The Mark VI. "Destructor" Space Fortress.
- Designation: Mark VI. Destructor-class Space Fortress.
- Docking points: 2 Primary docking points able to accomodate any Imperial Ship. 6 Secondary docking points able to accomodate Imperial Ships up to and including Cruiser size. When friendly ships are docked they restrict the line of sight of the Fortresses weaponry. Single colossal dorsal launch bay with four exits, one at the base of each of the four 'arms' of the Fortress, that houses vast numbers of fighter and bomber craft, and can even accomodate Imperial Escorts landing inside it for emergency repairs.
- Dimensions (Approx.): 8km Diameter, 4km height
- Armament: Its armament is similar to the Ramilles-class Star Fort, with the exception of the Lance Batteries being replaced with Bombardment Cannons.
- Armour: Several metres of Adamantium/Ceramite alloy form the exterior walls of the Mark VI., enough to shrug off shots from Turbo-Lasers and Melta weaponry, though insufficient to reliably defend against dedicated anti-ship weaponry (Lance-turrets etc.). For these the Fortress is equipped with many powerful Void Shields.
- Propulsion: Several obscenely powerful thrusters mounted on the bottom of the Fortress are capable of moving it through space like a conventional Ship, allowing it to act as an assaulting force rather than solely defensive, albeit at a slower speed than even an Emperor-class Battleship. It is also equipped with a warp drive and advanced Geller field projectors, allowing for relatively slow, but surprisingly reliable warp travel.
Origins[]
The Mark VI. Destructor-class Space Fortress was developed in the Dark Age of Technology as a military project to produce a planetary repressor using the chassis of the civilian-use Mark V. Anchor-class Space Station. An evolution of the Mark IV. Indomitable-Class Space Fortress (the STC for which was rediscovered by Magos Lion Ramillis, and is currently produced and utilised in small numbers by the Imperial Navy) and it's civilian counterpart, the Mark III. Explorator-class Space Station, the Mark VI. is, externally, aesthetically similar to the Mark IV., but has numerous internal improvements, such as:
- The ability for conventional self-propulsion.
- Improvements in warp drive technology allowed the Mark VI. to have it's own warp drive, whereas the Mark IV. needed to be 'towed' through the warp by numerous other ships.
- The addition of 2, battleship-sized docking points.
- Improved weapon efficiency, allowing extended independent operation.
- Superior chassis design, capable of coping with the stress put on it by its own acceleration.
- More powerful internal computers, power management, etc. etc.
In the Dark Age of Technology the human military fielded dozens if not hundreds of these incredibly powerful Space Fortresses, but all were destroyed in the war with the Men of Iron, and the STCs required to build them were lost. During the Dark Age the Destrcutor-class was considered more of a mobile base of operations than a fighting vessel proper, with its defensive weapons paling in comparison to the obscene destructive power possessd by capital ships of the time. But in the 41st Milennium the Destructor-class Space Fortress is more than a match for an entire fleet of conventional warships.
Rediscovery[]
A small 3D representation of the Destructor-Class Space Fortress.
In 325.M41, ancient remnants of the Men of Iron attacked the Imperial planet of Mormark, where after much sacrifice they were defeated by the Ghosts of Retribution and the Planetary Defence Force. In the final battle aboard the enemy mothership, Chapter Master looted the STC for both the Mark VI. and Mark V. platforms.