The Hermes-class signal relay ship was an auxiliary vessel class in service with the UNSC Navy. The sole purpose of the Hermes-class was to relay electronic communications between UNSC colonies, thus enabling superluminal communication between UEG colonies and facilitating delivery of orders and intelligence of all three services in the shortest possible time. Possessing no armour and a limited defensive armament, the Hermes-class was designed for the prioritisation of acceleration above all else, being capable of making slipspace journeys two to three times faster than a modern frigate and setting several long standing journey records. The only other method of faster-than-light communications employed by the UNSC military, the ultraprecise superluminal probe, existed on an experimental ba