Armada override codes

The Armada override codes were top secret security failsafes installed aboard every capital ship in the Glorious Armada of the Golden Empire. They allowed the Empire's Sovereign, a Royal Executor, or the Prime Legate to access and override the main computers of any ship in the Armada.

The override codes were designed as a safeguard against treachery on the part of Royal Navy officers. Installed in every operating system of every capital ship, when accessed they could allow the accessing party to shut down a ship's weapons, shields, engines, communications, or even life support. They could also issue commands to the ship itself, such as tasking it on a suicide mission or a collision course which, although militarily necessary, would likely have been disagreeable to the ship's crew.

The existence of the override codes was known to very few personnel who did not also have the authority to use them; aside from the Sovereign, Executors, and Prime Legate, only the Prefect of the Order of Keltrayu, some Legates, some members of the Royal Guard, and a few officers of Royal Intelligence who oversaw the codes' installation were aware of their existence. Further, there were levels of codes; Executors could, using their own codes, overrule the Prime Legate's use of override codes, and the Sovereign could overrule the Executors.