DOR-class fleet carrier

The Veneric Pattern DOR (Denoted Ordained Reverence) Class Fleet Carrier was one of the largest purpose-built carriers built for the Covenant Navy. It evolved out of a desire to eclipse the limitations of the smaller, DDS Class Heavy Carrier, while providing the same fighter effectiveness of the larger CAS Class Assault Carrier.  The DOR was designed to surpass the former with regard to carrying capacity and superior survivability; as well as rival and at times even surpass the fighter capacity of the latter. Being constructed with experience learnt during the fight with humanity, the DOR is one of the newest ships to enter the Covenant only commissioned into service in 2535, 10 years after the start of the Human-Covenant War; and would go on to see limited use by both the Swords of Sangheili and other Covenant Remnants.
==Overview==
At over 4200 meters the DOR Class was only outclassed by the greater Assault Carriers and Supercarriers, however held proportionally equal star fighters; with some later variants even rivalling the capacity of the CAS. As a result, the DOR fits the role of the primary dedicated fleet carrier for Covenant Armadas. Throughout the Human-Covenant War, veritable lessons in design, technology and combat doctrine with humanity, proved the strategic vulnerability of Covenant vessels despite facing tactically inferior vessels. These lessons culminated in the draft of more purpose built ships with specific roles in mind. The only vessel of these new designs to be produced before the collapse of the Covenant in the wake of The Great Schism was the venerable DOR Class Fleet Carrier.
It is unknown as to the exact number of these warships, however their occurrences are uncommon and they are mostly kept in reserve whilst their fighters fill their primary offensive capabilities. When engaged, the DOR has proven to be one of the most resilient ships in the Covenants Arsenal, regularly intercepting Shiva Nuclear warheads and being able to resist ship-based MACs. Only the dreaded Super MAC (SMAC) have proven to be reliable in breaking their defences such as those found in Punic-class supercarriers and Orbital Defence Platforms. 
To the Covenant, the DOR was considered a posting holier only lessar to that of an Assault Carrier. They were revered as icons of the Covenant's adapting and changing technologies, that were have said to be outpacing humanities own development tenfold. Therefore, those entrusted with the brand new vessels were honored to consider themselves amongst the first ever to have commanded the vessels, which were though to have continued alongside their empire for all the way through The Great Journey. 
==Role==
The DOR Class was designed to function as an integral part of any Covenant Armada. As Fleet Carriers, the primary role for these vessels was to support before the engagement with prelimiary fleet reconnaissance, and provide fighter assets wherever they are needed in combat. Unlike the CAS class, which often found themselves in the frontline of space combat, the DOR was strategically reserved within the rear echelons of the fleet, therefore they gathered the distinction of being some of the safest ships in the Covenant. If needed, these ships could also act as independent forward scouts. Utilising the most advanced sensor suites the Covenant had available, their versatile role as both a fleet carrier and forward reconnaissance made them vitally important to Covenant fighting doctrine. It was often emphasised to sacrifice other more replaceable Covenant vessels such as the CCS-Class Battlecruiser in favor of saving a DOR.
==Operational History==
===First Sighting===
The history of the DOR Class in the Human-Covenant war is sparse and plagued with misinformation and lack of information. The UNSC first classified the vessel as a new ship type after the first DOR was identified when crossing a star halfway across the galaxy in 2535. It took several months to cycle the photograph as it was repeatedly mistaken for the ORS Class Heavy Cruiser as well as a CAS Class Assault Carrier. It was only several years after the war that humanity was able to verify the shape of these vessels as Vasili Pattern DORs, the first type produced into service by the Covenant.
=== The Battle of Jericho VII===
The first operational log in which the DOR Class participated in was the Battle of Jericho VII. The Covenant led by the DOR Magistrate of Subjugation was under the leadership of an Arbiter. Sent by the Prophet of Candor the Covenant fleet led an invasion force to the outerworld colony of Jericho VII. The Magistrate of Subjugation led the small covenant incursion force and quickly overann the colony which resulted in a two day stalemate between Spartans. The DOR was first engaged by the frigate UNSC Resolute, which briefly joined in a counter attack between a Naval Task Force of human ships including two older carriers. Both Orion Class Assault Carriers along with their escorts were quickly overwhelmed by Covenant forces. After retreating away from the main Covenant force the pair of carriers were swarmed by aircraft sent by the DOR, and the remaining UNSC fleet was eviscerated by air attacks by the Magistrate of Subjugation. Only the UNSC Resolute survived with a handful of spartans resulting in a Covenant Victory with notional losses.
Throughout the Human-Covenant war and through various different renditions and patterns, the DOR saw limited service with only the most powerful of fleets. The DOR was mostly relegated to launching and supporting fleets in the rear lines, prioritising its own safety away from any threats in large engagements. However, despite their more isolated role, instances of DOR Fleet Carriers being directly engaged by human forces proved catastrophic. 
Outcome: Covenant Victory 
Losses:
UNSC - 15 Ships
*x2 Orion Class Assault Carriers 'Spirit of the Damned', 'Hostalovak'
*x1 Marathon Class Heavy Cruiser 'Grognak'
*x6 Stalwart Class Frigates
* x6 Paris Class Frigates
Covenant - 0 Ships
*x75 Fighters
===Operation Falling Sky===
Operation Falling Sky, also known as The Battle of Canberra was the single largest fighter engagement of the entire Human-Covenant War. Task Force H, under the lead of the UNSC Lusitania by Vice Admiral R. Manabat, was an enormous Human Task Force; consisting of 2 Super Carriers, 4 Heavy Carriers, 10 Heavy Cruisers, 30 Light Cruisers and a reserve of 50 Frigates. Task Foce H defended the gas giant colony Canberra from fierce Covenant air incursions by the Fleet of Jubilation. A total of over 35-45,000 Covenant fighters were intercepted by Task Force H over the course of 2 consecutive days enduring continuous aerial siege. The Covenant in turn took with it a recorded 6,000 UNSC longswords, broadswords and even the several of the classified Sabre Class Starfighters; the largest loss of UNSC spacecraft in one battle. Additionally 28 Halcyon Class Cruisers, 5 Marathons Class Heavy Cruisers  and 4 Epoch Class Carriers were lost. UNSC Lusitania herself was forced to emergency crashland, bunkered on top of the surface of the city after sustaining damages from the DOR Class Fleet Carrier Order of Retribution's Plasma Lance. The Battle of Canberra was the defence of the gas planet of Canberra, the UNSC super colony was capitalizing a key mineral deposit which was harvested for the construction of shiva nuclear warheads and an assortment of experimental technologies, including examples of the SABRE program. Being in the planet's atmosphere the UNSC was forced to defend the city outside of space because of violent solar storms which covered the hostile atmosphere. The Covenant, led by The High Prophet of Obligation chose to rally his 2 CAS Class Assault carriers, 6 DOR Class Fleet Carriers, 2 DDS Class Heavy Carriers and dozens of escorting cruisers and destroyers outside of the planets atmosphere. The ships were positioned inside the gas being able to weather the conditions far stronger than their contemporary UNSC counterparts. Launching their fighters the carriers had been refitted to carry solely spacecraft, removing much of the interior space usually taken up for ground invasions and logistics. It was thus estimated that the accompanying fleet housed over 60,000 spacecraft, compared to the minimal 10,000 which the UNSC could barely conjure.
Canberra City lacked any formal defence structures, and no surrounding ODPS were available in the atmosphere. However fortunately  it was present to one of the largest stockpiles of commissioned and decommissioned UNSC fighters.  As well as an assortment of its own self defence fleet, composed of key Epoch class carriers, numbering 3 in total to supplement Task Force H to a total of 7. The entire first two days of the battle revolved around a constant stream of Covenant fighters and bombers being directly sent to engage the heavily fortified human colony. It was within these engagements that the majority of the fighter battles. The third day of the battle revealed devastating UNSC Losses, however the majority of the Covenant's fighters had been destroyed; depleting them of thousands of valuable pilots. In the atmosphere, raging solar storms and magnetic disturbances led to the CAS Class Assault Carrier Purgatory Judgment accidently ramming a nearby ship. She was disabled when its motions were detected by the UNSC Punic Class Supercarrier Graceful Storm, by a pair of dual SMACs. The Purgatory briefly fired its Infernus Heavy Super Heavy Excavation beam, immobilizing the Graceful Storm and causing it to crash into the planet after loosing its engine power. With Covenant fighter assets all but depleted, the UNSC attempted to salvage a counter attack by attacking the Retribution. The UNSC Lusitania fired its twin HMAC batteries, crippling the Purgatory of Judgment and forcing it to fall into the atmosphere. Several dozen missile barrages secured the ship's fate. The remaining Covenant forces spearheaded by the DOR Class Order of Retribution attempted to save the Assault Carrier, finally entering the planet's atmosphere. A brief skirmish ensued with the Order of Retribution disabling the UNSC Lusitania with a ray of Plasma Lances. This was not before the Thermopylae Class Supercarrier had directly destroyed 2 DDS Class Heavy Carriers with its Breakwater Heavy Naval Coilguns. The ship's captain ordered it to crashland into the city itself and continue to fight in the form of a giant unsinkable missile base. The Order of Retribution was swarmed by missiles from the Lusitania, sustaining moderate damages including several Shiva Nukes which penetrated its shields and marked its hull. The remaining UNSC Fleet took this opportunity to route and emergency slipspace. The UNSC Lusitania remained grounded and fought until the ship was eviscerated into nothing but powder dust in the wake of Covenant glassing. 
Outcome: Covenant Victory
Losses:
UNSC - 83 Ships
*x1 Punic Class Supercarrier 'Graceful Storm'
* x1 Thermopylae Class Supercarrier 'Lusitania'
*x2 Epoch Class Heavy Carrier 'Summer Days', 'Centurion'
*x3 Marathon Class Heavy Cruiser 'Hammer Strike', 'Heavy Anvil', 'Prejudice'
*x24 Halcyon Class Cruisers
*x20 Halberd Class Destroyers
*x25 Gladius Class Corvettes
*x4 Paris Class Heavy Frigates
*6,000 Fighters
Covenant - 3 Ships
*x1 Kerel Pattern CAS Class Assault Carrier 'Purgatory Judgement'
*x2 DDS Class Heavy Carrier 'Penalty of Judith', 'Silent Intrusion'
*Estimated 35,000-45,000 Fighters
==Layout (Veneric Pattern)==
=== Front Section ===
Borrowing the bulbous prow of the greater CAS Class Assault Carrier, the DOR Class’ nose shares many similarities and distinctive traits of its older cousin. Combat experience with UNSC ships provided design lessons of the various inefficiencies and liabilities that the CAS suffered from. The single largest flaw was the structural weakness that connected the ship together between it’s two distinct hulls. The CAS was designed to be able to dislock and operate both Front and Aft sections independently in the event of severe damages. This proved inadequate, as the design compromisations that enabled the detachment of both vessels proved to be more of a hindrance rather than asset. Of these compromises, was the distinct narrow ‘neck’ in the CAS which formed its hook shaped superstructure which conjoined the two sections. The DOR was designed to be more durable by having a much thicker connection and was built as a proper singular ship, rather than two conjoined vessels. This increase in volume around the neck nullified the established weakness of the CAS, with further added benefits such as increased carrying capacity despite having proportionally smaller dimensions. The ‘Forward Hanger’ ran along the top of the DOR’s neck and ran two adjacent corridors around 50 meters in diameter along the wall of the ship. These opened into three large protected hanger entrances either side, which allowed rapid deployment of various fighters ranging within the smaller craft of the ship such as banshees. The upper section was visually opened up, with a perceived distinction of armored layers separating the front between 3 separate pieces. In reality, this was more of an aesthetic choice rather than a design flaw, as layered underneath the again borrowed ‘cityscape’ structures prickled on the top of the ship, sat a varied layer of 5 to 10m of composite armor plating protecting the hanger. This cityscape also had the added benefit of predetonating most UNSC bombs and hard contact ammunitions such as missiles, which would destroy the unimportant outer layer whilst leaving the internal armor plates un-deformed. The front section tapered outward and connected toward the mid-section and underslung central hanger.
===Mid Section===
The mid-section of the Fleet Carrier was primarily the main body of launching, housing and recovering fighters. The Covenant reshaped the hull of Veneric Pattern to be more sonorous and aslant, in order to maximize internal volume. This also extended the 'wings' or wedges much further back, forming a cleaner and sharper overall profile. Extending this section further increased survivability by obscuring the sections of the less armored and more vulnerable undercarriage of the vessel. The main superstructure flared outward from the wings and extended to form the teardrop shape which was centered around the vessel's Sacred Forerunner Pinch Fusion Reactor, which sat directly above the Infernus II Pattern Superheavy excavation beam below the main armored body. The superstructure was raised and elevated compared to the CAS, and was the proportion of the ship which carried the most numerous number of visible hangers. 6 Separate sections of 6 hanger openings allowed the vessel to house 36 individual hanger openings in the mid superstructure alone, which formed the basis of the ships ‘primary hanger’. This was the second largest hanger of the ship, but due to maximising internal space it housed the most concentration of hanger space. This led the primary hangar to be the main hangar of storing and housing the majority of fighters.
Underneath the superstructure ran the enormous central hanger, which was conjoined to the undercarriage that connected the ship’s mid-section together. The central hanger compartment was the one of the single largest open hangers ever designed on a Covenant ship, meant to be on scale with the CSO Class Supercarrier hanger. The hangar had a diameter of up to 832 meters wide, and had side stacked ‘honeycomb launch racks’ up to 8 stacks high, each rack containing five banshees. This meant that a fully loaded DOR had the capacity of housing 800 banshees in its central hangar alone, with enough open space to house reserve fighters hung on the ceiling compartments by large ventral cranes. These cranes connected to a conveyor like system which could store individual fighters in a carousel. Each fighter could be lifted up and housed into a carousel which mainly comprised of banshees and other similarly sized craft. The carousels are never usually fully loaded, as it would unnecessarily concentrate reserve fighters in a non rapid deployment state, and the standard compliment of over 1300 fighters sufficed the Covenant in nearly any naval or ground support operations. The sheer open scale of the central hangar meant that the DOR could potentially be configured to house up to eight CRS-class Light Cruisers, or any equivalent number of smaller or larger Covenant vessels; although specialised refits would have to be underdone in order to house larger assets. In rows of two and stacked in a quad formation, the escorting light cruisers were usually deployed as a screening force in order to obscure the DOR from UNSC targeting arrays. They were usually not deployed unless the ship was already engaged in combat, to minimise the radar signatures of the DOR. After learning the effectiveness of MAC barrages, the frigates could also be ordered into formation in order to ‘block’ the fleet carrier. The effectiveness of this tactic was questionable, as even 'light' frigate grade MACs often passed straight through the screening CRS, whereupon it would carry momentum into the DOR. However, the effectiveness of the shells would still be mitigated to some degree. 
Whilst on the outset, the central hanger may look to be a colossal design failure, this could not be further from the truth. The central hanger was the most heavily shielded area of the ship, with both internal shielding to contain explosions inside from the ship’s primary fusion reactor as well as an overlapping ‘tiered shielding’ system which protected the main hangar entrance. On the edges of the central hanger, protrude four bulbous prows which extend outward and inward to point to each other. These prows are all separate auxiliary shield generators, which run on a completely independent and separate system from the rest of the ships main shields. Power is diverted from these mini pinch fusion cores to provide additional shield layering for the central hanger. This meant that in order to gain access to actually hitting the central hangar, both the main ship’s shields and all four separate auxiliary shield generators had to be destroyed. The only weapon capable of such a feat in a realistic scenario was once more the dreaded SMAC, but if a weapon of that magnitude fired upon the DOR then there was no point in extensively armouring the open section regardless; as a shell fired from the ODP could penetrate the ship wherever. Thus in order to save space and maximise fighter launch capability, the hangar was chosen to be open rather than closed.
Connecting the central hanger to the wings was the undercarriage, the main underslung body of the ship which protected and shielded the central hanger in up to 20 meters of composite nanolaminate armor. Another lesson learnt during the years of the Human-Covenant War was the over-reliance on shield based hanger seals. Many incidents occurred where part of a ship was disabled because the air tight shields were compromised, despite the vast proportion of the ship being unharmed. This was a vast contrast to UNSC ships, which had automatic steel sealed hanger doors. The DOR adopted the same basic sliding technology, which was itself sealed if ever the primary shielding was turned off. Connected to the central hanger and facing outward were 6 more enormous hanger entrances which could be configured in clusters of 4 individual entrances either side of the ship. The undercarriage also housed the dreaded Infernus II Pattern Superheavy Excavation Beam, the ships primary glassing and Forerunner artefact excavator.
===Rear Section===
The rear of the Veneric Pattern held the auxillary hanger of the ship , and housed the primary arc of Repulsor Engines. The design of the raised body was built in order to shield the three ventrally mounted gravity lifts. The majority of the ships requisitions and logistical systems stem from the rear section, as this was where new equipment, ammunition and fighters were brought in from the surface. These requisitions were held in a singular massive cargo bay, which ran parallel along the keel of the ship and connected directly to the central hanger. This allowed for the rapid transportation between both hangers, and elevators within the central hanger provided access to both wing hangers and the forward hanger. Thus, this section was considered 'redundant', at least more so than other critical components of the ship such as the armored superstructure which contained a large hanger deposit; because it was just a means of connecting the ships interior with the outside without disrupting the other 3 main hangers . Damage sustained to this area was more or less irrelevant to the overall combat fighting capability of the ship, as even the rear hanger despite its size was more used for recovery of fighters in order to ensure that all the other hangers were solely for the purposes of launching aircraft; significantly decreasing overall fighter launch times. The upper structure was mainly constructed in order to protect the under-housed repulsor engines located directly below the surface hanger, and it featured several bulging backup repulsor thrusters which could be activated in order to provide emergency speed or as a back up means of emergency propulsion.
==Design (Veneric Pattern)==
===Armament===
The armament of the DOR Class Fleet Carrier varied ostensibly between patterns, ranging in large degree depending on the potential energy that could be diverted to its weapons; as dictated by the shield strength and internal shield placements. The Veneric Pattern had an armament which surpassed that of the mainline frontier cruisers of the Covenant but was still underpowered compared to dedicated warships such as the ORS Class Heavy Cruiser. As with all Covenant Carriers, the DOR was equipped with the signature Luxor-Pattern Heavy Beam Emitter, different from a main plasma lance but equally deadly to UNSC ships. The overall frame of the ship was scattered and dispersed with 350 Pulse Laser Turrets, to provide an outer layer of personal defence against incoming UNSC missiles or spacecraft. The sheer volume of fire from these laser turrets alone often dissuaded smaller UNSC fleet formations from encountering the DOR, with only larger supercruisers or heavier carriers contending the DOR in an open return salvo engagement; where both sides would be expected to 'brawl' (exchange mutual fire). Even these rare and large vessels of the UNSC would be wary to contest the Fleet Carrier, as it often purely out-massed even the largest of UNSC flagships by a scale of 5. The more powerful Melusean and Sonon Pattern Plasma Turrets ensured that any prolonged engagement with the DOR would render substantial damage to the attacking human vessels. These much less numerous but immensely powerful plasma turrets were targeted for heavier direct combat engagements, and were situated alongside the front bulge of the ship's superstructure and cascaded alongside both of the wings in a symmetrical pattern. As a means of longer range engagements should UNSC vessels attempt to out-range the DOR, 11 batteries of Micitix Pattern Heavy Torpedoes added a deadly deterrence to both large capital ships and specifically smaller frigate types alike, a single salvo from these batteries often enough to overwhelm the defences of smaller wartime UNSC vessels. For excavation purposes, the DOR also contained a centrally housed, underslung Infernus II Pattern Superheavy Excavation Beam, a more efficient improvement of the CAS' own Infernus beam which allowed for the more equal distribution of the ships total power output.
===Embankment===
Specialising solely for carrier operations, the Veneric pattern retains one of the single largest fighter air arms of the entire Covenant fleet. The DOR Class usually retains the majority of its aircraft in two uniformed forms. the Seraph or the Banshee. These two aircraft proved to be highly effective in the form of their combat capacity balanced by the amount of space taken up in the hangars. The Covenant prioritised overwhelming quantities of these light multi-role air wings in order to simply outnumber UNSC fighters by a factor of usually more than 5 to 1. This ensured aerial superiority purely on the basis that whilst UNSC aircraft on average recorded more kills, there were simply too many Covenant fighters at a given battle for them to fully commit to an engagement. Therefore it was doctrine to ensure the greatest number of aircraft. The standard DOR fielded around 1000 fighters of varying size and capability, with the theoretical capability of at least housing 2000 or 3000 with the majority of aircraft 'boxed' (sheltered in a non operational state) and contained within the ships vast hangers. This was avoided, since it would make the DOR inefficient at operating such volumes of aircraft. Due to the limitations of effective coordination, the DOR tended to launch aircraft in separate waves to maximize air operations, rather than a single horde.
Compared to other more versatile Covenant vessels such as the CCS-Class Battlecruiser the DOR held proportionally far less ground support assets and overall ground atmosphere based vehicles. This was again representative of the specialised nature of the DOR, of that of a fleet carrier, and it solemnly ever engaged in a ground support role beside for the utilisation of its excavation beam for glassing or the operations of its fighters in atmosphere. Its assortment of ground assets could however in theory be rearranged to rival or even surpass the standard configuration of the CAS. If needed, the DOR at several points of the war acted as a landing ship platform, much like the role of the Assault Carrier. Of course, this would come at the sacrifice of its own air wing, using the capacity for ground assets. This however led the DOR to be much more vulnerable without its main offensive capabilities, and more or less mitigated its entire purpose of being a specialised fleet carrier, as ground support could be filled in by more numerous smaller Covenant vessels which could be more effective in supporting the overall effort. Therefore, the DOR was only relegated to this role if there were no fighters available, or the empty space was sufficient enough.
===Shielding===
The DOR class is plastered along its surface hexagonal patterns composed of layered tiered shield emitters. Much like other conventional Covenant vessels, the DOR retains impeccable shielding which is scaled to be a fraction of the total shield yield of the CAS Assault Carrier. The Veneric Pattern, though more survivable based on pure hull and interior design, is still greatly resilient to shape based MAC cannons and missiles through its shields alone. Even when overwhelmed by MAC barrages, the DOR's shields will still prematurely detonate nuclear warheads and other missiles further away from the ship as long as the shield emitters are operational. Only large gaping superstructure damages as caused by MAC shells are strong enough to directly pierce both through the shield layering and parts of the hull, disabling the shield emitters of that particular area creating a 'gap in the bubble'. This is commonly targeted by UNSC arrays in order to bypass shielding on Covenant vessels. The DOR is still susceptible to having shield holes opened up by MACs, however its durable exterior nanoplate armor proves even more resilient than the outer blue layered energy reflectors.
===Hull and Armor===
The DOR Class was the first Covenant Vessel to adopt the So'vengrad (All or Nothing) armor scheme. Traditional Covent vessels had layered armoring plates of veritable Nanolaminate which lined the entire surface of the vessel in uniformed thickness. Meaning that the given thickness of a Covenant ship's hull in one location generally reflected the overall thickness of the ship in all encompassing its hull. The DDS Class Heavy Carrier had an astonishing 30 meter layering of these plates, however due to their integration of masking large proportions of the hull, the DDS had a proportionally small interior. Furthermore, it was clear that in the vast majority of placements, 30 meters of armor proved over-sufficient and wasteful with regard to the ordinances that would be expected to be fired by UNSC vessels. Only defence grid SMACs could punch through the armored plating itself, but other vital components of the ship could still render it crippled; making the armor itself redundant. The So'vengrad armor scheme worked by compartmentalising and centralising the vast concentration of nanolaminate armouring to only the vital systems onboard. The majority of the ship's superstructure would be skinned in a layer of a minimum of 5 to at most 10 meters of nanolaminate armour. This level of armouring was still more than sufficient in mitigating internal damages to the ships systems, and the DOR was renowned for having shown vast gaping holes and gash marks where nuclear hellfire had charred the overall outer layer of the ship. On any other ship, these marks would be of considerable concern, however to a DOR these damages could be more or less amended by simply closing off the compartments and shielding them from the rest of the ship; effectively just creating a temporary hull to seal off the damaged sections of the ship. The majority of the armouring was concentrated in the ships armoured hangers, another innovation native to the DOR which comprised the second largest concentrations of nanolaminate armouring. The majority of the ship's internal reactor however was encased in an internal 'citadel' which had upwards of 10 to 30 meters of armouring. UNSC designs incorporated heavily armored sections of the ship which contained the most vital areas called magazines. The Covenant adapted this design philosophy and as a result saw not only a dynamic armouring system, but also a more economical solution toward solving the issues surrounding their deficiencies.
====Armoured Hangers====
The DOR Class is divided internally around four independent hangers. Each of these hangers were able to be completely sealed off from the rest of the ship, and was encased in an interior armour layer, forming a ‘shell’ like structure around each hanger. Lessons from the Human Covenant war proved the vulnerability of ships upon detonation of their internal hanger systems, a dozen or sometimes even a single placed MAC round would be enough to severely cripple or destroy Covenant vessels, due to internal detonations and ruptures within the hangar bays. The DOR integrated ‘armored hangers’, designed around compartments of the ship that were able to be cocooned in the event of a major malfunction or severe damage. Furthermore, a layer of internal shielding reinforced every corridor and every seal that vented into the hangers, preventing the spread of fires and toxic chemicals from the damaged compartments.  These were designed with ventral outtakes. Sealable entrances into the hangar that in theory could vent fires and explosions outward away from the center of the ship and back into open space.  In practise, these vents were usually never built large enough for the amount of damage that needed to be vented out. Often, large machinery and space vessels would be caught and trap the vents entirely, completely selling the hangers from the outside all together.
==Patterns==
===Vasili Pattern===
Much like contemporary Covenant ships, the DOR was incorporated in the form of multiple patterns or designs. These designs arose out of the streamline of the ship through production. The first production pattern, the Vasili Pattern resembled the later Veneric Pattern only in core dimensions and proportions. The largest differentiating factor was the obstructing flat superstructure head, which makes it easy to identify despite its rarity. Only a small handful of these vessels were constructed, and the Covenant have chosen to remain secretive in regards to disclosing the design specifications and parameters surrounding the Vasili Pattern. This class however was the only pattern to be armed with Covenant Plasma Lances. Due to this armament, these ships have only been displayed at extreme ranges, and the majority of these were supposedly converted into the later Vyerni Pattern. As a design to supersede the DDS and complement fleets of CASs with extended star fighting capabilities, the DOR proved to be very effective in the housing and deployment of various types of spacecraft. The ventral hanger inspired by the CAS however proved to be a fundamental flaw, as it lacked the protruding struts that mitigated the weakness on the Assault Carrier. Initially the ‘gate’ of the central hanger was only held by shield projectors, as it was believed that internally the hanger itself would be expected to operate in dead space atmospheres. However, this proved a deficiency because stray UNSC MAC rounds had the potential of completely mitigating the ships armored features by directly puncturing the central hanger shielding. This was the core component that illustrated the design plans for future patterns.
===Vyerni Pattern===
The second iteration, the Vyerni Pattern, was the streamlined upgrade of the original Vasili Pattern. The overarching difference was the reinforcement of the superstructure bulge.  Further upgrades came to the reshaping of various parts of the ship, including the addition of further armor plates and composite layers. The Vyerni Pattern sacrificed hanger deployment for further protection. Lacking the various ranges and levels of different launch bays in both the original and later patterns, The Vyerni was phased out of production after the Covenant decided that the trade off between armouring their carriers and maximising deployment speed needed to come to a more balanced equation. Survivability was the principle design doctrine when considering the layout of the Vyerni Pattern DOR. Everything from ammo supply, transportation and daily logistical systems of the ship was built in such a way to maximise survivability, even at the cost of effectiveness. This meant that the ship was designed to operate by sending large formations of aircraft away from the battlefield, mitigating the extended time to manage and load equipment and replenishing star fighters across the ship. Further emphasis was based around protecting the central hanger, replacing the hexagonal opening with giant protruding hanger struts as found in the CAS Assault Carrier. The purpose of these were to protect the hanger from incoming projectiles whilst being more efficient at directing the launch and landing of fighters. These proved effective at blocking incoming projectiles, however limited the deployment of smaller Covenant craft such as the CRS Class Light Frigate as found in previous patterns. 
===Venturi Pattern===
Among all the patterns and variations of the DOR, The Venturi Pattern was the rarest. Thought to have been developed after the Vyerni Pattern but before the final Veneric Pattern, the Venturi Pattern was a chronological upgrade on previous designs. The Venturi represented the effectiveness of coordinated UNSC Ambushes and nuclear mines, and a more conventional doctrine of Covenant ship designers to try to repurpose the DOR into a more versatile and rounded warship. Building on top of the existing frame of the Vyerni Pattern, the Venturi boasted increased nanoplate layering and extensive armor plate coverage. In place of the majority of its reserve capacity to ferry extended starfighter supply and spare parts, the Venturi adopted far heavier armament than of any of the previous patterns. In reality, the Venturi Pattern was a largely ineffective downgrade which made the ship's initial role of being a purpose built fleet carrier redundant.
Despite being extended to a length of 4,843 meters due to additional armored hulls extending both the bow and stern, the Venturi Pattern was still outmatched by the larger CAS Class in ship to ship engagements. As a balance to try to mitigate the DOR class' proportionally weaker shield yield (due to having significantly more hanger space rather than propulsion units), the Venturi Pattern modularly swapped out potential fleet support capacity in order to power the additional armaments and plasma torpedoes. In effect, this only had the result of diminishing the DOR's capacity to rival the CAS in fleet support capabilities, whilst still remaining inadequate to call itself equal in ship to ship combat. Only a handful of the already miniscule number of Vyerni Pattern ships were converted into the Venturi line, with most ship masters willingly declining the conversion in favor of keeping their strategic air arm. The most notable vessel of this type was the Order of Retribution, which was rebuilt as one of the first Vasili Patterns ever constructed. The Plasma Lance installed on her had been carried over during conversion, and she was the only vessel outside of the Vasili to wield plasma lances as a DOR Class Fleet Carrier.
===V'indari Pattern===
Easily mistaken for its successor, the V'indari Pattern represented the shift in Covenant design philosophy and the maturing of the DOR class' overall design. The most distinguishing feature was the reversion to the CAS Class Assault Carrier's prow, forming the iconic hook like shape before it tapered to the rest of the hull. Experience with the flatter prows of the Vasili, Vyerni and Venturi Patterns concluded the effectiveness of a more rounded shape as compared to a flatter face. It not only masked the ship with a more streamlined profile, but as a result it was also more space efficient as well as a stronger structure. By having an incremental angle, it subsequently formed a natural chance of greater deflection against the solid shell projectiles of the UNSC. Other design departures was the removal of the four large wing hangers, in retention of only 2. The ship however had ultimately more hangers by incorporating the larger superstructure as also a launching and landing area rather than just the main hanger. This increased the weight dramatically, by having more armour and shield concentration installed internally in order to retain the armoured hanger philosophy. The main role of the design changes on the V'indari Pattern was to break away from the role of Executioner toward the coveted rank Quaestors . Previously seen as a purpose built warship the addition of advances sensor suites and the evolving emphasis on reconnaissance and survey, placed the DOR in a position more worthy as these ships had been used by shipmasters to gather Forerunner Artefacts. Their role had also solidified themselves as a reserve vessel, rather than the frontline Venturi Pattern.
===Veneric Pattern===
The Veneric Pattern was the final chosen design of the DOR, and was the base template for further production models after their service. Introduced in the later stages of the war, the Veneric Pattern replaced all other patterns, and were mostly derived from the conversion from the Vyerni and V'indari Pattern of fleet carriers. The Veneric Pattern was the accumulation of refinement and procurement of Covenant ship development during the Human-Covenant War. It encompassed major design improvements over its predecessor the DDS Class Heavy Carrier, and was remarked for having an air wing complement which could challenge even the larger CAS Class Assault Carrier. This was possible because of the 'specialised' nature of the Veneric Pattern, with regard to ensuring that every asset on the ship was only geared toward improving fighter management efficiency. Further improvements in the storage and handling of the fighters led to vastly safer compartments, which prevented complete destruction should a critical part of the ship be breached. Retaining the V'indari Pattern's front bow closely resembling the appearance of the larger CAS, the Veneric Pattern borrowed many different schemes such as the extended bulbous prow and aft section hanger lip. The ship's own design was vastly more consolidated and denser than the CAS, being of a much more purposed design. Despite not being proficiently designed for ship to ship combat, the design's emphasis on survivability ensured that its armoring was highly effective, and by sheer mass and tonnage alone the Veneric Pattern DOR was almost as durable as its larger counterpart.
==Ships of the Line==
Name 	Pattern	Commissioned	Destroyed 	Notes
Cardinal Prosecutor 	Venturi	Unknown 	N/A 	Remained stationed in High Charity during the majority of the Human-Covenant War. Resisted the initial Flood outbreak aboard the ship. Retreated to try to contact The Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose. The fleet was destroyed before it arrived. Presumed abandoned by crew after a flood infestation, overturned to Flood and eventually was found in the hands of The Banished exploring the crash site. Status Unknown.
Order of Retribution 	Venturi	Unknown 	N/A 	Participated in the Fall of Reach outside of combat ranges. Sent Fighters to support glassing. Participated and damaged during The Battle of Canberra in 2550, sent to High Charity for repairs. Presumed captured or destroyed after the Great Schism.
Ordinator of Holy Pilgrimage	Veneric	Unknown 	November 2552	Captured by The Flood during the Fall of High Charity. Rammed an OAS Class Assault Carrier fleeing with several Prophets, destroying both vessels.
== Author's Note==
Several Images are attributed to PROJECT STARDUST. Please support this page by playing the game. 
File:DOR Reach.png|The DOR-Class Feet Carrier "Order of Reribution" illustrated during The Fall Of Reach, 2552.
File:DOR-Class Fleet Carrier Comparison.jpg|DOR-Class Fleet Carrier Pattern Chronological Comparison
File:Halo Capital Ship Scale Final.jpg|Halo Capital Ship Size Comparison Chart
File:DOR-class fleet carrier Thumbnail Final.png|DOR-Class Fleet Carrier Veneric Pattern Outline
File:DOR Banished Final .png|The Banished DOR Class "Cardinal Prosecutor"
Category:Covenant ships
Category:Covenant vehicles
Category:Carriers
Category:Carrier classes