Elpis

The Elpis is a Gloriana-class Battleship that served as the flagship of Alexandros Darshan VonSalim, the Primarch of the Halcyon Wardens Legion during at least part of the Great Crusade in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.

At nearly twenty kilometres in length, unbreakable strength and brute firepower, the Elpis' followed the zulmoxite design. Unlike the more common arrowhead design of most Imperial warships, the zulmoxite design featured a broad, rectangular prow. For most of these ships, this traded an armored strongpoint and emergency weapon for additional launch bays or weapon emplacements. For the Elpis, the head featured a fraction of both. At Alexandros' insistence, a nova cannon was installed at the center of the prow, while smaller launch bays sat on either side.

The nova cannon proved to be an early sign of the Primarch's philosophy in regards to his flagship. While no Gloriana could truly be declared defenceless, the Elpis, in spite of her size, had a low weapon-to-mass ratio. Instead, the Elpis was treated more as a fleet support ship than a true ship-killer. The warship favored lances and launch bays. These long-range weapons allowed the Elpis to inflict damage at considerable distances from within a fleet's heart. From this central point, the warship could maneuver to assist any of its escorting vessels in either offence or defence.

This was its primary function in battle. Outside of this role, the Elpis boasted a series of ambassadorial suits and conference chambers for diplomacy. At one point during the Lexin negotiations, the entire Tiano ambassador party, some hundred individuals, had been easily housed. The flagship also contained the legion's largest sanctum and featured a number of chambers and facilities for entertainment, academia, and other pursuits for either legionary, crew serf, or visitor. It was the Shield-Lord's wish that the Elpis could serve as ably in peace as it did in war.

Technical Characteristics
Classification: Gloriana Class Battleship

Design Template: Zulmoxite

Dimension:
Length: 20 Kilometers bow to stern

Width: 4 Kilometers wide at bow approx., 3 Kilometers abeam at main hull approx., 4 Kilometers abeam at superstructure approx., (5 Kilometers at fins approx.)

Height: 5 Kilometers at prow, 4 Kilometers at main hull, 7 Kilometers at superstructure.

Mass: 120 Megatonnes approx.

Crew: 1,000,000+

Accel: 1.2 gravities max sustainable acceleration. (Improved Reactor)

Other Features: Training Decks, Mausoleum, Dreadnought Hangar, Apothecarium, Manufactorii, Teleportation Decks, Diplomatic Suites, Sanctum, Secondary Command Deck, Redundant Life Support Systems, Additional Hangers 3X. (one prow hanger)

Systems
Improved Geller Field

Prow
1X Nova Cannon

Dorsal
3X Bombardment Cannons

3X Quad Barrel Lances

Port side
2X Hecutor Class Plasma Macrocannon Batteries

1X Quad Barrel Lance Batteries

Starboard side
2X Hecutor Class Plasma Macrocannon Batteries

1X Quad Barrel Lance Batteries

Ventral
3X Bombardment Cannons

3X Quad Barrel Lances

[[Category:E]]