Blood, Sweat, and Tears (WH40k Design Bureau)

Plan Torpedoes and Invasion Gear Revised



Result of 6-1 (unfamiliarity with the subject)=5.


Calavar does not have a tradition of self augmentation among it's Mechanicus elements, her children preferring to keep the bodies they were born with outside of debilitating injuries like losing a limb entirely to some mechanical maw. Yet the concept of servitors is known to them nonetheless through the experience of the offworld Magus that is the senior member of the Cult with some measure of duty to the Hegemon.
Prying them from their appointed task was a chore but with the previous simplification of most of the maintenance on the capital city's plasma reactor it was not an insurmountable one. Subsequently the problem quickly arose that training Adepts in neurosurgery by example when their talents and interest lay in mechanical fields was far more challenging than the expected dry briefing over the slow example of a lobotomy and cyberization of an enemy casualty from Pox Marsh, now re-renamed Bailafax.
What resulted from this lack of institutional knowledge was a number of Adepts with the strongest stomachs doing more limited operations of servitors-to-be in a secure and well fitted facility on the surface of Calavar and fitting them with strength augments and chain blades for shipment to serve in the fleet.

[Servitor Defense Stations: With the slant towards the Human form the Adepts of Calavar had before the Crusade the request for combat servitors came as an unwelcome shock. These primitive versions are ferocious melee berserkers but have limited ability to tell friend from foe when sent into combat. Soldiers typically used this model as controlled-explosive equivalents, "firing" them into the enemy and engaging from afar as the cyborgs frenzied among the enemy. An Escort mounting this module carries two hundred combat servitors. (Can not replenish casualties, equipped with chain weaponry) (1M,1A, Housing Add-on)]




Result of 10.


The need for a siege weapon was put into high relief for the Admiralty with the continued build up of the previously Feral world of Jurgenz even as Pox Marsh fell back into Imperial hands. Not all foes would be so obliging as to not possess fixed defenses and so the Admiralty convened and put forth an order for a weapon to the Adeptus Mechanicus; one modeled after the fearsome Bombardment Cannons of the Navy and legendary Astartes.
Construction began immediately of a heavy spinal mount with powerful linear accelerators to lob heavy warheads capable of doing the job the military desired. Within the year testing had moved on to what types of warheads were the most effective for the role and how to store them with the most safety. Reinforced shells for penetration of ground and hull to ensure that there is no position of safety and elongated shells with dozens of submunitions for the clearance of widely spread soft targets came to be favored for the typical combat loads while the entirely immobile barrel was deemed to be overly restrictive. It would be of little use on an Escort against the typical threat and potentially even Cruiser weight vessels but stationary defense platforms would feel the might of the Breaker Cannon.
With a larger hull to mount the equipment capable of absorbing the recoil it would likely be possible to mount Breakers on a rotating mount.

[(Weapon) Fusion Breaker Bombardment Cannon: As WAAAGH!! Gunbreaka busied itself fortifying it's murdered worlds the world of Calavar pushed itself to find an answer for such things. The result was a Bombardment Cannon that, while using primitive atomics for it's payload, was nonetheless effective in it's role. (Damage 4, Very Short Range) (4M) (If mounted on an Escort it is a Spinal weapon)



Result of 3-1 (complexity of design)=2.


Torpedoes were not unknown to the Admiralty, for it was a staple weapon of the Imperial Navy. Many of their ships had at least passed through Calavar in order for spot repairs or checks to their Warp drive and so the Admiralty knew the power of a properly planned salvo of heavy munitions. With the likelihood of heavy assets appearing among enemy forces and a need for a weapon to outrange static defenses the creation of a locally producible version was commissioned. It should have weapons to defend itself in flight, be armored enough to resist point defense, possess a warhead to threaten cruisers, and mount multiple tubes on an Escort.
This confluence of demands quickly became a point of contention among the navy command elements as some wanted to scale back expectations in light of early tests and others wanted to hammer it through until results appeared.
As it was the torpedoes needed to have a high muzzle velocity, or carry large fuel reserves to build that velocity themselves, which lowered muzzle velocity, requiring more fuel… The turret and sensor clusters needed to survive launch without damage and yet have extremely fine control and timing… The warhead was the simplest part yet got downsized by steps in order to fit the other systems…

[Project Failure. +2 to trying again OR next Point Defense project from practical experience]



Result of 7+1 (familiarity with the subject)=8


With the future need to land troops quickly and through contested airspace the Adepts of Calavar meticulously inspected the shipping that now served the Crusade and it's newly compliant worlds for a frame that would serve as a suitable basis with which to design a Lander. The ships of Auxiliary Squadron One fulfilled the role by carrying tens of thousands of craft with which to disgorge their loaded complement of ground troops, but that took up significant amounts of deck space which could instead be devoted to survivability.
Eventually the frame was decided on, a bulk lander meant to move refined metal between the surface of a world and a mothership by the thousands of tons, and work began on deconstructing and reassembling the frame with an eye towards weapon placement, cargo types, and secondary systems.
Lofted on six dual-phase compression engines the Harbinger Heavy Transport is a solid brick of armor only interrupted by the cockpit and primary sensorium to the fore in a distinctive double canopy design and turrets along the dorsal surface and alongside the rear facing drop door that infantry and vehicles would egress from. The ventral autocannon could serve as close fire support during contested landings as a midpoint between lascannon and a heavy bolter (which Calavar was not capable of producing in a form superior to the bulkier autocannon) such as an assault on a space station's hangar or emergency extraction.

[Harbinger Heavy Transport: A hybrid of gunship and transport, the Harbinger was so named for the fact that it's arrival meant that a significant ground force was in the process of being deployed. Individually capable of carrying a company worth of Armor or two of Infantry in a double layered hold and bristling with a number of turrets for self defense and supporting the ground forces it bears. (PD2, Military Transport) (3M)]



Lord Admiral: With our previous victory an accomplishments we have need for more hulls to patrol what we have claimed and ensure that confidence in our ability does not wane. Our preexisting squadrons have been rotating ships through their previous duty stations to keep up appearances and we already have had to chase Khornate marauders away from Bailafax. It would not surprise me if they took the removal of their rivals as a sign of weakness to be exploited in the near future as we have only had one or two ships in the region, let alone seen by their scouts.
The simplest solution would be to break off our current second rate ships as new Squadrons for our new holdings but those are weakly gunned and likely will not do well against the numbers of foes we can expect if any of our less agreeable neighbors makes a serious move and would require reinforcement.

Worse, the Orks are noticing our ships and may be turning some level of attention on us now that we have shown ourselves as actual opponents rather than a larder to be plundered at leisure. We can only hope their other fronts give them issues in shaking loose enough hulls for an offensive against us.

[Congratulations, you now have Territory to defend! Squadrons are needed for Garrisons and can be put in Reserve over Calavar to respond to attacks with some delay dependent on Warp conditions and Drive level. Fixed Defenses can buy time by providing safe areas for defenders but can not win a war on their own.]



[There is a budget of 220 Manufacturing Capacity (150 from Calavar+50 from her neighbors that have bent the knee+20 from the grateful worlds near renamed Bailafax) to be spent and 10 Artisanal Workmanship available.]
[There is an outstanding total of 13M in Ship Repairs, 2M Worth of Combat Lighters, and 1M Worth of Infantry Losses.]



Opportunity: Purified Bulk Hauler Frame
Sometimes salvage will be available for refit, an option which is cheaper than building your own in exchange for being more limited in options due to existing structure.

Bulk Hauler Frame
-Hull: Rebuilt Bulk Hauler (3U,1W,1D,1E,1O)
-Utilities: Empty
-Weapon: Empty
-Defense: Locked to Shield
-Omni: Empty
-Engine: Locked to Merchant
-Bridge: Empty
-Sensors: Empty
-Life Support: Expansive
-Housing: Barracks
-Warp: Merchant