The UNSC Melpomène was a Hermes-class gunship operated by the UNSC Navy during the Galactic Era. Originally on station over the UNSC colony of Bifröst, it would receive an urgent dispatch from the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence to ferry Lieutenant Commander Karen Elizabeth Wakes from Asphodel Meadows to rendezvous with Task Force Phoenix, the flag task force of the UNSC Fifth Fleet, to bring Wakes aboard the UNSC Cydonia to clandestinely meet with Vice Admiral Carter.