A Tesseract Ark of the Maynarkh Dynasty unleashing the power of its Tesseract Singularity Chamber whilst defending a Necron Tomb Citadel during the Orphean War
A Tesseract Ark is an arcane Necron war machine first encountered by the Imperium of Man during the Orphean War of the late 41st Millennium. Imperial observation of this war machine classifies it as a mobile ordnance carrier/siege unit of potent firepower capacity, and Auspex and Cogitator analysis reveals the likelihood that the vehicle contains a force containment vessel whose operation is considered physically impossible by the writ of the Imperium and the Adeptus Mechanicus.
From this "Tesseract Singularity Chamber" the Tesseract Ark can siphon and unleash storm-winds of particle energy, the stolen fire of suns, and shatter the earth and crumble bastions alike with seismic tremors. A Tesseract Ark also exhibits extreme durability with maximal resistance to projectile and energy weapons fire. This protection is attributed to non-Euclidean function Necron material technology in combination with terradyne-magnitude controlled gravity distortions emanating from the vehicle; and unbeknownst to the Imperium, this effect is also purposefully induced from the contained singularity to better protect the Ark from harm. Imperial tacticians have learned that when encountered, a Tesseract Ark is best engaged at long-range with saturation ordnance/airstrikes or at medium range with super-heavy battlefield assets. If forced into close-range engagements, the fatality level of assaulting Imperial troops is likely to be extreme and victory is not guaranteed regardless of the attacker’s strategic advantage.
A battle-worn Tesseract Ark
Several Tesseract Arks were used by the nobility of the Necron Maynarkh Dynasty during the battles that consumed the sector capital world of Amarah in the Orpheus Sector of Segmentum Tempestus. The Tesseract Ark is one of the rarer Necron war machines encountered by Mankind, for its manufacture is the purview of only the most adept of the Necron Crypteks. It is also one of the most powerful, containing at its heart a contained singularity torn from the core of a dying star. The Tesseract Ark can manipulate this singularity for a variety of battlefield effects, often with deadly consequences for the enemy. A Tesseract Ark’s open and skeletal form is held aloft by a sophisticated anti-gravitic engine, which allows it to hover over any intervening terrain that might otherwise hamper its movement. Its powerful reaction thrusters drive it at a speed that belies its bulk, whilst the sensor-node mounted above the crewman’s seat allows it to better find its cowering foes.
Armament[]
An Ordo Xenos schematic of a Tesseract Ark
All Tesseract Arks are armed and equipped as follows:
- Tesseract Singularity Chamber – A Tesseract Ark is built around a shielded Tesseract containment device known as a Tesseract Singularity Chamber. This holds within itself a sliver of a dying star suspended within a stasis field. A Tesseract Ark is able to siphon off this singularity’s terribly destructive energies using the power of Necron scientific mastery, and is able to project its power through its forward projector array as a battlefield weapon. A Tesseract Singularity Chamber provides the vehicle with a number of potent effects, such as projecting a containment field around the Ark that is capable of deflecting even the heaviest of incoming weapons fire, and causing a gravitational flux in the nearby area which forces assaulting enemies into extreme and sometimes fatal gravitic fields as they try to catch their elusive prey. However, it is when the singularity’s energies are fired through the nose-mounted projector array that it is most devastating. When harnessed, it can be fired in three different modes: a solar fire which generates long-range blasts of scouring plasma with a high rate of fire; a close-range particle hurricane that tears into everything directly in front of the vehicle; or a seismic lash that causes powerful quakes and earth tremors in a line extending a significant distance away from the vehicle, often with deadly effects for any vehicles in the quake’s path. This mode also causes surviving enemy infantry to be slowed as they attempt to move across the quaking surface of the ground. Perhaps the only drawback of such a powerful weapon is that if the containment chamber is breached, it detonates in a cataclysmic explosion with devastating effects on everything and everyone nearby.
- Necrodermis – The armour of a Tesseract Ark is made up of the same living metal Necrodermis that comprises the bodies of the Necrons themselves, as well as all of their artefacts and vehicles. Its remarkable regenerative properties allow it to automatically repair damage to itself. This means that the Ark can regenerate the parts of its hull, reknit its metal plates, and reconnect any circuits and other delicate systems required to bring its weapons online again.
- Quantum Shielding – Tesseract Arks are also protected by a layer of Quantum Shielding which exists out of phase from the rest of the vehicle until the moment of deflection. It can deflect the first shot that would otherwise penetrate the Ark’s armour, after which it cannot be used again for some time.
Secondary Weapon Systems[]
The secondary weapon systems of the Tesseract Ark can include one of the following:
- 2 Tesla Cannons – Tesla Cannons unleash bolts of living lightning that crackle from foe to foe after hitting their target, charring flesh and melting armour. Tesla bolts feed off the energy released by the destruction they cause, thus making their lightning become more furious with every fresh arc.
- 2 Gauss Cannons – The same weapon as that often wielded by Necron Destroyers, Gauss Cannons make for a reliable weapon that is easily capable of laying waste to enemy infantry through the molecular disassembling beams they deliver, reducing flesh, armour and bone to their constituent atoms.
- 2 Particle Beamers – Particle Beamers emit streams of miniscule anti-matter particles that detonate on contact with matter. They are incredibly reliable, needing only enough energy to maintain the containment field that prevents their anti-matter from detonating within the weapon’s mechanisms. Particle Beamers are capable of causing small high-strength blasts amongst their target that are capable of wounding all but the hardiest of infantry.
Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications[]
The analysts of the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos have not yet determined the technical specifications of the recently encountered Tesseract Ark.
Sources[]
- Imperial Armour Apocalypse (2013), pp. 80-81
- Imperial Armour Volume Twelve – The Fall of Orpheus, pp. 77, 124
Gallery[]
