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...where you see one old ship, I see home.
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UNSC Spirit of Fire (HCS: CFV-88) was a modified UNSC Phoenix-class colony ship built in 2473.[5] Spirit of Fire's commanding officer was Captain James Cutter by 2531. Spirit of Fire's Ship Director A.I. was Serina in 2531 and later replaced with Isabel in 2559.
Operational History[]
Spirit of Fire's Ship emblem.
Construction[]
The UNSC Spirit of Fire was designed by First Engineer Brandon Hines and Vice Admiral Shauna Glasgow,[2] and constructed by Halifax Spacewerx on Luna.[9] The keel was laid in 2470.[10] The ship launched January 2, 2473.[2]
Early Service[]
The ship's first captain was Captain Coleman.[11] Spirit of Fire was originally a colony ship, transporting colonists as well as equipment such as hydroponics and schools, in the UEG's expansion efforts.[12] It was responsible for the colonization of Arcadia, and later colonized Verent in 2520 under Captain Alexander;[9] immediately following colonization, Alexander retired on 20 July.[13] On 1 September 2520 the Spirit of Fire was transferred over to the UNSC and refitted for military service as a fleet support ship during the Insurrection.[14] Among its early missions was the support of Arcadian authorities in suppressing a violent student riot.[15]
Human-Covenant war[]
Spirit of Fire launching its heavy lift dropships over Harvest.
In 2530, Spirit of Fire's thrust assemblies were replaced with powerful ones from the scuttled destroyer UNSC Calcutta,[9] increasing output by 37%.[16]
The Spirit of Fire took part in the Harvest Campaign, starting on February 4th, 2531. They were assigned to investigate Covenant activity on Harvest and recover personnel from the UNSC Prophecy.[17] The crew of the Spirit discovered a host of Covenant activity in the north pole that lead to the discovery of a Forerunner relic. There, a map pointed the Outer Colony of Arcadia.[18]
Arcadia and the Shield World[]
Spirit of Fire's impact with the Covenant destroyer.
After the events on Harvest, Spirit of Fire arrived at the planet Arcadia, where it assisted in the evacuation of civilians and the eradication of the Covenant from the planet's surface. When Professor Ellen Anders was captured by the Arbiter,[19] Spirit of Fire followed the Arbiter's flagship to a Flood-controlled planet in an unknown system containing a fleet of Forerunner warships. To ensure that the Covenant would not be able to use these warships against humanity, the reactor that powered Spirit of Fire's Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine was detonated inside the Shield World's artificial sun. The ship managed to escape the exploding Forerunner installation, but without a functioning slipspace drive, the journey home would take many years, if not decades.[20] Most of the crew entered cryonic sleep at this point, with only a skeleton crew remaining active to run the ship.[21]
Lost With All Hands[]
On February 10, 2534,[22] Spirit of Fire, previously designated as "missing," was declared "lost with all hands" by the UNSC. The reason for this change was kept top secret. A memorial service was held for the people aboard the vessel, but many of the crew's family members chose not to attend, holding out hope that their loved ones are still alive.[23] Various theories circulated throughout the UNSC as to the ship's actual fate, ranging from being lost during a covert mission for ONI, destroyed in orbit over Arcadia, defecting to Insurrectionist forces, or being stranded in space. When Mary Cutter, wife of Captain Cutter, was asked about the defection theory, she physically assaulted the reporter.[24]
Infestation[]
Flood forms infecting a Spirit cryobay.
The Spirit of Fire was in fact still drifting through space, and had been boarded by Flood infection forms despite all the countermeasures imposed by Chief Medical Officer O'Neil and was drifting through an unknown star system.
On January 1, 2537 a scheduled maintenance report was disrupted by an outbreak of Flood in one of the cryo-bays. Serina, in the midst of rampancy was unable to effectively read the escalating situation. Serina woke Professor Anders to help with the situation. Jerome-092 woke automatically because of this. With the combined efforts of all three, all the infected crew members and Flood Infection Forms were destroyed.[25]
Serina knowing that the end was near, instructed Anders to begin Final Dispensation procedures. Serina then recorded several contingency logs for Captain Cutter and redacted the reports of the incident. Anders and Jerome returned to cryo-sleep while Serina deactivated. [25]
Post-war[]
After the Human-Covenant War, Spirit of Fire, along with the numerous other ships lost in the course of the war, was given an honor at the dedication of the Living Monument.
ONI Investigation[]
On June 8, 2557, the UNSC prowler UNSC Taurokado and Fireteam Apollo had discovered parts of the Spirit among the debris in the Korinth Prior system. Following analysis by the Artificial intelligence Turkish, it was deemed unlikely that the Spirit had survived the catastrophic event there.[26]
Search for the Spirit[]
Later in 2558, UNSC Infinity was dispatched to supposedly rescue the long lost ship behind enemy lines. It was apparently discovered and was being threatened by Vata 'Gajat when it arrived into Jul 'Mdama's Covenant-controlled territory.[27] However, this was actually a trap laid by Daniel Clayton for Admiral Terrence Hood. The ship was not there.
The Ark[]
The state of the Spirit of Fire in 2559.
- Main article: Battle of Installation 00 (2559)
In 2559, the Spirit of Fire arrived above Installation 00. There, the crew encountered The Banished, led by the Brute Atriox.[28] The ship provided fire support with Archer Missiles from space to deliver powerful airstrikes, as well as deploying fire bases and troops into combat zones.
During the battle for the Ark, Spirit of Fire was engaged by the Enduring Conviction, the Banished CAS-class assault carrier. Instead of immediately obliterating the UNSC command ship with onboard weaponry, the carrier sent a swarm of Banshees which quickly began to pick the Spirit of Fire apart. Fortunately, a cunning plan involving a Forerunner particle cannon on the Ark's surface allowed Jerome-092 and a Logistics AI, Isabel, to infiltrate the carrier and destroy it. The Spirit of Fire suffered minor damage, with half of its Deck Guns temporarily disabled, multiple hull breaches and some internal fires.[29]
The Spirit of Fire remains stationed over the Ark, continuing to battle the Banished for control of the installation.
Design[]
The Spirit of Fire was a Phoenix-class colonial support vessel.[5] However, following the retrofit, the ship was re-designated as a Phoenix-class carrier.[1]
Propulsion[]
Spirit of Fire's massive engines.
The Spirit moved around in realspace using 6 Jupiter-1 maneuvering engines[2] and two smaller engines.[11]
Slipspace Travel[]
- Main article: Slipspace
The Spirit was originally equipped with an OKB Karman 11E Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine.[2] Though, the slipspace engine would be used as a makeshift bomb to destroy Shield 0459.[30] In order for the ship to traverse slipspace, 4.3 quadrillion calculations of the quantum field would have to be made, per second.[16]
Armament[]
The Spirit carried the following armament.
- Three 22B6R MACs[2]
- 10 11A2R1 naval coilgun batteries[2]
- 24 M42 Archer Missile Pods[2]
- 40 M800 Rampart point defense guns[2]
- Deck Guns (22 or more)
- ATAF Missile Turrets
Transit[]
The Spirit featured a tram system.[31]
Complement[]
Infantry[]
The Spirit of Fire had a variety of troops and vehicles it could deploy. The ship housed 6000 Marines, 2000 Army Troops, and 1000 ODSTs. For the ODSTs, there were 600 Human Entry Vehicles available to use.[2]
Vehicles[]
Due to it's support nature, the Spirit had a variety of dropships and transports. The Spirit maintained 70 D77-TC Pelican Dropships, 56 D82-EST Darters, 10 D20 Herons, and six D96-TCE Albatross Dropships.[2]
The Spirit also carried a number of groundside vehicles. This included 170 M12 Warthog LRVs and 93 M808 Scorpion MBTs.[2] Several other vehicles were carried and could be manufactured by the Spirit too, such as the M850 Main Battle Tank, the M9 Main Anti-Aircraft Tank, the XRP12 Combat Support Vehicle, the SP42 Main Battle Tank and the M312 Heavy Recovery Vehicle.
The Spirit also had a variety of aircraft, including the AV-14 Attack VTOL, the AV-22 Sparrowhawk and the AC-220 Gunship. The Spirit also had a sizable stock of the HRUNTING Mark III (B) Exoskeleton.
2559 Additions[]
With the integration of the logistics AI Isabel in 2559, several new vehicles were able to be manufactured aboard the Spirit including the M121 Light Strike Vehicle,[32]the M400 Artillery System,[33] the EV-44 Support VTOL,[34] the Colossus, and the HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defense System.[35]
The D81-LRT Condor was found on the Ark and taken in by the crew of the Spirit of Fire.[36]
"Homemade" Creations[]
Following the Spirit's disappearance, the crew made a variety of "homemade" vehicles. These include the G77S Gunship (created by Isabel),[37] the G81 Heavy Gunship (created by Isabel),[38] and the M808S Main Battle Tank (created by Serina).[39]
Known Compliment[]
[]
- Commander Jerome-092
- Senior Chief Petty Officer Alice-130
- Senior Chief Petty Officer Douglas-042
- Petty Officer Gruss
Marines[]
- Major Vaughan
- Lieutenant Colonel Morgan Kinsano
- Warrant Officer Quinn
- Sergeant Allieri
- Corporal Turpin
- Lance Corporal Sparks
- Private D. Wilson
- Private D. Wood
- Private Papadakis
- Private G. R. Scott
- Bravo 29
- Victor 397
Marine Units[]
- Recon Team Echo
- Recon Team India
- Fire Team Lima
- Fire Team November
- Alpha Platoon
- Bravo Platoon
- Charlie Platoon
- Strike One
- India Company
- 9th Shock Troops Battalion
- ODST Assault Group
- Firestorm Battle Group
Former Compliment[]
- Sergeant John Forge - KIA, Battle of Shield 0459
- Helena Roman - KIA, Harvest Campaign
- Chris - KIA, Harvest Campaign
- Sal - KIA
Crew[]
The Spirit of Fire was staffed by a total of 3500 Naval Personnel and 1 Unified Earth Government Personnel.[2] There was also 60 EVA Engineers on board.[16]
Known Crew[]
Captain Cutter and Serina
[]
- Captain James Cutter - Captain
- Commander Jerome-092 - Spartan on board
- Lieutenant Green - Bridge Crew
- Lieutenant Commander Alys Vullum - Chief Engineer
- Senior Chief Petty Officer Douglas-042 - Spartan on board
- Senior Chief Petty Officer Alice-130 - Spartan on board
- Blake - Bridge Crew
- O'Neil - Chief Medical Officer
- Isabel - Ship's "SMART" AI (2558)
Other[]
- Ellen Anders - Lead ONI Professor on board
- Lulu Hershey - Ship's Nurse
- Andrew Prescott - Former Chief Engineer, unknown status
Former Crew[]
- Serina - Ship Director "SMART" AI (2531)
- Terrence Hood - Executive Officer (Prior to December 2530)
- Lieutenant Kwan - Infected by Flood, destroyed by Jerome.
- Specialist Violeta Maldini - Infected by Flood, destroyed by Jerome.
Captains[]
The following is a list of individuals who have captained Spirit of Fire at some point, found painted on the side of the ship.[11]
- Coleman (2473-2484)
- Rehkov (2484-2491)
- Donald (2491-2499)
- Johnson (2499-2505)
- Roggan (2507-2513)
- Alexander (2513-2520)
Gameplay[]
Halo Wars[]
Abilities[]
Universal abilities are available to a UNSC faction in skirmish and multiplayer, regardless of which leader you have selected. Leader-specific abilities are only available if a certain leader is selected. Each leader-specific ability except ODST Drop can be upgraded three times at the Field Armory.
| Ability | Description | Leader |
|---|---|---|
| Heal and Repair | Slowly restores hit points to all units and buildings within a small radius for a short period of time. It costs 350 resources and has a medium recharge time. | Universal |
| Disruption Bomb | Calls in a Shortsword which drops a large bomb that creates a pulsating blue field of energy, disabling enemy leader powers for one minute. It costs 450 resources. | Universal |
| Pelican Transport | Calls in a small group of Pelican dropships to quickly transport a group of units to a specific location. It costs 200 resources and does not have a recharge time. | Universal |
| ODST Drop | This ability allows you to drop up to ten ODST squads onto the battlefield. This ability requires the ODST Super Unit upgrade and costs 1 population and 100 resources per squad. | James Cutter |
| MAC Blast | This ability fires MAC rounds to the surface. Technologies can be researched at the Field Armory to increase the capacity of MAC rounds to up to four per blast. It has a long recharge time. | James Cutter |
| Cryo bomb | It calls in a Shortsword to drop a bomb which temporarily freezes units, destroying air units by causing them to drop and shatter and making larger units such as the Scarab weaker to attacks. | Ellen Anders |
| Carpet Bomb | It calls in a Shortsword to release a double line of bombs along an axis selected by the player. | John Forge |
Trivia[]
- Its ship emblem reads "Exitus Acta Probat," which is Latin for "the result justifies the deed" or "the ends justify the means."
- Early concept art of Halo Wars suggests that a cat lived aboard the ship.
- Prior to Halo Wars, the crew of UNSC Pillar of Autumn held the distinction of being the first UNSC forces to come into contact with the Flood. In fact, Spirit of Fire encountered them twenty-one years earlier, but was unable to return to UNSC territory to inform the rest of humanity about the threat.
- UNSC Spirit of Fire was the first known ship to collide with a Covenant destroyer. The second and third were UNSC Iroquois and UNSC Fair Weather during the battle at Sigma Octanus IV.
- It is very appropiate, and also ironical, than the Spirit of Fire was the last UNSC ship to defend Arcadia, as it has been the one which helped colonize the world, as a civilian ship.
Gallery[]
Concept Art[]
Overviews[]
Exterior Shots[]
Interior Shots[]
Other[]
Appearances[]
- Halo Wars (First appearance)
- Dr. Halsey's personal journal (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Escalation
- Halo: Hunters in the Dark (Mentioned only)
- Halo 5: Guardians (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Tales from Slipspace
- Something Has Happened
- Halo Wars 2
Sources[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Halo Waypoint: Canon Fodder - In the Loop
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Halo: Warfleet – An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo - Pages 48 & 49
- ↑ GameSpy: Halo Wars / Halo Universe Panel Live Blog
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Halo: The Essential Visual Guide - Page 188
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Official Halo Wars Community Site - Spirit of Fire
- ↑ Halo Wars Limited Edition - Bonus Item: Spirit of Fire Patch
- ↑ Halo Wars - Bonus Item: Instruction Manual, page 2
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Level: A New Enemy
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Halo: Warfleet – An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo - page 49.
- ↑ Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo - Pages 70 & 71
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Halo Wars - Level: Cleansing
- ↑ Halo Wars: Genesis - Page 8
- ↑ Halo Wars - Collectible: Halo Wars Timeline, 20 July 2520
- ↑ Halo Wars - Collectible: Halo Wars Timeline, 1 Sept 2520
- ↑ Graeme Devine - Spirit of Fire - Sal
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Halo Wars: Genesis - Page 9
- ↑ Halo Wars - Collectible: Halo Wars Timeline, 4 Feb 2531
- ↑ Halo Wars - Levels: Alpha Base to Relic Interior
- ↑ Halo Wars - Levels: Arcadia City to Scarab
- ↑ Halo Wars - Levels: Anders' Signal to Escape
- ↑ Halo Wars - Collectible: Halo Wars Timeline, 1 March 2531
- ↑ Halo Encyclopedia, Page 71
- ↑ Halo Wars - Collectible: Halo Wars Timeline, 10 Feb 2534
- ↑ Graeme Devine - Spirit of Fire: Mystery of the Spirit of Fire
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Halo: Tales from Slipspace - Something Has Happened
- ↑ Halo Legendary Crate - Bonus Item: Data Drop 4 - The Fire's Wake Page 1 & Page 2
- ↑ Halo: Escalation Issue 6
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Level: The Signal
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Levels: Hold the Line & Under the Dark
- ↑ Halo Wars - Level: Escape
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Level: The Signal
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Collectible: Phoenix Logs - UNSC Units - Jackrabbit
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Collectible: Phoenix Logs - UNSC Units - Kodiak
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Collectible: Phoenix Logs - UNSC Units - Nightingale
- ↑ Halo Waypoint: Community Update - Folks Need Heroes
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Collectible: Phoenix Logs - UNSC Units - Condor Dropship
- ↑ Halo Waypoint: Canon Fodder - THE ART OF WAR(S)
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Collectible: Phoenix Logs - UNSC Units - Condor Gunship
- ↑ Halo Wars 2 - Collectible: Phoenix Logs - UNSC Units - Scorpion
