CCS-class battlecruiser

The Apostle's Song-class contrite bellator, classified by the UNSC as the -class battlecruiser, is a Third-Rate Bellator, and one of the most successful lineages of warships to serve in the Covenant.

Role
The CCS-class battlecruiser's primary role is that of a generalist warship that can satisfy nearly every niche required by a given Covenant fleet. It is intended as a multifunctional tool that can be used in both fleet engagements and planetary assault, where it finely balances firepower, durability, speed, and troop-carrying capabilities. In a fleet, they are expected to combine the function of a destroyer with the screening capabilities of a small frigate. They can easily routing almost any smaller ship alone, save the Covenant's destroyers, as their weapons have the firerate, tracking, and accuracy to hit them repeatedly. They also carry the punch to damage a larger capital ship, but in a one-on-one action, the battlecruisers will lose this engagement. However, their best use is being substituted in for other, more specialized vessels. They have the minimal facilities needed to conduct excavations of Forerunner reliquaries and survey operations. They can also stand in for flagships if needed, where they are usually at the head of small flotillas.

When conducting planetary assault, the CCS carries a detachable gravity lift to allow it to quickly deploy large numbers of ground troops onto the surface. Once this is done, they take act as a command center for local ground campaigns, and provide support with naval artillery, fighters, and detailed sensor data to achieve a decisive advantage over their enemies. It is the lightest ship that is equipped with an excavation beam that can be used for widespread glassing of enemy worlds.

CCS-class battlecruisers also have uses in non-military applications. Usually they are tasked with ferrying VIP cargo throughout Covenant space, such as tributes confiscated from rebelling worlds. A handful of demilitarized cruisers have been used in the fabrication of megastructures such as worldships.

Protection
The CCS uses an extensive series of protective spaces within its hull, which are referred to as the ship's citadel. This immense structural element resembles a long spar that runs from the cruiser's midsection down to the aft section, and is responsible for protecting the cruiser's delicate primary systems from harm, such as its combat information center, its two powerplants, and the engines. It also encompasses the vital communications lines and power conduits needed for the ship's operation. To achieve this, it is reinforced with additional bracing and an internal armor belt, and this strengthening also offers the benefit of mitigating a potential weak point that could cause the cruiser to snap under damage. The citadel style found on these vessels was first innovated on the preceding RCS-class armoured cruisers. While it uses more modern materials and construction techniques for extra strength without the same weight, the introduction of energy shields means that it is proportionally smaller than on the older ships. As a result, far, far fewer systems are covered by the citadel.

Ket-pattern
The Ket-pattern is the newest model of battlecruiser adopted by the Ministries of Resolution and Preservation, having entered service as part of the Covenant's battlefleet modernisation during the Jiralhanae War of Conversion. Incredibly rugged and refined, they are rather balanced between speed, economy, durability, and operational range, although this approach has meant that the Ket isn't quite as powerful or as long-ranged as other patterns as other factors were preferred. Its plasma cannons, for example, fast to track and capable of laying down a constant thrashing of rapid-fire projectiles. This has made the class rather effective at defeating shields as a result. Nonetheless, as the most advanced vessels of their class, the Ket tends to find its home among those most favoured by the Prophets and the Ministry.

Eleben-pattern
thumb|left A much rarer - albeit still common - variant, the Eleben-pattern battlecruiser was a somewhat more cost-effective version that was favoured the Ministries of Preservation and Tranquility, although a number of smaller navies also managed to acquire these. These were somewhat shorter-ranged by the standards of the class, as they were designed to operate within the borders of the Holy Ecumene. Aside from their increased troop-carrying capabilities, the Eleben-class was immediately recognised for its two larger sensor vanes, which gave it superior detailed scanning capabilities at the cost of redundancy and tactical multitasking.

Firro-pattern
Although old in comparison to its two other common brethern, having been first introduced into the Covenant fleet around the 2150s, the Firro-pattern still sets the standard by which all warships are measured by. Manufactured by many dozens of shipyards across the Holy Ecumene, these are the single-most numerous vessels of their class in service, and are ton-for-ton still the most heavily-armed of the three most common battlecruiser design patterns in active production. Their distinguishing feature is their design as a missile boat, with an arsenal weighted towards plasma torpedoes rather than closer-in plasma cannons.