Horn of Plenty

The Horn of Plenty (DCS.REG# HOP-000987111) was an unmanned human civilian interstellar freighter operating in and before 2524.

Under the management of UNSC Department of Commercial Shipping, the Horn of Plenty has the dubious distinction of being the vessel to make first contact with the Covenant Empire.

Design details
It had a cargo capacity of at least 2500 metric tons, and was powered by a pair of compact reactors. It possessed a Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace Drive in its propulsion pod, described as being one-tenth the size of the cargo container, coupled to the craft at the rear through a magnetic coupling.

First Contact
On September 3, 2524, the Horn of Plenty was making a shipment of melons from the Epsilon Indi colony of Harvest, to the colony of Madrigal when its slipspace drive malfunctioned due an overload in the coolant tanks, fatefully forcing it out of slipspace near the Kig-Yar raider Minor Transgression.

The Covenant ship, crewed by Kig-Yar, with an Unggoy deacon and Huragok engineers, attacked and disabled the vessel by destroying its engines, cameras, and maser dish with pulse lasers, and then stripping it of salvageable materials such as the ship's cargo and navigational computer. Having suffered a hull breach, the freighter sent a message to the DCS, which responded by sending an ONI operative, fearing the destruction was the result of an Insurrectionist attack.

Trivia
The Horn of Plenty is the horn of the goat Amalthea, which was enchanted by Zeus, to give whomever wielded it anything they desired. It is also recognized as a symbol of female fertility. In modern times it is known as the Cornucopia, and is associated with Thanksgiving and the Harvest by North Americans.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Contact Harvest