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Cairo Station

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Cairo Station
H2A CairoStation Loadscreen.png
Production information

Hull code:

OWP-142[1]

Naval architects:

Manufacturer:

Vosper Engineering, Luna[1]

Class:

Moncton-class orbital weapon platform[1]

Role:

Planetary defense

Specifications

Length:

536 metres (1,760 ft)[1]

Height:

1,336 metres (4,380 ft)[1]

Engine:

Station-keeping thrusters[1]

Slipspace drive:

None[1]

Hull:

Durasteel armor[1]

Armament:

Complement:

Service information

Commissioned:

September 14, 2552[1]

Participated battles:

Battle for Earth

Known commanders:

Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood

Affiliation:

UNSC

 

Cairo Station (hull classification symbol OWP-142) is a Moncton-class orbital weapon platform in geosynchronous orbit about 35,900 kilometers above Earth. Named after the Egyptian city of Cairo, it is in the same battle cluster as Athens and Malta stations and seems to be mainly guarding the area above the Mediterranean.[2] The station was commanded by Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood during the Battle for Earth.[3]

HistoryEdit

Cairo Station was assembled and put into Earth's orbit by Vosper Engineering in August 23, 2550, and officially commissioned on September 14, 2552 when it was designated as the flagship headquarters of the Earth Defense Coordination Zone.[1] In preparation for the inevitable Battle for Earth, Fleet Admiral Joseph Harper had UNSC Chevalier deploy a security team to the station to facilitate the arrival of Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood. The security team was later assessed before Hood arrived.[4]

On October 20, 2552, John-117 received the MJOLNIR Mark VI armor in the Cairo armory prior to attending an awards ceremony on the station's command center. The ceremony was interrupted by the start of the Battle for Earth when a fleet of thirteen Covenant Ket-pattern battlecruisers and two CAS-class assault carriers attacked Earth. They tried to break through the Cairo's battle cluster by sending boarding craft to plant bombs on the stations to destroy them. Fleet Admiral Hood commanded the UNSC forces from the station during the attack. Unlike the Athens and the Malta, Cairo survived the Covenant attempt to detonate an Chershi-pattern antimatter charge on board thanks to the efforts of John-117 and Cortana who was acting as the station's AI at the time. In an ironic twist, the bomb was located and used by John-117 to destroy a Covenant assault carrier, Day of Jubilation.[3]

Hood remained aboard the station for most of the battle. On November 3, Hood and a navigation officer aboard Cairo helped Blue Team hijack Covenant destroyer Bloodied Spirit and jump into slipspace for Onyx by providing slipstream space coordinates and other intel.[5] When John-117 returned later to Earth on November 17, Cairo was still intact, but appeared damaged from the battle. Lord Hood was still on board and in command of the UNSC forces participating in the Battle of Earth. The Cairo, the other MAC platforms, and the Home Fleet held firm against the onslaught of the Prophet of Truth's final invasion forces.[6] While the great majority of the Home Fleet, hence presumably a large number of other MAC platforms, was destroyed during the final space battle,[7] Cairo ultimately survived the Battle for Earth.

By July of 2557, Cairo Station was still functioning in orbit over Earth. After UNSC Infinity left the Epoloch system, the vessel intended to dock with Cairo.[8]

DesignEdit

 
A cross-sectioned view of Cairo Station.

"When I shipped out for Basic, the orbital defense grid was all theory and politics. Now look! The Cairo is just one of three hundred geosync platforms. That MAC gun can put a round clean through a Covenant capital ship."
— Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson[9]

Cairo Station's main purpose is as a defensive station for Earth.[1] Its main armament is a Mark V "Super" Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, capable of causing severe damage to even a shielded Covenant capital ship with a single hit, and is capable of being operated by an AI such as Cortana.[9] However, there is an apparent lack of point-defense systems, as enemy boarding craft were able to attack the station unhindered. Presumably, like Reach's orbital weapon platforms, it runs on power transmitted from a planetside generator.

Internally, it is very similar to UNSC ships with set out decks and specialized rooms. Like all United Nations Space Command space constructs it featured regular bulkheads for protection against hull breaches but seemed especially adept for fending off boarding parties. It had large stockpiles of combat barriers, large supplies of M247 GPMGs, security booths providing defense points and regular weapons lockers in the walls containing Battle Rifles and SMGs. It is possible that these weapons are a substitute for point defenses. These extra defenses against boarding parties are an obvious precaution, as the ODPs like the Cairo would be large targets for Covenant forces. Unlike the Athens or the Malta, the Cairo's hangars were outfitted to support Pelican dropships and F-41D Broadsword fighters.[1]

LocationsEdit

TriviaEdit

  Browse more images in this article's gallery page.
  • If the player walks into the loading arm of the MAC gun in the Firing Control Center in the level "Cairo Station", they will be crushed and sometimes fall down into the cutscene hangar, where the Chief jumps out with the Covenant bomb. However, if the player does this too many times, they may be sent back to the previous checkpoint.
  • Despite being called Cairo Station, the platform is located more towards central Africa than Cairo, much like the misplacement of Athens and Malta. If this was an intentional reference or merely a coincidence is not known.
  • Athens, Malta, and Cairo were all places involved in the 1985 hijacking of EgyptAir Flight 648, which was en route to Cairo from Athens and forced to land in Malta.
  • Cairo is credited as being co-designed by a Doctor Stephen Loftus, an homage to community member Stephen Loftus who is well known for his study of Halo technical details, and frequent contributor to officially published media.[1]

GalleryEdit

Development imagesEdit

  • Concept art of Cairo Station's fighter launch bay for Halo 2.

  • Cairo Station's fighter launch bay pre-release screenshot.

  • A work-in-progress model of Cairo early in Halo 2's development.

  • The geometry used for the bridge in Halo 2.

  • Paintover of the previous image used for Halo 2: Anniversary concept art.

  • Concept art of Cairo's exterior in Halo 2: Anniversary.

  • Concept art of several doors on Cairo Station.

  • Concept art of a door and weapon racks on Cairo Station.

  • Concept of a lift system on Cairo Station.

ScreenshotsEdit

List of appearancesEdit

SourcesEdit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Halo Warfleet, p. 30-31
  2. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), page 294 (2011 edition)
  3. ^ a b Halo 2, campaign level Cairo Station
  4. ^ Halo Legendary Crate, Data Drop #2
  5. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, pages 211-220
  6. ^ Halo 2, campaign level The Great Journey
  7. ^ Halo 3, campaign level Crow's Nest
  8. ^ Halo 4, campaign level Shutdown (Interactive console: "Information for all hands regarding Infinity return voyage to Cairo Station, Earth...")
  9. ^ a b Halo 2, campaign level The Armory
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