|
This article, Wrath of the Heavens, was written by TrashMan. Please do not edit or 'acquire' this fiction without the writer's permission. |
The ancient, mighty battleship was the central part of a space hulk that appeared within the territory the Phoenix Knights patrolled. On the first approach, it was initially mistaken for a xeno vessel, for it lacked many of the typical imperial design markings and decorations. Magos Thel described it as "lacking proper wards and structures of purity and devotion to venerate the machine god". Indeed, it lacked the characteristic gothic spires and minarettes, various statues and even the characteristic armored prow, giving it an utilitarian outward appearance. Even it's shape and weapon and armor configuration differed significantly from other imperial battleships.
It's outward shape resembled what one would get if one cut an imperial battleship in half horizontally, and glued two top halves together. The bridge was located closer to the center of the ship than the typical rear and was more gradually raised. The main weapons where gigantic triple-turrets positioned on the centerline - both on top and bottom, resembling WW2 battleships of ancient Terra. What was even more surprising was the weapons within - a smaller version of the nova cannon. While the weapon was no where near as powerful as the full-scale variant, it maintained almost the same rage with a greater rate of fire. This gave the warship tremendous long-range firepower that it could focus on any side. Because of this, it lacked the typical broadside macro-cannon batteries. Instead the sides of the ship were heavily armored with thick, reinforced and angled plating and dotted with smaller, secondary turrets (both macro and lance) and an unprecedented amount of advanced light defense weaponry. The ship carried no fighters or bombers, obviously designed for direct combat with other capital ships (like the venerable Retribution) and had minimal landing bays. Unlike the Retribution, it had a complex sensor array instead of the armored prow and no forward torpedo launchers. However, the ship was not without torpedoes - in place of the lower "bridge" there was a 4-barrel turreted torpedo launcher with a full 360° arc of fire, another first among imperial designs. Size-wise it was bigger than even the Emperor and boasted 2 more void shields and not one, but two warp cores.
After cleansing the hulk, the mighty warship was separated and towed in orbit above Avalon Prime, for it was deemed to risky to try and make a warp jump with it. There it was handed to Adeptus Mechanicus custody, who built a station around it to study, repair and recover the ancient technologies within. The ship was seconded to the Phoenix Knights after intense negotiations, but it's not allowed to leave the system without explicit Mechanicus approval. It became the flagship of the chapter and after the Vixis Campaign also a repository, holding the most prized relics and a staggering amount of rare books. As such, it's value is absolute and despite it's power it is only exposed to danger under most dire circumstances. For this reason the chapter uses it's battle barge "Eternal Phoenix" as it's field flagship, with the "Wrath of the Heavens" relegated to long-range support and system defense.
Armament[]
Eight Nova Cannon artillery batteries :
History[]
724.M40 - ship found as the central piece of a space hulk
725.M40 - ship towed in orbit around Avalon Prime. Repairs initiated
734.M40 - During the tyranid invasion of Vixis it's long-rage firepower proved vital in taking out the hiveship, but due to many of it's system being unstable and still waiting repairs, it was moved from the front lines and used to carry and safeguard many important relics. It saw no further action for the rest of the campaign.
780.M40 - The ship helped fend off a minor ork Waagh in 901.M41, claiming the ork battleship "Deffdeala" and 3 cruisers.