Space Hulk

"*The glory of the Space Hulks can only be beaten by the ones of the Primarchs. They have stood since the Martian Civil War, constructed by the orders of Emperor Horus himself. Since then, only hundreds of such Space Hulks have been created, but they are diverse beyond our imagining. From the* Judgment of Guilliman *to the legendary* Emperor's Wrath*, the Space Hulks have evolved over time, just like us. They come in all sorts of sizes, from the smallest Space Hulk class, the Scout Class to the colossal Giga-Space Hulk classes, the* Annihilator*,* Dreadnought*, and* Shielded*. Each Space Hulk has truly seen more than even the longest lived Inquisitors, and that is why they are so valuable. Apart from their sheer destructive power, they are a glorious sight to see. They are the time-tested and true reminders of the ancient glory when the Old Emperor still walked the galaxy. They are the true reminders that Humanity has been through so, so much that we will always endure and conquer our obstacles.*"

- Excerpt from the *Chronicles of the Imperium*, written by Ancient Rylanor of the Emperor's Children Legion

Space Hulks are the largest possible class of Imperial Battleship possible. They are seldom used in combat due to their immense size drastically increasing the difficulty of repairing and maintaining such ships. The largest Space Hulks must be maintained in orbit, particularly the Giga-Space Hulks as their own sizes are far larger than any other Space Hulk class combined.

A single Space Hulk can be thousands of years old or could be merely hundreds of years old, as Space Hulks are constructed often thousands of years apart from each other. The smallest Space Hulk class, the Scout Class, takes an entire mineral-rich planet to construct, and the Giga-Space Hulks often take around 500 star systems' worth of minerals to construct.

There are very few Space Hulks in existence in comparison to the other Battleship classes, and each Space Hulk lost is a devastating blow to the morale of the Imperium. Each one lost is hundreds or even thousands of years' worth of materials lost forever.

In the wake of the 13th Tyranid Incursion, every Space Hulk has destroyed at least a trillion Tyranids before meeting their demise, becoming lost to the Imperium, or have survived.

## History

### The First

Following the end of the Martian Civil War and the unfortunate death of Fabricator-General Kelbor-Hal, Horus expressed interest in creating massive warships intended to maximize psychological impact on any would-be rebels. It was revealed that Kelbor-Hal did draw up plans, and made a small model and detailed blueprints. That design was used to create the Dwarf Space Hulk, *Wrath of Kelbor-Hal*.

A single mineral-rich world was completely exhausted, and the Space Hulk was kept by the Adeptus Mechanicus to remind themselves of the sacrifice of their late Fabricator-General.

This was the first step to create much larger ones, eventually leading to specialized classes.

### Post-Long Sleep

This was when the majority of Space Hulks and the gargantuan Giga-Space Hulks, the *Assault*, *Dreadnought*, and *Shielded*-class Space Hulks were forged. Horus had expressed interest in attempting to stop rebellions using psychological warfare. This would lead to the gradually larger Space Hulk classes, cumulating at the *Dreadnought*-class. These Space Hulks initially used upgraded variants of weapons used on the *Emperor*-class Battleships but were eventually given their own armaments. On each Giga-Space Hulk however, they are equipped with massive *Exterminatus* Lasers built to annihilate ships and planets as their standard armament.

After reunifying Terra during the Unification Wars, Horus recognized that none of the Second Twenty, save for the Primarch of the Lion Warriors, were meant for diplomacy and administration. Horus chose to launch a Second Great Crusade to reunify the galaxy following the era known as the Age of Strife when Humanity's galactic empire became divided following the beginning of the Long Sleep.

Horus set out to reunify the galaxy, but found the Segmentum Solar to be largely united in the face of chaos. Horus, to his horror, discovered that the mutations left behind by daemonic entities were still present and several worlds were permanently lost to the Warp.

work in progress