Ace of Spades

The Ace of Spades, also called the Ace, is a modified captained by Rion Forge. The ship was named after the ace of spades playing card Rion's father used to attach to his left shoulder pauldron.

History
Rion Forge acquired the Ace of Spades sometime soon after she became the captain of another cargo ship, the Hakon, in 2551. Ever since she took it over, she made her own modifications to it so that by January of 2557, she considered it to have been "seven years in the making". The crew of the Ace made a name for themselves as salvagers operating out of New Tyne, Venezia and scoring finds all along the Via Casilina Trade Route. In July of 2556, the crew vacationed on Sundown, and by December of that same year, it fell into one of its largest paydays ever. Rion personally participated in a four-way bidding war for a small piece of a Forerunner navigational databoard at a small bazaar on Komoya. In January of the new year, the crew returned to Venezia after having been gone for six weeks. The ship was docked on E-level of a hangar bay of the New Tyne Airfield while Rion, Lessa, and the newest hire, Kip Silas, journeyed into the city. There, they received intel on a crashed ship on a moon in the Ectanus 45 system known as Eiro, which they left for straightaway. The ship turned out to be the remains of the, a. While the crew was on the Roman Blue, it was suddenly fired upon. Being the furthest away, Rion told the others to take off without her and that she would send a signal when she was clear. Despite the initial hesitation the rest of the crew agreed and made their way to the ship, promptly taking off and remaining hidden from the aggressors.

Specifications
The Ace of Spades is a decent-sized ship, but it isn't huge on crew space. Most of her volume is reserved for cargo. There are five crew quarters, the captain's quarters, a mess/lounger combo with an observation deck, a med bay with eight cryotubes, and a small attached gym with showers. Everything else is storage space, support systems, and engineering. Aside from preparing for the next job, Rion uses all her credits on the ship, making several additions over the years. Early on, the staging bay was converted to a locker room and was equipped with an array of gear for virtually any type of known weather and terrain. The staging bay is connected to an airlock that leads to the hangar. Additions include an advanced passive-sensor array, a military-grade slipspace drive, two-pivoting fusion engines on each wing, six thrusters, a sensor-baffling-suite, and souped-up navigation and communication systems that Niko could use his technical expertise with. Ace's hull also was covered with black ablative coating at one point that gave it a dark edge and provides it with stealth capability. The coating requires regular maintenance, though it is rare that it requires consistent refinishing. When the ship is on the ground, a ramp leads into its cargo hold. From within the hold, stairs take one up to the second level, where a catwalk places one in a perfect position for performing maintenance on the track system. The mess hall/lounger holds a food dispenser and a table and chairs. Rion has a small desk in her quarters. Landing gear can be engaged.

Crew

 * 343 Guilty Spark — Forerunner ancilla, formerly a hamanune
 * Rion Forge — Captain
 * Lessa — Pilot
 * Niko — Technology expert
 * Ram Chalva

Former

 * Cade McDonough — Military expert; Killed by Gek 'Lhar in January 2557
 * Little Bit — Forerunner ancilla; taken into ONI custody
 * Tesh — Engineer
 * Kip Silas — Engineer and ship expert; Expelled from the ship in March 2557 after his cover as ONI agent was discovered by Little Bit.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Fractures
 * Into the Fire
 * Halo: Smoke and Shadow
 * Halo: Renegades