Heavenly Oath-class defense station

The Heavenly Oath-class defense station, classified by the UNSC as the CDX-class battlestation, is a small orbital defense platform that saw service with the Covenant.

Design features
The Heavenly Oath-class defense station is a very martial installation, designed to secure any of the Covenant's newest holdings from any moderately-sized fleet. It is well-protected, with strong shields and a diverse armament that ensures it can counter a wide variety of hostiles. Four berths for Attack Ships, and a hangar capable of accommodating 48 strikecraft round out its defenses. To ensure it cannot be bypassed, they include a slipspace shunt, a recently-rediscovered technology that forces any unauthorized ship in its proximity back into realspace.

The Heavenly Oath 's most useful quality is that it can be quickly sent from a shipyard and be deployed immediately, with very little time needed to make them operational. Their streamlined, donut-shaped core section can be broken down into four smaller pieces that can be towed by most freighters and Procurators, while offering plenty of room for field modifications. The hole in the center can be adapted into a small assembly forge for repair work, a tether for a gravity elevator that runs down to a planet's surface, and a hunting dome with equal speed. A wide variety of other modules can be shipped to bolster their basic capabilities, with the most common being platforms for 16 Jaet-pattern plasma torpedoes.

Although useful, the various systems of these stations are heavily-reliant on regular deliveries of fuel, which must be sent either by freighter or up from planetside facilities. If these are delayed or disrupted by enemy interdiction, or are otherwise not stockpiled ahead of time, then they will quickly fall to any prolonged siege. They are also not very popular postings, with little in the way of crew amenities thanks to their skeletal design.

History
Heavenly Oath defense stations are a new addition to the Covenant Ministry arsenal, having only been introduced during the Human-Covenant War. While even a small flotilla was enough to wipe away most battle groups the UNSC Navy could put together, raids by frigate wolfpacks and prowlers destroyed the vital logistical support they needed to advance deeper into the Human Sphere. And after the loss of Zhoist in 2526, it became evident why the Covenant needed to secure the slipspace routes they traveled on.