Androktasiai

*And at the cusp of his fleet, the Lord Admiral Ehedain placed a ship unlike any sailing within his domain. A ship to draw fire from the bravest of humanity, to carry it and set aflame the frontier so that the dark of the universe would shroud the enemies of man no more and all would fall to the rise of the Imperium.*

* Ode of the Pontifex, Visions of the Fifth Messiah v. 4229 CC.3

A reverend force rises when the old horns call upon Port Isenhart for war. High fly the golden banners of three triumphant worlds, where the strength of the Imperium is mustered. From the ancient fortress in the sky come forth crusaders without number, thousands and then thousands more of ships, their prows glistening like old blades drawn to catch once more the light of the sun. And among them, one, the first, stands out above all their ranks and battle lines. A spear tipped with fiery blue, clad in embellishments of brass and gold, shining with ten thousand lights tainted through sanguine glass – this is the rise of Androktasiai, riding on a flame of righteous fury, the spirits of the war to come. This is the supreme crusader at the forefront of Sector Gondwana, an ancient machine for unending war.

## Conspectus Technicus

### General

Forged at the apogee of an era long fallen to half-forgotten myth, the  Androktasiai was conceived as a penultimate ship of war, a vessel to channel the thrust of entire crusades during the early Imperial Age. Over long millennia since, it has grown to become a living incarnation of legends, an invaluable trove of treasures from a golden age, before the glory of the ancient humankind fell to a universe of perpetual war.

Few outside of this vessel's crew bound by ancient oath and legacy, could even so much as guess the true potential lying dormant within its vast armor and hull. Even to those who served upon the holy vessel for uncounted generations, it is an ancient and cryptic temple, neither tamed nor fully comprehended.

### Dimensions

* **Length 12754 meters**
* **Width 2402 meters**
* **Height 3210 meters**

### Hull and Design

The mighty hull of the Androktasiai was forged from an ancient alloy of Emerald Lazuli, inlaid with adamantium and obsidian at its core. Multiple layers of meters-thick armor surround not only the outer hull but were arranged in around compartments along structural lanes, to form a hollow skeleton of supreme strength, as laid out by the divine plans of the ancients. Through divine inspiration, the proportions and dimensions of the warship were bestowed upon the priests of the Cult Mechanicus.

To celebrate and honor the vision of the Machine God which their hands had made manifest, the high priests of Azangouc clad their work in rich embellishments of brass and gold, following patterns and designs of the ancient days to frame the Aquila of the Imperium many ten-thousand times.

The Androktasiai was to become an unrivaled temple to the greatest works of Azangouc, set aglow with the red light of countless panes of sanguine crystal glass. Despite the tremendous cost of reinforcement, the innumerable gothic arches and columns were made stronger than even the armored hull, made to withstand the terrible forces of battle, while depicting all the fine beauty of pious art nonetheless.

Upon the Androktasiai, every last turret and spire was made a cathedral, every beam a monument to the skill and workmanship of its creators and the divine inspiration granted by the Omnissiah. An artful display of the heights of humanity, it is a true wonder to behold.

### Armament

#### Prow Plasma Void Lance "Rammsporn"

The blue fire dancing on the tip of the Androktasiai's mighty prow stems from the plasma conduits of its most ancient and fearsome weapon. This is the "Rammsporn", a relic of older age, made to sway the fate of wars long forgotten during the early advent of the Imperium.

The Rammsporn channels arcane energy siphoned directly from the fires of the first reactor core. Without dissipation through radiation in the medium of the cosmic void, the full prowess of the blue fusion fire is sent forth in a continuous plasma stream, hot and bright like the stuff of stars. And with the same unyielding might like that of a breathing star, the stream breaks against any and all matter in its way, boiling armor, rock and stone like vapors of water ice.

Rarely is the full might of the Rammsporn unleashed, for its fire depletes the engines and the control core, leaving the Androktasiai dependant on secondary systems to maintain function until the furnaces are re-ignited. But where ever the fire of the Rammsporn was sent, it is said no foe ever withstood this weapon's furious might.

Rather than sending forth the full might of the celestial plasma weapon, the Rammsporn has more often been used to augment the sheer impact of the Androktasiai's prow at ramming speed. Upon contact with an enemy's armored hull, the blue fire of the weapon will spill and bleed into any and all surrounding matter, melting it away and breaking the enemy vessel. In this way the Rammsporn is said to have set alight an entire plague-ship with righteous fire, cleansing it of the corruption and leaving nothing but the burnt hull, pristine and black, behind.

#### 18x Forward Torpedo Tubes

Designed to launch the numerous warheads of the Imperial Arsenal, the torpedo tubes mounted to the vessel's bow provide a wide range of utility in battle and were praised by the masters of the ship many times. While limited in its number of torpedoes per salvo, the Androktasiai maintains a massive arsenal to last for centuries of active duty.

#### 4x Stern Torpedo Tubes

A most unusual part of the Androktasiai's design are the four torpedo tubes arrange to fire directly behind the craft. Introduced to the design for pure utility, these are used mostly for distractions, false beacons, and homing mines.

#### 8x Superheavy Turreted Macro Cannons

Fielding eight superheavy macro cannons of unique design, the Androktasiai wields superior firepower at long range. These weapons were made by the Archmagos of Azangouc in accordance with plans fifteen millennia of age, who favored them over lance weaponry common in other imperial battleships. Where others would have failed to recreate the technological divinity of old again, the legendary magos succeeded and created an arsenal befitting of the holy ship, superheavy macro cannons of supreme precision, striking with a kinetic force, strong enough to entirely shatter smaller ships.

#### 2x Turreted Forward Heavy Lance Cannons

A rare addition to the lower bow of the Androktasiai are the side-mounted heavy lance cannons, designed to provide the venerable ship with formidable forward precision firepower. Only two of these weapons were granted to the last Androktasiai, though some legends tell of its sister ships fielding six or more on the flanks of their armored bow.

#### 10x Turreted Heavy Macro Cannons

Providing the Androktasiai with formidable firepower to all sides are the turreted heavy macro cannons spread about the ship, reinforcing the salvo strength of their heaviest brethren and adding to the versatility of the old giant in battle. Much like the heaviest variants, they are often arsenal and homestead to their gunnery crews, enclaves of voidfarers largely isolated from the ship at large. By their crews, each turret is known by name and the living souls within tend to its machine spirit with great care.

#### 19x Turreted Macro Cannons (dorsal & ventral)

Although they make for formidable ship-to-ship weapons, the smallest class of turreted macro cannons upon the massive ship act in a role more closely aligned with point defense duty than that of main-weapon batteries. Engaging escorts, destroyers and light cruisers primarily, the fire of these guns is coordinated especially closely by a network of heralds and vox-lines throughout the ship, granting added efficiency to their devoted gunnery crews.

#### 28x Turreted Macro Cannons (port & starboard)

On the whim of an unusual divine inspiration, the first architects of the Androktasiai outfitted their creation with an unusual number of turreted weapons on both broadsides, offering wider firing arches and added accuracy in the deliverance of deadly ordinance. As a result, the broadsides of the Androktasiai are no mere deadly fronts of unnamed, vanquishing fire, but augmented by precision strikes against weak points and critical enemy systems.

#### 18x Turreted Light Macro Cannons

The Androktasiai fields a number of light and swift macro cannons located mostly within trenches along the dorsal and ventral side to maximize the overlap of continuous firing arks along the entirety of the battleship. The light cannons are outfitted with long barrels in proportion to their strength, granting greater accuracy paired with the weapon's higher rate of fire.

#### 40x Turreted Quad-Mounted Point Defense Lance Batteries

A most unorthodox point defense design adorns the bulk of the Androktasiai, an intricate network of point defense, made of turreted quadruple lance batteries. These rapid firing energy weapons of unrivaled accuracy stand guard over the vessel's sensitive systems and will not allow any missile, torpedo or bomber to pass. The coordinated defense systems require great amounts of computational power, the likes of which is rarely found on most imperial designs. Yet utilizing the arcane might of the cogitator crystal garden, the Androktasiai is blessed with a rare and nigh insurmountable line of defense.

#### 290x Broadside Macro Cannons

The mainstay of the Androasiai's weaponry is clearly the broadside macro cannons arranged along both flanks of the mighty ship. Firing as one, they create a blossoming wave of terrible force clad in fire, each shot a spear tipped with the glowing form of deadly projectiles. Unfolding the full destructive potential at close range, there are few vessels known to man which would be able to withstand such a broadside salvo at full force.

#### 22x Superheavy Broadside Macro Cannons

The superlative variants of the Broadside Macro cannons are little more than mortars for the gargantuan rounds launched at the foe from the broadsides of the ship. The Androktasiai priding itself in the precision of its macro weapons utilizes few of these crude yet terribly effective weapons, mostly as a show of force or to deal a broken enemy the final, deadly blow.

#### 180x Turreted Close Proximity & Perimeter Defense Cannons

Few vessels ever possessed the strength to come close to the Androktasiai in battle out of their own volition. But time and time again the fearless vessel charged to claim victory upon the furthest frontline. Where hostile vessels come near under such circumstances, they are met with barrages of highly concentrated fire, deadly in the rapid succession of salvos and the high precision cannons of the perimeter defense.

#### 400+ Point Defense & Flak Batteries

Innumerable are the small turrets and arms of point defense and flak weaponry, set upon every last surface of the ship. The Androktasiai is a fortress of many thousand guns. Four hundred batteries of them are organized under the ship's command and directed by a multitude of battle groups and gunnery crews. Many of these are operated by servitors where necessary, or used for the youngest of the crew to begin service among the gunnery crews.

#### 15+ Superheavy Launch Tubes

Mighty seals of emerald and gold close off the round openings of superheavy launch tubes aboard the battleship. Each of these is outfitted with launch catapults for payloads of mighty tonnage. These range from auger probes, vox relays and warheads of any kind. Encompassing multiple engine stages, correction thrusters, and guidance systems, these extreme long-ranged weapons are among the most sophisticated pieces in the imperial arsenal.

#### 25+ Missile Silos

The flanks of the Androktasiai are lined with the openings of missile launchers and launch tubes. Innumerable openings of missile launchers and catapult tubes are hidden in the shadows of baroque gold, ready to fire swarms of interceptors, anti-ship missiles and dreadful warheads of mass destruction. Ancient cogitator systems and lineages of command tie the majority of these together in command groups of missile silos. Twenty-Five of these are offense-oriented, outfitted to support the primary firepower of the macro armament.

#### 4x Primary Flight Decks

Measuring on a third of the length of the entire ship, the two Auxiliary- and Strikecraft decks on either side of its massive hull surpass in their size even the spaceports of some minor worlds. Along these decks exist most of the ship's regular docking clamps and gangways for rendezvous with other capital ships, as well as landing strips, repair bays and dry docks for all manner of smaller vessels. Capable of accommodating vessels of several hundred meters in length, these decks support much of the Androktasiai's escort wing.

From here, the Androktasiai launches entire heavy attack wings, strategic bombing runs, and covert operations, making it an invaluable asset in all matters of war.

#### 48x Hangar Bays

Below the massive landing decks, a great many hangar bays are located on either flank of the Androktasiai, hosting permanent interceptor-, strike-, and bomber-squadrons. Here the proud riders of the fusion flame are at home, eager to plunge themselves and their craft into battle. Capable of achieving rapid launch- and recovery times, the catapult-aided hangar bays of this battleship reduce squadron deployment time drastically, allowing for the ship's meaningful carried capacity despite devoting so little tonnage to this purpose.

### Auxiliaries and Strike Craft

Upon four vast flight decks and within forty-eight augmented hangar bays, the Androktasiai carries an extensive fleet of auxiliaries, strike- and interceptor craft. Ranging in scale from smallest scout and herald craft to strategic bombers and gunships several hundred meters long, this on-board escort fleet alone provides the venerable vessel with sufficient capabilities to protect itself from most attacks and perform deep strikes beyond enemy lines to weaken and prepare the foe for the Androktasiai's inevitable frontal attack.

The numbers of the vessels carried force are replenished mostly from sources aboard, new pilots being recruited from among the lower ranks and their mighty steeds forged on the assembly lines deep within the ship.

### Defenses

#### Faith

Unyielding
and devoted faith is the eternal shield of those serving the emperor
and giving battle in his name. By His grace, they may love or die,
but their pious souls will find salvation and sit by the right side
of the Golden Throne. The faith of those serving upon the
Androktasiai can never falter and is set in gold and stone in
countless alcoves, reliefs, and statues all throughout the ship.
Every chapel, cathedral, and altarpiece offers solace, strength and
protection to those deserving and honorable.
The faithful soul
shall not fear death nor defeat, for the Emperor's light will guide
all to inevitable victory!

#### Wardens of Gold

Among the most
revered symbols of the unyielding faith upon the Androktasiai are the
Wardens of Gold, a pantheon of twelve statues depicting the ship's
patron martyrs and saints as golden, winged knights standing guard
against all evil terrors of the warp. Measuring each no less than two
hundred meters in height, these images of divine glory inspire the
toiling masses of the ship to wondrous feats in every battle.

#### Gellar Fields

The faith and sanity of all souls are tested
when a voidship goes to warp. Strange and eldritch horrors lurk in
the tormenting maelstrom of the Immaterium and seek to deliver all
vessels into damnation on an eternal journey through the sea of
souls. Such heretical malice must not be allowed, and thus the
Androktasiai was blessed by multiple layers of Gellar-Field
generators, projecting arcane energies warding off the curses and
demons of the impossible, forbidden realm.

#### Torus Choir

Alongside the vessel's primary astropath, there serves the
Torus Choir upon the Androktasiai. This convent of learned psykers
and wise keeps watch over the mental well-being of the crew and warns
against any demonic incursion, heretical tendencies, and cults among
the masses of the lower decks. Their watch never ceases and extends
to much of the surrounding fleet, ensuring the loyalty and purity of
those forces serving the Imperium so far from the light of Holy
Terra.

#### Void Shields

Grand fields of arcane energy shroud
the Battleship Androktasiai, fueled by holy engines deep within. The
Void Shields of this vast vessel are arranged in intricate layers
around its hull, gleaming with the bright lighting of the Omnissiah's
force unleashed.

#### Outer Shields

The outer shields form the
first continuous barrier to stand against the foe, absorbing the
energies brought against the Androktasiai. Forming the largest single
shield projection around the ship, their strength is limited,
intended more to mitigate the force of enemy strikes rather than
outright halting it in full.

#### Inner Shields

To completely
negate the strength of oncoming enemy fire, the inner shields are
more concise, leaving less space between the hull and the energetic
barrier. What passes through the outer shields is stopped along this
inner line of defense.

In conjunction, both layers of void
shields operate at limited strength to counter an enemy attack. Their
power output can be increased by the priesthood of the Mechanicus
upon the Androktasiai, but running both layers at full strength
brings great risk, for should these shields be then overloaded, the
damage to their capacitors will be of great extent and the machine
spirit will be angered, unwilling to grant any further protection for
prolonged amounts of time.

#### Compartments Shields and Barriers

The innermost energy shields aboard the Androktasiai are
ancient relics of a forgotten time, rarely seen in vessels of
imperial design, but said to have originated in times before the
Weltenbrand. According to the chronicles of the ship, they were
activated only on few and rare occasions, when the enemy broke
through all other means of defense and armor. In such dire
circumstance, these shields were to protect the most vital regions of
the vessel, such as Gellar field generators, the innermost core and
command centers. Even should all the rest of the vessel break away,
these would be surrounded by shields of their own, to ensure the
functionality of the ship until the very last.

#### Turrets and Batteries

By the grace of the Omnissiah, the Battleship was gifted
with a multitude of defensive weaponry. By the Cult Mechanicus
Androktasiai, these were bound into grouped units under one supreme
command, to best serve the vessel and the machine spirit within.

The inner and outer turrets describe any and all turreted
weapon's batteries of such caliber to effectively intercept hostile
bombers, strike-craft, shuttles, and even corvettes and destroyers.
Upon the Androktasiai, some of these weapons resemble even the main
batteries of smaller craft but are used solely in at close proximity
as such.

The inner and outer defensive batteries encompass a
wide range of defensive weapons and utilities of smaller size,
including point-defense, flak cannons, chaff launchers, and
interceptor missile tubes. Arranged in command groups and independent
units, each such defensive battery is assigned its own command and
crew, and often bear their own names and banners proudly displayed
within and without.

#### High Walls of Gold

The
outermost layer of the Androktasiai's hull form the High Walls of
Gold, renown for their unrivaled beauty and splendor. Vast galleries
clad in emerald marble and gold shine bright in between sanguine
vistas of tainted glass. Statues of saints and martyrs line the outer
walls of the ship, set upon buttresses and arches of intricate
architecture, built up over decades when the old ship was made.
But
the monumental art of the High Walls of Gold deceives the human eye.
By no means are these walls decorative or frail, but instead an
external skeleton surrounding and supporting the whole of the ship.
Like the cathedrals of old, built to reach impossible heights, the
structure of the High Walls of Gold is built according to ancient law
set forth by the Omnissiah to unite supreme beauty with the practical
strength and endurance which is to last ten thousand years and more.

#### High Walls of Brass

Beyond the outer splendor of the High
Walls of Gold lies the second layer, the High Walls of Brass. This is
the first commonly inhabited section of the vessel, where corridors
and companionways connect countless chapels, vaults and occasional
halls and the lower classes of the crew do the duty of their lives.

Other than the High Walls of Gold, which were restored during the
great reclamation, the High Walls of Brass are almost as old as the
ship itself, and in some parts still, retain the runes left there by
the ancient ship-builders. They surpass the High Walls of Gold in
their strength and form a connective tissue around the inner Amalgan
Armor.

#### Amalgam Armor

This is the hardcore and inner
skeletal structure of the ship. Against common belief, it is not
simply a single, rigid form, but an infinitely more complex structure
of compound layers formed from various enduring materials and
components. Despite the unyielding, granite appearance, this
innermost hull is in truth flexible by a measure of several over a
dozen meters over the length of the ship, allowing the hull to endure
tremendous kinetic forces without the danger to shatter.

#### Interior Armor

Finally, the inner structure of the Androktasiai is
dominated by interior armor, reinforced plating surrounding important
halls and compartments. This inner armor is not to protect from an
outside force, but against debris and shrapnel caused by primary
explosions. While many walls and decks inside the ship are disposable
and may be rearranged, these hard structures remain and forever
dictate the general outline of the vessel.

## Interior of the Androktasiai

### High Palace of the Androktasiai

Crowning the mighty vessel Androktasiai are the crenelations and castellated rooftops of the High Palace, the seat of power of the high dynasties and officers ranks, as well as the chambers of the Administratum. Here all the splendor and glory of the ship reaches its zenith, looking down upon all the vessel working at their behest.

Among the rank and file of the crew, even those of high standing among the lesser dynasties, the High Palace is a distant land of wonder, promised to those who may one day do outstanding deeds in service to the Emperor and be recognized for their service.

Here, upon the highest spire of the ship, are also kept relics of high import, among them ancient pieces of technology, artifacts of long forgotten battles and the shipmaster's crown.

### Hall of the Ship's Throne

High atop a throne of emerald, marble, and obsidian, there resides the sole Lord of Androktasiai. It is this command station at the heart of the ship, where the authority and might over this elder ship's domain culminates in a single soul, one chosen by the powers that be, to wield this mighty weapon which is the entirety of this voidfaring vessel.

To all but the Lord of the Androktasiai, and his memory of the ancestral line of those who held this seat, none can tell the full extent of power granted by the throne. A nigh mythical aura of glyphs and projects shrouds the bulk of it at all time, messages in a cryptic language spoken only by the chosen few.

It is said, however, that in ancient times the throne would make ship and master one, uniting mind and machine into an amalgamation adhering to the highest ideals of perfection set forth by the most devout servants of the Omnissiah.

### Chambers of the Administratum Belli

Just below the Hall of the Ship's Throne lie the convoluted chambers of the Administratum Belli. It is here that the Lord Admiral of the Androktasiai holds council with the nobility and advisors of his vessel and here that the course of entire crusades is decided. The chambers include massive halls and cogitator interfaces, including the greatest hololithic systems aboard the vessel, reaching many stories high and providing integrated displays of battle groups, systems, and planets and deep scans of hostile craft. At its inner sanctum resides the Executor Chamber, where the grand catalog of the Administratum Trantor issues tactical and strategic directives.  The chambers provide also accommodations and chambers for diplomatic envoys and pilots of Imperial worlds.

### Monuments

#### The Lunging Aquila

The foremost monument of the Androktasiai, clad entirely in glistening gold, is the Lunging Aquila atop its prow, leading its way to war and victory. It is the second galleon figure to adorn the massive vessel, following the loss of the first monument, a winged eye in emerald and gold, during the time spent adrift before the reclamation.

The Lunging Aquila's conception was favored by the first dominus of the newly founded Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai, despite its deviation from the original iconography, for the master builder of the ancient fort sought to illustrate the vessels rebirth and new identity. He approved the design set forth by an unknown artisan of the Hives Incandescent upon Trantor. The young man, mere five decades old at the time, was rewarded with a comfortable life on a world of his choosing for his formidable work which earned praise from the High Lord Admiral of Battlefleet Gondwana himself.

#### The First Griffin

Oldest of all monuments is the First Griffin of the Androktasiai, standing proud atop the halls of the Lord's throne. Bright flames shine in its eyes, as it watches over the ship and its many waking souls. Not gilded but cast in pure amalgam gold, the statue of the heraldic beast cost more imperial crowns than some escorts serving in its shadow.

The Griffin was honored aboard the Androktasiai since the very beginning of its whole existence. When keel for the ancient ship was laid, it is said the statue stood already waiting. It is an artifact of even older ages, reclaimed by the Imperium in the name of new-born glory. For this reason, the original creator of this piece was never known, but the precision and inspired beauty of their craft inspired all further works adorning the ship.

#### The Ringbearers

Most closely aligned with the Griffin's design are the ringbearers adorning both flanks of the central hull. Mid-ships they hold two rings each of amalgam gold, inscribed with ancient names of imperial history. It is said each of these names belonged once to a martyr or saint, whose lives in some way touched the history of the ship. Most of these legends are buried deep within the libraries of the ancient vessel, tales of faith and duty to the emperor. Historians aboard the vessel were always eager to uncover them. Even so, some names remain a mystery still. The last of the four rings is almost empty, and it has been long debated whether or not it should be filled with names of further saints and heroes to serve aboard the Androktasiai.

#### The Wardens of Gold

Following the great defeat at Dissonant Deep, the Androktasiai was set adrift for many centuries. During this time, untold horrors came to possess this vessel's darkest corners and deepest shadows. In ancient times only the Machine Spirit of the Androktasiai remembers, many systems of the holy battleship were defiled and the sacred aura protecting the ship was all but forgotten by the time it was reclaimed.

As part of the innumerable rituals performed by the priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the vessel was gifted twelve magnificent Wardens Gold, winged knights to stand against the ruinous powers who brought shame upon the ship.

Enshrined in each of the massive statues were the bodies of martyrs in eternal prayer, and to each knight belongs a shrine where devout servants of the Emperor ceaselessly pray. Through their atonement, they relieve the vessel of all sin, and their blood sacrificed washes away the madness of the long and horrible drift.

### Cathedral of the Pontifex Maximus

Like any vessel of the void, the Androktasiai is dedicated to the worship of the Emperor of Mankind and his shining Astronomican, carrying temples and cathedrals and countless chapels through the endless dark. It is here that sacrifice and ritual are made in the Emperor's name and eternal servitude.

First among the places of worship upon this holy vessel is the High Cathedral of the Pontifex Maximus, where temples dedicated to the imperial pantheon of martyrs and saints reside. Here is seated the highest order of the Adeptus Ministorum aboard the ship, as well as a convent of the Cult Medicae Canamiran. Consequently, the High Acropolis of the Pontifex Maximus plays host to both the confessional chambers and the largest halls of healing on the ship.

### Temple of the Great Machine

Where the common denizens of the Imperium worship the deity of Holy Terra as the Immortal God-Emperor of Mankind, the enlightened souls of the Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai recognize in him the Omnissiah. The works of the Machine god become manifest in the Great Machine fueling and propelling the holy vessel's every system. Consequently, the engine cores and reactor shafts throughout the length of the ship, are but one massive temple to the greatness of the ancients and the blessings of the Omnissiah. Shut off for the most part from all human souls, allowing only the initiates seeking enlightenment through machinery, these are tranquil places of worship and knowledge, dedicated to the preservation and recreation of the Great Machine.

### Habitation Districts

The great length of the Androktasiai is divided into several sections and decks, each a realm of its own and the sole domain where entire clans and families of servants and crew spend much of their lives doing service in the name of the great machine. While all of these provide meager housing and accommodation for some of their lower ranks, there are three most populous districts housing much of the vessels regular ratings and crew. These are Pontifex, Isen and Nimmerdan, each a nothing less but a city of its own and distinct from one another in rites and peculiarities developed over endless centuries.

#### Pontifex

Located right at the center of the vessel, midships just below the High Palace, the hab-stacks of Pontifex are most reminiscent of planetary upper-hives. Here, most of the rich adornments of the ancient craft are restored and newly made, and the political intrigue among branches of the crusaders take place.

 Pontifex offers housing not only for officers, artisans, and artifexes of the crew, but also accommodations for merchants, diplomats and noble guests of some standing, the needs of which will be tended to by an extensive staff of highly educated serfs and chamberlains.

#### Isen

Toward the prow of the Androktasiai lies the foremost of the populous districts for habitation. It is home primarily to the scribes and crew aboard the trantaorian vessel, tasked with administering and tending to the vessels countless systems. Here are the seats of many lesser dynasties, and their proud traditions set them clearly apart from the worldly demeanor of the District Pontifex. These are voidfarers at heart, who wish no business with those from the outside. Consequently, they incorporated machinery and cogitator systems directly into all their life and rarely indulge in displays of nobility, even if they are of lineages serving proud and long for generations.

#### Nimmerdan

Close to the mighty engines of the Androktasiai live the toiling masses of the lower ranks, those housed not right by their station, and many yet to assume their role aboard the ship. Yet despite the lowly ranks, Nimmerdan does not devolve akin to planetary underhives, for it is kept in pristine order by those revering the great machinery above all.

Due to its proximity to the reactor core, Nimmerdan is the holy breeding ground of the Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai. Promising youths are taken as apprentices by the Adeptus Mechanicus, whilst others will be sent forth to serve among the ship's rank and file. Any and all degenerates are taken by the tech-priests to be put to use in cybernetic servitude. All but those adhering to a select few, sanctioned abhuman strains, which are most useful to the ship.

### Bazar Candelabrum and the Merchant Decks

Suspended from the arching columns high above the cargo hold hangs the Bazar Candelabrum, where the wealthy, the dynasties and merchant guests make trade within and without the vessel. Through the bartering and exchange in the Bazar and on the Merchant Decks far below, the Androktasiai acquires goods and luxuries for the higher ranks among the crew, as well as mercenaries and any supplies beyond those issued strictly by the administratum and the imperial navy. It is a thriving hive of profiteers, bathed in red candlelight and the golden shine of gold exchanged.

### Manufactorum

Everything aboard the Androktasiai serves, in the end, the great machinery of the ship. Only by the grace of a pleased machine spirit can the ancient warship function and thus fulfill its duty to the golden throne. In no place, this is more apparent, than on the riving manufactorum decks, the endlessly working assembly lines running along the vessel's mighty keel. In these halls of ancient sanctity, the devout priests of the Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai perform the unending rituals to produce any and all machinery and components needed to keep the myriad systems of the vessel intact and operational. Weapons, Ammunition, supplies, even uniform, and armor are produced inside these halls in accordance with unique and ancient patterns, blessed gifts of the Omnissiah granted to the Androktasiai in ages past.

### Administratum Library

Like the holy order of the Adeptus Ministorum and the invaluable Mechanicus Cult, so too does the Adeptus Administratum maintain a place of highest worship and service to its duty in the eyes of the Emperor aboard the Androktasiai. The Library of the administratum is buried deep at the core of the venerable battleship, housing chronicles and documentation manifests and written orders from all of the ship's history. Whilst several chambers rise many decks high, filled with codexes richly adorned and scrolls in the holy speech of the machine, the innermost chambers of the library are heavy bunkers sealed away, buried beneath untold tons of adamantium and stone.

### Cogitator Gardens

There are few places more mystical aboard the Androktasiai, more alien and far removed from all humanity than the Cogitator Gardens. These artificial forests of steel, glass and silica house the sprawling cogitator banks wherein the machine spirit of the battleship resides. Endless rows of half-awake machines are haunted by the ghost in the machine, the huge and inconceivable mind which encompasses all which occurs and exists upon the ship.

In these carefully temperated and sterile rooms, new crystals and circuitry are grown. Ancient and sacred rituals dictate every breath drawn, every last step made by the priests serving so close to the heart of the entity they worship as an avatar of the Machine God.

This is the place where the Priests outlive their last centuries bound by flesh, their bodies closer than anywhere else to ascension. Those priests who pass over the threshold here, become wholly one with the machine spirit of the Androktasiai, their consciousness transferred into the realm of silica to join the choir of blessed souls, who invest all their knowledge, memories and understanding into the greater whole of the vast machine.

### Second World

Beyond the well-traveled decks and chambers of the Androktasiai, there exists a second world, a space far from the shining metal and light, where dark shadows lurk and only the desperate go. These are passageways and secret passages, entire silos and halls lost to oblivion. Forgotten in the many millennia of this vessel's service, or outright hidden when the vessel was once reclaimed, these space form an underworld throughout the entirety of the ship. The hidden dangers and treasures within are the stuff of countless tall tales and legends told among all ranks of the ship's inhabitants. How much truth lies in these stories of cults and demons, nobody can truly say.

### Automaton Realms

There are places throughout the Androktasiai, where human rarely dwell in many centuries. There are places inaccessible entirely to the human form, dangerous and toxic through heat and radiation. These are the heartlands of the Automaton Realms, was swaths of the ship run and maintained entirely by servitor- and automaton systems interrupted only on rare occasion by adapted abhuman strains or voidsmen in heavy protective gear. Officially under the supervision of the Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai, many of the automaton realms act in truth well beyond the control of the engine-seers. Only through the Machine Spirit can the Tech-Priests commune with these remote parts of their vessel, and the news is cryptic messages enthralled half in binary prophecy.

## Heraldic Achievement

The full heraldic achievement of the Androktasiai is displayed in the ship's colors, gold, and dark teal, typically made from gilded metal and emerald marble.
At the center of the coat of arms is the Escutcheon, divided into four fields, each of which depicts the charge of one of the major powers and dynasties holding authority aboard the Androktasiai:

* Upper Left: Cross of the High Dynasties
* Upper Right: Charge of Eschenbach of the Lower Dynasties
* Lower Left: Aquila of Trantor
* Lower Right: Emblem of the Imperial Navy

The Escutcheon is crowned with a helm, bearing the symbol of the fifth major power, the Cult Mechanicus Cambria representing the Cult Mechanicus as a whole. On both sides, on a gilded mantle, two griffins take the place of supporters for the heraldic display, representing the vessel's patron beast, which it inherited from its original port at Azangouc. Upon the crest of the coat of arms as a whole sits the imperial aquila in an ornate design. Arching over the heraldic display are the full titles of the vessel Androktasiai.

## Name and titles

At the end of the 41st Millennium, the ship carries in full the following name:
*Sacrosanctus peregrinus Androktasiai Pontifex Maximus ex Isenhart et Azangouc*

### Sacrosanctus

To carry the quality of holiness by name is a high honor bestowed upon the Androktasiai. In relation to the title "Peregrinus" it signifies the vessel's status as a victorious heir to the Great Crusade, leading successful holy wars in service to the Golden Throne. The superlative form of the title "Sanctus" was awarded to the Androktasiai for having met and bested forces aligned with the Arch-Traitor himself.

### Peregrinus

The first title to be awarded to the Androktasiai was "Peregrinus" (goth. "the crusader"), given to all ships sailing for the northern frontier as heirs to the Great Crusade, with the sole goal of fulfilling the mandate of the Imperium, to claim all worlds for the benefit of the humankind. Whereas many vessels would lose this title in favor of leading fleets of their own upon worlds they conquered, the title of Peregrinus was never given up by the Androktasiai, for the conquest of Sector Gondwana was never fully completed.

### Androktasiai

Proudly this ancient vessel carries the given name Androktasiai, after ancient specters of war inhabiting eldritch tales of Holy Terra. With this name, it was blessed by the grace of the Emperor, and it was the first word spoken to the holy machine spirit by its creator. As the plural name suggests, the Androktasiai hailing from Azangouc was once one among many. But fate carried most of these vessels far from the shores of the Thetys rift, so that now only one Androktasiai remains, perhaps the last of the lineage of its class.

### Pontifex Maximus

The cognomen "Pontifex Maximus" was first given to the Androktasiai as the flagship of the Xenophon Crusade, when it was declared highest temple of worship to both the Imperial Cult and Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai.

Following the reclamation and rebirth at Port Isenhart, the title was renewed once more as Pontifex Maximus ex Isenhart, and the high priests of the Trantorian Cult of Voidfarers took residence in the high palace atop the ship.

### ex Isenhart et Azangouc

The last addition to the vessel's name, "ex Isenhart", describes the port of call from which the Androktasiai hails at present time. It is set before the original port of origin "Azangouc", which was lost to the warp and woes of time, but remains in the memory of the holy crusader. Thus, in its name, the Androktasiai carries a reminder of the ancient mandate to one day retake this lost fort from the vile darkness to which it once fell.

## Crew

The Androktasiai is a kingdom onto its own, ruled absolutely its noble lord. His domain reaches from the golden crest of its prow to the very last fusion flame shooting out into the depth of space. Aboard this vessel, his voice is the first to be heard, his word is holy and his judgment divine.

Many thousand souls reside under his rule, many hundred lineages serving for untold generations. Whether born high and noble or as serfs to the lowest decks, all share the common destiny to live and die for the Androktasiai and fulfill their duty to its master for the glory of the Imperium.

### Noble Dynasties

These are the high-born lineages of the Androktasiai, standing highest among the crew, safe for the most unique and rare positions.

#### Senior Commissioned Officers

The ranks of first-rate officers aboard the venerable ship are held by noble families distinguished for generations of exemplary service. Their title as high nobility of the ship is awarded by the Lord-Captain and his council, and they hold their status solely by his grace. Each and every generation of their line must once more prove its worth to the Androktasiai, lest the family may fall, allowing a lesser dynasty to rise. Most officer families held their title for centuries, but few for more than a thousand years.

#### Administratum Scribes

The youngest addition to the noble ranks of the Androktasiai is the Administratum Scribes appointed by Trantor. For as long as the battleship serves the incandescent Triumvirate world, their word holds great sway in the council. Administering every aspect of service aboard the ship, their foremost goal is ever growing optimization and they maintain some rivalry with the Cult Mechanicus of this ship.

#### Convent of the Cult Canimaran Medicae

Having joined the travels of the Androktasiai eight Millennia ago and renewed their service when the ship was reclaimed, the Convent of the Cult Canimaran Medicae is inseparably intertwined with the crew and culture of this ship. Their home lies within the Cathedral of the Pontifex Maximus, but their hospitality extends to many chambers and hospices throughout the vessel's many decks. Ensuring the health and well-being of the living souls, and tending to the dying, the Cult offers invaluable services to the Androktasiai.

#### Guild of the High Factotum

Wealthiest among all of the noble dynasties is the Guild of the High Factotum, holding mastery of the Candelabrum Bazar and all machinations of trade aboard the Androktasiai. To sustain the battleship and all those aboard, huge quantities of supplies, material, and luxury goods are brought aboard at each harbor and in its vast holdings, the vessel keeps reserves for trade worthy of any proud trader.

### Lesser Dynasties

The lesser nobles of the Androktasiai trace their lineages back far into the vessel's history. Some are noble houses fallen from grace, other families rising from the lower decks to carve out their place among the noble crew of the vessel. The lesser dynasties are known as the class of opportunity aboard the ship, to which all lower ranks aspire.

#### Junior Commissioned Officers

Among the junior officer's corps of the Androktasiai serve both the new generations of nobility, seeking to maintain their family's standing among the noble dynasties and the aspirants of lesser houses hoping for their lineage to rise. In rare cases, loyal and honored voidsmen stand a chance to reach these ranks through exemplary service, elevating their bloodline to the higher decks.

#### Pilots

The crews and pilots of the strike- and auxiliary craft are among the most respected members of the ship's rank and file, enjoying the comfort and great honor for coming eye-to-eye with the foes of the Imperium. Not only are their numbers replenished upon landfall on suitable worlds, but they also recruit the best and most promising from among the lower ranks, providing one of few chances to rise quickly through the vessel's ranks.

#### Artifex and Artisan Guilds

The splendor and riches of the Androktasiai are conceived and made by the learned guildsmen, Artifexes, and Artisans. Over many generations of masters and apprentices, these handed down the skill and knowledge necessary to continue the un-ending work aboard the ship. All goods and adornments of the vessel, everything from the simplest serf's uniform to the golden warden statues themselves is created and maintained by these masters of craft and art. In endless cycles of creation and restoration, they wander the ship and renew its glory on every day. For this service, they are awarded the honor of the lesser dynasties and are respected as some of the great houses of the Androktasiai.

### Honored Voidsmen

Alongside the great old dynasties aboard the Androktasiai serve many thousand common souls without noble blood, who yet stand out above the toiling masses and earn respected as honored voidsmen and valued members of the fleet.

#### Warrant Officers

To the best and most loyal among the ratings of the ship are awarded warrants of authority by the council Androktasiai. They hold sway over the innumerable cells and command structures entwined with the ship itself. Their voice and action ensures the stability and discipline among the crew and facilitates the execution of all orders given from the command high above.

#### Non-Commissioned Officers

More ranks still are held by the longest-serving mariners aboard the Androktasiai, whose esteemed service awarded them the officer's honor. Veterans of the gun-crews, armsmen, and bosuns of the ship are entitled to a high standing and modest authority over their portions of the crew. Though no nobles by title, their bloodlines run often deeper in the ship's history than even those of high standing.

#### Chamberlains

Great honor is rewarded to the families of body servants and chamberlains who are trusted to accompany the wise and mighty in their leadership of the ship. Those countless souls serving quietly in the shadows, tending to the well-being of their masters, are inevitably close to arcane and forbidden secrets with which the noble dynasties deal. A special kind of honor and dignity is required of these servants and dutiful compliance to their tasks is rewarded with a comfortable life not far fetched from that of some planetary nobilities.

#### Lowly Scribes

Counted among the honored voidsmen of the ship are even the lowly disciples of the Administratum Trantor. Their service to one of the Triumvirate Worlds distinguishes them clearly from the masses of lesser planets and moons and especially those born and raised entirely aboard the vessel. While separated from the rest of the crew and rarely respected as such by the voidsmen themselves, their standing ensures wealth and safety for their kin.

#### High Mariners

Last to be counted among the honored voidsmen are the common mariners of the highest standing, whose families trace back several generations of dedicated service and those whose exceptional skill brought them to the attention of the officer's ranks. These are the few who stand out before the endless ranks of the ratings and whose name may be remembered for a time in the chronicles of the Androktasiai.

### Androktasiai Armsmen

Charged with the protection of their holy ship and home are the armsmen of the Androktasiai. They defend the battleship against any foe from without and within, guarding against the vile xenos, heretic, and corruption. They are taken and trained only from the best aboard and no blood-line can decide their rank nor authority. Solely through skill and distinguished service can they rise through the ranks and, as veterans of many battles, one day ascend to the Androktasiai Council's honor guard.

#### Androktasiai Men At Arms

Should any foe be so preposterous as to attempt a boarding of the ship, any and all souls aboard are called to arms. There is no greater duty to anyone aboard than to give their life in the defense of the Androktasiai and the function of its systems.

As everyone aboard the vessel receives basic combat- and void-survival training, even the rapidly conscripted ranks of lower deckhands, workers, and serfs make for a notable force when equipped with the brutish voidsmen armor, lasguns, and carbines of the Androktasiai Men-At-Arms.

#### Androktasiai Armsmen

Wholly devoted to serving as guardians of the ship and soldiers under the Lord Admiral's Command, the Armsmen of the Androktasiai spend every hour of their endless journey preparing for those precious few days of hardship in battle. These are the first line of defense against any foe's attack and the tip of the spear in every boarding action. Their heavy armored void-suits are the council's authority incarnate and their metallic voices the final judgment on any enemy they encounter.

### Ratings

These are the common voidsmen of the Androktasiai, proud servants of the Imperial Navy and the venerated flagship of Port Isenhart. Their lives are bound to this ship, their world confined to its high armored walls. Throughout the Androktasiai, their roles are as manifold as their duties and rituals to keep the imperial vessel operational. From musicianship for military ceremonies to the maintenance of all common systems, services and crafts of all manner are conducted by the ratings, overseen by their officers in innumerable branches of the ship's organization.

#### Stewards

The stewards of the Androktasiai are responsible for most menial work regarding the basic accommodations and nutrition of all the crew. Their duties extend even to what little luxuries are officially provided to the common populace inhabiting the vessel and it is their responsibility to ascertain and control the needs for supplies of all souls aboard.

#### Shipmen

The shipmen of the Androktasiai are tasked with the operation and maintenance of the ships myriad lesser systems. Operating tertiary sensor systems, bulkheads and communications and all other blessed machinery of the Omnissiah entrusted to them by the Cult Mechanicus Cambria, they facilitate the flawless function of the gargantuan machinery that is the imperial battleship.

#### Deckhands

To keep any and all halls and chambers, compartments and companionways aboard the Androktasiai in pristine condition is the insurmountable task of the deckhands aboard the Androktasiai. They fulfill all duties which the legions of servitors cannot reliably fulfill. From the polishing of bulkheads to the inspection of tapestries in every last chapel of the ship, it is their work which ensures the splendor of the ship and its effective readiness at all times to engage any situation it might encounter.

#### Gun Crews

Serving in the munitions crypts and cathedral command bunkers of titanic weaponry, the weapon crews and gunnery masters of the Androktasiai send sacred fire and brimstone against the foes of mankind. Each macro battery and lance is the relic of a storied history, a veteran machine of a thousand battles, proven in the trials of the ship's endless crusade. To serve upon such a weapon is a great honor among the ranks of the common crew and those anointed to this duty will keep delivering the Emperor's judgment until the very last, firing even as all the universe around them breaks apart.

Of all common ranks outside the enginarium, the gun crews work closest together with the priests of the Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai, for their duty entails the communion with each weapon's ferocious machine spirit, which is to be respected and appeased to honor its function in battle.

### Workers of the Cult Mechanicus Cambria

Few are ever chosen to walk the path of ascension by the Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai. The Tech-Priests and Engineseers will only accept the brightest minds and strongest willed in their midst, for no lesser soul would ever be able to commune with the machine spirit of the mighty battleship. Even among those chosen, many fail in the trials of initiation and never proceed beyond adepthood in their service of the Machine God.
Those who are driven to serve the machine nonetheless, those who show proficiency beyond that of common ratings, those devout to the vision of the Omnisiah – these are the lesser servants of the Omnissiah, workers of the Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai.

#### Damage Control

The repairmen and machine keepers of the ship are aids and work-force to the Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai. They maintain and repair the vessel's arcane machines and its myriad systems throughout all the hull. While they lack the ultimate knowledge and understanding of their ascendant brethren, they know many of the rites and ancient rituals necessary to keep the ship in operation.

#### Enginarium Crew

Living by the plasma furnaces deep within the Androktasiai are the workers and worshippers of the prime enginarium. Ceaselessly they work to preserve the ship's eternal flame, that which powers the engines and all other systems alike. Weathering heat and radiation, they are stout and hardy folk, set apart from most others and deeply loyal to the rest of the ship.

### Serfs and Indentured Crew

Many are the poor
and lowly souls of little rank or standing counted only by the dozen
in the ship's crew manifest with little regard for all their life,
history and destiny. They are the faceless masses, lowly deckhands,
workers and serfs to the noble, and yet on their backs rests the fate
of all the Androktasiai.

The common workforce of the imperial
battleship was once taken from many different worlds, and the first
slave's children and their children's children inherited some of
their old stories, customs and the legend of their abduction.
Therefore, the lower decks are a crucible of souls spread far in the
Imperium. Dwellers of worlds never destined to meet find themselves
sharing their bunks and their quarters only aboard the Androktasai.
This alone, the amalgam character of the faceless masses, makes them
unique and worthy to the Androktasiai's crew. And whilst no single
one would ever be singled out as an exception, the voidsmen of the
ship take great pride in their masses as a whole.

### Servitors

Few are the fates awaiting those who will not serve the ship with all devotion of their soul, fewer still for those who transgress against their officer's rank and order. Those who make bad use of it will be relieved of their false judgment and free will, and from their number are raised the lowly servitors of the Androktasiai.

These are pathetic, lobotomized creatures, stuffed with crude augments and dull in their mind. Their functions are simplistic tasks to the ship, so that the last of their flesh may be spent to serve the vessel. As it breaks over time, the flesh fades away, for it soon fails after scant centuries of bolting the bulkheads and scrubbing the decks. And what is left then will be wired into controls, a human sacrifice to the great machine spirit residing within all over the magnificent vessel. Husks of broken organic circuitry, these old lowly servitors grow soon unrecognizable as they are entwined with the ship, skeletal sculptures of perpetual decay.

### Enshrined Crew

No-one, stories
tell, ever leaves the Androktasiai, and no-one truly dies. Whilst a
cruel fate of mindless servitude awaits those who damn their fate by
disloyalty and misdemeanor, endless splendor and glory are promised
to the best of the ratings and higher ranks.
Those who truly come
to honor the vessel's name and destiny will be preserved in
archeo-stasis fields, suspended timelessly, protected from the
cruelty of centuries. Others still may be embalmed and clad in
augments and metal, their minds kept alive by nano-rejuvenation. In
both these ways, they become statues, static monuments devoted to
their own life, and continue their service as their minds learn to
swim in the noo-sphere of the Androktasiai.
This is the greatest
gift bestowed upon its crew by the Machine Spirit of the ancient
vessel, to see and become one with the greater whole of the ship.

The Priests of the Cult Mechanicus Androktasiai will ascent
eventually and find in the labyrinthine innards of the vessel the
Cogitator Garden, the Tech-Priest's promised land where they may
integrate into the thought processes of the ship's feral mind.

Others of nobility and heroes of the ship will fall into a
deep sleep for long centuries. In times of great need, they may yet
be awoken and exert unimaginable power over the systems they once
controlled or share their wisdom of older ages with the younger,
living crew.

## History

### Construction and first christening

Joyous was the day of the christening when the shipwrights of  Azangouc delivered for the first time the Androktasiai from the hallowed forge halls of the Omnissiah into the cosmic void. The star of Terra stood high on the firmament and the Emperor looked kindly onto this voidship's fate to carry on the eternal crusade through all of the dawning Imperial Age.

And the ship was brought before the judges called to Port Azangouc, the old and wise soothsayers and the learned archeo-technologicae, so that they may speak of its fate and conduct trials of virtue to prove the worth of the Androktasiai. They were no less than five thousand mistresses and masters of their crafts, all appointed by shipwrights of great renown and they were brought from afar so that none in Azangouc may know them and they could not seek to further the prestige of their names. Their interest could only lie in their duty as envisioned by the Emperor of Mankind and they honored his decree with all their soul.
Thus they inspected the Androktasiai with utmost scrutiny and before their judgment, no flaw no oversight would stand. For long years they fulfilled their task, their lives devoted solely to the perfection of the vessel. At last, heir verdict satisfied the Mechanicum and the ship was declared a worthy manifestation in the image envisioned by the Omnissiah. And so the Androktasiai was set free, ready to begin her maiden voyage and plunge into battle under distant stars.

### Maiden voyage

From its cradle at Deep Azangouc, the battleship Androktasiai rose skyward to the stars of Cambria, plasma torches burning brightly on its maiden voyage. A host of many thousand vessels accompanied the venerated ship, joining with the vanguard forces of the Great imperial Crusade. As a young leader of an old war, spearheading the fleet in the Emperor's name, the Androktasiai first sought honor under the banners of mankind. And the blood spilled and fire sent by its magnificent arsenal baptized the golden, glories instrument of war.

Embracing its destiny in service to the Imperium, the Androktasiai and all her souls were blessed by the Emperor's will and no foe could defeat them on their path to bring hell upon all who refused to bend the knee before the advent of the imperial age. In a war where victory was an ambition of all humanity, the battleship ventured far on its daring journey. Praised by the lords and seers who had brought it on its way, the Androktasiai did right by its legacy and alongside many glorious sisters rose to a rank of honor within the Imperial Navy.

Many worlds the Androktasiai visited during this time and crossed more borders between imperial realms than it would ever in ten Millennia to come. The first voyage of the battleship was the longest and most triumphant, from which all legend of the future would be spun. The pioneering glory of first generations was captured in gold and engraved on its hull. And when the ship finally returned to the ports of Cambria after nearly three centuries passing, its hull was covered in a tapestry of young, unforgotten glory. And the faith of its servants could not be shaken, even as the Great Crusade crumbled and the Imperium waned. None could doubt the truth in the heroic deeds done in the Emperor's name aboard that ship, and it would stand as first of its fleet for millennia, unwavering and defiant.

### Early centuries of service

There is nothing equal to a voidship's battlecry, the sound of a thousand lance- and macro-cannons delivering a deadly blow. Their thunder reverberates through every deck within its hull, echoes in the gold and blood as ship and crew struggle as one to deliver the Emperor's final judgment against the enemy. It is the voice of raw energy bound by machinery to mankind's will, the voice of ancient glory reawoken and fates yet to be foretold.

Thus wrote a long-forgotten chronicler, who bore witness to the early glorious centuries of the Battleship Androktasiai, a spearhead of the Great Cambrian Crusade which traced its unbroken lineage to the wars of unification upon the broken fields of Holy Terra. His meticulous scripture captured the first centuries of a history to span millennia and listed every battle fought, every foe overcome and broken. These, his words, were to become the overture to an epos for the next ten thousand years, telling of the Emperor's conquest of all the galaxy and the ascension of mankind to frontiers and greatness far beyond.
But these prophecies of his work are now forbidden, hidden away in the deepest catacombs, for such an age of glory did not come to pass. Far too soon after the Androktasiai left the cradle berth of Azangouc, the Arch-Heresy transpired and turned the glorious battle into vicious slaughter.

In the years which followed, in an age dark and terrible, the scriptures grew confused and incomplete. The once pristine lists of every last engagement became vague accounts of a horrid time, wherein the fall of the Emperor's favored son turned the Imperium against itself and man fought a man like never before since the unification. And as men took up arms against their brethren, the Androktasiai had to engage many who had once fought alongside the golden ship and great souls were lost to fend off the treacherous forces.
A long night had to pass before the glory of the first centuries could ever be regained. But in the holy halls of the Androktasiai, this ancient glory lives on to the days of the divided galaxy, a beacon in the darkness of ten millennia since.

### The Long Watch

In the aftermath of the young Imperium's long twilight struggle, the remaining sisters of the Androktasiai called to frontiers far from their ports in Sector Gondwana. Their destiny was to quell the last vestiges of resistance, to lead crusades in faraway systems against the onslaught of chaos and Xenos invasions. They would be given new names by new masters and their home at Azangouc would fall into legend, forgotten by all but the scribes deep within their librarian archives.

Alone the first among them, the Androktasiai, was tasked with keeping watch over the old hidden Port of Azangouc. And there she stood against the cold winds of cosmic winter, side by side with som many of the brethren who once joined her on the first voyage to join with the Great Crusade, during a time before the unspoken atrocities, when the God-Emperor still walked among men and the Imperium's advent without bounds.
This long watch lasted for centuries, as the unstable piece yielded a Golden Age for Sector Gondwana and from the remnants of the Great Crusade arose a beating, living heart of civilization out on the fringes of the Galaxy. Not once did the Androktasiai leave her post among the Azure Nebulae of her system, safe for few assignments at the behest of the high command upon Azangouc, when she and her fleet set out for the borders of known space.

It was one such mission which was to bring about the first demise of the Androktasiai when the explorators of the Cult Mechanics Cambria reported a strange change to the gulf between stars. On routes frequently taken by merchants and travelers, space had grown unsafe and weary. They named this region the Dissonant Deep and sent the Flagship Androktasiai with a fleet befitting of its station to investigate.

### Defeat at Dissonant Deep

*"A golden sword was thrust into the dark, against a foe unseen. And in the blade reflected were a million faceless horrors, crawling chaos coming forth from its unholy cradle in the warp."*

Fires shone on the dark firmament of Dissonant Deep, ignited by the woes of a battle raging between the golden ship of the Crusaders from Azangouc and the wretched thing from beyond, which twisted mind and soul of all those who it encountered.

The flaming cascades could not be stopped, bright red lances jumping from ship to ship among the mighty escort fleet, vessels bursting into flares of purest light where the energies struck at their innermost heart. And the void of space was littered with the corpses of tens of thousands, their bones intermingling with the skeletal remains of their forlorn vessels.

In this battle, no prayers were heard, no hero is chosen from among the million martyrs giving their lives in the Emperor's name. For what reason this crusade had been abandoned by the light of Terra, none could say, but in the shadow of one eternity, there arose one insurmountable foe. Unspeakable, it plunged the mind of so many into madness, and the fire was spread among the pride of the Imperial Navy until all but the Androktasiai were set asunder and the flagship stood alone against the legion of darkness.

Fearless, unrelenting, the wounded Lord of Androktasiai charged his last domain into battle. As the worlds of Dissonant Deep collapsed and all the battlespace was enveloped by the warp, the mortal man stood firm against the darkness, one defiant foe unrelenting, carried onward by the will and sacrifice of all those under his command. With his own hands, this unforgotten hero held the course fast into his martyrium, pleading with the first child of the Omnissiah inhabiting his ship, to send at once all remaining power and will into the primary cannon set proudly upon its prow.

None who saw the blue flame strike out at the thing lived to carry on the legend. Life itself vanished from the fields of battle at this moment, as psychic energy erupted in a maelstrom of sheer suffering. The imprint of this event never left the dissonant deep, and the tear in the warp collapsed to swallow the Androktasiai whole, in an instant removing it from this realm of reality.

Accounts of this war in the heavens above the broken strait were lost and scattered in the memories of scant few survivors. Those who were set adrift before the end, whose ships had been lost on the fringes of the storm, were found long after the battle had been concluded. And to the inquisitors of the Imperium, they could say nothing of the thing safe for it unspeakable horror. Many were purged, and those few spared never took any more account of their memory.

Only little do they all agree, safe for the terror it inspired in the very bloodlines of all who bore witness to the thing which broke, in the end, the Androktasiai, and it is said none of their children and children's children ever fully recovered, their family lines set forever on a path to doom.

### Taken by the Warp

From the surreal depths of Dissonant Deep flowed liquid ether, burning through the void and obscuring the holy Astronomican. The stars themselves seemed to shrink away from the unbidden tide, their light going dim into fine wisps of their self. Tendrils of this terrible fire licked at the golden prows of the fleet in disarray, and many a ship broke itself apart, steering away from the chaotic flames and burning in them.

Not so the Androktasiai, for the aureate pride of the fleet was too great a vessel to be easily subdued by those forces unleashed upon the mundane universe. Plasma waves crashed against her and chaotic lightning touched her skin and melted away gold and copper, but the adamantium of her hull could withstand even the cosmic fire, for these bastions themselves had been forged at the heart of stars. At the feet of golden effigies and statues of Androktasiai's ancient saints, the tide of chaos broke with terrible screams. Instead of turning away, the battleship with a burning fleet in its wake steered into the opening maelstrom. For what the warp could not break, it would swallow instead, so that the demons could put the ship to eternal ruin.

At this time, aboard the Androktasiai, there remained only a handful living souls, buried too deep within the ship to witness the horrors outside. Whereas most of the crew had been driven mad and catatonic by the sheer aura of the open warp, and most of them had carved their living kin into pieces, these few minds remained well guarded against heresy. For in them burned brightly the truth of the Emperor, and they would not open their thoughts to any potential outcome but the triumph of mankind.

Blessed by their comrade's martyrium and chosen by the sole force greater than all chaos gods, these chosen saints were blessed by the Emperor in his infinite grace. It is said in these moments, the living mortals of the Androktasiai ascended, witnessing with their very own eyes the glaring perfection of the Astronomican. In one last heroic act, they began their odyssey through the bowels of the dying ship, even as demons and elder things besieged the glorious vessel.

And the chosen saints went up to the high castle atop the Pontifex Androktasiai, to steer the breaking ship free of the maelstrom of the Warp. Kept alive only by their faith as demons stormed against the high walls of gold, protected by nothing but their dying brethren's collective prayer, they reached the high throne at the helm of the Androktasiai.

To this day there remains an inexplicable form, merged from gold and metal and glass, rough outlines of human figures stretching, reaching for the helm of the reclaimed vessel. And legends tell of their bodies being entombed within these impossible structures, and no-one dares to touch them, for the light within them is said to blind all those who dare to try.

Whether through the sacrifice of these chosen saints, or maybe just by the whims of the universe, the Androktasiai was saved in the end and returned as a ghost ship to the mundane realm – dead and empty, neither in the hands of the Imperium nor controlled by the Warp.

Few would believe such a miracle, and for the longest time, the dying star where it reappeared would be the Androktasiai's final resting place.

### Drifting ghost ship

Drowned in starlight lay the Androktasiai, cut off in space and time. Nothing reached the desolate ship as it orbited the stellar wastes, far-flung from the inhabited parts of the No-Man's-Land. And yet its presence was an open secret among the sailors of Gondwana, well known to all who spent long journeys in the void. Each and every captain knew tall tails of its riches and treasure, but none would dare approach a vessel so clearly cursed by the touch of the warp. Even so, many could not help but watch from afar, drawn to the slumbering giant edged as a black silhouette against the light of a dying sun. Because even in death, this grand old battleship embodied some of the Emperor's glory.

After all, had it not been too great even for the warp to destroy? Had it not died and fallen into slumber rather than being corrupted as any weaker vessel would?

The sailors and some other souls hearing tales of this legendary ship found solace in the wreckage leftover from dissonant deep. For at least it held the promise of peace in death, close to the burning hearth of a star, instead of drifting lost through the mad abysses of the warp.

Daring to sail closest on the streams of solar wind were always the foreign voidfarers of the Castellum Fleets. Those strange souls of distant stars seemed to seek out the grave of the Androktasiai, as though to monitor the carcass of the ancient ship. Before long, rumors said they knew of something more than just its defeat in battle. And after two centuries of the Ghost Ship drifting, countless legends had been spun off the secretive conspiracies, experiments, and rituals conducted in this burning system. One after another, these stories written down in tomes added to a growing, living memory of the broken ship, and ensured the fate of the Androktasiai would not be forgotten. There would be a time, many suspected, where the dead ship would rise once more. And from many speculations, legends, and tall tales, there eventually grew a prophecy, repeated many times in the light of the dying star.

*When the Rift of Thetys swells and creatures rise from the abyss held within, the legends of old will be retold. Glory faded must awaken at the edge of man's domain, to stand against the dark wilderness and the horrors breaking in. Before the end of times, your name will be spoken, Androktasiai, and the spirit not forgotten will return, and the fleets of old will be remade. In the image of the great crusade, they will rise once more to conquer and to quell the evil of dark stars, from whence the demons ever come.*

### Reclamation by the Castellum Fleets

'Jewel of the No-Man's-Land' it was called by all who saw the ship in its magnificence, and among the countless millions living on the edge of the abyss, legends were told of the golden vessel.

Even centuries after its defeat at Dissonant Deep, the legend of the Battleship Androktasiai was not forgotten. In the tales of voidsmen of the No Man's Land, the ghost ship still struck with justice against their enemies and protected those loyal to their duty in the eyes of the Emperor. The wise of the mighty worlds recognized the worth of such legends and to quell the desperation of forlorn worlds allowed the myth of Androktasiai to persist.

The deep slumber of exile only ended, when the long shadows of Thetys fell.

When dark powers awoke within the Rift and Sector Gondwana stood at the threshold of a coming age, great forces of old were called upon by the Castellum Fleets of the Limes Gondwana. On their behalf, the Cult Mechanicus of Cambria sent forth a reclamation flotilla, and aboard these hallowed ships the mightiest shipwrights of Port Annumaru. Through their hands, the Omnissiah would bestow blessings of motion and function to the systems of the defeated ship and the Machine Spirit of the Androktasiai would be awoken once again.

It is said, the furnaces of the ancient ship were reignited close to the heart of a living star, and the breath of its solar wind brought back the lost memories of a dying spirit. Through the words of the shipwrights, the ship regained its soul and once more would sail for the Imperium.

### Rebirth

By the Castellum Fleets of the Limes Gondwana, the venerable Battleship Androktasiai was lifted from its grave. Trembling at the sight of its defeated glory, the reclaimers returned the broken behemoth into the Imperial Fold.

In the archives of the Administratum World Trantor, the chroniclers expunged the report of its demise. A new chapter was written, submitted and sanctioned by the scribes to the endless machinery of Imperial Bureaucracy.

Its body was remade by the famed shipwrights sent from Port Annumaru, and the priests of the Cult Mechanicus Cambria embraced the vessel as a blessed temple to the Omnissiah. With the greatest care, they replicated what had been lost, and returned the broken hull to its former glory.

And from across all the stars of Sector Gondwana, the descendants of those voidsmen returned, whose ancestors had once served aboard the ancient vessel, or had fought by its side in crusades of ages past. They committed their souls in an oath to serve the Androktasiai once again.

The devotion, resources, and authority of many worlds were channeled for the rebirth of this ship, and yet all their efforts alone would not be enough to facilitate Androktasiai's return. For the Battleship had been defeated, failed in its duty to the Holy God-Emperor, and it could not be made whole again, without atonement for the loss.

Not least because the reclamation appeared nearly too perfect to be anything but the trickery of malicious fates, the rebirth of the Androktasiai attracted an authority rarely seen in the light of Gondwana's stars.

From the holy seat of the Imperial Navy at the First Castellum Mogontiacum, was sent an Imperial Inquisitor to take the Androktasiai. And so it was that it made its second maiden voyage without pomp nor stately honor but in utter silence and secrecy. With its windows covered to the very last, the gold overpainted black and its statues veiled, the Androktasiai made a silent journey into the Glacial Nebula. There it would be taken into the custody of the Inquisition and the elusive order would cast judgment on the defeat and return of the battleship.

Every slightest taint of chaos and corruption would be purged, and none could know if the defeated vessel would be saved at all. It was gone, and to those countless souls waiting beyond the glacial veil, the Androktasiai had all but returned to the grave once more.

For many years they waited, in complete uncertainty. But the patient devotion of the loyal soul is rewarded by the Emperor's blessing. And thus, by the end of the fifteenth year, the veils of the Glacial Nebula parted, and the Androktasiai returned in all imperial glory. Aglow the blessed golden halo of the Emperor's light, it overwhelmed the darkness and the cosmic cold, and it blinded those devout followers looking on, filling their hearts and souls with faith.

### Crusade Maledictus

Still aglow with the triumph of its inquisitorial blessing, the Androktasiai was chosen to lead an imperial campaign, the new Trantorian Crusade, envisioned as the largest mission for conquest in the sector's recent recorded history. As such it was declared for the unwitting masses of Gondwana's world, a daring venture for imperial glory. But in truth, it was a hastily assembled attempt at a preemptive strike against the long shadow falling from the Thetys Rift.

By this time, the darkness had been growing for over a century, and among the high circles of Power in the Triumvirate of Gondwana, the coming invasion was expected with utmost certainty. The Androktasiai, for all its glory, was expected at best to achieve a reprieve for the forces of the Sector proper to prepare.

Even for this mission, it was almost too late when the mighty battleship returned to duty. And so the Androktasiai embarked on her first voyage mere sixteen months after her triumphant return, with a meager force.

Primarily escorted by squadrons of light cruisers, frigates and destroyers, the giant warship truly represented the might of ages gone by. But what the young crusade lacked in manpower and material, the crews assigned to the ancient titan made up with conviction. Serving on a battleship returned from the dead, in halls restored after millennia of silence, made for a legend all on its own. Every lightyear traveled aboard this craft was considered a blessing by the Emperor himself. Such power could not fail in the eyes of the superstitious voidsmen.

Filled with determination and unyielding faith in their certain victory, the columns of the Trantorian Crusade charged from the glowing nebulae of the No-Man's-Land toward the unnatural colors of the Thetys Rift.

### Battles before the Rift

> *Oh glory, golden light shimmering on the crest of her prow,*
>
>

> *wondrous omen foretelling her certain victory.*
>
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> *A thousand ships paling against her unparalleled might,*
>
>

> *Oh glory, the Androktasiai.*
>
>

> Such were the hymns sung before the altars of the battleship reborn.
>
>
>
>

Returned from oblivion through the rites of reclamation, the Androktasiai was no longer a mundane vessel, no mere instrument of destruction wrought at the hands mankind. A legend had been born in the darkness of defeat, one of defiant faith and loyalty into death and beyond. Every statue and chapel, every artifact aboard the venerable relic ship was alive with the history of heroic deeds unforgotten, an imposing legacy overshadowing every last of the young souls brought aboard to fight in the new Trantorian Crusade.

Mere mortals now ascended the steps of the Pontifex Androktasiai, crossing over the threshold of the palace gates into the ancient halls and hallowed circles, where the kingdom of the last lord commander had come to its end. His throne, the seat of command over all domains of the Androktasiai, still bore the marks of armageddon.

Her new lord, the successor by all rights and blessings of the Imperium, refused to take the throne, for he felt it to be an honor not yet earned by this new generation aboard the Androktasiai. Instead, he would stand, steadfast against Thety's falling shadow, all horrors, and banes in the battles to come.

And battle came upon the Androktasiai, long before reaching the abyss of the rift.

Intruding deep into imperial space were agents of the shadow. Where its long tendrils breached through the Limes Gondwana, they touched and corrupted the very fabric of space, and the universe itself warped and contorted in a war against those forces of reality. From the ruptures, it created spilled forth creatures of the warp and those souls led astray on forlorn worlds over past millennia.

Perversions of Imperial vessels erupted from fissures of the Immaterium, alongside elder things, corrupted from unnamable entities. Their fleets were naught but a writhing mass of malicious, corrupted designs, overgrown and fused with organic horrors of a mad god's twisted imagination. To look upon them instilled madness in the human mind and fear festered in the hearts of weaker captains.

Even in the shadow of their glorious reclaimed battleship, the formations of the Trantorian Crusade would have faltered. Their spirit would have died at the first confrontation, had not the inscrutable ways of the warp facilitated another ship's return.

Among the swarms of horrid abominations were a handful of ships of greater statue, no mere patrols, haulers or light cruisers picked from the outskirts of the No-Man's-Land, but proper warships of former imperial glory. These had at one time been companions to the Androktasiai, and their presence ignited in the heart of the old ship, an untamable fury.

A thirst for vengeance was awoken in the heart of the ship. Old souls, their fate inseparably bound to that of the ancient battleship, stirred in their tombs and catacombs. Fragments of their being, returned from other worlds through the presence of the warp, fused in unholy apotheosis with the ship's splintered machine mind. Possessed by the blessings of the Emperor perhaps, or by other forces unseen by the Inquisition, the Androktasiai took on a life of its own. And its spirit gripped all those aboard as if they had been possessed by their predecessors of the past. At this moment, the old glory was returned and from the furthest prow of the Androktasiai shone an azure light, the phalanx lance of the blessed vessel.

### The Thetys Surge

For the coming decades of relentless war, the ancient battleship Androktasiai would remain an unwavering beacon of the Emperor's light. It would achieve victories where all other fleets broke apart and bring a reprieve to all worlds suffering during the unholy surge of the Thetys Rift. Once more, its name would become battlecry of the righteous, a prayer whispered in the dark by the defeated and downtrodden in anticipation of deliverance from their cruel fate.

As the Androktasiai's rebirth and first victories passed into legend with the passage of years, so did its reinstated lords and noble dynasties. Where they had once been frightful of their destiny, uncertain of their worthiness to the ancient giant, their minds and will were now tested in the fires of a holy war, and all who survived were crowned heroes of the Imperium, worthy beyond doubt of their extraordinary station.

To those who died along the way, they erected monuments side by side with the old ones and carved their names into Androktasiai's hull, just as the first crews had done centuries ago.

Even in war, where death was always by its side, humanity held on to the gift of life in the shadow of the mighty vessel. And aboard the Androktasiai there were children born once more, a new generation to call the battleship their home, to begin a life-long service among the lower ranks of its crew. With this, the new masters of the ship had truly taken hold, and when the first-born of the officers and ratings were neither malform nor stricken with madness, they knew the ship had truly been without the taint of the warp and was sanctified by the highest orders of Holy Terra.

### The Siege of Trantor

The ancient Battleship Androktasiai was an unstoppable force of imperial vigor, ever victorious in its battles, ever defiant against all odds and fate. And yet, against the cosmic calamity that was the Thetys Surge, it was but a single ship, a single candle of light in dark universe.

One ship alone could not turn the tide of war, could not fight at every front where the enemy pressed on. World by world, star by star, the Castellum Fleets of Limes Gondwana failed to contain the forces of darkness. They held out long enough for the forces of Sector Gondwana to rally, the mighty celestial fleets of Trantor and the Mechnaicum Crusades of Cambria. The worlds of the inner regions went to war, sending fleets and armies and yet, it was not enough.

As the raging tides of exotic energy and twisted space reached their zenith within the Thetys Rift, the imperial forces lost hold of the no-man's-land, of many systems in the Erinnyenmere and finally, even the Trantor Reef. The fleets of Gondwana were pushed to the brink of their defeat above the Administratum World Trantor.

Here, finally, the Androktasiai retreated from battle, and alongside countless other forces was ordered to abandon the defense of the system's space. The warriors on the ground would have to hold out against the coming siege and buy time for a proper counter-offensive to assemble.

This was the end of the Androktasiai's time spent as a beacon of hope among the raging Thetys Surge. And it would not return until the deliverance of Trantor when the Thetys Surge would come to an end.

### The Deliverance of Trantor

The destiny of Sector Gondwana hinged on the fate of Trantor. The administratum world was a singular bulwark standing firm against the eternal foes of the Imperium, against hordes of Xenos and demons alike, and against the treacherous forces from within. It was a world indispensable to the defense of Subsector Cambria, and as such even the rivaling Cult Mechanicus of Forge World Cambria was willing to make great sacrifices for Trantor to be freed.

Besieging this world, now on the frontlines of the Reef, were forces reaching beyond mere human imagination. Tendrils of immaterial energy had begun warping space itself in the vicinity of the planet and threatened to swallow it whole. Were the Thetys Rift to devour a world of such magnitude, it would tear the membranes of dimensions open and the surge of demonic power would never end.
To prevent this from happening, the remainder of all worlds in the domains of Gondwana mounted a grand crusade, a vast counter-offensive to be led by the combined forces of a new Battlefleet. Leading the charge would be the vessels of the martian empire, ships of the Adeptus Mechanicus called forth from the forge-ports of the Ringworld Cambria. They would be reinforced by battle groups of every other world, from the Holy Sisterhood of Calhall and the old wardens of the Elder Frontier, side by side with rogue traders in service to the indomitable Crimson Queen.
All who had fought for centuries for their worlds in this sector would be gathered once more, one final time to claim a crucial victory. But most important of all, they would have aid from far and distant stars.

Crusader fleets of the Imperial Navy, Mechanicus Arcs sent from Forge Worlds beyond the gulf, and above all, Angels of the Emperor, an entire chapter arriving after an age-long pilgrimage would join in the fight for this frontier of the Imperium.
In their midst, for the first time since the age of its inception, the Battleship Androktasiai would be almost insignificant. Paling against the grandeur of the Imperium's might brought to bear to crisis of the Thetys Rift, the vessel would be one among thousands of similar prowess. This would be the zenith of its existence, the judgment day when the ship and its crew would be measured against the grandness of the Imperium at large.
Basking in the true force brought forth to win this war, the Androktasiai charged into the final battles of the Thetys Surge, seeking to carve out a place of glory alongside the living legends which had come to Sector Gondwana.

### The Weak Centuries

At the end of a long and bloody war, the imperial Sector Gondwana celebrated the victory. A victory that had come at a dire cost. After centuries in the rising shadow and decades of open battles and siege, the fortresses and cities of many a world had been laid to waste. Priceless artifacts and saintly souls had been lost to the tides of the warp, and the ruinous beings spilling forth from the un-dimension. At the height of the Thetys Surge, the forces of the Imperium had not turned the tide heroically – they had merely weathered the storm.

Such a truth, though not written in any chronical of the Emperor's servants, was nonetheless apparent on too many worlds. Thriving populations had been confronted with the hell of war and lost entire generations to the hasty raising of regiments and crews. Their futures had died where their worlds had been turned into wastelands. And all along the old line of Limes Gondwana, where the fighting had been strongest, many worlds were on the brink of falling from the light of the Emperor in their desperation.

This was the dawn of the weak centuries, which would follow the Thetys Surge and overshadow the victory. In this time, the powers of the Sector were depleted and their weakness invited sedition, Xenos incursion and a rise of vile heresy from within.

In this dire time, the Androktasiai would once more become a symbol of hope to many worlds forlorn and downtrodden. Not as the tip of His spear, but as the emissary of the Emperor's mercy, the mighty ship delivered many blessings to the frontier. Goods and messages of the worlds spared from destruction, sermons restoring faith and new pioneers to inhabit reconquered cities – all these things and more were carried and guarded by the Androktasiai.
Thus, the greatest flagship of the Castellum Fleets became one of the first vessels on the Sector to carry Pilgrims from the newly settled Nimbus Imperatoria Laurentina. These pilgrims were Astartes of the Chapter of the Hallowed Glaive, traveling with their mortal kin to ensure the territories under their protection would fulfill the vision of the Emperor and prosper. This was an honor awarded to the Androktasiai and considered by its lords the one true laud they deservedly received following the Thetys Surge.

### Trantorian Service

At the end of the weak centuries,
Trantor saw its might renewed. For the first time in millennia, the
old world shone once more with ambition, eager to extend its grasp to
worlds long declared forlorn. Once more, Trantor would become
Gondwana's throne, once more and for eternity, the mandate of the
Administratum would be finally fulfilled. On the outset of a golden
age to come, the Executor Council declared the formation of a new
Fleet for a coming war. The first Fleet of Isenhart would be called
upon to reclaim what had been lost to the ruinous powers in the last
devastating war.

To lead a fleet of such magnificence had been
the destiny of the Androktasiai. And thus ended, after three
millennia, it's service among the Castellum Fleets. From the Limes
Gondwana, the Battleship was called to the high ports of
Administratum World Trantor. Embraced by the world's incandescent
light, a new task was given to the venerable ship, and reinforcements
to the fleet of a thousand vessels more, so they might find glory in
the Androktasiai's wake. From there on, the vessel bore the title "ex
Isenhart", it's new hailing port upon the Trantor Reef.

### A new era

During the waning days of the forty-first millennium, rumors abound of a new age coming. Legends are told of unknowable horrors stirring deep in the galactic gulf, of thirsting gods reaching out from the immaterial realm, and sailors from afar carry messages of ancient legends reawakening, of a renaissance of power in the Imperium of Man. Closer to the heart of the galaxy, there dawns an era of uncertainty, of shifting fates and the rise and fall of empires that stood for uncounted millennia.

On the brink of a new millennium, the lords of the undying ship, the *Sacrosanctus peregrinus Androktasiai Pontifex Maximus ex Isenhart et Azangouc*turn their gaze toward the future.

Wrought at the height of the Emperor's conquest of all the galaxy, the Battleship Androktasiai withstood ten millennia in a universe of unending bloodshed and carnage. Defeated and reborn, lost to the immaterium and found again, blessed and cursed and absolved of all corruption, the golden ship has remained ever the guardian of Sector Gondwana. And should the Age of the Imperium come to an end and all the worlds be laid to waste by a new Weltenbrand, all should know that this one ship will not falter.

In the fires of righteous battle, the vessel itself has become a legend and carries with it the souls of an entire pantheon of worthy heroes, great warriors sitting by the right-hand side of the Emperor. His blessing has touched this ship and every last of its voidsmen knows this fact. Devout beyond death, unyielding even in defeat, these will stand against all that which might come. Whatever age and fate await, the golden ship will meet them among the stars of Sector Gondwana.