Ket-pattern battlecruiser

"Mother of God... I'd never thought I'd get close to one of these things. How the hell are we supposed to get inside that monster?"

- UNSC Marine during the first raid on Truth and Reconciliation.

The Ket-pattern battlecruiser is a Covenant capital warship. It is one of several cruiser types used by the Covenant, each of which is similar in design but differs in size and function. The Ket-pattern served as one of the empire's most prominent warship classes alongside the, succeeded the aging s, and has since become a workhorse of the empire's various successor states.

Overview
Battlecruisers have consistently served in the Covenant's starfleet in some capacity throughout the empire's long existence, replacing the older s between the Fifth and Seventh Age of Reclamation. Since then, battlecruisers have proliferated to be produced in vast quantities, moreso than any other Covenant starship—across dozens of shipyards and in a litany of design patterns and other modifications, with the Ket and Elefen dominating the battlecruiser classification as a whole.

Battlecruisers primarily serve in attack and occupation roles, though their workhorse nature sees them frequently serving in a wider variety of functions outside of this. Their offensive and defensive capabilities, combined with a large troop and equipment payload, make them ideal for deployment of ground forces during ground campaigns, or serving as middle-weight combatants (relative to other Covenant ships) in space warfare. This is contrasted with more aggressive executioners such as the and large carriers such as the.

The overall characteristics of the Ket have contributed to its widespread usage and its capability to serve in multiple roles as to form the core of the Covenant fleet, indicating that it is likely classed as an advocate within Covenant naval schema.

Design details
Battlecruisers are shaped to allow for mobility in atmospheric flight and agility when fighting in space. Their hulls are shaped with sweeping contours and almost-perfect symmetry, visually reminiscent of marine life found on Sangheili colonies. Battlecruisers, as with other Covenant cruisers, feature internal modular bays that can be configured as engineering, medical, armory, barracks and religious facilities.

Battlecruisers are best recognized for their distinctive fins, located on the underside of the ship's nose. These fins serve as sensor arrays, the number of which can differ between designs - though the configuration of the fits themselves is not an indicator of design pattern variation. The battlecruiser's ubiquitous nature has seen them influence many other cruiser designs produced since, with the produced as a stable mutation of the Ket and Elefen design.

Armament
While specific pattern models and custom variations can vary, battlecruisers typically follow a fairly consistent suite of armaments. Their primary weapon system usually consists of a ventral energy projector, with plasma cannons and pulse laser turrets for secondary and tertiary weapons, respectively. They may also be fitted with plasma torpedos.

For the Ket-pattern ships in the design style of the Truth and Reconciliation, these armaments consisted of the following, respectively;
 * 1 Profero-pattern excavation beam
 * 1 Ignis-pattern plasma lance
 * 42 Sono-pattern plasma cannons
 * 16 Serpens-pattern plasma torpedo silos
 * 50 Gon-pattern pulse lasers

The primary pinch fusion reactor located in the ship's core provides the power needed to operate the excavation beam and plasma lance, alongside igniting the plasma torpedoes. The inert plasma torpedo cores themselves are stocked in the "wings" of the ship, and can be fired out of the sixteen silos located on the top of the ship's ventral surface.

Defenses
The Ket-pattern battlecruiser is outfitted with an Corvex-pattern dispersal field generator, which provides the ship with energy shielding defenses. The hull is formed of layers of shield-reinforced nanolaminate plating, capable of withstanding the force of even a nearby nuclear detonation. Fifty Gon-pattern pulse laser turrets are equipped on the ship for point-defense.

Control center
Buried deep within the vessel's heart is the control center, also known as the bridge and the Combat Information Center (CIC), from where the entire ship's operations are coordinated. Typically occupied by only the highest-ranking officers, the control center is a large room with a centralized bridge platform overlooking the rest of the room. Holographic controls line the outer perimeter of the raised dais. The viewscreens are also holographic projections, visible at the forward end of the room near the ceiling. The viewscreens can either display exterior views of the ship's surroundings or can display tactical data. They can also be synchronized to the onboard security cameras and can display ship schematics.

Hangar bays
The CCS-class battlecruiser contains four bisected hangar bays; two to starboard and two to port. They are each three-tiered, with a large amount of space between the floors and ceilings of each level. Each three-tier bay has two retracting metal doors. The bays feature energy barriers over the openings to allow ships to pass through them while retaining atmosphere and pressure inside the ship. These barriers deny the movement of all forms of matter attempting to enter or leave the hangar bays. Each launch area in the bay is capable of housing dropships and Banshee attack craft. Retracting elevators in the decking of each bay are used to ship Covenant ground and air craft into the bays for launching or for gravity connection to a waiting dropship. These elevators lower into holding areas adjacent to cargo bays.

Gravity lift
Like most Covenant warships, the CCS-class battlecruiser is equipped with a single ventrally mounted gravity lift, enabling quick and easy transportation of personnel, vehicles, equipment and supplies to a planet's surface. A large, circular platform can be detached and lowered to the ground to provide a stable surface for disembarking and embarking troops, vehicles, and matériel. The platform has six interlocking hinges and is carried with the ship; when the cruiser is in position over a planet's surface, the six interlocks retract and the beam repels the platform at a controlled descent to the surface. Once on the ground the platform acts as an anchor for the ship. The ship can make use of the gravity lift without the platform, but it must remain in position. When attached to the ship, the central gravity platform doubles as the firing port for the energy projector, in a similar fashion to those of the Covenant assault carriers and the.

Ket-pattern
The only specifically-identified Ket-pattern battlecruiser has a relatively unique design, consisting of a nearly-entirely smooth hull and two sensor fins.
 * Truth and Reconciliation - Participated in the Fall of Reach, and later destroyed over Installation 04.

Unknown pattern
The following vessels share a broadly similar design, indicating they may belong to a different design pattern to the Ket-pattern. These include a more segmented hull and variable number (typically 3-4) sensor fins.
 * Indulgence of Conviction - Participated in the Battle for Earth, infected by the Flood, and crashed on Earth.
 * Harbinger of Piety - Participated and destroyed in the Battle for Earth.
 * Triumphant Declaration - Participated in the Battle of Mare Erythraeum on Mars.
 * Pious Inquisitor - Participated in the Battle for Earth and Battle of Installation 00, destroyed by Kig-Yar over Shaps III.
 * Sanctity of Purification - Destroyed in the Battle of Fumirole.

Misc
The following battlecruisers cannot be identified to belong to a specific design pattern.
 * Purity of Spirit - Participated in the Fall of Reach.
 * Purveyor of Serenity - Unknown
 * Sacred Promise - Heavily damaged in an unspecified battle.
 * Undiminished Entelechy - Participated in the Battle of Installation 04 and destroyed by Thel 'Vadam to prevent the Flood from leaving.
 * CCS-U321 - Participated and destroyed in the Battle for Arcadia and was destroyed by the, , and  after it was caught with its shields down.
 * CCS-U624 - Participated in the Battle for Arcadia.

Operational history
The Ket-pattern battlecruiser entered service in the Seventh Age of Reclamation, succeeding the aging s. The vessel was produced by dozens of shipyards in huge numbers, leading it to become a mainstay workhorse of the Covenant fleet alongside the. In service, they served a huge range of functions for the naval forces of the Covenant, allowing it to dominate other cruiser designs such as the later. As such, they fulfilled a key role during the Human-Covenant War, and were so ubiquitous that their silhouettes were recognisable to even the most inexperienced United Nations Space Command cadets.

CCS-class vessels contributed to many of the war's most significant battles including the Battle of Harvest, Alpha Corvi II, Battle for Arcadia, the battles of Psi Serpentis, Kholo and Algolis. In the war's final year, CCS-class ships participated in the battles of Fumirole, Beta Eridani and the culminative Fall of Reach. CCS-class battlecruisers formed the core of Covenant fleets battling over Reach, with several part of the Fleet of Particular Justice pursuing to Installation 04.

During the Battle over Installation 04, a particular Ket-pattern battlecruiser Truth and Reconciliation was damaged in combat with Pillar of Autumn and set down on the ringworld's surface to become the ground headquarters for Covenant forces in the ensuing groud campaign. The ship would serve as the headquarters for Zuka 'Zamamee and later, the Prophet of Stewardship, during the campaign before ultimately being beset upon by Flood forces and finally captured and destroyed by a force of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers.

In the final months of the war, Ket-pattern battlecruisers saw significant usage in the Covenant invasion of the Sol system. Thirteen battlecruisers served as escorts for the carrier Solemn Penance in the Fleet of Sacred Consecration during the High Prophet of Regret's inadvertent attack on the human homeworld Earth., with the Prophet of Truth's reinforcement fleet sent in the following days also largely consisting of battlecruisers. Battlecruisers took a final role for the empire in the civil war that saw the empire's collapse, with both Sangheili and Jiralhanae crews commandeering the vessels for use against one another.

Post-war
As the Sangheili and Jiralhanae feuds continued throughout at least the following seven years, the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae-led remnants of the Covenant continued to make use of CCS-class battlecruisers. Several ships of the class were present during the Battle of Ealen IV, serving within the Sangheili and Jiralhanae fleets tasked with protecting the delegates alongside the. The mercenary group under the command of Vata 'Gajat also possessed a number of these ships during the Attack on Ealen IV. Many other CCS-battlecruisers fell into the hands of Kig-Yar scavengers and independent Sangheili factions.

Covenant CCS Battlecruiser
This element includes a single CCS-class battlecruiser.
 * Cost: 150 points
 * Movement: 8"
 * Damage Track: 8 • 7 • 3
 * Build rating: 3
 * Hangers: 2
 * Boarding Craft: 2
 * Security detail: 4
 * System loadouts:
 * Carrier action (1)
 * Defense array (4)
 * Glide (4")
 * Point defense (3)
 * Primary weapon: Plasma lance
 * Range: 18/32"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 12
 * Secondary Weapon: Plasma cannon arrays
 * Range: 10/20"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 9

Covenant Supported CCS Battlecruiser
This element includes a CCS-class battlecruiser and one SDV-class heavy corvette.
 * Cost: 170 points
 * Movement: 7"
 * Damage Track: 8 • 7 • 4
 * Build rating: 4
 * Hangers: 3
 * Boarding Craft: 2
 * Security detail: 5
 * System loadouts:
 * Carrier action (1)
 * Defense array (5)
 * Glide (4")
 * Point defense (4)
 * Primary weapon: Plasma lance
 * Range: 18/32"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 12
 * Secondary Weapon: Plasma cannon arrays
 * Range: 10/20"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 10
 * Additional secondary weapon: Plasma torpedos
 * Range: 10/24"
 * Weapon loadouts: Missiles/Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward
 * Dice: 5

Covenant Reinforced CCS Battlecruiser
This element includes a CCS-class battlecruiser and two SDV-class heavy corvettes.
 * Cost: 200 points
 * Movement: 7"
 * Damage: 8 • 7 • 5
 * Build Rating: 5
 * Hangars: 5
 * Boarding Craft: 4
 * Security Detail: 6
 * System loadouts:
 * Carrier action (1)
 * Defense array (6)
 * Glide (4")
 * Point defense (6)
 * Primary weapon: Plasma lance
 * Range: 18/32"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 12
 * Secondary Weapon: Plasma cannon arrays
 * Range: 10/20"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 12
 * Additional secondary weapon: plasma torpedos
 * Range: 10/24"
 * Weapon loadouts: Missiles/Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward
 * Dice: 6

Covenant Escorted CCS Battlecruiser
This element includes a CCS-class battlecruiser and one ADP-class escort.
 * Cost: 170 points
 * Movement: 8"
 * Damage: 8 • 7 • 4
 * Build Rating: 4
 * Hangars: 2
 * Boarding Craft: 2
 * Security Detail: 5
 * System loadouts:
 * Carrier action (1)
 * Defense array (5)
 * Glide (4")
 * Point defense (5)
 * Primary weapon: Plasma lance
 * Range: 18/32"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 12
 * Secondary Weapon: Plasma cannon arrays
 * Range: 10/20"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 9
 * Additional secondary weapon: plasma torpedos
 * Range: 10/24"
 * Weapon loadouts: Missiles/Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward
 * Dice: 5

Covenant Defended CCS Battlecruiser
This element includes a CCS-class battlecruiser and two ADP-class escorts.
 * Cost: 190 points
 * Movement: 8"
 * Damage: 8 • 7 • 5
 * Build Rating: 4
 * Hangars: 2
 * Boarding Craft: 2
 * Security Detail: 5
 * System loadouts:
 * Cloaking system
 * Carrier action (1)
 * Defense array (5)
 * Glide (4")
 * Point defense (5)
 * Primary weapon: Plasma lance
 * Range: 18/32"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 12
 * Secondary Weapon: Plasma cannon arrays
 * Range: 10/20"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 9
 * Additional secondary weapon: plasma torpedos
 * Range: 10/24"
 * Weapon loadouts: Missiles/Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward
 * Dice: 7

Covenant Paired CCS Battlecruisers
This element includes two CCS-class battlecruisers.
 * Cost: 260 points
 * Movement: 7"
 * Damage: 11 • 11 • 4
 * Build Rating: 8
 * Hangars: 4
 * Boarding Craft: 4
 * Security Detail: 8
 * System loadouts:
 * Carrier action (2)
 * Defense array (7)
 * Glide (4")
 * Point defense (6)
 * Primary weapon: Plasma lance
 * Range: 18/32"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 18
 * Secondary Weapon: Plasma cannon arrays
 * Range: 10/20"
 * Weapon loadouts: Plasma
 * Firing arc: Forward/Port/Starboard
 * Dice: 15

Silver Timeline
CCS-class battlecruisers are used by the Covenant against humanity.

Trivia

 * Battlecruisers were a ship class used by European, American and Japanese navies during the First and Second World Wars, developed as an evolution of the armored cruiser, being faster and better-armed than their predecessors, often featuring armaments equivalent to a larger battleship but with lighter armor. By the 1930s, only the Royal navy was using the term "battlecruiser" for its older ships, as other navies replaced battlecruisers with battleships.
 * In the level New Alexandria in Halo: Reach, if the player performs the flyable Pelican and Phantom Easter egg and flies inside one of the CCS-class battlecruisers outside of the map, they will find a small cube in the center of either ship. It is a cube map, which contains the texture for the vessel.
 * If the Mythic skull is turned on while playing Halo: Reach, the CCS-class battlecruiser at the end of the level The Pillar of Autumn requires two shots from the Onager to be destroyed.

Production notes

 * During the development of Halo 2, Solemn Penance was originally going to be a CCS-class battlecruiser, as seen in the E3 2003 demo.
 * The battlecruisers featured in Halo 3 and most later media have four fins instead of two, like those of the Truth and Reconciliation. These battlecruisers also feature the Marathon logo on their launch bays.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo 3
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo 3: ODST Pre-mission Evaluation
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo Legends
 * The Duel
 * Origins
 * The Package
 * Halo: Evolutions
 * Human Weakness
 * Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian
 * The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole
 * The Return
 * Halo: Blood Line
 * Remember Reach
 * Deliver Hope


 * Halo: Reach
 * Data pads
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
 * Halo: Spartan Assault
 * Halo: Initiation
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo: Mortal Dictata
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Halo: New Blood
 * Halo: Fleet Battles
 * Halo: Last Light
 * Halo 5: Guardians
 * Halo: Ground Command
 * Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo
 * Halo: Tales from Slipspace
 * Halo Wars 2
 * Halo: Envoy
 * Halo: Collateral Damage
 * Halo: Fireteam Raven
 * Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual
 * Halo: Outpost Discovery
 * Halo Infinite
 * Halo: The Television Series
 * Reckoning
 * Solace