UNSC Infinity

"This is the culmination of human achievement."

- Unnamed UNSC Official

UNSC Infinity (INF-101) was the first commissioned into the UNSC Navy following the end of the Human-Covenant war in 2553. Infinity was a starship technology demonstrator, using recovered technology found during the war against the Covenant Empire and from Forerunner facilities and installations. Infinity's on-board AI, Roland, oversaw all activities on the ship.

Construction
This starship was constructed in the Oort cloud on the outskirts of the Sol System. The Office of Naval Intelligence attempted to keep the ship's construction a secret by permanently stationing workers in the Oort cloud while maintaining a complete communications blackout.

However, due to the ship's massive construction costs, the Office of Naval Intelligence was unable to keep Infinity a secret from some senior members of the UNSC Navy, like Rear Admiral Saeed Shafiq.

This ship was to receive upgrades, particularly slipspace navigation which was reverse engineered from the Forerunner technology retrieved from the shield world Trevelyan as well as modified communications allowing ships to communicate even in slipspace. These modifications delayed Infinity from full deployment as it was still not complete and with the modifications it would take even longer.

Andrew Del Rio was assigned as the captain of Infinity. The rest of the crew consisted of several SPARTAN-IV personnel. They were assigned to her before the preliminary trials on the ship began. While the ship was still under construction, it was seized by a group of Insurrectionists led by Ilsa Zane before being retaken by Spartan-IVs under the command of Sarah Palmer. In 2553, Infinity would assist Arbiter Thel 'Vadam in putting down a revolt led by the Servants of Abiding Truth.

Requiem
Four years after the Human-Covenant war, Infinity was officially commissioned into the UNSC Navy. One of her first assignments was to locate the remaining Halo Installations so that the UNSC could study them and later decommission them. While moving the Composer from Installation 03 to Ivanoff Research Station, Infinity would receive a set of coordinates leading to Requiem.

While en route, the ship receives a beacon from. Upon arrival, Infinity informs FLEETCOM of the situation and attempts to contact the two survivors of the Dawn. The Didact then seizes control of the ship and Infinity crashes onto the interior surface of Requiem, where it was attacked by Promethean and Covenant Remnant forces.

After subsequent repairs Infinity was able to lift off and, after deploying surface parties to neutralize a gravity well, escaped the shield world to regroup with UNSC forces. When the Ur-Didact attacked Earth, Infinity engaged Mantle's Approach, penetrating its hull with her forward MACs. This action provided John-117 a route in which to infiltrate the vessel with a Broadsword fighter and destroy it from within using a HAVOK Tactical Nuclear Weapon.

After six months, Infinity would return to Requiem and begin operations against the Covenant Remnant and Promethean forces still present on the Shield World. Toward the end of the conflict Infinity was boarded by the Covenant Remnant and Promethean forces. While the Covenant trapped Infinity with a Forerunner artifact using slipspace as an anchor, Jul 'Mdama manipulated Requiem's systems sending the planetoid on a collision course with its local star. Fireteam Crimson, Fireteam Majestic and Sarah Palmer were deployed to deactivate the artifacts anchoring Infinity to Requiem. Upon success, the Spartan fireteams narrowly regrouped with Infinity amongst falling debris via D79H-TC Pelican dropships. Infinity made an emergency slipspace transition out of Requiem as it fell into its star, which exploded into a massive supernova, the deadly energy of which followed the vessel through its slipspace transition point. Infinity narrowly made its transition back into realspace speeding ahead of the pursuing inferno which was cut short as the transition closed.

Following the tour on Requiem the Infinity was tasked with escorting Fleet Admiral Lord Hood and the Arbiter to Ealen IV for peace talks. Commander Bradley was put in charge of the ship while Lasky went ground side. During the meeting Vata 'Gajat ambushed the delegates and jammed any signals, preventing Infinity from intervening. During the battle Captain Lasky and Spartan Naiya Ray destroyed the jammer, reestablishing a link to Infinity. Meanwhile, Bradley informed Lasky that the Sangheili and Jiralhanae were about to attack one another but Lasky was able to intervene and rallied them with Infinity. The ambassadors were kept safe but at the cost of Fireteam Bailey.

Specifications
Infinity is approximately 5.7 kilometres (3.5 miles) from bow to stern, placing it as the largest UNSC vessel. Infinity was given "every scrap of Forerunner technology that the UNSC picked apart during the war". It has a primary armament consisting of four Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. The hull and shielding have been shown to be immensely powerful, as demonstrated when it rammed a and destroyed it without even breaking its own shields. The engines are of Forerunner design, recovered from Trevelyan.

Armament
Infinity's primary armament consists of four CR-03 Series-8 magnetic accelerator cannons. Infinity boasts a significant missile network that can be implemented for ship-to-ship combat, anti-air defense and orbital gunfire support for Marine forces. Placed throughout the ship are 1,100 missile pods of three types: Archer, Rapier, and Howler, totaling the ship's missile payload at 25,900 missiles. Close-in defense against enemy missiles, fighters, and boarding craft is provided by the ship's M965 Fortress point defense system, a network of 830 70mm automatic cannons. It also has a number of Mark 2551 Portable Magnetic Accelerator Cannon placed along the ship.

Purpose
The original purpose of Infinity was to beat back the Covenant in the event that Earth was lost and humanity needed a last resort. After the end of the Human-Covenant war, it was repurposed as an expeditionary and exploratory ship. It is also the location of a SPARTAN-IV training site. Infinity's mission prior to the First Battle of Requiem was to locate the remaining Halo Arrays and other Forerunner installations and establish bases on them to oversee their decommission. They were also tasked with the search of Jul 'Mdama and his remaining Covenant Remnant. However, Infinity was pulled off this assignment by order of Lord Terrence Hood in favour of.

Naval crew

 * Captain Thomas Lasky- Commanding Officer 2557–Present
 * Lieutenant Commander Phillips
 * Lieutenant Cameron
 * Lieutenant Priselkov
 * Lieutenant James – Helmsmen
 * Lieutenant Junior Grade Campbell
 * Petty Officer Richardson
 * Master Chef Jonathan Lowell
 * Chief Mechanized Repair Officer Gordon Kushner
 * Weapon Officer Austen
 * Roland – Shipboard AI

Marines

 * Lieutenant TJ Murphy
 * Lieutenant Austen
 * Master Sergeant Marcus P. Stacker
 * Sergeant Virgil Bernardin
 * Private First Class Forrest
 * Private Ted Brown
 * Private Gordon Cooper
 * Private Fred Gordon
 * Wolfkill

Infinity Science

 * Dr. Henry Glassman — Chief engineer
 * Dr. Morgan Rivera
 * Dr. Boyd
 * Dr. Shannon Owen
 * Dr. Ruiz
 * Dr. Taylor Pierce
 * Dr. Lani Truman
 * Dr. Stafford

Spartans

 * Spartan Sarah Palmer – Commander of Infinity's SPARTAN complement
 * Spartan Robert Dalton
 * Spartan Horatio Fry
 * Spartan Yeong-Hao Holst
 * Spartan Carlo Hoya
 * Spartan Anthony Madsen
 * Spartan Jared Miller
 * Spartan Joel Thomas
 * Spartan Gabriel Thorne
 * Spartan Tedra Grant
 * Spartan Naiya Ray

Former Crew

 * Captain Andrew Del Rio – Commanding officer, 2552 - July 2557
 * First Lieutenant Paolo J. Jiminez – Killed in action, First Battle of Requiem
 * Aine – former AI, destroyed during First Battle of Requiem
 * Commander Bradley - Killed in action.
 * Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey – Defected to Covenant Remnant after Second Battle of Requiem
 * Spartan Estey-Bethel – Killed in action, Second Battle of Requiem
 * Spartan Lincoln – Killed in action, Second Battle of Requiem
 * Spartan Dunlap – Killed in action, Second Battle of Requiem
 * Spartan Casillas – Killed in action, Second Battle of Requiem
 * Spartan Tashi – Killed in action, Second Battle of Requiem
 * Spartan Cara Costabile – Killed in action, Second Battle of Requiem
 * Spartan Vladimir Scruggs - Defected to New Colonial Alliance; killed, Battle of Ealen IV
 * Spartan Paul DeMarco – Killed in action, Battle of Ealen IV

Trivia

 * At 5.7 kilometers long, Infinity is the largest ship in the UNSC Navy. It is even longer than a, which is 5.3 kilometers long from bow to stern.
 * Infinity also devotes an entire deck of the ship to the training of the SPARTAN-IVs. This deck is named S-Deck.
 * The final design for Infinity was supplied by Ansel Hsiao, a 3D artist who previously submitted artwork for the Star Wars guidebook The Essential Guide to Warfare.
 * Infinity is capable of storing ten s in its sub-vessel deployment bays along its ventral surface.
 * In Episode 7 of Spartan Ops, UNSC Infinity is the only playable scene that does not take place on the surface of Requiem.
 * There is a number of Huragok assigned to Infinity.
 * Infinity breaks the tradition of major ships in the Halo series being severely damaged or outright destroyed by the end of the game.
 * Despite being listed as a Human prototype based on Forerunner tech, Infinity's Slipspace drive is stated by Dr. Glassman as well as Dr. Halsey as being entirely of Forerunner origin.

Appearances

 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo 4
 * Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
 * Halo: Spartan Assault
 * Halo: Initiation
 * Halo: Escalation