Pythonis Mertricius

The ***Pythonis Mertricius***, roughly translating as the ***Blinding Behemoth***, is the Gloriana-class Flagship of the XIIIth Legion, the Consuls Exemplar. Glorious in its scope and scale, the *Pythonis Mertricius* is a flying work of art, a tool to be used to sway worlds to the Imperium without a single shot being fired. Like so much of the XIIIth legion however, the *Pythonis Mertricius* hides a darker side beneath its glorious golden hull, fully equiped for the full spectrum of covert operations and the creation of insideous propaganda, twisting the hearts and minds of those who look upon its majesty to fit the whims of the Thousand Armed Centurion.

 History

One of the first of its kinda after Shaaa Hydrades had proved the worth of such a battleship, the vessel that would one day bear the name of *Pythonis Mertricius* was presented to Gaius in the final year of that brutal conflict, the Primarch of the XIIIth legion remarking that such was the glory of the vessels golden sheen that were the light to catch it correctly, it's very body would be a weapon, a blinding behemoth to strike at the enemies of mankind. Shortly afterwards, the name became formal, Gaius christening the battleship *Pythonis Meretricious*, his blinding behemoth.

More so than any other ship in the Consuls Exemplar fleet, and in all likelihood, any other vessel in the Imperium, the *Pythonis Meretricious* has been designed to fully integrate Astartes and Mortals together, allowing unaugmented and augmented humans to mingle as if there was no difference between them, or at least, as much as was possible given their obvious differences. On the surface, this only serves to further the image that Gaius has cultivated for himself, the benevolent warrior king, caring not for the form his people take, just that each is well looked after and treated as equals. This, of course, is a lie.

The true reason for such integration is far simpler, allowing Gaius to keep his ‘tools’ close at hand, his agents secreted amongst the crew, while others are identified as potential candidates for training for the next generation of covert operatives. None who step onto the vessel know of this fact, save the Consuls themselves, Gaius’s deception absolute, none, save perhaps the Emperor himself, knowing the depths that the Consuls influences reaches.

Even its combat role is unfathomable to outsiders. Drop bays litter its underside, but they are just the surface level of the ships power. Numerous launch bays are kept secret within the ship, hidden from all sensors including optical by great reflex shields, technology rarely seen outside of the Consuls fleets. Such shields could remain active almost indefinitely, forever concealing the drop bays and those warriors they held within. Consuls Kill teams could be deployed from here in an instant, their specialised drop ships equipped with their own reflex shields, ensuring they can infiltrate a world with ease, linking up with operatives already seeded on the planet prior to the XIIIth legions ‘arrival’, or stirring the population to Gaius’s desires from within, even as Gaius plays his own hand overtly in orbit.

## Technical Specifications

* Length: 22 Kilometers
* Role: Political Properganda & Covert Insertion of Kill Teams
* Date of Construction: M30.909