In Amber Clad

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The UNSC FFG-142 In Amber Clad is a large human spacecraft in the Halo series of video games and books. It is commanded by Lieutenant Commander Miranda Keyes, daughter of Jacob Keyes, who was captain of the cruiser Pillar of Autumn and the destroyer Iroquois.

The ship's classification is controversial. Halo: Ghosts of Onyx labels it as a destroyer, while "FFG-142" seems to designate it either a missile frigate or a frigate. Further adding to the controversy is the appearance of the Pillar of Autumn which is supposed to look like an elongated frigate according to Halo: The Fall of Reach, which states the appearance of a frigate.

On the other hand it is possible that In Amber Clad is either a new model of frigate that came into service that looks little like traditional frigates, or, the ship is not a true 'combat frigate' but something more along the lines of an Assault ship; a theory supported by the ship's relatively light anti-ship weapons load out and heavy troop component including ODST entry pods with ODST's, multiple Pelican drop ships and full atmospheric entry and flight capability.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 History of In Amber Clad
2 Vehicle Compliment
- 2.1 Air/space craft:
- 2.2 Ground Vehicles:

[edit] History of In Amber Clad

In 2552, when the Prophet of Regret attacked Earth with thirteen Battle Cruisers and two Assault carriers, In Amber Clad was docked at the Orbital MAC Platform Cairo above the city. After detonating a Covenant bomb on one of their own Assault Carriers, the Master Chief made rendezvous with the frigate as it headed for New Mombasa, the Covenant landing site. Commander Keyes deployed her troops into the city to stop the Covenant incursion and to make a ground attack on the landing carrier. Master Chief destroyed a contingent of Covenant ground forces, including a Scarab, and Commander Keyes then gathered her forces and followed Regret's Carrier through Slipspace. Despite their course being uncertain, In Amber Clad was able to enter the "slipspace rupture" created by Regret's Carrier.

When the ship emerged from Slipspace, the crew was amazed to see another Halo. The Master Chief was hard-dropped (using HEV landing pods to make an insertion) from In Amber Clad with a group of ODSTs to search and kill the Prophet of Regret, meanwhile Miranda Keyes, Sergeant Johnson, and some of her Marines left In Amber Clad to search for the Index. The frigate was taken by the Flood, presumably using captured transports. The Flood assimilated the remaining crew and flew the ship to High Charity, where it deployed Flood-controlled dropships all across the city. The ship crashed into a tower towards the perimeter of High Charity's interior and Cortana prepared to detonate its engines if necessary, to prevent the firing of Installation 05. The firing was prevented, so In Amber Clad was left "intact".