Attack Moon

An Attack Moon was the Imperial designation given to a class of massive Ork vessels that were encountered by the Imperium during the War of the Beast during the 32nd Millennium. These massive crafts were the flagships of the Ork Warboss known as The Beast.

Construction
Ork Attack Moons, like Roks, are constructed from the hollowed-out remains of large asteroids and small planetoids or moons. At the height of The Beast's reign of terror the Orks made use of technology that surpassed even that of the Imperium. The Attack Moons were capable of FTL (Faster then Light) travel over large distances without the use of the Warp, allowed instantaneous travel for Ork forces from one location to another, and featured immensely powerful gravity-based weapons capable of destroying entire planets. The hollowed out moons were covered in a vast pattern of fused wreckage and interconnected metal plates, thick enough that direct attacks against the moon's surface were completely ineffective. The moon's most obvious external surface feature was that of adjustable plating capable of moving, shutters the size of inland seas and raised portions the size of entire mountain ranges were able to form the stylised image of an Ork face, and move in time with the words spoken by the Great Beast. The vast and monstrous tusked maw, stretched open wide, allowing Ork warships and transports to travel outwards. The eyes burned with the magmatic light from the moon’s core. The Attack Moons were capable of appearing closer to a planet than the laws of physics allowed, causing immense destruction upon the world it visited, and were even close enough that the sound from the Moon's titanic maw was capable of travelling to the planet's surface, heralding the arrival of the Great Beast.

Function
Attack Moons were capable of FTL (Faster than Light) travel by way of 'subspace' corridors, a realm that exists between the Materium and the Immaterium. A safer method of travel than through the Warp, subspace travel non-the-less took some time, with the arrival of the Attack Moon heralded by strange gravitational phenomenon culminating with the moon flickering in and out of existence until it fully appeared. While transitioning from one planet to another the receiving planet would be subjected to greater and greater gravitational stress, resulting in sudden climate change, earthquakes and other geological catastrophes. Once the Attack Moon arrived in-system, usually impossibly close to its target, the moon would disgorge an endless stream of warships to protect the moon and assault craft to begin planetary invasion. Once a world was completely under the control of the Orks, a special gravitic nexus facility would be constructed on the planet's surface, a match to an existing facility on-board the moon. Once constructed and activated, the gravitic nexus would begin the slow process of tearing the planet apart, with massive chunks the size of mountains being lifted into the maw of the Attack Moon, to become part of the moon itself.

The Attack Moons of the Great Beast were not just simply massive transport vessels or war-machines, but instead they were rather nothing than advanced prototypes, as the Orks sought to perfect their gravitic planetoid concept. The perfected method, known as an "Attack Planet", was to be finished at Ullanor, and was intended to attack Terra itself while using the smaller Attack Moons as mere beacons for its travel. The Orks built an unknown number of Attack Moons during the War of the Beast, with several being destroyed by Imperial Forces during the war at great cost. Imperial Records do not indicate what became of the remaining Attack Moons after the Orks' ultimate defeat at the Third Battle of Ullanor, although it is believed that those that remained were hunted down and destroyed by Imperial forces or were abandoned.

Armament
In addition the Attack Moon's ability to destroy world by merely translating too near the planet, and its immense tractor beams capable of tearing the planet to pieces the Attack Moon boasted a considerable arsenal of surface weapons and powerful Void Shields. The Attack Moon's main weapon was known as a 'Gravitic Whip', a massively powerful gravity weapon that took the form of a green tentacle-like whip that would strike out towards its target and either tear it apart near instantaneously or wrap around and crush it. The weapons drawled upon the great Ork energy sources buried deep within the vessel, and could be seen visibly charging for attack as coils of green energy coruscated up the pylons that directed the flow of energy to its target. The Gravity Whips were capable of fending off entire fleets on their own, with each flail of the whip tearing apart Cruisers with ease, destroying entire wings of Attack Craft and causing untold destruction against larger ships. Fortunately for the Imperium the weapons required massive amounts of energy and needed to recharge between attacks, which gave Imperial Battlefleets enough time to close and engage the moon.