Treachery at Port Maw



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Notable Vessels

 * Triumph of Reason (Unique Battleship, Unknown Class) - The Triumph of Reason was a vessel with a long and twisted history. Built from the wrecked hulls of two prior Legatus-class battleships that had been mauled early on during the Great Crusade, the Triumph of Reason was easily the biggest ship in the entire Segmentum Obscurus Armada. Rebuilt after an unique pattern, the Triumph of Reason was designed from the start to become the flag-ship of the entire Segmentum Armada and much weight and space was given over to communication and auspex devices. Stationed at Port Maw for the greater part of its career, placed under the command of Grand Admiral Ospeus LaBray for much of its early years, the Triumph of Reason was equipped with countless cryo-chambers to harbour Ogryn Charonites, the only troop at the admiral's disposal that would prove superior to traitorous Legiones Astartes in case of boarding actions. The Triumph of Reason would participate in the early hours of the Horus Heresy at the notable Treachery at Port Maw where it would assume control and command of the entire Port Maw Armada and its allies once the destruction of the Mechanicum Panopticon at the heart of the treachery had been confirmed. It would be from the bridge of the Triumph that Grand Admiral LaBray would coordinate the battle against the Sons of Horus fleet, even engaging the lauded Vengeful Spirit of Warmaster Horus himself. Outmanoeuvred by the Vengeful Spirit, the Thriumph of Reason came under attack by Sons of Horus boarding parties and even the Archtraitor Horus Lupercal himself after the first assault wave had been nearly thrown back by the hundreds of Charonites held in the Triumph's borrows. Seized from within and with LaBray being killed in his failed attempt to escape ship, the Triumph of Reason would remain at Port Maw for the following  years of civil war, its communication hub needed to replace the destroyed Panopticon. The once proud Imperial vessel became a glorified if macabre throne room for Horus' chosen regent, a Sons of Horus line captain by the name of Taloc Thorne, which renamed the battleship "The Lash" and took the title of Tyrant of Port Maw.
 * Vengeful Spirit (Gloriana-Class Battleship) - The Vengeful Spirit was a towering Gloriana-class Battleship modified to confirm to the Scylla-pattern and that served faithfully as the Luna Wolves' - and later the Sons of Horus' - flagship during the entire Great Crusade. As flagship of the XVIth Legion, the Vengeful Spirit was also the personal ship of Warmaster Horus Lupercal, harbouring his command centre and throne room, it's hull being adorned by the Warmaster's own emblem; the Eye of Horus. More powerfully armed than nearly any vessel in service of the Emperor, the Vengeful Spirit would become a dreaded sight during the dark years of the Horus Heresy, preying on Imperial systems on its powerful engines with made the colossal battleship a far quicker predator that most readily believed. By the time of the Manachean War, the Vengeful Spirit 's transition to a flying temple to the Dark Gods had already begun, its once proud hull defaced with ritual and esoteric symbols several hundreds of feet wide and in all likelihood painted with human blood. Present in the second part of events known as the Treachery at Port Maw-incident, the Vengeful Spirit would lead the Sons of Horus into the developing battle between Traitors and Loyalists of the Port Maw  Armada. Approaching covertly behind two captures Raven Guard Battle Barges, the Vengeful Spirit would almost immediately head for the Triumph of Reason, the loyalist flagship which it badly mauled before sending boarding parties to capture the pride of the Port Maw Armada. The Warmaster himself would be forced by necessity to join the boarding actions as his troops where being slowly overwhelmed by rampaging Ogryn Charonites Grand Admiral LaBray had released as last line of defense. Turning the course of battle by himself, Horus was however denied the satisfaction of slaying the Grand Admiral himself. The Vengeful Spirit would swiftly leave the Port Maw-system carrying the Warmaster all his way to the Battle of Terra and his final confrontation with the Emperor of Mankind. The Vengeful Spirit still roames the galaxy, having found refuge in the Eye of Terror with the Black Legion of Abaddon the Despoiler.
 * Arithmetic of Violence (Mechanicum War-ark, Unknown Class) - A gigantic vessel of nearly ten-kilometres length, the Arithmetic of Violence was only one of a trio of such vessels present at Port Maw during the events of the Treachery. Secretely in league with Horus for many years, the Cyclothratine Mechanicum had infiltrated the Port Maw muster under the guise of loyal servants of the Emperor. When the blanketing signal was released from the Mechanicum Panopticon Tower, the Arithmetic of Violence used thesurrounding pandemonium to manoeuvre itself into perfect launch position for its devastating complement of plasma-torpedoes. Blossoming like an unholy flower, the Arithmetic of Violence shed her long hull plates and revealed row upon row of void torpedoes that annihilated the allied fleets of Agathon, Numinal and the Cerada Trinity in a single devastating volley - for their crews and captains had not been corrupted or infiltrated and remained staunch loyalists to the Emperor. Yet the Arithmetic of Violence failed in its task as one lone survivor - the Telemachus - remained and would escape from the system to carry news of this betrayal to its home world.
 * Kurga (Dictatus-Class Battleship) - The Dictatus-class was an ancient class of ram-battleship that had slowly become obsolete as the Great Crusade wrought on. The Dictatus-class were almost primitively barbaric in their design as their main role was to ram enemy ships and shred their hulls like an ancient seaborn predator with their enormous jaws - a tactic that seems more suitable for the dreaded Orks than the Emperor's soldiery. Mounted on a set of hydraulic platforms these "jaws" compromised a row of nearly thirty metres long teeth-spikes, while its "mouth" supported scores of rocket-powered melta-barbed harpoons not unlike the more massive Ursus Claw that were the pride of the World Eaters flagship, the Conqueror. The Kurga was present at the Treachery of Port Maw from which it remained one of the few Imperial ships that succeeded in making good its escape despite having to crush a mutiny on its board. It remains famous to this day for having shred and ripped off the Mechanicum Panopticon tower which traitor elements had used to sabotage the Armada's communication netwok and targeting arrays. The Kurga would go on to fight with distinction in the years after the Treachery, its powerful drives and unorthodox tactics proving a valuable asset in the dark years to come.


 * Telemachus (Unknown Class, Cruiser) - The Telemachus and her sister-ships -all veterans of the former 60th Expeditionary Fleet - answered Grand Admiral Ospeus LaBray's call after the costly destruction of the Space Hulk known as the Red Polyphemus. Battlefleet Agathon send an entire squadron of cruisers to the gathering armada at Port Maw. The Telemachus ' captain was none other than Jocasta MaSade, grandaughter of the famed Ireton MaSade, former Imperial Commander of the Agathean Domain and future hero of the Imperium. The Telemachus was the sole survivor of the eight Agathean cruisers send to the great Armada Imperialis muster at Port Maw, its sister-ships all falling prey to the treacherous attack of the Arithmetic of Violence during the infamous Treachery at Port Maw-incident. This single act of violence would trigger a gruesome war of vengeance between the forces of the Agathean Domain and those of Forge World Cyclotrathe. Despite her wounds, the tenacious Jocasta MaSade refused to leave her bridge, ushering her crew to fight on. It was only once the Telemachus had escaped the trap set for her that Jocasta MaSade let herself be examinated. Alas by then the damage had been done and the valiant captain died from blood-loss. The arduous journey back home would however set events in motion that determined the Agathean Domain's participation in the Horus Heresy.