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Achilles-class Attack Corvette
Ships in class: UNSC CCA-01941 commissioned Sep 1 2524/ UTWS CCA-10412 Diamond Edge commissioned Aug 2 2558
Size: 312m long
Crew: 50, (16 officers, 24 crew, 10 marines)
Power: Deuterium Nuclear Reactor
Hull: 22cm Titanium-A armor (Pre 2532), 13cm Titanium B-CPAP INDUTWEAVE (current)
Armament: 6 Mk 48 Self-Loading Asynchronous Linear-Induction Gauss Cannons (dorsal and ventral mounting points, A Flight),1 Mk66 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, 4 Mk 56 Self-Loading Asynchronous Linear Gauss Beams (B Flight 2532 onward)
12 Archer Missiles mounted in 2 pod launchers (replaced with Rapier anti-fighter missiles in 2530)
4 M910 Rampart Point Defense Guns
1 Pelican Dropship
Infantry Armory
First developed in 2523 as a light patrol vessel for use in the then-Outer Colonies of human space. The Achilles class of warships is very heavily armed for its original role. Seen as a firm hand on the shoulder of frontier world's when the presence of a UNSC frigate would have been seen as a needless expense, they would have been well traveled craft indeed. In 2525, the project was seen as too expensive, and not worthwhile to the Admiralty, when the faster and lightly armed and armored Mako class corvette-couriers could do the job at a third the price per unit.
Following the HIGHCOM bombings in 2526, however, the UNSC began a massive rearmament campaign, and based on the wisdom of Fleet Admiral Danforth Whitcomb, the Achilles class stayed in service, and an initial order of 500 of the patrol vessels and instigating General Order No. 60, stating that no UNSC Navy vessels patrolling the Outer Colonies would ever engage a Covenant ship alone, and that doing so would be a "suicidal and nearly traitorous action resulting almost invariably in the needless destruction of human life, property, and an increased risk in computer capture resulting in the exposure of other colonies to Covenant attack."
As such, each corvette on patrol duty almost invariably does so alongside another Achilles, and a frigate such as a Charon or Paris class.. The smaller vessels, lacking a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon system until their refit during the Covenant War, act as buffer ships engaging single Covenant ships using weakening and harassing fire from their ventral and dorsal gauss cannons, while the frigate attacks from a distance with its MAC gun. These wolfpack tactics were also utilized in larger engagements, such as the Battle of Psi Serpentis, the Slaughter of New Paris, and the complete victory at System's End.
To date, the Navy has not retired any of these small craft aside from those too damaged to continue the fight. Several have also been converted into Aardvark-class minelayers, and Whirlpool-class combat Prowlers.
In the 2240s, the improvement of personal defense technology throughout the fleet meant that all new ships were outfitted with Mk VI-AX124 Electromagnetic Field Generators for defense against energy based weapons. While these were not as effective as Covenant shields, they were capable of dispensing large EM waves, making plasma torpedoes and point defense lasers less effective.
The commanders and crew of these vessels have been labeled everything from brave to suicidal, as their weapons systems and tactics usually necessitate point-blank engagement distance of even the largest Covenant craft. Their vehicle bays can also be modified for the deployment of a single squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, Spartan Shock Units, Spartan Support Units, Helldiver "Reaper" Units, or the rapid drop of a single M808F Black Scorpion or M808G Gauss Scorpion Main Battle Tank and Main Siege Unit.
MA6 Individual Combat Weapons System
Ammunition Type: M198 5.68mm
Rate of Fire: 550 RPM
Weight: 8.2 lbs with integrated scope
The MA48 ICWS, formally known as the Individual Combat Weapon System, Caliber 5.68mm MA48, and the MA6 by the UTDC Marines and Navy, is a standard issue service rifle of the Terran Defense Command.
The MA48 was first introduced in 2528, and has remained the primary service rifle of all branches of the UTWC ever since. It is an air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed, fully-automatic conventional rifle that typically feeds from a 30 round magazine of 5.68mm ammunition. It possesses a built in ammunition indicator, and magnetic compass for orientation. It has a relatively low rate of fire, making it more effective at long ranges.
The MA48 was developed following input from units on the ground during the Siege of Harvest and sporadic battles in the Outer Colonies during the early years of the First Contact War. Covenant shield technology is now understood to have two major weaknesses. The first being that repeated impacts to the shield bubble prevents energy reserves from being utilized to restore the integrity of the EM bubble, and second, the shield bubble weakens in certain areas of high stress over the cover of an object. The MA48 takes advantage of these by utilizing solid rifle design with a longer barrel and firing a much smaller projective that produces less recoil on firing, allowing one to maintain shots on target in fully automatic firing. As such the MA48 is much more effective at taking down shielded targets than its predecessors the MA5 or XBR55 as the user can focus on the more thinly shielded areas of Covenant Elites such as the groin, armpits, and the heads of the large creatures.
Misarah has also developed a carbine variant; the MA6K, a heavy barreled squad-support variant, the MA6C, and an integrally suppressed special forces variant chambered in .300 caliber 7.62 ammunition referred to colloquially as ".300 Blackout" known as the MA6SK.
MJOLNIR Mark IVB:
Entered Service: 2526
The MJOLNIR Mark IVB Powered Assault Armor was the fourth of nine versions of the Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor. The suit was issued exclusively to SPARTAN-II commandos until the mid-war period, and was replaced by Mark V, and Mark V CENTURION armors in certain circumstances, though certain specialized units were utilizing the cheaper Mark IV well into the end of war period.
Created alongside the SPARTAN-II Program, the Mark IV Armor was a radical departure from previous UNSC Powered Armor designs, and utilized an independent power generation system, multilayer alloy construction, a gel-filled layer under a black bodysuit, and strength-multiplying microfilaments. It was a devastating tool to be used against the Insurrection. However, with the revelation of the Covenant threat to humanity in 2525, Dr. Halsey's budget shot through the roof, and in 2526 the armors were modified using technology from a secret codevelopment laboratory in Korea, delivering the Mark IVB variant which was issued to all SPARTAN-IIs in 2526, improvements included improved armor coatings to better protect against plasma weapons, active camouflage technology to better blend into the surroundings using photo-reactive sensors, and improved Independent Thruster Mobility Systems and integral melee weapons.
Some of the most famous battles of the Covenant War were conducted by SPARTAN-IIs wearing Mark IVB, but it was a precursor to the glory that would come later when they accessed their true potential in later generations. Today, in MJOLNIR GEN III, VIKING and ILIOS units could easily destroy and defeat the Mark IVB, but it was nonetheless an important protecting piece of humanity and shall be preserved in our history forever.
I'll be including interludes like this throughout the story, describing little pieces of technology in greater detail. What is the UTE? What does UTWS mean? Hmm...you'll have to wait and see.