Covenant Vehicles

The Covenant has proven time and time again of their superiority in battle. As such their vehicle armada makes them stand out as tough opponents when facing them in the battle field. Just like the UNSC vehicles, the Covenant have a wide variety of vehicles at their command, each having multiple varieties. To narrow this list, the basic and known vehicles will be listed here as well as a description.

#### **Wraith**

 The Type-58 Light Assault Gun Carriage (T-58 LAGC), nicknamed the *Wraith* by the United Nations Space Command, is a light mortar tank used by the Swords of Sanghelios and the various Covenant remnants for ground engagements. It is manufactured by Lodam Armory.
The Type-58 Light Assault Gun Carriage is a lighter and more nimble successor of the Type-26 "Wraith" Assault Gun Carriage. The Type-58 LAGC features a host of refinements and design elements that are of great interest to the Office of Naval Intelligence. The Wraith has a heavily armored front end that leads to the tank's high-mounted boosted gravity propulsion drive at the rear of the vehicle. Despite the vehicle's weight, its gravity propulsion drive allows for impressive bursts of speed and surprisingly agile maneuvers over most terrain.

The design of the Type-58 Wraith is based on ancient Sangheili designs that are cheaper and easier to manufacture than models (such as the Type-26) produced under the Covenant. The Type-58 Wraith incorporates advanced technologies that would have never been approved by the Covenant's San'Shyuum clerical authorities. The design dates back millennia to pre-Covenant Sangheili aesthetics. The Wraith's design closely resembles an animal indigenous to Sanghelios, a tradition common among Sangheili designs.

The Wraith is armed with a single 35cm directed-energy mortar, a heavy plasma weapon that can shatter heavily reinforced defenses from long distances while also proving quite effective in closer engagements, at least in the hands of a skilled operator. The plasma mortar is fitted at the rear of the tank. In addition, the vehicle is armed with one Directed-Energy Weapon Emplacement, a fully automatic plasma cannon that is used against encroaching hostiles that are too close to the vehicle to be in range of the mortar. The plasma cannon is most commonly located between the pilot's cabin and the mortar.

#### **Ghost**

The Type-54 Rapid Attack Vehicle, more commonly identified as the *Ghost* by the UNSC, is a standard reconnaissance and rapid attack vehicle in service with various Covenant remnant factions.

The Type-54 Rapid Attack Vehicle features a sleek biomimetic carapace and is integrated with the latest boosted-gravity drive components. This along with other improvements means the Type-54 RAV offers a greater level of protection and higher performance compared to the older Type-32 Rapid Attack Vehicle.

#### **Banshee**

The Type-54 Ground Support Aircraft, more commonly known as the *Banshee* by UNSC forces, is a standard ground assault aircraft in service with various Covenant remnant factions.

The Type-54 Ground Support Aircraft is the Hesduros-pattern variant of the Banshee combat flyer. Not restrained by the conservative San'Shyuum bureaucrats of the Covenant, the model features a design that harkens back to earlier Banshee models once used by the Sangheili on their homeworld, Sanghelios. The new model features numerous improvements, including energy shielding. Like the T-26B, the T-54 can be modified to operate in space.

#### **Revenant**

The Type-48 Light Assault Gun Carriage, more commonly known as the *Revenant*, is a Covenant Army craft that was utilized during the Fall of Reach.

The Revenant is a light infantry support vehicle with driving mechanics similar to those of the Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle. Historically it was designed to fill in the gap between the Type-32 and Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage, and while that role would be replaced at times by the Type-46 and Type-52 Infantry Support Vehicles, the Revenant was the most effective. Originating from an older, cruder Sangheili design, the Revenant is one of the few vehicles produced by Merchants of Qikost and is an example of Covenant private sector innovation. It is armed with a single Class-2 Plasma Mortar, essentially a down-scaled, less powerful version of the plasma mortar mounted on the Wraith. The Revenant is more agile than most vehicles and has the ability to boost, but provides little protection for its occupants. It can carry one passenger in a side seat.

#### **Spirit**

The Type-25 Troop Carrier (Covenant designation DX-class dropship), otherwise known as the *Spirit*, is a Covenant infantry and logistical transport craft.

The Spirit is a moderately large craft, similar in size to the Pelican dropship. Capable of powered flight and hovering, the dropship appears quite cumbersome and awkward to fly based on battlefield observations, but it has been known to reach speeds of 350 kilometers per hour while cruising and has a maximum speed of 1,099 km/h while in atmosphere. Spirits are angular, tuning fork shaped spacecraft with two parallel personnel bays along the exterior of each "prong." The Spirits are dedicated transports for infantry and vehicles. Each of these personnel bays has two doors that open and close vertically; however, they do not close fully and leave a small opening along the length of the bay. Between these extended personnel bays, an energy field fluctuates visibly as it generates the ship's anti-gravity propulsion (similar in appearance to the energy pulse of the "gravity lift" elevators the Covenant use to commute between the ground and the hovering ships). This same gravity-beam has been known to ferry Covenant vehicles, usually Ghosts, Wraiths and Shade turrets, or other small objects such as supply canisters for ground troops. As such it can only possess one defensive weapon, either a heavy plasma auto-cannon, or a light plasma mortar, beneath its main fuselage at a time.

While these dropships have life support for use in the vacuum of space, they do not have a Slipspace drive. In Halo: First Strike, a Spirit was modified with re-enforced metal so it could be launched out of a ship already in Slipspace. Even with this modification, the Spirit became severely damaged after the exit and was still unable to travel into Slipspace on its own accord.

#### **Phantom**

The Type-52 troop carrier, otherwise known as the *Phantom* or Type-52 TC, is a Covenant troop transport used primarily to deploy ground units and equipment swiftly and efficiently to the battlefield, while providing suppressive fire for Covenant forces.

The Phantom is the rough equivalent of the D77H-TCI and D77-TC Pelican Dropships in terms of function and performance, serving as a dedicated troop transport and gunship. The Phantom sports heavier armor and a deadlier arsenal compared to its lightly armed cousin, the Spirit Dropship, consisting of up to three defensive weapons that offer 360-degree defensive and offensive capabilities, and is capable of maneuvering effectively in all atmospheric conditions, including space.

The Phantom's crew consists of a pilot, a co-pilot, a navigator, and an operations officer in charge of the defensive plasma cannon(s). The Phantom can carry up to thirty passengers inside its troop bay. Troops are deployed from both the gravity lift installed in the bottom rear of the ship, and the ventral doors on either side of the troop bay. Like the Spirit dropship, the Phantom is also capable of carrying vehicles such as Ghosts and Wraiths, as well as essential equipment such as Deployable lookout towers, and Covenant supply cases using the four miniature gravity lifts mounted beneath it. The Phantom also has several weapon configurations that the gunship is able to be outfitted with, such as a fully rotational plasma cannon mounted on the front of the craft as well as side turrets or at times other cannons as well.(edited)

A specialized variant of the Phantom outfitted exclusively for space combat, known as the Phantom Gunboat, swaps its Type-52 Plasma Cannons for four plasma auto-turrets, and a chin-mounted heavy plasma cannon. The role of the Phantom is to transport Covenant troops and vehicles into a combat zone with speed and efficiency while providing covering fire for disembarking units. Phantoms were seen transporting units throughout the Covenant's invasions of Earth and Reach and had become a great hindrance to the UNSC forces during those conflicts as they attempted to repel the Covenant invaders. Their use across Forerunner Installations was also particularly devastating, especially to units which were not equipped with anti-vehicle weapons.

#### **Shadow**

The Type-29 Troop/Vehicle Transport, also known as the *Shadow*, is a Covenant heavy ground transport vehicle. The Shadow is a dedicated troop and vehicle transport machine of the Covenant, similar to the UNSC Warthog and the UNSC Elephant. As such, it is not an offensive vehicle, and due to its low speed, it can be characterised as slow and cumbersome. However, it possesses a powerful defensive plasma turret (similar to the Elephant's turret), which is used solely for defense. The vehicle itself can be easily outmaneuvered by smaller vehicles such as the Warthog or Ghost. Its heavy armor is its best defense against attack and is the reason for its slow speed.

The vehicle itself is almost always manned by a Sangheili driver and a gunner. Shadows encountered so far have been observed transporting one unmanned Ghost and therefore had a crew complement of only two. Infantry transport versions are typically able to carry approximately eight passengers, though the exact number varies depending on their species. Although the transport bay is exposed, it is unknown if these passengers could lend their own firepower to the Shadow's defense. In addition, whether this is a variant of the Shadow or not, they are capable of flight.

Shadows are the Covenant's main method of moving large numbers of troops around ground based battlefields. They have one driver, a gunner and up to eight occupants, depending on the species of the passengers. The Shadow's purpose have gained it the nickname of "Covenant Bus."

The Shadow also doubles as a small vehicle transporter and is outfitted to carry Ghosts the same way as the M312 would carry Mongooses. However, their main purpose is to deploy infantry; mainly Sangheili, Jiralhanae, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar; straight into the fight. For point defense, it is equipped with a heavy Type-29 Plasma Cannon.

Unlike the Shielded Plasma Cannon, this mounted plasma version seems to need a period of time to 'cycle up' to maximum firing rate (similar to the M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun on the Warthog). This maximum fire rate is superior to that of both the portable Plasma Cannon and the Shielded Plasma Cannon turret. It can lay down a torrent of plasma fire that is deadly to infantry and vehicles alike.

Through modding, one will find that the Shadow has the ability to boost, much like the Ghost and the Spectre. This can be seen without modding; Elite drivers will often boost when you catch up to them or when you are spotted by the gunner. The Shadow's boost gives it a hard time stopping after deployed for a few seconds.

The Shadow is a bulky, heavily armored vehicle and as such is able to take an immense amount of punishment, yet still move. The Shadow may endure multiple internal explosions that rock its entire chassis or lift it from the floor while under intense fire.

Therefore, it is advisable to focus all attentions on the driver of the Shadow. Often the gunner must be dealt with first, but due to the exposed nature of its position, this will pose little problem (the Shadow's gunner will fire at a slow rate, though if you hop in the gunner seat, the rate of fire is increased dramatically if you continue to fire over a period of time). The turret has the capable and comparable power of a Phantom's guns, but can shoot faster and at a greater rate and distance.

Once incapacitated, the Shadow will drop its load on the ground. Like all Covenant vehicles, the Shadow, once taken down, will experience a secondary detonation. This is by far the largest of all such critical damage reactions of any Covenant vehicle (excluding the Scarab), resulting in an immense explosion. The explosion has the ability to catapult the vehicle into the air, sometimes even culminating in a roll-over.

However, if you simply cannot take out the gunner, all you have to do is charge up to the very back and just fire while pushing against it. This way, you're inflicting heavy damage while avoiding the deadly turret, which can't hit you at this angle.

#### **Seraph**

The Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter (T-31 XMF), otherwise known as the *Seraph-class Starfighter*, is a widely used Covenant starfighter. The Seraph is the successor to the older Tarasque-class heavy fighter.

The Seraph features a teardrop-like design, fitting with the overall look of elegance the Covenant are known for. Seraph fighters are mostly stored in the hangar bays of Covenant ships or stations when they are not in battle or escorting a ship. Seraphs have two movable flaps on either side of their hull and their twin "tails" are articulated to aid with directing exhaust. These features give the Seraph superior turning capabilities in zero-gravity environments.

As the Covenant's main space-based attack fighter, the Seraph is highly maneuverable while in a vacuum and can easily keep pace with the UNSC's Sabres and Longswords. Though not specifically intended for in-atmospheric use, Seraphs still fly significantly faster than the Banshee while flying at low altitude. The Seraph also appears to be able to power down and become invisible to Human ship sensors.

Seraphs are very effective against Longsword-class Interceptors unless attacked from the side or behind. Seraphs usually attack in formations of ten. Their assaults on enemy ships range from simple harassment to all-out strafing attacks.

Seraphs primarily fire a heavy plasma cannon and are also armed with a pulse laser and plasma charges for strafing and bombing runs. Unlike the Banshee or Phantom, Seraphs are equipped with light energy shields.

#### **Scarab**

The Type-47 Ultra-Heavy Assault Platform, more commonly known as the *Scarab*, is a Covenant mobile mining platform adapted for use in combat.

Developed in an advanced construction site, Scarabs are mobile fortresses. The quadrupedal behemoths are typically deployed from low or medium orbit, or from high atmosphere. They are used to attack heavily-defended structures and emplacements and often lend quick, but unstoppable support to Covenant troops on the ground.

Scarabs are extremely powerful, possessing an exceptionally destructive plasma beam (mounted onto its "head"), as well as one or two dorsally-mounted anti-air cannons. Their "bodies" are massive and multi-leveled and posses four legs. Unlike most Covenant vehicles, Scarabs do not use anti-gravity propulsion to move. Scarabs instead walk using their massive legs, which are surprisingly swift and precise given their massive size. The legs can also be used to crush enemy forces on the ground.

Despite their enormous strength, however, Scarabs are quite vulnerable to being boarded; a Scarab's central core is protected only by the vehicle's external armor, so attacking the core is easy once an enemy boards the craft. A Scarab will also be temporarily stalled if its legs sustain enough damage, allowing a would-be boarder to simply jump into the vehicle's troop bay. To counter this, Scarabs typically carry squads of Unggoy and Kig-Yar, as well as some Jiralhanae and Sangheili.

Scarabs have been used in many battles during the Human-Covenant war, including the Fall of Reach, the Battle of Earth and the Battle of Installation 00, usually to deadly effect. Ways to destroy the core are to either throw a grenade or two at it then run away, or to melee it until the shields break and then shoot it.

### **CAA Siege Unit**

**Name**: Covenant Air Artillery

**Designation**: CAA Siege Unit

**Standard Cost**: 300,000 CR

**Production Time-line**: 6 days

**Manufacturer/Designer**: United Human Sangheili Liberation Front

**Advantages**:

-Three Heavy Mortar Cannons

-Heavy Armor

-Tremendous Range

-Portable

-Takes advantage of Covenant hover system

**Disadvantages**:

-Slow

-Weak shielding

-Large

-Susceptible to Air Attack

-Various weak spots on hull

-Only 2 in existence

-Requires multiple operators

-Too large to be deployed by a single Phantom

**Description**:

The CAA Siege Unit was developed from both human and Sangheili Forces of the United Human Sangheili Liberation front in the year of 2556. This heavy siege vehicle takes on the red hull the organization uses for all of its vehicles. Using covenant hover and shielding units as well as three heavy mortar cannons to create a similar effect to that of a Wraith tank except with more firepower and significantly more range and accuracy, presenting that of a portable plasma artillery platform. This vehicle has only just begun to be fielded in very limited scenarios as it is susceptible to air attacks and the rear is also very vulnerable once the shield is disabled. Said Shield can be disabled through the use of large amounts of small arms fire, tank shells, Rockets, etc. They require large amount of resources to build and more often than not where one of these are found there is a large enemy force somewhere close by.