Outer Haven

This article is about Liquid Ocelot's warship. You may be looking for part of Big Boss's ideology, or other uses of Outer Heaven.

Outer Haven was a Kerykeion-class^[1] submersible battleship. A modified version of an Arsenal Gear model, it was stolen from the Patriots by Liquid Ocelot, and later used as a base of operations for his private military company Outer Heaven.^[4]

History[]

Construction[]

Circa the early 2010s, the Patriots completed development of the Kerykeion-class vessel. The ship measured 640 meters long,^[2] its massive deck containing a series of bridges aligned like skyscrapers. The battleship's submersible capabilities and OctoCamo-clad hull, allowed the entire ship to be camouflaged.^[3] Powered by a molten metal cold fusion nuclear reactor, its top speed was reportedly over 40 knots (74 km/h).^[3]

Guns of the Patriots Incident[]

See also: Liquid Sun, Solid Sun, Third Sun, Twin Suns, Old Sun, and Naked Sin/Naked Son

Sometime after its completion, the battleship was stolen by Liquid Ocelot. He had the GW AI from the original Arsenal Gear installed on board, which had been recovered and repaired following the Big Shell Incident. Liquid named the ship Outer Haven, referencing its purpose as both a data haven, free from oversight by the Patriots' AI network, and the latest iteration of Big Boss's Outer Heaven. It was crewed by a full battalion of Haven Troopers, comprising the best of each of the five PMCs that made up the Outer Heaven mother company^[4], and was defended by numerous unmanned weapons, including Gekko, Dwarf Gekko and Metal Gear RAY units. In addition, Haven was protected by armored plates thick enough to stop shots from a 16 inch naval gun.

Snakemore — *Haven*'s hull displays the likenesses of Big Boss and *Les Enfants Terribles*, in the style of Mt. Rushmore.

Hiding Haven at the abandoned Shadow Moses Island, Liquid Ocelot arranged for a rail gun, recovered from the original Metal Gear REX, to be installed on the warship's bridge. After work had been completed, Liquid set Haven on a collision course with Shadow Moses' supply port, in order to crush Old Snake. However, Raiden used his cybernetic-enhanced strength to hold back Haven's bulk, allowing Snake time to escape, though Raiden was nearly crushed himself in the process. During this time, Haven featured a Mount Rushmore-esque sculpture at its helm, featuring the likenesses of Solidus Snake, Old Snake, Liquid Snake, and Big Boss, which was generated by the hull's OctoCamo.^[3]^[5] Haven then proceeded to intercept the JD satellite at its perigee above the Bering Sea, 494 nautical miles (915 km) south of the Bering Strait, while travelling at a speed of 33 knots (61km/h), enough to outrun the USS Missouri by 2 nautical miles per hour (3.7 km/h).^[6]

A few hours later, during a mission briefing on board the Missouri, Captain Mei Ling outlined the plan for a strike team to infiltrate Outer Haven, while the warship stopped to make launch preparations. A model of Haven served as the handle for Mei Ling's pointer stick, while a Missouri model was located on the pointer end. With Liquid intending to destroy JD, the Patriots' core AI, using a stealth nuclear warhead launched from the rail gun, Snake referred to the ship as "Liquid's very own Death Star," a reference to the Imperial moon-sized battle station of Star Wars.

MGS4 Missouri vs Haven — *Outer Haven* launches a missile attack against the USS *Missouri*.

Haven was boarded by a strike team consisting of Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, Johnny Sasaki, and Raiden. While the Missouri directly engaged Haven, Snake headed deeper inside the warship, where he battled and defeated BB Corps leader Screaming Mantis within the central control room. After successfully bypassing the hallway of microwave emitters, Snake and Otacon, via the Metal Gear Mk. III, uploaded the FOXALIVE worm cluster into GW. Unbeknownst to them, the worm had been designed to spread to JD and the other AIs on the Patriots' network, effectively deactivating the SOP System.

After Outer Haven and its mechanized army were disabled, Snake was confronted by Liquid Ocelot, who had dragged his body to Haven's tallest structure for one final battle. After a grueling fight, Ocelot, having his original psyche and personality restored, succumbed to the new strain of FOXDIE within Snake and died.

Areas[]

Outer Haven schematics.

Ship bow[]

The ship bow was the forward part of Outer Haven's hull. It possessed a movable canopy that retracted when surfacing to either launch a weapon or to offload troops. Beneath the canopy, there were various buildings, catwalks, pipes, ladders, and lifts. Because of its status as a submarine, it also had watertight doors with circular handles, one of which, the one farthest from the bow, led to an interior area that contained a lift inside.

Command center[]

The command center was the location where briefings were held. It contained a holographic globe at the center of a large amphitheater-esque area, with rows of desks with computer monitors.

Gfs 63080 2 18 — A missile hangar on board *Outer Haven*.

Missile hangar[]

The missile hangar was a long hallway that contained several rows of missiles. It had several catwalks between the areas.

Microwave tunnel[]

Main article: Microwave corridor

As a final safeguard against intruders trying to destroy GW, a tunnel was created that emits microwaves powerful enough to cook a human alive in seconds, although robots or cyborgs were immune to the radiation.

GW server room[]

Gwinside — The GW server room on board *Haven*.

This was the main server room for the reconstructed GW. It was filled with hundreds of computer monoliths surrounding GW, in a pattern reminiscent of tombstones at a graveyard. A holographic image of swaying white flowers was displayed before each "tombstone," similar to those growing at the real grave site of both The Boss and Big Boss.

Ship exterior[]

The dorsal (topside) surface featured the sail, a tower-like structure that served as an observation platform, entrance/exit point and, when underwater, a vertical stabilizer.

Behind the scenes[]

Outer Haven (アウター・ヘイブン, Autā Heibun^?) appears in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Battleship concept[]

MGS4 Outer Haven — Concept art of *Outer Haven*.

Art director Yoji Shinkawa envisioned the gigantic battleship with a whale in mind, conveying this idea to his mechanical designer Takayuki Yanase in the early stages of development, with both exchanging ideas several times until they settled on the final shape and finer details.^[7] Yanase's ideas included the stealth-like markings and solar panels on the exterior, along with the RAY storage housings.^[7]

The term kerykeion, the name of the ship class to which Haven belongs, is Greek for "herald's staff."^[1] It can also refer to the caduceus, a winged staff entwined by two serpents, carried by Hermes in Greek mythology, or the Roman Mercury. The caduceus is a recognized symbol of commerce and negotiation, and is often mistakenly used to represent medicine and medical practice, due to historical confusion with the similar appearing Rod of Asclepius (of which Liquid Snake had a tattoo).

Other appearances[]

Outer Haven is foreshadowed in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, during a Codec conversation between Solid Snake and Mei Ling, while fighting against Meta Knight. Snake mentions having seen the Halberd, stating that placing his face on the bow of the ship seemed narcissistic, to which Mei Ling reminded him that he had some narcissistic qualities.

Mgs risk 5 — The *Outer Haven* game piece in *Risk: Metal Gear Solid*.

Outer Haven is featured as a game piece/territory in the Risk board game Risk: Metal Gear Solid. Players who manage to gain the use of Haven would be able to travel around the map and even go to more remote landmasses (e.g., Australia).

Outer Haven later appeared in the Versus Battle feature on the series official website, where it competed for fan votes against the USS Missouri. The description of its weaknesses makes reference to the Death Star from Star Wars, pointing out that even a formidable vessel has vulnerabilities.

"STRENGTHS:
Liquid’s Badass Submersible Battleship
WEAKNESSES:
Even a “Death Star” is Vulnerable
FEATURED FACT:
Developed by the Patriots and stolen by Liquid Ocelot, it was heavily armed & featured octocamo and cold fusion reactors capable of 40 knots
FEATURED GAME:
METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION"

―Outer Haven data in Versus Battle

Gallery[]

Appearances[]

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Sources[]

Metal Gear Solid 4 Database ("Outer Haven")

Notes and references[]

^ ^a ^b ^c Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Kojima Productions (2008).
Outer Haven's classification is given in a projection slide during Mei Ling's briefing in Act 5, "Old Sun."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d http://metalgear.wikia.com/wiki/File:His_pic02_zoom.jpg
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Metal Gear Solid 4 Database, Kojima Productions (2008).
^ ^a ^b Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Kojima Productions (2008).
Act 5: Old Sun
Campbell: Snake, can you hear me? Liquid's warship - Outer Haven - is a modified version of an Arsenal Gear model stolen from the Patriots. Inside it's crawling with IRVING and other unmanned weapons. According to Naomi's data, Haven is crewed by a battalion of enhanced soldiers... Each culled from the best the PMCs have to offer.
^ This was implied in game by the OctoCamo sound effect being briefly heard as Outer Haven surfaces and displays the Snakemore protrusion, and is confirmed by the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database
^ Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Kojima Productions (2008).
Mei Ling: Haven is headed southward through the Pacific at a speed of 33 knots. The Missouri is falling behind at a rate of about two nautical miles every hour.
^ ^a ^b Metal Gear Solid 4 Master Art Works, SoftBank Creative (2009).