Guardians are an organisational order used by the Covenant.

Characteristics

In the Covenant fleet, there is very little distinction between mobile space stations and smaller starships, so much so that the many ways they regulate their ministries' fleets also apply to their stations - the greatest of which are blessed with the Guardian classification. Dwarfing almost every other starship utilised by the empire, Guardians are the administrative and logistical hearts of their armed forces. They are part-habitat, part-naval base, and part insurmountable fortress. All are mobile enough to conduct interstellar travel, travelling to the hegemony's various worlds to bring temporary prosperity and collect taxed goods. Because they house an onboard civilian populations and can conduct trade, Guardians are classified as mobile civilian colonies and fall outside of the military's authority. As a result, only the Hierarchs can order them to support the operations of their armed forces, where they are positioned as forward naval bases and shipyards.