Editing Vessels of the Viaticus Dynasty (section)

==== Weapon Batteries ====
'''Blaze-Bringer'''<br>
<div class="floatright">[[Image:Emperor_pose.jpg|200px]]
<br>''Statue, Plaza of the Triumphant''</div>
The only gun on the ''Aetherius Aeternum'' left unmolested by the extensive refurbishments after it mysteriously re-appeared, ''Blaze-Bringer'' is an ancient and beautiful device. The massive breech-loading cannon is staffed by almost eight thousand ratings, and for a good reason. The massive, thirty meter long warheads are pulled from the ship's munitions storage almost entirely unaided by machines. Sweating drag-gangs spend long minutes of backbreaking labour until at last the shell is loaded.<br>
Commissioned by Agamemmnon Exaviar Viaticus, the cannon's breech is framed by two fifteen-meter tall statues of gilded adamantine. The left, arms outstretched, holds in its hands a planet of unknown contours, whilst the right statue holds a massive sword raised in an overhead blow. As such, the primary purpose of this gun has never been forgotten: To bring the flames of war to planets that offend the Lord-Captains of House Viaticus.<br>

'''The Sparktakers'''<br>
The four Disruptor-cannon broadsides installed on the behest of Lord-Captain Alexis stand out. It is always a jarring experience for lower-deck ratings freshly assigned to those batteries to replace the dead and injured, as the ancient and age-worn adamantium and ceramite of the ''Aetherius Aeternum'' suddenly give way to gleaming, unscarred metal. It is this air of near-alien newness that has already led to severe rivalries between the ratings assigned to the so-named ''Sparkbuster'' broadsides and those of the ''Blaze-Bringer'' Bombardment cannons, as the shared sentiment of the gunnery crews is that they, and their equipment, are superior to the ancient and moribund (so they claim) bombardment cannon and its attendants. <br>

'''Signum Victoriae'''<br>
The gigantic armored prow of the ''Aetherius Aeternum'', installed after a lengthy debate between the Lord-Captain and his command crew. Replacing an old prow-mounted macrocannon battery, the new prow is a menacing thing: Painted in the silver-on-black color scheme of House Viaticus, nearly .75 megatonnes of adamantium have been fashioned into the face of a swooping Imperial Eagle, the twin heads sporting tremendous beaks, which serve as the actual breachers for ramming operations.<br>