrate the shields and they failed to inflict any significant damage upon the vessel which was able to shift its structure to quickly close the hole. Even getting this shot required the ''Infinity'' to move into relatively close proximity and for the point-defense guns in that area to be destroyed.{{Ref/Reuse|midnight}}
 
===Hull and weaponry===
The ''Mantle's Approach'' featured a variable geometry hull full of programmable matter, hard light, and energy interlocks in order to change its shape for fighting the Flood and Ancient Humanity. The ship's main cannon was a [[heavy ion weapon system]] adapted from emplacements used on planet-cracking siege platforms. Firing a bolt of exotic matter accelerated to a significant fraction of the speed of light, the cannon was able to buckle continental plates and disintegrate phase-rotated fortifications. However, the ship must reconfigure after a single shot. Another important armament was the [[stasis tension driver]], an array of three projectors that pairs quantum singularity generators with repurposed [[torsion driver]]s. Together, they generate localized space-time distortions that impede the formation of [[Slipstream Space|slipspace ruptures]] and jam all [[superluminal communications]] and sensors.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}} The vessel's point-defense guns were potent, able to destroy several [[UNSC]] ships that were in close-proximity with relative ease.{{Ref/Reuse|midnight}}


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
{{Linkbox|gallery=yes}}
<gallery>
<gallery>
File:H4-Terminal-MantlesApproach.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' seen in ''Halo 4'''s terminals.
File:H4-Terminal-MantlesApproach.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' in ''Halo 4''{{'}}s terminals.
File:H4-Mantle-Departure.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' rising above [[Requiem]]'s main entry portal.
File:H4-Mantle-Departure.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' rising above [[Requiem]]'s main entry opening.
File:H4-MantlesApproach-Shields.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' exiting slipspace alongside [[Lich]] dropships.
File:H4-MantlesApproach-Shields.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' exiting slipspace alongside [[Lich]] dropships.
File:H4-MantlesApproachShip.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' flying through the void.
File:H4-MantlesApproachShip.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' flying through the void.
File:H4-MantlesApproachShip-Slipspace.jpg|John-117 pursuing the ''Mantle's Approach'' onboard his [[F-41 Broadsword]].
File:H4-MantlesApproachShip-Slipspace.jpg|John-117 pursuing the ''Mantle's Approach'' onboard his [[F-41 Broadsword]].
File:H4-Portal.png|A portal on Mantle’s Approach.
File:H4-MantlesApproach-Slipspace1.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' opening a slipspace portal.
File:H4-MantlesApproach-Slipspace1.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' opening a slipspace portal.
File:H4-MantlesApproach-Slipspace2.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' jumping into the slipspace rupture.
File:H4-MantlesApproach-Slipspace2.jpg|The ''Mantle's Approach'' jumping into the slipspace rupture.
File:H4-Infinity-Mantle.jpg|The UNSC ''Infinity'' facing the ''Mantle's Approach''.
File:H4-Infinity-Mantle.jpg|The UNSC ''Infinity'' facing the ''Mantle's Approach''.
File:H4-Midnight-Trench.jpg|A view of the trench run that [[John-117]] has to get through using an [[F-41 Broadsword]].
File:H4-Midnight-Trench.jpg|A view of the trench that [[John-117]] flew through in an [[F-41 Broadsword]].
File:Mantles-Approach wreckage.jpg|The debris field left behind by the destruction of the ''Mantle's Aprroach''.
File:Mantles-Approach wreckage.jpg|The debris field left behind by the destruction of the ''Mantle's Approach''.
</gallery>
</gallery>
===Concept art===
===Concept art===
Line 87: Line 106:
==List of appearances==
==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo 4]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo 4]]'' {{1st}}
**''[[Terminal (Halo 4)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]''
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]''
*''[[Halo: Escalation]]''
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Outcasts]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Epitaph]]''


==Sources==
==Sources==
<references/>
{{Ref/Sources}}
 
{{Forerunner|ships}}


{{Forerunner/Ships}}
[[Category:Forerunner ships]]
[[Category:Forerunner Ships]]

Latest revision as of 04:37, February 28, 2024

This article is about the ship used in Halo 4 and Halo: Silentium. For the ship in Halo: Cryptum, see Didact's ship.
Mantle's Approach
H4-MantlesApproach-ScanRender.png
Production information

Manufacturer:

Master Builder's Fabricae[1][2]

Role:

Domination[1][2]

Specifications

Length:

142.7 kilometers (88.7 mi)[3]

Width:

138.6 kilometers (86.1 mi)[3]

Height:

371.4 kilometers (230.8 mi)[3][2]

Mass:

4.7 quadrillion metric tons[1][2]

Slipspace drive:

Equipped

Hull:

Programmable matter held together by hard light bonds and energy interlocks.[1]

Countermeasures:

Armament:

Complement:

Service information

Commissioned:

Human-Forerunner wars[3]

Destroyed:

July 25, 2557[6]

Participated battles:

Noteworthy crewmembers:

Endurance-of-Will

Known commanders:

Ur-Didact

Affiliation:

Prometheans

 

Mantle's Approach was an unordered command vessel built specifically to serve as the personal flagship of the Didact.[2][7] The only vessel of its kind, the Mantle's Approach played a pivotal roles in the final years of the Forerunner-Flood war executing the Didact's will by launching an army of machine-warriors that were effectively impervious to the Flood, and later composing humans to create more of these warriors. The ship would remain on Requiem throughout the Didact's imprisonment, only to be awakened along with the Forerunner. The Mantle's Approach would ultimately be destroyed by John-117 and Cortana with a well-placed nuclear warhead. What remained of the ship's core escaped via an emergency slipspace jump to the shield world of Genesis.[2]

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

This massive vessel was once captained by the Didact at the height of Forerunner power. Built during the human-Forerunner wars, it served as the Ur-Didact's personal command ship. The design seed of the vessel was not approved by the Ecumene Council, but by Master Builder Faber himself.[8] While not the largest of Forerunner ships, Mantle's Approach was the fastest and most heavily armed warship in the Forerunner fleet.[3] The ship held a number of escort craft for transport within the vessel,[9] and at its height it possessed enormous support fleets of both manned and automated combat craft, including war sphinxes,[9] sentinels and internally-stored fighters.[3] During the Didact's assault on Omega Halo, it had an escort of thousands of sentinels.[10] Like many Forerunner warships,[11] Mantle's Approach possessed a cloaking ability.[4]

Forerunner-Flood war[edit]

Mantle's Approach, moments before composing a human village.

During the final years of the Forerunner-Flood war, after being returned to the ecumene from his captivity at the clutches of the Gravemind, the Ur-Didact re-assumed command of Mantle's Approach. He used the ship to travel to Nomdagro and later when he followed the Librarian's ship, Audacity, to the greater Ark. Once there, he remained aboard the Mantle's Approach in orbit over the Ark, where he was briefly visited by the Librarian. When the Ark fell under siege by Flood forces, the Didact moved the ship to the nearby Omega Halo and used a Composer, a device designed to transfer organic consciousness to digital form, integrated to the ship to harvest the essences of the human population that had been transplanted to the ring. He then immediately departed aboard Mantle's Approach, headed for Requiem, his primary shield world. He docked the ship inside Requiem and began to process the harvested human essences into the next generation of Promethean Knights.[12]

However, the Librarian had trailed her husband on Audacity, aiming to put an end to his genocidal schemes. With the admission of the Didact's lieutenant, Endurance-of-Will, the Librarian entered Mantle's Approach and confronted the Didact in the command center. She incapacitated the Didact, placed him in a combat Cryptum previously stored on Mantle's Approach and sealed the Cryptum inside the core of Requiem.[12] She also sealed the ship itself within Requiem.[3]

Modern era[edit]

After his awakening in July 2557, the Didact quickly escaped in his Cryptum and, once the necessary preparations were complete, he recoupled the Cryptum with Mantle's Approach and took off immediately. He jumped to Ivanoff Station alongside a Covenant fleet, intent on reclaiming the Composer. The Didact test-fired the Composer on the station, then proceeded to Earth to settle his personal war with humanity once and for all.[13] Although Earth had been warned of the attack, the planet's orbital defense platforms and the Home Fleet were unable to stop the colossal Forerunner ship.

Unbeknownst to the Ur-Didact, however, Spartan John-117 had survived the Composer's deadly pulse thanks to immunization provided by the Librarian. Pursuing Mantle's Approach aboard a nuclear-armed F-41 Broadsword, the Spartan took out the ship's point defense turrets, allowing the UNSC Infinity to punch a hole through the ship's hull with her fore weapons. The Master Chief then fought his way through the ship, eventually finding the Didact controlling the Composer under an impenetrable force field. The AI Cortana overloaded the shields by flooding the ship's mainframe with her rampant duplicates, allowing the Chief to confront the Didact. Although John was no match for the Didact's powerful abilities, Cortana was able to immobilize the Promethean with hard light shackles, allowing the Chief to plant a pulse grenade in the Didact's armour. The resulting explosion knocked the Didact off balance and sent him falling into a slipspace portal underneath the Composer.[14]

With the Composer already firing upon New Phoenix, URNA, the Spartan manually detonated the HAVOK warhead as a desperate last resort. The Composer was destroyed by the HAVOK nuke, along with the majority of the Mantle's Approach. The dying Cortana teleported the Master Chief out of the ship at the very last moment and created a hard light barrier around him, saving John's life. The remains of Mantle's Approach formed a debris field over Earth.[14] Pieces of the ship's remains exited over Installation 03 in the Khaphrae system. Some of the debris entered the atmosphere of the Halo installation—an event observed by SPARTAN-II Black Team.[15]

During the HAVOK nuke's detonation, self-preservation protocols shunted the core seed of Mantle's Approach, including the remnants of Cortana's personality matrix, via emergency slipspace jump, to the nearest repair facility on record, Genesis. As a result, Cortana was able to access the Domain and cure her rampancy. Her comments when reuniting with John in October 2558 suggest that the ship's remains crashed on the planet.[16][1][17][18]

Design details[edit]

The Mantle's Approach featured a core seed that acted as the heart of the ship. Even if the ship was destroyed, the core seed could rebuild it as long as it had access to raw materials of sufficient quality. The ship featured a specialized command sector known as the Hall of Command. The Heroes' Walk housed the barracks, training grounds, museums, and halls of honors for the ship's Forerunners. After the Warrior-Servants voluntarily composed themselves, the section was no longer necessary. The Exalted Sepulcher was remodeled to service composed Prometheans. The Mantle's Approach was capable of constructing a billion Knight shells, but there were never enough essences available to fill them. Large numbers of empty Knight shells in maintenance cradles survived the ship's destruction and its' remnants arrival at Genesis.[1] The vessel possessed powerful shielding, able to shrug off attacks by the UNSC Home Fleet and orbital MAC platforms without any trouble. Only a shot from two of the UNSC Infinity's main batteries managed to penetrate the shields and they failed to inflict any significant damage upon the vessel which was able to shift its structure to quickly close the hole. Even getting this shot required the Infinity to move into relatively close proximity and for the point-defense guns in that area to be destroyed.[14]

Hull and weaponry[edit]

The Mantle's Approach featured a variable geometry hull full of programmable matter, hard light, and energy interlocks in order to change its shape for fighting the Flood and Ancient Humanity. The ship's main cannon was a heavy ion weapon system adapted from emplacements used on planet-cracking siege platforms. Firing a bolt of exotic matter accelerated to a significant fraction of the speed of light, the cannon was able to buckle continental plates and disintegrate phase-rotated fortifications. However, the ship must reconfigure after a single shot. Another important armament was the stasis tension driver, an array of three projectors that pairs quantum singularity generators with repurposed torsion drivers. Together, they generate localized space-time distortions that impede the formation of slipspace ruptures and jam all superluminal communications and sensors.[1] The vessel's point-defense guns were potent, able to destroy several UNSC ships that were in close-proximity with relative ease.[14]

Gallery[edit]

Main-Superintendent.png Browse more images in this article's gallery page.
  • The Mantle's Approach in Halo 4's terminals.

    The Mantle's Approach in Halo 4's terminals.

  • The Mantle's Approach rising above Requiem's main entry opening.

    The Mantle's Approach rising above Requiem's main entry opening.

  • The Mantle's Approach exiting slipspace alongside Lich dropships.

    The Mantle's Approach exiting slipspace alongside Lich dropships.

  • The Mantle's Approach flying through the void.

    The Mantle's Approach flying through the void.

  • John-117 pursuing the Mantle's Approach onboard his F-41 Broadsword.

    John-117 pursuing the Mantle's Approach onboard his F-41 Broadsword.

  • A portal on Mantle’s Approach.

    A portal on Mantle’s Approach.

  • The Mantle's Approach opening a slipspace portal.

    The Mantle's Approach opening a slipspace portal.

  • The Mantle's Approach jumping into the slipspace rupture.

    The Mantle's Approach jumping into the slipspace rupture.

  • The UNSC Infinity facing the Mantle's Approach.

    The UNSC Infinity facing the Mantle's Approach.

  • A view of the trench that John-117 flew through in an F-41 Broadsword.

    A view of the trench that John-117 flew through in an F-41 Broadsword.

  • The debris field left behind by the destruction of the Mantle's Approach.

    The debris field left behind by the destruction of the Mantle's Approach.

Concept art[edit]

  • Concept art of the profile of the Mantle's Approach.

    Concept art of the profile of the Mantle's Approach.

  • More concept art of the Mantle's Approach ship with the Didact's Cryptum.

    More concept art of the Mantle's Approach ship with the Didact's Cryptum.

  • Concept art of the interior of Mantle's Approach.

    Concept art of the interior of Mantle's Approach.

  • Concept art of the Mantle's Approach, laying siege to Ivanoff Station.

    Concept art of the Mantle's Approach, laying siege to Ivanoff Station.

  • Untextured 3D model of the Mantle's Approach.

    Untextured 3D model of the Mantle's Approach.

  • Close-up on the fore section of the 3D model.

    Close-up on the fore section of the 3D model.

  • Detailed views of the model's upper half.

    Detailed views of the model's upper half.

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Halo: Warfleet, p. 86-87
  2. ^ a b c d e f Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 381
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, page 193
  4. ^ a b Halo: Silentium, page 273
  5. ^ Halo: Silentium, page 262
  6. ^ Halo: Escalation, Issue #7
  7. ^ Halo Waypoint, Section 3 Archive
  8. ^ Halo Waypoint Forums, Mantle's Approach Size (Retrieved on Nov 29, 2019) [local archive] [external archive]
  9. ^ a b Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, page 123
  10. ^ Halo: Silentium, pages 261-262
  11. ^ Halo: Silentium, pages 213
  12. ^ a b Halo: Silentium, String 34
  13. ^ Halo 4, campaign level Composer
  14. ^ a b c d Halo 4, campaign level Midnight
  15. ^ Halo: Escalation, Issue #9
  16. ^ Halo Waypoint: Catalog Interaction (page 23)
  17. ^ Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level, Reunion
  18. ^ Cortana: "I admit, after the crash here, I didn't think I'd see you again."

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The Forerunners

v • d • e
 
Ships
Civilian starships
Small craft and weapon-ships
Escorts
Unknown type
For a complete list, check out our Forerunner category.
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