Sh'wada-pattern supercarrier
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Identification: |
UNSC Three-letter code: CSO[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Operators: |
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In service: |
Fourth Age of Conversion - present[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Sh'wada-pattern supercarrier[2] (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[edit]
Design details[edit]
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 assault carrier, sharing the smaller ship's design of several bulbous sections and a hook-like prow, albeit painted darker.[3][5] Despite this, it is not the only, or even the largest of the Covenant's supercarrier classes. The size of the vessel makes it more akin to a militarised city-fortress, and a vessel capable of supplying entire subordinate fleets or governing provinces of the empire when required.[2]
Armaments[edit]
According to their size, the Sh'wada is equipped with a massive and diverse array of heavy weaponry. These include 12 Urpeon-pattern superheavy plasma lances - a lance loadout only rivalled in number by the Forerunner-derived relic lances of the Rasus-pattern interdictor. A total of 100 plasma beam emitters are equipped on the ship, including 20 Ukk'Wa-pattern heavy arrays and 80 Luxor-pattern heavy emitters - the latter of which are a fairly common fitting on the more powerful capital warships of the Covenant fleet. These heavy anti-ship weapons are supplemented with 32 Mictix-pattern heavy plasma torpedo silos, a design shared with the Kerel-pattern and Syfon-pattern assault carriers of the fleet.[2]
For point-defence, the supercarrier employs a gargantuan array of pulse laser turrets. This includes 800 R'Aka-pattern rapid-fire pulse lasers and 490 Ferriel-pattern pulse lasers.[2]
The supercarrier is additionally equipped with a single Lux-pattern superheavy excavation beam array for glassing and artefact-retrieval purposes.[2]
Classification[edit]
The "S", or Salvation, in the supercarrier's three-letter classification code</