Centurio Ordinatus

The Centurio Ordinatus is a section of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Divisio Militaris, the Mechanicus organization responsible for the development, maintenance and operation of the mighty Ordinatus war machines. Every individual Ordinatus is a unique construction and named for the Imperial world on which it was first employed or built. Each Ordinatus is a unique weapon that it is designed for a specific purpose or for a particular battle. This explains why the Ordninatii that operate these massive war machines of the Machine God are configured using augmetics for their intended purpose.

History
The Centurio Ordinatus is an ancient sub-branch of the Divisio Militaris, the successors of the old Titan Legions from the Age of Strife, able to trace their history back before the birth of the Imperium of Man when Mars was an independent empire ruled by the Tech-priests of the Cult Mechanicus. As the cutting edge of the Collegia, the Centurio Ordinatus is a highly specialised force, created to deal with siege works or a specific battle. The immense war engines of the Ordinatus were often created by their individual Forge Worlds to fulfill very particular roles. During the Horus Heresy when the galaxy was torn apart by strife and civil war, both Loyalists and Heretic forces unleashed all manner of forbidden and experimental weapons upon one another.

Schism of Mars
During the Horus Hersey, Mars itself, homeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus was riven by a civil war. This deadly civil war that erupted on Mars between the Loyalist factions of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Traitors of the Dark Mechanicus during the opening days of the galaxy-wide conflict was known as the Schism of Mars. The traitor Tech armies, commanded by Magos Solomon Abbadon, turned against the Emperor and attempted to overthrow those Mechanicus elements not loyal to the traitorous Fabricator-General Kelbor-Hal. From his mountain citadel of Jericho, Abbadon sent forth his rebel forces to attack the factories and installations of those who remained loyal to the Emperor.

Inevitably, the Imperium retaliated and sent an Imperial expeditionary fleet commanded by the Imperial Fists Legion Champion and First Captain Sigismund, 4 companies of Imperial Fists and a large force of Imperial Army soldiers to secure the forges of Mars and to annihilate Abbadon's foul minions and bring Imperial justice to the rebel lord. This proved impossible though, since the fortress of Jericho was protected by a ancient alien device discovered during the Great Crusade. The Vortex field generator, thought to be an artifact of the enigmatic C'tan, rendered any attack from orbit impossible. Any ship which approached too close was torn apart or displaced into the warp. Eventually, an army fought its way to the foothills of the mountains, a few kilometers from Jericho, where it discovered that the Vortex field did not cover the planet's surface.

Castellum Jericho, as the citadel was known, boasted walls half a mile thick, which soared into the clouds. The central bastion was constructed from the hardest metal alloys known the humanity and could withstand any amount of pounding by the Imperium. Another solution was needed, and the Adeptus Mechanicus provided the answer. Ordinatus Mars utilised unique technology to produce a sound wave which resonates across the battlefield. When this sonic wall hit Jericho the walls crumbled to dust as they shook themselves apart. The infamous Tower of Steel bent and crumpled like foil, filling the air with tortured shriek of twisting metal. Thousands of Tech Guard poured through the breach, and Solomon Abbadon was summarily executed for his treacherous crimes.

Ordinatus Post-Heresy
Following the Heresy many of these leviathan war engines were lost or simply forgotten. Some remained hidden, deep underground or in remote locations, while other remained hidden in secret armouries lost to the ages. Often the rediscovery of such potent engines of destruction results in conflict as opposing factions vie for claiming control of these immensely powerful living icons of the Machine God and the Cult Mechanicus reveres them as such. Those few examples of Ordinatus that still exist are deployed only sparingly, and many of them date back to the Great Crusade and have been meticulously maintained for millennia.

Ordinatus Today
These huge engines of destruction are not attached to any specific Titan Legion or Tech Guard army. Instead, they fall under the direct control of a division known as the Centurio Ordinatus. It is the Centurio Ordinatus who decide if these highly specialized machines are available, since many of them are ancient indeed and require a large amount of preparation and maintenance to ready them for war. The Ordinatus themselves are amongst the strangest machines to be constructed by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Almost all of them were originally designed and built for a particular battle or campaign, and some of them have never been power up for conflict since.

Other Ordinatus have weapons and capabilities which see more general use, and demand for them is high. Only in the most important battles or campaigns are the Ordinatus sent to war, and even then only for pre-specified operations. Amongst the enemies of the Imperium, the names of the Ordinatus are spoken with reverent fear, their devastating capabilities displayed on thousands of battlefields since the Emperor's Ascension to the Golden Throne. The Cult Mechanicus revere the Ordinatus as avatars of the Machine God, creations of such cunning and power they could never be improved or outdated. Thus they have been carefully maintained, and when sent to war they are inscribed with sacred runes, anointed with the most precious oils and unguents, and blessed by the Lord of the Centurio Ordinatus. Their crews are the most highly trained of the Tech Guard, warriors who fight with the zealous fanaticism of those who serve a living god.

Technology of the Ordinatus
The Ordinatus are renowned for their relentless advance towards the enemy, trailing havoc and destruction in their wake. Ordinatus are powered by immense plasma generators, which drive the tracks and energise their weapon systems. These are very volatile, and if the Ordinatus is destroyed they will explode spectacularly in a massive ball of rolling plasma. Adeptus Mechanicus Ordinatus are protected by a massive force wall known as a dispersion field. Projectiles and energy bolts deflect harmlessly away from the crackling dome of power, leaving the Ordinatus unscathed. Unfortunately, the dispersion field requires tremendous amounts of power, and will eventually overload its generators. This means that what starts out as a near impenetrable force field gradually weakens as the battle progresses, letting more and more enemy fire through. The shield also affords the Ordinatus some psychic protection, in much the same way as void shields.
 * Hellfire Shells - Hellfire is a common term for a potent acidic/viral compound developed by the Adeptus Mechanicus. It burns through armour and sears flesh, usually leaving the few who survive hideously scarred and crippled. It is a matter of opinion whether or not it is better to die from a Hellfire attack or to survive! Ordinatus Golgotha carries 6 Hellfire missiles and can only fire 1 or 2 per hour. A Hellfire missile has multiple warheads, allowing it to completely devastate a wide area. In addition, the extensive scanning equipment aboard Ordinatus Golgotha allows it to fire with unerring accuracy. The Hellfire missiles can be fired at any point on the battlefield, even at targets that are out of line of sight, with no chance of scattering. Unlike normal indirect barrages, there is no need for friendly troops to spot for a Hellfire missile. Enemy units attacked by this horrendous weapon may be panicked by the agonised screams of their comrades, as their flesh burns away and their bones melt.
 * Nova Cannons - The Nova Cannon is similar to the Plasma Annihilator of an Imperator-class Titan. However, rather than releasing a burst of raw plasma, the Nova Cannon can focus and control the potent energies with greater precision. This allows the crew to siphon small amounts of plasma into the discharge chamber, producing a rapid burst of fire. Alternatively, the crew can flood the chamber with all the remaining plasma and send out an earth shattering blast of energy. In addition, the immense energy released by a massive burst produces a beam of plasma which covers a wide area.
 * Sonic Disruptor - A Sonic Disruptor utilises unique technology that produces sound waves which resonate across the battlefield, crumbling buildings, shattering bones, bursting organs and causing electronic equipment to explode as the wall of sonic energy passes over enemy forces. The frequency of the Sonic Disrupter ravages those who fall victim to it, from a subsonic rumbling that tears buildings apart to a supersonic squall that pierces eardrums and flays skin from flesh. The Sonic Disrupter scales repeatedly up and down these frequencies, causing a blast of sonic energy that rolls forward like a force wave from some massive explosion. Hiding in cover is of little use, since woods and rubble are just blown apart and walls simply amplify the sonic wave if they are not shattered. Even the weighty armour of a Titan or the reinforced buttresses of a stronghold provide little protection against the wrath of Ordinatus Mars. Targets protected by energy fields such as void shields will lose one shield to the sonic wave before it passes.

Known Ordinatus

 * Ordinatus Armageddon - Ordinatus Armageddon first shed blood during the massive Chaos invasion of the planet of the same name during the First War for Armageddon. The Krone Banelords, Lords of Battle and daemon engines were instrumental in the destruction of many cities, but a genius of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Geronimus Undersen, devised an Ordinatus as a defence against the marauding war machines. Undersen mounted a massive starship weapon onto a land bound chassis, giving the Imperial forces an immense machine powerful enough to destroy even the largest and most heavily armoured foes. This idea was by no means original, and followed the concept behind the famous Squat Titan Killer known as the Cyclops. In the ensuring battle for Tartarus Hive, Armageddon destroyed no less than four Chaos Titans, and two detachments of daemon engines. Without the heavy firepower of these machines, the Chaos assault waves broke upon the mile high walls like a tide upon the rocks. Ordinatus Armageddon is feared by all enemies of the Imperium as a war machines capable of destroying all opposition.
 * Ordinatus Golgotha - After the infamous Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka was defeated on the Hive World of Aramageddon during the Second War for Armageddon, he fled to the stars. His nemesis, Commissar Yarrick, tracked him down to the Squat world of Golgotha. Despite the assistance of Yarrick, the Squats were defeated by Ghazghkull's horde and Yarrick was captured. In an attempt to humiliate his arch foe, Ghazghkull did not kill Yarrick, but imprisoned him instead. However, the resourceful Yarrick managed to escape and return to Golgotha with a punitive force of Titans and Tech Guard. The early battles went badly for the Imperium, as the sheer size of the Ork Waagh! horde overwhelmed them time and time again. In an attempt to smash the massive Ork mobs, Ordinatus Golgotha was constructed in the recaptured strongholds of the Squats. Golgotha's terrifying Hellfire missiles devastated the Orks, slaying thousands over the course of a week. The Orks were routed from the Squat homeworld and since then Ordinatus Golgotha has always been in the forefront of any battle against enemies who have a strong numerical advantage.
 * Ordinatus Mars - This Ordinatus was created during the outset of the Horus Heresy during the Mechanicus civil war known as the Schism of Mars by Loyalist Mechanicus forces to overcome the problem of assaulting the Dark Mechanicus forge known as Castellum Jericho. This formidable citadel boasted walls half a mile thick and was protected by mysterious archeo-tech device known as a Vortex field generator. The central bastion was constructed from the hardest metal alloys known the humanity and could withstand any amount of pounding by the Imperium. The Ordinatus Mars utilised unique technology known as a Sonic Disruptor to produce sound waves which resonate across the battlefield, crumbling the walls of the formidable citadel to dust as they were shook apart.
 * Ordinatus Priam - This huge tunneling Ordinatus was assembled during the Siege of Priam, city overrun by the Traitor Legions during the Horus Heresy. This immense creation was designed to tunnel through the planet's crust and then navigate through the white hot mantle underneath. This rendered it undetectable to Priam's defences and allowed four companies of elite Imperial Army troops to storm the cities Generatum Vulcanis, breaking the siege. However, Ordinatus Priam was irrevocably damaged during the attack, as parts of its heat shielding gave way.