Capitol Imperialis
A Capitol Imperialis is a tracked Super Heavy Tank used as a mobile command base for Regiments of the Imperial Army (during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy)[4] and its successor, the Astra Militarum.[1] It also serves as a mobile chapel-workshop for the Adeptus Mechanicus.[7a] Though heavily armoured and protected by Void Shields, its sheer size and slow speeds limits the vehicle to defensive operations.[1]
Contents
Design
At almost 80 metres long and 50 tall[4] and weighing 67,000 tons[5], the rhomboid-shaped Capitol Imperialis rivals a Titan in size.[2a] Solid adamantine plating and six Void Shield generators gives it a comparable level of protection.[1] A massive turret is situated on the prow of the Capitol Imperialis. It houses its primary weapon, a Doomsday Cannon,[8a] a defence laser,[7b] or the massive Behemoth Cannon, so large that four Leman Russ Battle Tanks could fit within its barrel.[2a] The concussive force of firing the Behemoth Cannon can knock nearby troops off their feet and cause avalanches, while a single hit can kill thousands of enemy soldiers and vehicles, throwing them hundreds of meters into the air and producing a huge mushroom cloud.[2b][2c] Secondary weapons include hundreds of Bolters for close-in defensive fire, and the hull can be electrically charged to repel boarders,[2c] as well as heavy plasma guns and heavy bolters.[7b]
Within its massive hold a Capitol Imperialis can carry two full companies of Imperial Guard, whether infantry or tanks. This allows the vehicle to act as a mobile bunker for troops, especially on inhospitable worlds, and the embarked soldiers can further support the Capitol Imperialis by fighting from its protective bulk.[1] A Mechanicus-operated Capitol Imperialis houses numerous tech-priests, lexmechanics and calculus-logi, its vaults capable of holding the accumulated data of a Forge Temple.[8a]
The command bridge situated deep within a Capitol Imperialis allows its regiment's commander the tools needed to command his troops efficiently. Vox-gear, pict-casters, logic-engines and a holo-map, all serviced by hooded Servitors, gather, analyze and display information to allow the leadership to plan out their campaign.[2c] The Capitol Imperialis' engine can be tuned up for more speed[8a] by overriding safeguards, allowing the super-heavy vehicle to move at a fast pace for its size.[8b]
Known variants
Capitol Daemonicus
The Capitol Daemonicus is a rare Capitol Imperialis variant that is used by the Ordo Malleus to fight major Chaos incursions.[7a]
Combat History
During the Siege of Terra the Thousand Sons Capitol Imperialis Khasisatra took part in an assault on the Western Hemispheric Wall of the Imperial Palace. During the battle it was badly damaged by the Palace guns, but before its reactor could meltdown Magnus the Red entered the fray and enclosed it in a stasis bubble, freezing it in time. Magnus then telekinetically hurled the Khasisatra into the Wall before letting the stasis bubble go, creating a catastrophic explosion equal to 12 Atomic Weapons in the loyalist lines and causing a large breach.[5]
When a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan threatened the world of Tarsis Ultra, one of the regiments sent to defend the planet against the Tyranids was the 10th Logres Regiment, led by Colonel Octavius Rabelaq. Colonel Rabelaq commanded the 10th from a Capitol Imperialis, which took part in the defence of the capital city Erebus. Firing from behind the trench lines protecting the city, the huge war machine was able to rack up an impressive kill count of Tyranids with the Behemoth Cannon. However, when the 993rd Death Korps of Krieg was threatened with being overrun during a rearguard action, Colonel Rabelaq charged his vehicle into the enemy.[2c]
While his act of heroism saved the Krieg regiment from destruction, Colonel Rabelaq found himself trapped as thousands of Tyranids threw themselves into the Capitol Imperialis's tracks, immobilising it. At that moment a Bio-Titan appeared and took a direct hit from the Behemoth Cannon, severely wounding the creature. However, the Bio-Titan's preternatural regenerative abilities healed it of its injuries, and before another shell could be loaded it slammed into the Capitol Imperialis, knocking the war machine on its side. As the Bio-Titan tore open the vehicle, Colonel Rabelaq gave the order for the city's defensive cannons to fire on his vehicle's exposed plasma reactor. The resulting explosion vaporised everything within five hundred meters, creating a deep crater within which the fatally-wounded monster died.[2c]
Another Capitol Imperialis, the Lex Tredecim[3b] formed part of the Ultramarines' muster on Calth during the Invasion of Ultramar in 854999.M41. Sergeant Learchus Abantes, who had never visited Calth before, believed that the vehicle was too large to enter the planet's underground cave system, but Uriel Ventris returned that Calth's caverns were so enormous that the vehicle could move quite freely.[3a]
The Capitol Imperialis continues to serve the Imperium into the Era Indomitus, with the Wrath of Olympus being Ursula Creed's personal command vehicle.[6]
Notable Capitols Imperialis
- Contemptuous — Therion Cohort (Heresy-era).[4]
- Iron General — Therion Cohort (Heresy-era).[4]
- Khasisatra - Thousand Sons, destroyed during the Siege of Terra[5]
- Praetor Fidelis[9]
- Lex Tredecim[3b]
- Wrath of Olympus[6]
See also
Sources
- 1: Armies of the Imperium, pg. 62
- 2: Warriors of Ultramar (Novel) — The Ultramarines Omnibus (e-version)
- 3: The Chapter's Due (Novel) — Ultramarines: The Second Omnibus (e-version)
- 4: The Divine Word (Short Story) — Legacies of Betrayal (Anthology)
- 5: The Fury of Magnus (Novella) (e-version), Chapter 5
- 6: Creed: Ashes of Cadia (Novel) (e-version), Chapter 1
- 7: White Dwarf 130 (UK) — Praetorians:
- 8: Knights of the Imperium (Novella) (e-version):
- 9: The Beast Must Die (Novel) (e-version), Chapter 18
