Commissioned in 2483, the Thermopylae-class were intended as a cheap transport for UNSC Marine Corps personnel, capable of ferrying up to a regiment at a time, deploying them in combat and supporting them to a limited extent. Though relatively poorly armed, it was able to ferry supplies and personnel to planetary theatres of combat via Albatross or Pelican dropship or, in rare instances, de-orbit itself to deploy itself onto the battlefield permanently as a command centre. They served effectively throughout Operation TREBUCHET, ferrying Marine Corps and Army personnel from Reach to the other troublespots throughout the Epsilon Eridani System, and would also serve in the other conflicts that would erupt afterward - 111 Tauri, Delta Pavonis, and Alpha Centauri. Given the nature of space warf