Emperor's Grace

The *Emperor's Grace* is a Legate-class Battle Barge of the Black Templars in M42. It is the flagship of the Apophasis Crusade and home of Marshal Aristeo Tann and his household.

The battle barge is currently the largest type of warship used by the Adeptus Astartes and most Space Marine Chapters operate two or three of these powerful vessels. The Black Templar, being a fleet based chapter, operate an unknown number of Battle Barges spread out amongst their Crusade Fleets.

The term "Battle Barge" does not refer to a single type or class of warship but instead a title given to any variant or retrofit of Battleship type hull modified and optimized for use by the ancient *Legiones Astartes* or present day Adeptus Astartes, specifically for Space Marine planetary assaults and ship-to-ship boarding actions. The Legate is just one of the myriad of variants that are spread out through the greater Imperium.

Battle Barges are extremely powerful starships and were designed during the Great Crusade with only one purpose in mind -- assaulting other planets. A Battle Barge is primarily configured for the close support of planetary assaults and surface landings and carries numerous bombardment turrets and torpedo tubes. A large amount of the starship's hull space is dedicated to launch bays for intra-system spacecraft like Thunderhawks and Drop Pods and up to three Space Marine companies are capable of deploying simultaneously.

A Battle Barge is extremely heavily armoured and possesses heavily reinforced Void Shields so that it can breach planetary defences without harm coming to its precious inhabitants and their lethal cargoes. The Battle Barge is a literal mobile fortress in any situation in which an opponent seeks to board one with hostile intent. A Battle Barge is essentially one of the most potent starships deployed by the Imperium of Man, easily equivalent in power to that of an Imperial Navy Battlecruiser or even a Battleship when the additional power of its Space Marine contingent is added to the equation.

## History

The *Emperor's Grace* can trace it's lineage back to before the Great Crusade, its keel first assembled at Inwit in its vast ship yards. Originally a vessel of the Imperial Fist Legion, it participated in a number of pacifications and battles as part of the 3rd Exploration Fleet under the orders of Rogal Dorn. For almost 200 years the Emperor's Grace served with dignity and distinction, typical of vessel belonging to the Imperial Fists Legion.

Believed to be an auspicious vessel it found itself part of the fleet attending the Phalanx when the Horus Heresy broke out, because of that the *Emperor's Grace* participated in the Solar War for Terra. With every warship available used in the defenses, it was part of the First Sphere under the command of First Captain Sigismund. During the opening moves of the Solar War the Loyalist forces in void space engaged the enemy forces as best they could, trying to hold them for as long as possible falling back little by little. There was no retreat order but just to buy enough time for the loyalist forces enroute to Terra to arrive and then crush the renegade forces between them.

Commanding from the Frigate *Lachrymae*, First Captain Sigismund decimated the initial waves of traitor forces transitioning into the Sol system through the Khthonic Gate. However as traitor marine vessels arrived in ever-increasing numbers the Sons of Horus finally began to appear, using the ships of the traitor Imperial Army as shields to begin to fire back. One by one the fortress moons fell and after Kerberos fell Sigismund ordered the vessels of the First Sphere to retreat after several days on continuous fighting.

The *Emperor's Grace* survived the Solar War and Siege of Terra joining with the Imperialis Armada and forced to hide at the edges of the Sol System; engaging with the Traitor Fleet would have been suicide considering the odds.

The *Emperor's Grace* would carry the Imperial Fists during the Great Scouring eventually driving the traitorous forces of Chaos into the Eye of Terror.

As part of the Imperial Fists Fleet, the *Emperor's Grace* was present for the unveiling of the Codex Astartes and the Second Founding. Rogal Dorn and the Imperial Fists came under suspicion as heretics for their refusal to back the Codex Astartes and splitting of the VIIth Legion. After the culmination of the Iron Cage, Rogal Dorn relented and split his Legion into smaller, more numerous Chapters. The *Emperor's Grace* was passed onto the newly founded Black Templars and their founder, Sigismund. Recognizing that only an act of supreme faith could quell such suspicion and restore the integrity of the Imperial Fists Chapter and its successors, Sigismund declared the Eternal Crusade, vowing never to cease his prosecution of the enemies of Mankind. All subsequent High Marshals of the Black Templars have renewed that oath, and so the Black Templars have waged their crusade, unbroken, for more than 10,000 years.

The *Emperor's Grace* has served with great distinction for all that time.

## Notable Locations

* **Temple of Dorn** - An annex of the larger Temple of Dorn on the *Eternal Crusader*, it serves as the Reclusium housing Apophasis Crusade's relics and artifacts.
* **Scriptorum of Truths** - Attached to the Temple of Dorn, this place is where the Imperial Creed and Crusade history is recorded. All crusades have their own Temples and Scriptorums and when the crusade is completed, the collected works in both are returned back to the *Eternal Crusader*.
* **Pantheon of Blades** - The Pantheon of Blades is where Battle-Brothers meet weapon to weapon, either to train or settle a duel. This area is less of a training area and more akin to a temple with ancient and sacred swords hung on the walls. This place is dedicated to the worship of the blade and all of its lethal aspects.
* **Avenue of Oaths** - A wide avenue that runs the length of the *Emperor's Grace's* central spinal corridor, the Avenue of Oaths is where the Crusade Banner hangs before being hung in the *Eternal Crusader* at the successful conclusion of a crusade and while it is not borne into battle. Alongside the Crusade Banner and its place of honour are hundreds of Household Banners, each a replica of the different Household's that have fought in crusades carried by the *Emperor's Grace*.
* **Astra Basilica** - Situated directly between the dorsal and ventral hulls of the *Emperor's Grace*, the Astra Basilica's solar domes allow an observer to look out into the void of space almost unimpeded, this is where the Chapter's cult ceremonies and rituals are performed.
* **Strategium** - The command bridge of the vessel is a multi-levelled vault that reminds visitors of a palace's throne room. A central command throne to the rear of the chamber is where the Shipmaster issues their commands. Ship function consoles dominate the outer edge of the chamber, situated on the higher levels. The middle of the room is for the persecution of war. Hololithic screens, many projected from overhead or underdeck emitters, turn the central part of the command area into a flickering light show. Images large and small, or arranged in stacked series that could be flipped through with a deft gesture. A junior fleet officer can slide a luminous rectangular map of fleet dispersal through the air for his superior's attention. Some of the slightly incandescent images would show topographical maps, contour overlays, positional guides for orbital drops and ground combat or spherical maps of the surrounding space, fleet dispositions and movement, or course computations. Others scroll with constant feeds of written data, or display, in small frames, real-time pict-links to the talking heads of other ship commanders of the Crusade Fleet as they report in.