UNSC Pillar of Autumn: Difference between revisions

{{Status|Canon}}{{Status|Featured}}

{{Center|'''''Pillar of Autumn''' redirects here. For more articles of the same name, see [[The Pillar of Autumn|Pillar of Autumn (disambiguation)]].''}}

*[[Adam Crokett|Senior Engineer Crokett]] {{C|refit}}{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

**'''Pre-refit''': [[Fusion drive#Mark II Hanley-Messer DFR|Mark II Hanley-Messer DFR]] (3)<ref name= "data drop">[http://halo.xbox.com/Content/assets/en-us/ONI/577839090903298928/DDR-A340024-1115-08-27-52.pdf '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Data Drop 5'']</ref>

**'''Post-refit''': Experimental reactor set (1 primary, 2 secondary)<ref name="for274">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 274''</ref>{{Ref/Note|On page 274 of ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', it is stated that ''Pillar of Autumn''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s refit power plant consists of a single main reactor linked to two secondary ones; this arrangement is referenced again later on when Cortana gives a damage assessment of the ship to Captain Keyes. However, in ''Halo: Combat Evolved'', it is implied that each of the four exhaust manifolds is linked to an individual fusion reactor, each of which is destroyed by John-117 in the [[The Maw|final level]]. This page follows the information given in ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', as the novel describes the reactor system in more detail.}}

*[[R7 thrust coupling]]s (8)

*[[Emergency thruster]]<ref name="FoRC33">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''Chapter 33''</ref>

*4 [[Shiva-class nuclear missile]]s mounting 30 megaton [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|HAVOK warhead]]s

*32 [[Archer missile#M58 Archer|M58 Archer missile pods]]{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

*8 [[Spitfire naval coilgun battery#Mark 33 Spitfire|Mark 33 Spitfire naval coilgun batteries]]{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

*6 [[M66 Sentry autocannon]] turrets{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

*12 [[D77-TC Pelican]]s{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

*2 [[D96-TCE Albatross]]{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

*18+ [[Class-3 Bumblebee]]s

*216 [[Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|M8823 SOEIV]] drop pods{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

*[[UH-144 Falcon]]s

}}

{{Quote|multi=more|q1=There was only one ship.|[[Thel 'Vadam]]ee|q2=One? Are you sure?|[[High Prophet of Truth]]|q3=Yes. They called it the ''Pillar of Autumn''.|Thel 'Vadamee|Conversation between 'Vadamee and the High Prophet of Truth.<ref name="Heretic">'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Heretic]]''</ref>}}

Prior to the [[Fall of Reach]] ''Pillar of Autumn'' was selected to support [[Operation: RED FLAG]], a [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II]] mission to capture [[Covenant]] [[Hierarchs|leaders]]. [[UNSC rank structure#Officer ranks|Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]] was placed in command. The operation was forestalled by the Covenant assault on Reach; the cruiser carried some of the few UNSC survivors and fled the system having lost most of its intended SPARTAN-II passengers.

===Human-Covenant War===

{{Main|Battle for Arcadia}}

The cruiser was decommissioned with the remaining {{class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}s, but was reactivated as the war worsened. ''Pillar of Autumn'' was pulled from long-term storage and was refitted in [[2550]] to serve as an emergency support ship in a conflict near [[Zeta Doradus]].{{Ref/Reuse|HCESGuide}}<ref name="for238">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', page 238</ref>

===Fall of Reach===

{{main|Fall of Reach}}

''Pillar of Autumn'' was prepared to deploy on August 30. However, before it could depart the [[Epsilon Eridani system]] it was recalled to Reach; the UNSC fleet was mustering in preparation for an imminent Covenant attack on the planet. However, Cortana remained in control as the ship's normally assigned AI was not yet operational. At the opening of the battle, the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was engaged by a {{Pattern|Ruma|light carrier}} and quickly destroyed it with its modified MAC gun.

===Battle of Installation 04===

{{main|Battle of Installation 04}}

''Pillar of Autumn'' was almost immediately engaged upon arriving at Threshold. The [[Prophet of Stewardship]], who feared stray [[plasma turret|plasma torpedo]] fire might damage the holy artifact, ordered the boarding and capture of the cruiser. Fleet Master [[Thel 'Vadamee]] ignored this order and returned fire aggressively. Even so, the ''Autumn'' was able to destroy four ships and damage ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' before boarders disabled its [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]] with an [[antimatter charge]].

===Legacy===

The {{Class|Autumn|heavy cruiser}}, which entered service as the replacement for the {{Class|Marathon|heavy cruiser|}} after the Covenant War, was partially designed after the refitted ''Pillar of Autumn''. Due to the instrumental role the ''Autumn'' played in the war, the lead ship of the new class was named {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn II}} in honor of the original.<ref name="VIS">'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 191''</ref>

{{Clear}}

The internal superstructure of ''Pillar of Autumn'' was designed by [[Robert McLees (ship designer)|Doctor Robert McLees]], though it was deemed unnecessarily over-massed and costly due to a series of cross-bracings and interstitial honeycombs. This led to the design being dropped from future models of ''Halcyon''-class ships. ''Pillar of Autumn'' and 10 others out of 50 were built with this type of superstructure. The internal bracing structure allowed the ship to function even after sustaining critical levels of damage.{{Ref/Reuse|HCESGuide}} Furthermore, the ship was fitted with an intraship transit system, which consisted of a network of lifts, stairs, and mag-rail platforms.

===Power plant===

Prior to being refit for the Spartan mission, ''Pillar of Autumn'' was equipped with three Mark II Hanley-Messer deuterium [[Fusion drive|fusion engines]], which supplied only 10% the power of the standard [[2552]] UNSC Navy reactor. ''Pillar of Autumn'' was refitted with a set of improved nuclear fusion engines that featured two smaller reactors around a larger one, which were capable of boosting the overall power output by 300% for a short time if needed.{{Ref/Reuse|for274}}

Fusion reactors generate extreme heat which must be removed in order for them to remain active without overheating. The Autumn's overhauled reactors were an especially severe case of this. Usually, the excess heat was conducted to a chemical agent which would then vent into space. However, the ''Autumn''{{'}}s upgraded specifications also included an upgraded cooling system, which featured a "laser-induced optical slurry of ions chilled to near-absolute zero", which was far more efficient than the typical method and removed the reliance on expendable chemical temperature-control substances. In essence, the amount of excess heat removed by the new system increased as the reactors' output did. This self-regulating and self-cooling power plant was critical in combat since it virtually eliminated a commander's concerns about overheating and slagging a ship's engines.{{Ref/Reuse|for274}}

===Armament===

==Units==

===Marine units===

The ''Pillar of Autumn'' had a complement of eight hundred Marines and four hundred ODSTs, totaling 1,200 fighting personnel.{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}} The ship's Marine complement were divided into the following units;

===Miscellaneous===

*In ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', the description of ''Pillar of Autumn'' is considerably different from its ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' incarnation. The bridge is described as having a command chair and a curved viewport; in ''Halo: Combat Evolved'', this chair is absent and the window consists of several flat sections. The novel also describes the bridge as being extremely cramped, with only a meter of space between the command chair and the other stations,<ref name="for277">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 277''</ref> while in the game, the bridge is clearly more spacious. According to the novel, there is also an elevator leading directly from the engine room to the bridge.{{Ref/Reuse|for277}} In the game, the engineering and the bridge are on the same level, and there are no doors which may belong to an elevator adjoining the bridge. In addition, the engine room is described as being "hexagonal", while in the game,{{Ref/Reuse|for274}} it consists of two vaguely rectangular chambers with the engine core in the middle. The ship is also described as having rotating centrifuges to generate [[artificial gravity]];{{Ref/Reuse|for274}} no rotating sections are present in the game, unless they are located within the hull.

*''Pillar of Autumn''{{'}}s was approximately 1.17&nbsp;km long, a reference to John-117.<ref>[http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/sloftus_poaconundrum '''halo.bungie.org''': ''The Pillar of Autumn Conundrum'']</ref> The ship's length is exaggerated in the final level of ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' to a length of three kilometers, likely to add urgency and suspense to the escape sequence.