Pillar of Autumn

[Aaron]

Does anybody know anything about the Pillar of Autumn from Halo? I'm looking for specs on her class, the Halcyon, for a fan fic that I'm planning on writing. A google search turned up nothing.

[Black Admiral]

I can give you specs on the Halcyon-C-class, which would be the Autumn herself and any other Halcyons that have been retrofitted to a similar standard:
Armaments: 182 oversized Archer HE missile pods, 1 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon (modified to fire three shots at once), 40 50mm cannons for PD, and 4 Shiva missiles (one carried by remote-piloted Longsword interceptor)
Defensive systems: 5 meters of titanium-a battleplate on all sufaces, extensive internal bracing and armour, and hydraulic reinforcement to prevent the hull buckling.
Marine complement: At least four hundred, plus attached vehicles and aircraft
Crew complement: Unknown
Length: I believe the manual gives the Autumn a length of about 6 kilometers

[Aaron]

Thanks Black Admiral

[Black Admiral]

To add in some extras, its usual for a Halcyon to have an AI onboard to assist with navigation and combat.

The Halcyons also have a well-deserved reputation for being insanely hard to stop; some anecdotal evidence suggests they can continue fighting with 90+% of their armour gone and every internal compartment open to space.

They also have an unusual bridge configuration: unarmoured, at the bow of the ship. This isn't popular, but the view's worth it. Almost.

[Lancer]

I can give you specs on the Halcyon-C-class, which would be the Autumn herself and any other Halcyons that have been retrofitted to a similar standard:
Armaments: 182 oversized Archer HE missile pods, 1 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon (modified to fire three shots at once), 40 50mm cannons for PD, and 4 Shiva missiles (one carried by remote-piloted Longsword interceptor)
Defensive systems: 5 meters of titanium-a battleplate on all sufaces, extensive internal bracing and armour, and hydraulic reinforcement to prevent the hull buckling.
Marine complement: At least four hundred, plus attached vehicles and aircraft
Crew complement: Unknown
Length: I believe the manual gives the Autumn a length of about 6 kilometers

err, minor nit:
The PoA's MAC can't fire three rounds at once, but can instead fire three rounds on a single charge.

In addition, there are HEV (Human Entry Vehicle) tubes mounted on the ventral part of the body to assist in ODST/Helljumper insertion.

[Alyeska]

FYI, the Autum is not 6km long, that comes from the game. IIRC the largest human ships are the carriers and they barely push 1km.

[Black Admiral]

FYI, the Autum is not 6km long, that comes from the game.

That's backed up in The Flood I believe, since the Chief's run for the Longsword is pretty much the same.

IIRC the largest human ships are the carriers and they barely push 1km.

Where did you get that? Mobile repair stations are 1kmx1kmx1km, but they're never mentioned as being the largest human ships.

[Alyeska]

You can see from the picture of the Autum itself that its not 6km long. Ever notice the size of the bridge compared to the rest of the ship?

As for how large the ship is. TFOR makes it very clear that Terran ships aren't near that big.

Now here is an interesting bit. The Halcyon class is listed at being about the same size as the destroyers. How the hell can a mobile repair facility repair something 6km large when its only 1km? We know that they are larger then destroyers such as the Iriqious.

Its very obvious that they made the ship in Halo larger merely for gameplay reasons. I also rank The Flood as the lowest tier book because the author makes repeated mistakes and idiot statements. At one point he says the maxium number of people a Pelican can hold is 12 and they can overload it to 15. Yet in the same book this author puts 30 Elites on a Pelican. The author also puts the pistol as more accurate and powerful then the assault rifle.

TFOR and FS do not make these mistakes.

[Black Admiral]

You can see from the picture of the Autum itself that its not 6km long. Ever notice the size of the bridge compared to the rest of the ship?

As for how large the ship is. TFOR makes it very clear that Terran ships aren't near that big.

Now here is an interesting bit. The Halcyon class is listed at being about the same size as the destroyers. How the hell can a mobile repair facility repair something 6km large when its only 1km? We know that they are larger then destroyers such as the Iriqious.

They're not listed as being destroyer sized. Keyes notes that from a distance the Autumn resembles an elongated frigate.

And Cradle is never mentioned as being capable of repairing and refitting big ships like Leviathan or the Autumn. It probably could, but cruisers are massive, far larger than destroyers or frigates. Keyes instantly spots UNSC Leviathan in amongst the dozens of destroyers and frigates around Octanus IV.

Its very obvious that they made the ship in Halo larger merely for gameplay reasons. I also rank The Flood as the lowest tier book because the author makes repeated mistakes and idiot statements. At one point he says the maxium number of people a Pelican can hold is 12 and they can overload it to 15. Yet in the same book this author puts 30 Elites on a Pelican. The author also puts the pistol as more accurate and powerful then the assault rifle.

TFOR and FS do not make these mistakes.

I suppose.

[Kuja]

Its very obvious that they made the ship in Halo larger merely for gameplay reasons. I also rank The Flood as the lowest tier book because the author makes repeated mistakes and idiot statements. At one point he says the maxium number of people a Pelican can hold is 12 and they can overload it to 15. Yet in the same book this author puts 30 Elites on a Pelican. The author also puts the pistol as more accurate and powerful then the assault rifle.

Not to mention that the guy can't characterize for shit and decides that a 'basic' AI should be an expert on history and able to debate logically. Christ, Wellsley was such a pain in the ass, he was worse than C-3P0. Then that female Lieutenant decides to betray her entire race for what had to be the dumbest reasons ever, and the way she did it was so fucking stupid I instantly lost all respect for Covenant ships for making it so eay.

[Lancer]

You can see from the picture of the Autum itself that its not 6km long. Ever notice the size of the bridge compared to the rest of the ship?

As for how large the ship is. TFOR makes it very clear that Terran ships aren't near that big.

Now here is an interesting bit. The Halcyon class is listed at being about the same size as the destroyers. How the hell can a mobile repair facility repair something 6km large when its only 1km? We know that they are larger then destroyers such as the Iriqious.

Its very obvious that they made the ship in Halo larger merely for gameplay reasons. I also rank The Flood as the lowest tier book because the author makes repeated mistakes and idiot statements. At one point he says the maxium number of people a Pelican can hold is 12 and they can overload it to 15. Yet in the same book this author puts 30 Elites on a Pelican. The author also puts the pistol as more accurate and powerful then the assault rifle.

TFOR and FS do not make these mistakes.

max number of seats a Pelican has for troops is 12. They can fit in 15 if needed. As for the thirty Elites, I seem to recall Wellsey detecting heat signatures on the outside of the Pelican, so not all the Elites were crammed inside.

As for the pistol being more powerful & accurate than the AR, it's a 12.7 mm high-ex, semi-AP round against a 7.62 mm AP round. The 12.7's gonna have more stopping power, and the inclusion of a 2x optical scope into the pistol hints that it should be a bit more accurate than a fully automatic weapon.

[Black Admiral]

max number of seats a Pelican has for troops is 12. They can fit in 15 if needed. As for the thirty Elites, I seem to recall Wellsey detecting heat signatures on the outside of the Pelican, so not all the Elites were crammed inside.

No, the thermal signatures Wellsley detected were the Covenant dropships.

As far as the pistol being more powerful than the AR, I suspect that most of the pistol round's power comes from the explosive tip.

[Lancer]

max number of seats a Pelican has for troops is 12. They can fit in 15 if needed. As for the thirty Elites, I seem to recall Wellsey detecting heat signatures on the outside of the Pelican, so not all the Elites were crammed inside.

No, the thermal signatures Wellsley detected were the Covenant dropships.

yeah, your right on that one.

[Alyeska]

max number of seats a Pelican has for troops is 12. They can fit in 15 if needed. As for the thirty Elites, I seem to recall Wellsey detecting heat signatures on the outside of the Pelican, so not all the Elites were crammed inside.

The seat count comes from the game. In TF they fuck things up royaly. It was already established in TFOR that Pelican's are space worthy (which the game portrayed Pelican is NOT) and could carry 70+ children. They also have a single Pelican holding 27 Spartans heading for a mission on Reach. Yet in TF he says 15 but has 30 at one point.

As for the pistol being more powerful & accurate than the AR, it's a 12.7 mm high-ex, semi-AP round against a 7.62 mm AP round. The 12.7's gonna have more stopping power, and the inclusion of a 2x optical scope into the pistol hints that it should be a bit more accurate than a fully automatic weapon.

Look at the size of the barrel. Look at the size of the clip. This is not a .50 cal magnum. This is a standard .50cal auto round at best. It will not have the same stopping power of a 7.62mm round because the 7.62mm rounds have FAR more power in them. As for range. That is absolute bullshit. Given the size of the pistols barrel it will NOT be accurate any further out then 50 feet. The AR should have massively longer range as well as both stopping power and penetration.

[constantine]

Look at the size of the barrel. Look at the size of the clip. This is not a .50 cal magnum. This is a standard .50cal auto round at best. It will not have the same stopping power of a 7.62mm round because the 7.62mm rounds have FAR more power in them. As for range. That is absolute bullshit. Given the size of the pistols barrel it will NOT be accurate any further out then 50 feet. The AR should have massively longer range as well as both stopping power and penetration.

Coincidentally, in 'First Strike', the Spartans get new pistols that are 30% larger and longer (the barrel). They are magnums...in fact, Fred describes this pistol as definately being a high-caliber round - he notes that the slug is as big as his thumb.

[constantine]

Look at the size of the barrel. Look at the size of the clip. This is not a .50 cal magnum. This is a standard .50cal auto round at best. It will not have the same stopping power of a 7.62mm round because the 7.62mm rounds have FAR more power in them. As for range. That is absolute bullshit. Given the size of the pistols barrel it will NOT be accurate any further out then 50 feet. The AR should have massively longer range as well as both stopping power and penetration.

The M6D can fire Magnum rounds as well as the 12.7 mm rounds:

...M6D pistols - small but powerful handguns that fired .450 Magnum loads...

[TempestMagister]

The Pelican may only have 15 spaces available, there definately is enough room to carry 30 Spartans. The Pelicans from TFoR were pretty nerfed up though, having a 50mm chaingun on its chin, also having an emergency hatch, and carrying back-up thruster packs for space. From the game, we see it can carry a 96-ton Medium Tank. If it can do that, it can definately pack the transport area full until it can't fly anymore.

The Pelicans actually have a huge engine compared to the amount of cargo space it has. If you look at it during The Silent Cartographer from the side when it is dropping the Warthog, observe its size, and notice how much space is reserved for the fuel and engine. The thing may not have enough room, but it was probably built to be a fast and deployable transport, not a roomy one.

[Black Admiral]

From the game, we see it can carry a 96-ton Medium Tank. If it can do that, it can definately pack the transport area full until it can't fly anymore.

Nitpick: the Scorpion's only 66 tons.

[Alyeska]

Look at the size of the barrel. Look at the size of the clip. This is not a .50 cal magnum. This is a standard .50cal auto round at best. It will not have the same stopping power of a 7.62mm round because the 7.62mm rounds have FAR more power in them. As for range. That is absolute bullshit. Given the size of the pistols barrel it will NOT be accurate any further out then 50 feet. The AR should have massively longer range as well as both stopping power and penetration.

Coincidentally, in 'First Strike', the Spartans get new pistols that are 30% larger and longer (the barrel). They are magnums...in fact, Fred describes this pistol as definately being a high-caliber round - he notes that the slug is as big as his thumb.

Incorrect. In FS they get new Battle Rifles and SMGs.

[Alyeska]

Look at the size of the barrel. Look at the size of the clip. This is not a .50 cal magnum. This is a standard .50cal auto round at best. It will not have the same stopping power of a 7.62mm round because the 7.62mm rounds have FAR more power in them. As for range. That is absolute bullshit. Given the size of the pistols barrel it will NOT be accurate any further out then 50 feet. The AR should have massively longer range as well as both stopping power and penetration.

The M6D can fire Magnum rounds as well as the 12.7 mm rounds:

...M6D pistols - small but powerful handguns that fired .450 Magnum loads...

Even magnum .450 rounds are going to be less powerful then .30cal rounds.

[constantine]

Look at the size of the barrel. Look at the size of the clip. This is not a .50 cal magnum. This is a standard .50cal auto round at best. It will not have the same stopping power of a 7.62mm round because the 7.62mm rounds have FAR more power in them. As for range. That is absolute bullshit. Given the size of the pistols barrel it will NOT be accurate any further out then 50 feet. The AR should have massively longer range as well as both stopping power and penetration.

Coincidentally, in 'First Strike', the Spartans get new pistols that are 30% larger and longer (the barrel). They are magnums...in fact, Fred describes this pistol as definately being a high-caliber round - he notes that the slug is as big as his thumb.

Incorrect. In FS they get new Battle Rifles and SMGs.

Fred peered inside and saw a rack of handguns. They weren't the standard issue HE pistols; these had oversized barrels - easily 30 percent larger and longer - and they had grips of self-molding plastasteel. He picked one up and hefted it - its balance was barrel-heavy, to be expected from an unloaded pistol. He found three boxes of clips at the bottom of the locker, opened one, and took out a clip. Whatever this new handgun shot, it was high caliber, slugs the size of his thumb.

"Kelly, take point," Fred ordered. He grabbed two of the new magnum pistols, loaded them, and then tossed them to Kelly, along with three extra clips. "I guess you get to test these."
Kelly gazed at the new weapons and gave a low whistle.

[Alyeska]

Odd. I thought the book was sticking with the new Halo2 guns and I recall nothing on the new handguns.

Either way, thats more stupidity that a pistol is better then a rifle.

[Black Admiral]

Odd. I thought the book was sticking with the new Halo2 guns and I recall nothing on the new handguns.

Either way, thats more stupidity that a pistol is better then a rifle.

You do know that we have nothing suggesting the new pistols are better?

In fact, the only time I recall them being used, their performance is inferior to the battle rifle, and in the assault on the UH, the Spartans are using battle rifles (except Linda, who's using her S2 as normal).

Also, page 292 calls them submachine guns.

[Alyeska]

Odd. I thought the book was sticking with the new Halo2 guns and I recall nothing on the new handguns.

Either way, thats more stupidity that a pistol is better then a rifle.

You do know that we have nothing suggesting the new pistols are better?

In fact, the only time I recall them being used, their performance is inferior to the battle rifle, and in the assault on the UH, the Spartans are using battle rifles (except Linda, who's using her S2 as normal).

Also, page 292 calls them submachine guns.

Why use the pistols at all then? I guess I am still jaded by how Halo portrayed the pistol and how the idiot who wrote The Flood just sucked it right up and used the same crap in his writing.

[Black Admiral]

Why use the pistols at all then?

Higher ROF and probably easier to use in closed quarters than the BR.

I guess I am still jaded by how Halo portrayed the pistol and how the idiot who wrote The Flood just sucked it right up and used the same crap in his writing.

I got pissed off in The Flood because, after the Chief very nearly dying against one Elite in TfoR I wasn't expecting him to start dispatching them out of hand.