Olympian Dreadnought

The Olympian Dreadnought shell is regarded as one of the most powerful Dreadnought forms available within the Imperium, save the Telemon Heavy Dreadnoughts of the Custodes or the hallowed Pantheon Eternal created by Shaaa Hydrades himself. Designed for Fracturam Lord Commander Varinius Rampt, the Dreadnought shell has at one point in its life reluctantly served the will of traitors, before being recaptured by the forces of the Imperium, once more to serve the Star Guardians from that day until the day the stars themselves burnt to dust.

## History

The Olympian Dreadnought, or to use its official name, *The Olympian-pattern Heavy Siege Dreadnought*, was designed mere decades before the start of the Almire Apostasy by Shaaa Hydrades for one of his favored sons, Varinius Rampt, former legion commander, leader of the Star Guardians dreadnought units, and a warrior who was near death from his internment within a Leviathan Dreadnought shell. To combat this, Shaaa developed the Olympian Dreadnought, sparing no expense as the shell was never designed for widespread use, few others beyond Shaaa truly understanding the machine.

The Olympian shell was a marvel of technological engineering, though never designed for widespread use, and as such could afford to utilise the greatest materials available, and even only under direct authorization from the Emperor himself; some of the advances being used within the Custodes own Telemon Heavy Dreadnought, while others were taken from the Deredeo and Leviathan. While many of that dreadnoughts technology was denied for use for the project, Shaaa holding to the Emperor’s word and not using the full scope of what he learned of the vehicle's construction, the Olympian Dreadnought was still far superior to any other shell used within the legions.

In both the prototype stage testing and the live testing after his transferal to his new form, the Olympian consistently outperformed any other similar technology wielded by the Legions, far eclipsing the Contemptor patterns for speed, while exceeding the Leviathan for brute strength and endurance. Though it was never tested, the Emperor denying Shaaa the data required to run the tests, it was rumoured that the Olympian may have even presented a threat to the Telemon chassis it was based upon, though Shaaa never pushed for that title.

Eventually the suit would move beyond testing and live fire exercises to full scale, total war, Varinius being amongst those who led the crushing reprisals to uprisings in the Sol system early on during the Almire Apostasy. The Olympian shell provied its superiority time and time again, this continuing throughout the First Solar War, Varinius claiming not merely dreadnought kills, but Knight kills and even assisting in putting down a traitor Warhound titan. Nothing could stand against the weapons of the Olympian, and nothing could pierce its hide, or at least, nothing from this realm.

In the end, it was not a weapon from the mortal realm that laid the Olympian low however, but rather the daemonic assassin, GL-41-V3 of the Consuls Exemplar. Though Varinius fought well against the warp-tainted creature, he was in the end no match for its power, GL-41-V3 tearing through his sarcophagus and finally ending Varinius’ long life, hauling his decrepit corpse out for all those to see, mortal forces fleeing in terror at the sight of the ancient warrior's true form.

## Armaments

The Olympian Pattern, aside from not placing the user of the dreadnought in mortal peril simply through its use, or at least it did not for the genelinked sons of Shaaa, was also a weapons platform of terrifyingly potent power, possessing numerous weapons that could strike down targets ranging from infantry hordes all the way up to scout titans.

### The Aiolos Missile Launcher

Mounted in place of the Spiculus Bolt Launcher or Frag Launcher usually mounted on the back of the Leviathan or Telemon, the Olympian Dreadnought mounts the powerful Aiolos Missile Launcher, a large carapace-mounted Missile Launcher system that featured a highly sophisticated targeting system, was capable of tracking enemy targets independently of the Dreadnought's primary weapons system and regardless of intervening terrain. Designed for engaging both infantry and light vehicles, the Aiolos ensures that none can hide from the Olympian.

### The Accelerator Carronade “Stormbringer”

Often referred to as the Stormbringer due to the crackling trails it leaves in its wake as it fires that resemble lightning, the Accelerator Carronade is based off of the Iliastus Accelerator Culverin used by the Custodes on their Telemon heavy dreadnoughts. Unlike that powerful weapon however, the Accelerator Carronade lacks the specialised heliothermic warheads for its shells, the Emperor forbidding Shaaa from replicating the weapon he had restricted for his personal guardians. Instead, the Stormbringer utilises specialised micro-plasma warheads, which while they may not burn as intensely as the heliothermic rounds, the micro-plasma warheads do detonate with the force of a captive star, and are none the less deadly to any target the gun is brought to bear on.

### Leviathan Siege Claw

The Leviathan Siege Claw is the main close combat weapon of the Olympian, almost identical to the same weapon found on the Leviathan, though forged to perfection by Shaaa himself. The Leviathan Siege Claw is designed to sever flesh and bone, slicing a Leviathan's foe apart in a single pass, its three talons closing on a target and more often than not simply passing straight through it in an often bloody and visceral display. For those targets that can resist its cutting blades, or who have earned the Olypians ire, the Claw incorporates a built-in Meltagun, a favoured method of extermination pioneered by Varinius Rampt involving picking the unfortunate target up in its merciless grip before firing at point blank range, nothing but ashes remaining after such an attack.

### Backup, Redundant and Secondary Support and Weapon Systems

* Two torso-mounted, twin-linked Volkite Calivers
* Smoke Launchers
* Searchlight
* Frag Grenades
* Extra Armour Plating
* Armoured Ceramite Plating
* Multi-Layered Refractor Field