Type-56 Lich

The Deployment Platform T-56 Ground Support/Ultra Heavy, colloquially known as the Lich, is a Covenant matériel deployment vessel manufactured by Achoem Weapons. In keeping with the naming scheme of most Covenant vehicles, the Lich is named after a supernatural being.

Overview
The Covenant's largest airborne deployment platform, the Lich boasts heavy armament and is capable of mass deployments of up to forty soldiers. Because of this, UNSC encounters with Liches have almost always resulted in total destruction of the UNSC ground forces, resulting in a lack of available information on the craft. Like smaller Covenant dropships, the Lich is spaceworthy. It is also capable of traveling through slipspace, though presumably it cannot do so under its own power.

Similar to the Type-44 and Type-52 Phantom dropships, the Lich sports a gravity lift on its ventral surface. It likewise has two large bay doors on either side of the hull and Type-52 plasma cannons are stationed at each doorway. The Lich's main gun seems to be an ultra-heavy focus cannon like that of the Scarab. Part of the craft's power core is exposed on an aft pylon.

Deployment history
Though the Covenant used the Lich during the Human-Covenant War, it remained rarely seen. Moreover, the vehicle's great effectiveness often resulted in the annihilation of its human opponents. Thus, it remained poorly documented by the UNSC until the post-war period.

The reunified Covenant deployed multiple Liches during their initial foray on the Forerunner shield world Requiem in 2557. After the 's Marine and Spartan complement disabled an array of Forerunner particle cannons, they were attacked by a Lich. The Lich quickly disabled a Mammoth's Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and dropped off troops. Spartan John-117 and a team of SPARTAN-IVs boarded the craft and destroyed it by destroying its reactor, causing it to explode.

Later, when the Didact set course for Halo Installation 03, several Liches followed his vessel through slipspace. One of them was commandeered by SPARTAN-117 and his AI companion Cortana. Due to a rampant episode, Cortana allowed this Lich to crash into ONI's Ivanoff Station

In 2558, a Lich was deployed when Fireteam Crimson activated a signal in Apex. Crimson boarded the Lich and stole its power core in order to power up the Harvester. This caused the Lich to become unstable, destroying it.

List of appearances

 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Escalation