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{{Era|FS}}
{{Title|''Unyielding Hierophant''}}
{{ratings}}
{{Status|Canon}}
The '''''Unyielding Hierophant''''' was a [[Covenant]] command-and-control centre and refit-battle station that was capable of supporting a fleet of over 500<ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' Page 297</ref> capital ships. It was capable of slipspace jumps <ref>[[Halo: First Strike]] page 198</ref> and was over 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in circumference. This type of vessel possesses at least two fusion reactor cores for power.
{{Center|''Were you looking for [[Unyielding]], a music track from [[Halo 2]]?''}}
{{Individual ship infobox
|name=''Unyielding Hierophant''
|image=[[File:HM-UnyieldingHierophant.jpg|300px]]
|class=
|manufacturer=Covenant Empire
|modifier= :
|sysmods=
|length=30 kilometers (18.6 miles)<ref name="fs301">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 301'' (2003), ''page 362'' (2010)</ref><ref name="universe">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-gb/universe/vehicles/unyielding-hierophant '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Unyielding Hierophant'']</ref>
|width-title=Circumference
|width=10 kilometers (6.3 miles){{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|height=3.2 kilometers (2 miles){{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|max accel=
|max speed space=
|max speed air=
|engine-title=Power source
|engine=Two 512 terawatt pinch fusion reactors<ref name="Halo page 305">'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 305''</ref>
|slipspace drive=Yes
|slipspace speed=Unknown
|poweroutput=
|power=
|shield gen=
|hull=[[Nanolaminate hull plating]]
*Equipped with [[energy shields]]
|sensor=
|target=
|navigation=
|avionics=
|countermeasures=
|armament=
|misc4-title=Complement
|misc4=*Hundreds of thousands of personnel
*Hundreds of smaller spacecraft
|crew=
|skeleton=
|passengers=
|capacity=
|consumables=
|othersystems=
|role=Mobile battlestation
|commission=
|firstuse-title=First sighted
|firstuse=[[2552|September 2552]] (UNSC)
|destroyed=[[2552|September 2552]]
|retired=
|lastsight=
|battles=*[[Operation: FIRST STRIKE]]
|affiliation=[[Covenant]]
|fleet=
|taskforce=
|owners=
|namedcrew=
|captains=
}}
{{quote|I'm not sure what that thing is. Don't look like any 'uneven elephant' to me-—more like two squids kissing.|[[Avery Johnson]]}}
'''''Unyielding Hierophant''''' was a [[Covenant]] command-and-control center and refit-battle station that was capable of supporting a fleet of over 500<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 297''</ref> capital ships. It was capable of slipspace jumps<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 198'' (2003)</ref> and was over 10 kilometers (6.3 miles) in circumference and 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) long. The ''Unyielding Hierophant'' possessed at least two [[pinch fusion reactor]] cores for power.<ref name="Halo page 305">'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 305''</ref>


== Appearance ==
==Appearance==
{{quote|I'm not sure what that thing is. Don't look like any 'uneven elephant' to me—more like two squids kissing.|[[Avery J. Johnson]]}}
''Unyielding Hierophant'' was shaped like a figure-eight, with two tear-drop shaped bulbous sections connected at the center, each 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) long which makes it 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) long total.{{Ref/Reuse|fs301}} A rotating ring was connected to the central hub by many long spokes, and is used by Covenant cruisers and carriers to dock with the space station. Thin, filament-like tubes extended from both bulbous sections and moved over the surface of the ring; these may be tubes used for transporting personnel and cargo between the ring and other parts of the station.
The ''Unyielding Hierophant'' is shaped like an eight, with two tear-drop shaped bulbous sections connected at the centre, each 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) long which makes it 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) total. A rotating ring is connected to the central hub, and is used by Covenant cruisers and carriers to dock with the space station.


Internally it has large "rooms" that are built with foliage and animals to simulate the Covenant's worlds to make occupants feel more at home, rather than on a huge station. The [[Master Chief]] compares these to the large atrium that [[FLEETCOM]] [[HQ]] has in its lobby. These areas have temples for religious sessions. In these large rooms, the Spartans reported to have seen pipe-like tubes that carried passengers from one destination to the other in capsules. Also, the Covenant seemed to have an almost complete control of gravity in the station, as water was seen flowing up and sideways.
Running the circumference of the station's hub was a repair-and-refit facility, with many slots for Covenant spacecraft to dock and be attended to by [[Huragok]] work teams. This section of the ship was crewed by thousands of Huragok and a small number of Unggoy.


== Destruction ==
Inside the main sections, it had large "rooms" that contained environments with foliage, water, and animals to simulate the Covenant's worlds and make occupants feel more at home, rather than on a huge station. [[John-117]] compared these to the large atrium that [[UNSC Fleet Command|FLEETCOM]] [[Fleet Command Headquarters|HQ]] has in its lobby. These areas had temples for religious sessions. In these large rooms, the Spartans saw pipe-like tubes that carried passengers from one destination to the other inside capsules. Also, the Covenant seemed to have an almost complete control of [[Artificial gravity|gravity]] in the station, as water was seen flowing up and sideways.


At the time of its destruction it was located in the [[Tau Ceti]] system. The system was conquered by Covenant forces in [[2530]] and was therefore used as a rendezvous point for a Covenant force of approximately 500 warships before they prepared to launch their impending attack on [[Earth]]. When the [[UNSC]] discovered this, the crew of the ''[[Ascendant Justice]]-[[Gettysburg]]'' decided to initiate a first strike against the Covenant to postpone an inevitable Covenant assault against Earth. A team of [[SPARTAN-II]]s, among them [[John-117]], [[Grace-093]], [[Fred-104]], [[Linda-058]] and [[William-043]] commandeered a Covenant dropship, after they had reinforced the armor of the dropship with [[Titanium-A]] armor inside and out so the ship could withstand the transition from Slipspace to normal space. The team departed and made the transition from [[Slipspace]] to normal space in one piece.
== History ==
[[File:FS cover full.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Spartans fighting in ''Unyielding Hierophant''.]]
At some point before the Covenant assault to Earth, the [[Prophet of Truth]] had managed to discover the location of humanity's homeworld. He secretly begun amassing a [[Truth's fleet|fleet of over five hundred warships]] commanded exclusively by the [[Jiralhanae]] to attack and occupy Earth.<ref name="waypoint">'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''', ''"Ten Twenty" history entry''</ref>


The [[Spartan]]s infiltrated the station, using the [[Covenant]]'s own tugs to tow them aboard, finding themselves within a hangar capable of docking hundreds of single-ships. Avoiding the [[Covenant]] presence, the Spartans proceeded inward, with a copy of Cortana infiltrating the Station's network to distract and hinder the Covenant's coordination. Managing to cross an open plaza with only the loss of [[Grace|one]] Spartan, who was killed by [[Brute Shot]]s, Blue team neutralized the [[Brute]] guards of a temple and proceeded to the 512 terra-watt reactors, with the copied Cortana setting them to overload, which would destroy the station and nearby fleet.
At the time of its destruction it was located in the [[Tau Ceti system]]. The system was used as a rendezvous point for Covenant forces before they prepared to launch their impending attack on [[Earth]]. When the crew of the ''[[Ascendant Justice]]-[[UNSC Gettysburg|Gettysburg]]'' discovered this, they decided to initiate a first strike against the Covenant to postpone an inevitable Covenant assault against Earth. A team of [[SPARTAN-II]]s, among them [[John-117]], [[Grace-093]], [[Frederic-104]], [[Linda-058]] and [[William-043]] commandeered a Covenant dropship and, after they had reinforced the armor of the dropship with [[Titanium-A armor]], lead, and carbon molybdenum steel I-beams so the ship could withstand immense pressures, departed and made the transition from [[Slipspace]] to normal space in one piece.


The Spartans attempted to flee using captured [[Banshee]]s, now taking heavy fire from the [[Covenant]] forces aware of their presence. After destroying one of the plaza's windows, they managed to escape, hijacking a floating Covenant dropship and making their way to the evacuation point for the ''Ascendant Justice-Gettysburg.'' The ''Ascendant Justice'', separated from the ''Gettysburg'', drew the Covenant's attention to the station with a holographic ruse, keeping them within the blast radius; the detonation destroyed virtually all of the five-hundred strong fleet, the largest space victory ever accomplished by the [[UNSC]].
The [[Spartan-II]]s infiltrated the station, using the Covenant's own tugs to tow them aboard, finding themselves within a hangar capable of docking hundreds of single-ships.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', page 304</ref> Avoiding the Covenant presence, the Spartans proceeded inward, with a copy of [[Cortana]] infiltrating the Station's network to distract and hinder the Covenant's coordination. Managing to cross an open plaza with only the loss of [[Grace-093]], who was killed by a Jiralhanae with a [[Type-25 Grenade Launcher|Brute Shot]], Blue team neutralized the [[Jiralhanae]] guards of a temple and proceeded to the 512 tera-watt reactors, with the copied Cortana setting them to overload, which would destroy the station and nearby fleet.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', pages 316-317</ref>
 
The Spartans attempted to flee using captured [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshee]]s, now taking heavy fire from the Covenant forces aware of their presence. After destroying one of the plaza's windows, they managed to escape, hijacking a floating Covenant dropship and making their way to the evacuation point for the ''Ascendant Justice-Gettysburg.'' The ''Ascendant Justice'', separated from the ''Gettysburg ''and commandeered by Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb and Lieutenant Elias Haverson, drew the Covenant's attention to the station with a holographic ruse of the [[Menachite Forerunner crystal]], keeping them within the blast radius; the detonation destroyed virtually all of the five-hundred strong fleet, the largest space victory ever accomplished by the UNSC.
 
In [[2559#November|November 2559]], [[Covenant remnants|remnant Covenant]] forces most likely serving under [[Luro 'Taralumee]] were involved in salvaging the remains of the station and its fleet. On November 13, [[SPARTAN-G059]] was given a briefing in which the UNSC believed a warlord serving the Covenant remnant was conducting salvaging operations at Tau Ceti, leading to the Spartan (and her {{Class|Winter|prowler}}, {{UNSCShip|From the Ashes}}) being deployed to conduct reconnaissance.{{Ref/Site|Id=CFCoA|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-coming-of-age|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Coming of Age|D=14|M=11|Y=2024}}
{{Clear}}


== Trivia ==
== Trivia ==
*Due to his trouble reading small text, or possibly his disdain for fancy language, [[Sergeant Johnson]] incorrectly (or jokingly) refers to this station as the "''Uneven Elephant''".
*The 512-terawatt energy that is used to power the shield generator of the station is strong enough to repel the collision of a small moon.
*The assault on the station became the Spartan-II's first encounter with [[Brutes]]. John was almost defeated by one and [[Grace-093]] took three [[Brute Shot]] rounds to her mid section, killing her instantly. The fail-safes in her suit were later activated and the detonation killed a dozen grunts and 4 elites.
*A hierophant, according to Webster's Dictionary is a "priest in ancient Greece; specifically: the chief priest of the Eleusinian mysteries".<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hierophant Hierophant on Merriam-Webster]</ref> This may be a reference to the [[San'Shyuum|Prophets]] and their role in [[Covenant]] society. Also, the Eleusinian mysteries could be seen as referring to the [[Great Journey]] as both promised salvation to believers and an afterlife.<ref>[[wikipedia:Eleusinian Mysteries|'''Eleusinian Mysteries''' on ''Wikipedia'']]</ref>
*The five hundred twelve tera-watt energy that is used to power the shield generator of the station is strong enough to repel the collision of a small moon.
*It was here that Linda-058 showed her sniping prowess. Sniping one handed, hanging on a steel cable, she was able to provide covering fire for the other Spartans. She took out four pursuing Banshees by shooting through the tiny crack in between the top and bottom segments where the driver enters, which is impossible in all of the games except in ''[[Halo: Reach]]''.
*The 12 ships that survived the stations explosion are believed to be the ships the [[Prophet of Regret]] brought with him to Earth.
*According to the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]'', the 12 ships that survived the station's explosion are the [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration|ships]] the [[Prophet of Regret]] brought with him to Earth.<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]''', ''page 295''</ref> However, a history entry in ''[[Halo Waypoint]]'' establishes these ships to be a part of the [[Truth's fleet|fleet]] secretly summoned to the station by the [[Prophet of Truth]] and later used to reinforce Regret's forces on Earth to glass [[New Mombasa]] and uncover the [[Portal at Voi]] during the events of ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'' and after.{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}}
*It is possible that this is a refit station similar to the [[UNSC]] ''[[Cradle]]''.
*The depiction of the station in the ''[[Halo 2 Anniversary]]'' terminals and ''[[Halo Mythos]]'' bears a striking resemblance to a silhouette that Halo fan "d4rkst0rm99" made in 2010 based on the description in ''Halo: First Strike''. As the station never had an official visual depiction prior to 2014, the official depiction may have been based on the fan art.<ref>[https://d4rkst0rm99.deviantart.com/art/HALO-SHIP-SCALE-CHART-LARGE-197235068 '''DeviantArt''' ''- d4rkst0rm99: HALO SHIP SCALE CHART LARGE'']</ref> d4rkst0rm99 was later credited in the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)]]'', as the concept artist behind the design of the {{Class|Point Blank|prowler}}.
*A hierophant, according to Webster's Dictionary is a "priest in ancient Greece; specifically: the chief priest of the Eleusinian mysteries".<ref>http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hierophant</ref> This may be a reference to the [[Prophets]] and their role in [[Covenant]] Society. Also, the Eleusinian mysteries could be seen as referring to the [[Great Journey]] as both promised salvation to believers and an afterlife.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusinian_Mysteries</ref>
 
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:H2A Terminals - Unyielding 2.jpg
File:H2A Terminals - Unyielding.jpg|A hologram of ''Unyielding Hierophant'' displayed in an ONI briefing room.
</gallery>
 
==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]'' {{C|Hologram only}}
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''
**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition dossiers|Limited Edition dossiers]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
<references/>
{{Ref/Sources}}


{{CovenantShips}}
{{Covenant Ships}}
[[Category:The Covenant]]
[[Category:Space stations]]
[[Category:Places]]

Latest revision as of 05:08, November 14, 2024

Were you looking for Unyielding, a music track from Halo 2?
Unyielding Hierophant
The fleet at Unyielding Hierophant.
Production information

Manufacturer:

Covenant Empire

Role:

Mobile battlestation

Specifications

Length:

30 kilometers (18.6 miles)[1][2]

Circumference:

10 kilometers (6.3 miles)[2]

Height:

3.2 kilometers (2 miles)[2]

Power source:

Two 512 terawatt pinch fusion reactors[3]

Slipspace drive:

Yes

Hull:

Nanolaminate hull plating

Complement:

  • Hundreds of thousands of personnel
  • Hundreds of smaller spacecraft
Service information

First sighted:

September 2552 (UNSC)

Destroyed:

September 2552

Participated battles:

Affiliation:

Covenant

 

"I'm not sure what that thing is. Don't look like any 'uneven elephant' to me-—more like two squids kissing."
— Avery Johnson

Unyielding Hierophant was a Covenant command-and-control center and refit-battle station that was capable of supporting a fleet of over 500[4] capital ships. It was capable of slipspace jumps[5] and was over 10 kilometers (6.3 miles) in circumference and 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) long. The Unyielding Hierophant possessed at least two pinch fusion reactor cores for power.[3]

Appearance[edit]

Unyielding Hierophant was shaped like a figure-eight, with two tear-drop shaped bulbous sections connected at the center, each 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) long which makes it 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) long total.[1] A rotating ring was connected to the central hub by many long spokes, and is used by Covenant cruisers and carriers to dock with the space station. Thin, filament-like tubes extended from both bulbous sections and moved over the surface of the ring; these may be tubes used for transporting personnel and cargo between the ring and other parts of the station.

Running the circumference of the station's hub was a repair-and-refit facility, with many slots for Covenant spacecraft to dock and be attended to by Huragok work teams. This section of the ship was crewed by thousands of Huragok and a small number of Unggoy.

Inside the main sections, it had large "rooms" that contained environments with foliage, water, and animals to simulate the Covenant's worlds and make occupants feel more at home, rather than on a huge station. John-117 compared these to the large atrium that FLEETCOM HQ has in its lobby. These areas had temples for religious sessions. In these large rooms, the Spartans saw pipe-like tubes that carried passengers from one destination to the other inside capsules. Also, the Covenant seemed to have an almost complete control of gravity in the station, as water was seen flowing up and sideways.

History[edit]

The artwork featured on the 2010 reissue of Halo: First Strike
Spartans fighting in Unyielding Hierophant.

At some point before the Covenant assault to Earth, the Prophet of Truth had managed to discover the location of humanity's homeworld. He secretly begun amassing a fleet of over five hundred warships commanded exclusively by the Jiralhanae to attack and occupy Earth.[6]

At the time of its destruction it was located in the Tau Ceti system. The system was used as a rendezvous point for Covenant forces before they prepared to launch their impending attack on Earth. When the crew of the Ascendant Justice-Gettysburg discovered this, they decided to initiate a first strike against the Covenant to postpone an inevitable Covenant assault against Earth. A team of SPARTAN-IIs, among them John-117, Grace-093, Frederic-104, Linda-058 and William-043 commandeered a Covenant dropship and, after they had reinforced the armor of the dropship with Titanium-A armor, lead, and carbon molybdenum steel I-beams so the ship could withstand immense pressures, departed and made the transition from Slipspace to normal space in one piece.

The Spartan-IIs infiltrated the station, using the Covenant's own tugs to tow them aboard, finding themselves within a hangar capable of docking hundreds of single-ships.[7] Avoiding the Covenant presence, the Spartans proceeded inward, with a copy of Cortana infiltrating the Station's network to distract and hinder the Covenant's coordination. Managing to cross an open plaza with only the loss of Grace-093, who was killed by a Jiralhanae with a Brute Shot, Blue team neutralized the Jiralhanae guards of a temple and proceeded to the 512 tera-watt reactors, with the copied Cortana setting them to overload, which would destroy the station and nearby fleet.[8]

The Spartans attempted to flee using captured Banshees, now taking heavy fire from the Covenant forces aware of their presence. After destroying one of the plaza's windows, they managed to escape, hijacking a floating Covenant dropship and making their way to the evacuation point for the Ascendant Justice-Gettysburg. The Ascendant Justice, separated from the Gettysburg and commandeered by Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb and Lieutenant Elias Haverson, drew the Covenant's attention to the station with a holographic ruse of the Menachite Forerunner crystal, keeping them within the blast radius; the detonation destroyed virtually all of the five-hundred strong fleet, the largest space victory ever accomplished by the UNSC.

In November 2559, remnant Covenant forces most likely serving under Luro 'Taralumee were involved in salvaging the remains of the station and its fleet. On November 13, SPARTAN-G059 was given a briefing in which the UNSC believed a warlord serving the Covenant remnant was conducting salvaging operations at Tau Ceti, leading to the Spartan (and her Winter-class prowler, UNSC From the Ashes) being deployed to conduct reconnaissance.[9]

Trivia[edit]

  • The 512-terawatt energy that is used to power the shield generator of the station is strong enough to repel the collision of a small moon.
  • A hierophant, according to Webster's Dictionary is a "priest in ancient Greece; specifically: the chief priest of the Eleusinian mysteries".[10] This may be a reference to the Prophets and their role in Covenant society. Also, the Eleusinian mysteries could be seen as referring to the Great Journey as both promised salvation to believers and an afterlife.[11]
  • It was here that Linda-058 showed her sniping prowess. Sniping one handed, hanging on a steel cable, she was able to provide covering fire for the other Spartans. She took out four pursuing Banshees by shooting through the tiny crack in between the top and bottom segments where the driver enters, which is impossible in all of the games except in Halo: Reach.
  • According to the Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), the 12 ships that survived the station's explosion are the ships the Prophet of Regret brought with him to Earth.[12] However, a history entry in Halo Waypoint establishes these ships to be a part of the fleet secretly summoned to the station by the Prophet of Truth and later used to reinforce Regret's forces on Earth to glass New Mombasa and uncover the Portal at Voi during the events of Halo 3: ODST and after.[6]
  • The depiction of the station in the Halo 2 Anniversary terminals and Halo Mythos bears a striking resemblance to a silhouette that Halo fan "d4rkst0rm99" made in 2010 based on the description in Halo: First Strike. As the station never had an official visual depiction prior to 2014, the official depiction may have been based on the fan art.[13] d4rkst0rm99 was later credited in the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), as the concept artist behind the design of the Point Blank-class prowler.

Gallery[edit]

  • H2A Terminals - Unyielding 2.jpg
  • A hologram of Unyielding Hierophant displayed in an ONI briefing room.

    A hologram of Unyielding Hierophant displayed in an ONI briefing room.

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b Halo: First Strike, page 301 (2003), page 362 (2010)
  2. ^ a b c Halo Waypoint: Unyielding Hierophant
  3. ^ a b Halo: First Strike, page 305
  4. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 297
  5. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 198 (2003)
  6. ^ a b Halo Waypoint, "Ten Twenty" history entry
  7. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 304
  8. ^ Halo: First Strike, pages 316-317
  9. ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Coming of Age (Retrieved on Nov 14, 2024) [archive]
  10. ^ Hierophant on Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ Eleusinian Mysteries on Wikipedia
  12. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), page 295
  13. ^ DeviantArt - d4rkst0rm99: HALO SHIP SCALE CHART LARGE

v • d • e
 
Ship classifications of the Covenant and its remnants
Light warships
Jiralhanae ships
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