Warmaster-Maelstrom Titan

The Warmaster-Maelstrom is an extremely rare variant of the already mythical Warmaster-class Heavy Battle Titan that was developed in secret on the Forge World of Novae IV as a testbed for new weapon systems, including reverse-engineered Archeotechs from the Lost Age of Technology. The Warmaster-Maelstrom was designed for the explicit purpose of fighting the denizens of the Warp, though as a result of its dreadful and borderline prohibited - if not outright - systems and weapons, it is an engine of destruction capable of annihilating all sorts of foes with even more prejudice and thoroughness than even the average Battle Titan.

## History

The origins of the Warmaster-Maelstrom Titan - sometimes shortened as simply Maelstrom - are shrouded in secrecy rarely seen within the Imperium. Officially, the project did not exist at its inception over a century ago, and still does not exist, with only an infinitely small amount of individuals being privy to its existence, let alone its secrets.

Discussions of what would later become the Maelstrom project began just a scant few years after the initial subjugation of the Corusco Cluster by the Second Legion, and although no records of the encounter exist, it is suspected that the Second's Primarch, Elias Dammerung, met with Sigma Gaevran, the supreme Archmagos of Novae IV, to present highly redacted pict-captures and battle data gathered during the First Incursion of Corusco Parva. During the Incursion, the natives of Corusco Parva fought against mysterious entities that seemed to have been brought to their world by the Warp Storm that raged above it. The creatures were savage in the utmost and seemingly numberless, with some of their kin displaying the uncanny ability to resist most conventional weapons in ways that defied all logic, only truly being harmed by unleashing raw Warp Energies upon them.

Officially, the Imperium dismissed these creatures as but a strange and obscure variety of Xenos that had been dealt with and were of no further concern. Elias, however, felt very keenly that this was not the case and that the aberrant creatures would surface once again. This, the Primarch was convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt yet refused to explain why. Of special interest was one specific creature that towered almost as tall as a Titan and had nearly killed the Primarch in combat on Corusco Parva, proving nearly impervious to damage until smitten by psychic might. It was to tackle on exactly such creatures that the Maelstrom project was began.

However, as the Emperor had enforced a strict ban on the development and employ of Psykana-derived weapons, such an avenue was barred and alternatives needed be found. Presumably agreeing to the severity of the threat, the Novaean leadership dedicated several of their Super-Cogitators towards the seemingly impossible equation. Urgency was renewed when ancient Data-logs dating back to the Lost Age of Technologies referring to an immense space-faring Leviathan of similar properties were discovered in the Relic-Fortress known as the Solace of Wisdom, but this discovery also brought with it new elements: The means by which the humans of the Lost Age had planned to fight this Leviathan. With this discovery, every clade of Super-Cogitators were redirected to attempting to crack the secrets of the seemingly impossible and incomprehensible Enigma Drive which powered the Relic-Fortress. This task would take several long decades, but it would be ultimately successful.

Not in time for the first deployment of the two initial testing prototypes, however, which were fielded with incomplete weapon systems and hastily-converted conventional power units in response to the Imperium-shattering Crisis that was the Rangdan Xenocides. These two first Maelstroms were deployed in complete Vox silence and unbeknownst to the Imperial High Command at large on several heated battlefields throughout the Xenocides, their blackened hulls devoid of any iconographies seeming to choke out light while they unleashed terrible and never seen before Vortex weaponries which rendered Rangdan Macroforms into the abyss of the Warp whole and scythed Unreality ablaze throughout their hordes to exterminate their foul presences on a level so utter and total that not even cells could survive.

When news of these never-seen-before Titans eventually trickled up the chain of command from eyewitness accounts of those whom had been present, a covert inquiry was launched by Mars to investigate the matter, but the Priesthood was not able to find where the Titans had vanished to. They had a suspect, of course, but searches returned nothing. Rumors suggest that the Imperial Household on Terra itself may have launched its own investigation as well, but this - nor any result thereof - have never been confirmed.

In the meantime, the Novaean Super-Cogitators were able to understand enough from the Solace of Wisdom's secrets to start integrating some of them, resulting in the final, completed design of the Warmaster-Maelstrom Titans as they would be seen by the time of the Inter-Legionary Wars, but no records exist of them ever being deployed again throughout the Compliance campaigns. That is not to say that they were not, however, but they were tested only upon battlefields which Elias was able to tightly control the flow of information from, with no small assistance from the secretive organization known as The Watch.

## Design

At first glance, a Warmaster-Maelstrom may look no different than a regular Warmaster-class Battle Titan, but even just the most cursory of analysis by one with adequate knowledge in the field quickly reveals otherwise. Bearing none of the heralds and distinctions that normally ornate - and identify - the various maniples of the Titan Legions, the hull of Warmaster-Maelstrom is of a deep, obsidian dark due to being made of the elusive material simply known as 'Blackstone'. Its primary weapon systems are also cause for suspicion as they match no known pattern of Imperial weaponry within the Mechanicum's exhaustive archives.

What truly sets these Titans apart however is that they have been redesigned from their initial testbeds in order to include a miniaturized - if albeit very crude by contrast - version of the Enigma Drive found on the Solace of Wisdom Relic-Fortress. The typical plasma reactors and void shield generators have all been swapped out to contain this highly esoteric attempt at recreating the LosTech, designated an Enigma Reactor, which substitutes the function of both apparatus. Due to the use of this arcane, psychically-sensitive component, only Psykers of suitably high grade may bring out the full potential of a Warmaster-Maelstrom. The very chassis of the God-Engine itself is a conduit that serves to both amplify and contain the raging energies within.

Unlike most Titans, the Warmaster-Maelstrom dispenses largely with the extensive crews of Servitors and Moderati, leaving the bulk of the work to automated sub-systems while the Princeps commands the colossus alone, undisturbed and unquestioned. Defense against boarders take the form of Battle Automatas of the Cybernetica cohorts which are deemed to be unlikely to be affected by the proximity to the bound storm within.

## Wargear

* **Nova Accelerator** - One of the two main weapons, set upon the Titan's left hand, the Nova Accelerator is in essence a scaled down, miniaturized version of an Imperial Navy Nova Cannon armed with Rift Shells. In other words, it is an enormous linear accelerators that projects equally enormous shells at hypersonic speeds. These shells do not detonate with any conventional explosives, but with an effect similar to Vortex warheads by opening a temporary rift to the Warp where it strikes, sucking whatever is unfortunate to be in the vicinity into the nightmare realm beyond, never to be seen again. Tremendously powerful and striking with both stunning speed and pinpoint accuracy, the Nova Accelerator is equally capable of tearing down the staunchest of fortresses, erasing rival Titans from existence, or causing immense gaps in an army's battle lines.
* **Enmity Lance** - The second of two main weapons, set upon the Titan's right hand, the Enmity Lance is a crude, scaled down attempt to mimic the effects of the Lance Batteries of the Solace of Wisdom. Drawing directly upon the captive energy within the Enigma Reactor, the Enmity Lance fires a cohesive beam of pure Warp Energy. It is less powerful than the original and lacks its rapid-fire capability, just as it lacks the ability for widespread destruction that the Nova Accelerator boasts, but the Enmity Lance is especially apt at overloading Void Shields, and no other weapon can concentrate as much oblivion-inducing force into a single focal point, save perhaps that of Those Which Do Not Exist.
* **Stormbringer Rotary Artillery** - Two of these weapons are mounted upon shoulders of the Maelstrom, replacing the Turbolaser Destructors normally found on the regular Warmaster. They are essentially a slightly modified version of otherwise relatively common Gatling Blasters which have been set to fire a massively up-scaled version of the Second Legion's Stormbringer Bolts. These shells explode not with conventional force, but by releasing a burst of captive Warp energy, rending apart anything they touch. Combined with the extremely high caliber and rate of fire of Gatling Blasters, these weapons are effective against all types of targets.
* **Hailstorm Missile Batteries** - Fairly mundane compared to the rest, each Warmaster-Maelstrom Titan features two of these Batteries atop its shoulders to deal with the threat of rapid flyer aircrafts, and one upon each knee to strike at any foe that might potentially close in too much for its main weapons to target. They carry Estoc and Meteor missiles and replace the defensive Autocannons and Lascannons of the base Warmaster.