Ruwaa-pattern Shadow
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Ruwaa-pattern Light Transport | |
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66 miles per hour (106 km/h)[2] |
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Armament: |
1 medium plasma cannon[1] (Type-29 Anti-Infantry Weapon Emplacement/Mounted)[2][3] |
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Ground transport for vehicles and infantry |
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The Ruwaa-pattern Light Transport[3] (UNSC Type classification: Type-29 Troop/Vehicle Transport, T-29 T/VT),[1] or more commonly the Shadow, is a Covenant ground transport vehicle.
Overview[edit]
Design details[edit]
The Shadow is a Covenant light troop transport vehicle analogous to human armored personnel carriers such as the M650 Mastodon. The vehicle is broadly arch-shaped, with the driver cabin located at the vehicle's front and protected by heavy frontal armor, with a turret located on the top. The centre of the arch boasts powerful gravitic fields capable of hosting a single Ghost, equipment or a small bench seating eight passengers. Unlike the front, the sides of the vehicle have virtually no armor, and are completely exposed to enemy fire.[5][3][6][7]
Armament[edit]
The Shadow is equipped with a Mamua'uda-pattern Shade turret, mounted on the aft of the vehicle. Aside from this, any passengers riding on the vehicle are able to contribute their own firepower to the vehicle's defense.[5][3]
Usage[edit]
Due to the vehicle's minimal armor coverage, the Shadow is typically deployed by the Covenant as rear-echelon light equipment and personnel transport. This makes the Shadow a vital component in Covenant occupation efforts, and the vehicle's extremely fast top speed in open terrain allows it to serve as a rapid deployment vehicle for such tasks. During extended travel, the crew may take turns defending the Shadow from atop the arch, or from their seated positions below.[3]
Operational history[edit]
T-29 Shadows were used by the Covenant during the Battle of Earth in 2552 as a troop and prisoner transport.[8][9] They continued service in the post-war era, with the Banished making extensive use of them during the conflict on Reach in 2559.[10]
Production notes[edit]
The Shadow's design dates back to the original 2000-era builds of Halo: Combat Evolved, when the game was still intended to be a third-person shooter. At this time, the vehicle was simply known as c ground transport, and had a noticeably blockier appearance. The vehicle was ultimately one of many vehicles cut from Combat Evolved, later making its in-game debut in Halo 2's Outskirts level.[11] The original Combat Evolved design for the vehicle was later canonised as the Adsk-pattern Shadow.
Interestingly, during the original Combat Evolved era, another vehicle was intended for inclusion under the name of the Shadow. This vehicle was also similarly-cut, and ultimately also revived in Halo 2 - ultimately renamed as the Spectre.[12] The original Combat Evolved design was later canonised as the Wuchek-pattern Spectre.