UNSC Southern Cross

"Magnitudo animi constantiam spirat."

- Ship motto

The UNSC Endeavor (hull code: DD-347) is a venerable Beagle-class assault destroyer, and one of two ships to have participated in the Harvest Campaign and the Siege of Sol. The latest in a lineage that hailed back to the seventeenth century, the Endeavor is one of thirty-five destroyers built to trial the installation of state-of-the-art hangar facilities on light-tonnage warships. While still possessing two full-sized fusion reactors, a relatively-high acceleration and as thick a hull as the baseline class, its armaments were lacking thanks to the removal of several Archer missile pods and the down-scaling of its Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. Despite these significant drawbacks, it remained a solid vessel which outlived the sisters it was built alongside.

Design
Like all Beagle-class destroyers, the UNSC Endeavour shares most of its hull and superstructure design with the Halberd-class destroyer. At 480 metres in length, it was only five metres shorter than the design it was based on. Past its arrowhead bow, the differences are minimal. This mainly involved replacing certain areas of the hull with 0.4 metres of durasteel armor, which sacrificed protection for speed, as well as a number of keel-mounted thrusters to hold it up while operating in a planet's atmosphere. The bow is slightly different, with a larger hangar bay that is half-again as large as on its more common counterparts, and a smaller upper hull. The hangar is divided into two sections; a long flight deck that is located on the upper floor, and a general-purpose bay that accommodated both dropships and ground vehicles on the lower one. Both decks use different airlocks, so they can launch and receive different squadrons at the same time. However, only aircraft entering the front hangar door can benefit from the advanced gravitic breaking system. The upper plate on the bow that ran between the raised plates of titanium-A battleplate is unusual in that had a series of automated elevators and armatures that could rearm and refuel up to three space fighters in the middle of battle. Intended as a forward-thinking feature, it was hoped that the UNSC would introduce a smaller interceptor model to take advantage of it. No such aircraft would ever reach the light of day, so the system lies unused. In homage to its maritime namesakes, the Endeavor is often seen sporting red-or-blue war paint resembling waves on its bow and wings.

In terms of armament, the UNSC Endeavor's original ship-to-ship armament consisted of two Series-2, light coil MACs. The Series-2 MACs were intended for use on corvettes, and fired far smaller slugs in exchange for higher speed and quicker recharge times. Backing this up were 18 M58 Archer missile pods, each with five silos. These were general-purpose missile pods that are effective against other ships, but could also be used against larger gunships and space fighters if necessary. They could also carry a vast assortment of warheads, with armor-piercing and counter-shielding being the most popular. It lacks the M870 Rampart emplacements, and in their place are eight M37 Suppressor turrets, each with twin-linked 279mm naval autocannons. They could be used for defeating missiles, but they were intended for use against other ships and space fighters. Instead, 19 M710 20mm turrets were installed for this purpose. For use against far slower and heavier opponents, two M81273 fusion rockets were embarked, each with a variable payload. Like on regular Halberd-class destroyers, a Mark 45 fire director was used to vastly increase its accuracy at extended ranges of 50 kilometers or more.

Refits
As a former CMA warship, the Endeavor was typically initially passed over by UNSC officials when it came to upgrades, with any improvements made coming from reclaimed parts that belonged to scrapped vessels. This was partly fueled by their disapproval in combining the roles of destroyer and transport, as it was not able to fulfill either role as well as many other vessels already in service. However, as it continued to survive engagements with the Covenant, refits were eventually authorized that steadily built upon its capabilities, with these often being implemented between large-scale repairs.

By 2532, the Endeavor had received a small suite of improvements, as five years of constant action would obviously cause severe wear on its systems. While most of its systems replacements were minor and hardly affected its performance, with its powerplant, electronics, and even its superstructure being modified to some capacity, two significant changes were made. The first was the installation of a TN-91sy/n Triad targeting suite taken from the, an older computer network that allowed for better coordination of nearby Archer missile swarms and plotted more accurate fire from its naval autocannon battery. The second was a controversial array of radiators at exposed parts of the ship, which while it enabled the Endeavor to overclock its reactor and engines well above their designed limits, left holes in its armor that was never fully addressed over its lifespan. The only other noteworthy change was the increased complement of point defense guns, in a desperate attempt to better protect it from plasma torpedoes and the unexpectedly-resilient Covenant strikecraft. Because the shipwrights had to rely on whatever weapons were available, it was not composed of one homogeneous type of turret, including others such as the M810 Helix and various models of Rampart guns.

In 2532, after suffering extensive damage following the Battle of Boundary, the Endeavor limped to the regional shipyards of Passage, where she underwent its first major refit. This was an expansive affair, involving the modification of vital internal equipment, the movement or mutation of its armor and hull, and the removal of dozens of makeshift repairs made over the last seven years. Most prominently, its forward bow was angled downwards and expanded in size, originally to allow for the installation of a third MAC. However, high demand for such weapons saw the space being given over to supercapacitors, munition storage, and more accommodations for Marines and pilots.