Executioner

Executioners are an organisational order used by the Covenant. Once greatly respected by the Covenant, these warships have become steeped in dishonour.

Characteristics
While most, if not all, Covenant vessels have the ability to war, they have some utility that lies elsewhere, such as in exploration, escort, conversion, or occupation. Executioners, however, are pure warships, with no role or service beyond extinguishing the hated enemy of the Covenant. As dedicated warships, they are heavily, even exotically armed, and capable of savaging enemy ships far larger than themselves. But this ability for wanton destruction is seen as distasteful, as its inability to convert is seen as a hindrance on the Great Journey.

Crewed by exiles and outcasts, the disobedient and disloyal, these vessels are used for where the fighting is bloodiest, and gain few accolades. To serve on these ships is a stain of honour, and these vessels are often relegated to lonely expeditions and patrols, far from the Covenant. Some might say this is a political move: by making the Covenant's most powerful ships a dishonour, the Hierarchs were able to exile them from the core, decentralising the potential warships in the event of a Sangheili uprising.