Author's Note: And real life makes me a liar once again. I'm really sorry about this highly delayed update.
Disclaimer: Standard stuff applies. Don't own Code Geass or Warhammer 40k.
Chapter Six: Beneath the Red Sands, Part I
Martian Equatorial Defense Station
Ten Hours Before the Ikaruga's First Appearance
18:24:00: Disturbance detected. Deimos-Pattern Logic Engine #1938392-Z begin defrost sequence.
18:24:10: Object detected in high orbit. Analysis begun.
18:25:00: Analysis complete. Object roughly fifty meters in length. High concentrations of metallic substances detected. Object identified as high-density meteor.
18:25:15: Trajectory calculations complete. Projected impact site encloses Forge 33245-T. Risk of damage to production: high.
18:25:20: Gun crews alerted.
18:25:45: Object disappears from auspex. Ground stations report smaller objects heading towards Valles Marineris region. Projected threat to forge facilities: none.
18:25:46: Alert cancelled.
18:25:47: Logic Engine #1938392-Z returning to standby mode.
Deployment Bay of Black Knights Frigate Valiant
Mars, Upper Atmosphere
"This is a hot drop," Karen stated matter-of-factly, "So I want you all to be on your toes. The moment these doors open, dive and gain as much distance as possible! I swear, if any of you gets dragged into the Warp, you better hope those daemons show you mercy because I surely won't!"
Practiced regularly solely by the 1st OPAW, the insertion method known as "hot dropping" was considered absolutely insane by the other Orbital Planetary Assault Wings. The maneuver entailed a ship exiting the Warp just outside the target planet's atmosphere with its nose pointed towards the planet surface. A brief engine burn coupled with the inertia from exiting the Warp sent the ship hurtling through the upper atmosphere. There existed a few seconds' gap between reaching the upper atmosphere and slamming into the ground wherein troops could deploy in relative safety. When deployment finished or when the ground drew too close, whichever came first, the ship would enter the Warp and escape. Done properly, small OPAW teams could be deposited on a planet surface with the defenders none the wiser, but anything going wrong could potentially kill everyone involved.
"Three! Two! One! Drop!"
Even after numerous combat drops, the veteran OPAW troopers still couldn't completely ignore the sensation of the ground suddenly falling away underneath them. Simultaneously, the clamps holding them in place released, sending them into freefall. The intense heat generated by the Valiant's re-entry washed over them as they straightened out their bodies and oriented themselves. Seconds later, with a sharp crack and a sickly-green glow, the Valiant re-entered the Warp.
Though every trooper in the squad was equipped with an altimeter, they had lived through enough combat drops to instinctually determine their altitude. With a few subtle movements, the OPAW troopers shifted their stances from headfirst to belly-first, spreading their limbs out to bleed off some of their considerable velocity. For a split second, bright green replaced the rust red of the Martian sky as a dozen pairs of energy wings unfurled in perfect synchrony.
"Target zone ETA is five minutes and counting. Stay low, boys. Don't get bounced!"
The squadron of "Cherub" Knightmares hugged the ground, their stomachs practically scraping against the rocks at several points as they roared over the Martian plains at high speeds. Though they had picked a landing spot far from Mars' main equatorial forges, they were still trying to infiltrate one of the most heavily-guarded worlds in the Imperium.
18:26:59: High-speed objects detected on Servitor P-19980091 initiate defrost cycle.
18:27:03: Tracking. No valid IFF code. Deploying storm bolter.
18:27:05: Lost tracking. Notifying Skitarii gar-critical error, no carrier. Jamming detected: unable to establish connection. Warning: balance compromised. Running auto-stabilization routines.
18:27:06: Warning: primary auto-balance gyros not responding. Rerouting to secondary…error: secondary auto-balance gyros not responding.
18:27:07: Warning: armor compromised. Critical system damage detected. Gun Servitor P-19980091 initiating emergency lockdown protocols.
18:27:08: Attempting transfer of scan data. Critical error: primary connections severed. Rerouting to secondary…failed.
18:27:09: Critical damage sustained to power supply. Ability to function: compromised. Probability of capture: high. Gun Servitor P-19980091 initiating self-annihilation protocols.
War Room
Space Station Ikaruga
"As soon as the Chaos fleet acquires a firing solution, you are immediately engage skimmer drive and jump to the fallback point. Your main goal is to catch the enemy off-balance. Destruction of Abaddon's ships is strictly a secondary objective. From there, you are to rearm at the main fleet and await further orders."
A portion of the gathered holographic Knightmares, each representing a ship captain of the Black Knights fleet, crisply saluted in confirmation. The holograms winked out of existence moments later.
"Exploiting the opportunity they created will be your jobs," Suzaku turned towards another cluster of gathered captains, "As soon as the first group confirms their exit, you are to jump to the area General Kozuki has just indicated. Jump in, open fire, jump out. Don't get drawn into a slugging match with the enemy fleet: you'll be surprised how fast massed fire can drop your hadron fields. From there, you are to break off into wolf packs and harass the enemy fleet at your discretion."
Black Knights Base
Valles Marineris, Mars
Even during its heyday twenty thousand years ago, when the Black Knights possessed hundreds of hidden bases housing thousands of cells scattered throughout the Terran system, the Valles Marineris base never achieved much notability. Originally designed as a small weapons research lab, the bulk of the structure was buried deep underground, where live-fire tests could be conducted undetected by Imperial sensors. Though its labs contributed to several important advances in Knightmare and FLEIJA technology, the Valles Marineris facility was constantly overshadowed by larger and better-equipped facilities—most notably the base located under the Himalayan mountains—and never saw much use.
The dozen Knightmares that made up the 1st OPAW infiltration team silently touched down onto the red Martian sand, their armored boots visibly sinking into the loose soil. The dust plume generated by nearly twenty-one tons of mechanized battle armor disturbing the long-untouched dust would have triggered every Imperial and Mechanicum sensor in the area, had any existed. The sickly green glow that permeated throughout the darkened canyon abruptly disappeared as twelve pairs of energy "feathers" winked out of existence, their emitters retracting tightly against their owners' backs. Twenty-four pinpricks of green were all that broke up the darkness.
The lead Knightmare's head slowly turned to the right, then to the left, as if to spot anything its motion sensors had missed. Satisfied, it reached for the weapon secured to its chest, and the rounded boxy object, despite having stayed firmly attached during atmospheric re-entry and near-supersonic flight, came free with surprising ease. Seams appeared on the machine gun's heat shield, the previously-smooth and unbroken surface splitting apart to reveal the mechanisms within. The transformation was over within half a second, leaving the Knightmare holding a weapon that appeared almost awkwardly large. The other eleven Knightmares followed suit at nearly the same time.
"Fan out! I don't want any surprises!"
Shouldering their weapons, the twelve Knightmares advanced into the darkened cave.
?
Valles Marineris, Mars
The arrival of the Black Knights strike force had not gone completely unnoticed. As the OPAW infiltration team cautiously leapfrogged down the long-disused tunnel, sensors dormant for millennia began their lengthy defrost cycles. Information began streaming down into hidden computing hubs as the Knightmares neared their destination.
Deep below the surface of Mars, an ancient presence stirred.
The Knightmare column reached a seeming dead end then stopped. Karen walked forward, slowly approaching the rock wall that hindered their progress as the other squad members hurriedly took cover behind the nearest rocky outcropping, their light machine guns pointed towards the ancient stone wall. Karen stopped mere centimeters from the wall, reaching and hand out and tapping it in seemingly-random locations. After several seconds, she abruptly drew back, drawing her weapon and dashing behind the closest bit of cover.
The rock wall rumbled for long enough that bringing the ceiling down on the OPAW troopers became a legitimate concern. As several pebbles began bouncing off the Knightmares' armor, the wall parted and slowly slid apart, revealing a large circular chamber sloping sharply downwards. The twelve Knighmares, slightly crouched over and shouldering their weapons, advanced into the room and quickly took up positions around the perimeter. Karen cautiously approached the control panel on the far side of the room and rapidly pressed a series of buttons. Considering the buttons were designed for human fingers, it was quite impressive that she made no mistakes.
The platform rumbled and slowly began descending into the darkness below.
War Room, Space Station Ikaruga
Nine Hours From the Terra System
"Abaddon's forces will undoubtedly want to hit the equatorial regions first. The Titan forges on the ground and the shipyards in orbit as simply too important to ignore. A bulk of the militia forces deployed to Mars will be committed to these regions."
Suzaku dragged his finger around the holographic projection of Mars, highlighting a number of regions. With the lack of up-to-date charts, the regions he had indicated were more of guidelines than specific battle plans. Kallen joined him on the upper platform, tracing several regions—most of them overlapping Suzaku's indicated deployment zones—on the map.
"If Intelligence's predictions are correct, most of the primary forges should be located in these regions. The militia units deployed in these areas will be accordingly reinforced by OPAW units."
"Even then," Nunnally interrupted, "We won't have the numbers to hold back Abaddon's army for long. Imperial forces will still have to do a bulk of the fighting. CC, how are we doing on the package?"
"The Valiant reports that Lieutenant Schneider and her Raiders have successfully entered Mars' atmosphere. The ship itself is standing by in the shadow of Charon and awaits the Lieutenant's signal." CC deadpanned.
Black Knights Base, Valles Marineris
One Hour Later
The elevator ride had taken them over a kilometer below the Martian surface, well beyond the reach of Imperial ground-penetrating auspex. A number of the OPAW Raiders had spent the most recent of their off-duty hours watching Derelict, a new and rather popular entertainment holo featuring the fictional 101st OPAW Raider Team sent to investigate a seemingly-abandoned Imperial warship. As one might deduce from a holo of its genre, the Raiders had stumbled upon the lair of a Warp-spawned abomination that proceeded to pick them off one by one in spectacularly gory ways. The moviegoing Raiders were regretting their choice of entertainment more and more as they proceeded deeper and deeper into the base.
More than one member of the squad breathed an audible sigh of relief as the endless maze of dark, empty tunnels came to an end and the double doors of a freight elevator greeted them. One of the Raiders leaned an arm against the wall, only to quickly pull back as the lights over the elevator door began blinking. The Raider slowly backed away from the thick metal doors as the light slowly shifted to the left.
"I didn't touch anything!" the Raider stated defensively over the radio under the withering glares of her eleven squadmates.
Karen's reprimand died in her throat when she realized that the Raider had leaned against the wall to the left of the elevator doors. The controls, the lit-up buttons clearly visible in the pitch darkness, were to the right. Her next words caused the blood of even the squad's most seasoned Raiders to run cold.
"This place is supposed to be locked down tight…I want everyone to take defensive positions! We're the first humans in this base in over twenty thousand years, so whatever's coming up can't be friendly!"
Raider training, some of the most grueling the Black Knights had to offer, kicked in and the Knightmare team burst into action with nanosecond precision. Two Knightmares flanked the doors, one of them withdrawing a Chaos Mine from a hip-mounted compartment and thumbing the activation switch. Eight of the remaining Knightmares pressed themselves as much into the side walls as they could, weapons shouldered and pointed at the still-closed doors. The last two members of the squad stood right in front of the elevator doors, ducking behind their hadron fields for cover. The gap between the beeps that announced the elevator climbing another floor lasted far longer in the Raiders' minds than in reality.
With a final ding, the light atop the elevator shifted into the leftmost position. The doors had only opened a crack when the Chaos Mine flew between them. Miniature rocket motors arrested the grenade's momentum, bringing it to a momentary hover near the elevator's ceiling. Then the fuse went off. The electrically-ignited solid state firing mechanism could launch in excess of a million miniature shaped charges per minute. As the weapon's thirty-six firing tubes only held roughly two hundred charges in all, the effect was near-instantaneous.
The elevator doors had slid open roughly ten centimeters when a storm of hadron bolts passed between them. The Knightmares didn't wait to line up a shot or even confirm a target: they simply aimed in the general direction of a motion sensor hit. A brief stream of lighting emerged from inside the elevator, striking one of the Raiders square in the chest and drawing the entire squad's fire in the process. An earsplitting scream echoed throughout the corridor, bringing the Raiders to the point of near-physical pain despite their aural filters.
It was over in less than ten seconds.
"How's Rodriguz doing?"
"Tesla bolt punched straight through her fields, but her armor stopped it. She'll be okay once she catches her breath."
Karen cautiously stepped into the elevator, wary of any surprises their would-be attackers might have left. The Chaos Mine and the ensuing barrage of hadron fire had done a number of the elevator's interior, and there was not a single surface untouched by blast marks. A number of holes were large enough for Karen to easily stick her head and a respectable portion of her torso through. The lack of bodies and the melted remains of a Tesla Carbine confirmed everyone's worst fears.
"Eyes open. We've got Necrons."
A creaking sound instantly derailed Karen's train of thought. Though it had been built to last, the elevator's sheer age and the damage it had sustained proved too much for it to handle. Karen barely deployed her energy wings in time to avoid plunging down the shaft along with the elevator's bottom half.
"That way's out," she added lamely, "Huddle up!"
The twelve Knightmares gathered in a loose circle, one of them pulling up a copy of the facility's schematics and projecting it in the center of the group. Karen scrutinized the projection, hoping to find an alternate entrance. The air ducts looked promising, scaling them would require climbing gear a great deal more capable than their slash harkens, and the shafts were far too narrow for energy wings to fit through. Additionally, Karen had a feeling that the Necrons would search the air ducts and maintenance tunnels first.
"We could use the main hangar launch tube," one of the Raiders stepped forward, highlighting the appropriate area, "It's not far from the main labs, and extraction should arrive before the Necrons can burn through the blast doors."
"Except," another of the Raiders stepped up, "Entering from there would require exiting the canyon. The moment we pass over the lip, every Imperial sensor lights us up. Even if we go undetected, opening those hangar bay doors would definitely trip defenses."
"If we go back three junctions and hang a left, it should lead us to this passage," a third Raider stepped up, pointing to a large vertical tunnel not far from their position, "According to the schematics, it's the main firing range's emergency vent. Other end leads onto the valley floor."
"It's the best we've got," Karen decided, "next closest practical route requires us to go back to the surface."
The hologram winked out.
"Move out!"
Black Knights Base, Valles Marineris
Thirty Minutes Later
"Woah."
The base's schematics had indicated the vent's immense size, but actually seeing it was a whole different matter. Even with vision enhancements, the Knightmare team couldn't see the bottom. The metal extended for several more meters before gradually fading into reddish-brown bedrock. The shaft was easily wide enough for a Sleipnir to emerge from the Warp, provided the craft's pilot was particularly daring, competent, or just plain lucky.
"Sarkisian, you and me are taking point! Everyone else, we'll check in every twenty-five meters. If more than thirty seconds passes between check-ins, toss down a couple of Chaos Mines and then follow!"
Ignoring the dubiously-good flights of stairs on either side of the metal platform, the two Knightmares stepped towards the edge. After a brief pausing for a moment, as if making a final attempt at gauging the shaft's depth, they casually stepped off the platform. Only a rapidly-fading green glow reassured the other ten members of the 1st OPAW Raider Team that their squadmates had deployed energy wings and were locked in a rapid, controlled descent as opposed to a rapid, uncontrolled—and most definitely lethal—descent.
The reports initially came in rapid succession, but the gap between them lengthened noticeably as the advance team descended deeper and deeper. A long, uncomfortable silence followed Karen calling out the six hundred meter mark. As the seconds ticked away, a few of the Raiders began nervously stroking the hip-mounted compartments that stored their Chaos Mines.
"Touchdown. Send in the next two."
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief as another pair of Knightmares began descending down the shaft.
"Are these…"
"Didn't think any still existed…"
"I think I saw these in a history text once…"
"Alright everyone, sightseeing's over!" Karen announced as the last pair of Knightmares touched down, "It's not like you don't see Knightmares every day!"
Though she hid it well, Karen was every bit as fascinated by the firing range's contents as the rest of her team. Though the Valles Marineris base had been designed as a weapons testing facility, it had been converted into a scrapyard barely ten years after completion. The chamber where one of the first modern FLEIJA warheads had been successfully detonated now played host to hundreds, if not thousands, of mothballed Knightmares lined up in neat rows. The majority of them were second-generation clunkers, barely recognizable as Knightmares, but Karen could spot several first-generation models as well.
"Fan out! Rodriguz, Letsinger, secure the control room! Lindow, Ellerbe, get the auxiliary power supply back online! We need those blast doors warmed up and ready to close at a moment's notice! Everyone else, on me!"
War Room, Space Station Ikaruga
Five Hours From the Terra System
"How are we doing?" Nunnally asked, mostly out of desire to break the uncomfortable silence in the war room.
"No word from Lieutenant Schneider yet," CC deadpanned, serving only to confirm what the governor already knew.
"It's still four hours before the allotted time runs out," Kallen interjected, "but I've dispatched a Sleipnir and the 2nd OPAW Raiders to the Valiant just in case."
"Didn't Intelligence establish a likely Necron presence in that region?" Suzaku uneasily ventured, "Wouldn't that be too much for a single team, Raiders or no, to handle?"
"Perhaps," CC admitted, "But a larger force would alert Imperial defenses and possibly jeopardize everything we've spent the last twenty thousand years fighting for. I have complete faith in Lieutenant Schneider's abilities."
The other three leaders looked at the green-haired woman as if she had grown a second head.
"Did she just…"
"Not even a trace of sarcasm…"
"What?" CC snapped.
Black Knights Base
Valles Marineris, Mars
The eight Raiders advanced through the twisting hallways of the ancient research base steadily but briskly, their eyes wide open and searching for the telltale glow of Necron technology. Between all of them, every vision mode available to a "Cherub" Knightmare was currently being utilized and the Raiders constantly switched off. Nanites infused in the outer layers of their armor had gradually altered the Knightmares' camouflage patterns to better suit the surroundings: mottled red and brown gave way to splotchy greys of varying shades and then gave way to vaguely geometric patterns of dark blues and blacks as they advanced further into the darkness. The effect was largely psychological: Necron Warriors "saw" via motion sensors, not visual ones.
The lead Knightmare lifted its fist into the air, keeping it at roughly head level for a few seconds before waving downwards. The other seven Knightmares came to a near-immediate halt, rapidly rearranging themselves into a roughly circular outward-facing formation, their hadron light machine guns pointed straight ahead, before crouching down.
"We've got movement straight ahead. Looks like a patrol."
The seven Raiders' heads slowly panned around, their operators turning to face the blinking objective markers that suddenly appeared on their HUDs. The silent, electronically-sharpened forms of five lumbering Necron Warriors slowly rounded the corner, their formidable Gauss Flayers pointed ahead of them. Several hands tightened over gun grips as the Warriors paused. The quintet of Warriors stood still for several seconds before splitting into two groups, two Warriors heading back down the hallway and the other three heading into a perpendicular corridor.
"Dammit. The Shinkirou's reported storage bay is down that way," Karen placed an objective marker on the hallway the trio of Warriors had started down, "We'll have to take them out."
"This is Capelli. I'm in position."
Private Louisa Vanwingerden hardly acknowledged the incoming information, her eyes instead glued to the skeletal Necron Warriors mere inches barely a meter in front of her. Being an OPAW, and a Raider at that, she was no stranger to Necrons, but she had never seen one so close. She repeated her drill instructor's lessons in her head as she followed the lumbering automaton in order to resist the increasingly-strong urge to unload into the thing's back. Necron warriors were strong, but stupid and stuck to predictable patterns without an Immortal commanding them. They had motion sensors in place of eyes, but they could be fooled by sticking to their rear and moving at the same or a similar velocity as them.
"Good. Take them out on my mark. Three."
Vanwingerden reached for her Knightmare's right shoulder compartment, the hadron saber stored within sliding out to meet her grasping fingers.
"Two."
Louisa quickened her pace slightly, significantly lessening the gap while not moving fast enough to trigger the thing's motion sensors. The Warrior was close enough that she could make out the individual dents and scores on the thing's armor.
"One."
Louisa thumbed the saber's activation switch.
"Mark!"
Louisa lunged forward, her sudden motion tripping the Warrior's motion sensors. Alerted, the Necron began turning around, but millennia of corrosion hindered its joints. The considerable mass of Louisa's Knightmare slammed into the Warrior. As the automaton lost balance and tipped over, Louisa wrapped an arm around its neck and skewered it through the torso with her hadron saber. She savagely ripped the blade to the side, tearing a great gash in the thing's flank.
The Warrior hit the ground with an audible clang. Louisa scrambled to her feet, grabbing the Necron's right arm and threw her weight into twisting it as she dropped her knee into her opponent's shoulder. As she applied increasing torque to the Warrior's arm, Louisa stabbed her hadron saber through the Warrior's spine, yanking the blade downwards and carving into its torso almost down to the pelvis.
As the Warrior's self-defense protocols kicked in and attempted to repair the extensive damage, Louisa scrambled to her feet. With a savage stomp, she crushed the Warrior's head. A piercing scream echoed through the halls as the Warrior "died."
"This is Vanwingerden. Target's down."
Four more reports of downed Necron Warriors issued over the squad channel, though such reports were rendered largely redundant by the echoing screams.
"This is Ellerbe!" another voice issued over the squad channel, "Auxiliary power is back online, but we're under attack by Necron forces! A Deathmark's got us pinned down! We're gonna get overrun at this rate!"
"Dammit," Karen interjected, "They definitely know we're here now. Move! Move! Move!"
The screeching of landspinners filled the once-quiet hallways.
Omake: Encyclopedia of the Black Knights, Volume Three: The Fleet
Name: Ikaruga
Length: 4,000 Kilometers
Displacement: Unknown (Presumed to be in the Sextillions of Metric Tons)
Armor: (Thickness Unknown, Presumed to be in the Tens of Meters) Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified)
Weapons: Many Quad FLEIJA Turrets, Many Dual Hadron Gun Turrets, Many Dual Hadron Beam Turrets
Defenses: Many Dual Hadron Gatling Point-Defense Turrets, Many Hadron Fields, Electronic Countermeasures Package, Electronic Counter-Countermeasures Package
Fleet Support: Many Drydocks, Many Shipyards, Many Hangar Bays (Many Excalibur-class Attack Craft, Many Sleipnir-class Drop Shuttles, Many Valkyrie-class Utility Vessels), Many Docking Bays
Misc. Systems: Many Factories, Many Farms, Many Refineries, Many Mining Facilities, Many Shipyards, Many FTL Communications Repeaters, Many Sensor Arrays, Communications Interceptor, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Power Source: Many Cold Fusion Reactors
FTL: Enhanced Skimmer Drive
Propulsion: Many Gravitric Drives
Crew: Millions
Description: The flagship and lifeblood of the Black Knights fleet, it is unclear whether this Ikaruga is the same Ikaruga, albeit heavily upgraded, used by the Black Knights to evacuate Earth prior to the Age of Strife or an entirely new vessel. Close to the size of a small moon, the Ikaruga supports a population of millions, as well as the Black Knights fleet, with its onboard production facilities. While other ships could take over these functions, none can match the sheer output of the Ikaruga. The vessel also plays host to some of the most sophisticated communications gear ever built, capable of sending and receiving, as well as intercepting and decoding, messages from across the galaxy. Such proves vital to both maintaining secrecy and coordinating Black Knights forces. The Ikaruga bristles with defensive weaponry, and the rest of the Black Knights fleet is suicidally protective of this incredibly important ship. Imperial forces have actually glimpsed the Ikaruga before, but, due to the grainy quality of captured images and its enormous size, the Inquisition logged it as a previously-undiscovered Eldar craftworld.
Name: Arcadia-class Production Ship
Length: 4450 meters
Displacement: 3,600,000 Metric Tons
Armor: 7 Meters Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified)
Weapons: 30x Dual Hadron Gun Turrets
Defenses: 480x Dual Hadron Gatling Point-Defense Turrets, 18x Hadron Fields, Electronic Countermeasures Package
Fleet Support: 10x Hangar Bay (216x Excalibur-class Attack Craft, 72x Valkyrie-class Utility Vessel)
Misc. Systems: 16x Farms, 16x Factories, 4x Refineries, Shipyard, FTL Communications Repeater, Sensor Array, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Power Source: 8x Cold Fusion Reactors
Propulsion: 12x Gravitric Drives
FTL: Enhanced Skimmer Drive
Crew: 25,000 (w/ Workers)
Description: Dwarfing even the largest Black Knights dreadnoughts and boasting extremely heavy defenses, one might mistake the Arcadia-class vessels for super-dreadnoughts. However, these titans are minimally-armed for their size and carry a relatively small defensive complement of Excalibur-class attack craft. Instead of weaponry, every available cubic meter of space is given to manufacturing and agricultural facilities. Vast quantities of food can be grown inside its farms and its factories can churn out anything from children's toys to Knightmares. Each Arcadia has seventy-two Valkyrie-class utility vessels, given the dual tasks of providing the production ship with the needed raw materials and ferrying the finished products to the rest of the fleet, permanently assigned to it. The shipbuilding capabilities of an Arcadia-class vessel are nothing short of incredible: they possess the only facilities outside of the Ikaruga capable of constructing and refitting Yggdrasil-class dreadnoughts, and several Arcadias working in tandem can even build another Arcadia. These ships are absolutely vital to the Black Knights' survival: they almost never venture away from the fleet's center and are under extremely heavy escort if they do.
Name: Yggdrasil-class Dreadnought
Length: 1150 meters
Displacement: 300,000 Metric Tons
Armor: 3 Meters Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified)
Weapons: 18x Octuple Heavy Hadron Beam Turrets, 80x Dual Hadron Gun Turrets, 20x Quad FLEIJA Turrets?
Defenses: 60x Dual Hadron Gatling Point-Defense Turrets, 5x Hadron Fields, Electronic Countermeasures Package, Electronic Counter-Counter Measures Package
Fleet Support: Drydock, 4x Hangar Bay (144x Excalibur-class Attack Craft, 20x Sleipnir-class Drop Shuttles)
Misc. Systems: 5x FTL Communications Repeaters, 4x Sensor Arrays, 6x Hydroponics Bays, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Power Source: 4x Cold Fusion Reactors
Propulsion: 8x Gravitric Drives
FTL: Enhanced Skimmer Drive
Crew: 6,500 (w/ Troops)
Description: The largest and most fearsome of the Black Knights' combat fleet, the Yggdrasil-class is quite possibly the most powerful vessel ever built by human hands. With its overwhelming firepower and squadrons of Excalibur-class attack craft, a single Yggdrasil can quickly turn the tides of battle. Most fearsome of this dreadnought's myriad weapons are the eighteen octuple heavy hadron beam cannons, capable of reducing entire fleets to flaming hulks with a few volleys. Equipped with a small drydock capable of accommodating destroyer-class vessels and smaller, the Yggdrasil-class can serve as a mothership for long-range independent missions. Due to the massive investment of resources and personnel required to build, maintain, and crew a Yggdrasil-class, however, only a few have been built. They, as a result, leave the Black Knights fleet very rarely and only for the most critical missions. Only the most experienced captains are entrusted with commanding such a juggernaut, and their crews are among the finest in the Black Knights fleet. Only one Yggdrasil-class vessel has ever been lost: the Berlin during the closing days of the First Necrotic War.
Name: Trundholm-class Cruiser
Length: 750 meters
Displacement: 100,000 Metric Tons
Armor: 2.5 Meters Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified)
Weapons: 10x Quad Heavy Hadron Beam Turrets, 50x Dual Hadron Gun Turrets, 12x Quad FLEIJA Turrets
Defenses: 40x Dual Hadron Gatling Point-Defense Turrets, 3x Hadron Fields, Electronic Countermeasures Package, Electronic Counter-Counter Measures Package
Fleet Support: 2x Hangar Bay (72x Excalibur-class Attack Craft, 10x Sleipnir-class Drop Shuttles)
Misc. Systems: 3x FTL Communications Repeaters, 2x Sensor Arrays, 4x Hydroponics Bays, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Power Source: 3x Cold Fusion Reactors
Propulsion: 6x Gravitric Drives
FTL: Enhanced Skimmer Drive
Crew: 4,000 (w/ Troops)
Description: In keeping with the Black Knights' doctrine of flexibility, the Trundholm-class cruiser is capable of taking on both carrier and warship roles, bringing squadrons of attack craft and heavy firepower into the fray. Though lacking the Yggdrasil-class dreadnoughts' sheer firepower, Trundholm-class vessels are faster, more agile, and significantly cheaper to produce. However, its ten quad heavy hadron beam turrets and twelve quad FLEIJA turrets are more than capable of causing massive mayhem. To compound their fearsome firepower, Trumdholm-class cruisers rarely travel alone: they often travel in pairs, with squadrons of Avalon-class destroyers in support, and if travelling in large groups of six or more, the presence of a Yggdrasil-class dreadnought in the area is guaranteed. Though lacking drydock facilities, Trundholm-class vessels can still act as motherships for long-range, long-duration missions. Onboard hydroponics bays significantly extend their cruising range and even allow them to resupply other ships to a limited extent. Trundholm-class cruisers represent a tremendous investment of resources, though not to the extent of the Yggdrasil-class dreadnoughts, and, as a result, are still a relatively rare sight beyond the Black Knights fleet.
Name: Valkyrie-class Utility Vessel
Length: Varies (675 Meters When Unloaded)
Displacement: Varies (25,000 Metric Tons When Unloaded)
Armor: 1.5 Meters Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified)
Weapons: Varies (10x Dual Hadron Gun Turrets When Unloaded)
Defenses: Varies (30x Dual Hadron Gatling Point-Defense Turrets, 2x Hadron Fields, Electronic Countermeasures Package When Unloaded)
Fleet Support: Varies (Not Equipped When Unloaded)
Misc. Systems: Varies (FTL Communications Repeater, Sensor Array, 2x Hydroponics Bays, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint When Unloaded)
Power Source: 2x Cold Fusion Reactors
Propulsion: 6x Gravitric Drives
FTL: Enhanced Skimmer Drive
Crew: Varies (150 When Unloaded)
Description: An unloaded Valkyrie-class does not look like much: merely a long spine with engines on one end and a bridge module on the other. By itself sparsely armed but well-protected, the Valkyrie-class requires constant escort when straying from the main fleet. However, without such vessels, the entire Black Knights fleet would grind to a halt. The Valkyrie-class was originally designed as a bulk freighter that, by merely attaching the cargo containers onto the spine, could be quickly and easily loaded and unloaded. Within a month of its introduction, however, the design's true potential was realized. While still capable of serving its original role, the Valkyrie-class can easily be adapted for any task by swapping out modules on the spine. The civilians of the Black Knights fleet use these ships for every role imaginable, from salvage ships to mining vessels to factory ships to mobile farms. The Black Knights Military Arm occasionally uses ships of this type, usually as electronic warfare and intelligence vessels, though several enterprising captains have docked Excalibur-class attack craft onto the spine, turning the vessel into an escort carrier.
Name: Avalon-class Destroyer
Length: 325 meters
Displacement: 60,000 Metric Tons
Armor: 2 Meters Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified)
Weapons: 4x Hadron Beam Cannons, 30x Dual Hadron Gun Turrets, 8x FLEIJA Tubes
Defenses: 20x Dual Hadron Gatling Point-Defense Turrets, 2x Hadron Fields, Electronic Countermeasures Package, Electronic Counter-Countermeasures Package
Fleet Support: Hangar Bay (36x Excalibur-class Attack Craft, 5x Sleipnir-class Drop Shuttles)
Misc. Systems: 2x FTL Communications Repeaters, 2x Sensor Arrays, 2x Hydroponics Bays, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Power Source: 2x Cold Fusion Reactors
Propulsion: 4x Gravitric Drives
FTL: Enhanced Skimmer Drive
Crew: 1,750 (w/ Troops)
Description: Though much smaller than both the Yggdrasil-class dreadnoughts and the Trundholm-class cruisers, Avalon-class destroyers are cheap, reliable, and very capable, representing a significant step up from the Camelot-class frigate. Though one of the oldest designs still in service, it packs a fearsome punch and still proves far superior to any similarly-sized ship. Any enemy ship that underestimates an Avalon-class destroyer never makes that mistake again, provided that it survives the encounter. With support, an Avalon-class ship can even take down a Necron Harvest Ship, a capability demonstrated several times throughout the three Necrotic Wars. As the most visible symbol of the Black Knights' military power, the Avalon-class forms the backbone of their space-based military forces, spearheading many smaller operations. With a relatively small size and mass, Avalon-class vessels are quite fast and agile, capable of transitioning to and from FTL with little difficulty. As a result, it is the preferred mothership of the Orbital Planetary Assault Wing, capable of transitioning into real space above a planet, deploy its complement of troops, and transition back out before enemy defenses can react.
Name: Camelot-class Frigate
Length: 125 meters
Displacement: 8,000 Metric Tons
Armor: 1 Meter Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified)
Weapons: 2x Hadron Beam Cannons, 20x Dual Hadron Gun Turrets, 4x FLEIJA Tubes
Defenses: 15x Dual Hadron Gatling Point-Defense Turrets, 2x Hadron Fields, Electronic Countermeasures Package, Electronic Counter-Countermeasures Package
Fleet Support: Hangar Bay (12x Excalibur-class Attack Craft)
Misc. Systems: FTL Communications Repeater, Sensor Array, Hydroponics Bay, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Power Source: Cold Fusion Reactor
Propulsion: 3x Mini Gravitric Drives
FTL: Enhanced Skimmer Drive
Crew: 350
Description: Small and very nimble, most vessels would find it nearly impossible to hit a Camelot-class frigate. Though too small to mount heavy hadron beam turrets, Camelot-class ships still feature two forward-facing heavy hadron beam cannons, allowing them to wreck immense havoc as they weave in and out of enemy fleet formations. Cheap to produce, easy to maintain, and requiring only a relatively modest crew, Camelot-class ships are built in large quantities by Black Knights shipyards. Every Black Knights starship crew has spent at least a few months aboard a Camelot-class frigate, as their wide availability makes them popular choices for training ships. Though equipped with a skimmer drive, these ships only very rarely venture far from the Black Knights fleet by themselves. Usually, they operate in small packs of three to five ships in support of an Avalon-class destroyer, creating a fearsome battle group with relatively little expenditure of manpower and resources. One notable exception is the Valiant: as the legendary 1st OPAW's mothership, it is often dispatched on missions far behind enemy lines, where speed and stealth are critical.
Name: Damocles
Length: 100 meters
Displacement: 6,500 Metric Tons
Armor: 75 Centimeters Layered Ceramite-Plasteel-Adamantium
Weapons: 4x Plasma Lances, 6x "Breacher" Torpedo Tubes, 2x FLEIJA Tubes
Defenses: Void Shield Emitter, Electronic Countermeasures Package, Electronic Counter-Countermeasures Package
Fleet Support: None
Misc. Systems: FTL Communications Repeater, Sensor Array
Power Source: Plasma Reactor
Propulsion: 4x Plasma Drives
FTL: Warp Drive
Crew: 300
Description: Ships of the Damocles' size and specifications are generally used as scout ships. Small and lightly-armed and –protected, they used their immense speed and agility to evade larger enemy ships. That fact was true during the Dark Age of Technology. With the loss of so much knowledge since then, the Damocles has become one of the most formidable ships in Imperial space, capable of taking on entire fleets by itself. Its four plasma lances can fire in rapid succession, punching through modern defenses with frightening ease. Its "Breacher" missiles seek out the minute gaps in void shield coverage and force their way through before burrowing into a ship's armor and detonating its warhead, inflicting horrific damage on even the largest ships. Two FLEIJA tubes, mounted below the ship's nose, allow it to level entire continents given enough time. Used as the Emperor's command ship during the Age of Strife and the subsequent Great Crusade, the Damocles was submerged into Saturn's atmosphere on the eve of the Horus Heresy. It was destroyed by Abbadon's forces shortly before the Black Knights' arrival.
Name: Sleipnir-class Drop Shuttle
Length: 30 meters
Displacement: 450 Metric Tons
Armor: 25 Centimeters Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified)
Weapons: 3x Dual Hadron Machine Gun Turrets
Defenses: 2x Hadron Fields, Electronic Countermeasures Package, Electronic Counter-Countermeasures Package
Fleet Support: None
Misc. Systems: FTL Communications Repeater, Sensor Package, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Power Source: Mini Cold Fusion Reactor
Propulsion: 2x Gravitric Drives
FTL: Enhanced Skimmer Drive
Crew: 56 (w/ Troops)
Description: At a mere thirty meters in length, the Sleipnir-class is the smallest FTL-capable ship in the Black Knights armada. Essentially a cargo container with engines and a cockpit attached, the Sleipnir design is cheap, rugged, and simple to manufacture. Capable of short-range interstellar "hops," Sleipnir-class drop shuttles can slip into places even a Camelot-class frigate would have trouble infiltrating. These shuttles use their minimal offensive abilities—in the form of a trio of belly-mounted turrets—to clear out drop zones prior to final approach. Their negligible offensive capabilities are more than compensated for by their considerable defenses: a significant portion of the design's mass consists of its thick armor plating and redundant hadron field generators. Combined with their almost-comically oversized engines, Sleipnir-class drop shuttles are capable of delivering up to fifty Knightmare-equipped troops or an equivalent amount of equipment to the battlezone quickly and in relative safety. Though used almost exclusively by militia units, approximately half a dozen Sleipnirs have been specially converted into command and control vessels for use by the OPAW's elite Raider Teams.
Name: Excalibur-class Attack Craft
Length: 8 meters
Displacement: 7.5 Metric Tons
Armor: 15 Centimeters Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified)
Weapons: 6x Hadron Machine Guns, 16x FLEIJA Missiles
Defenses: 2x Hadron Fields, Electronic Countermeasures Package, Electronic Counter-Countermeasures Package
Fleet Support: None
Misc. Systems: FTL Communications Repeater, Sensor Package, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint, Cockpit Module (Optional)
Power Source: Mini Cold Fusion Reactor
Propulsion: 2x Mini Gravitric Drives
FTL: Not Equipped
Crew: 1
Description: As the latest multirole attack craft in the Black Knights military, the Excalibur-class is capable of carrying out a wide variety of missions, ranging from capital ship killing to dogfighting to providing close air support to ground forces. Armed with six forward-facing hadron machine guns and sufficient hardpoints to carry sixteen FLEIJA missiles, the Excalibur-class packs a quantity of firepower normally associated with bombers. Very small, blindingly fast, and extremely nimble, Excaliburs are known to be virtually impossible for most enemy point defenses to even track, much less shoot down. Launched in waves from Black Knights ships, an experienced Excalibur squadron can cripple, even destroy, an enemy capital ship in just a few attack runs. Though an optional cockpit module is available, the vast majority of pilots prefer to directly connect their Knightmares to the Excalibur's systems, increasing responsiveness and pilot survivability while also slightly decreasing the craft's overall target profile. However, despite their fearsome combat capabilities, these craft never venture very far from their motherships, as they lack skimmer drives, the most glaring weakness of this otherwise-excellent design.
Closing Remarks: Once again, sorry for the long wait. I know this chapter is fairly boring, but the battles in the next chapter should make up for that. Additionally, it has come to my attention that this fanfic has received a mention on TVTropes. If anyone with an account with like to start up a Tropes page, you have my blessing.