UNSC Pillar of Autumn

## *Pillar of Autumn*

The UNSC *Pillar of Autumn* was a military cruiser used by the UNSC Navy. It was sometimes called the *Autumn* or the *Pillar*.

## Appearance

The *Pillar of Autumn* was presumably similar in appearance to all other *Halcyon*-class light cruisers. The *Pillar of Autumn* was effectively segmented into vaguely hexagonal sections, the aft was the largest and most hexagonal with the bow being the smallest and least hexagonal.

## History

In 2510 the *Pillar of Autumn* was launched from a Mars shipyard alongside her sister ships, the UNSC *Dawn Under Heaven* and UNSC *Toulouse*. They were originally created to fight the Insurrectionists seeking control over the Outer Colonies.

Sometime between 2510 and 2524 the *Halcyon*-class ships were pulled from service and put into long term storage. As tensions rose and the humans went to war with the Covenant, the ships were pulled out of retirement, refitted, and circulated back into service.

Despite the Human-Covenant War beginning in 2525, the *Pillar of Autumn* would not engage the Covenant until 2531 above Arcadia. It fought the battlecruisers; *CCS-U321* and *CCS-U624* alongside the UNSC *Texas*, the UNSC *Belfast*, and the UNSC *Armstrong*. Despite destroying *CCS-U321*, all present ships were either down or destroyed. The UNSC *Spirit of Fire* entered the Procyon System and with the *Pillar of Autumn*'s help, they began a ground assault. After these events, the *Pillar of Autumn* was put into long term storage with the other *Halcyon*-class ships.

In 2552, the humans declared the war unwinnable through military engagements and sought a new end to the war through Operation: RED FLAG. The artificial intelligence, Cortana, selected the *Pillar of Autumn* as the ship that should be responsible for this operation due to the *Halcyon*-class ships' high durability. Following it's selection it was upgraded with superior firepower and reactor.

The *Pillar of Autumn* was set to leave the system on August 30th but had to be recalled to Reach on account of an incoming Covenant assault. Despite numerous Covenant ships over Reach which would suffice, none of them would give the *Pillar of Autumn* a chance to launch Operation: RED FLAG. The *Pillar of Autumn* was severely damaged in the fight by a Covenant "sniper ship" but was able to not only survive but destroy the enemy ship, an incredible feat by any UNSC ship. The two Spartan-II teams that had been sent out to assist in the defense of Reach were entirely killed save for John-117. The *Pillar of Autumn* was able to secure him, one of the dead Spartans from his team and a number of marines before escaping the doomed Reach.

As per the Cole Protocol, the *Pillar of Autumn* was supposed to make a random slip-space jump but Cortana guided her to Installation 04, alerting the Covenant of their intended target location. As a result, the Covenant were waiting there for the *Pillar of Autumn* when it arrived. It was ordered to be boarded instead of fired upon so as to not accidentally hit Installation 04 but was nevertheless simultaneously fired upon. This forced the *Pillar of Autumn* to crash down on the ring's (Installation 04) surface.

Following the release of the Flood which had been safeguarded on the ring, the Monitor, 343 Guilty Spark initiated the protocol for when the Flood escaped confinement. Given that this protocol would kill all life in the Milky Way, John-117 decided to blow up the *Pillar of Autumn*'s still active reactors and destroy the ring.

## Technical Information

### Armaments

The original armament outfit for the *Pillar of Autumn* included only a standard MAC Gun and six Archer missile pods. Over the course of it's two refits, it also received; a Mark II Light Coil, 32 M58 Archer missile pods, four Shiva-class nuclear missiles, 18 M910 point defense guns, eight Mark 33 Spitfire naval coilgun batteries and six M66 Sentry autoturrets.

### Propulsion System

The original *Halcyon*-class ships were outfitted with three Mark II Hanley-Messer reactors which allowed only 10% of the thrust capabilities possible in 2552. The *Pillar of Autumn* however had been refitted and was given two Starfire-IV fusion rockets.

### Navigation System

Navigation is typically performed by the ship's onboard A.I. In the case of the *Pillar of Autumn* this was done by Cortana. The *Pillar of Autumn* has a stellar cartography station but it's purpose seems to be more for demonstration purposes.

### Communication System

Nothing is particularly stated about the communications systems of the *Pillar of Autumn* so it is not known what it is capable of.

### Targeting System

Nothing is particularly stated about the targeting system of the the *Pillar of Autumn* either, although it seems as though a position is possibly filled to handle control of the weapons.

### Sensor System

The *Pillar of Autumn*'s sensors are capable of detecting ships anywhere in the system.

Upon arriving at Installation 04 they confirmed that the Covenant were hiding on the other side of a planet. With this is mind it is uncertain whether this maneuver would hide them from longer range scans from outside the system or if it is a simple matter of cover.

## Appearances

* ***Halo: Combat Evolved***
* ***Halo: The Flood***
* ***Halo: First Strike***
* ***Halo 2*** (Flashback)
* ***Halo Wars: Genesis***
* ***Halo Wars***
* ***Halo Legends***
* ***Halo: Evolutions***
* ***Halo: Reach***
* ***Halo: Fall of Reach***
* ***Halo: Combat Evolved Anniersary***
* ***Halo 2 Anniversary*** (Flashback)
* ***Halo: Fleet Battles***
* ***Halo 5: Guardians*** (Hologram)
* ***Halo: Warfleet - An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo***
* ***Halo Mythos***
* ***Halo: Fireteam Raven***
* ***Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual***

## Trivia

* The *Pillar of Autumn*'s design was originally based off the MA5B assault rifle.
* Despite appearing in *Halo: Fall of Reach*, that description of it is vastly different, describing multiple aspects of the *Pillar of Autumn* incorrectly.
* The ship is described as being 1.17km long in reference to John-117