Mother of Invention

Mother of Invention RT-636

"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

Mother of Invention 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 seasons 9 and 10.

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, an 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.

Gallery

Trivia

• The name "Mother of Invention" is a possible reference to the names of other frigates in the Halo Trilogy, 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 service number is RT 636, a reference to the address of Rooster Teeth Productions 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, plus 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 title 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.

See Also

Main article: Training Room