Unyielding Hierophant

The Unyielding Hierophant was a Covenant Battle Station, located in the Tau Ceti system at the time of it's destruction. The system was conquered by Covenant forces in 2530, and was therefore used as a rendezvous point for a Covenant force of approximatly 500 ships before they prepared to launch their impending attack on Earth. When the UNSC found out about this, the crew of the Ascendant Justice-Gettysburg decided to initiate a first strike against the enemy. A team of SPARTAN-IIs, among them 117-John, 093-Grace, 104-Fred and 058-Linda, infiltrated the station to render it inoperable. The SPARTANs triggered a self-destruct mechanism with one casualty, 093-Grace. The SPARTANs then escaped the doomed station on a Covenant dropship, rendevousing with the UNSC Gettysburg. During the battle, the Unyielding Hierophant was destroyed, along with the Ascendant Justice and nearly all of the approximately 500 Covenant ships, as only 12 of them survived. It stands as a monumental achievement for the UNSC, and a discerning loss for the Covenant.

The Unyielding Hierophant was a Covenant refit-battle station that was capable of supporting a fleet of over 450 capital ships. It was capable of slipspace jumps, and was over 10 kilometers in circumference. Scans show this type of vessel to have at least 2 fusion reactor cores for power. It even has huge "rooms" that are built with foliage and animals to simulate the Covenant's worlds to make their occupants feel more at home, rather than on a huge station. These areas even have temples for their religious sessions.

The Unyielding Hierophant was destroyed by Spartan-117 and his team on the First Strike mission. The resulting explosion destroyed all but 12 of the 500 original ships that were nearby.

Appearance
The Unyielding Hierophant is shaped like an eight, with two tear-drop shaped bulbous sections connected at the center, each approximately 15 km long. A rotating ring is connected to the central hub, where Covenant cruisers and carriers can dock.

Trivia

 * Because of his trouble reading small text, Sergeant Johnson incorrectly refers to this station as the Uneven Elephant.