Shroud

Info: Support Unit, Can deploy cloak, Projectile defense, Non-combative
Tier: 2
Cost: Population 4, Supplies 400, Power 60

Shroud
Production information
Role:	Support
Armament:	Point-defense system
Chronological and affiliation
Affiliation:	Covenant (formerly); The Banished;

"Where should I cast my cloak?"

— A Shroud pilot during the Second Ark Conflict.^[1]

The Shroud is an aerial support vehicle from the Covenant's past that has been given new life in service to the Banished.^[1]^[2]

Design[edit]

The Shroud is capable of approaching battlefield situations in two distinct modes. When deployed, it can generate a persistent cloaking field around itself that also conceals troops, vehicles, and other ordnance near enough to it. When it isn't making use of this function, it can employ a point defense system that can shoot down enemy projectiles. Despite this, the Shroud has no truly offensive capabilities. The Shroud is notoriously difficult to pilot due to its complicated subsystems that are generally unreliable.^[2]

Operational history[edit]

Shrouds were used by the Covenant before the hegemony fell apart in 2552. The Jiralhanae general, Atriox, came into possession of a number of Shrouds in the years following the Covenant's collapse. Extensive tinkering with them by his faction, the Banished, has made these units more even more difficult to pilot than usual. Atriox spares no expense in maintaining his stock of these vehicles, as they are very useful for defending and concealing raiding parties.^[2] The Banished utilized multiple Shrouds against the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire during their battle on Installation 00 in March 2559.^[1]