Maugen-pattern armored cruiser

Maugen-pattern armored cruiser
Class attributes
Identification:	UNSC Three-letter code: RCS
Operators:	Covenant Covenant remnants Jul 'Mdama's Covenant
In service:	Fifth Age of Reclamation-present
General characteristics Type: Cruiser Length: 2,000 meters (6,562 ft) Width: 1,000 meters (3,281 ft) Height: 300 meters (970 ft) Mass: 122 million tonnes Power plant: Pinch fusion reactor Maneuver drive: 2 repulsor engines Slipspace drive: Borer Hull: Nanolaminate battleplate Sensors: 4 sensor vanes Armaments: Stasis enfolder system 1 Excellen-pattern excavation beam 22 Morfen-pattern plasma cannons 6 Argament-pattern torpedo silos 60 Gon-pattern pulse lasers Air facilities: 4 primary hangars (2 port, 2 starboard) 2 fighter hangars (1 port, 1 starboard)

The Maugen-pattern armored cruiser (UNSC three-letter classification: RCS-class armored cruiser) is a Covenant capital warship classification.

Overview

Design details

The Maugen is an older design pattern of cruiser in the Covenant fleet inventory, predating the newer and more ubiquitous Ket-pattern battlecruiser by two Ages of Reclamation.The cruiser bears an extremely similar overall form to its successors, though with a bulkier and (as its name would suggest) more armoured look; the nanolaminate hull is coated in additional layers of armour plating as opposed to the smoother look of later cruisers. This is in part due to the cruiser's age - when first commissioned, Covenant energy shielding technology was limited and thus less reliable. While less advanced than more modern vessels, the Maugen has a reputation for reliability and simple operation. These traits have proven especially useful in the wake of the Great Schism, allowing post-Covenant warlords the ability to maintain powerful capital ships even despite the loss of the empire's vast network of naval depots, Huragok technicians and legions of skilled shipmasters - these ships can be reliably maintained in a resource-scarce environment unlike their more modern counterparts.

Measuring 2,000 meters long, 1,000 meters wide, and 296 meters tall, it is the second-largest known cruiser of the former Covenant fleet, overshadowed only by the Varric-pattern heavy cruiser. The port and starboard sides of the armoured cruiser each contain two primary hangars and a single dedicated strikecraft hangar, allowing for the deployment of fighters and dropships to support the vessel's operation. As on the Ket-pattern battlecruisers, a single gravity lift is located on the ship's belly, shared with the single excavation beam. The neck is additionally flanked by two large communications arrays, manifesting each as sets of three curved antennae. The nose of the ship is fitted with 4 sensor vanes to allow for sensing of the area around the ship, while the aft contains the ship's two primary repulsor engines.

Armaments

The Maugen's armament is fairly standard for a Covenant cruiser, though by the modern era considered underpowered when compared to the battlecruisers of the Covenant's navy. Its armaments include a single ventral Excellen-pattern excavation beam, 22 anterior Morfen-pattern plasma cannons, and a point-defence network of 60 Gon-pattern pulse laser turrets. An additional 6 Gon-pattern plasma torpedo silos adorn the ship's dorsal surface.

Alongside the primary armaments, the cruiser is armed with a "stasis enfolder system" located on the ventral surface underneath the neck of the ship. The precise function of this system is unknown, though its name suggests it is of a similar function to the Stasis cannons equipped on the Bkowe'nei-pattern Vampire aircraft.

Usage

The "R", or Reverence, in the cruiser's Office of Naval Intelligence-assigned three-letter classification code, "RCS", indicates that the cruiser is capable of conducting reconnaissance missions and is capable of excavating Forerunner artifacts. The "S", or Salvation, denotes that the RCS-class armored cruiser is a dedicated warship.

When originally introduced, Maugen-pattern cruisers served the Covenant empire as its primary missionary and compliance warship. However, their obsolence led them to be relagated to rear-line duties, working in patrol and occupation roles. The Maugen's status as a larger vessel also lent it some use as a command vessel for other smaller ships.

Operational history

Maugen-pattern cruisers were introduced into Covenant service in the Fifth Age of Reclamation; around the time that humanity was only just beginning to make its own early long-distance ocean voyages on Earth. They served as a mainstay warship in the Covenant fleet for centuries as the empire's primary "missionary and compliance" warship, though the class was eventually supplanted by the more refined Ket-pattern battlecruiser. Many cruisers of the Maugen-pattern were broken down into feedstock for High Charity's Assembly Forges, being reformed and remade into new ships, vehicles, and armor to equip the Covenant military. The remaining vessels of this class were left as reserve vessels in the fleets of important Covenant colonies or transferred to distant reserve fleets to take on various utilitarian roles.

The Maugen's use during the Human-Covenant War was largely overshadowed by the Ket-pattern battlecruiser, the mainstay of the fleet. At the dawn of the Great Schism, many armored cruisers played an important role in many remnant factions of the Covenant empire. Following the end of the war, many surviving battlecruisers were commandeered by Kig-Yar scavengers or independent Sangheili factions. As a result, the RCS-class armored cruiser took on a more predominant role in Jul 'Mdama's Covenant. Several RCS-class cruisers were assigned to Jul 'Mdama's fleet occupying Requiem in February 2558, escorted by a much larger number of comparatively diminutive Zanar-pattern light cruisers. One was destroyed when the UNSC Infinity emerged from slipspace and rammed it. Another fled the shield world after 'Mdama set the planet on a collision course with the local star.

Halo: Fleet Battles

Covenant RCS Battlecruiser This element includes a single RCS-class battlecruiser. Covenant RCS Battlecruiser Capital Ship, Medium (120 PTS) Movement 7" Systems Loadout Damage Track 9 • 8 • 4 Defence array (2) Glide (3) Point defence (4) - - Build Rating 2 Hangars 2 Boarding Craft 3 Security Detail 4 Primary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma lance 18/32" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 10 Secondary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma cannon arrays 10/20" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 8 Covenant Supported RCS Battlecruiser This element includes an RCS-class battlecruiser and one SDV-class heavy corvette. Covenant Supported RCS Battlecruiser Capital Ship, Medium (140 PTS) Movement 7" Systems Loadout Damage Track 9 • 8 • 5 Defence array (3) Glide (3) Point defence (5) - - Build Rating 3 Hangars 3 Boarding Craft 3 Security Detail 6 Primary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma lance 18/32" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 10 Secondary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma cannon arrays 10/20" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 8 Plasma torpedoes 10/20" Missiles/Plasma Forward 5 Covenant Reinforced RCS Battlecruiser This element includes an RCS-class battlecruiser and two SDV-class heavy corvettes. Covenant Reinforced RCS Battlecruiser Capital Ship, Medium (160 PTS) Movement 7" Systems Loadout Damage Track 9 • 8 • 6 Defence array (4) Glide (3) Point defence (6) - - Build Rating 4 Hangars 4 Boarding Craft 3 Security Detail 6 Primary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma lance 18/32" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 10 Secondary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma cannon arrays 10/20" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 10 Plasma torpedoes 10/20" Missiles/Plasma Forward 7

Covenant Escorted RCS Battlecruiser This element includes an RCS-class battlecruiser and one ADP-class escort. Covenant Escorted RCS Battlecruiser Capital Ship, Medium (140 PTS) Movement 7" Systems Loadout Damage Track 9 • 8 • 5 Defence array (3) Glide (3) Point defence (6) - - Build Rating 3 Hangars 2 Boarding Craft 3 Security Detail 6 Primary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma lance 18/32" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 10 Secondary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma cannon arrays 10/20" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 8 Plasma torpedoes 10/20" Missiles/Plasma Forward 5 Covenant Defended RCS Battlecruiser This element includes an RCS-class battlecruiser and two ADP-class escorts. Covenant Defended RCS Battlecruiser Capital Ship, Medium (160 PTS) Movement 7" Systems Loadout Damage Track 9 • 8 • 6 Defence array (3) Glide (3) Point defence (6) - - Build Rating 3 Hangars 2 Boarding Craft 3 Security Detail 6 Primary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma lance 18/32" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 10 Secondary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma cannon arrays 10/20" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 8 Plasma torpedoes 10/20" Missiles/Plasma Forward 7 Covenant Paired RCS Battlecruisers This element includes two RCS-class battlecruisers. Covenant Paired RCS Battlecruisers Capital Ship, Medium (220 PTS) Movement 7" Systems Loadout Damage Track 12 • 9 • 7 Defence array (5) Glide (3) Point defence (7) - - Build Rating 6 Hangars 4 Boarding Craft 5 Security Detail 8 Primary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma lance 18/32" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 16 Secondary Weapon Range Weapon Loadouts Arc Dice Plasma cannon arrays 10/20" Plasma Forward/Port/Starboard 15

Production notes

The Maugen-pattern armoured cruiser was first mentioned in Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, and first-depicted as a 3D model created by 3D artist Steve "Coolhand" Tyler for Axis Studios' cutscenes in Spartan Ops. Tyler was commissioned to construct two Covenant ships; a large capital ship he referred to as (and based on) the CCS-class battlecruiser, and a smaller escort ship based on the same design. The "CCS-class" was later fully-canonised as the RCS armoured cruiser in Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide. To begin the modelling process, Tyler initially modelled the smaller Zanar-pattern light cruiser, ultimately overdetailing the model and being asked to strip back some of the detail. As such, some of the excess geometry discarded from the early light cruiser design was reused and scaled up for placement on the armoured cruiser.

To try and add a sense of scale, Tyler looked to real-world oil tankers, and attempted to add a similar sense of industrial machinery alongside "window" lights to the ship to help make it easily identifiable as a massive ship.

Trivia

Armored cruisers were a warship classification used by European, American and Japanese navies during the late 19th and early 20th centuries that featured superior armor to their predecessors. Armored cruisers became obsolete with the introduction of better armed and faster battlecruisers in 1908, and smaller but just as well-armored light cruisers, though they would serve during World War I, with some surviving to serve in World War II. The history of the Covenant ship parallels the history of the real-life human class, being supplanted by the more advanced Ket-pattern battlecruiser.

Gallery

• 

  An early blockout of the Maugen-pattern cruiser (top), based on the Ket battlecruiser model found in Halo: Reach.

• 

  Steve Tyler's initial model for the Covenant light cruiser; much of this detail was ultimately stripped from the model and reused on the final armoured cruiser model instead.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

• 

  A work-in-progress view of the armoured cruiser for Spartan Ops.

Screenshots

• 

  The UNSC Infinity rams through an Maugen-pattern armored cruiser in Halo 4's Spartan Ops.

• 

  A Maugen-pattern cruiser and its CRS escort flee Requiem.

• 

  A Maugen-pattern model for Halo: Fleet Battles.

• 

  A scale side-on comparison between an Orion-class assault carrier and a Maugen-pattern armored cruiser.

• 

  The Maugen-pattern cruiser Upgrade Box for Fleet Battles.

• 

  A fleet led by a Maugen in Fleet Battles.

List of appearances

• Halo 4
  • Spartan Ops (First appearance)
• Halo: Fleet Battles
• Halo Mythos