Mother of Invention

Mother of Invention
Statistics
Name:	Mother of Invention
First Appearance:	Rounding Error
Inhabitants:	Project Freelancer personnel
Status:	Abandoned

"Mother of Invention, we're inbound."

—Four Seven Niner

"We will have medical personnel waiting for you in the landing bay. Welcome home, Four-Seven-Niner."

—F.I.L.S.S. in Evacuation Plan

The Mother of Invention (RT-636) is the name of the Project Freelancer operated frigate first seen at the end of Evacuation Plan. The ship serves as the main setting for numerous events that occur during the Freelancer back-story in the Project Freelancer Saga.

Overview

The Mother of Invention in combat

The Mother of Invention appears to be an MCC (mobile command center) for Project Freelancer. It is armed with a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, which was used to provide support to a fleeing Echo-479 by destroying a pair of Longsword Interceptors.

The MAC cannon was used again in The Sarcophagus, firing at, and destroying, a 110-story building. It also has a launch bay capable of launching at least four Pelicans simultaneously and holding many more. Upon closer inspection, the Mother of Invention's lower bridge is composed of a large glass viewing platform, unlike regular UNSC Frigates. It seems the scoreboard that the Director and the Counselor use to rank the Freelancer agents is also positioned on this deck.

The Mother of Invention's interior.

The frigate also seems to have some battle experience, having engaged three Longsword fighters and the Staff of Charon, an Insurrectionist flagship. However, when the Staff of Charon peppered it with fire, the frigate retaliated by firing its port guns.

The Mother of Invention continued to serve as Project Freelancer's flagship until several of its agents went rogue and the ensuing battle sent the ship into chaos. With no one available to navigate the ship, the Mother of Invention veered out of control and crashed onto the icy canyons of Sidewinder. The Director, the Counselor, and the majority of the crew survived the crash, and the ship remained intact.

Areas

Due to being a major setting for many of the events of Project Freelancer during the Project Freelancer Saga, the Mother of Invention contains several areas; many of which are where important events take place.

Training Room

The Freelancer training room is an area in which the Freelancers test their skills in combat, spar with one another, and practice using their equipment. The room is notable for being the location where York obtained his eye injury.

Mess Hall

The Freelancer mess hall, first appearing in Oversight, is a cafeteria-like room where the Freelancers eat. The room is notable for being the location where York, North, and Wash discuss the Alpha A.I. in great detail.

Locker Room

The Freelancer locker room is an area where the Freelancers prepare for combat, load their weapons, or simply mingle. First appearing in Case File 01.045, the room is notable for being the location of many important events, such as Connecticut changing her name to C.T., Carolina obtaining the idea to ask for two A.I., Tex discovering C.T.'s Dog Tags, and Maine's transformation into the Meta.

Classroom

The Freelancer classroom is an area where the Freelancers sit through lectures conducted by the Counselor and the Director. The room is notable for being the location of where Sigma obtains the idea to gain metastability and where Tex discovers the Director's crimes and herself to be an A.I. program.

Medical Observatory

The Freelancer medical observatory, also known as "Recovery One", is an area in which the Freelancers are treated for wounds, injuries, or other physical problems. It is notable for being the location in which York obtained his eye surgery.

Medical Lab

The Freelancer medical lab is an area in which the Freelancers get implanted with their A.I. programs. First appearing in New and Improved, the lab is notable for being the location of the Epsilon incident, where Wash saw flashes of Allison and discovers the Director's crimes.

Bridge

The main bridge is an area where the Freelancers report to the Director before missions and are briefed on their objectives. First appearing in Realignment, the room is the location of where the Freelancers plan their heist to obtain the Sarcophagus.

Gallery

The first appearance of the Mother of Invention.

Mother of Invention fighting off the Staff of Charon.

Training Room

Mess Hall

Classroom

Medical Observatory

Medical Lab

Briefing Room

The wreckage of the Mother of Invention in the Season 15 trailer

Mother of Invention's logo from official merchandise

Trivia

• The name "Mother of Invention" is a possible reference to the names of other frigates in the Halo Series, like the Forward Unto Dawn, and the In Amber Clad.
• The name "Mother of Invention" is also a reference to the saying "Necessity is the mother of invention" which greatly reflects the Director's views on humanity as a whole. During the episode Familiar Feelings, Sarge nearly completed the phrase, until he was cut off by Donut.
• The Mother of Invention's hull classification symbol is RT-636, a reference to the old address of Rooster Teeth Productions at 636 Ralph Ablanedo Drive in Austin, Texas.
• In Season 9, the Mother of Invention was depicted as a Charon-class light frigate (from Halo 3), but in Season 10 it is depicted as a Paris-class heavy frigate (from Halo: Reach).
• In Season 9, the Mother of Invention uses its MAC gun to destroy two Longswords chasing the Freelancer Pelican. This seems to be a gross miscalculation of force and use, as MAC rounds are normally used to destroy cruisers or bases. In addition, a frigate is too slow to track a Longsword. Instead of using the MAC gun, the ship would've most likely used anti-aircraft weaponry. Later in the season it used its cannon to destroy the Insurrectionist tower. The destructive impact would most likely have deafened everyone on the roof at the time, and the resulting shockwave would have destroyed the city, rather than just the single targeted building.
  • One possible explanation for this is that the MAC cannon is capable of varying its energetic output (via the fact that, as its name suggests, it uses magnetic fields to accelerate projectiles), and is thus capable of using a "low output" burst rather than the fully charged MAC shots of Halo canon. This would also enable it to recharge much more quickly, partially explaining its ability to rapidly shoot down the Longsword fighters. To explain its ability to track such a small target would suggest the cannon sits on a limited-traverse gimbal, similar to a tank destroyer, eliminating the need to turn the whole ship to aim its cannon.
• In the Sins of a Solar Empire mod "Sins of the Prophets", there is a small chance that a Paris-class heavy frigate named "Mother of Invention" will spawn defending an uncaptured world. The ship boasts a powerful MAC that is strong enough to kill some classes of capital ships.
• In the creators' commentary of the Season 10 DVD, series creator and writer Burnie Burns confirmed that the Mother of Invention crash landed on Sidewinder, and was repurposed into the Freelancer Base that served as the final setting of Revelation, instead of being repaired and returned to space.
  • This however seems incongruous with the events of Season 15, where Dylan and Jax discover the Mother of Invention resting on sidewinder, still depicted as a wrecked ship rather than the facility seen in later seasons.
    • A possible explanation is that the Freelancers had repurposed one functioning area of the ship that wasn't either inoperable or buried in snow, and Dylan and Jax were on the opposite side of the ship.

See also

Main article: Training Room