MALLEUS DREADNAUGHTS

Malleus Dreadnaughts are the rightly feared prime battleships of the High Church, its armoured fist to be unleashed against the enemies of the faithful.

They are immense vessels in the shape of a cross, often emblazoned with a stylized depiction of the Martyr prominently displayed. They are not nimble vessels and are slow to alter course, but then they rarely need to in a hurry as they are sufficiently armoured to shrug off most attacks and armed with an arsenal of long to short range weaponry to ensure the enemy cannot take advantage of them ungainliness. They are also invariably protected by a swarm of Drones who mob anything that draws too close. And even if an enemy were able to board a Malleus, they would be met with the Knights Martyr, the Church's second most deadly regiment of warrior-faithful; an elite organisation made up of those who have pledged themselves utterly to protecting the Church, regardless of cost. Worse still are the Penitents, those who have transgressed the Church's laws and have been found guilty, their punishment to be turned into cybernetic thralls who must atone for their transgressions. They are a fierce and unstoppable foe, throwing themselves at the enemy in the hope of finding redemption in this life or the next.

The Malleus is a mobile fortress with a crew of around a thousand, protecting the Church's territory and serving as a reminder that though the Church practises peace in these times, they are by no means weak. A ring of a dozen of them surrounds New Vatican at all times, protecting the Holy See and the Pontiff from those who would strike at the heart of Christendom. The more militant Pontiff's of the past led their armies onboard the Grand Malleus, a one of a kind far larger version with the firepower of five Malleus'. The Grand Malleus now sits docked at New Vatican, still working but forming an integral part of its defence.

It is rare to see more than Malleus away from New Vatican and only during the Faith War that saw the High Church and the Islamist Eternal Sultanate clash were the Malleus deployed en-masse. Fortunately for all across Sol, peace was reached between the two faiths; one that has managed to last a hundred years. Alas there are elements on both sides who wish to see the utter annihilation of the other and seek a new holy war to determine the one, truth faith.