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UNSC Saturn

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UNSC Saturn
Art of UNSC Saturn
Ship history
Unified Earth Government

Name:

Saturn

Class:

Paris-class heavy frigate[1]

Namesake:

Saturn

Identification:

FFG-195[2]

Operator:

UNSC Navy (Formerly)[2]

Manufacturer:

alt SinoViet Heavy Machinery[3]

Status:

Derelict as of 2560[2]

Captain(s):

Pedro Alvarez[1]

Artificial intelligence(s):

Lycaon[1]

General characteristics

Type:

Frigate[3][4]

Length:

535 meters (1,755 ft)[3][4][5][6][7]

Width:

199 meters (652 ft)[4][5][6]

Mass:

1.3 million tonnes[3]

Power plant:

Fusion reactor[8]

Maneuver drive:

Fusion drive (2 primary, 6 secondary)

Slipspace drive:

Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine[9]

Crew:

  • 327 (2556)[2]
  • 0 (October 31, 2556-April 2560)[2]

Complement:

Hull:

60cm[8] Titanium-A armor[5][6]

Armaments:

Air facilities:

One primary hangar bay located in the lower mast of the ship[5]

 

UNSC Saturn (hull classification symbol: FFG-195)[2] was a Paris-class heavy frigate serving in the UNSC Navy.[1]

Overview[edit]

Design details[edit]

Main article: Paris-class heavy frigate

UNSC Saturn notably houses the original painting Saturn Devouring His Son, the only surviving Black Painting by artist Francisco Goya. The painting is housed in the ship's ready room inside a protective container, and is the namesake for the ship. When inducting new crew onto the ship, Captain Pedro Alvarez was noted to have a pre-prepared speech about the painting which he used to make conversation - allowing the crew members to make interpretations that informed Alvarez about their tactical acumen and way of thinking.[1]

Crew and complement[edit]

While the Paris-class normally has a crew of roughly 600, the ship had launched less than fully staffed at 327. 89 were killed during the incident at Site 22, reducing the crew to 238. All 238 would lose their life as Alvarez attempted to maintain command.[2]

At the time of its deployment to Site 22 in 2556, Saturn was outfitted with multiple dropships, alongside a contingent of Hellbringers, Cyclopes, and a Fireteam of four Spartan supersoldiers; Fireteam Leviathan.[1]

Former and deceased personnel[edit]

Command[edit]
Complement[edit]

Service history[edit]

Outbreak at Site 22[edit]

Main article: Outbreak at Site 22

In 2556, the Saturn was on station near Site 22; the site of a recently-uncovered Forerunner starship being excavated by civilian mining forces. Following the loss of contact with the ground teams, the ship immediately moved to assist, soon coming to realise that the emerging incident on the ground was the result of the Flood. Accordingly, the ship's Smart AI Lycaon prompted the implementation of Emergency Contact Protocol Upsilon - necessitating the withdrawal of ground forces and quarantine measures taken to prevent the Flood from spreading any further. The ship's captain, Pedro Alvarez, countermanded this request, noting the site's value for the reconstruction of the UNSC Home Fleet following its destruction during the attempted invasion the previous year and believing that the ship's on-board complement could handle the situation. Lycaon objected and attempted to relieve Alvarez of command, prompting Alvarez to use an emergency override code on Lycaon - then ordering the deployment of Spartan Fireteam Leviathan to the site to assist.[1]

The frigate's deployment of Cyclopes, Hellbringers, and Spartans quickly fell to the Flood on the ground - ultimately resulting in one of the Spartans being infected and converted into an attacker form. As such, Alvarez realised the gravity of what his decision meant and panicked - proceeding to declare the UPSILON and CORRUPTER codes. All remaining ground forces were given seven minutes to evacuate Site 22 before the frigate fired its arsenal of M2475 Shiva nuclear missiles at the site - oblitering it (and the infestation) entirely.[1][12] 89 souls from the ship were lost in the engagement.[2]

After the site's destruction, only a handful of the dropships sent out by Saturn were able to return to the frigate. In the aftermath of the event, Captain Alvarez pondered ordering the final dispensation of Lycaon, and for the crew to desert the Navy with him as to avoid facing court martial for his decision.[1] In reality, one of the ship's Condors had been captured by the Flood and escaped the system.[2]

Soon, the Captain retreated to his cabin drinking his saved Titan Smoke. Lieutenant Shafiq delivered the news of the escaped Condor to him. This news was kept from the rest of the crew and the captain remained holed up in his quarters for four days. During these four days, many of the crew had been quietly wondering if Alvarez was still fit to lead the ship.[2]

On October 9, 2556, Alvarez ordered 193 crew members to the ship's hangar for a special address. These crew primarily included Marines, other security, and select officer Lieutenant Shafiq. The captain deliberately lied in this address about receiving orders from FLEETCOM to create a cryo sleep and crew rotation that was against procedure, mostly leaving junior crew to do most of the maintenance. After publicly refusing the captain's orders, Shafiq revealed the escaped Condor to those in the hangar. This would trigger mutinous sentiments among those present, but before anything could truly begin, Alvarez vented the hangar, killing all present.[2]

The revelation of this culling to others resulted in the captain removing the remaining crew, leaving Alvarez as the last alive on the ship by October 31. Alvarez would reactivate Lycaon before seemingly taking his own life. Lycaon, left alone on the ship, left it derelict in space while he contemplated what to do with the ship. Over three years later in April 2560, Lycaon used the ship to communicate with the Created ship Long Reverence to potentially join the AI-led faction.[2]

Trivia[edit]

UNSC Saturn is named after Saturn, one of the Roman gods who was purported to devour his own children. This act was depicted in the famous painting Saturn Devouring His Son, the namesake for the short story which prominently featured UNSC Saturn, with the ship itself said to host the original painting inside its ready room. In keeping with this theme, the ship's AI Lycaon is named after Lycaon, a mythical king who attempted to cook and feed his own son to Zeus.

Gallery[edit]

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Halo: Saturn Devouring His Son
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Halo: Ascension on Atropos
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 120
  4. ^ a b c Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 76
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 162
  6. ^ a b c d e f Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 80
  7. ^ Halo Waypoint, UNSC Frigate (Retrieved on May 13, 2021) [archive]
  8. ^ a b Halo: First Strike, chapter 22
  9. ^ Halo: Reach, campaign level Long Night of Solace
  10. ^ a b c d Halo: The Fall of Reach, chapter 12
  11. ^ Halo: Fleet Battles: Paris-class heavy frigate stats
  12. ^ Halo Waypoint, Infection Intel (Retrieved on Oct 11, 2023) [local archive] [external archive]

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