The human race suffered roughly 23 billion casualties in the war against the Covenant,
almost half the total population of the era. Yet of all those who died,
only a tiny fraction ever saw the faces of their killers. For all their senseless
butchery and disgusting acts carried out in the name of their collective faith,
the genocide pursued by the Covenant was larglely an impersonal one. Even in the era of peace that
followed, the Covenant are still overwhelmingly represented in the collective psyche of humanity,
not by the Prophets of the San'Shyuum, nor the warriors of the Sangheili, but by the fearsome
silhouettes of Covenant warships that for twenty-eight years tirelessly worked to burn
half of mankind alive. None were more effective in this role, than the CCS-class battlecruiser.
At 1782 meters long, 862 wide and 230 tall, with a mass of 90.7 million metric tons,
CCS class vessels dwarfed all but the largest of UNSC starships. Within the fleets of the
Covenant however, the class was intermediate in size; a multi-purpose vessel functioning as
the backbone of the greater armada. This made it the predominant warship operated by the Covenant,
supporting both the larger assault carriers as well as smaller destroyers and corvettes
within their naval forces. Though the UNSC considered the CCS-class a battlecruiser,
this designation did not entirely reflect the Covenant’s unique approach to warship designs.
While still not entirely understood, the class’s unique prefix code, “CCS” denoted its intended
purpose. CC ostensibly related to anti-starship warfare, while “S”, translated as “salvation”,
indicated the ability to conduct sustained orbital bombardment.
Unlike UNSC ship classes which followed rigid standardization,
Covenant shipmasters and fleetmasters were heavily involved in the construction of their vessels
and often demanded special customizations within this broader design pattern.
The end result was that due to advanced Covenant manufacturing methods a wide variety of subtly
different designs fell under the CCS nomenclature. The two most prominent variants were known as the
Ket and Elefen pattern, distinguished by the fin-like structures on their prows. Doctrinal
discrepancies aside, the CCS was a formidable class of warship; equally suited to ship to ship
combat, fleet actions, planetary assaults, or the plasma bombardment of enemy worlds.
Structurally, the CCS Class adhered to the same basic design elements that prevailed
across Covenant starships; a sleek spaceframe with sweeping contours,
salient bulbous sections, and an almost aquatic appearance. Its central teardrop
shaped hull provided housing to the ship’s primary fusion reactor, and gravity lift,
while a secondary reactor and advanced sensor suites were located in the elongated prow section.
Two “Gablien-pattern” repulsor engines dominated the vessel’s aft structure.
Propelled in conjunction with an “Ophon-pattern” drive core, the CCS class exhibited a great degree
of maneuverability for a vessel of its size. Covenant technology enabled the class to conduct
much more efficient slipspace jumps and with much greater precision. The CCS was also capable
of atmospheric flight, aided, it is believed, by the either two or four fin-like structures
located on the prow, which likely functioned as control surfaces.
While deviations were commonplace across the class, the standard armament of a CCS
consisted of a single Ignis-pattern plasma lance, located on the vessel’s dorsal hull,
supplemented by 16 “Serpens-pattern” plasma torpedo silos, 42 “sono-pattern” plasma cannons,
and 50 gon-pattern pulse lasers distributed across the breadth of the vessel. Such an array
of weaponry made the CCS class equally suited to long-range engagements or point-blank exchanges.
An additional “Profero-pattern” excavation beam was located on the vessel’s underside, and was
used almost exclusively in the bombardment, or “Glassing,” of terrestrial targets.
Defensive systems on the CCS were based around “Corvex-pattern” dispersal field generators. The
energy shields created by these generators were among the strongest observed on Covenant vessels,
with only a direct hit by Shiva-class nuclear missile or a higher caliber magnetic accelerator
cannon able to reliably penetrate them. Even these weapons would not always result in a kill however,
as the CCS was also equipped with nanolaminate armor plating.
To support planetary invasions and other terrestrial deployments, vessels of the class
routinely carried expeditionary units roughly equivalent to a UNSC brigade. The standard
complement of a CCS-Class battlecruiser was 180 Obedientaries, 2,500 warriors, 4,100 thralls,
44 “Shadow” personnel carriers, 48 “Wraith” mortar tanks, and 150 “Ghost” rapid attack vehicles.
These were ferried to battlefields and landing zones by 10 “Spirit” or “Phantom” dropships,
20 “Tick” boarding craft and 55 insertion pods. The air-wing of a CCS class was likewise based
around 50 Banshee attack craft, and 32 Seraph, or Tarasque strikecraft.
These aerospace craft could be divided between directly escorting the vessel itself
or assigned to provide support to landing forces as the situation dictated. Both the air-wing and
landing groups of a CCS could be deployed from its four bisected hangar bays, with two on either side
of the ship. Alternatively, when operating in atmospheric flight, the single, ventrally
mounted gravity lift could be used to ferry troops and supplies to a terrestrial surface.
For a vessel of such enormous size and capacity, the crew of a CCS Class was relatively small.
Supplemented by sophisticated automation and rudimentary AIs by UNSC standards,
the ship could be operated by 8 superiors, 2 biomechanical engineers, and 500 menials.
By the outbreak of the UNSC-Covenant war, the CCS-class had already been in the service of
the Covenant for centuries. It had spearheaded diplomatic efforts, exploratory missions and
military conquests, becoming the primary method of interstellar travel by the Covenant. It was among
the earliest vessels encountered by the UNSC, and immediately recognized as one of the most
dangerous types of warship within the Covenant fleet. So extensive were its capabilities,
that a single CCS could effectively overwhelm and conquer a frontier UNSC colony world.
For the entirety of its operational history against the UNSC,
the CCS-class enjoyed a marked advantage over even the most capable human-built warships.
During battles early in the war, such as the naval actions over Harvest and Arcadia in 2526,
CCS-class vessels inflicted severe damage against UNSC task forces, even when heavily outnumbered
or caught in unfavorable situations. Only in extenuating circumstances could
CCS vessels be destroyed, forcing a complete doctrinal shift on the part of the UNSC navy.
By 2552 the situation had barely changed, with CCS-class battlecruisers contributing
to the complete Covenant orbital supremacy over the last UNSC strongholds of Reach and Earth.
In the intervening time, the class had also acquired its infamous reputation,
with dozens and then hundreds of UNSC worlds completely glassed by its plasma weaponry.
The sight of these warships, looming over burning cities
and planets would be forever ingrained as the iconic image of the entire conflict.
Yet in spite of their ubiquity within Covenant armadas, UNSC knowledge of the class’
specifications and inner-workings remained limited until the Battle of Installation Zero Four.
As the Covenant worked to destroy UNSC remnants scattered across the ringworld,
some of those remnants, led by Spartan John 117 managed to board and briefly
capture a CCS Battlecruiser; the Truth and Reconciliation. The majority of the UNSC’s
knowledge of the class would be obtained in this brief but rewarding incident.
As the religiously driven “Great Schism” began to split the Covenant apart,
CCS Class Battlecruisers found themselves on both sides of the accelerating civil war. When the
Covenant ultimately disintegrated, the vessels quickly thereafter became prizes for aspirant
warlords, with many falling into the operation of independent Sangheili and Jiralhanae factions.
Some even came into the service of mercenary and scavenger groups,
who favored the minimal crew requirements of the class.
While still a formidable warship, the declining quality of post-Covenant crews and training
has severely impacted the effectiveness of surviving vessels in the post-war era.
The next-generation of UNSC warships also incorporates many technologies
formerly exclusive to the Covenant, finally achieving a relative parity.
Autumn-class heavy cruisers, the successor to the wartime Halcyon and Marathon classes that
all too often fell victim to the CCS, are now predicted to engage them with favorable odds.
Though the fearsome capabilities of the CCS Class Battlecruiser have now been largely overcome,
it will never shed the horrific distinction it bears as the weapon of war that murdered more of
humanity than any other in history. Yet it might also be most responsible for mankind’s salvation.
CCS Battlecruisers were present in the Fleet of Retribution, crewed by Sangheili warriors who
fought and died to finally end the slaughter, so that no more need journey into the howling dark.