Rothen-pattern fireship

The Rothen-pattern fireship is a warship classification employed by the Covenant.

Design details
The Rothen is a fairly small ship by Covenant standards, measuring in at only 1246 ft in length. Fireships are barely habitable and lack even basic hangars for strikecraft storage, gravity lifts or living quarters for crew comfort. Instead, every square inch inside the ship is dedicated to housing the ship's oversized energy projector and pulsed power systems. These living situations are uncomfortable for the crew, and can be extremely deadly due to the proximity to unshielded plasma systems.

Armament
Despite the ship's small size, it is outfitted with an unusually large N'nap-pattern heavy plasma lance - the only known non-carrier or heavy cruiser to equip such a weapon. For more general anti-ship attack, the Rothen is additionally fitted with three Felo-pattern heavy plasma beam emitters, the same model as those used on the, and six further Mixal-pattern plasma beam emitters. The vessel mounts no form of point-defence system or smaller grades of weaponry, meaning it has little effect if attacked by smaller and more manoeuvrable ships or strikecraft.

Crew and complement
Service on a Rothen-pattern vessel can be uncomfortable at best and deadly at worst; as such the crews of these ships are typically given their assignments as punishment for crimes ranging from heresy to simply losing favour in bureacratic entanglements. Conversely, the ship's commander is drawn from the ranks of the Zealots, and is often the only crewmember aboard the ship to hold a position of honour.

Usage
Fireships are employed by the Covenant fleet as analogues for torpedo boats or even monitor warships, capable of delivering blows far exceeding their mass. In return however, they are unable to engage in protracted conflict, and rely on their parent fleet for extended support. As dedicated warships in Covenant service, they belong to the executioner category of vessels in the fleet, and as such were committed to long-range fleets and security detail on the periphery of Covenant space.

Operational history
Several Rothen-pattern fireships were involved in the glassing of Cleyell.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Escalation
 * Issue 17