Editing UNSC Gorgon

{{Title|UNSC ''Gorgon''}}
{{Status|Canon}}
{{disambig header|the UNSC heavy destroyer|the cut Halo Wars vehicle|Gorgon (cut vehicle)}}
{{Infobox/Ships
|name            = Heavy destroyer
|image           = 
|caption         = 
|modules         = 
{{Infobox/Ships/Individual
|country              = [[Unified Earth Government]]
|country flag         = {{Icon|UEG}}
|name                 = ''Gorgon''
|class                = {{Class|Able|heavy destroyer}}{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}
|namesake             = [[Wikipedia:Gorgon|Gorgons]]
|identification       = 
|operator             = [[UNSC Navy]]{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}{{Ref/Reuse|FOR15}}
|manufacturer         = [[SinoViet Heavy Machinery]]
|architect            = 
|laid down            = 
|launched             = 
|commissioned         = [[2490]]
|decommissioned       = 
|fate                 = 
|status               = In active service as of c.[[2535]]{{Ref/Note|''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' (2010 edition), chapter 15, mentions that [[William Lovell]] joined up in the UNSC Navy shortly following the [[Harvest campaign]] in [[2531]], before proceeding to serve aboard the ''Gorgon'' for four years.}}
|captains             = 
|ai                   = 
|motto                = 
|badge                = 
}}
|hide-characteristics=
|nocollapse      = 
|type            = [[UNSC destroyer|Heavy destroyer]]{{Ref/Anthology|Id=Cole5|Evo|The Impossible Life and Possible Death of Preston J. Cole|Section=5}}
|length          = {{Convert|2126|ft|m|disp=flip|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|CFDigsite}}
|width           = 
|height          = 
|mass            = 2.3 million tonnes{{Ref/Reuse|CFDigsite}}
|power           = [[Fusion reactor]]
|maneuver drive  = 
*[[Fusion drive|4x TANITH TKOFZ-2 Fusion Rockets]] {{C|primary}}{{Ref/Site|Id=CFDigsite|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-digsite-dissection|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Digsite Dissection|D=28|M=07|Y=2023}}
|slipspace drive = [[Kawanishi Engineering]] [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|SED-2450]] {{C|Series III CODEN}}{{Ref/Reuse|CFDigsite}}
|crew            = 
*[[UNSC Navy]] personnel
*1 [[artificial intelligence]]{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}
|complement      = 
|troops          = 
|hull            = 
|shielding       = 
|sensors         = 
|ew              = 
|armaments       = 
*[[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}
*At least 8 [[Archer missile]] silos{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}
*[[M810 Helix point defense gun]]s{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}
|aircraft        = At least [[seven]] [[Pelican]] dropships{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}
|air facilities  = 
}}
'''UNSC ''Gorgon''''' was a {{Class|Able|heavy destroyer}}{{Ref/Reuse|CFDigsite}} that served in the [[UNSC Navy]] during the early years of the [[Insurrection]] and later the [[Human-Covenant War]]. It was the first heavy destroyer to be armed with a [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]].{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

==Operational history==
===Insurrection===
The ''Gorgon'' was active by around [[2499]], at which time it was granted to the now-[[Captain (NAVCOM)|Captain]] [[Preston Cole]]. This custodianship followed Cole's five years of commanding a [[UNSC corvette|corvette]] in counterinsurgency engagements, following his promotion as a result of the [[Callisto Incident|''Callisto'' Incident]] in [[2494]]. The ''Gorgon'' was the first heavy destroyer to be outfitted with a [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]], while Cole used to great effect in the first few years of the 26th century against [[Insurrectionist]] forces. During this time, the ''Gorgon'' crossed paths with, and engaged, the Insurrectionist vessel ''[[Bellicose]]'' twice, with the stolen [[UNSC frigate|frigate]] managing to escape the ''Gorgon''{{'}}s killing blow twice.{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

Between May 31-June 2, [[2501]], the ''Gorgon'' was involved in patrol duties in the [[Theta Ursae Majoris system]], during which time it had engaged in two battles against rebel forces resulting in severely depleted munitions and a battle-weary crew - with the vessel's MAC munitions payload of three reduced to just one final round. At 0626 hours on June 2, the ''Gorgon'' came across the ''Bellicose'' once again and proceeded to [[Skirmish at Theta Ursae Majoris|engage the frigate]] - battling for thirty-four minutes trading [[Archer missile]]s. At 0700, the ''Gorgon'' was able to use a gravity assist to come around a planetoid and line up a killing shot with the ''Gorgon''{{'}}s MAC against the ''Bellicose''. However, the frigate was able to, to the confusion of ''Gorgon''{{'}}s crew, evade the MAC round - leaving the ''Bellicose'' depleted of Archer missiles and the ''Gorgon'' depleted in all silos except silo eight. The ''Gorgon'' proceeded to prepare its [[M810 Helix point defense gun|Helix]] point-defence guns in anticipation of counterattack by ''Bellicose'', alongside preparing its seven [[Pelican]] dropships, though the two vessels ultimately opened communications - with Captain Cole and the then-unknown captain of ''Bellicose'' exchanging a few brief words, before ''Bellicose'' moved to escape the system.{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

Over the next four months between June and September 4, ''Gorgon'' would be involved in searching five star systems for the ''Bellicose'', working to lay numerous ambushes and in the process eliminating two insurrectionist corvettes and a merchant privateer. However, the inability to find ''Bellicose'', alongside the frigate's taunting of ''Gorgon'' did begin to take its toll on the crew of ''Gorgon''. As such, Cole elected to put the ship into dock on the [[Human colonies|colony world]] of [[Roost]], in the [[Alpha Aurigae system]], to give the crew some desperately-needed shore leave. Around May 28, 2502, the ''Gorgon'' partook in the [[Skirmish at Capella]], resulting in the ship being given the green-light for a month of shore leave for the crew while it underwent repairs.{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

The ''Gorgon'' continued to be captained by Preston Cole into mid-2503, during which time Cole was married to [[Lyrenne Castilla]], who was in turn expecting a child. As such, on June 13 of that year, Cole was confined to quarters on the ''Gorgon'' due to the discovery that Castilla was a high-ranking member of the insurrection, who had been mining Cole for information for years. The ''Gorgon'' proceeded to meet up with the [[prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Edge of Umbra}}, which then transported Cole back to [[Reach]] for debriefing and reassignment.{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

===Human-Covenant War===
UNSC ''Gorgon'' continued to serve in the navy for the next three decades following Cole's reassignment. The ship was a part of [[Battle Group X-Ray]] during [[2525]].{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc11|Enc11|Page=270}} By the early 2530s, the ship was a part of the fleet headed by now-[[Vice Admiral]] Cole in the [[Massacre of the Outer Colonies|campaign]] for the [[Outer Colonies]] against the [[Covenant]]. Following Cole's successful victory in the [[Harvest campaign]] in [[2531]], [[William Lovell]] was assigned to the ''Gorgon'' as a [[First Lieutenant]] before being demoted down to [[Second Lieutenant]] and eventually [[Ensign]] for continued insubordination and gross incompetence. Eventually, around c.[[2535]], Lovell was assigned away from the ''Gorgon'' to the [[remote scanning outpost]], [[Archimedes]]. During his four year tenure aboard ''Gorgon'', Lovell had seen "dozens" of worlds [[Glassing|glassed]] and billions of deaths at the hands of the alien threat, with the ''Gorgon'' having spent that time chasing - and being chased by - the Covenant.{{Ref/Novel|Id=FOR15|HTFoR|Chapter=15}}

==Crew==
;c.2490s-early 2500s
*[[Captain (NAVCOM)|Captain]] [[Preston Cole]]{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}
*[[Lieutenant]] [[Maliki]]{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}
*[[Lieutenant]] [[Betters]]{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}
*[[Watchmaker]] {{C|[[Artificial intelligence]]}}{{Ref/Reuse|Cole5}}

;c.2531-2535
*[[First Lieutenant]] [[William Lovell]] {{C|later demoted to [[Second Lieutenant]], then [[Ensign]]}}{{Ref/Reuse|FOR15}}

==Production notes==
The ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2011 edition)]]'', page 270, erroneously identifies the ''Gorgon'' as a [[UNSC frigate|frigate]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc11}}

==Trivia==
The vessel was named for the [[Wikipedia:Gorgon|Gorgons]] of [[List of Greek Mythology References in Halo|Greek mythology]].

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{Fm}} {{C|Definitive Edition}}
*''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
**''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]'' {{1st}}

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorgon}}
[[Category:Destroyers]]
[[Category:UNSC ships]]