Remote scanning outpost
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
Remote Scanning Outposts (RSOs),[1] sometimes referred to as Remote Sensor Outposts[2], Remote Sensing Stations,[3] or Slipstream Space Monitoring Stations,[4] are small manned space stations used by the United Nations Space Command as part of their early-warning network. They are stationed on the outer edge of a given planetary system to monitor slipstream space for incoming spacecraft.
Overview[edit]
Remote Scanning Outposts are usually manned by a small crew of UNSC Navy personnel. They scan deep space and slipstream space for any unusual phenomena, be it scientific or threatening in nature. They are part of the UNSC's early-warning system, detecting potential threats to a given system before they can emerge.[1]
For slipspace-based detection, they usually carry an inventory of three Slipstream space probes which enter slipspace, scan, and reemerge to return their information to the outpost.[1] The stations are equipped with a linear accelerator and a Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, the former of which used to fire the probes on their given trajectory (similar to a slipspace COM launcher) and the latter used to open a slipspace portal.[5] Due to the unreliable nature of slipspace travel, probes may reenter normal space millions of kilometres from the outpost, requiring the outpost to launch drones to retrieve them. If probes are lost, a supply ship must be sent to replenish the station's stockpile.[1]
Remote Scanning Outposts are required to send hourly reports of all activities to the habitable planets in the system[6] as well as report potential threats to that system's UNSC command authority. However, improper signalling of false-positive IDs may result in a station being ordered to redeploy (and lose) its probes and, if no threat is detected, its officers reprimanded. This can potentially result in threats being overlooked. If in danger of Covenant attack, RSOs are expected to enact the Cole Protocol and self-destruct to avoid capture.[1]
Outside of their military uses, findings from RSOs are also of interest to the scientific community, with findings sometimes forwarded to UNSC Astrophysics for analysis.[1] They are also seemingly capable of intercepting wavespace communications.[4]
Stations of the line[edit]
All currently-known RSOs have been located in the Inner Colonies. They are generally named after historical scientists, philosophers and mathematicians.
- Archimedes, Sigma Octanus system - operational as of July 18, 2552.[1]
- Democritus, Sol system - operational as of November 3, 2552.[4]
- Fermion, Epsilon Eridani system - destroyed during the Fall of Reach, August 30, 2552.[5]
Operational history[edit]
At the outset of the battle of Sigma Octanus IV on July 17, 2552, Archimedes RSO was the first to detect the signs of an imminent inbound Covenant task force. The officer on-duty at the time of the attack, Ensign William Lovell, identified the fleet as what appeared to be an unusually-massive asteroid passing through slipspace. Not wanting to risk his position in the event of a false positive, he tagged the finding and forwarded it to UNSC Astrophysics and logged it in the station's hourly update.[1] Despite this, the mass was correctly identified by Commander Jacob Keyes aboard UNSC Iroquois, who was thus able to warn UNSC Fleet Command (FLEETCOM) of the threat and respond to it.[6] This incident caused FLEETCOM to begin reassigning their top personnel to man RSO stations, pulling senior personnel to ensure that the crews of the stations were properly manning their posts.[5]
During the Fall of Reach weeks later, Fermion RSO in the Epsilon Eridani system was the first to report sightings of Covenant ships attacking Reach.[7] At 0447 on August 30, the station identified a gargantuan sighting with a similar profile to the one reported by Archimedes at Sigma Octanus. This time the crew correctly identified the threat as the Covenant and promptly warned FLEETCOM before enacting the Cole Protocol, attempting to wipe the astrophysics data interred within the station. Realising that they would not be able to do so in time, the station self-destructed to avoid capture.[5] This early sighting provided the UNSC advance warning of the imminent Covenant attack on Reach, though the planet ultimately fell later that day.
On November 3, Democritus RSO in the Sol system was used to receive a coded message sent by Cortana from the battle of Installation 05, detailing the Fall of High Charity and the start of the Great Schism, requesting the use of a NOVA bomb there. The message had also been used by Catherine Halsey to encode further information about the situation on Onyx, resulting in the deployment of Blue Team to the world aboard UNSC Pony Express.[4]
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo: The Fall of Reach (First appearance)
- Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
- Halo: Reach announcement trailer (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Fall of Reach
- Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (Mentioned only)
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Halo: The Fall of Reach, chapter 15
- ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, chapter 21
- ^ Halo: The Fall of Reach, chapter 31
- ^ a b c d Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, chapter 23
- ^ a b c d Halo: The Fall of Reach, chapter 31
- ^ a b Halo: The Fall of Reach, chapter 16
- ^ Halo: Reach marketing, Halo: Reach announcement trailer
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