Sh'wada-pattern supercarrier

Sh'wada-pattern supercarrier
Production information
Class:	Supercarrier
Role:	Command and control; Occupation support;
Technical specifications
Length:	28,960 meters (95013 ft 1 in)
Width:	11,447 meters (37555 ft 9 in)
Mass:	152 billion tonnes
Slipspace drive:	Borer (presumed)
Armament:	1 Lux-pattern superheavy excavation beam array; 12 Urpeon-pattern superheavy plasma lances; 20 Ukk'Wa-pattern heavy plasma beam arrays; 80 Luxor-pattern heavy plasma beam emitters; 32 Mictix-pattern heavy plasma torpedo silos; 800 R'Aka-pattern rapid-fire pulse lasers; 490 Ferriel-pattern pulse lasers;
Crew:	Sangheili;
Chronological and affiliation
Era:	Human-Covenant War
Introduced:	Fourth Age of Conversion
Affiliation:	Covenant Covenant fleet; ;

The Sh'wada-pattern supercarrier,^[3] (UNSC three-letter classification: CSO-class supercarrier), is a powerful supermassive capital ship and one of the largest vessel classes formerly used by the Covenant,^{[Note 1]} primarily designed for command and control duties for fleets, as well as support for occupation forces. Such vessels are typically deployed only during invasions of worlds with high strategic value.^[4]

Overview

Design

The supercarrier is an extremely large and well-equipped ornate capital ship, easily dwarfing most other Covenant starship classes. The vessel looks nearly identical to the Kerel-pattern CAS-class assault carrier, sharing the smaller ship's design of several bulbous sections and a hook-like prow, albeit painted darker.^[2]^[5]

Classification

The "S", or Salvation, in the supercarrier's three-letter classification code, "CSO" indicates that the carrier is a dedicated warship. The "O", or Ordained, indicates that the CSO-class supercarrier is not a mission type and has been improved upon with Forerunner technology.^[6]

Along with the CAS, the CSO was designated a Class-Five flagship carrier by the UNSC due to their use as a flagship of Covenant fleets.^[4]

Operational history

Human-Covenant War

During the Fall of Reach, the supercarrier Long Night of Solace spearheaded the Covenant invasion of Reach as the flagship of the Fleet of Valiant Prudence, deploying numerous ground assets to the surface of Reach via teleportation spires and destroying the UNSC Grafton.^[7]

During Operation: UPPER CUT and LEFT JAB, Spartan Jorge-052 transported an improvised slipspace bomb toward Long Night of Solace aboard the corvette Ardent Prayer while SPARTAN-B312 locked course with the supercarrier. After SPARTAN-B312 was jettisoned from the hangar, Jorge manually detonated the bomb, destroying both the corvette and the supercarrier at the cost of his own life.^[5]

Ships of the line

Long Night of Solace - Flagship of the Fleet of Valiant Prudence. Destroyed during Operation: UPPER CUT.^[5]

Gallery

Concept art and artwork

Concept art of the supercarrier Long Night of Solace for Halo: Reach.
Concept art of the Solace's destruction.
The Long Night of Solace in Halo: Fleet Battles.

Screenshots

The underside of the CSO.
The supercarrier Long Night of Solace over Reach.
Long Night of Solace being destroyed by a slipspace rift.
Visual and scale comparison between a supercarrier and an assault carrier.
A view of a supercarrier's ventral suface, showing its darker coloration in contrast to an assault carrier's.

Merchandise

A side view of the CSO in Halo: Fleet Battles.
A front view of the CSO in Halo: Fleet Battles.

List of appearances

Halo: Reach (First appearance)
Halo: Fleet Battles
Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo (Mentioned only)

Notes

^ Although Halo: The Essential Visual Guide referred the CSO-class supercarrier as the largest type of Covenant vessel, an unspecified model of the Covenant supercarrier has a larger length of 32,490 metres (106594 ft 6 in), as stated in Halo Encyclopedia (2011 edition). Whatever if this larger model is a variant of the CSO-class supercarrier or a separate supercarrier-class vessel is unknown.

Sources

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Halo: The Essential Visual Guide - Carrier, page 28
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Halo: The Essential Visual Guide - Long Night of Solace, page 111
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 263
^ ^a ^b Data Drop Four
^ ^a ^b ^c Halo: Reach, campaign level Long Night of Solace
^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder 2/20/2015: Issue 12 Have S'Moa (Retrieved on Nov 8, 2020) [archive]
^ Halo: Reach, campaign level Tip of the Spear

[4] Although Halo: The Essential Visual Guide referred the CSO-class supercarrier as the largest type of Covenant vessel, an unspecified model of the Covenant supercarrier has a larger length of 32,490 metres (106594 ft 6 in), as stated in Halo Encyclopedia (2011 edition). Whatever if this larger model is a variant of the CSO-class supercarrier or a separate supercarrier-class vessel is unknown.

[HTEVGP28-1] Halo: The Essential Visual Guide - Carrier, page 28

[HTEVGP111-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Halo: The Essential Visual Guide - Long Night of Solace, page 111

[Enc22-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 263

[DD4-5] Data Drop Four

[HRCLNOS-6] Halo: Reach, campaign level Long Night of Solace

[7] Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder 2/20/2015: Issue 12 Have S'Moa (Retrieved on Nov 8, 2020) [archive]

[8] Halo: Reach, campaign level Tip of the Spear

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[Note 1]

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