Tomb Citadel

A Tomb Citadel is a Necron defensive structure, a near-impregnable fortification designed to stand equally against the ravages of eternity, hostile action and deadly environments. Tomb Citadels often stand on the outermost borders of a wider tomb complex as watchtowers and outposts against attack, and indeed are often the mere tip of a Tomb World’s iceberg, with the fathomless depths of the Necrons’ stasis crypts, Canoptek foundries and endless silent galleries extending far below them. These Tomb Citadels are more than inert relics of the forgotten past, however, and are near-living war machines in their own right. Imperial battle reports record these brutal structures as rising from the earth and even appearing as if from nowhere in the midst of a Necron assault as a foothold for invading forces which, if not quickly destroyed, will from a beachhead from which the dread legions will pour forth.

History
It was during the Defence of Amarah during the Orphean War that Necron Tomb Citadels were first definitively documented by the Imperium, most notably when the brave troops of Krieg sacrificed themselves to destroy one such massive complex.

For it was in the rubble of the New Vassburg Hive that something alien had manifested in the darkness. There, in the wreckage that had been strewn hours previously, a step-pyramid of strangely-angled green-black stone, riven with veins of pulsing emerald light, now rose up into the night, drawing bolt after bolt of lightning from the troubled skies above to strike its apex and causing it to burn with glimmering ghost fire. Around this pyramid had formed lesser citadels of the same maleficent stone, these being studded with arcane weapons emplacements and strange battlements connected to the main structure by angular trenches filled with glowing fog. Around the pyramid complex the skeletal figures of Necrons moved in tireless patrol and tides of scarabs and other constructs swarmed in and out, dragging a multitude of corpses and wreckage fragments with them to feed the pyramid’s hunger. Against this stronghold of the enemy Marshal Venner of the Death Korps of Krieg ranged his forces for attack, even as intelligence came in from forward observers of alien stars being seen in the rent-open storm above the pyramid through which blasted flares of emerald energy that surged up from its apex with deafening reports.

As they moved into position, each of the men of the Death Korps assault brigade knelt in silent ordered ranks, crouching in the rubble and waiting for the call to battle as alien lightning flashed and flickered in the shrouded night. Between the ruins in which the Death Korps marshalled and the Necron defences lay was a rough kilometre of open ground, blasted flat and scorched, marking the killing zone they would have to cross to reach their objective. The signal was given at last and the Death Korps rose as one and began to advance across slowly, evenly gathering pace as they left the rubble and entered the blasted ground.

Immediately curving arcs of Sentry Pylons materialised on the walls of the citadels and turned to track the advancing army, arcs of power visibly flaring along the strange Necron battlements. Then the killing began. Howling beams of emerald energy blasted great swathes of men from existence, while Tesla Cannons spat volleys of lightning that left anything they touched as burning cinders. Hundreds fell in the first few moments but the Death Korps line did not wave in its advance and now, from deep in the ruins behind them, their own guns spoke. Impassively, forward artillery observers had noted the range and disposition of the Necrons’ heavy weapons and marked them for destruction. Venner had ordered that no munitions were to be spared, no cannon left in reserve, and the Death Korps Basilisks and Praetors answered his call with a furious bombardment, sending tonnes of shells into the air to fall like deadly rain on their targets.

Instantly the pyramid and its sub-citadels were wreathed in a mantle of flame as hundreds of shells burst against the structure. The pyramid flickered for a moment like a miracle on the horizon before becoming solid once again, one of its outlying obelisk towers blasted to fragments in a stream of arcing lightning. Soon, as the bombardment lashed out again, great chunks of black masonry were torn free from the structure and an eerie howl cut across the battlefield, clearly audible ever over the thunder of the shellfire. The Necron firepower was quickly redirected upwards, sweeping the skies and blasting apart the shells before they could reach their target, and in the respite the Death Korps pressed their advantage, surging forwards while Venner’s tank companies held back until now, roared forth from the rubble at a flank speed through the Death Korps lines towards their objective.

As the Imperial troops closed to a few hundred metres, the ground before the citadels burst open, disgorging murderous Canoptek constructs directly into the oncoming Death Korps troops. The huge articulated bodies of the Canoptek Stalkers rose up and tore through the lines, whilst hundreds of smaller Canoptek Scarabs dragged men down, stripping the flesh from their bones. They were met with bayonet and Lasgun, flamer and frag grenade, and the Death Korps flowed like a tide around the killing machines whilst the tank companies entered range and opened fire with their Battle Cannons into the ranks of the shambling Necron Warriors that were beginning to stream from the citadels.

On the left flank, a squadron of Macharius Omega plasma tanks unleashed blasts like miniature suns towards the defence pylons, heedless of their overheating cannons in their determination to strip the citadel of its defences. While on the right, Centaur carriers sped forth through a storm of gauss fire, which blasted scores of them to shrapnel, in order to deploy their quad launchers as close as possible to the enemy. Thousands fell, tanks erupted into fire and a blizzard of shells was hurled against the black pyramid which began to break and crack, smoke billowing and actinic lightning playing sickly across its splintering surface.

Behind the Imperial lines the companies of troops left behind to defend the artillery position found themselves beset and in a desparate battle to stave off twisted, blade-handed Flayed Ones that came for them from the shadows, just as Necron attack craft shrieked from the skies to strafe them into oblivion. The squadrons of Imperial Lightnings and Avengers that tore through the night to intercept the lethal Night Scythes were few, but bravely they dove straight into the heart of the enemy squadrons, their weapons blazing in the darkness, each pilot commending their soul to the Emperor and knowing that this would be their final battle.

The die was cast, the battle was held in balance and there could be no holding back. Already tens of thousands lay dead on the blasted plain before him, but Venner did not falter in ordering forth the second wave. Raising his sword high and leading the charge himself across the deadly ground, the Death Korps filled the battlefield like a living tide of steel and fire, and crushed the remaining Canoptek constructs that barred their path, trampling the scattered scarabs into the earth. The Death Korps reached the outer citadels of the pyramid complex just as their own shellfire began at last to falter, but for the Necrons it was too late, the enemy was already upon them, the human soldiers swarming like ants across the alien fortifications. Surrounded, Necron Warriors were brought down in murderous crossfires and the machine creatures were driven back and destroyed one by one, as for every Krieg the Necrons slaughtered, a dozen more took their place. Everywhere across the structure Breacher Charges were slammed into place and Melta Bombs were hurled into energy conduits and cracks in the armoured edifice. The violent detonation of the black pyramid blinded onlookers five kilometres distant and carved an ash-white crater out of the wasteland that was clearly visible to vessels in orbit above the battle-savaged world.

Components
All Necron Tomb Citadels include a Tomb Ziggurat as part of its structure, its faces rising high above the surface of the citadel. Contained within one of the forward faces is an Eternity Gate, a dark portal that is capable of transporting Necron troops to the battlefield from elsewhere in the galaxy. Its shimmering energy field is nothing less than a captive wormhole bound into the very heart of the Monolith. With a simple mental command, the Tomb World's command algorithms can transform the Eternity Gate into a portal of exile, and those that fail to resist its pull are sucked out of reality entirely, banished forever to an extra-dimensional prison from which there can be no escape. Alternatively, the Necrons can use the Eternity Gate as a form of dimensional corridor, pulling squads of Necron troops from elsewhere on the battlefield, orbiting starships or even far-distant Tomb Worlds and deploying them to the Tomb Citadel’s location. It can also significantly boost the regenerative processes of the Necron squads that move through its transportation matrix.

Each Tomb Ziggurat also incorporates a scarab hive similar to those possessed by Canoptek Spyders, which allows the structure to expend some of its energy to create Canoptek Scarab swarms. However, there is a small chance that the Citadel will drain excess energy in the production of a swarm and overload the scarab hive, leaving it inoperational until it can be repaired. Produced Scarabs will often be sent to affect repairs under the direction of the Tomb World’s main command algorithms, but can just as easily be sent to repel enemies that threaten to assault the Tomb Citadel.

The Tomb Ziggurat itself is no mere inert structure however, but is also an energised dock atop which a Necron Monolith or Gauss Pylon is able to teleport to. Doing so allows the docked war machine to harness the Tomb Citadels immense power supplies, empowering its weapon systems to a degree that, when unleashed, will annihilate anything their firepower touches. However, should the Tomb Ziggurat be destroyed by enemy fire, the docked construct will suffer dangerous energy feedback from the structure’s detonation and is likely to be severely damaged, if not destroyed outright.

All Tomb Citadels also mount a Power Crucible upon their surface. Each of these large power generator and storage devices generates a defensive power field around the Tomb Citadel to protect Necron units defending it, and also amplifies nearby Necrons’ abilities for self-repair and reconstruction.

Some Tomb Citadels have also been known to be upgraded with up to two static automated gun-emplacements, which can be either twin-linked Tesla Destructors or twin-linked Gauss Exterminators.

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