Elysium-class heavy cruiser

The Elysium-class heavy cruiser, also frequently known as the Elysium-class command cruiser, was a class of heavy cruiser that was overshadowed by its close cousin the Marathon-class which was in many ways born of the Elysium. 
==History==
The origins of the Elysium-class stemmed from the initial design period of the Marathon-class and its efforts to supplant its predecessor, the Halcyon-class cruiser. 
After the trials of the UNSC Halcyon, both Reyes and McLees were disappointed to learn that the UNSC would only order eleven vessels. The admiralty cited that while the design was exceptionally durable, its high cost, slow speed and unacceptably weak weapons limited it to the role of a tank in fleet combat, even with its pitiful excuse of a command suite. While McLees addressed these critiques in the Halcyon's second block, of which the Navy would order a further thirty-nine vessels, Reyes made further modifications to her design. The prototype was vastly up-armed, given sixty-five additional missile pods and thirty-eight point-defence guns. As there would be far too few Halcyons produced, the communications array and sensor package were replaced with top-of-the-line models, and more powerful reactors gave it incredible endurance even in the heat of battle. The final upgrade would be from McLees himself, who redesigned the superstructure to allow it to take more hits while expanding the hangar. This improved model was christened the Elysium-class heavy cruiser, and while easier to construct it too would only enter a limited production run, although at 148 orders it was more successful than the Halcyon. 
Development on the design would halt for a time, as both McLees and Reyes pursued other projects. After reviewing the blueprints for the Valiant-class large cruiser, and upon noticing its mid and aft bore a striking resemblance to the Elysium, Reyes redesigned both ships into sections. By sharing superstructure and components, the Elysium could be made cheaper, constructed far more rapidly and could be given a more modular design. Despite this, there were differences in each class' superstructure; the Valiant was interlaced with internal plating, while the new Elysium block was made lighter and had space for hangars. The only drawback was that most of the weapons had to be stripped to streamline production. To further cut costs, the Elysium's expensive equipment and components were replaced with cheaper alternatives. The last change was that all point-defence guns were upgraded to more effective M910 point defence guns and it carried an additional MAC gun. All these changes made the new block easier to construct, cheaper and better suited the role of mainline cruiser - all reasons proving that the new design should be renamed. In 2513, the UNSC allowed the construction of a prototype for trials, christened the UNSC Marathon. The capabilities of the new cruiser had so impressed the admiralty that they almost cancelled orders for every other type of cruiser, as it could fulfil nearly every necessary role with equal effectiveness.
Despite its limited production run, the Elysium was popular among flag officers and frequently used as flagships. Its only drawback was its expensive price tag. While a superb ship it was complex to build and too expensive to be used en masse and was more suited as a command ship thanks to its advanced command-and-control features, sometimes giving it the designation of a command cruiser.
When the Human-Covenant War erupted, the Elysium-class were pushed into service at the head of UNSC battlegroups and fleets. The class’ lead ship, the UNSC Elysium, served as Admiral Sebastian T. Shelby’s flagship for until it was destroyed at the Battle of Midvale in 2526, after which it was replaced by the UNSC Valhalla. The UNSC Mobile Bay served as Admiral George E. Elliot’s flagship before the Battle of Hollow Point in 2535. 
Most Elysiums were destroyed during the Fall of the Outer Colonies but several survived till late in the war and were recalled to defend the Inner Colonies. They fought at battles of Ballast, Miridem, New Cartage, Alluvion, and Skopje. 
The last operational Elysium-class cruiser, the UNSC Lyonesse, was destroyed during the .
==Known Ships of the Line==
Elysium-class command cruiser	Elysium-class command cruiser 	Elysium-class command cruiser	Elysium-class command cruiser	Elysium-class command cruiser 	Elysium-class command cruiser	Elysium-class command cruiser
 Name  	 Hull Classification Symbol 	 Commissioned  	 Destroyed  	 Notes  	 	
Block I
The original prewar production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2520 and 2524. Assigned Hull code's CC-861/CC-880.	Block I
The original prewar production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2520 and 2524. Assigned Hull code's CC-861/CC-880.	Block I
The original prewar production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2520 and 2524. Assigned Hull code's CC-861/CC-880.	Block I
The original prewar production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2520 and 2524. Assigned Hull code's CC-861/CC-880.	Block I
The original prewar production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2520 and 2524. Assigned Hull code's CC-861/CC-880. 	Block I
The original prewar production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2520 and 2524. Assigned Hull code's CC-861/CC-880.	Block I
The original prewar production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2520 and 2524. Assigned Hull code's CC-861/CC-880.
UNSC Elysium 	CC-861 	March 14, 2520 	2526 	Flagship of Admiral Sebastian T. Shelby. Destroyed during the Battle of Midvale. 	 	
UNSC Asphodel 	CC-862 	April 3, 2520 	 	 	 	
UNSC Tartaros 	CC-863 	July 7, 2520 	 	 	 	
UNSC Camelot 	CC-866 	June 2, 2521 	 	 	 	
UNSC Valhalla 	CC-867 	August 14, 2521 	2528 	Second flagship of Admiral Sebastian T. Shelby. Destroyed during the Battle of Ross. 	 	
UNSC Lyonesse 	CC-869 	January 12, 2522 	2552 	Destroyed during the . 	 	
UNSC Jotunheim 	CC-871 	August 21, 2522 	 	 	 	
UNSC Hyperborea 	CC-872 	November 16, 2522 	 	 	 	
UNSC Shangri-La 	CC-873 	February 9, 2523 	 	 	 	
UNSC Themiscyra 	CC-874 	April 21, 2523 	 	 	 	
UNSC Avalon 	CC-875 	August 25, 2523 	 	 	 	
UNSC Atlantis 	CC-876 	December 11, 2523 	 	 	 	
UNSC Mount Olympus 	CC-877 	January 11, 2524 	 	 	 	
UNSC Eight Pillars 	CC-878 	May 7, 2524 	 	 	 	
UNSC Naraka 	CC-879 	September 13, 2524 	 	 	 	
UNSC Asgard 	CC-880 	October 30, 2524 	 	 	 	
Block II
The wartime production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2528 and 2533. Assigned Hull code's CC-01/CC-20.	Block II
The wartime production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2528 and 2533. Assigned Hull code's CC-01/CC-20.	Block II
The wartime production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2528 and 2533. Assigned Hull code's CC-01/CC-20.	Block II
The wartime production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2528 and 2533. Assigned Hull code's CC-01/CC-20.	Block II
The wartime production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2528 and 2533. Assigned Hull code's CC-01/CC-20. 	Block II
The wartime production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2528 and 2533. Assigned Hull code's CC-01/CC-20.	Block II
The wartime production batch of Elysium-class cruisers commissioned between 2528 and 2533. Assigned Hull code's CC-01/CC-20.
UNSC Victory 	CC-01 	October 26, 2528 	2529 	Lead ship of Block-II. Final flagship of Admiral Sebastian T. Shelby. Completed early due to use of surplus parts from UNSC Vinson Massif. Destroyed during the Battle of Thorney.	 	
UNSC Mobile Bay 	CC-05 	January 17, 2530 	2535 	Flagship of Admiral George Elliot. Destroyed during the Battle of Hollow Point. 	 	
==Trivia==
* Block-I Elysium's were named after mythological locations. Theme dropped for Block-II hulls.
Category:Cruiser classes
Category:Add Known
Category:UNSC Ship Classes