OUROBOROS Directive

The OUROBOROS Directive was the UNSC's plan to ensure the continuity of human civilization in the event Earth and the major human colonies fell to the Covenant. Formalized in 2541, when it became clear that the Human-Covenant War cannot be won, it outlined the main goals that needed to be achieved in order to make an exodus fleet viable.

The other major aspect of the project was the relocation of vital industries from Sol and Epsilon Eridani to star systems further away from the Covenant, along with decentralizing industrial production and the development of mobile shipyards and mining vessels. This included further surveys of outlying regions of the Human Sphere, including the Cygnus Verge.

While the end of the war provided a reprieve for humanity, it did not guarantee lasting peace. The efforts of Project OUROBOROS continued, though construction on the remaining arks slowed down, and eventually, with four arkships completed, the UNSC discontinued their construction indefinitely in 2564. The project's efforts to decentralize industry continued, however, and branched off to additional directions including the decision to make the UNSC command increasingly mobile as opposed to relying on fixed groundside facilities.

Project HORIZON
The best-funded and most tightly controlled project of OUROBOROS, HORIZON was a joint UNSC Navy-UEG development project which eventually led to the construction of the. Built in shipyards within the Sol system's asteroid belt, the arkships were to house thousands of densely-stored cryotubes and equipment for colonizing new worlds, with comparatively few "warm" crew. Additionally, they would contain various samples of Earth's ecology as well as libraries of most of human history and knowledge. In the event of imminent invasion, specifically-selected groups of people would be evacuated onto the arks and they would set off on an exodus into the void, with each traveling hundreds of light-years galactic spinward on random slipspace trajectories. Designed to operate independently for years, even decades, the arks were virtually self-sufficient but also sluggish, lightly armed and relied largely on a military escort for security. Seven arks were planned, though only two completed construction prior to the end of the Human-Covenant War.

Project GOFANNON
Administrated exclusively by the UEG's Department of Economics and Industry, Project GOFANNON was an attempt to transform some portion of humanity's remaining manufacturing industry into a portable form that could be taken with the migrating fleet. Working closely with major private corporations, GOFANNON would result in two main products that would be extensively used in the Post-Covenant War years.

The first product would be dubbed the "Portable and Rapid-Assembly Industrial Systems" (PRAIS). Championed by SinoViet Heavy Industry and, PRAIS stations were built around one of three modular frames that could accept all forms of pre-existing facilities on top of those built for their explicit use. While packed up for storage, their light and sturdy construction meant that they could be stacked against each other during transit, and they contained a Smart AI for rapid setups. Because SinoViet had been contracted with designing them, each PRAIS frame could be easily modified into a drydock.

The second line that was adopted was put forward by the Reyes-McLees Corporation. Rather than stations, they proposed a lineage of dedicated vessels built for each task, which would have the benefit of operating even while underway. As part of their efforts, they restarted production on a modified version of the, whose cavernous repair bays made it simple to install a sizable factory complex. In addition, large were introduced as hybrid fuel refining and mining ships. Numerous smaller industrial ships were produced to supplement these giants, where it was planned for them to operate in long-range 'industry groups' of similar number to UNSC battle groups. Altogether, 20 large logistics ships and 50 smaller ones were planned to be built in what would have been called the Gofannon Fleet. However, between limited dockyard space due to the Navy's overwhelming need for more ships, and the loss of vital manufacturing centers meant that this goal would not be met. Those that were built were moved into secret rally points in the Cygnus Verge prior to the Siege of Sol, and were vital assets in the UNSC's efforts to reclaim the Human Sphere in the aftermath of the Human-Covenant War.