Editing Nobledark Imperium Imperial Forces (section)

===The Five Flagships===

''Phalanx''. ''Nicor''. ''Mirabilis''. ''The Rock''. ''Terminus Est''. These are names that are instantly recognized by any scholar of Imperial history, as well as feared throughout history by those who sought to do the Imperium harm.
 
The Five, often colloquially referred to as the “Five Big Bastards” after a comment made by primarch Rogal Dorn, were a series of massive super-dreadnoughts commissioned by the Imperium in the last days of the Unification of Sol and the early years of the Great Crusade. Each of these ships were roughly 25 kilometers long and bristled with conventional weaponry. The five ships were roughly comparable in size and shape, though the ''Phalanx'' was perhaps a little larger and a little more heavily-armed than her sisters. In addition to newly constructed material mined from the Sol system, the Five were also constructed from the recycled remains of the numerous scattered shipwrecks throughout the Sol system (many of which came to the attention of the Imperium at the suggestion of the primarch Horus), making them packed full of whatever Dark Age-era technology could be salvaged from the wreckage.
 
The original construction of the Five was intended to be a show of solidarity between the newly unified nations of Sol. The ships were to be commissioned by the newly named Steward of Earth, constructed by the Mechanicum of Mars in the shipyards of Luna, and would be crewed by the Void Born of the Sol migrant fleet. However, because of the time and resource-intensive nature of their construction, only two of these ships — the ''Rock'' and the ''Phalanx'' — were ready by the beginning of the Great Crusade. The ''Rock'' was sent out as the flagship of the Imperium's first expeditionary fleet helmed by the Dark Angels, whereas the ''Phalanx'' remained in the Sol system to act as a deterrent to any potential force that would threaten Mars and Old Earth. Construction of the remaining three — the ''Nicor'', ''Mirabilis'', and ''Terminus Est'' — was not completed until much later in the Great Crusade, when the resources of additional systems could be brought to bear for their completion.
 
The Five were intended to be a long-term investment. In addition to building ties of unity between the major factions of Sol, the Five were meant to be a show of strength, on the part of the nascent Imperium, to the greater galaxy. The huge size of the Five meant that their internal workings could support much larger than average hydroponic bays, which meant they could function away from the Imperium for long periods of time without resupplying and be largely self-sufficient if they were ever cut off from Imperial supply chains. This made the ''Rock'' the ideal flagship to send out with the expeditionary fleet. Eventually, the plan was for the Five to be sent to the far corners of the galaxy, one for each major Segmentum, to act as flagships and command centers for the Imperial Navy. The ''Phalanx'', ''Rock'', ''Terminus Est'', ''Nicor'', and ''Mirabilis'' were to be sent to Segmenta Solar, Obscurus, Pacificus, Tempestus, and Ultima, respectively. Unfortunately, random chance and the whims of history ended up scuttling this plan. Although originally constructed as part of a set, each of the Five suffered dramatically different fates.
 
The ''Rock'' was infamously stolen by the arch-traitor Luther during the Chaos of the War of the Beast, only to be reclaimed by the loyalist Dark Angels after the Lion's final battle with his brother. Luther had not had his hands on the ''Rock'' long enough for it to be irrevocably tainted by Chaos, and the Dark Angels were able to repurpose the battleship for their own uses. To this day, the ''Rock'' remains the mobile headquarters of the Dark Angels chapter.
 
The ''Phalanx'', although heavily damaged in the War of the Beast, remains as it always has in the Sol System, an old guard dog ever-ready to fight those that would threaten the capital of the Imperium.  Its [[Nobledark_Imperium_Writing#Ork_Diplomacy|legendary ramming action]] that repelled the Beast's attack planet Ullanor during the War of The Beast obliterated much of the original ship, as the relativistic impact vaporized almost all of the Phalanx, with only relatively small parts of the drive superstructure remaining attached to the ship's neutronium ramming prow and keel, which was later recovered from a highly elliptical orbit around Sol. Any conventional matter, including the body of Pius himself, would have been vaporized on impact, but neutronium is made of tougher stuff. The Phalanx was rebuilt from around this neutronium keel, missing many of the archaeotech systems originally contained within its frame but [[The_War_of_The_Beast#The_Fist_of_the_Imperium|the keel was enough of a plank in the ship of Theseus to claim continuity with the original ship]]. The Imperium doesn't like to take defeat lying down. 
 
The ''Mirabilis'' remains active in the galactic East, still acting as a flagship of the Imperial Navy rather than commanded by any chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, perhaps the only one of the Five along with the Phalanx that is still performing the job the Imperium intended for it. However, the Ultima Segmentum is nearly an order of magnitude larger than any other part of the galaxy, and there is little the ''Mirabilis'' can do beyond putting out fires.
 
The ''Nicor'' fought valiantly for many years, but was presumed lost in the aftermath of the [[Nobledark_Imperium_Drafts#Second_Black_Crusade|Second Black Crusade]]. In late M40, the Carcharodons found the carcass of the ''Nicor'' floating out in the middle of the Segmentum Tempestus, and — after much friction with the rest of the Imperium — refurbished it into their new headquarters. Although the ''Nicor'' is probably capable of void combat once more, the Carcharodons prefer to keep it in a strategic location in the galactic South to act as a central base from which they can coordinate their attacks. Ironically, the ''Nicor'' in some ways is performing the job it had always been intended to do in the first place, striking fear in the hearts of any who would threaten the Imperium in the Segmentum Tempestus.
 
The ''Terminus Est'' served the Imperium through more military campaigns than any other member of the Five. After being sent to take back the Segmentum Pacificum when the Imperium set out to reclaim the Segmentum, the ship was commandeered in the aftermath of the war by Typhus the Pilgrim, who made it into the mobile headquarters of his breakaway chapter the Black Templars. For six millennia, the ''Terminus Est'' was a constant presence on the western front of the Imperium. Much like the Black Templars themselves, the ''Terminus Est'' was forever marching to war, never resting, never stopping, almost seeming to have an indefatigable personality of its own. If there is any truth to the Mechanicus' claim that ships have machine spirits, there is perhaps no better argument in support of this idea than the ''Terminus Est''.
 
However, no ship can fight forever. In late M38, the ''Terminus Est'' finally broke down after back-to-back fighting in an Armageddon War and putting down an assault on Necromunda. The ''Terminus Est'' managed to limp its mass to high Necromundan orbit before tidal forces tore the ship apart. Today, the ''Terminus Est'' is the closest thing the Black Templars have to a static headquarters. Like the ''Nicor'', the Templars claim the ''Terminus Est'' might have a few more battles in her, but so far none have been willing to put that claim to the test.