Unidentified Covenant assault carrier class

This unidentified ship is a classification of assault carrier of unknown design pattern or three-letter code, in the service of the Covenant starfleet and the empire's remnants.

Design details
Unlike other assault carrier classifications, this design forgoes the distinctive silver hull of its sister and s for a blue-purple nanolaminate battleplate more reminiscent of regular mainline Covenant starships. This hull is reinforced by an additional layer of matte-black armour plating trim, giving the ship a distinctive look among the ships of the Covenant fleet. The design retains the distinctive rear cowling that surrounds the after of the ship in a similar fashion to the Kerel-design. The channels between nanolaminate plates are lined with a series of bright lights, and the hull overall is reinforced with an energy shield system capable of deflecting the blow of even a United Nations Space Command Brightlance reflex laser - the primary armament on the.

The carriers follow the standard assault carrier design language of a hooked prow and two primary hull sections, with three repulsor engines serving as the main sublight maneuver drive system.

Armaments
While the carrier's full and precise armaments list is unknown, their weapons complement is considered more than a match for a UNSC frigate of the. These weapons are extremely destructive, and cannot be used effectively in close-air support of ground forces for fear of massive collateral damage.

Based on other assault carrier classes in Covenant service, it is likely that the carrier's armaments consist of at least some form of energy projector, plasma lances, Plasma beam emitters, plasma torpedoes and pulse laser turrets.

Ships of the line

 * Purveyor of Virtue

Operational history
Multiple carriers of this class were used by the Covenant in 2552, during the final months of the Human-Covenant War. One such vessel served in the Second Fleet of Solemn Accord during the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, leading the fleet alongside a and a number of Covenant battlecruisers and corvettes. During the Fall of Reach in mid-August, three such carriers appeared as part of the fleet sent by the Ministry of Resolution to relieve the battered Fleet of Valiant Prudence. The carriers, and their battlecruiser escort, emerged from slipspace in orbit over Reach in the minutes following the destruction of the Long Night of Solace at the conclusion of Operation: UPPER CUT.

The carriers have continued to see usage in the post-war era in the service of the Covenant remnants. An unidentified warlord made use of one such vessel, Purveyor of Virtue, during an attack on a UNSC fuel processing facility at some point following 2553. The carrier was forced onto a level playing field with the defending, , as its primary starship weaponry was too powerful to use in the engagement without also destroying the facility it had been instructed to capture. During the battle, Purveyor of Virtue's energy shields were attacked by the frigate's Brightlance reflex laser multiple times.

Production notes
This carrier design first appeared in Halo: Reach, as a redesign of the assault carrier featured only very briefly in the final cutscene of the level Long Night of Solace. They exhibit a number of drastic differences from the standard design introduced in Halo 2 and Halo 3, similarly to the design introduced in Halo 2: Anniversary - which was later canonised as the.

The design has featured sporadically in Halo media over the years since, and was notably featured in Halo Infinite as the carrier found in the skybox of the multiplayer map Highpower. This image was done by Jared Harris - a 3D artist on the Sins of the Prophets fan mod. While Harris' work was formally featured in the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), the inclusion of this model on Highpower was likely an oversight on 343 Industries' part - though he was later added to the game's credits for his contributions. In Sins of the Prophets, this carrier is featured as the fanon "Esgem-pattern assault carrier", and was purposefully designed to reflect the design differences of the carrier from Reach as a distinct vessel from the other two assault carrier classes.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo
 * Halo Infinite
 * Halo: The Television Series
 * Contact
 * Unbound