Ashnar'shukalar

The Ashnar'shukalar was an Imperial Gloriana-class Battleship that served as the flagship of Rang Talyc, the Primarch of the Shadow Warriors Legion, during the Great Crusade and the Five Ruins in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia. This flagship rode at the head of a flotilla of warships which comprised the VIth Legion's Expeditionary Fleet.

Ridged by brutal armour plating, spiked by countless weapon batteries, the Ashnar'shukalar had become a crude bastion, beyond any other warship in Imperial space in its display of sheer physical pugnacity. The orbital shipyards at Rang's disposal did not hesitate to incorporate refits that optimised Imperial warships for the combat doctrine and fighting style of the VIth Legion, favouring high speed and serrated ranks of close-ranged batteries that encouraged close-quarters battles over the speartip formations and ranged combat naval doctrines developed over the course of the Great Crusade by most of the other Legion fleets.

Ursus Claws
In battle, the Ashnar'shukalar often employed a crude but unique weapon known as Ursus Claws which enabled the vessel to get within close proximity of an enemy ship in order to board it. From ridged battlements and armoured ports along the warship’s hull, a tide of what looked like spears would burst out into the void. Each of these lances was the size of a smaller Escort ship in its own right. Up to a dozen could be fired, either separately at multiple targets, or all at once, at much larger vessels.

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