Syfon-pattern assault carrier

The Syfon-pattern assault carrier is a design pattern variation of assault carrier employed by the naval forces of the Covenant. The Syfon served the Covenant (and continues to serve its remnants) as a commonly-employed configuration of the design, complementing the much rarer s which could only be constructed with explicit Hierarch approval.

Design details
Syfon-pattern vessels can be most easily distinguished from their Kerel-pattern counterparts by their more segmented hull plating. Of particular note, the Syfon-pattern features numerous skyscraper-like protrusions extending from the dorsal surfaces of the ship, where the Kerel has an extremely consistently smooth hull covering. The Syfon is a commonly-seen variation of the assault carrier design.

Armaments
The Syfon boasts an identical armament loadout to its Kerel counterpart. Its primary weapon is an Infernus-pattern excavation beam, with an additional two Urpeon-pattern plasma lances for heavy anti-ship work. The class is additionally fitted with eight Luxor-pattern heavy plasma beam emitters and twenty-four Mictix-pattern heavy plasma torpedo silos, alongside an array of 700 Ferriel-pattern pulse laser turrets.

Ships of the line

 * Day of Jubilation - Served in the Fleet of Sacred Consecration during the Battle for Earth, and was destroyed in the opening hours by John-117.
 * Enduring Conviction - Served in the Fleet of Recalcitrant Ire, before going on to join the Banished. Destroyed over Installation 00 during the Second Ark Conflict.
 * Solemn Penance - Served in the Fleet of Sacred Consecration as the personal flagship of the Prophet of Regret.

Operational history
Syfon-pattern carriers came into service during the Third Age of Discovery. They served the Covenant as a more common pattern of assault carrier until the empire's end in 2552. The twin Syfons Day of Jubilation and Solemn Penance - the latter personally commanded by the Prophet of Regret - led the Fleet of Sacred Consecration in a campaign to glass dozens of human colony worlds during the Human-Covenant War, and were ultimately the ones responsible for beginning the Covenant attack on Earth in October 2552. Day of Jubilation was destroyed in the opening actions of the campaign, and Solemn Penance was forced to flee the engagement, ultimately escaping to Installation 05 and beginning the Battle of Installation 05.

Following the Covenant's collapse, at least one Syfon-pattern, Enduring Conviction, fell into the hands of the Banished. Conviction was persuaded to abandon the Fleet of Recalcitrant Ire and ultimately served Atriox as the flagship for the force brought to Installation 00 in late 2558. Months later, the ship would be destroyed thanks to actions by the.

Halo: Fleet Battles

 * Special Rules
 * Cathedral of the Faithful: Each Section on a CAS can replace ONE of its listed Boarding Craft with a Zealot for NO POINTS! This bonus is in addition to the standard number of Zealots available to a Fleet.
 * Seraph Hosts: All Seraph Interceptor Wings launched by a CAS increase their maximum size to 6 rather than the normal 5.
 * Limited Resources: All CAS exist as individual Battle Groups and are not required to follow the standard rules for Battle Group creation. Whilst they are not Specialist Battle Groups, they are restricted by the size of the Fleet they are attached to. Therefore a single CAS can be included in a Fleet for every FULL 1250 Points being played.

Production notes
Syfon-pattern assault carriers were first introduced into the series as the assault carrier design featured in Halo 2: Anniversary, serving as the canon designs for the ships featured in that game. They were later heavily featured in the Fleet Battles tabletop game and the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition). Various alternate depictions, such as the Terminals or Halo: Spartan Strike cutscenes produced by Sequence, have depicted the ship in its original Kerel design - though these are considered artistic license.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Halo: Fleet Battles
 * Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo
 * Halo: Rise of Atriox
 * Halo Wars 2