Bridge

The Bridge is a UNSC term for the command center of a ship. Normally, this is where the officers reside while doing weapons, navigational work, etc. The parallel Covenant term is Control Room. According to Halo literature, the bridge of UNSC spacecraft is usually located at the ship's bow. A ship's bridge is usually represented by a red star.

Pillar of Autumn
The bridge of the Pillar of Autumn consists of several consoles devoted to various functions. There is a large domed viewport at the front of the room which looks out into space. This was evidently meant to be armoured before the Autumn 's mission but there hadn't been time. The navigation and helm control officers are suspended in this dome. There are six consoles which line the sides of the room, and two in the centre. The captain or commander of the ship stands before a large tactical map which can provide a series of important pieces of information. The holotank for a ship's AI is also located near the captain's station. At the time of its arrival in the Threshhold system, the Autumn 's bridge was manned by fourteen officers.

Helm Control
The Pillar of Autumn is piloted by two helm control officers which sit suspended in the ship's domed viewport. These officers are presumably responsible for steering the ship at sublight speeds and executing slipspace transitions.

Lifepod Control
There is a console located at the front-left side of the Bridge marked 'LPOD'. The ship's lifepod operations are coordinated from this station.

Tactical
The Pillar of Autumn has three tactical stations located in various positions. These consoles are responsible for controlling and maintaining the ship's weapon systems. Autocannons, Archer Pods, the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and Shiva nukes are launched and controlled by the two tactical officers.

Engineering
There are two consoles in the Autumn's bridge marked "ENG". They are probably the equivilant of Operations consoles. The ship's nuclear fusion reactors and other engineering functions are maintained here.

Communications
There exist two consoles marked 'COM'. Obviously, the ship's communications systems are operated here.

In Amber Clad
The bridge of the In Amber Clad was considerable smaller than that of the Pillar of Autumn, possibly indicative of it's smaller size. It is physically located at the top of the ship and also has a viewport which looks into space. The commanding officer sits in a chair, in front of which are the tactical and navigation consoles. These are several other stations behind these three, but they were not manned at the time of its arrival at Delta Halo.

Cairo Station
The bridge of the Cairo orbital defence platform dwarfs the other two encountered. It's ceiling is covered by large windows allowing an unobstructed view of space. There are two raised platforms on either side which overlook the many consoles below. Like the Pillar of Autumn, there is a tactical map located at one side where the station's CO stands.

Forward Unto Dawn
Since it is also a frigate, the bridge of the Forward Unto Dawn is nearly identical to that of the In Amber Clad