

A sophisticated system of supporting skeletons, a mix of internal and external plating, and emergency repair systems work together to expertly hold the ship together while under fire, and this configuration continued to remain unique even decades after the Halcyon's launch. Widely regarded as their sole meaning for existence, these cruisers became renowned for their durability. Specifications Armour and superstructure Nevertheless, the class would become an icon symbolizing durability, and would inspire the UNSC to adopt the similarly-shaped Autumn-class cruiser.

However, even these updated cruisers would take horrendous losses, ensuring that each Halcyon was deployed sparingly. As a result, they were pulled out of the dockyards and refitted up to modern standards, and proved to be one of the most powerful ships at the UNSC's disposal. They would be saved from certain scrapping with the arrival of the Covenant, with their complicated superstructure actually allowing them to survive far longer than their replacements against their quarry's exotic weaponry. Although some would be hastily retrofitted with more weapons and hangars in an attempt to increase their combat viability, by 2521 the entire class was reassigned into reserve fleets. The Halcyon would embark on a limited production run, with only fifty ever being built. Notable only for its unusually-strong honeycomb superstructure, the Halcyon's advantages would prove too limiting and it would be quickly replaced by its successor, the Marathon-class heavy cruiser. Originally shot down by the UNSC on the grounds for its lack of tactical viability, the Halcyon would be mocked for being the slowest, most underarmed and underpowered cruiser developed of the twenty-sixth century. The Halcyon-class cruiser ( hull classification symbol: C) was a distinguished class of light cruisers which saw service in the Insurrection and later the Human-Covenant War. Given those odds, I'm content with three.make that four kills." - Cortana, during the Battle of Installation 04. " A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon -class cruiser.

