Eye of Kalmaras

"To think The Demiurge had something so terrifying just sitting in their backyard. In all likelihood, they probably hadn't finished it, and the loss of the Penumbra likely sped up the construction. The result is a ferocious Cerberus, guarding the gates of hell."

- Vice Admiral Ira Roberts

The dream of a fallen strategist, the Eye of Kalmaras was a strategic weapon originally devised by the Covenant, though realised and built by The Demiurge.

History
Originally designed by Khar 'Vilja, a strategist of the Ministry of Resolution. Devised at a time when the Covenant were encountering new races, and gripped by inner turmoil, it was designed as a holy lance to protect important core worlds of the Covenant. Using a deactivated or damaged Line Installation, and augmented by the far seeing eye of a chained god-machine or oracle, it could be used to fire on distant fleets or targets, not out of automatic reflex, but through the guided hand of a loyal Covenant officer. Ultimately, it was considered folly, and 'Vilja fell from grace over it, becoming maddened in an attempted to prove it worked.

And he did. He created a smaller scale version of the weapon, using an ancillary array, and mercenaries with little care for sacrilege. A single test fire was able to target the planet of Ghesthema, killing thousands. Despite its proven effectiveness, such a thing was seen as unforgivable, in construction, use, and deed. It was destroyed, along with its creator, and presumed gone forever. But such secrets rarely stay dead. A storage device containing the necessary plans and technology to create a full scale mechanism were spirited away, and found its way to the hands of the Demiurge, at this time still a secret organisation buried inside the Covenant.

When the Demiurge made their move and snatched an empire from the ruins of the Covenant, they brought with them those plans, and began earnest construction on it as a means of protecting their territory. Ultimately, as they took the offensive, such a weapon seemed unnecessary. It was not until the destruction of the Penumbra Of Castigation that work resumed, as the Demiurge soon realised war would come to their borders. Hastily finished, the weapon's only major substitute was changing the planned Forerunner AI, for a twisted cybernetic machine of their own creation.

The weapon became fully functional, and while developments of slipspace termination devices around major worlds prevented it's use as a long range terror weapon, it could still be used against minor, unprotected worlds, or used against fleets travelling in slipspace. Quickly becoming the biggest threat to Alliance operations, it was attacked, and disabled during Operation: LONE CLAW, where a combined UNSC and Sword aerial assault disabled the station. Damaged, but not destroyed, the station would not be reactivated for some time.