Silver Armada

The Silver Armada is the name given to the concentration of naval forces guarding the greater Corusco Cluster. The name comes from the fact that both Corusco Parva, the overall Cluster capital and Legion homeworld, and Novae Cantis, the seat of power of the Mechanicum Rationalis, share silver in their respective heraldry. As a result, the Armada's emblem is a shield of solid silver ornate with the same artistic black hole rendition as the Horizon, the Cluster's local currency.

Due to the extremely dense concentration of worlds within the Cluster, it contains enough noteworthy inhabited system to fill out nearly a dozen Sectors' worth of industrial power – and more importantly tithe obligations – within a space barely the size of one. In practice, this means that Imperial forces can respond anywhere within the cluster in considerable numbers comparatively quickly. It also means however that there are countless transit and commercial lanes to patrol on a regular basis, and thousands of systems where would be pirates or Xenos raiders could hide.

Therefore, the Corusco Cluster is divided in four Quadrants, roughly analogous to Sectors, each in turn split between three sub-sectors each counting roughly 10 noteworthy inhabited systems. To defend this space, the Cluster numbers no less than six entire Imperial Battlefleets, including one assigned to each Quadrant, a Reserve Fleet anchored above the Citadel World of Sulfuris in the central Belt of Giant, and finally the Home Defense Battlefleet of the Mechanicum Rationalis throneworld.

## Organisation and Composition

Although each Battlefleet within the Silver Armada has its quirks, there are overall patterns and similarities that apply if not to all of them, then at least to the core four quadrant fleets. One of the most important of these patterns is that the Silver Armada is crewed solely by free men and does not make use of slave ratings. Within Novaean warships this is easy to accomplish due their extreme degrees of automation, but on those of Martian designs, the ships are invariably slightly bigger and longer to build to account for increased living space and ration stores as well improved life support. The increase in morale and loyalty of the ratings is viewed as well worth the additional expenses.

Cobra-class Destroyers and Sword-class Frigates are by far the most numerous escorts within the Silver Armada's Battlefleets. Relatively easy and cheap to build, Cobras' combination of speed, agility and heavy torpedo armament allow them to both run down and destroy pirate raiders as well as make hit-and-run attacks on larger capital ships, though their light armor make them very fragile. Swords are more resilient and are invariably used as screens for capital ships, often being modified to carry lances instead of laser batteries, or up-gunned defensive turrets. Novaean Python-class Destroyers are also present in smaller numbers, and highly valued for their ability to fill both roles very competently. Regardless of type, escorts are generally deployed in squadrons of between 3 and 5 vessels.

Cruisers in their various types make up the bulk of the Silver Armada, though among these Light Cruisers are fairly rare, as smaller Escorts are seen as more cost-effective. There are still two types that are fairly well represented. Endeavors, who can act as small, light carriers to flush out pirates from asteroid fields without the deployment of larger vessels, are regularly used as escort flotilla flagships near major trade lanes. Dauntless-classes, with their lance armament, are often used in small squadrons as up-scaled escorts for the largest battleships of the Battlefleets.

A unique characteristic of the Corusco Cluster is the prevalence of Conquest-class and Bounty-class Star Galleons. These cruiser-sized transports are heavily armed freighters capable of transporting greater amounts of cargo than their smaller counterparts. Star Galleons were viewed as more cost-effective vessels benefiting from economies of scale and capable of fending off raiders even without a dedicated escort, and they were omnipresent during the Great Crusade, both for troop transport and trade. Even in the 40th millennium where Star Galleons have grown rare throughout the Imperium, their proven and flexible design remains in common use in the Cluster.

By far, the Lunar-class is the workhorse of the Silver Armada. Its ease of construction is highly respected even by the notoriously proud shipwrights of Novae. It is that ease of construction, coupled with the widespread industrial capacity of the Cluster, which allowed it to start rapidly building large quantities of Lunar after the Novaean subjugation campaign during the Great Crusade. Variants based on the Lunar chassis, specifically the Dictator with its hangar bays and the Gothic with its massed Lances, are also produced regularly in lesser numbers. A typical Cruiser squadron of the Silver Armada will number 3 Lunars, or 2 and either a Dictator or Gothic. Avenger-class Grand Cruisers used to also be very common during the Great Crusade, commonly forming the spear of the tip before the Lunars in whole squadrons of their own, but in the 41st Millennium they are largely kept within the strategic reserves of Battlefleet Sulfuris.

Finally, Battleships within the Silver Armada are comparatively few, and far less streamlined. The most common sights are the Apocalypse-class, whose massed all-Lance batteries are seen as the most efficient means of shattering an enemy line, and the Oberon whose diverse weapon load-out and advanced Augurs make it versatile and capable against a foe with largely unknown capabilities. Other classes like the Emperor and the Retribution are also present, but in smaller numbers.

## Individual Battlefleets

### **Battlefleet Glaith**

*Coreward Quadrant, overseeing the Glaith, Andelor and Tremor Zero sub-sectors*

Battlefleet Glaith finds itself in a rather awkward position, as the territory it patrols contains an entire other Battlefleet-sized formation in the form of the Novae Cantis Home Fleet, which patrols its immediate neighboring trade lanes, as well as the relic mega-structure Prism-Alpha, but otherwise keeps itself to a very limited region of space. Because of this, Battlefleet Glaith has always been slightly smaller than the other Battlefleets of the Silver Armada, but not by that much.

One of the most important duty of Battlefleet Glaith – which they work on conjointly with the Novaean Home Fleet, is the protection of the aforementioned Prism Alpha Dyson Net. The mega-structure generates tremendous amounts of energy, which is distributed throughout the Cluster via specialized 'transport' ships called Solar-class Superchargers. These priceless vessels are most often used to transport their cargo of energy to other planets for civilian usage, but they can also be used to transfer small amounts of their enormous capacitors to other ships. In that fashion, they can be used for rescue or salvage operations by powering up a crippled ship with destroyed plasma drives – an endeavor Battlefleet Glaith is uniquely skilled at – or to supercharge weapon systems. This is also an advantage which Battlefleet Glaith makes great advantage of, as it fields the largest number of Apocalypse-class Battleships, and the Solars allow them to pound away at extreme range with impunity. In the 41st Millennium, it also fields larger numbers of Battlecruisers using this same tactic.

* 7x Battleships (4x Apocalypse-Class, 2x Victory-Class, 1x Oberon-Class)
* 2x Cruiser (27x Lunar-Class, 11x Gothic Class, 4x Dictator Class)
* 9x Light Cruisers (14x Defiant-Class, 5x Endeavor-Class)
* 210x Escorts (104x Cobra-Class Destroyers, 70x Sword-Class Frigates, 36x Python-Class Destroyers
* 4x Solar-Class Superchargers
* Unknown amount of Star Galleons

### **Battlefleet Corusco**

*Spinward Quadrant, overseeing the Corusco, Orel and Sumer sub-sectors*

Despite sharing name with the cluster and capital world, Battlefleet Corusco does not hold authority over the other components of the Silver Armada. The Spinward quadrant is relatively calm by Imperial standards, and part of it is because of Battlefleet Corusco's extremely aggressive tactics, often venturing out into the uninhabited, star-blasted systems at the merest hint of a pirate of Xeno hideout. The greatest concentration of them seems to be around the Developing World of Chorazin, whose dark neutron star seem to unnaturally attract pirates and heretics like a beacon in the Warp.

As the Battlefleet tasked with the protection of the Cluster capital and Legion homeworld Corusco Parva, Battlefleet Corusco finds itself working in relatively close proximity with the Obsidian Wyrms, who keep many Cohorts scattered across the Cluster even after the break up of the Legions. As a result, it is fairly common for Astartes to take part in the Battlefleet's more dangerous operations, and it features more Novaean vessels created for the Legion than any other within the Silver Armada. This causes varying degree of jealousy from other Lord Admirals, who often deride the fleets of Battlefleet Corusco as 'having it easy' due to the Astartes' increased involvement, but they are no less competent, and their aggressive tactics are their own.

* 9x Battleships (3x Apocalypse-Class, 1x Victory-Class, 3x Oberon-class, 2x Emperor-Class)
* 3x Grand Cruisers (*Shatterer-Class*)
* 51x Cruisers (34x Lunar-Class, 7x Gothic Class, 10x Dictator Class)
* 22x Light Cruisers (13x Defiant-Class, 4x Endeavor-Class, 5x *Saber-Class*)
* 263x Escorts (124x Cobra-Class Destroyers, 85x Sword-Class Frigates, 54x Python-Class Destroyers)
* Unknown amount of Star Galleons

### **Battlefleet Montraux**

*Rimward Quadrant, overseeing the Montraux, Babel and Teneroth sub-sectors*

The Rimward Quadrant patrolled by Battlefleet Montraux is the most tempestuous, seeing warp anomalies and localized storms considerably more frequently than other Quadrants and sees the most piratical and heretic activity in the entire Cluster. Its admirals favor ships capable and crews capable of acting independently as much as possible due to the very real possibilities of squadrons or even greater fleets being separated by the infrequent but nonetheless still dangerous anomalies. They are also generally given more operational freedom for the same reason.

One of Battlefleet Montraux’s most important duties is enforcing the quarantine around the forbidden world Sheol, whose exclusion zone numbers about two dozen neighboring systems which must be regularly scoured clean for any sign of activity. No matter how many time the exclusion zone is purged, it seems to always attract more pirates and cultists of all flavors. Due to the regular appearance of Chaos forces in and around Sheol, Battlefleet Montraux has the most experience dealing with the Ruinous Powers. Bafflingly enough, it seems to be impossible to determine from where they are coming despite an Obsidian Wyrm orbital fortress constantly monitoring Sheol. Another, similar but less dangerous highly monitored checkpoint is that of Waypoint V87, the only stable warp route through the Belt of Giants and into the mysterious dark Core of the Cluster.

* 9x Battleships (4x Oberon-Class, 3x Retribution-Class, 1x Apocalypse-Class, 1x Emperor-Class)
* 48x Cruisers (32x Lunar-Class, 16x Dictator-Class)
* 27x Light Cruisers (21x Defiant-Class, 6x Endeavor-Class)
* 238x Escorts (116x Cobra-Class Destroyers, 80x Sword-Class Frigates, 42x Python-Class Destroyer)
* Unknown amount of Star Galleons

### **Battlefleet Ziguraet**

*Trailward Quadrant, overseeing the Ziguraet, Brimstone and Zastraje sub-sectors*

The Trailward Quadrant patrolled by Battlefleet Ziguraet is effectively the gateway of Sol. All traffic that goes in and out of the Cluster in the direction of Holy Terra passes by it, and as a result Battlefleet Ziguraet makes it a point of honor to ensure that any ‘esteemed guests’ will not be disturbed in their way in or through the Cluster. The unfortunate downside of this mentality is that its admirals tend to be especially proud and have a reputation for taking perceived slights and embarrassments out of proportion. This is often taken out on their immediate subordinates.

In addition to their duty as gatekeepers of the Cluster, Battlefleet Ziguraet also oversees the main stable warp route in and out of The Ring, an enigmatic mega-structure from the Age of Technology nestled in the Belt of Giants. Many species of Xenos seem interested in The Ring, but their presence is not tolerated as the Imperium wishes to be the one to crack its secrets first, an endeavor which has thus far not bore any results. Battlefleet Ziguraet also deals with quantities of Eldar raiders and corsairs greater than any other Quadrant, which lead its admirals to believe that large webway gates – or perhaps a whole Craftworld – may yet be hiding somewhere in the countless unsettled systems of the Quadrant.

* 8x Battleships (2 Apocalypse-Class, 2 Victory-Class, 2 Oberon-Class, 2 Emperor-Class)
* 45x Cruisers (30x Lunar-Class, 8 Gothic-Class, 7 Dictator-Class)
* 21x Light Cruisers (16x Defiant-Class, 5x Endeavor-Class)
* 226x Escorts (112x Cobra-Class Destroyers, 75x Sword-Class-Frigate, 39x Python-Class Destroyer)
* Unknown amount of Star Galleons

### **Battlefleet Sulfuris**

*Imperial Strategic Reserve Fleet in the Belt of Giants*

When it was initially established during the Great Crusade, Battlefleet Sulfuris was intended to be a Strategic Reserve held back which could reinforce any of the four Quadrant Battlefleets were an unexpected enemy of great power were to slam into the Cluster and to push its defenses to the breaking point. It was also tasked with the protection of the great Citadel Worlds of Sulfuris and Typhoon, which contained almost unfathomable amounts of weapons, ammunition and vehicle stockpiles.

While it still fulfills this role – unlike other Imperial Reserve Fleets which are generally kept in mothball – Battlefleet Sulfuris has also over the millennia become filled with antique designs from all five Battlefleets. Though such vessels are generally mothballed due to lack of knowledge of their operation and maintenance, gathering so many of them in one place and cherry-picking those knowledgeable about them from many other Battlefleets has allowed Battlefleet Sulfuris to keep these ancient ships in active service. In many ways, it looks as if a time-displaced phantom armada from a bygone age, and the fact that it is largely filled with extremely heavily armored vessels only serves to increase that image.

* 11x Battleships (8x Ironclad-Class, 3x-Victory-Class)
* 32x Grand Cruisers (27 Avenger-Class, 5x Exorcist Class)
* 183x Escorts (183x Flamberge-Class Heavy Frigates)
* Unknown amount of Star Galleons

### **Battlefleet Novae Canti**s

*Mechanicum Homefront Fleet*

(TBA)