Cain's Tribute: Fist of the Liberator Addendum
*Special shoutout to FlipsNChips for coming up with the name for the warp cannon!
Cain's Tribute. The main armament of the Gloriana Battle Carrier Fist of the Liberator. It is a warp cannon of immense power whose origins trace back to the weapon used by the original Fist of the Liberator; a humble troop transport elevated to capital ship with its superweapon.
Cain's Tribute is powered by a warp core utilizing the most advanced technology the Borg can muster. This warp core is one of the largest, with only the warp cores of the Blackstone Fortresses being larger. The barrel runs along the length of the hull, using the superstructure of the Fist of the Liberator to reinforce itself.
Cain's Tribute can fire either a single large pulse or a beam of continuous destructive energy. Of note, the warp cannon does not need to be at full power to fire, and may fire at lower power settings. This grants Cain's Tribute the ability to fire at a much faster rate; albeit at the cost of less destructive potential. This can be useful if one wishes to minimize enemy casualties and go for more precise targeting.
The first time Cain's Tribute ever unleashed its wrath was upon the infamous WAAAGH! OI STEALZ YER SHIT! led by Ork Warboss Smashgrabba, who styled himself Admiral Smashgrabba. To complete his title, Smashgrabba often wore an outfit consisting of a mismatch composed of the uniforms of various Imperial naval commanders and nobles he had killed; complete with a powdered wig and commodore's hat.
Admiral Smashgrabba was known for the vast Ork armada that he led. Though he could have used his armada to establish an empire for himself, Smashgrabba had no interest in such things. Rather, the pirate Smashgrabba had an insatiable appetite for the possessions of others. His greed was legend. His targets seemed random to Imperial Naval Command but were driven by his desire to take whatever interested him. A rare gem, a fancy piece of artwork, a brand new bolt pistol, a factory fresh cruiser, or heads for his pointy stick; if Smashgrabba wanted it, he would take it. There were even rumors he tried to rob the Necron Overlord Trazyn the Infinite, which ended in failure and Smashgrabba's near capture.
When Smashgrabba saw an image of the Liberator and heard of all he had achieved; Smashgrabba knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had to have Cain's head on his pointy stick. The pirate admiral roared his intent to take Cain's head to his subordinate captains. He set up an ambush by targeting a world under the Cain Protectorate's protection.
His initial assaults were small, fooling people into thinking it was a small group of Ork pirates rather than the infamous Admiral Smashgrabba. The Cain Protectorate thought it was the perfect test for their new Gloriana-Class Battle Carrier. The Fist of the Liberator engaged with the raiding group on their next assault. The Orks retreated and the Fist of the Liberator gave chase; being drawn into Smashgrabba's trap.
The Ork raiding party fled into an asteroid field far away from the star system where the rest of Smashgrabba's armada lay in wait. With the trap sprung, it seemed that the Liberator's luck had finally run out. At the head of the Ork armada was Smashgrabba's flagship, a space hulk turned battleship he stole from a rival Warboss and named Wutz Yorz iz MINE!.
Cain's small fleet was completely outnumbered. Even a Gloriana, one of the pinnacles of Imperial naval might, couldn't possibly fight off the entire Ork armada. At least, not with conventional weaponry.
That was when the Liberator turned Warmaster gave the command. The warp cannon was to be fired right at the heart of the enemy fleet, targeting the Ork flagship.
When the warp cannon had charged to only 46% of its full power the Warmaster unleashed it upon Admiral Smashgrabba. A beam of energy composed of unreality and the stuff of souls was fired from the bow of the Gloriana.
Upon hitting the Wutz Yorz iz MINE! the empty void around it flared up like a supernova while the screams of billions of voices seemed to echo. Hundreds of ships were enveloped in the resulting blast. The light was so bright that some captains within Cain's fleet were nearly blinded. When the light faded, Cain's forces were shown the results of their weapon's work.
Wutz Yorz iz MINE!, at the epicenter of the blast, was gone, leaving no trace of its existence behind. The same was true for all the other Ork vessels caught within the attack. From the smallest gunshin to the largest battleships, any Ork vessel within the blast had been obliterated. Those vessels caught at the outer edges were perhaps less fortunate depending on one's view. The heat from the blast left had stripped away their shields and melted the metal of their hulls leaving them as twisted wrecks. Only those vessels furthest from the blast had survived. But not for long
To fill the space left by the center of Smashgrabba's fleet was a massive wound in reality (1) which tore right through the remnants of the Ork armada. It pulled in more Ork warships, tossing them about like a storm. Some fell into the rift while other ships smashed against each other, reducing them to scrap.
From the initial firing and resultant wound in reality, nearly 70% of the Ork armada had been wiped out.
The surviving Ork warships tried to re-organize, but quickly fell into squabbling and infighting as Ork captains sought to initiate their own rise to power, or just fled in the face of such awesome 'shooty power'.
From there after, the warp cannon was given the name Cain's Tribute. For it is rumored that the souls of all the Orks killed by the warp cannon were offered to Cain's lost love Emeli, with the avaricious soul of Smashgrabba going directly to Slaanesh. It was said by those managing the warp core that when the weapon fired feminine laughter could be heard coming from the core.
Followers of the other gods have argued the souls go to Khorne or Tzeentch instead. While the Borg believe that each firing of the warp cannon is a blessing from the Omnissiah. Some believe that due to the myriad of beliefs held by the Protectorate forces that the souls go to all of the gods. All agree however that those souls killed by the cannon are direct offerings from Cain.
In the time since then, Cain's Tribute has become a weapon feared by many factions across the galaxy. It has taken down Ork Warbosses, Dark Eldar Archons, and rival Chaos Warlords. Comparisons have been made to the Despoiler's Planet Killer and the ancient Blackstone Fortresses. Imperial forces have ranked the Fist of the Liberator on the same threat level as the Planet Killer, and fear the day the warp cannon is turned on Imperial forces. Of note, the weapon has never been fired at an Imperial world, though the Imperium fears it is only a matter of time.
(1): Tales say that those who travel too near the warp rift can still hear the final terrified screams of Smashgrabba and his crew as they were consumed by the warp cannon.
*Hope this was an entertaining little info dump on the warp cannon of the Fist of the Liberator and Cain's first time firing the weapon. Needless to say, Cain was horrified to see the extent of destruction and the warp rift the cannon made. Even the Borg were surprised at the cannon's power. But it was either that or die to an Ork who really wanted Cain's head on a pointy stick. Cain can never catch a break. Once more, credit to FlipsNChips for the name Cain's Tribute.