- "Unidentified Pelican dropship, this is Captain Mayers of the UNSC Tartarus responding to your distress signal. Come in, over."
- —Mayers trying to communicate with the Pelican in Prologue
The UNSC Tartarus was a large UNSC military prisoner transport ship once commanded by Captain Mayers before it was raided by Locus, Felix and the Space pirates. It makes its first appearance in Season 13.
Role in Plot[]
The prisoner bay.
On route to transport prisoners, the Tartarus comes across a lone Pelican out in space. The crew of the Tartarus allows it to land in their docking bay, where they discover the dropship's lone passenger: Felix. Felix quickly gains the crew's trust before he betrays and kills most of them, with Locus and the other space pirates raiding the cargo ship after Captain Mayers sounds the alarm. After the pirates kill the remaining crew members, they proceed to "recruit" the prisoners on board the ship, while purging those unwilling or unable to join their ranks out into deep space. One particular prisoner, former Counselor of Project Freelancer Aiden Price, gives Felix and Locus valuable information about Carolina and Wash and gains their trust. He then leads them to another prisoner who has a history with the Freelancers.
Later on, in You Better Watch Out, the ship is seen transporting the Space Pirates' reinforcements to battle the Blood Gulch Crew, New Republic, and Federal Army of Chorus at Crash Site Alpha. After the Chorus armies escape, the ship orbits around the planet and is utilized by the pirates as a mobile base, with the Counselor taking formal command. Soon after, the Tartarus flies over to Armonia, where several mercs drop down and launch an assault. After the attack fails when Doyle blows up the city's nuclear reactor, however, Locus and Felix fly the ship away in time from the explosion.
The UNSC Tartarus is later destroyed after Bitters, Jensen, Smith, Palomo, and Dr. Grey use the tractor beams at Crash Site Alpha to bring it down. The Tartarus was briefly taken over by Aiden Price moments before the tractor beams were activated. It crashed, destroying the Purge and indirectly saving the lives of Chorus' inhabitants.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The guards on the Tartarus wear uniforms that contain the symbol of Bungie's game "Marathon".
- The name, "Tartarus", could refer to either the hell-analogue of ancient Greek myth or the Brute Cheiftain from Halo 2 .
- The ship design appears to be original, not baring any resemblance to any of the ships from Halo.