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Battlefleet Cadia - Traitors' Unmasked: It would not be long before confirmation emerged. Even as fleet commanders gathered in the Agrapinaa Sector to ponder their next move, news reached them of the Volscani Cataphracts' horrifying betrayal on Cadia. Chaos, it wouldappear, was not merely on their doorstep, but already deep within their house. The massacre on Cadia, however, meant that the Imperial fleets' numbers were bolstered dramatically in the following days, as reinforcements arrived from neighbouring sectors, including an almost unprecedented number of Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes also responding to the call for aid in the aftermath of the Chaotic massacre of the Cadian leadership at the Fortress World's Kasr Tyrok. The Gothic-class Cruiser Abridal's Glory even filed a report of a mobile Fortress-Monastery entering the region, suggesting that even to the Space Marines,the coming events were of the greatest importance. |
Battlefleet Cadia - Curse of Unbelief: Understandably, most of the arriving Chapters feared further revolts and uprisings across the sectors bordering the Eye of Terror, and almost all elected to begin ground offensives against those star systems where the strife and disorder had already become widespread. The Space Marines were similarly tasked with fighting throughmany of the raging Warp Storms and mounting assaults on the scattered and isolated worlds already fallen to the Curse of Unbelief. Here, the Space Marines would be far less hindered by the lack of numbers and adverse conditions than the Imperial Navy. Against a host of worlds the Adeptus Astartes fleets unleashed massive planetary assaults to corral and contain the spreading arcane contagion, using planetary bombardments (and in the worst cases, Exterminatus) to control areas already deemed unclean.The best this strategy could hope to achieve, however, was to stabilise conditions on many of the smaller worlds across the affected sectors, where Imperial rule had been placed under the most strain. A far stronger defence would be required if Cadia and its neighbours were to be truly ready for what few now doubted would bea major Chaos invasion. To this end, the vast collection of warships assembled at the main sector docks around the Eye of Terror were formalised into battlefleets and dispatched to defend vital supply lines, inhabited worlds, and known routes out of the Eye of Terror. Foremost amongst these would be Battlefleets Cadia, Agripinaa and Scarus, who were detailed to act as the main crux of the Imperial fleet effort.As these defensive preparations were made, unknown raiders hit the Tabor and UlthorSystems, but this time vessels of the Imperial Navy were in position to counterattack. Three squadrons of Cobra-class Destroyers in conjunctionwith the Lunar-class Cruiser Goliath pursued the attackers into the Faberius Straits and in a fearsome battle crippled the Styx-class Heavy Cruiser Darkblood. The engagement cost the Navy most of the Cobras and the Goliath was severely damaged, but at last the attackers had been identified. The Darkblood was codified as being attached to the Night Lords Traitor Legion warleader, Tarraq Darkblood, one of the most vicious killers in a Traitor Legion replete with sadistic butchers. Before Imperial reinforcements could arrive, a huge force of Chaos warships were picked up on long-range augers, and the surviving Imperial vessels were forced to withdraw and limp to the safety of the nearby port of Aurent.Similar opposition was met by many of the Imperial battlegroups. The Imperium was able, largely, to stave off these small Chaos incursions, but often at a great cost in resources, invariably forcing back the Imperial fleet and leaving it poorly equipped to repel any subsequent attacks. Reluctantly, the Imperial vesselswithdrew, realising that some massive attack must be imminent and that their best hope lay in a single, combined defensive effort. This change in tack meant that the Imperium's highest priority very rapidly became predicting and preempting the location of any initial attack. The answer was to come in unimaginably bloody fashion. |
Battlefleet Cadia - The Storm Breaks: A patrol group, delivering Cadian Kasrkin to the planet of Urthwart, were to make the discovery. They came upon Urthwart to find it already lost, enslaved utterly by Chaos. Nothing there could be saved, and the Kasrkin made ready towithdraw, perhaps suspecting they had arrived too late. In truth, the fact that they had arrived at all was the enemy's ultimate success. As the Cadians made ready to withdraw, the space around Urthwart was eclipsed by a Chaos fleetemerging from the Eye of Terror. At the centre of this armada of the Dark Gods, horrifying and incomprehensible, came the vast and terrible weapon known as the Planet Killer. In a matter of hours, Urthwart became a victim of the aptly-named Planet Killer -- the world and all it had ever contained committed instantly to history by this greatest of Abaddon's machineries. Like a herald of damnation, the arrival of the Planet Killer instantly announced to all that a new Black Crusade had well andtruly begun.As if answering some unspoken signal, the destruction of Urthwart coincided precisely with the emergence of Typhus' Plaguefleet, the fiend himself in command at the helm of his flagship, Terminus Est. The fleet was immense,accompanied most alarmingly by two Blackstone Fortresses (relics of Abaddon'sprevious incursions into the Gothic Sector) though now hideously altered so as to appear artefacts of Chaos rather than the ancient bastions they once were.If a stand was to be made, it was now. The Imperial fleet amassed at Ormantep, within the boundaries of a vast asteroid belt known as the Ilithrium Belt. It was here that the forces of the Imperium and those of the Dark Gods at last came face to face. The disruptive effect of the asteroid belt forced the fleets into brutally close range combat. Hordes of Chaos Attack Craft, and torpedoes unleashed at close range where their accuracy was highest, decimated the Imperial fleet. Even the fleet flagship, Honour and Duty, under the command of Admiral Pulaski, fellprey to the hungry guns of Chaos and exploded as its internal damage got the better of the ancient vessel. While strength of numbers and sheer firepower may have been advantages that lay squarely in the hands of Chaos, unbreakable faith and courage remained as ever the epitome of the Imperial Navy. If victory could not be gained at Ilithrium, defeat would at least be stalled.Captain Agenager, taking command of the fleet after Pulaski's demise, ordered the fleet into a cross formation, arranging their broadsides against the Chaos fleet where vessels could defend one another with massed firepower and turrets, fending off enemy Attack Craft and creating a vicious zone of crossfire to their port and starboard. The immobility of the formation left Agenager with little hope ofescape, but would at least stall the Chaos advance. With his decision made, Agenager and his fleet steeled themselves for the fight, praying only that their sacrifice would not be in vain.In the event, the sacrifice was not to be asked of them. As the Chaos fleet found itself stubbed by the unbreakable Imperial cross formation arrayed against them, its flanks first buckled then collapsed utterly as the mighty Battlefleet Agripinaa arrived to unleash its fury upon the Traitors. It was immediately apparent to Admiral Quarren, arriving at the head of the Battlefleet, that a final victory could not be achieved. Instead, his reinforcements could provide only respite andthe chance of escape to their comrades -- a chance which all the assembled Imperial Navy vessels gladly took, departing at once for the relative safety of port at Demios Binary. |
Battlefleet Cadia - Slow Reprisal: So it was that as Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade swept throughout the sectors bordering the Eye of Terror, the immense warfleet which he had amassed proving unstoppable. In comparison to Abaddon's Grand Fleet and the Plaguefleet of Typhus, the Imperium's defences were thinly spread, even around the Cadian Gate where the so-called Bastion Fleets stand as the largest permanent Imperial Navy elementoutside of the Solar System itself. Thus, in the early stages of the war, Abaddon'sfleet held orbital supremacy across most of the sectors within the warzone, allowing him to bombard worlds, enslave their populace and deploy Chaos forces to the surface at will. All the while, however, the ponderous machine of the Imperial Navy readied itself slowly but surely against him.The Imperial Navy is, ultimately, an inevitability. Stretched out across the thousands of light years of Imperial space, dispersed across a hundred warzones, patrol routes and shipping lanes, it is far from the most reactive force in the Emperor's service. Nonetheless, the Imperial Navy is a giant, an unstoppable behemoth which sooner or later will, inevitably, arrive to unleash its vengeance,no matter how powerful the foe. The Imperial Navy had been forced to divide itsassets across hundreds of worlds at the outset of the war. However, as the conflict drew on it was gifted a valuable opportunity to combine its numbers and concentrate its forces once Abaddon's plans became clear and the Chaos fleets had delivered hordes of ground troops to important worlds such as Cadia, Agripinaa and Thracian Primaris.Where Imperial defences had been overstretched at the outset of the war, they soon stood reinforced by dozens of neighbouring battlefleets. Tiny patrols, at firsthopelessly outnumbered and overwhelmed by Abaddon's invasion, mustered together into battlefleets numbering hundreds of vessels. Space Marine Chapters committed their own fleets to the war in space and soon the Imperial Navy stood as an unbreakable circle of iron around Abaddon's forces. From this strong regrouping, Admiral Quarren was more than ready to launch his counter-attacks against Abaddon's chosen targets.A thousand small battles were already lost for the Imperium, worlds engulfed by cults and treacherous defenders, worlds decimated by the Plague of Unbelief and other forgotten battlefields were already far past the point at which they mightbe saved. Indeed, fighting the war across a front scattered like a thousand broken shards had undoubtedly stymied the Imperium in the early days of the invasion, forced to spread its already hard-pressed assets, uncertain of where the hardestblow might land. To win the greater war now, the Admiral Quarren realised that a handful of crucial fronts must be all to which the Imperium committed. So it is that the course of a war, the story of victoryand defeat , cannot be described in terms of all its constituent parts, but instead must be thought of in terms of those particular prizes for which bothsides tussle most fiercely -- worlds like Agripinaa, Nemesis, Subiaco Diablo and most of all, Cadia and its ancient Pylons. |
Battlefleet Cadia - The Imperium Resurgent: As Quarren’s reunified, reinforced and reinvigorated fleet moved towards Cadia, theChaos fleet, including one of the Blackstone Fortresses, ancient engines of destruction built aeons ago by unknown xenos, gathered above the planet. In a manner none could have predicted, the Chaos fleet was unexpectedly delayed by lightning-fast attacks on the Blackstone by squadrons of Eldar Cruisers. LordAdmiral Quarren was quick to take advantage of the delay and his counter-strike (composed of vessels arriving from out of system) flowed from Cadia to Xersia and finally Demios Binary. In his first action, Quarren chose to strike directlyat the vessels in orbit around Cadia itself. The vast majority of Abaddon's forces had already been committed to the planet, so Quarren could do little to aid the struggle there, but his fleet did now have a massive opportunity to retake control of the space around Cadia and prevent Chaos reinforcements.Quarren attacked the Chaos fleet side-on, trapping the Traitor vessels between his own fleet and the planet Cadia where their superior speed would provide them little benefit. Even with the enemy trapped, the Chaos fleet still presented afearsome amount of firepower. By dint of this cunning stunt, Quarren succeeded,first in dividing the main fleet, and then in pursuing the defeated elements to final extinction. Only those squadrons that stayed close to the Blackstone Fortress remained a threat, but the Chaos fleet was now concerned with survival. Most significantly, the Imperial flagship Galathamor crippled the Merciless Death, driving it to the Warp from whence it took no further part in the war.As an act of vengeance, Abaddon dispatched the Planet Killer to Macharia within the Cadia System. A desperate boarding action by Space Marine Honour Guard companies failed to prevent the Planet Killer firing, but damaged its shields. As a consequence,debris from the shattered world that had once been Macharia struck the Planet Killer, which was last seen tumbling away into Wilderness Space critically damaged. When worlds in the Cadia System fell prey to the opportunistic Dark Eldar, the Relictors Space Marines stood ready and swiftly repelled the raiders, driving them back to their fleet. The Dark Eldar could not have expected Admiral Quarren would have set his fleet in motion so swiftly after fighting the Chaos fleet. His vanguard smashed into the Dark Eldar fleet and inflicted terrible damage and drove them out of the war in the Cadian Sector.At the Cadian Sector world of Kasr Patrox, the Traitor Legions of the Chaos Space Marines scored an immeasurable victory, though would themselves be slain by a most unexpected foe. High above them oblivion beckoned in the monstrous form of a corrupted Blackstone Fortress. The Blackstone Fortresses' weaponry beat downon Kasr Partox, remorselessly slaughtering the warriors of both sides. Faced with the certain destruction of Cadia's last defenders, Admiral Quarren had no choice but to muster his battered fleet for yet another battle. One by one the screening Chaos vessels were peeled away from the Blackstone until eventually it was forced to cease its attack and concentrate upon its own defence. With the end of the Blackstone's attack an uneasy lull settled on Cadia during which Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed evacuated Kasr Partox while he still could. |
Battlefleet Cadia - Notable Vessels of Battlefleet Cadia: Galathamor (Emperor-class Battleship)Vigilanti Eternas (Vengeance-class Grand Cruiser)Goliath (Lunar-class Cruiser) |
Battlefleet Cadia - Fleet Composition: 12 Battleships12 Cruiser Squadrons21 Escort Squadrons |
Battlefleet Calixis - Battlefleet Calixis: Battlefleet Calixis is a colossal fleet of Imperial Navy vessels charged with the protection of the Calixis Sector, an Imperial sector located in the Segmentum Obscurus on the northern edge of the known galaxy, near the Halo Stars and the Eye of Terror. To the trailing edge of the galaxy, the Calixis Sector is bordered by the hazardous territories of the Fydae Great Cloud and to spinward by the Scarus Sector.Battlefleet Calixis origins can be traced back to 384.M39, when the Calyx Expanse was officially declared conquered and the Angevin Crusade at an end by General Drusus. The sector's Imperial Navy headquarters is located at the orbital void-station known as Port Wrath within the Golgenna Reach Sub-sector.The ships of Battlefleet Calixis are widely dispersed across the sector; some maintain the trade routes and well-travelled courses of the great chartist vessels, while others patrol the danger zones of the Adrantis Nebula and the Hazeroth Abyss where dark forces lurk still. But their most unpredictable and dangerous task is to guard the border of the Halo Stars, beyond which horrors uncounted and unknown lurk beyond the reach of Imperial space. |
Battlefleet Calixis - The Calixis Sector: From the first discovery of the Koronus Fragments amongst Segmentum Obscuras naval records in 101.M38, the Imperium knew there might be unknown threats beyond the raging warp storms at the edge of the Calyx Expanse. These purported records of an unknown Explorator fleet told of mineral-rich worlds, habitable biospheres, and alien empires in the Halo Stars rimward of the Calyx Expanse.As the Angevin Crusade forged those lawless regions into the Calixis Sector, the Imperial Navy probed the edges of the Drusus Marches, searching for passages through the vast storms. None could be found, and the Navy ceased searching in the years after the Crusade, as ships returned to their former battlefleets and the sadly depleted remnants formed the nucleus of the nascent Battlefleet Calixis.Battlefleet Calixis officially came into being in 384.M39 when General Drusus declared the Calyx Expanse conquered and the Angevin Crusade at an end. The newly formed Calixis Sector was established with Scintilla as its capital world and Port Wrath selected to act as sector naval headquarters.A substantial portion of the Angevin Crusade fleet dispersed to the coreward sectors, some returning to berths that they had left some sixty standard years before while others journeyed to join Imperial Crusades further along the rim. Aided by several Escort squadrons, the remaining half-dozen ships of the line formed the nucleus of the new Battlefleet Calixis. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Founding Fathers: All six vessels were veterans of the Angevin Crusade, their war-weary crews the survivors of the bloody death throes of the unspeakably vile alien race known as the Yu'vath. Most held the Yu'vath to be the most powerful and dangerous of all the foes the Crusade fleet had faced in conquering the Calyx Expanse. Of the six, the Grand Cruisers Loci Veritas Lux and Loci Veritas Lumen were called late to the conflict, but they too bore the scars from the assaults of Bale Childer Daggerships in their final, desperate battles over the Yu'vath's inner fortresses.The Battleship Fist of Adamant and the Grand Cruiser Fire of Heaven unleashed the rain of fusion fire that finally wrought the end of those corrupt xenos and their Traitor allies. The Battlecruiser Chariot of Wrath lost thirty percent of its compartments to ravening Childer boarding parties at one point over the Hell Worlds of the Adrantis Nebula. Only the intercession of Iron Hands Space Marine boarding parties turned the tide and recaptured the ship. The Battlecruiser Bellicose was a survivor of the Fenksworld Calamity in 359.M39 when High Admiral Vaakkon inexplicably ploughed the Apocalypse-class Battleship Tempest's Child into the Fenksworld orbital docks, immolating himself and a dozen other warships.In the first few centuries of its existence, Battlefleet Calixis was fully occupied turning the fledgling Imperial sector from marks on a star chart into a reality. There were innumerable convoys of pilgrims, colonists and Adepts to escort, Secessionist regimes to overawe and countless pirates to hunt. It is said that Lord Admiral Retman Hayes, the third to hold that rank in as many decades, died of apoplexy while berating a group of Chartist Captains who dared to demand better protection for their goods. Over time the sector stabilised and vessels constructed at worlds under Imperial tithe began to expand the fleet. Even so, when the Calixian battlefleet faced its first true test in 467.M39 it was barely equal to the task. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Purgation of Valon Urr (467.M39): In 467.M39, the moderately advanced and highly civilised world of Valon Urr indirectly fell victim to the War of Hubris, a covert trade war instigated by the nearby independent world of Sinophia. The Sinophians feared the increasing industrial might of the Imperials and undertook a campaign to use every means at their disposal barring outright war to maintain their position. A favourite Sinophian gambit was to use their agents to discover course logs and manifests for voidships carrying Imperial cargo and then pass the information on to xenos and pirates. Countless Imperial merchantmen were attacked, stripped, and destroyed.The situation became so desperate that four capital ships had to be assigned to the protection of merchant convoys entering the Golgenna Reach. Fortunately these were well placed to respond when an Astropathic distress call was received from the besieged world of Valon Urr. The rich pickings of the pirates had attracted a larger predator in the form of a coalition of Ork Freebooter vessels under the command of the Greenskin Warlord Brazzer Magtoof.The four capital vessels formed a temporary squadron led by the Fire of Heaven under Admiral Lightman-Kapes and engaged the Orks over Valon Urr. Lightman-Kapes defeated the Orks, but tragically the planet was heavily damaged by debris from the ensuing orbital battle and Ork infestations. In 601.M39 Valon Urr was declared a Shrine World in memory of the sacrifice of the millions of citizens who died that day. |
Battlefleet Calixis - The Threefold (123.M40): In the aftermath of Valon Urr, Battlefleet Calixis adopted a policy of more aggressive patrolling and reduced convoy protection in hopes that major engagements could be pursued in enemy territory in the future. This policy was completely rescinded in 123.M40 after the loss of a capital ship task force led by the Fire of Heaven and two Chalice-class Battlecruisers against unknown assailants in the Hazeroth Abyss.Two heavily protected watch installations were lost within a Terran year in the same region, forcing a withdrawal of the sector boundary and ending further military expansion into the Abyss. This woeful incident became known as "The Threefold Curse." Despite increased vigilance, no trace was ever found of the attackers from the Hazeroth Abyss. The Hazeroth Sub-sector has been kept heavily reinforced ever since in case whatever horror is lurking in the Abyss should rise again. |
Battlefleet Calixis - The White Sorrows (556-570.M40): Beginning in 556.M40, xenos corsairs plagued the Periphery Sub-sector with a series of devastating raids. Imperial lexographers knew them only as the Kabal of the White Sorrow, a piratical alliance of Drukhari renegades led by a shadowy figure known only as the Butcher Archon. The White Sorrow struck seemingly at will and over nearly two solar decades they enslaved an estimated two million colonists from the struggling frontier worlds of the Periphery.Despite strenuous efforts, the capital ships of Battlefleet Calixis were unable to bring the Eldar Corsairs to battle and suffered a string of stinging defeats in Escort clashes in the Sleef, Ganf Magna and Kulth Systems.In 570.M40 a Cruiser squadron formed near Sinophia for a special mission. It consisted of the Light Cruisers Intemperate and Intractable along with the Chalice-class Battlecruiser Triumph of Saint Drusus. The squadron joined a small fleet of Explorator vessels and Rogue Trader forces under the overall command of Rogue Trader and Imperial agent Kobras Aquairre.Through some unspecified means (many suspected xenos involvement) Aquairre was able to lead his task force into a direct confrontation with the White Sorrow's fleet at an unnamed star deep in wilderness space. Here beneath the blood-red light of a dying star the old bones of planets formed grinding shoals of rocky debris throughout the system.Jewel-like in the chaos hung a gleaming Webway portal surrounded by sleek Drukhari vessels. For once, the xenos corsairs were caught flat-footed and Aquairre's flagship, the Son of Seth, struck the portal at extreme range with an unknown type of Lance weapon. The resulting distortion effect barred the portal temporarily; xenos vessels trying to flee through the portal were seen being hurled back with great force.The White Sorrows suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Aquairre's composite Imperial force. Trapped against the rocky shoals and with an unstable Warp distortion in their midst, there was little they could do but die to the superior firepower of the capital ships surrounding them.A score of Raider-sized vessels attempted escape through the dense asteroid fields, but of these only a handful survived. Aquairre rammed the corsair's flagship, Altar of Torment, with his own vessel, slaying the Butcher Archon personally in hand-to-hand combat. The strength of the White Sorrows was utterly broken in the battle and it was subsequently marked as a Victorix Magna in the honours of the warships involved.In the aftermath of the fall of the White Sorrows, Battlefleet Calixis was not to see another major capital ship engagement for almost two hundred standard years. Pirate and xenos ships fled at even the rumour of Navy vessels approaching the area. Several capital ships were withdrawn to reserve status as unsuitable for the patrolling and escort duties that became the norm. However, this outwardly mundane and sensible action laid the seeds of a great conflagration. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Establishment of Passage Watch 27-Est (673.M40): Beyond the Rubycon II System, the Koronus Passage looms wide, ready to swallow the Rogue Trader ships that brave its depths. The Maw is so vast it is more a region of space than an opening in the Great Warp Storms along the Drusus Marches, but the Maw can also swell closed when the Warp Storms rage, shrinking to the narrowest passage.Though the boundaries of the Calixis Sector end at the entrance to the Maw, there are certain Imperial organisations that venture beyond those bounds. Chief amongst them is the Battlefleet Calixis of the Imperial Navy which maintains a watch of warships at Port Wander, the entrance to the Maw, and some say, within the Koronus Expanse beyond. This squadron, under command of Fleet-Captain Nathaniel Horne, is on extended detached duty from the rest of Battlefleet Calixis.Established in 673.M40, the Imperial Navy squadron known as Passage Watch 27-Est, is not large, especially compared to Battlefleet Calixis as a whole. It is comprised of several Cruisers, Light Cruisers, and Battlecruisers, supported by multiple Destroyer and Frigate Escorts. These warships possess most of the combat experience in Battlefleet Calixis, as they are almost constantly in conflict with raiders, pirates, and the occasional xenos vessel that comes through the Maw to plunder the Calixis Sector.Passage Watch 27-Est is hard-pressed but vigilant, and on occasion has sent its distinctive grey-hulled, crimson-prowed vessels on counter-actions and reprisals into the Koronus Expanse. This has led the warships' crews to refer to themselves, only half-jokingly, as "Battlefleet Koronus." For more than 350 standard years, Passage Watch 27-Est has kept this vigil. |
Battlefleet Calixis - War of Brass (738.M40): Sedition among the Hive Worlds of the Gelmiro Cluster erupted into full-blown rebellion under the charismatic "Emperor of Brass" in 738.M40. Already heavily militarised, the Gelmiro Cluster soon became a storehouse and armoury for rebel groups on a dozen nearby worlds.Renegade warships flocked to the region, including the mutinous crews of two of the battlefleet's newest capital ships, the Chalice-class Battlecruisers Hosiana's Hand and Hel's Promise. Battlefleet Calixis found itself caught short-handed by the turn of events, and fleet personnel made heroic efforts to get reserve capital ships ready for action. Even so, weeks later when the Battleship Fist of Adamant under Vice-Admiral Dayes led the first punitive expedition to the rebel worlds, it left Port Wrath with thousands of dock workers still aboard.The Gelmiro Cluster had been heavily fortified, but Vice-Admiral Dayes set about methodically picking apart the defences. The Renegade Battlecruisers posed the greatest threat to Dayes' forces but both fell victim to their own hubris in separate incidents. The lone wolf tactics they used against Dayes' deceptively plodding advance brought them up against superior forces at every turn. Hel's Promise fell to the guns of the Chariot of Wrath while Hosiana's Hand barely escaped from the Fist of Adamant with crippling damage and fled the star system.The War of Brass was short-lived but extremely bloody. Within three standard years, Imperial Navy ships hung over decimated War Worlds in the Gelmiro Cluster, supporting Titans and Space Marines as they crushed the remaining pockets of Renegade resistance. However, as the Emperor of Brass went onto the defensive he used his debased worship of the Ruinous Powers to unleash ever greater horrors upon the once-prosperous Gelmiro Cluster. Even today, his lost domain remains a shunned place of blasted War Worlds. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Meritech Wars (211-226.M41): The so-called Meritech Clans, a coalition of Voidborn families driven out of the neighbouring Ixaniad Sector some three Terran millennia previously, seceded from Imperial rule in 211.M41. The Merates Cluster had long been a home to Renegades and outlaws but the anarchy unleashed by the clans' extensive raids surprised the Imperial officials of the Ixaniad Sector. By good fortune, the rise in power of Calixis Sector Governor Myram Harvala spelled the doom of the Meritech Clans.Harvala recognised all too well the threat to his new domain and was quick to encourage a vigourous response from the Imperial Navy. Battlefleet Calixis enjoyed a brief but rapid expansion under the governor's patronage, particularly among its Escort squadrons which added scores of vessels to their number.Over the next decade and a half, Battlefleet Calixis methodically hunted down and crushed the Meritech Clans in space before pounding their worlds into lifeless rubble. Observers note the Escort squadrons of Battlefleet Calixis gained a great deal of confidence and expertise in the Meritech Wars, giving them a fighting reputation that carries through to the current day. |
Battlefleet Calixis - First Siege of Vaxanide (410.M41): In 410.M41, an Astropathic distress call from the Vaxanide System alerted the Calixian fleet to a confederation of Ork raiders besieging the star system. An estimated eighty-plus Ork raiders made up their "fleet" and they held Vaxanide virtually prisoner. No voidships could safely approach and crudely-armoured landing craft were descending to assail the hive cities. The initial Ork assaults were swiftly repulsed but a grave long-term threat was posed to Vaxanide and the whole Malfian Sub-sector if its vital trade routes were strangled.Heavy Warp Storms scattered and delayed the Imperial Navy's response. The Grand Cruiser Chariot of Wrath under Commodore Brokk and a newly commissioned Lunar-class Cruiser Pride of Scintilla arrived first almost a standard year later and, deciding not to wait for reinforcements, entered the star system alone. The unexpected arrival of the Imperial warships enabled them to surprise a dozen Ork raiders reloading at an asteroid base in the outer system. Fully half of the ramshackle alien ships were pounded into scrap by battery fire and torpedoes before they could respond. Unfortunately, swarms of Fighta-Bommerz managed to launch and damage the Pride.A subsequent counter-attack by the Orks was driven off with heavy losses but Attack Craft continued to plague the two warships incessantly, in particular the Pride, with its inexperienced gunners and rapidly-accumulating damage. Despite the odds, Brokk pushed deeper into the system to confront the main Ork force over Vaxanide. A fierce battle developed as the Orks, encumbered by holds full of plunder, struggled to engage the Imperial warships in the face of withering fire. Nonetheless, numbers evidently took their toll and the Pride fell to the surface of Vaxanide in a blazing death grip with the Terror Ship Slicer. The Chariot of Wrath fought on alone until the timely arrival of the Veritas Lux and six additional vessels. The resurgent Imperial forces crushed the Freebooter ships, although it was later discovered that a sizeable remnant escaped to plague the Frontier Worlds of Ganf Magna. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Second Siege of Vaxanide (507.M41): Battlefleet Calixis planners were left wary of Vaxanides' vulnerability after the first Ork attack and bolstered its defences with long range Augury stations in the star system's outer reaches. Their foresight was rewarded in 507.M41 when the Space Hulk Pinnacle of Savagery was detected approaching Vaxanide with an accompanying fleet of Ork ships.A task force was quickly assembled from Imperial Navy, Explorator and Rogue Trader vessels under the overall command of Lord Admiral Vargaz. The combined fleet arrived in time to engage the Orks while they were still in the outer reaches, scattering their ships and shattering the Pinnacle of Savagery with massed weapons battery fire during its approach.Some Orks broke through the Imperial gun line despite the odds and considerable fighting had to be done to clear them from Vaxanide itself. However, only a tiny fraction of the Greenskin horde survived the thunderous net of death they encountered to make planetfall. Even the notoriously taciturn Lord Admiral Vargaz is said to have commented that the second siege was "a most satisfactory affair." |
Battlefleet Calixis - Malygrisian Tech-Heresy (742-770.M41): In the middle of the seventh century of M41, the insular and isolationist Calixian Mechanicus was again thrust into the spotlight when one of their own turned violently, irrevocably Renegade and dragged the Lathe Worlds into a sector-wide path of carnage.Explorator Arch-Magos Umbra Malygris was a militant renowned for his dedication to the destructive potential of technology. A devotee of the Divine Light of Sollex, the Arch-Magos attracted many of the most gifted weaponsmiths and researchers under the aegis of his organisation. Leery of the growing popularity of the militant Adept, High Fabricator Castellar moved to sanction Malygris and attempted to break up the cabal he had surrounded himself with.Aware of the danger posed to the entire Calixis Sector by the Renegade Arch-Magos and his deluded followers, the High Fabricator formally declared Malygris and all who obeyed him as Apostate in the eyes of the Omnissiah. Next, Castellar contacted Lord Sector Marius Hax upon Scintilla, and requested assistance. This unprecedented outreach from the formerly isolationist Calixian Mechanicus quickly drew Hax's attention to Malygris' threat.Convinced of the seriousness of the situation, Hax used his influence to dispatch several major concentrations of Battlefleet Calixis to assist in the search for the missing Explorator fleet. No less than five full battlegroups of warships, comprising both Loyalist Explorator vessels and detachments of the Imperial Navy, formed the pursuit of the heretical Arch-Magos.Malygris and his followers fled to the furthest reaches of the sector, always managing to stay at least one step ahead of his pursuers. Along the way, Malygris tested his research and weapons systems in a series of attacks that laid waste to several planets in his path rimwards towards the Halo Stars. Eventually, the Calixian Mechanicus and Battlefleet detachments tightened the noose.Malygris was cornered at the edge of the Synford System, caught between the advancing Mechanicus Explorator fleets and the flanking Imperial Navy detachments. The battle did not last long, as the Imperial Navy and the Mechanicus fleets ruthlessly destroyed any surviving enemy ships, including any intact pieces of debris large enough to support survivors. With a curt message of gratitude to the Imperial Navy, Castellar and his forces turned about and headed for their home port in the Lathe System. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Margin Crusade (784.M41-Present): The Margin Crusade declared in 784.M41 by the Ecclesiarchy's Synod Obscurus did much to strip away the strength painstakingly built up by Battlefleet Calixis in previous centuries. Several capital ships (including the Chariot of Wrath) and a great number of Escorts were called away to fight beyond the light of the Astronomican to the galactic north. To date, none of these warships has returned to the Calixis Sector and news about the Crusade's progress remains sparse to nonexistent.In truth, the Margin Crusade failed within only three standard years of the beginning of the offensive, but the Imperial authorities have kept this reality a highly-classified secret, as they use the excuse of the Margin Crusade to requisition starships, troops and materiel for the Achilus Crusade raging in the Jericho Reach. As the Jericho Reach lies on the other side of the galaxy from the Calixis Sector in the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy, the Margin Crusade provides an excellent cover for the reality that a large amount of Calixian military resources are being routed through the secret Maw/Jericho Reach Warp Gate that exists on the edge of the Calixian Drusus Marches Sub-sector.Despite the ongoing drain of its warships to the Margin Crusade, Battlefleet Calixis has quietly expanded again and again over the last few decades. Even the dullest naval officers realise that expansion and exploration is occurring beyond the Maw, and eventually the Imperial Navy may play a part in the Koronus Expanse. As preparations proceed for more wide-scale operations, it remains to be seen just how well-equipped the Imperial Navy can really be for subduing the terrors to be found in the Expanse. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Battlefleet Calixis Rank Hierarchy: The Imperial Navy is an institution with millennia of dusty tradition behind it and regulations so lengthy that they fill moon-sized scriptoria and data-vaults to bursting. Attempts to modernise the fleet and update its protocols have always been doomed by the sheer size and inertia of an organisation spread across 100,000 light years of space and potentially centuries of time. On top of this, each Segmentae Majoris Battlefleet is so riven with its own traditions and precedents that it is hard to be definitive about even something so fundamental as rank below the very highest echelons.In all cases, the constant risks attendant to fighting ships mean that the Imperial Navy's chain of command has to be robust enough to survive shocking casualties in battle and still keep functioning. A great deal of ink has been spilled codifying responsibilities and duties such that each will know their place, although in practice these become guidelines at best, useless bureaucratic nonsense at worst. Incessant training still drums the same message into every shipman's head -- keep doing your duty even when the world turns to flame and death and the frozen void yawns just inches away.What follows is a breakdown of commonly held ranks and responsibilities within Battlefleet Calixis. Even within this broad structure many variations occur at the sector level that are unique to the needs and necessities of that locale; commodores may command fleets, admirals may command squadrons and warrant officers may command warships according to necessity. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Commissioned Officers: Commissioned officers are the highest ranks of Navy officers and usually can only be created by the Battlefleet's Administratum. In the Calixis Sector, a certain number of officers are generated by the "commissions" issued to Planetary Governors and Schola Progenium worlds each year to fulfil. Each commission is for a single child of "good character" to attend Port Wrath, there to become a Midshipman in the Holy Imperial Navy. Once they arrive, they may serve aboard Port Wrath for years waiting for a ship, or leave mere days after they set foot on the station.Commissions issued to Planetary Governors are commonly sold to noble families or bestowed in a politically expedient fashion to reward a trusted Imperial noble or remove a troublesome sibling. A career in the Imperial Navy is viewed as a glorious, honourable and very probably fatal enterprise by noble houses, a sacrifice that enhances the family's prestige immeasurably. The Schola Progenium, on the other hand, sends their best charges to serve, especially those with a naval heritage. The rivalry between the arrogant offspring of nobility and the earnest young orphans of the Scholas is legendary.A good portion of Midshipmen join the Imperial Navy through a more informal system of patronage. It is not uncommon for a Naval captain to take on a noble's son or daughter as a Midshipman at their family's request. This may be a favour to an old friend, or a means to repay an ancestral debt. However, even in this case, most noble children find the Navy a harsh and uncompromising environment, where most must excel on their merits, or likely perish.Lord High-Admiral - Also called the Battlefleet Commander, Lord High-Admiral is the highest rank of the Imperial Navy. Only five of these august individuals exist, one for each of the Segmentae Majoris. Each is responsible for the Imperial Navy's fighting forces across the thousands of sectors in their allotted quadrant of the galaxy.Lord-Admiral - A Lord-Admiral, or Sector Commander, is responsible for all naval operations in a given sector and has direct command of units of the Segmentum warfleet allocated to that sector. Nominally a Lord-Admiral is based at the Segmentum Fortress with other sector-level Administratum officials, but most choose to base themselves at the foremost naval facility of the sector under their charge. The Sector Commander for the Calixis Sector is based at the orbital voidstation of Port Wrath.Solar Admiral - In the regions of space in and around the Calixis Sector, an Admiral with an illustrious career and a spotless record may eventually be sent to present themselves before the Battlefleet commander at the Segmentum fortress at Cypra Mundi - a journey that may take years. Should the Lord High-Admiral approve of the individual when he finally gets around to seeing them (often after several more years) he may send them on to Holy Terra for consideration to become a Solar Admiral, a process that can take the rest of their life. Solar Admirals are often prospective Sector Commanders waiting for assignment to a sector. As such opportunities are rare it's far more common for Solar Admirals to be dispatched to war zones in command of a reinforcing fleet or kept busy on "special duties" with their own independent flotilla.Admiral - An Admiral is allocated command of a portion of a sector's Battlefleet and responsibility for the security of a handful of star systems and the vast tracts of Wilderness Space that lie in between.Vice-Admiral - By long tradition a Vice-Admiral commands the leading division of a given fleet, the part that would equate to the vanguard of a terrestrial force. In later times this has come to mean commanding a force of Light Cruisers and Destroyers charged with scouting for the enemy, charting navigational hazards and long-range patrolling.Rear-Admiral - In ancient times when an entire Battlefleet might be massed together, the thousands of warships present would be divided in to three commands, each under their own admiral. The Rear-Admiral was the youngest and least experienced and so would be given charge of the rearmost division as the one least likely to see combat. Over time this rank has evolved into a largely administrative post charged with co-ordinating repair facilities, refuelling warships, forming convoys and other rear echelon activities.Commodore - Also sometimes called a Group Commander, the rank of Commodore was originally only a temporary one given to a senior Captain placed in charge of a squadron of warships. Over time the rank of Commodore has found its way into permanent usage as what were once temporary squadrons stabilised into regular patrol routes and areas of responsibility.Lord-Captain - Sometimes also referred to as a Flag-Captain, Lord-Captain is an honourific rank normally applied to Captains in command of vessels on detached duty. When a Lord-Captain speaks he is backed by the full authority of the Battlefleet.Captain - Imperial Navy Captains are aloof, uncompromising figures unbowed by the awesome responsibility entrusted to them. They may be a tyrant, martinet, swashbuckler, strategist or saint but a Captain will always be an exceptional individual to hold full command of an Imperial Navy warship.Commander - Individual Escort-class vessels normally come under the charge of a Commander, with a Captain or Commodore holding overall command of an Escort squadron. However, a Commander might also be found as the leader for a squadron of intra-system vessels, Wing Commander of the Attack Craft onboard a carrier ship, or placed in charge of an orbital voidstation.Lieutenant - Many officers in the Navy rise no higher than the rank of Lieutenant. System-defence ships and Monitors occasionally fall under the direct command of a Lieutenant. It is more common for them to be found acting as second-in-command aboard Escort-class warships, as part of the vast bridge crew found on a capital vessel, or in an Attack Craft squadron acting as Flight Leader.Midshipman - Midshipmen are the lowest ranking "officers" in the Imperial Navy, and are actually better described as students with an officer's rank. Technically afforded an officer’s respect, they are nevertheless in demanding training to become true officers, and many of their duties are "hands on" opportunities to learn. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Warrant Officers: Warrant Officers (also known in some quarters as "Petty Officers") act as the equivalent of sergeants and corporals in a planet-bound army. It is their job to disseminate orders from higher authority, ensure that those orders are carried out and maintain discipline amongst the enlisted ratings with regular floggings. They are called Warrant Officers because they are created through the issue of a written warrant from either fleet administration or the captain of the ship. Warrant Officers occupy positions of trust on the ship and a captain with even the most mutinous of crews can keep the ship running as long as he can rely on his Warrant Officers.Ship's Master - The Ship's Master is generally the ship's most senior Warrant Officer and most experienced voidsman.Gun Captain - A Gun Captain has command of a single gun crew on a warship. The Gun Captain must know how to do the jobs of all the men under his command and often achieves the post only after decades of working his way up through all the different enlisted ratings. Gun Captains are highly respected individuals and there is often a great deal of rivalry between them over who’s crew is the fastest and most accurate on the ship. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Honourific and Specialist Ranks: Master of Ordnance - The Master of Ordnance co-ordinates the efforts of the deck crews to ensure everything is fuelled, armed and ready to launch at a moment's notice. They are also responsible for maintaining discipline and training standards among the kind of hotshot pilots attracted to Attack Craft service is said to be an art form in itself.Master of Arms - The Master of Arms is charged with ensuring that all weaponry onboard is serviceable and ready for action, from the greatest Macrocannon to the meanest Stub Pistol. The Sergeants-at-Arms report directly to him, and by extension all armsmen aboard a warship are under his control, and so he also performs a role akin to chief of police aboard ship.Sergeant-at-Arms - A Sergeant-at-Arms has charge of a squad of armsmen anywhere between six and twenty strong with responsibility for close action in naval combat (such as hit and run attacks and boarding actions). A Sergeant-at-Arms' greatest responsibility is the keys entrusted to them for the weapons lockers found on every deck of a warship.Bosun (Boatswain) - The ship's Bosuns are disciplinarians and taskmasters in a crew, assigned to oversee the common ratings and indentured workers, determine their duties, and ensure they are carried out.Ship's Surgeon - Sometimes also called the Chief Chirurgeon or unofficially, "sawbones," the Ship's Surgeon has charge of the medicae facilities aboard the vessel.Officer of the Watch - The Officer of the Watch draws up duty rosters, assigns watches and attends the ship's chronometers. On most Imperial warships the title of Officer of the Watch is rotated through the ranking commissioned officers.Fleet Commissar - Just as the regiments of the Imperial Guard have Commissars appointed to them to ensure their unwavering loyalty to the Emperor, the warships of the Imperial Navy are host to Fleet Commissars.Ship's Confessor - The Confessor works tirelessly to promote the Imperial Creed among the crew and weed out Heretics. In these duties the Confessor is usually assisted by lay-preachers chosen from the most faithful on the lower decks. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Enlisted Ratings: Ratings take care of the functions that need muscle instead of training -- hauling shells and missiles, re-routing cables, clearing debris and conducting basic maintenance (i.e., scrubbing the decks). They are the basic voidsmen aboard a ship.Ratings in this class typically have a myriad of sub-classifications (ratings) that specify their role further, e.g. Gun-Layer Third Class, Fuse-Changer Second Class and so on. Ratings make up the bulk of the warship's crew and will be the ones doing most of the fighting in boarding actions.Armsman - Armsmen are crewmembers trusted to carry weapons at all times onboard the ship and maintain the contents of the vessel's weapons lockers. They keep discipline among the lower ranks and protect the crew as needed -- usually by wading in with truncheons or shooting first and asking questions later.Voidsman - Voidsmen (also referred to by the more archaic term "shipmen" on some Imperial Navy vessels) are those ship's crew with some training and skill, the enlisted ratings most likely to be entrusted with tasks such as conduit-maintenance, bulwark repairs, cog polishing, or other jobs that might require some skill and autonomy. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Articles of War: The laws and guidelines of the Imperial Navy are every bit as byzantine and convoluted as those governing the rest of the Imperium. The Imperial Navy is a hard service, and it requires hard work and demands hard discipline aboard its warships and in its ports.While to the outsider the Navy appears mindless and its ships space-going hells full of casual brutality accompanied by the constant song of the lash, nothing could be further from the truth. While severe discipline and savage punishment are indeed hallmarks of the service, the behaviour of officers and voidmen in the Calixis Sector is carefully and rigidly controlled by a unique set of laws, known from the lowest rating to highest ranking Admiral in Battlefleet Calixis as the Articles of War.These articles, and their countless rules, clauses, and sub-clauses that fill entire data vaults at the Admiralty Spire on Scintilla set rules governing everything from grooming standards to the right and proper punishments for high treason. While most of these articles are arcane, little understood, and rarely enforced, there are a few that every voidsman and Imperial officer knows by heart and lives in constant fear of contravening. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Naval Discipline: Naval discipline is brutal. The regulations cover a dizzying variety of infractions, and for most of them the punishment is death. Infractions vary from fleet to fleet, even from ship to ship. According to Battlefleet Calixis regulations, for example, crew members caught sleeping during their watch are to be beaten to death by their comrades, those that neglect maintenance are to be electrocuted, black marketeers are strangled, and hoarders are starved.Even minor failings such as an unkempt appearance or speaking after curfew might earn a flogging. Page after page, chapter after chapter of the regulations of the Articles of War codify punishments in exhaustive detail. In every case the attitude is taken that branding an indelible message on the rest of the crew is more important than the individual lives of any wrongdoers. Crew have no rights of appeal nor indeed trial beyond what the captain grants them, and his word is law.This being said, few captains are ferocious enough to execute their crew as often or as viscerally as the regulations demand. The best command through respect as much as discipline, and for most the threat is enough to wield absolute authority. However, the Navy wants captains that are feared and respected, not loved. Where the captain fails in his duty, the Fleet Commissar stands ready to ensure discipline is properly maintained. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Port Wrath: As benefits any major sector of the Imperium, the Calixis Sector boasts a wide range of naval and commercial facilities to support travel amongst its star systems. The Calixis Sector's Imperial Navy headquarters is located at the orbital void-station known as Port Wrath within the Golgenna Reach Sub-sector.This Imperial Navy installation is a huge combination dockyard and naval base serving as headquarters for Battlefleet Calixis. It half protrudes from a metallic planetoid orbiting Mundus, a white dwarf star in the Golgenna Reach, and bristles with Lance batteries matching the firepower of most fleets. Commanded for over fifty standard years by Rear-Admiral Zoila Kusch, this is the mainstay Imperial Navy installation in the sector. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Patrol Operations: Patrols make up the majority of Imperial Navy operations within any given sector. Most vessels will spend most of their time patrolling, moving through the Wilderness Space between inhabited star systems. Passing along commonly-travelled routes, quarantined zones and areas of suspected hostile activity with varying frequency, most voidfaring criminal activity is encountered by Navy patrols first. Many patrols are fairly light, consisting of a squadron or two of Destroyers or Frigates, performing cursory sweeps of dust clouds and asteroid fields.Only in areas of known hostile activity are patrols heavier, referred to as "fighting patrols," consisting of as much as a Cruiser and several squadrons of Escorts, often supported by Attack Craft for more detailed investigations. Where patrols cannot frequently reach, long-range Augur stations and sentinel satellites provide a measure of security against enemy forces, giving system ships a degree of early warning about invading fleets, marauding pirates and other void-borne menaces.Most patrols are only given a simple numeric designation, but over the years, well-established patrols have gained identities of their own, named for their bases or granted honorifics for notable actions. The Stygian Vanguard, for example, patrol the centre of the Hazeroth Abyss Sub-sector from the Stygian System, while the Golgenna Third Extinctum, have a long legacy dating back to the Angevin Crusade. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Notable Patrol Groups: Patrol Group 686, "Retaliator" - Officially known as Patrol Group 686, "Retaliator" Group is commanded by Commodore Teodor Evard Naremmus, a decorated officer hailing from a family on Sepheris Secundus with a distinguished history of naval service. The patrol group consists of seven vessels: a Light Cruiser and two squadrons each of three Frigates. The patrol is technically classified as a minor battlegroup, due to the presence of two War Worlds on its route and its proximity to the Koronus Expanse, a region known to harbour criminals and alien threats in abundance. Given the variety of potential enemies that could appear in the region, the crews of Retaliator Group are all battle-hardened veterans where such crewmen are available. Retaliator Group has been responsible for innumerable defensive actions against pirate vessels, and have crushed several smugglers over the centuries. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Battlefleet Calixis Fleet Composition: Frigates - Frigates fill the ranks of Battlefleet Calixis, where they are prized commands for the youngest and most aggressive naval captains. While a Frigate may not seem as prestigious as a Cruiser or Battleship, their versatility means they are the Navy's ship of choice for all manner of actions. Frigates are tasked for convoy escorts, patrols, anti-piracy operations, and even attacks on rebel ships and voidstations. They routinely skirmish with the Frigates and Raiders of seditionists, pirates, and even hostile xenos races. Thus, a Frigate captain is "in the mix" much more often than his counterparts aboard the Battlefleet's larger vessels.Sword-class Frigates - The Sword-class Frigates have been a mainstay Escort vessel for Battlefleet Calixis ever since its founding. Every system aboard one of these frigates has been tried and tested in innumerable engagements. Its laser-based weapons and turrets are accurate and hard-hitting, its plasma drives are rugged and reliable in extreme conditions. Few task forces do not include at least a pair of Swords to guard the flanks of larger vessels or pursue smaller, faster raiders.Light Cruiser - Light Cruisers are the eyes and ears of the Battlefleet. Smaller and faster than true Cruisers, Light Cruisers have the massive fuel and supply reserves for deep void patrols. These may last for standard years, even decades, and thus Light Cruiser commanders must be independent-minded and self-reliant. Light Cruisers are also used as the flagships of small squadrons of Frigates and Destroyers tasked with escorting convoys or hunting pirates.Dauntless-class Light Cruisers - Light, scouting Cruisers are the eyes and ears of Imperial fleets. They carry enough fuel and supplies for patrols that last months or even years, and enough firepower to dispatch any smaller vessels foolish enough to close with them. The Dauntless-class Light Cruiser is popular because it combines the manoeuvrability of a Frigate with a daunting forward Lance armament.Cruisers - A Cruiser is a warship through and through. These are the ships of the line of Battlefleet Calixis, the heavy-hitters that fight major naval engagements. These warships are rare -- building one takes centuries if not longer, and requires knowledge and technology from Mankind's golden age now only known to the most powerful Tech-magi. However, each vessel --often five or more kilometres long -- carries the firepower to burn planets. They are designed to win wars, and the Imperial Navy guards them zealously.Lunar-class Cruisers - The Lunar-class Cruiser makes up the backbone of Battlefleet Calixis. Its (relatively) uncomplicated design dates back to the dawn of the Imperium, and it can be constructed at worlds normally unable to build a ship of the line. Its variety of weapons batteries, Lances, and torpedoes make it both a versatile combatant and dangerous foe. |
Battlefleet Calixis - Notable Vessels of Battlefleet Calixis: The following are some of the famed vessels in Battlefleet Calixis. Some have served in the Battlefleet since the founding of the sector, while others are more recent additions:Fist of Adamant (Retribution-class Battleship) - Flagship of the current Lord-Admiral of the Calixis Sector. The Fist of Adamant is an ancient and potent Retribution-class Battleship with systems dating back as far as the 32nd Millennium. The Fist is believed to have been salvaged from a Space Hulk and rebuilt somewhere in the Scarus Sector in the 37th Millennium. In the midst of a long and illustrious career, the Fist of Adamant won great renown with Battlefleet Calixis as the saviour of Port Wander. Under the command of the then Lord-Admiral Androvast Strophes, the Fist led the charge that finally broke the Ork blockade around the station. She was heavily damaged in an epic duel with the Ork flagship Da Wurldbreaka during the encounter and afterwards had to limp back to Port Wrath for extensive repairs. It was over a century and a half before the Fist of Adamant was again able to return to full active service.Angevin's Destiny (Unknown Class) - This ancient Imperial Battleship is the flagship of Battlefleet Calixis and regarded as the saviour at the Battle of Markayn.Loci Veritas Lux (Exorcist-class Grand Cruiser) - One of two Exorcist-class Grand Cruisers in the Battlefleet Calixis, the Loci Veritas Lux is a variant of the old Vengeance-class, a handsome keel-built ship designed at a time when broadside firepower dominated naval tacticians' thinking above all else. While the Vengeance sacrificed prow armour and weaponry for improved broadsides and turrets, the Exorcist-class fitted launch bays in place of the broadside Lances and increased stores so the ships could operate self-sufficiently for long periods. This created a more versatile vessel, but Exorcists remain a rare sight except along the Rim, although that versatility makes them popular with Rogue Traders. Loci Veritas Lux and its sister-ship Loci Veritas Lumen have been successfully employed for several centuries in the Calixis Sector leading patrols and supporting convoys. The Attack Craft squadrons make the Exorcists a terror to pirates and raiders, while their increased endurance allows them to stay on patrol long after smaller craft have to turn for home. It is rumoured that both Exorcists have been ordered to join Navy forces in the Koronus Expanse where their great endurance can be put to good use. How well these old warhorses will stand up to the trip through the Maw is a matter of sharp concern for Rear-Admiral Skalingden.Loci Veritas Lumen (Exorcist-class Grand Cruiser) - One of two Exorcist-class Grand Cruisers in the Battlefleet Calixis, the Loci Veritas Lumen is a variant of the old Vengeance-class Grand Cruiser. Loci Veritas Lumen and its sister-ship Loci Veritas Lux have been successfully employed for several centuries in the Calixis Sector leading patrols and supporting convoys. The Attack Craft squadrons make the Exorcists a terror to pirates and raiders, while their increased endurance allows them to stay on patrol long after smaller craft have to turn for home. Commodore Wake used the Loci Veritas Lux as his flagship in the Golgenna Reaches for three decades, transferring his flag to the newly arrived Mars-class Battlecruiser Promethean Thunder only recently. It is rumoured that both Exorcists have been ordered join Navy forces in the Koronus Expanse where their great endurance can be put to good use.Triumph of Saint Drusus (Chalice-class Battlecruiser) - The Chalice-class Battlecruiser is a design thought unique to the Calixis Sector, along with all other vessels produced by the Lathe Forge Worlds. Famed ship-wright Hosiana Joz is said to have been gifted a vision of the Chalice-class sent by the Omnissiah. He was inspired to set about crafting a warship that could survive the turbulent tides in the Immaterium so often found close to the rim. Some whisper that the resultant ships possess some of the interior structures and conduit relays of an old Hades-class Heavy Cruiser. Despite such mutterings the handful of Chalice-class warships built are acknowledged as fine vessels, even if it is said they possess a bit of a glass jaw. The Triumph of Saint Drusus won fame routing the Emperor's foes in many engagements, often operating independently to take full advantage of its superior grace and speed. However, an ill star does seem to hang over the history of the class. A disproportionate number have been lost over the centuries in enemy action (or unknown circumstances), while others have fallen and gone over to the Ruinous Powers. Currently, Lord-Captain Laomyr and the Triumph are on detached duty, investigating "disturbances at Sheol VII."Vengeful Martyr (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser) - The lead vessel of Patrol Group 686 ("Retaliator" Group), the Vengeful Martyr is an ancient and revered vessel, one of the warships that served in the Angevin Crusade and survived to form the core of Battlefleet Calixis. Broadly speaking, the Vengeful Martyr is somewhat more capable than the average Dauntless-class Cruiser, being slightly more resilient and significantly more manoeuvrable than most, and fitted with a rare but potent plasma drive to power its forward Lance battery. The Vengeful Martyr has gained something of a reputation in its long history for being an eager warship, unwilling to hide or retreat but always reliable and potent on the attack. A long line of commanding officers have found it challenging to rein in the animal ferocity of the ship, but those who have succeeded have done great things with it.Nameless Saint (Firestorm-class Frigate) - Fairly new additions to Retaliator Group, the Nameless Saint, Just Persecution and Reaver's Dismay were constructed and commissioned to replenish Vanguard Squadron, a trio of Sword-class Frigates that had formed part of the patrol group since its creation. Having served in the Angevin Crusade, the original Vanguard Squadron was destroyed by Ork ram ships during the Battle for Port Wander. Its replacements consisted of Firestorm-class Frigates, a comparatively recent development, made in the centuries before the Gothic War, and which did not exist during the founding of the Calixis Sector. The Firestorms of the replenished Vanguard Squadron were the first warships of their kind to be introduced to Battlefleet Calixis, and their successful use heralded the widespread introduction of this class to the sector fleet. Their effectiveness against raiders and Frigates makes them ideal for patrols and raids. |
Battlefleet Corona - Battlefleet Corona: Battlefleet Corona is a vast fleet of Imperial Navy vessels charged with the the protection of the vitally important Belis Corona Sub-Sector within the Segmentum Obscurus. Battlefleet Corona forms a component part of the Bastion Fleets which make up the massive Battlefleet Obscurus, as do its neighbours, Battlefleets Cadia, Agripinaa, and Scarus, as well as the more distant Battlefleets Gothic, Tamahl and Odessa, among others. Located near the Eye of Terror, this Imperial Battlefleet must maintain constant vigilance against the Forces of Chaos and the dreaded Black Crusades led by the Warmaster Abaddon the Despoiler. |
Battlefleet Corona - Segmentum Obscurus: The Segmentum Obscurus, also known as the Segmentum Obscura, is the region of Imperial space to the galactic north of Terra. This Segmentum of the Imperium of Man is the home of the vast Warp Storm and Warp Rift called the Eye of Terror, the primary home for the Forces of Chaos in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Imperial Navy's Segmentum fleet headquarters is located on Cypra Mundi, which also serves as the central headquarters of the Imperial military's Segmentum Command. The Segmentum Obscurus is the area of the Imperium most often under deadly threat by attacks from the Eye of Terror and is also the site for all of Abaddon the Despoiler's Black Crusades. As such, it currently is home to the majority of the Imperium's armed forces, which were most recently mobilised to a state of readiness not seen since the Horus Heresy as a result of the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41.The constant turmoil surrounding the Cadian Gate requires the fleets of Battlefleet Obscurus to be far more active than many other Segmentum battlefleets. The whole sector exists in an almost perpetual state of readiness, and as such the demands on manpower and resources are huge. Vast numbers of new, inexperienced ratings frequently have to be drawn up to replace those lost in the constant fighting. However, those that survive the harsh first years of military service around the Cadian Gate rapidly mature to become some of the most capable leaders in the Imperium. As with all highly militarised zones, it is important for the Imperial Navy to maintain substantial reserves of vessels around the Eye of Terror, ready to deploy as reinforcements should the need arise. Whilst it is possible to keep the vessels themselves ready in this manner, Battlefleet Obscura simply does not possess the manpower to keep reserve crews stationed aboard these vessels as well. Instead, whole orbital shipyards are filled with rows of silent, inactive vessels, often representing classes of warship now outdated or scarce.In times of great need, these ships will be brought into service and crewed with ratings from destroyed or crippled vessels or even with hastily mustered new recruits, meaning the crew is unlikely to have any familiarity with their new vessel. A posting to such a reserve fleet is thus considered an unnerving duty, forcing a rating to enter deep into an unfamiliar vessel which may have lain dormant for centuries. Much superstition surrounds such fleets and perhaps because of this, unusual behaviour of both crew and vessel is rather commonplace. Reserve fleets are used only reluctantly by the Imperial Navy, and only in the most desperate of circumstances, but an invasion the size of Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade without doubt qualifies as exactly that -- the most dire of circumstances, the most desperate of times.In a reserve fleet, all vessels are prone to certain unexpected events, such as mass panic or even mutiny amongst the crew, inexplicable noises, sensor readings and sightings or disconcerting setbacks and failure of machinery. Against Chaos fleets, where the followers of the Dark Gods are able to exert their influence to further unsettle their already nervous opponents, unforeseen events can be even more devastating. |
Battlefleet Corona - Belis Corona Sub-Sector: The Belis Corona Sub-sector is one of the closest sub-sectors to the vitally important Fortress World of Cadia and the Cadian Gate, the only predictably stable Warp route that leads out of the Eye of Terror and into the realm of the Imperium. The Imperial Navy shipyards for the sector are located on the Forge World of Belis Corona. Belis Corona is a vitally important Imperial Dead World which serves as the Segmentum Obscurus' primary base for the Imperial Navy's Battlefleet Obscurus as well as essentially the Imperium's administrative capital for the entire Segmentum. There is a vast conglomeration of orbital dockyards in geosynchronous orbit about Belis Corona where entire sector battlefleets can be serviced and refitted. Massive stockpiles of munitions, supplies and other war materiel are stored in armoured bunkers buried many kilometres below the planet's barren surface. |
Battlefleet Corona - 2nd Black Crusade: As part of the 2nd Black Crusade launched in 587.M32, Abaddon wove a terrible hex upon a number of worlds close to the Eye of Terror, seeding them with the taint of the Dark Gods. Leading a small band of his elite warriors from the Black Legion, Abaddon breached the Imperial Navy base at Belis Corona. While his fleet launched a diversionary attack against the orbital shipyards, Abaddon and his Bringers of Despair, the strongest and most vicious members of the Black Legion's Terminator elite, landed on one of the system's outermost moons. Slaughtering the garrison, Abaddon crafted a complex sorcerous ritual using their mangled remains and invoking a curse that would sink deep into the core of the moon. Only centuries later would the curse awaken at the Despoiler's behest and do its terrible work, unleashing a mutagenic plague upon the Imperial defenders stationed there. By the time Battlefleet Corona had mustered to repel the attacks on the core worlds of the Belis Corona Sector, Abaddon had already departed, his mission complete.Shortly after the assault on the shipyards of Belis Corona, an attack occurred on the Inquisitorial vaults of the world of Nemesis Tessera. Hidden beneath layers of ice and snow, the Inquisition had constructed a watch station from which to study the Eye of Terror along with hexagramatically warded cells to hold daemonic prisoners. It remains unknown if this was the work of Abaddon, but in a swift and brutal assault, one of the cells deep beneath the station was opened and the daemon contained within was released. By the time Inquisitorial forces had secured the facility, the attackers were gone, leaving only a trail of smoking corpses and spent Bolt shells to mark their passage. |
Battlefleet Corona - 13th Black Crusade: In 999.M41, war came without warning to the Belis Corona Sub-sector, and the opening moves by the Forces of Chaos saw large number of plague-ridden Space Hulks entering Imperial space. Though many were intercepted by the Space Marines and destroyed, some managed to escape the Astartes' attention. Some of these foul vessels of contagion found their way into the Belis Corona Sector, spreading their disease and pestilence amongst the masses throughout the sector. Along with the adjacent Agripinaa Sector, they were some of the first to bear witness to the rise of hordes of infectious, undead zombies that threatened billions of people on many of the Imperial worlds within the sector. This plague was later named the Curse of Unbelief.While the defence of the Cadian Gate from the Forces of Chaos continued to go badly upon the surface of many worlds in the Cadian System, in particular Saint Josmane's Hope and Solar Mariatus, the war in space was fought more on the Imperium's terms. The Cadian System had been the focus of Abaddon's primary fleet actions, and the Imperium's fortunes there changed from day to day. The situation was highly fluid and the Chaotic naval forces found themselves stretched to exploit the victories they had won.A fleet the size of which has not been seen since the end of the Gothic War eight standard centuries earlier had been dispatched from Cypra Mundi, and arrived at Belis Corona in preparation for a massive Imperial counter-offensive into the Cadian Gate. The arrival of this vast armada allowed those Imperial vessels that had been fighting continuously since the beginning of the invasion a brief respite. Severely depleted ship’s companies were bolstered through indiscriminate press-ganging, and hasty repairs and refits were undertaken on those vessels most in need of them.The Imperial reinforcements were split into battlegroups, each tasked with bolstering the defences in a specific sector of the Segmentum Obscurus. The regions around the Eye of Terror encompass many millions of cubic light years, and only by the concentrated application of resources in those areas in most desperate need could the Imperial Navy hope to make inroads and slow, stall, and eventually repel the Chaos warfleets plaguing the region. A small number of Imperial Navy ships won a decisive victory when they managed to hold back a larger Chaos Fleet at the Ilthirium Belt, buying time for Battlefleet Agripinaa to arrive and allow the remaining ships to retreat. This course of action however, left the Agripinaa Sector open to invasion and soon the worlds of this sector and the Belis Corona Sub-sector was transformed into nightmarish realms of plague and pestilence.Upon arriving at the Cadian Gate, the Doom Eagles Space Marine Chapter dispatched forces to a number of warzones, notably areas that had already suffered terribly at the hands of the Forces of Chaos. The largest of these detachments, under the command of Captain Luctus of the 3rd Company, was involved in operations within the Belis Corona Sub-sector, where the notoriously pious Chapter battled those who had fallen to the Curse of Unbelief. Only those without the strength of faith to resist were afflicted by the Zombie Plague, and it has been noted that not a single Doom Eagles Battle-Brother was affected by its blight. The Doom Eagles proved effective in combating the Plague Zombies infesting many worlds of the sub-sector, though, typically for this aloof Chapter, they had refused all offers of support in consolidating these successes.The Cadian Sector High Command was also briefed by the Ordo Xenos on a number of other factions which assailed Mankind as the Forces of Chaos battered at the doors of the Cadian Gate. The Inquisition warned the Cadian High Command to be alert for seemingly incongruous reports of alien infiltrations in the region near the Subiaco Diablo System, particularly for attacks coming up from below the galactic plane. They would not expound further on what they meant by this, but insisted that the Cadian High Command should inform the Inquisition immediately should any such attacks by unknown xenos materialise. Despite being beset on all sides, the Imperial forces and their commanders remained imbued with a sense of righteous indignation. If every damned creature in the galaxy was now ranged against them, then they were determined to take them all into oblivion with the last cry of the human race.The Imperial forces largely held at Belis Corona, the location of the greatest orbital shipyard of the Imperium, which suffered the worst excesses of a Tyranid splinter Hive Fleet, and the horrific plagues bestowed upon its hive cities by the Death Guard Traitor Legion. At the height of the invasion, something truly unexpected occurred. Defenders in the outlying star systems reported contact with Tyranid organisms -- at first individual vanguard-organisms such as Lictors, but soon entire broods of Genestealers and Hormagaunts. A splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Leviathan, a Tyranid fleet known to be attacking up through the galactic plane, was taking advantage of the mass destruction initiated by the Chaotic invasion to gain a foothold in strategically vital Imperial space. Faced with both the pestulant forces of the Death Guard, and the voracious hordes of Tyranids who were, unlike the human defenders, immune to the Plague God's blessings, the forces of the Imperium were hard-pressed to defend the vital worlds of the Belis Corona Sector. It was the intervention of the forces of the Eldar of the Ulthwé Craftworld and then the orbital bombardment of Laurentix that allowed the forces of the Imperium to fight back, despite the disastrous ambush of forward elements of Battlefleet Solar at the Bairsten Prime Warp jump point. Subiaco Diablo saw the Convent of the Order of the Ermine Mantle hold out against overwhelming odds, though at terrible cost, before being relieved by a host of Adepta Sororitas units drawn from across the region, thanks to the leadership of the renowned Canoness Astra. |
Battlefleet Corona - Battlefleet Corona Fleet Composition: At the time of the 13th Black Crusade, Battlefleet Corona consisted of the following vessels that took part in the valiant Imperial defence:7 Battleships 13 Cruiser Squadrons 17 Escort Squadrons |
Battlefleet Corribra - Battlefleet Corribra: Battlefleet Corribra is a small fleet of Imperial Navy vessels charged with the protection of the Corribra Sector. The dockyards and Fleet Command headquarters for the sector is located on the Hive World of Thesselonia. |
Battlefleet Corribra - Corribra Sector: The Segmentum Tempestus is the region of Imperial space to the galactic south of the Segmentum Solar. The Imperial Navy's fleet headquarters in the Segmentum is the world of Bakka. The Segmentum is roughly organized into 200 light-year cubes, each of which is designated as a Sector.The Corribra Sector lies at the southern-most point of the Segmentum Tempestus to the galactic southeast of Terra. This sector is heavily populated, but is under constant pressure from xenos and Heretics on all sides. Imperial commanders must maintain a constant vigil to ensure their beloved Imperium does not disappear under the predations of these invaders. The Adepta Sororitas are known to maintain a large presence in the sector. The Feral World of Janus IV is the home of the Arch-Abbey of the Order of the Argent Shroud and their presence is felt by the citizens on all planets of the Corribra Sector.An extremely large sector, virtually every starfaring race has, at some time, possessed a presence within this region space. Far beyond the southern (rimward) most boundaries of the Corribra Sector lie the scattered worlds that make up a sizable portion of the Ork presence in the galaxy. Planets in the sector are under constant alert for Ork raids that emanate from the heart of the Greenskin-controlled worlds and though there has not been a major WAAAGH! in the area for over three thousand years, the Imperium never gives up its vigilance. A new, strong Ork Warlord could come to power at any time, gathering Boyz under his rule to bring terror to the sector.The Eye of Terror is far from the Corribra Sector, though the Forces of Chaos are adept at travelling through the Warp, so for those servants of the Ruinous Powers in pursuit of a worthy goal in the eyes of their foul masters, the distance involved need not be a limiting factor. More likely, Chaos Fleets emanate from the Maelstrom which lies just a few Warp jumps away from the coreward flank of the Corribra Sector. Dark Eldar raiders are also a threat the sector has to contend with occasionally. Every few decades, Corribra Sector seems to come under the scrutiny of these corsairs and several human outposts and settlements may be lost before the forces of the Imperium can mobilise an effective defence. Unfortunately, by the time aid arrives, the Dark Eldar have, invariably, vanished back into the Labyrinthine Dimension of the Webway from which they emerged. |
Battlefleet Corribra - Role: Battlefleet Corribra is all that protects most worlds in this sector from alien attacks and invasion. A little more than fifty warships have the duty to patrol and guard the Corribra Sector. This is no small task for so few starships. Fleet Command tends to be very slow in replacing destroyed or ancient ships so the shipyards within the sector, particularly those at Thesselonia, have grown adept at recovering and repairing the most crippled of ships and making them battle worthy again in just a few standard years. Every ship's Captain and every Admiral knows that each vessel is a valuable resource that can never be squandered through futile actions or tactical ineptness -- such crimes are almost always punishable by death. As a result of this policy, Battlefleet Corribra has kept itself active under the most strenuous of campaigns and invasions and remains the very first line of defence the Imperium has within this sector of space. |
Battlefleet Corribra - Notable Vessels of Battlefleet Corribra: Righteous Recrimination (Emperor-class Battleship)Divine Order (Retribution-class Battleship)Corax (Nemesis-class Fleet CarrierCronus (Mars-class Battlecruiser)Perseus (Jovian-class Battlecruiser)Damocles (Tyrant-class Cruiser)Deimos (Tyrant-class Cruiser)Furies (Tyrant-class Cruiser)Harpeis (Tyrant-class Cruiser)Phobos (Tyrant-class Cruiser)Juno (Gothic-class Cruiser)Hermes (Dominator-class Cruiser)Broadsword (Dictator-class Cruiser)Cygnus (Dictator-class Cruiser)Daedalus (Lunar-class Cruiser)Janus (Lunar-class Cruiser)Corin (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser)Fidelity (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser)Vernoia (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser)Nemesis (Siluria-class Light Cruiser)Thebes (Siluria-class Light Cruiser)Themis (Siluria-class Light Cruiser) |
Battlefleet Corribra - Escort Squadrons: His Hammer (Sword-class Frigate) SquadronDeliverance from Despair (Firestorm-class Frigate) SquadronEmperor's Hand (Cobra-class Destroyer) SquadronExalted in Belief (Cobra-class Destroyer) Squadron |
Battlefleet Gothic - Battlefleet Gothic: Battlefleet Gothic is a vast fleet of Imperial Navy vessels charged with the the protection of the Gothic Sector within the Segmentum Obscurus. Battlefleet Gothic forms a component part of the Bastion Fleets which make up the massive Battlefleet Obscurus, as do its neighbours, Battlefleets Tamahl and Odessa, as well as the more distant Battlefleets Cadia, Agripinaa, and Scarus, among others. The Gothic Sector lies adjacent to the great Warp rift known as the Eye of Terror and was the location where Abaddon the Despoiler's 12th Black Crusade, colloquially remembered as the Gothic War, was fought from 139.M41 until 160.M41. The Forces of Chaos were defeated by the Imperium during that conflict, but Abaddon managed to seize several of the Blackstone Fortresses which he would use to eke out a more successful conclusion over 800 standard years later when he launched the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41. |
Battlefleet Gothic - Segmentum Obscurus: The Segmentum Obscurus is the region of Imperial space to the galactic north of Terra. This Segmentum of the Imperium of Man is the home of the vast Warp Storm and Warp Rift called the Eye of Terror, the primary home for the Forces of Chaos in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Imperial Navy's Segmentum fleet headquarters is located at Cypra Mundi, which also serves as the central headquarters of the Imperial military's Segmentum Command. The Segmentum Obscurus is the area of the Imperium most often under deadly threat by attacks from the Eye of Terror and is also the site for all of Abaddon the Despoiler's Black Crusades. As such, it currently is home to the majority of the Imperium's armed forces, which were most recently mobilised to a state of readiness not seen since the Horus Heresy as a result of the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41.The constant turmoil surrounding the Cadian Gate requires the fleets of Battlefleet Obscurus to be far more active than many other Segmentum battlefleets. The whole sector exists in an almost perpetual state of readiness, and as such the demands on manpower and resources are huge. Vast numbers of new, inexperienced Imperial Navy ratings frequently have to be drawn up to replace those lost in the constant fighting. However, those who survive the harsh first years of military service around the Cadian Gate rapidly mature to become some of the most capable leaders in the Imperium. As with all highly militarised zones, it is important for the Imperial Navy to maintain substantial reserves of vessels around the Eye of Terror, ready to deploy as reinforcements should the need arise. Whilst it is possible to keep the vessels themselves ready in this manner, Battlefleet Obscura simply does not possess the manpower to keep reserve crews stationed aboard these vessels as well. Instead, whole orbital shipyards are filled with rows of silent, inactive vessels, often representing classes of warship now outdated or scarce.In times of great need, these ships will be brought into service and crewed with ratings from destroyed or crippled vessels or even with hastily mustered new recruits, meaning the crew is unlikely to have any familiarity with their new vessel. A posting to such a reserve fleet is thus considered an unnerving duty, forcing a rating to enter deep into an unfamiliar vessel which may have lain dormant for centuries. Much superstition surrounds such fleets and perhaps because of this, unusual behaviour of both crew and vessel is rather commonplace. Reserve fleets are used only reluctantly by the Imperial Navy, and only in the most desperate of circumstances, but an invasion the size of Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade without doubt qualifies as exactly that -- the most dire of circumstances, the most desperate of times.In a reserve fleet, all vessels are prone to certain unexpected events, such as mass panic or even mutiny amongst the crew, inexplicable noises, sensor readings and sightings or disconcerting setbacks and failure of machinery. Against Chaos fleets, where the followers of the Dark Gods are able to exert their influence to further unsettle their already nervous opponents, unforeseen events can be even more devastating. |
Battlefleet Gothic - Gothic War: The Gothic Sector's most important attribute was that it was the location of the six known Blackstone Fortresses, the powerful xenos artefacts originally created by the Old Ones to serve as weapons against the Necrons during the War in Heaven over 65 million standard years ago. When Mankind re-discovered the worlds of the Gothic Sector during the Great Crusade, the Imperium discovered the Blackstone Fortresses and eventually transformed them into Imperial naval bases. During the Gothic War, the capture of these fortresses would become Abaddon's prime objective and he would manage to wrest control over three of the six known to exist. He used their powerful xenos technology to strip one planet of its atmosphere and transform another star into a supernova that destroyed its surrounding planetary system. Unknown to the Imperium, Abaddon managed to escape into the Warp with two of the three Blackstone Fortresses the Forces of Chaos had captured and they would eventually play a pivotal role in the 13th Black Crusade he launched against the Imperium 800 standard years later.The 12th Black Crusade, better known as the Gothic War, had been preceded by the unleashing of a catastrophic Warp Storm on the Gothic Sector in 142.M41 that soon cut it off from both outside communications and Imperial reinforcements, leaving the defence of the sector to those Imperial ground and naval forces already present. Battlefleet Gothic, the primary Imperial Navy force in the sector, was forced to fight over the following two decades against a series of Chaos warfleets numbering from eight to twenty led by varying Chaos Warmasters, including Abaddon the Despoiler of the Black Legion. The Imperial forces also had to defend against Eldar, Ork and human pirates who sought to take advantage of the situation to benefit themselves. The death toll ran into the billions as scores of worlds were ravaged by the onslaught of the Forces of Chaos as Abaddon sought to seize the Blackstone Fortresses.In 151.M41 the Warp Storms blanketing the sector finally began to abate as the grip of the Ruinous Powers was weakened following several Imperial victories. Imperial reinforcements, including detachments from several Space Marine Chapters, were rushed into the Gothic Sector by Segmentum Command. Following an alliance against the Forces of Chaos by the Imperium and elements of the Craftworld Eldar who feared Chaos' acquisition of several of the Talismans of Vaul (Blackstone Fortresses), Abaddon's own warfleet was pursued into the Schindelgeist System where the final great battle of the war ended in a famous victory for the Imperial Navy. By 160.M41 the situation had stabilised and the Gothic Sector was cleansed of the remaining Chaos, Ork and pirate forces. |
Battlefleet Gothic - 13th Black Crusade: In 999.M41, war came without warning to the Belis Corona Sub-sector, and the opening moves by the Forces of Chaos saw large number of plague-ridden Space Hulks entering Imperial space. Though many were intercepted by the Space Marines and destroyed, some managed to escape the Astartes' attention. Some of these foul vessels of contagion found their way into the wider Belis Corona Sector, spreading their disease and pestilence amongst the masses throughout the sector. Along with the people of the adjacent Agripinaa Sector, they were some of the first to bear witness to the rise of hordes of infectious, undead zombies that threatened billions of people on many of the Imperial worlds within the Belis Corona Sector. This plague was later named the Curse of Unbelief.While the defence of the Cadian Gate from the Forces of Chaos continued to go badly upon the surface of many worlds in the Cadian System, in particular Saint Josmane's Hope and Solar Mariatus, the war in space was fought more on the Imperium's terms. The Cadian System had been the focus of Abaddon's primary fleet actions, and the Imperium's fortunes there changed from day to day. The situation was highly fluid and the Chaotic naval forces found themselves stretched to exploit the victories they had won.A fleet the size of which has not been seen since the end of the Gothic War eight standard centuries earlier had been dispatched from Cypra Mundi, and arrived at Belis Corona in preparation for a massive Imperial counter-offensive into the Cadian Gate. The arrival of this vast armada allowed those Imperial vessels that had been fighting continuously since the beginning of the invasion a brief respite. Severely depleted ship’s companies were bolstered through indiscriminate press-ganging, and hasty repairs and refits were undertaken on those vessels most in need of them.The Imperial reinforcements were split into battlegroups, each tasked with bolstering the defences in a specific sector of the Segmentum Obscurus. The regions around the Eye of Terror encompass many millions of cubic light years, and only by the concentrated application of resources in those areas in most desperate need could the Imperial Navy hope to make inroads and slow, stall, and eventually repel the Chaos warfleets plaguing the region. A small number of Imperial Navy ships won a decisive victory when they managed to hold back a larger Chaos Fleet at the Ilthirium Belt, buying time for Battlefleet Agripinaa to arrive and allow the remaining ships to retreat. This course of action however, left the Agripinaa Sector open to invasion and soon the worlds of this sector and the Belis Corona Sub-sector was transformed into nightmarish realms of plague and pestilence.Lord Admiral Quarren, the commander of Imperial Navy assets in the Cadian System, had succeeded time and time again in defeating Chaos warfleets many times the size of his own, allowing reinforcements to enter the fray around the Fortress Worlds of the Cadian System. At the same time, a massive influx of reinforcements in the Scelus System of the Cadian Sector had penetrated the Chaos blockade of ships and minefields, and in the Belis Corona System of the Belis Corona Sub-sector the entirety of Battlefleet Gothic had stormed into the fray. Infernal mines sewn across the battlefront accounted for the destruction of only a few vessels in the fleet, and now Battlefleet Gothic had the opportunity to avenge the losses it had suffered in the Gothic War at the hands of Abaddon the Despoiler's own warfleet. If the relentless momentum of the invasion could be slowed for just a short time, then the defenders on the ground would have a real chance of victory. The Imperial Navy had gambled all on this sector-wide retaliation and should it fail, then Battlefleet Obscurus would be so weakened that only the redeployment of fleets across the whole Imperium would hold any hope of holding back the Despoiler's invasion.The Imperial Navy fought with courage and vigour throughout the long campaign, ruthlessly taking the battle to the enemy wherever it encountered them. Lord Admiral Quarren was hailed a true hero of the Imperium, for his masterful defence of the space lanes was all that stood between survival, and utter defeat for the Imperium. Though Cadia remained besieged at the end of the campaign's formal operations, the Imperial Navy commanded space, and was able to offer support to beleaguered Imperial forces on the ground. The only question was whether the rapid redeployment of almost the entirety of Battlefleet Gothic, along with a substantial proportion of Battlefleet Solar, would leave the Navy dangerously overstretched elsewhere and unable to maintain the level of operations required to hold the line at the Cadian Gate. |
Battlefleet Gothic - Notable Vessels of Battlefleet Gothic: Divine Right (Emperor-class Battleship) - Commissioned at the Cypra Mundi fleet dockyards from 234-298.M36, the Divine Right went on to serve as the flagship of Battlefleet Artemis (306.M36-457.M37). Transferred and now serves as the current flagship of Battlefleet Gothic (458.M37-Present). Notable prizes includes the destruction of the Harbinger of Anarchy (Chaos Battleship), the Restless Vengeance (Chaos Grand Cruiser), Eiroanth Khaba (Eldar Battleship) and the Sharak-Fraka (Fra'al Battleship). Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Legatus Stygies (Emperor-class Battleship) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Bloodhawk (Retribution-class Battleship) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Cardinal Boras (Retribution-class Battleship) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Imperious (Mars-class Battlecruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Marqis Lex (Mars-class Battlecruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Cypra Probatii (Overlord-class Battlecruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Flame of Purity (Overlord-class Battlecruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Sword of Retribution (Overlord-class Battlecruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Agrippa (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Iron Duke (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Justicar (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Lord Daros (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Minotaur (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Retribution (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Tonnent (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War), including the battle for Helia IV, where it was destroyed.Graf Orlok (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War), including the battle for Helia IV and the evacuation of the planet Belatis.Scipion (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War), including the battle for Helia IV.Dominion (Tyrant-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Incendrius (Tyrant-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Lord Sylvanus (Tyrant-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Zealous (Tyrant-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Hammer of Justice (Dominator-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Drachenfels (Gothic-class Cruiser) - Captained by Erwin Ramas, the Drachenfels took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War), participating in the battle for Helia IV and the evacuation of the planet Belatis.Emperor's Wrath (Gothic-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Invincible (Gothic-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Righteous Fury (Gothic-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Sword of Orion (Gothic-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Archon Kort (Dictator-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Fortitude (Dictator-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Lord Solar Macharius (Dictator-class Cruiser) - Captained by Leoten Semper, the Lord Solar Macharius took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War), including the Battle for Helia IV and the evacuation of the planet Belatis.Rhadamanthine (Dictator-class Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Abdiel (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Baron Surtur (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Guardian (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Havock (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Uziel (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Vigilant (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War). |
Battlefleet Gothic - Notable Squadrons of Battlefleet Gothic: Blue Squadron (Sword-class Frigates) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Omega Squadron (Sword-class Frigates) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Red Squadron (Sword-class Frigates) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Costa Barbarus Patrol (Firestorm-class Frigates) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Lexus Squadron (Firestorm-class Frigates) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War).Patrol Group Erinyes (Firestorm-class Frigates) - Took part in the defence of the Gothic Sector during the 12th Black Crusade (Gothic War). |
Battlefleet Gothic (Game) - Battlefleet Gothic (Game): Battlefleet Gothic is a tabletop miniatures game of starship combat based in Games Workshop's fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, and is sold by Specialist Games.Battlefleet Gothic is a starship combat game, and focuses around the incursion into the Gothic Sector of the Imperium of Man's Segmentum Obscurus of Chaos Warfleets under the command of the Warmaster of Chaos Abaddon the Despoiler, and the subsequent campaign by the Imperium to restore order, known as the Gothic War or the 12th Black Crusade.Battlefleet Gothic is also the formation of the Imperial Navy based in the Gothic Sector after which the game is named and which is a major protagonist in much of the supporting fiction. |
Battlefleet Gothic (Game) - Introduction: Battlefleet Gothic is an extension to the Warhammer 40,000 universe, providing the ability for players to stage space battles between fleets of starfaring warships. Players select starships from a variety of fleets representative of the various Warhammer 40,000 races. The game as packaged includes rules and background for space fleets of the following factions:Imperial Navy (representing Battlefleet Gothic)Chaos (representing Abaddon and his Chaos allies' warfleets)Ork FreebooterzEldar CorsairsSubsequent additions and expansions published in numerous Games Workshop sources expanded the game to include fleets for:Space MarinesOrk WAAAGH! fleetsCraftworld EldarDark Eldar RaidersT'au Empire (including Demiurg, Nicassar and Kroot ships as well as T'au vessels)Tyranid Hive FleetsNecron RaidersAdeptus MechanicusThere are also numerous Imperial factions that have starships represented in Battlefleet Gothic such as the Inquisition, Adeptus Arbites, Adeptus Mechanicus, and Rogue Traders as well as numerous types of Imperial transports that are represented using current Battlefleet Gothic models as well as Forge World models and the old space fleet models.Battlefleet Gothic starships are represented by 2-10 cm-long models. The rules and miniatures were originally available in Games Workshop stores, although reclassification as a "Specialist Game" means the rulebook is now available in PDF format from the official home page. Additionally, Forge World has produced numerous lines of miniatures for Battlefleet Gothic, ranging from models to replace ordnance markers to entirely new vessels. |
Battlefleet Gothic (Game) - Gameplay: Players take turns moving their ships and shooting, as well as undertaking more advanced maneouvres such as ramming, boarding, or disengaging. Each player may perform actions with all of his ships before the turn ends. The turns are divided into 4 phases, the Movement Phase, Shooting Phase, Ordnance Phase, and End Phase.During the Movement Phase, the player can move his ships across the tabletop. Different ships move at different speeds, and turn at different rates. Smaller Escorts (frigates and destroyers) are typically the fastest ships in a fleet. Ships can also go into "Special Orders" during the Movement Phase. Special Orders allow ships to move/turn faster, reload their ordnance, or increase the efficiency of their firing, at the cost of being less able to perform other functions later in the turn (or in other turns); for example, if a ship uses a Special Order to increase power to the engines to turn, the ship's firepower is halved that turn.During the Shooting Phase players fire their ships' weapons. Weapons are divided into two broad categories. Weapon Batteries represent massed broadsides that target an area of space, rather than being precision weapons. Lances represent more precise weapons consisting primarily of super-energised lasers, and target the enemy ships directly. Ships are protected from incoming fire by shields and armour. Enemy fire stopped by a ship's shields generate blast markers. Blast markers disrupt shooting, and slow down ships moving through them. They also temporarily bring down the shields of any ship in contact with them. Once shields are down, incoming shots impact against a ship's armour. Shooting can reduce a ship to a drifting, powerless hulk, or cause it to explode spectacularly. It can also cause critical damage, which covers a wide range of debilitating effects. Weapons can be taken offline, engines damaged, etc.During the Ordnance Phase warships use weapons that move and fight independently of the vessel. This typically includes Torpedoes, Fighters, Bombers, and Assault Boats. Ordnance must be reloaded between each use by using a Special Order. Ordnance ignores shields, but can be stopped by point-defense turrets mounted on most ships. Ordnance can also be fired on by a ship's main weapons. Although fragile, most forms of Ordnance are very difficult to hit.The End Phase is when damage control occurs. Each ship which is suffering from critical damage can attempt to repair itself. A variable number of blast markers are also removed during each End Phase. |
Battlefleet Gothic (Game) - Battlefleet Gothic: Armada: Games Workshop published the 'Battlefleet Gothic Annual' once a year after the game's release, with the exception of 2003, where the Annual was replaced by a 160-page supplement, Battlefleet Gothic: Armada. Among others, Armada introduced four new Imperial fleet rosters (Battlefleet Armageddon, Bastion Fleets, Battlefleet Cadia and the Reserve fleets of Segmentum Obscurus), as well as gathering the fleets previously mentioned into an official rulebook with updated fleet lists. |
Battlefleet Gothic (Game) - External Links: Port Maw - An unofficial, community-driven fan site dedicated to Battlefleet Gothic.Cypra Probatii International - An unofficial, bilingual (English and Polish) article-orientated portal dedicated to Battlefleet Gothic. |
Battlefleet Gothic (Game) - Sources: Battlefleet Gothic Rulebook by Andy ChambersBattlefleet Gothic - Armada (Video Game) |
Battlefleet Gothic Armada (Video Game) - Battlefleet Gothic Armada (Video Game): Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a real-time strategy video game adaption of the classic tabletop game with the same name developed by Tindalos Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive on April 21, 2016 for Microsoft Windows.The game takes place during Abaddon's 12th Black Crusade, also known as the Gothic War, where players must defend the Gothic Sector from the Orks, Chaos, Eldar Corsairs and traitorous factions of the Imperial Navy. Later downloadable content added two other factions, the T'au and the fleets of the Space Marines, to the game. |
Battlefleet Gothic Armada (Video Game) - Gameplay: Players take control of 4 factions, including the Imperial Navy, Chaos Fleet, the Eldar Corsairs and the Ork Freebooterz. Each faction possesses their own unique warships and favoured playstyle. Players can also customise their warships' weapons, crew, subsystems, and Void Shields.A level up system is in place where players gain experience from battles in which they earn more experience when they win but gain less if they lose. After gaining specific levels, players access better ship classes, various equipment upgrades, and crewmen.In order for the players to customise their ships they must first earn renown points before they can buy upgrades. Every ship in the game possesses a limited number of slots for upgrades, with the exception of the Orks'. |
Battlefleet Gothic Armada (Video Game) - Campaign: Players take control of an Imperial Navy captain named Spire on a mission to investigate the sudden communication blackout from Orbital Station Aleph. While there to investigate the blackout, an unnamed Commissar suggested sending a boarding party to investigate the orbital station. After the boarding party entered the station, they reported signs of fighting from within the facility, and after a search, they discovered the entire station crew had been slaughtered.In fact, Imperial Navy armsmen turned Traitor were responsible for the murders. Now servants of Chaos, they next sought to ambush the Imperial boarders. The entire boarding party was slaughtered to a man in the unexpected assault, while Captain Spire's ship came under attack from a Chaos-controlled defence platform. After destroying the defence platform the Chaos forces sent Escort ships to eliminate the Imperial threat, but Captain Spire and his valiant crew destroyed them first.After eliminating the Escorts, a massive Chaos Warfleet arrived under Abaddon the Despoiler's command. Captain Spire attempted to warn Battlefleet Gothic's Fleet Command of the Chaos threat, but unfortunately, the enemy forces jammed Spire's communications, and the only way to send a warning was to risk an emergency Warp jump close to a star.The Imperial ship successfully escaped to warn Fleet Command of the impending danger. Captain Spire's actions were then closely scrutinised and he was put on trial by Inquisitor Horst to determine if he was telling the truth about the encounter, or deceiving Fleet Command because he had been corrupted by the influence of Chaos.Spire was exonerated at the trial and promoted to the senior rank of Admiral by Lord Admiral Cornelius von Ravensburg. Spire is next sent on several missions that prove crucial to defending Imperial worlds from rebellions and an Ork incursion. Finally, Spire is tasked with repelling a Chaos invasion of the entire sector, leading into the final events of the Gothic War and the Battle of Schindelgheist that brought that conflict to an end. |
Battlefleet Gothic Armada (Video Game) - Notable Characters: Lord Admiral Cornelius von Ravensburg - Commander of the Imperial forces stationed in the Gothic Sector who is tasked with its defence against Abaddon's 12th Black Crusade, Ork and Craftworld Aeldari incursions. He personally aided Admiral Spire in several missions, including the final confrontation against Abaddon the Despoiler.Admiral Spire - Before the start of the 12th Black Crusade Spire was Captain of a Dauntless-class Light Cruiser whose task was to patrol the sector from hostile threats until a scouting mission to explore an Orbital Station, that Sector High Command lost contact with, unleashed an unexpected series of events. After dealing with the Chaos-controlled Defense Platforms and Chaos Escorts, he and his crew escaped a pursuing Chaos fleet and warned Imperial High Command of Abaddon's whereabouts and invasion course. After Spire's mission, Lord Admiral Cornelius Von Ravensburg promoted him to the rank of Admiral and tasked him with defending the Gothic Sector against Abaddon's 12th Black Crusade.Inquisitor Horst - An experienced agent of the Inquisition, Horst's extensive knowledge of Chaos allowed him to deduce many of Abaddon's stratagems before they were put into play. This allowed the Imperium to prepare counter-measures, or even waylay the Despoiler's plans, at several key junctures.Captain Tiberius Solarian - A Space Marine Brother-Captain who hails from the Imperial Fists Chapter, Solarian responded quickly to petitions for Astartes aid from the Gothic Sector. He now leads a Chapter fleet to grant assistance to the Imperial Navy and Imperial Guard in defending the sector from Chaos, Ork and Eldar incursions, both in space and on the ground of many beleaguered worlds.Fabricator Cambrius - A senior member of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Cambrius serves as its representative to the Gothic Sector Council during the Gothic War, and he was fully committed to supporting the Imperial Navy in their efforts to defend the sector.Prince Eldrathain - Eldrathain was an Eldar Corsair Prince who led a sizable Corsair fleet during the 12th Black Crusade. Depending on the player's choices, he will aid the Imperial Navy against Abaddon's forces, or alternatively, the player must eliminate him along with the Forces of Chaos and the Orks. |
Battlefleet Gothic Armada (Video Game) - Factions: Navis Imperialis - The Imperial Navy fields the staple of Mankind's technology. Their warships are not the most powerful or the fastest, but millennia of war against countless enemies made them tough nuts to crack, with very effective Void Shields and strong armor. They are able to adapt in a pinch to any kind of encounter and battle situation. What target is not destroyed by their barrage of torpedo strikes or devastating Nova Cannon blasts will be finished off by the powerful broadside armament they embark, while their thick armor and strong Void Shields ensure they survive the encounter. The vessels of the Imperial Navy possess heavy armor and make use of heavy weaponry like Lances and Macro-cannons on its capital ships. The Imperial Navy utilises many more vessels that can fire torpedoes at the cost of speed. Most Imperial warships are ineffective at longer range.Chaos Warfleet - Over the millennia, many ships and their crew have betrayed the Imperium to join the Traitor Legions. As such, a big part of the Chaos Warfleet is composed of ancient warship designs that have long since been decommissioned from service in the Imperial Navy. But make no mistake, this does not make them less fearsome. While not as heavily armoured, Chaos ships are faster than their Imperial counterparts, and out-range them with extensive use of weaponry such as Lances and Attack Craft. This lets them whittle down opposition from afar, before finishing off survivors in close-encounter brawls. The Chaotic fleet is largely composed of warships with many Attack Craft launch bays at the cost of less-heavily armored capital ships being available for deployment. The Chaos Fleet has weaker capital ship weapons compared to the other factions and it has fewer capital ships that can make use of torpedoes.Orks - The Orks are not your typical space-faring species. Their warships are usually built from scrap, hulks of other voidships, and in some rare cases even from asteroids. While most of their contraptions should not even work, let alone allow interstellar travel, the sheer will of the Orks, and their shared belief that it will work, actually make them functional. What their ships clearly lack in reliability is made up for with sheer firepower and particularly strong prow armor. "More Dakka" would be their motto, and charging forward, all cannons blazing and ramming the enemy ships is probably one of the most "complex" tactics that would come to the mind of an Ork kaptain. And don't forget: the red ones go faster! Ork Freebooter fleets possess heavy armor, but unlike the vessels of the Imperial Navy, Greenskin warships are more resilient. Every Ork ship can be upgraded further than that of their foes, allowing for tactical advantages in battle. The Orks possess stronger boarding parties than most of the other factions at the cost of their captains more easily becoming insubordinate in battle. Ork weapons and equipment are unstable and may backfire. As a result, Ork warships have the poorest accuracy and range of all the factions.Aeldari Corsairs - Fitted with the best technology has to offer, Craftworld Aeldari warships are fast and highly manoeuvrable spacecraft, and pack serious firepower with great damage projection and application. They are, however, lacking armour with the exception of their battleships, since their voidcraft do not embark Void Shields, instead relying on Holo-fields in conjunction with their speed and agility to avoid incoming fire, making them extremely hard to track and hit with conventional weaponry. The Craftworld Aeldari are a species on the brink of extinction, their number dwindling by the solar day. They cannot afford losing voidships -- or crew -- and therefore rely mainly on hit-and-run tactics, going in for a swift strike before quickly extracting themselves out of battle -- if their target was lucky enough to have survived the brutal onslaught. Aeldari Corsair warships excel at these tactics since they possess the fastest and most manoeuvrable vessels in the game. The Aeldari are the faction with the best fighter and bomber attack craft and the least likely to have insubordinate commanders. However, Craftworld Aeldari warships are very fragile, and are equipped primarily with frontal weapons, lacking broadside Lances. This makes Aeldari vessels highly vulnerable to boarding tactics.T'au Empire - The T'au's fleets excel at long range, with powerful weapons dealing massive amounts of damage from afar. Skilled T'au admirals can eliminate the bulk of an enemy fleet before they can even get within boarding distance. The T'au were added to the game in downloadable content (DLC) after the game's release, and were not tied into the single-player campaign.Adeptus Astartes - The Space Marines are a tough-as-nails faction who specialise in close-ranged battles using well-armored ships such as Strike Cruisers and Battle Barges. They have two unique faction traits: one that makes them immune to insubordination techniques (as if anyone would be crazy enough to disobey them in the first place) and another that lets them prioritise attacks on different subsystems when boarding enemy vessels. The Space Marines were added to the game in downloadable content after the game's release, and were not tied into the single-player campaign. |
Battlefleet Gothic Armada (Video Game) - Game Modes: During the course of the single-player campaign, skirmish and multiplayer modes, a variety of game types are possible:Convoy Escorts - Attackers must destroy half, or if possible, all of the convoy ships escorted by the defender while the defender wins if they manage to reach an escape route without losing any convoy ships or only 1 is destroyed while the rest escape.Space Station Assault - Attackers must destroy a space station in order to win while the defender wins if they manage to destroy or rout the attackers.Breakthrough - The defenders must protect orbital platforms and destroy or rout the attackers while the attackers must destroy or rout the enemy fleet while also destroying the defenders' platforms.Data Recovery - The defender must escape while protecting crucial strategic data from boarding actions by the attacker. The attacker must steal the data from the defender and escape to achieve victory.Assassination - Defenders must defend their admiral from the attackers until the admiral's flagship escapes from the battle. |
Battlefleet Gothic Armada (Video Game) - Reception: The game has received positive reviews and has a score of 79% on Metacritic. IGN awarded it a score of 7.1 out of 10, saying "Battlefleet Gothic: Armada's promising space tactics are bogged down by excessive obscure details." PC Gamer awarded it 80%, saying "A tubthumping tribute to the 40K universe, with perfectly grim design. Multiplayer definitely needs work on its balance though." |
Battlefleet Gothic Armada (Video Game) - Sources: Battlefleet Gothic: Armada (PC Game)Battlefleet Gothic Armada Official Website |
Battlefleet Koronus - Battlefleet Koronus: Battlefleet Koronus, officially known as Passage Watch 27-Est, is a small fleet of Imperial Navy vessels charged with the protection of the Koronus Expanse, a dangerous unexplored region of the Halo Stars located beyond the Calixis Sector in the Segmentum Obscurus, which lies on the northern edge of the known galaxy.At the docks of Port Wander, through the Koronus Passage, and into the Expanse beyond, the grey-hulled and crimson-prowed ships of Battlefleet Koronus defend Imperial interests and provide a bulwark for the Calixis Sector against the horrors that lurk in the depths of the Halo Stars.Officially known as Passage Watch 27-Est, this fleet detachment is nominally under Calixis Sector Command, but given a great deal of leeway in pursuing its directives -- defend Port Wander and other Imperial outposts and void stations along the Halo Margins, patrol the Koronus Passage, and launch expeditions into the Koronus Expanse to eliminate potential threats to the Calixis Sector.These actions gave rise to the detachment's unofficial name amongst Navy personnel and civilians alike -- Battlefleet Koronus. This squadron, commanded by Fleet-Captain Nathaniel Horne, is on extended detached duty from the rest of Battlefleet Calixis. |
Battlefleet Koronus - Passage Watch 27-Est: From the first discovery of the Koronus Fragments amongst Segmentum Obscuras naval records in 101.M38, the Imperium knew there might be unknown threats beyond the raging Warp Storms at the edge of the Calyx Expanse. These purported records of an unknown Explorator fleet told of mineral-rich worlds, habitable biospheres, and alien empires in the Halo Stars rimward of the Calyx Expanse.As the Angevin Crusade forged those lawless regions into the Calixis Sector, the Imperial Navy probed the edges of the Drusus Marches Sub-sector, searching for passages through the vast storms. None could be found, and the Navy ceased searching in the years after the Crusade, as warships returned to their former battlefleets and the sadly depleted remnants formed the nucleus of the nascent Battlefleet Calixis.Several centuries later, Sector Command founded Port Wander, a heavily-armed voidstation to serve as a staging ground for Navy operations along the Halo Margins. Navy presence soon dwindled as unrest drew the Battlefleet Calixis' attentions elsewhere, and the station came under the control of miscreants and Rogue Traders.Even so, when the Rogue Trader Purity Lathimon finally discovered the nigh-mythical Koronus Passage through the Great Warp Storms into the Expanse, Battlefleet Calixis set a watch on this gateway to the Halo Stars. The first Passage Watch Est was led by Terrich Voyle, who commanded the force from the Gryphon, his grandfather’s old flagship.Affairs continued in this manner until the Ork WAAAGH! Gulgrog smashed through the Maw and laid siege to Port Wander. Though the story of Port Wander's siege is best told elsewhere, suffice it to say that most Rogue Traders fled or avoided the conflict. The siege broke two years later, when Passage Watch 27-Est rendezvoused with reinforcements from Port Wrath and a fleet sent by the Adeptus Mechanicus from the Lathes. The combined forces defeated the Orks, liberating the imperilled station. WAAAGH! Gulgrog had two lasting effects on Imperial policy.The first was to lend ammunition to arguments that Port Wander should be returned to Imperial Navy control. For decades prior to the Ork attack, prominent individuals in the Imperial Adeptus and Calixis Sector nobility had been petitioning the Lucid Palace on the sector capital world of Scintilla to end the so-called "rule" of Rogue Traders and merchant guilds on this important way point to the newly discovered Koronus Expanse.Port Wander's near demise (and the haste with which many of its most powerful residents abandoned it in its time of need) was the tipping point in these debates. Within several decades, the voidstation was returned to Navy command.The second effect was less-noted but would prove equally important. Acting on its own recognizance, Battlefleet Calixis's upper echelons decided an intermittent patrol was insufficient to defend against incursion through the Koronus Passage. In recognition for its heroism during WAAAGH! Gulgrog, Passage Watch 27-Est was re-tasked as a permanent detachment, operating semi-independently from Battlefleet Calixis. For more than 350 standard years, Passage Watch 27-Est kept this vigil. |
Battlefleet Koronus - Battlefleet Koronus: Established in 673.M40, Battlefleet Koronus is not large, especially compared to Battlefleet Calixis as a whole. It is comprised of several Cruisers, Light Cruisers, and Battlecruisers, supported by multiple Destroyer and Frigate Escorts. These warships possess most of the combat experience in Battlefleet Calixis, as they are almost constantly in conflict with raiders, pirates, and the occasional xenos vessel that comes through the Maw to plunder the Calixis Sector. Passage Watch 27-Est is hard-pressed but vigilant, and on occasion has sent its distinctive grey-hulled, crimson-prowed vessels on counter-actions and reprisals into the Koronus Expanse.Today, Battlefleet Koronus operates largely independently of the sector's overview. It is one of the few fleet detachments not to lose forces to the ongoing demands of the "Margin Crusade," and has even seen a slight growth in strength as exploration and interest in the Koronus Expanse grows.Defending the sector against the predications of the Expanse is one duty that cannot be allowed to lapse, and since one of Battlefleet Koronus' tasks is to protect Zone 15 (and the Warp Gate to the Jericho Reach), its ships are so far immune to requisition.Battlefleet Koronus stages from several locations, including Port Wander in the Rubycon II System, Copernicus Depot at the edge of the Drusus Marches, and Fleet Base Metis in Zone 15. However, with the exception of Fleet Base Metis, few warships may be found at these locations at any one time. The majority of Battlefleet Koronus is on constant patrol, the better to project its power. |
Battlefleet Koronus - Long Patrols: Battlefleet Koronus' most powerful vessels rarely range beyond the Maw, leaving patrol work to the Frigates of Triumph Squadron and Light Cruisers such as Aegis, Hawk, and Swiftsure. These vessels travel deep into the Expanse, often remaining on patrol for years, even solar decades, at a time.These "Long Patrols" avoid conflict if possible, and do not actively hunt down pirates, xenos, or other malcontents. Rather they scout the reaches of the Expanse, investigating uncharted worlds, keeping an eye on the activities of Rogue Traders, and monitoring the status of known threats and xenos empires.These patrols require a ship and crew that are self-reliant and versatile, and a captain both quick witted and able to operate independently from the chain of command without becoming either ineffectual or a Renegade. In fact, those captains who have proven particularly adept at the Long Patrol tend to seem more Rogue Trader than Navy officer.Most Rogue Traders avoid direct conflict with Navy vessels in the Expanse. However, once beyond the Maw or Metis Base, the laws of the Imperium mean nothing, and the only authority a Navy vessel has is that which is wrought by cold steel and Macrobatteries. Some Rogue Traders do not take kindly on what they see as the prying eyes of the Imperium investigating their business, and may show their displeasure with action.However, a Navy ship has far worse threats to contend with in the form of Chaos Reavers, pirate wolfpacks, Ork Freebooters, Eldar Corsair, and the dreaded Rak'Gol, not to mention the dangers of Warp Storms, grav-tides, supernovas, or a host of other "natural" threats. The Long Patrol is a coveted responsibility for the chance to win glory and honour, but it is a highly dangerous task just the same. |
Battlefleet Koronus - Patrols of Note: Battlefleet Koronus regards certain Long Patrols as particularly important, assigning them trusted captains and reliable vessels.The Vigil of Undred-Undred Teef - The Ork worlds of Undred-Undred Teef are an obvious source of danger for the Imperial interests in the Koronus Expanse, as well as the entire Calixis Sector. However, ever since the loss of the Light Cruiser Rhadamanthine during a reconnaissance of the region, the Navy has chosen discretion for their patrols. Currently, the Sword-class Frigate Lord Marius Hax lurks in the outer Oort Cloud of the Stompgit System, hidden amongst a clutch of rocks and ice. Retrofitted for an extremely extended deployment, the Frigate may remain there for several decades, though Commander Larren Volos occasionally patrols nearby star systems to see how far the Ork infestation spreads.Investigating the Alenic Depths - As the Rak'Gol threat grows, Battlefleet Koronus has dispatched the Falchion-class Frigate Swift Judgement to the edges of the Alenic Depths in hopes to gather more information about these mysterious xenos. Commander Halik Kail is under orders to exercise extreme caution, but the vast distance and stellar disturbances means communications with the ship have been sporadic at best.Piracy in Winterscale's Realm - One of the few "explored" regions of the Expanse, the worlds in Winterscale's Realm are mostly likely to have regular contact and trade with the Imperium. As the value of this trade grows, Horne dispatched Captain Sasha Rivers and the Dauntless-class Light Cruiser Swiftsure to protect Imperial interests in the region. Thus far, the captain has destroyed three pirate vessels and taken two additional raiders as prizes -- success enough that the scattered pirate clans of the region are banding together in an attempt to destroy her.Struggles in the Foundling Worlds - Endeavours in the Foundling Worlds have suffered of late, from plagues, Warp Storms, and raids by pirates and xenos. The Sword-class Frigate Scintilla Majoris, Commander Helgrom McKrale commanding, has been patrolling the Foundling Worlds for the past five years, and has found itself caught in the midst of conflict. Of particular threat are the Chaos Reavers of Iniquity, and the Scintilla Majoris engaged them in several desperate battles within the last few years. Now, running low on supplies and ammunition, McKrale searches for a safe port where he can repair, re-provision, and reinforce his depleted crew. |
Battlefleet Koronus - Zone 15: Originally the Fifth Station of Passage through the Maw, within the last century Passage Watch 27-Est has blockaded this small, barren star system (itself outside the more explored portions of the Koronus Passage) and a vast portion of surrounding space and declared it off-limits to any unauthorised vessels. Few Rogue Traders (or any non-Navy personnel, really) know what secrets lie within its borders.In truth, Zone 15 was established on discovery of a marvellous relic, an ancient xenos Warp Gate that allows ships to travel across the galaxy to the far-flung Jericho Reach in the Eastern Fringe. Originally, Passage Watch 27-Est merely watched over the gate as Adepts from the Adeptus Mechanicus investigated its mechanism and, more importantly, where it led.Later, as the powers of the Adeptus Terra decided to launch a Crusade through the gate to reclaim the Reach, Battlefleet Koronus switched to the role of guardians. Not only did they guard this vital supply line for the Achilus Crusade, they also protected the secret of the Warp Gate's existence.In hindsight, it was inevitable that Battlefleet Koronus would establish a permanent base in the region. Though the gate is actually located in the black depths of space, the Navy established their base in a nearby star system: System Designate 028-3B8-4D. This served their purposes two-fold, not only did the system provide many of the necessary resources to establish an installation, but it also added another layer of misdirection. Anyone looking for a Warp Gate would focus their attentions on a known Navy fortress, and not think to explore the void several thousand astronomical units distant. |
Battlefleet Koronus - Fleet Base Metis: System Designate 028-3B8-4D is a barren collection of rocks orbiting a guttering red dwarf. Besides several rings of asteroids (the innermost being semi-molten), the only worlds in the system are several marginal telluric rocks with thin, dusty atmospheres of inert gas. In fact, its only appealing feature besides the Warp Gate is that it is near the centre of a relatively large region of space where Warp Storms do not intrude.Fleet Base Metis does not orbit any of these worlds, instead following an orbit amongst the outmost asteroid ring. Imperial strategists cunningly calculated the placement of the voidstation so the approaches are limited by the surrounding field, and several seemingly accessible approaches are covered by minefields and Macrobattery emplacements built into the larger rocks. The shifting orbital paths of the asteroids, coupled with the formidable perimeter defences and Battlefleet Koronus warships on station, make simply approaching the Fleet Base an onerous task.Even if a foe could reach Metis, they may well find themselves outclassed by the firepower the voidstation can bring to bear. The base itself is an extremely powerful bastion, a Ramilies-class Starfort. Originally designed by Artisan Magos Lian Ramilies from STC components, the Ramilies is as heavily armed as a squadron of warships and can remain self-sufficient for decades if not indefinitely. More importantly, a Ramilies can erect a Warpbubble over the entire structure, enabling it to enter the Warp and be towed by fleets of tugs to different star systems.Originally commissioned for the Achilus Crusade into the Jericho Reach, Fleet Base Metis was towed to System 028-3B8-4D in preparation for transport through the Warp Gate. However, last-minute studies of the gate and its properties by the senior Magi of the Adeptus Mechanicus determined it would not survive the journey. Transit through the gate is extremely turbulent, too much so for an unwieldy convoy of tugs and supply ships towing an unwieldy Starfort.Unfortunately, just passing through the Maw had proven extremely dangerous for the procession, and the risk of taking Metis back into the Calixis Sector was deemed too great. After the strategists who suggested using Metis in the Crusade had been punished for incompetence, the massive starfort was left in System Designate 028-3B8-4D, where it was reassigned to Passage Watch 27-Est almost by default.Since its accidental arrival, Metis has proved incredibly useful to the Achilus Crusade and Battlefleet Koronus. Not only is it a vital resupply and staging point for Fleet-Captain Nathaniel Horne's fleet, it also serves as a transit point for a large portion of the supplies still flowing through the Warp Gate to the Jericho Reach. Although some void ships travel directly to the gate, many others off-load their cargos at Metis and depart, never knowing the ultimate destination of their supplies. In turn, other ships make a continuous run through the Warp Gate to the Imperial Fortress Worlds on the far side. |
Battlefleet Koronus - Notable Vessels of Battlefleet Koronus: Gryphon (Mars-class Battlecruiser) This venerable Mars-class Battlecruiser has served with Battlefleet Koronus since its inception, often as the detachment's flagship. Many foes have fallen to its powerful and fearsomely accurate Nova Cannon, until the ship is known, and feared by the Imperium's enemies, throughout the regions of the Expanse near the Maw. Almost as renowned are the Gryphon's Attack Craft squadrons, especially the Fury interceptors of Tempest Wing and the Starhawk bombers of Absolution Wing. Currently, the Gryphon is under the personal command of Fleet-Captain Horne, and consequently patrols between the detachment's staging points.Stormwind (Overlord-class Battlecruiser) - This powerful Overlord-class Battlecruiser is better suited for full warfare than long-range patrols, and some wonder how it ended up assigned to the Passage Watch at all. In truth, Battlefleet Calixis was loath to lose this vessel to the demands of the "Margin Crusade" and the ongoing war in the Jericho Reach, and transferred it to the Passage Watch instead. The Crusade's masters could hardly protest without raising unwanted attention amongst those who do not know the true nature of the Margin Crusade, which is simply an excuse to hide the existence of the Achilus Crusade and the Calixis Sector's role in supporting an Imperial Crusade on the other side of the galaxy. Now, the Stormwind spends much of its time commanding the blockade forces around Zone 15, but provides a powerful reserve should the Passage Watch or Battlefleet Calixis find itself in a full-blown war.Sirius (Lunar-class Cruiser) - A stalwart Lunar-class Cruiser with an impressive record of service, the Sirius fought with distinction in the Battle of Gethsemane during the Gothic War of 143-151.M41, helping to throw back Abaddon's attempted conquest of the Gothic Sector. It was subsequently transferred to Battlefleet Calixis, then to Passage Watch 27-Est. The Siriuss veterans constantly train new recruits, so that the warship's crew has earned a reputation as being particularly competent. The Sirius often patrols the Maw entrance in the company of the Gethsemane.Gethsemane (Gothic-class Cruiser) - Something of a rarity in a Battlefleet, this Gothic-class Cruiser is newly constructed, built within the last century at the Drystan Construction Yards. Its crew is still considered "green," hence its pairing with the veteran Sirius. It is rumoured that Fleet Command finds it amusing to partner the ship with a vessel that fought in the battle the Gethsemane is named for.Hand of Redemption (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Under the command of Captain Keel, this Lunar-class Cruiser spent several years on "extended patrol" in Winterscale's Realm. Upon his return, his familiarity with the Koronus Expanse meant Battlefleet Command felt it was worth transferring him to the Passage Watch.Drake (Tyrant-class Cruiser) - A Tyrant-class Cruiser, the Drake recently returned to service after being trapped in the Immaterium for five years by the violent Warp Storms bordering the Maw. That the warship survived either makes it lucky or suspect, depending on whom one asks.Warspite (Dictator-class Cruiser) - Like most Dictator-class Cruisers, the Warspite began life as a Lunar, and was converted into an Attack Carrier vessel to better serve the needs of Battlefleet Koronus. Its duties alternate between convey patrols around Port Wander, and showing the flag at outposts beyond the Maw.Swiftsure (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser) - Battlefleet Koronus finds Light Cruisers exceedingly useful in anti-piracy patrols, and the Swiftsure is one of several Dauntless-class vessels in the Passage Watch's ranks. Under a succession of aggressive (and slightly brutal) captains, it has become the bane of Cold Trade smugglers who run the Maw.Hawk (Defiance-class Light Cruiser) - Voss Pattern vessels are rare this far from the world of Armageddon, and this Defiance-class Light Cruiser/Attack Carrier is the only one of its kind in Battlefleet Calixis. Light Cruisers outfitted as Attack Carrier vessels are thought of as an unworkable hybrid vessel by many Navy officers, and Hawk was transferred to the Passage Watch mostly because Sector Command was unsure what to do with her. Under the command of Commander Victoria Horne, however, Hawk consistently patrols deep into the Expanse, and has proven a valuable source of intelligence to the Battlefleet. |
Battlefleet Koronus - Notable Squadrons of Battlefleet Koronus: Triumph and Wrath of Saint Drusus Squadrons - Squadrons of Sword-class Frigates and Cobra-class Destroyers, respectively, are both cornerstones of Battlefleet Koronus' attempts to interdict smuggling and piracy. The Destroyers in Wrath of Saint Drusus Squadron are noted for destroying the wolfpack reaver warship Blooded Skull in a three-day running battle. |
Battlefleet Orpheus - Battlefleet Orpheus: Battlefleet Orpheus is a permanent detachment of the Imperial Navy charged with the protection of the Orpheus Sector on the exterior borders of the Segmentum Tempestus. As one of the frontier fleets of the Imperium of Mankind, Battlefleet Orpheus lacks the numbers or tonnage of more powerful formations such as Battlefleet Gothic ot Battlefleet Armageddon, but as most branches of the Imperial Navy carries forth a proud history. Unfortunately, Battlefleet Orpheus has suffered severe casualties in the recent and still ongoing Orphean War. With the formal dissolution of the Orpheus Sector in 999.M41, the Battlefleet's fate remains unclear. |
Battlefleet Orpheus - Segmentum Tempestus: The Segmentum Tempestus is one of the five Segmentum Majoris or great administrative regions which compose the domains of the Holy Emperor and the Imperium of Mankind. Located to the galactic South of the Segmentum Solar and Terra itself, the Segmentum Tempestus -- which loosely translates as "the Sector of Storms" -- owns its name to the turbulent Warp-routes and other strange phenomena that plague the Segmentum's shipping lanes. Perhaps mercifully for the forces of the Imperial Navy stationed there, the Segmentum Tempestus is free of large scale Warp-anomalies such as the Eye of Terror and the Maelstrom which offer pirates and armies of the Ruinous Powers a safe harbour to amass their strength before striking again at the Imperium. As such, the Imperial Navy of this region of space is more often confronted by xenos raiders rather than fully fledged warfleets, which the notable exceptions of the Ork-held domains of V'run and Jurn which occasionally launch invasions known as WAAAGHs!. Segmentum Headquarters are located on and around the Imperial Forge World of Bakka, which also commands the most powerful warfleet of the Segmentum, Battlefleet Bakka. Due to the uncertainties of the Warp within the Segmentum, the Battlefleets of the Segmentum Tempestus are used to long and often extended patrols, hunting down xenos and human corsairs or pirates and investigating distress signals while the most powerful units serve as tactical reserve with Battlefleet Bakka as was the case in the First Tyrannic War. |
Battlefleet Orpheus - The Dark Marches Crusade: In the sixth century of M.36, following the tumultuous times of the Age of Apostasy, the Segmentum Tempestus knows a strong resurgence which it put to good use when the tremendous Warp Storms that had given the Segmentum it’s name abated. Segmentum authorities launched a series of campaigns and Crusades designed to expunge lingering threats and fortify the Imperium’s southern border. This would eventually lead to the great Dark Marches Crusade, whose principal objective was to reconquer and colonize the domains that had been explored by the legendary Rogue Trader Lady Arica Orpheus in the distant past of the Great Crusade but had been lost in the wake of the Horus Heresy. The Crusade was led by a distant descendant of the noble Rogue Trader house, Lord Tempestus Hal Orpheus and would lead to the creation of several new Imperial Sectors, chief amongst them the Orpheus Sector which was granted its own Battlefleet. The newly constituted Battlefleet was given a mighty vessel as its flagship, the Apocalypse-class Battleship Arica Dominus from which Hal Orpheus had planned and directed the Dark Marches Crusade and chose Amarah Prime, the Sector’s new capital, as its principal base of operation and headquarters.Over the next millennia, Battlefleet Orpheus always upheld its oaths, watching and protecting the Sector’s worlds and the vital commercial routes may of them relied upon even during the dark years of the Times of Woe, when the political structure of the Sector was close to imploding. Most often, the Battlefleet saw limited actions against Eldar Corsairs which had found refuge within the asteroid fields and nebulas of the Hesod Nebula. This domain, located to the far North of the Sector could never truly be controlled or pacified, despite several punitive expeditions being launched. Following the loss of contact with the neighbouring Leyak-Sector in 976.M37, Battlefleet Orpheus is tasked with the surveillance of the border to this Sector which is declared Perdita after an Ordo Xenos-led investigation. Several frontier worlds within the Orpheus Sector are also to be abandoned, and Battlefleet Orpheus establishes a strong presence in the Deluvian Sub-Sector to better enforce the compliance of local space-traffic. This was only made possible through an inquisitorial mandate for the other worlds of the Orpheus Sector to dramatically increase their own orbital defences, which freed sufficient ships for these patrols along the southern border to be carried out. It is believed that it was during these years that Amarah Prime equipped itself with the two great orbital stations that would still make up the heart of its orbital defence network during the Orphean War. It was also presumably following these edicts that Battlefleet Orpheus established a secondary mustering point and astropathic choir in orbit around the Relic World of C'syn'ad.With its eyes fixed on the outside, the Orpheus Sector did not see the dark seeds that had taken root within their Sector as the baleful touch of Chaos corrupted a score of worlds. Still heavily hindered by the tremendous military tithes they were subjected to, the worlds of the Orpheus Sector proved to be fertile ground for the promises of insurrectionists, separatists and demagogues. Sector governorship had long passed from the extinguished line of House Orpheus to the stewardship of the House of Laan, distrusted by many for the House’s reputation was one of intrigue and excesses. To some extent, the Sector was kept together and functioning only by the tireless efforts of Battlefleet Orpheus, which successfully adverted a number of crisis that would have plunged the Sector into chaos had they not done so. Chief amongst these menaces was the major Ork-invasion of 160.M39, where their ramshackle fleet penetrated deeply into the Deluvian Sub-Sector. Led by their gigantic flagship - the Mega-Kroozer - the Orks proved a far more tenacious opponent than initially believed and it took Battlefleet Orpheus no less than nineteen weeks of constant attacks to slow down the WAAAGH!, before defeating it with the help of its allies, the Space Marines of the Revilers and Red Seraphs Chapters. However, the Orkish survivors soon settled in the desolate regions on the border of the Deluvian Sub-Sector and would soon prove to be a constant thorn in the Battlefleet's side. Focusing on the regions surrounding the Warp Storm known as the Shattered Deeps, these Orks soon turned to piracy, preying on the commercial routes of both the Deluvian and Drucillan Sub-Sectors.Battlefleet Orpheus only played a limited role during the Orphean War of Faith, an Imperial Crusade destined to cleanse the Orpheus Sector from the corruption of the xenos and the Ruinous Powers that had befallen it. The Orphean War of Faith was essentially a ground war and although Battlefleet Orpheus contributed largely in shipping Imperial forces to the front lines, few naval battles were fought. This changed to some extent after the events known as Saint Marduk’s Bane, when in 921.M39 an unknown enemy scoured the planet clean of both Chaos-aligned and Imperial armies and destroyed Saint Marduk’s supporting fleet elements. Having mysteriously vanished, Battlefleet Orpheus diligently searched for the enemy, the desire for retribution burning hot i their hearts, but all patrols came back empty-handed.It would only be in the 40th Millennium that Battlefleet Orpheus’ might would be tested again, when the Orks of WAAAGH! Gutgouga succeeded to rally the pirates of the Shattered Deeps around them and push for the Deluvian Sub-Sector. It would take nearly seven month of gruesome campaigning to stop the Ork advance and destroy them, Warboss Badrok Gutgouga’s corpse being famously hanged from the spire of the Red Cathedral on Amraphel. This marked the last true threat to Battlefleet Orpheus before the disastrous Orphean War. |
Battlefleet Orpheus - The Orphean War: In 990.M41, the binary system of Caracol went supernova, an event which is believed to coincide with the reawakening of the Maynarkh Dynasty, a powerful fraction of the Xenos-species identified as Necrons. Unknown to the Imperium of Mankind, the Caracol-system harboured one of the powerful xenos-devices known as Dolmen Gates, which transferred the energy of the twin solar death to the plane of the Immaterium, creating something akin to the tsunamis of Old Earth within the Warp. This huge tidal wave snuffed out all warp-turbulences within the Orpheus Sector and beyond, some of which had been plaguing the Sector for the past centuries. The Shattered Deeps, a warp storm which had long sheltered Ork pirates, collapsed on itself and only the Howling Vortex in the Barren Stars remained. Many vessels that were traveling in the Warp when the wave hit were thrown wildly of course or had to initiate an emergency translation into realspace -- the less fortunate were even destroyed and their souls left to feed the ever-hungry denizens of the Warp. It is unknown how Battlefleet Orpheus suffered from this phenomenon, or if indeed warships or other installations were lost or harmed in the process, but such an event was bound to cause some form of turmoil. However, none truly expected it to herald a sector-wide invasion of the Orpheus Sector.By 991.M41, Battlefleet Orpheus was in a heightened state of alert, powerful agents of the Ordo Malleus had analyzed the warp wave further and come to the conclusion that a daemonic calamity was drawing near. Yet no attack from the Immaterium manifested itself and so patrols and troop gatherings were continued as planned. Sector authorities were pressing for the reconquest of the Chemarium-system which had been cordoned-off by the warships of Battlefleet Orpheus. As part of the reinforcements gathered for this expedition, the Space Marines Chapter of the Minotaurs had arrived in the Orpheus Sector and made way for Amarah. When the attack came, it came from the North, but the enemy was not the one expected -- the Eldar Corsairs of the Hesod Nebula had been stirring and were now launching heavy raids against the nearby Imperial worlds. Ships on patrol in the vicinity such as the Thetis were the first to counterattack, the Thetis’ logs - only recovered after the events - showing that quite uncharacteristically, the raiders had lingered on Bessarion, hunting down every last survivor and stripping the colony as if they were preparing for some great voyage. With the help of Destroyer-squadron Ajax Three, the Thetis defeated the Eldar, driving them off before pursuing a damaged corsair vessel to the uninhabited system of Hex-Lul-344-5 only to find it already vanquished. Boarding parties sent on board the xenos derelict described a scene of utter devastation, Eldar and human captives slain alike, their flayed corpses hanging from the ceiling or lying in bloody heaps on the ground. In a sealed compartment, the armsmen discovered Eldar which had committed ritual suicide to escape whatever fate had befallen their comrades, the walls of their hiding hole covered with warding signs written in their own blood. Meanwhile, a far larger Corsair-fleet was trying to move westwards when it encountered a battlegroup of Battlefleet Orpheus and the majority of the Minotaurs’ own powerful fleet. The Eldar being quickly destroyed, the combined fleet returned to Amarah, while the Thetis, now alone, pressed on to the Mechanicus outpost of Harrow Watch. Having lost contact with Battlefleet Headquarters several hours before, the Thetis’ could not issue a warning upon reaching the Harrow Watch-system where its wreck was later discovered. Like the Thetis, a score of worlds perished in utter silence and without the knowledge of the Imperial forces, their cries for help unheard and their call for assistance unanswered.It wasn’t before the the Inquisitorial fortress on Apollyon, close to the heart of the Sector was attacked itself that the Imperium realised that it was under attack. With astropathic communication out of service, the following call to arms had to be relayed by fast-travelling ships, many of whom did not return. How the Necrons were indeed able to sabotage this communication remains unclear as the sole comparable phenomena is generated by the collective Hive Mind of the Tyranids and is known as the "Shadow in the Warp". Yet the Necron did not simply copy the Tyranid’s ability but took it even a step further, apparently freezing the astropathic messages and death screams of its inceptors in time to be used to a baleful end. The desperate warning of Apollyon brought movement to the Imperial warmachine, but with all contact lost with a score of worlds and most importantly Libertha, the homeworld of the Angels Revenant, Imperial Commanders began to frantically man their defences rather than conduct a coordinated counter-attack. In this course of action, Calibor Laan, the Sector’s Imperial Governor was supported by the most distinguished of the Inquisitorial representatives still alive, Lord Inquisitor Ntshona of the Ordo Malleus. However, as he had not been on Apollyon or faced the enemy himself, the venerable Lord Inquisitor theorized that this was all an elaborate terror-campaign conducted by the agents of the Archenemy and that no punitive actions were to be undertaken. As the days became weeks and the weeks months, Amarah was soon turned into a fortress. Battlefleet Orpheus tirelessly transferred materiel and troops to Amarah, leaving the Arcantis Cluster dangerously undefended as the ever more paranoid Calibor Laan commandeered ever more troops in defence of his throneworld. First to arrive was Battlegroup Salvation, the great Imperial army initially mustered to reconquer the Chemarium-system, while later reinforcements included the 17th and 60th Line Korps of the Death Korps of Krieg. Apart from shipping troops to Amarah, most of Battlefleet Orpheus stood idle at Amarah, reading themselves for action when eventually the enemy would show itself. Countless minefields were laid at the system’s Mandeville point, the only route the enemy could arrive from.The ominous silence that had fallen over nearly half of the Orpheus Sector was abruptly shattered on 3806991.M41. Astropathic channels and scanner auguries that had been silent for months were suddenly overwhelmed by the mass of signals and incoming messages, an overlapping cacophony that drove more than one Astropath to madness. Those that survived described scores of babbled distress calls mingled with the death screams of entire populations, folded on themselves and overlapping as if they had been magically kept in a bottle only to be opened again. Scanners and empirical detection devices showed strange energy spikes on the borders of the Veiled Region while a malevolent corrupted machine spirit overpowered the defences of entire worlds and ther greatest warships of Battlefleet Orpheus to deliver its message in hard edged Imperial Gothic "Maynarkh comes". This simple phrase, repeated over and over shocked the Orpheus Sector to its core, for with the cacophony hallowing from their own vox-networks, a malign presence had manifested itself in the Imperial communication network. Battlefleet Orpheus reacted quickly, as the normal safeguards of the Machine God’s adepts proved utterly vain, the Mechanicus Adepts used galvanic purges to scour the infestation clean, creating an effective firewall which allowed to reassert control over the communication grid. Only with communication reestablished did the full extent of the invasion become visible: Libertha, the homeworld of the Angels Revenant had been reduced to a volcanic plain, venting the fury of its fiery heart in its soured atmosphere while from Pallasite to Apollyon all worlds had been scoured clean of life. Even as the systems in Amarah’s direct vicinity and Battlefleet Orpheus’ own shipyards came under attack, no counter-attack was launched, even the Space Marines of the Minotaurs Chapter staying in orbit around Amarah. Kesh and Epirus fell next, while the Imperials still dug themselves deeper in, awaiting the horror that was bound to come. |
Battlefleet Orpheus - The Battle of Amarah: In the quarter of a year since the first attack on the Orpheus Sector had begun, Calibron Laan had steadily reinforced the defences of Amarah, until said defences had grown to colossal proportions. With the first reinforcements from the neighbouring Sectors arriving at the capital, the build-up of forces quickly became one of the greatest of the entire Segmentum -- on the ground alone over nineteen million Imperial Guardsmen had been deployed, with ten-times that number of Imperial citizens pressed into the Militia. Battlefleet Orpheus had also been considerably reinforced, the fleet protecting Amarah having steadily grown until it counted more than sixty Cruisers our capital vessels of which at least seven were primus-grade Battleships. The Imperial fleet would be commanded by Knight-Commander Georg Carew, Grand Admiral of Battlefleet Orpheus from the bridge of the venerable Arica Dominus, the same ship that had heralded the inception and conquest of the Orpheus Sector. Alongside these vessels, more than a hundred Escorts belonging to Amarah’s own orbital defences, Battlefleet Orpheus or the Imperial Navy would take to the fight, the coalition further strenghtened by the power vessels at the disposition of the Minotaurs, chief amongst them being the great Assault-Carrier Daedelos Krata. While independent from Battlefleet Headquarters, Asterion Moloc, Chapter Master of the Minotaurs had signified his will to concur with the wider Imperial strategy and perhaps untypically for his Chapter, decided to bow to the will of Amarah’s Imperial Governor.Calibron Laan had explicitly forbidden Battlefleet Orpheus to investigate the fate of the lost worlds, or even to gather information about the enemy’s strength or true nature. Therefore, Grand Admiral Carew had looked after his fleets defences and moulded the battlefield to his liking. On the system’s exterior, Battlefleet Orpheus had deployed a thick minefield around Amarah's Mandeville Point, the location where Warp/real-space translation was safe and could not be interfered with by the sun’s gravity and radiation. The fleet itself was anchored around Battlefleet Orpheus' fleet anchorage of Laymon, orbiting Amarah's third planet -- locally referred to as Laymon -- in order to intercept any formation breaking through the minefield and heading system-inwards, considerably weakening the foe and if possible stopping him from landing any troops at all on Amarah. If the enemy prove to powerful in this first engagement, Battlefleet Orpheus and its allies could still fall back and anchor their second line on Amarah's orbital defence platforms. The battle plan was a sound one, and Carew had much faith that the battle against this mysterious and yet unidentified enemy could be won in space. He could not have been more wrong.When the attack finally came at 1534202 local time of 3970992.M41, the Imperial fleet and Battlefleet Orpheus were totally taken by surprise. No auguries, no deep-space scan had warned the Imperials from the Necron's arrival, nor had the attack been predicted by the visions of an Astropath, seer or Librarian of the Adeptus Astartes. As previously, the Necrons used an unknown technology to disorientate, weaken and disorganise their foes, somehow forcing Amarah's sun to eject matter into space. The star’s projection were so massive that it reached the innermost planet of the solar system, Auric, flash-incinerating everything on its day-side, whilst the radiations, gravitational anomalies and solar winds vomited in space blinded every augury of both fleet and defence grid and caused a total communication breakdown. It was only when battle station Sentinel 4 in deep orbit around Amarah Prime exploded that the reeling Imperial forces realised that battle had been joined. Still at anchor, the fleet could only watch helplessly as the black fleet of the enemy passed them by, utterly ignoring them and heading for the system’s core. Somehow, the Necron had entirely circumvented the exterior defences and appeared deep within the Imperial defences. Moving at a speed no Imperial vessel under his command could hope to match, Grand Admiral Carew watched impotently as the strange silhouettes of the enemy ships headed to the world he had sworn to protect. Ordering the fleet to mobilize and the Arica Dominus to cycle its generators to full power and engage its engines, the armada of Imperial battleships began to stir, but for Amarah it was already too late. By the time a warning could be send, the Necron-ships had already obliterated the interior minefields and destroyed first Sentinel 2, the Sentinel 1, each station harbouring the firepower of an entire cruiser squadron. The station's fiery demise illuminated the night-sky above Amarah, a fiery omen of what was yet to come.While on the ground battle was joined, the naval engagement had not yet started. The Imperial fleet, fuelled by righteous anger was powering at full burn towards Amarah, intent on catching the Necron fleet before it could disengage or flee the system. The Maynarkh however had quite a different goal in mind and turned in perfect unity and a grace that no human ship could hope to match right into the path of the attackers. At the heart of the Necron fleet stood two towering behemoths, two Cairn-class Tomb Ships identified as the Dead Hand and the Sun Killer. Easily dwarfing an Imperial battleship, it would be the first time in Imperial history that the Imperial Navy would face two of these fearful tools of destruction at the same time. The Necrons could further rely on twenty of the so-called Harvest Ships of the Scythe-class, but most oft the Necron fleet was made up of lighter craft of Escort-level tonnage. By conventional wisdom, Battlefleet Orpheus outnumbered its enemy nearly four-to-one, but despite his naval expertise, Grand Admiral Carew had never fought Necrons before.The Imperial warships formed two battle-echelons. The first would be led by Carew himself and the Arica Dominus, which totaled the main force of Battlefleet Orpheus, while the second echelon, closely behind as to exploit any break in enemy formation would stand ready to deliver the killing blow. This second echelon was centered on the relic Assault Carrier, the Daedelos Krata and was almost exclusively made up of the Minotaurs’ warfleet -- three mighty Battle Barges and their escorting Strike Cruisers. Against them, the Necrons had arrayed themselves in a large crescent-shaped formation, with the heavier Cairn-class Tomb Ships at its heart. Despite the affront made to his honour and his burning desire to avenge the ships previously lost, Carew kept a cool head, planning his opening moves with the exactitude and precision of a great tactician. At tremendous speed, the Necrons were still heading towards the Imperial fleet, perhaps in an attempt to break through his formation. Conferring with Asterion Moloc, Grand Admiral Carew asked for the second echelon to slightly fall back as to better intercept any ship managing to break through before matching the enemy’s course. With serene attitude, Carew ordered launch-tubes to be prepared and the Imperial fleet entered the battle proper with a coordinated wave of torpedoes.On the bridge of the Arica Dominus, all eyes were locked on the tactical holo-sphere as hundreds of blue icons, closed in on the enemy ships. Red alarm glyphs suddenly sprang to life as the torpedoes were about to hit their target : scores of torpedoes simply ceased to function, their thrusters powering down and leaving them floating or tumbling on an erratic course, their warheads deactivated by some foul xenos technology. Others even self destructed or cork-screwed on new trajectories that let them bypass the Necron’s flypath. Far too few flew on undeterred, and these were easily avoided by the surprisingly nimble Necron ships or exploded harmlessly on the thick black hull of the large Tomb Ships. Before the Imperial fleet had fully recovered from its shock, both fleets had entered lance range and the Necrons retaliated with their own ordnance. Marked by gravitational distortions and flying close to the speed of light, the cogitators and machine spirits of Battlefleet Orpheus identified the projectiles far too late to alter their course. The venerable battlecruiser Richtenback, next in line to the Arica Dominus itself was struck amidships by just such a projectile : its shields instantly overwhelmed and its fiery demise shacking the flagship to its core - the Necrons were hurling spears of star-matter at Battlefleet Orpheus. Knowing fully well that to call of the attack now was all but impossible, Grand Admiral Carew ordered his ships to come about and rake the Necrons with the full might of their broadsides. The closing space between the two fleets became a blinding storm of blazing lance strikes, super-heated plasmabeams or flying macro-cannon shells and missiles whilst the Necrons answered with a fury of strange emerald blasts. The first casualties began to come in, and the Knight-Commander was horrified to notice what havoc the Necron had wrought within the Imperial battleline; fully a quarter of his fleet had either been destroyed or crippled against so very few xenos-vessels. As the Imperial warships powered away, horror piled on horror as mocking inertia and conventional dynamics of naval engagements, every ship in the Necron fleet made an 180° turn on itself and headed back the way they had come, now bearing on the vulnerable rear-quarter of the Imperial battle line.The second engagement with the Necron fleet was even more murderous than the first pass, as many ships had not recharged their depleted Void Shields and were now attacked from the blindspot created by their own thrusters. Dozens of ships perished not knowing what had attacked them, including the Mendicatus and the Retribution-class Battleship Talisman of Grace, which was cut in two by the Sun Killer’s fire. Frantically ordering his ships to disperse and break formation, Grand Admiral Carew ordered the Arica Dominus to turn as tightly as its veteran crew could manage it, zeroing in on an isolated Harvest Ship and unleashing the full might of its broadside upon it. The Necron ship soon succombed and disintergrated under the cheers of the Arica Dominus’ bridge crew, but that joy was short-lived. The Imperial fleet had fallen into disarray, each ship trying to save itself from the more rapid Necron vessels. Many Imperial bombers and fighters were not shot down by the enemy, but by the defensive fire of their own panicked comrades. The Arica Dominus was assailed by a trio of Necron Escorts which deeply wounded the ship, breaking the ship’s starboard boardside upon and leaving it open to the void whilst disabling its manoeuvering capacity, leaving the relic battleship’s to helplessly tumble around. With the Arica Dominus taken out, and the twin behemoths of the Dead Hand and the Sun Killer in their midst, Battlefleet Orpheus soon fell into disarray and retreated. |
Battlefleet Orpheus - Aftermath: For Battlefleet Orpheus, the Battle of Amarah was a humbling defeat. Had it not been for the later intervention of the Minotaurs which launched a daring decapitation strike at the Dead Hand which succeeded in wounding the Necron Overlord commanding the assault, this battle could have ended in disaster. Through the sacrifice of uncounted millions of men, in place of utter defeat, the Imperium was able to achieve a bloody stalemate. Amarah remained in Imperial hands, but it had been ruined and it was evident that the Imperial armies would not be able to hold back another attack. Strategically speaking, Amarah and the rest of the Orpheus Sector were lost, for the only way to defeat the Maynarkh Dynasty would have been to call for a full-fledged Imperial Crusade, a campaign that would take years or even decades to be launched. Therefore, under authority of the High Lords of Terra, the Orpheus Sector was to be abandoned, the remaining worlds stripped of every useful resource and the Necrons to be held back whilst the neighbouring Eurydice-Sector was mobilized for war and its world fortified. With the promulgation of the Orphean Decree of 0266999.M41, the Orpheus Sector -- and by extension, Battlefleet Orpheus -- ceased to exist. What line-worthy warships survived would help the evacuation effort or fight off the Necrons as long as was strategically viable. Several worlds of the Orpheus Sector were marked for Exterminatus and by all logic, the remaining warships would then be integrated into other fleets. For the time being, the remains of Battlefleet Orpheus have gathered around Gorgon Quintus, the Imperial base of operation for the Orpheus Salvation Campaign. |
Battlefleet Orpheus - Notable Vessels of Battlefleet Orpheus: Arica Dominus (Apocalypse-class Battleship) - The venerable Apocalypse-class Battleship Arica Dominus is the oldest ship serving in Battlefleet Orpheus, and the flagship of its current Grand Admiral, Knight-Commander Georg Carew. By all accounts, the Arica Dominus is a relic-ship and venerated throughout the Orpheus Sector for it was at her helm that Lord Tempestus Hal Orpheus stood when he conquered the worlds of the Orpheus Sector during the Dark Marches Crusade. It was also the Arica Dominus that carried the deceased Lord Tempestus’ body on a grand procession throughout the entire Orpheus Sector on the one thousandth anniversary of the Sector’s creation. The Arica Dominus’ long and proud history came to an abrupt end during the void-battle that opposed Battlefleet Orpheus and its allies to the dreaded Harvest Fleet of the Necron Maynarkh Dynasty. While the flagship did not go down unbloodied, the Arica Dominus was severely damaged by a trio of Scythe-class Harvest Ships, its starboard broadside venting air and the mighty battleship tumbling uncontrollably. The Arica Dominus’ current fate is unknown, although the chance remains that her wreck might have been salvaged in the cadre of the Orphean Salvation Campaign.Talisman of Grace (Retribution-class Battleship) - A venerable battleship of Battlefleet Orpheus, the Talisman of Grace was destroyed above Amarah by the Cairn-class Tomb Ship identified as the Sun Killer.Mendicatus (Heavy Cruiser, Unknown Class) - Destroyed by the Necrons at the Battle of Amarah during the Orphean War.Richtenback (Battlecruiser, Unknown Class) - A venerable Battlecruiser in service to Battlefleet Tempestus and later Battlefleet Orpheus, the Richtenback had fought in the glorious days of the Great Crusade only to meet its end at the Battle of Amarah.Thetis (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Engaged on patrol duty, the remains of the First Line Cruiser Thetis were discovered by an Adeptus Mechanicus deep range Infiltrator Unit in the Harrow Watch system. From what files and shiplogs could be extracted, it would appear that the Thetis encountered the invading Necron fleet while pursuing the remnants of Eldar Corsairs that had preyed upon the world of Bessarion. Ship logs further access that the Thetis’ Machine Spirit had somehow been tempered with by unknown forces and that they hoped to purge their systems with the help of the Magos of Harrow Watch, only to find the system already overrun. The Thetis has been regarded as Battlefleet Orpheus’ first casualty of the Orphean War. |
Battlefleet Orpheus - Sources: Imperial Armour Volume Twelve: the Fall of Orpheus, pp.25-61 |
Battlefleet Scarus - Battlefleet Scarus: Battlefleet Scarus is a vast fleet of Imperial Navy vessels charged with the the protection of the Scarus Sector within the Segmentum Obscurus.Battlefleet Scarus forms a component part of the Bastion Fleets which make up the massive Battlefleet Obscurus that defends the entire segmentum, as do its neighbours, Battlefleets Cadia, Agripinaa, and Corona, as well as the more distant Battlefleets Gothic, Tamahl and Odessa, among others.Located near the Eye of Terror, this Imperial battlefleet must maintain constant vigilance against the forces of Chaos and the dreaded Black Crusades led by Abaddon the Despoiler. |
Battlefleet Scarus - Segmentum Obscurus: The Segmentum Obscurus, also known as the Segmentum Obscura, is the region of Imperial space to the galactic north of Terra. This segmentum of the Imperium of Man is the home of the vast Warp Storm and Warp rift called the Eye of Terror, the primary home for the forces of Chaos in the Milky Way Galaxy.The Imperial Navy's segmentum fleet headquarters is located on Cypra Mundi, which also serves as the central headquarters of the Imperial military's Segmentum Command. The Segmentum Obscurus is the area of the Imperium most often under deadly threat by attacks from the Eye of Terror and is also the site for all of Abaddon the Despoiler's Black Crusades.As such, it currently is home to the majority of the Imperium's armed forces, which were most recently mobilised to a state of readiness not seen since the Horus Heresy as a result of the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41.The constant turmoil surrounding the Cadian Gate requires the fleets of Battlefleet Obscurus to be far more active than many other segmentum battlefleets. The whole sector exists in an almost perpetual state of readiness, and as such the demands on manpower and resources are huge.Vast numbers of new, inexperienced ratings frequently have to be drawn up to replace those lost in the constant fighting. However, those that survive the harsh first years of military service around the Cadian Gate rapidly mature to become some of the most capable leaders in the Imperium.As with all highly militarised zones, it is important for the Imperial Navy to maintain substantial reserves of vessels around the Eye of Terror, ready to deploy as reinforcements should the need arise.Whilst it is possible to keep the vessels themselves ready in this manner, Battlefleet Obscura simply does not possess the manpower to keep reserve crews stationed aboard these vessels as well.Instead, whole orbital shipyards are filled with rows of silent, inactive vessels, often representing classes of warship now outdated or scarce.In times of great need, these ships will be brought into service and crewed with ratings from destroyed or crippled vessels or even with hastily mustered new recruits, meaning the crew is unlikely to have any familiarity with their new vessel. A posting to such a reserve fleet is thus considered an unnerving duty, forcing a rating to enter deep into an unfamiliar vessel which may have lain dormant for Terran centuries.Much superstition surrounds such fleets and perhaps because of this, unusual behaviour among both crew and vessel in these fleets is a rather commonplace occurrence.Reserve fleets are used only reluctantly by the Imperial Navy, and only in the most desperate of circumstances, but an invasion the size of Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade without doubt qualified as exactly that -- the most dire of circumstances, the most desperate of times.In a reserve fleet, all vessels are prone to certain unexpected events, such as mass panic or even mutiny amongst the crew, inexplicable noises, sensor readings and sightings or disconcerting setbacks and failure of machinery.Against Chaos fleets, where the followers of the Dark Gods are able to exert their influence to further unsettle their already nervous opponents, unforeseen events can be even more devastating. |
Battlefleet Scarus - Scarus Sector: The Scarus Sector is one of the closest sectors to the once vitally important Fortress World of Cadia and the Cadian Gate, the only predictably stable Warp route that leads out of the Eye of Terror and into the realm of the Imperium.The Scarus Sector was discovered during the middle years of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium. It was named for Captain Scarus of the Word Bearers Space Marine Legion's 52nd Company, whose Strike Cruiser Shield of Scarus and two other vessels were lost during a savage Warp Storm that occurred during the XVII Legion's sojourn in the Eye of Terror during the quest now known as the Pilgrimage of Lorgar some forty years before the start of the Horus Heresy.The Scarus Sector's capital is the Hive World of Eustis Majorus. The Scarus Sector borders the Calixis Sector to spinward and its known sub-sectors include Angelus, Antimar, Helican, Kerak and Ophidian.This sector is also known for being the theatre of operation for the renowned Inquisitors Gregor Eisenhorn and Gideon Ravenor. The Helican Sub-sector is the site of the Helican Schism, a wave of rebellion, terrorism and sabotage that swept the region in the early 41st Millennium.The Ophidian Sub-sector is noted for being the site of the Ophidian Campaign (also known as the Purge Campaign), in which Battlefleet Scarus wrested control of the sub-sector from Heretic forces. The campaign lasted from 240.M41 until 338.M41 -- and the Imperial victory represented a considerable achievement on such a short timescale. |
Battlefleet Scarus - 13th Black Crusade: In 999.M41, war came without warning to the Scarus Sector, and the opening moves by the forces of Chaos saw large number of plague-ridden space hulks entering Imperial space. Though many were intercepted by the Space Marines and destroyed, some managed to escape the Astartes' attention.Some of these foul vessels of contagion found their way into the Belis Corona Sector, spreading their disease and pestilence amongst the masses throughout the sector.Along with the adjacent Agripinaa Sector, they were some of the first to bear witness to the rise of hordes of infectious, undead zombies that threatened billions of people on many of the Imperial worlds within the sector. This plague was later named the Curse of Unbelief.While the defence of the Cadian Gate from the forces of Chaos continued to go badly upon the surface of many worlds in the Cadian System, in particular Saint Josmane's Hope and Solar Mariatus, the war in space was fought more on the Imperium's terms.The Cadian System had been the focus of Abaddon's primary fleet actions, and the Imperium's fortunes there changed from day to day. The situation was highly fluid and the Chaotic naval forces found themselves stretched to exploit the victories they had won.A fleet the size of which has not been seen since the end of the Gothic War eight standard centuries earlier had been dispatched from Cypra Mundi, and arrived at the world of Belis Corona in preparation for a massive Imperial counter-offensive into the Cadian Gate.The arrival of this vast armada allowed those Imperial vessels that had been fighting continuously since the beginning of the invasion a brief respite. Severely depleted ship’s companies were bolstered through indiscriminate press-ganging, and hasty repairs and refits were undertaken on those vessels most in need of them.The Imperial reinforcements were split into battlegroups, each tasked with bolstering the defences in a specific sector of the Segmentum Obscurus. The regions around the Eye of Terror encompass many millions of cubic light years, and only by the concentrated application of resources in those areas in most desperate need could the Imperial Navy hope to make inroads and slow, stall, and eventually repel the Chaos warfleets plaguing the region.A small number of Imperial Navy ships won a decisive victory when they managed to hold back a larger Chaos fleet at the Ilthirium Belt, buying time for Battlefleet Agripinaa to arrive and allow the remaining ships to retreat. This course of action however, left the Agripinaa Sector open to invasion and soon the worlds of this sector and the Belis Corona Sub-Sector was transformed into nightmarish realms of plague and pestilence.With Warp Storms rendering astropathic communications erratic, the Segmentum Obscuras High Command continued to experience enormous difficulties coordinating command and control of its forces. Communications from the more distant sectors was particularly affected, and Imperial commanders were advised that those communications they did receive from distant sources were not to be trusted, due to psychodynamic distortion.A particularly implausible report from the Scarus Sector indicated that in addition to Chaos attacks, the defenders there faced the menace of the Orks.After action reports cited Mordax Prime as the initial focus of a massive Ork incursion which occurred at the same time as the Chaos assault was first hitting the segmentum, and if this were just an isolated case High Command would normally have written off the communication as misinformation caused by inexperienced troops facing an enemy they had no experience with.However, every major star system in the Scarus Sector soon logged similar reports, so they had to be taken seriously until more detailed information was forthcoming.Abaddon had recruited massed warbands of Orks to act as mercenary auxilia to his Chaos Space Marine Legions for his 13th Black Crusade. Following up on terror raids and cunning feints by the Night Lords and Alpha Legion Traitor Legions many of the Orks banded together into ever-growing tribes that declared themselves as part of the "Green Krusade" (or Kroosade in some sources -- Ork spelling is always a matter of conjecture) in imitation of the grand assault of Chaos.The unstoppable force of the Green Kroosade inundated the Scarus Sector (Skar-Uz to the Orks). The Orks continued putting intolerable pressure on a number of worlds in the Scarus Sector, notably Lethe II and Mordax Prime.The Magi Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus believed these foul creatures to be working alongside Abaddon the Despoiler to further their own ends, though they did not consider it to be a true alliance as such. More likely the Orks were taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the Despoiler's invasion to launch new attacks against distracted Imperial targets.The situation on these worlds was grim indeed. In particular, Mordax Prime could not be allowed to fall into greenskin hands, for it was a Forge World of prodigious output and its loss would damage the Imperium's war effort. More to the point, the Imperial forces dreaded the monstrosities the Orks might turn the production lines of Mordax Prime to creating.Fifteen Astra Militarum army groups and 5 legions of cybernetic Mechanicus Skitarii troops continued to hold Mordax Prime, yet clearly such a large body of troops was insufficient to stem the green tide engulfing that Forge World.The Segmentum Obscurus High Command drew up plans to send a further 35 to 40 regiments of the Astra Militarum to the world, drawn from the regional reserve to help bolster Mordax Prime's defences. Yet the Orks had set their sights upon capturing Mordax Prime, broadcasting their designs for the planet they referred to as "MoreDakka Prime" on every Imperial channel.Were it not for the fact that Mordax Prime was the sovereign preserve of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial High Command seriously considered petitioning the Inquisition for an Exterminatus against the world before its vast resources fell to the enemy. |
Battlefleet Scarus - Outcome: The Orks were able to batter down Imperial defences with sheer doggedness and not a little help from Chaos Space Marines, particularly from the Night Lords and the Black Legion. Now the Orks rule Lethe Eleven and Mordax, along with most of Imbrium and Ulant.Gudrun and Nysa Stromolo stand on the brink of anarchy and the weapon forges of Mordax (rechristened "MoreDakka Prime" by the Orks) are infested with Lootas of the Death Skulls clan, a truly terrifying prospect to the devotees of the Machine God, who know full well the depths of blasphemy against the Omnissiah to which these barbaric xenos will sink.Battered survivors speak of hundreds of Gargants being built from the debris of war by enslaved servitors and their brutal greenskin overseers. The squat, menacing forms of more Gargant construction sites climb over the plains of Mordax dairy as Ork Mekaniaks race to be the first to complete their machines.Imperial stategists are now regarding the Green Kroosade as a full-scale Ork WAAAGH! Its Warlords are unknown but it would appear that Ghazghkull and Nazdreg are not among them. Only Thracian Primaris and Elnaur Delta have held firm against the Green Kroosade, bolstered first by the intervention of a Black Templars' crusade, and later by the stalwart defence mounted by the Salamanders Chapter and many other Space Marine contingents.The situation is grim in Scarus Sector. and none can see an end to the infestation given the dire situation across the region. |
Battlefleet Scarus - Battlefleet Scarus Composition: At the time of the 13th Black Crusade, Battlefleet Scarus consisted of the following vessels that took part in the valiant Imperial defence:5 Battleships9 Cruiser Squadrons13 Escort Squadrons |
Battlefleet Solar - Battlefleet Solar: Battlefleet Solar is the colossal fleet of Imperial Navy vessels charged with the the protection of Terra and the vitally important Segmentum Solar. The Imperial Navy orbital shipyards for the Segmentum are located on Luna, and the Imperial Navy headquarters in the Segmentum is based within Mars' Ring of Iron. Spacecraft and other large specialised constructs are fabricated in these orbital factories that spin around the equatorial belt of the Red Planet. Warships of the Battlefleet Solar are based in these huge floating docks, and other spacecraft from all over the Imperium often visit what are the largest man-made objects in the entire galaxy. |
Battlefleet Solar - Unification: Following the end of "Old Night" (the Age of Strife), the Emperor of Mankind finally revealed Himself to the people of Terra. In secret, He had been planning for this moment in history for millennia, ever since the Age of Strife had fractured what remained of the ancient human federation which had once stretched across a part of the galaxy. The Emperor moved to create the military organisations He would need to begin the reunification of Mankind, and He used the raw materials at hand after millennia of savage conflict between the techno-barbarian nation-states of Old Earth. When the Emperor unified Terra the Lords of Mars scrutinised the unfolding events with envious eyes, and some among them recognised a kindred spirit, for the Emperor was to them a man of science who valued the machine and technological advancement, while others saw only a deadly new power to be feared. Some Tech-priests even began to equate the Emperor with their own Machine God in fulfillment of ancient prophecies and debate raged on Mars as whether or not to treat the Emperor as saviour or enemy.The Emperor was not ignorant of such facts, for He too had watched the Red Planet from afar and made his plans accordingly. The Emperor sought a negotiated alliance with the Mechanicum Parliament. In return for supplying materials for his armies and building a mighty war fleet for his Great Crusade into the stars, the Emperor promised to protect the Tech-priests and respect the sovereignty of their Forge Worlds scattered across the galaxy, affording them a level of independence unequalled within the Imperium. Furthermore, the Emperor gave to the service of the Mechanicum six of the Houses of the Navigators to replace their long dead thrall-Navigators, so that their ships might once again travel safely through the Warp. Given such an incentive Mars assented to an alliance with the nascent Imperium in the Treaty of Mars, and the powerful Fabricator-General was given a seat on the War Council of the Great Crusade. And so, Mars lent its arts to the construction of the massive Warp-capable Battleships that could transport the Emperor's Space Marine Legions across the galaxy. |
Battlefleet Solar - The Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy: During the Great Crusade to reunite all the scattered colony worlds of Mankind beneath the rule of the Imperium of Man, both the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy were originally a single service: the Imperial Army. Under this form of organisation, each Imperial Cruiser would have a single Imperial Army regiment assigned to it. Imperial Army regimental commanding officers held command over both their regiment and the warship assigned to them, making a single warship a tactically flexible combined arms unit and minimising the damage to the Imperium in the event of the loss of a starship, its crew and its assigned troops in the Warp. During the Horus Heresy, however, it appeared that some Traitor Army regiments used the power of the starships at their disposal in order to forge interstellar empires for themselves in the fires of anarchy that swept the galaxy during the seven bloody standard years of the Heresy. This tendency to make use of the power of an Imperial starship combined with that of an Imperial Army regiment to establish tyrannies on many worlds led to the eventual reorganisation of the Imperial Army into the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy to deliberately foster a bureaucratic and inter-service rivalry between the two. The Emperor of Mankind Himself issued a decree before His internment within the Golden Throne that starships could no longer be commanded by the officers of the newborn Imperial Guard but only by the members of their own service. |
Battlefleet Solar - Battlefleet Solar: The fires of the Horus Heresy gave birth to the modern Imperial Navy and the Battlefleet Solar as it exists in the late 41st Millennium. The Imperium is divided into five fleet zones known as the Segmentae Majoris. Every starship of the Imperial Navy is assigned to one of these Segmentae, and falls under the command of the respective Lord High Admiral who commands all the Imperial Navy assets of that Segmentum. There are five Lord High Admirals, one controlling the assembled Battlefleet of each Segmentae. Although all 5 High Admirals are ranked equally, command of the Segmentum Solar is considered the oldest and therefore the most prestigious and senior posting. It is not uncommon for one of these Lord High Admirals to sit on the Senatorum Imperialis as a ruling High Lord of Terra.The Segmentum Solar is the central hub of the Imperium of Man and the most ancient and densely settled region of human space. Centred on Terra, where the Emperor of Mankind sits upon his Golden Throne, the central Segmentum is protected on four sides by the other Segmentae Majoris. The Battlefleet Solar of the Imperial Navy is the largest of the Segmentae fleets and is based in the orbital fleet docks of the so-called Ring of Iron that surrounds the Adeptus Mechanicus' primary Forge World of Mars. Since that time, this venerable battlefleet has continued to protect this vitally important Segmentum, and has on occasion provided warships to the far reaches of the galaxy to protect the Imperium from the various enemies of Mankind. Only during the very largest of wars does the Imperium bring Sector or Segmentum battlefleets together and dispatch them en masse to a warzone. Most recently, the Battlefleet Solar sent warships in support of the Imperial defence of the strategically important Cadian Gate from the predations of the Forces of Chaos during Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41. |
Battleline Squad - Battleline Squad: A Battleline Squad is a tactical designation applied to Space Marine combat squads. The most numerous and strategically versatile warriors in a Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter form battleline squads.Battleline Squads are flexible enough to press home an attack, or hold a position with withering firepower. Whatever the strategic challenge, battleline squads are equal to the task.The designation began to be used in the wake of the reforms made to the Codex Astartes and the Adeptus Astartes themselves in the Era Indomitus after the resurrection of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman and the introduction of the Primaris Space Marines. |
Battleline Squad - Types: Space Marine squads that are designated as Battleline Squads include:Tactical SquadIntercessor SquadHeavy Intercessor SquadInfiltrator Squad (Vanguard Space Marine formation) |
Battleship - Battleship: A battleship is the type of warship that is the largest and most powerful available to any space-faring military fleet. The battleship is the master of space combat.These massive spacecraft are protected by nigh-impenetrable defences, carry enough firepower to obliterate a lesser warship, and usually have launch-bays for attack craft as well. The only weaknesses of a battleship are its expense and poor maneuverability.However, when accompanied by cruisers and escorts to offset these disadvantages, a battleship becomes a nearly unstoppable addition to any fleet. |
Battleship - Imperial Battleships: The conduct of the Great Crusade required vessels by the thousands, vessels that could not only carry armies and bring apocalyptic destruction to bear, but that could also endure the perilous transit of Warpspace and endure the titanic forces and hardships of the Empyrean and the deep void both.Military vessels were needed, not only to replace losses, but meet the ever expanding demands of the expeditionary fleets, the Imperial Army's Armada Imperialis and, on a lesser scale, the Rogue Traders and local system defence navies.To satisfy this constant need, a bewildering variety of classes of warship were developed to fulfil an equally bewildering variety of roles. The principal (or capital) class of warship in the Great Crusade and the mainstay of the Imperial battlefleets was the battleship, with more than a thousand such mighty engines of war in operation at the height of the Imperium's expansion in the early 31st Millennium. They are intended to form the "line of battle" during fleet engagements and have armaments capable of smashing continents from orbit and controlling entire star systems by force of arms.Battleships are vast constructs, ranging commonly between 8 and 12 kilometres long (although some far larger vessels have been constructed) and can hold tens of thousands of crew, troops and hundreds of war machines as well as swarms of smaller attack craft depending on their design.Battleships were only threatened in ordinary circumstances by others of their own type and direct celestial phenomena like Warp storms, and as such were the mainstay of both the expeditionary fleets of the Great Crusade and the wider Armada Imperialis. In the 41st Millennium battleships still represent the foundation of the various segmentum and sector battlefleets' combat power in the Navis Imperialis, serving as their all-important ships of the line in any major void engagement. |
Battleship - Imperial Navy Battleships: Dictatus-class Battleship (Great Crusade era)Gloriana-class Battleship (Great Crusade era)Goliath-class Battleship (Great Crusade era)Infernus-class Battleship (Great Crusade era)Ironclad-class Battleship (Great Crusade era)Mortis Rex-class Battleship (Great Crusade era)Tiamat-class Battleship (Shield Bastion) (Great Crusade era)Ascension-class Battleship (ca. M33)Torrent-class Battleship (ca. M33)Majestic-class Battleship (ca. M41)Victory-class Battleship (Great Crusade era)Apocalypse-class BattleshipEmperor-class BattleshipInvincible-class Fast BattleshipNemesis-class Fleet CarrierOberon-class BattleshipRetribution-class BattleshipVanquisher-class Battleship |
Battleship - Space Marine Battleships: Chapter BarqueBattle Barge |
Battleship - Adeptus Mechanicus Battleships: Ark Mechanicus |
Battleship - Chaos Battleships: Abyss-class Battleship (Horus Heresy era)Desolator-class BattleshipDespoiler-class BattleshipPlanet KillerCaptured or turncoat Imperial battleships |
Battleship - Craftworld Aeldari Battleships: Void Stalker-class Battleship |
Battleship - Necron Battleships: Cairn-class Tombship |
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