Vessels of the Viaticus Dynasty
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The Aetherius Aeternus
Ship Description
Hull: Battlecruiser
Class: Overlord-class Imperial Battlecruiser
Dimensions: 5.3km long, 0.85 km abeam at fins approx.
Mass: 31 megatonnes, approx.
Crew: 100,000 crew, approx.
Accel: 2.4 gravities max sustainable acceleration
An Overlord-class battlecruiser of ancient design, the Aetherius Aeternus was the unshakeable bastion of Viaticus power for centuries. Helios Viaticus himself, first warrant-holder and the founder of the dynasty, commanded from the same bridge that you now stand on.
The first keel laid at the shipyards of Exaviar's World and the flagship of Viaticus Dynasty throughout the House's long history, the Aetherius Aeternus was the dominate naval presence in the subsector until its untimely disappearance two centuries ago. It has been said that this ship is a symbol of the world that spawned it, and that while it was under the charge of House Viaticus no harm would befall Exaviar's World.
A mighty battlecruiser, this vessel has seen conflict after conflict, often emerging nigh-unscathed while leaving behind the shattered hulks of pirates, xenos and traitors who would dare lay claim to the subsector. Never defeated in battle, and always appearing in the skies above Exaviar's World when the docks were threatened, it is the subject of countless myths and legends among the people who live in the great Hives below, many of whom see it as something akin to an Imperial Saint.
Its disappearance shattered the morale of the planet - the rapid decline of the fortunes of House Viaticus after seemed to be but a natural progression of this loss to many - although, in truth, the fortunes of the Dynasty had been dwindling for many decades before... the mission upon which it vanished was a desperate attempt to reverse the decline, in fact. Now that it has reappeared, the Aetherius Aeternus again appears in the skies above Exaviar's World, and a new generation dreams of being selected to crew it.
Ship Statistics
Name: Aetherius Aeternus
Class: Overlord-class Battlecruiser
Machine Spirit: Ancient and Wise
Past Histories: Wrested from a Space Hulk
Hull Integrity: 66/66
Crew Population: 100/100
Crew Morale: 99/99
Space: 69/78
Power: 68/90
Speed: 6
Maneuvering: +26
Detection: +20
Armour: 21, 25 (Prow)
Turret Rating: 2
Ship Components
Components: Essential
Engine: Saturnine Class 4A "Ultra" Drive (+0 power, 14 space)
Warp Drive: Miloslav H-616.b Warp Drive (10 power, 12 space)
Geller Field: Standard Geller Field (1 power, 0 space)
Void Shields: Repulsor Shield Array (8 power, 1 space)
Bridge: Ship Master's Bridge (4 power, 3 space)
Life Sustainer: Vitae-Pattern Life Sustainer (5 power, 3 space)
Crew Quarters: Voidsmen Quarters (2 power, 4 space)
Augur Array: BG-15 Assault Scanners (5 power, 0 space)
Components: Weapons
Prow: Armored Prow (0 power, 4 space)
Dorsal: Bombardment Cannons (5 power, 5 space)
Port: Disruption Macrocannon Broadside x2 (12 power, 10 space)
Starboard: Disruption Macrocannon Broadside x2 (12 power, 10 space)
Components: Supplementary
Luxury Passenger Quarters (2 power, 1 space)
Trophy Room (1 power, 1 space)
Components: Archeotech
Teleportarium (1 power, 1 space)
Ship Bonuses
Navigation: +5 to all rolls
Piloting: +5 to all rolls
Ballistics Skill: +10 to fire shipboard guns, +15 against planetary targets
Intimidate: +20 against planetary targets
Warp Travel: Halve the duration, roll twice for Warp Encounters every three days travel (rounded up) and take the lower result
Ship Objective Bonuses
Exploration: +50 Achievement Points
Military: +50 Achievement Points
Trade: +150 Achievement Points
Creed: +100 Achievement Points
Criminal: +150 Achievement Points
Tour of the Vessel
Weapon Batteries
Blaze-Bringer
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.
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.
The Sparktakers
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.
Signum Victoriae
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.
Enginarium
Aquarium Trapeti
Here, in this vaulted room that smells of grease and incense, is where the sacred machine oil is made. In a large stone pool on a raised dais, the glistening substance sits, infinitesimal bubbles rising to the surface from deep below. Along the walls are troughs and tubes that are used to mix compounded metals with a base of purest promethium - the resulting substance is poured into the central pool regularly. Over the course of five and a half days, this mixture, made holy by the sacred machine oil remaining in the great vat, transforms into more of the necessary unguent, aided by the constant pulse of electricity through wires that criss-cross over the surface.
Good Omens
Ship Description
Hull: Merchant Raider
Class: Havoc-class Merchant Raider
Dimensions: 1.6km long, 0.4 km abeam at fins approx.
Mass: 6 megatonnes, approx.
Crew: 24,000 crew, approx.
Accel: 5 gravities max sustainable acceleration
Once a frigate of House Viaticus, captained by a loyal servant of the Dynasty, this ship turned pirate shortly after the disappearance of the Aetherius Aeternus. Rising to prominence as the leader of a band of pirates, this vessel terrorized the sub-sector for many years. Ambushed by the newly-regained flagship and captured in a daring boarding action by the new captain, Lord-Captain Alexis Nikolaos Viaticus, it is currently undergoing purification before being brought back into faithful service. All its former crew were killed due to their servitude to a captain willing to bind a daemon into himself to fight off the vessel's rightful owners.
Ship Statistics
Name: Good Omens
Class: Havoc-class Merchant Raider
Machine Spirit: A Nose For Trouble
Past Histories: Reliquary of Mars
Hull Integrity: 30/30
Crew Population: 100/100
Crew Morale: 100/100
Space: 40/40
Power: 45/45
Speed: 9
Maneuvering: +25
Detection: +15
Armour: 15
Turret Rating: 1
Ship Components
Components: Essential
Engine: Modified Jovian Pattern Class 2 Drive (45 power generated, 6 space)
Warp Drive: Strelov 1 Warp Engine (10 power, 10 space)
Geller Field: Standard Geller Field (1 power, 0 space)
Void Shields: Single Void Shield Array (5 power, 1 space)
Bridge: Combat Bridge (1 power, 1 space)
Life Sustainer: Vitae-Pattern Life Sustainer (5 power, 3 space)
Crew Quarters: Pressed-crew Quarters (2 power, 1 space)
Augur Array: M-100 Auger Array (3 power, 0 space)
Components: Weapons
Prow: Titanforge Lance Weapon (9 power, 4 space)
Dorsal: Sunsear Laser Battery (6 power, 4 space)
Components: Supplementary
Compartmentalized Cargo Hold (2 power, 5 space)
Trophy Room (1 power, 1 space)
Drop Pod Launch Bays (1 power, 3 space)
Crew Reclamation Facility (1 power, 1 space)
Ship Bonuses
None
Ship Objective Bonuses
Exploration: +50 Achievement Points
Trade: +150 Achievement Points
Criminal: +50 Achievement Points
Tour of the Vessel
The Underdecks
When the Good Omens was recaptured it was the epicenter of a major warp event which, needless to say, didn't do much to help the already excessive Hullghast population. Now entire lower decks of the ship are simply given over to chaos-tainted things. There are too many nooks and crannies to ever find them all, monsters inhabit the underdecks like rats in the walls.
Seething Indignation
Ship Description
Hull: Destroyer
Class: Iconoclast-class Destroyer
Dimensions: 1.3km long, 0.4 km abeam at fins approx.
Mass: 6.1 megatonnes, approx.
Crew: 16,500 crew, approx.
Accel: 7.2 gravities max sustainable acceleration
A destroyer found escorting the pirate vessel Good Omens, this vessel was caught in the same ambush and, while its crew were spared immediate death, it likewise is undergoing purification at the docks of Exaviar's World in case the chaos-taint of its leader-vessel's captain had spread.
Ship Statistics
Name: Seething Indignation
Class: Iconoclast-class Destroyer
Machine Spirit: Blasphemous Tendencies
Past Histories: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Hull Integrity: 28/28
Crew Population: 100/100
Crew Morale: 100/100
Space: 32/32
Power: 34/45
Speed: 10
Maneuvering: +25
Detection: +10
Armour: 14
Turret Rating: 1
Ship Components
Components: Essential
Engine: Jovian Pattern Class 2 Drive (45 power generated, 10 space)
Warp Drive: Strelov 1 Warp Engine (10 power, 10 space)
Geller Field: Standard Geller Field (1 power, 0 space)
Void Shields: Single Void Shield Array (5 power, 1 space)
Bridge: Pirate Bridge (1 power, 1 space)
Life Sustainer: L-12.b Life Sustainer (3 power, 1 space)
Crew Quarters: Pirate Quarters (2 power, 2 space)
Augur Array: M-100 Auger Array (3 power, 0 space)
Components: Weapons
Dorsal: Macrocannon Battery (4 power, 2 space) x2
Components: Supplementary
Reaver Hold (1 power, 3 space)
Ship Bonuses
Easy to Repair: When effecting long term repairs, this ship may repair an additional +2 Hull Integrity if the repairs succeed.
Ship Objective Bonuses
Trade: +50 Achievement Points
Criminal: +50 Achievement Points
Tour of the Vessel
Nothing yet...
