Role: Flagship / Capital Ship / Troop Carrier / Tribe Home
Manufacturer: Cryostar Station, Jotun
Crew: 150,000
Troop Capacity: 300,000+
Hangar Capacity: 300 Frosttalons, 100 Glacivors
Length: 11 kilometers
Hyperdrive: Yes
The Kingship is the ultimate expression of Vandu military might, a massive and heavily armed capital ship serving as the centerpiece of any invasion. Its hull is a gleaming black and blue alloy reinforced with Cordnium filaments, giving it a faint, cold iridescence reminiscent of glacial ice. Every surface is etched with Vandu runes and sigils honoring Rastu, asserting both divine authority and martial supremacy.
Designed for durability and overwhelming firepower, the King Ship is a fortress capable of surviving orbital bombardments and devastating fleet engagements. Its immense size allows it to serve as a mobile base for troops, starfighters, and support vessels, essentially functioning as a self-contained war machine. Kingships existed long before the Vandu Crusade and each one has a long history. Older Kingships have populations between 1 - 2million Vandu, due to them being the homes of the different tribes. It is not uncommon for a Vandu to be born on a Kingship, live a full life on board and die never setting foot on a world. Vandu Tribes each have their own Kingship designed to how their ancestors first built them. In the old days a Vandu who proved their right to lead in front of Rastu was granted Warlordhood, they then were allowed to form a tribe and build a Kingship which would be the home of their new tribe. Many Kingships have years of history and their own cultures within it's hull. Kingship's recruit crew and soldiers for their needs from amongst the civilian populations of the lower city decks.
Speed: Very slow – intended for deliberate, overwhelming assaults rather than rapid deployment.
Armor: Extremely heavy – resistant to most small and medium weaponry.
Shields: Massive – capable of deflecting energy-based attacks from multiple sources simultaneously.
Weakness: Long-range capital weaponry, such as railguns, plasma cannons, or slug throwers, due to its slow maneuvering and large profile.
Cordnium Anti-Capital Batteries: Hundreds of massive turrets capable of obliterating other capital ships with concentrated Ice Plasma energy.
Cordnium Anti-Fighter Batteries: Thousands of smaller turrets protecting the ship from swarms of starfighters, bombers, or gunships.
Ice Plasma Missile Launchers: Long-range missile arrays charged with Cordnium, devastating enemy fortifications or planetary targets.
Frosttalons: 300 starfighter-bomber hybrids specialized for rapid strike, interdiction, and ground support missions.
Glacivors: 100 heavy gunships for troop transport, assault missions, and battlefield dominance.
Troop Deployment: Capable of deploying entire armies of fully equipped Vandu soldiers for planetary invasions.
The Kingship contains state-of-the-art Vandu command facilities, barracks, troop quarters, maintenance bays, and storage for resources. Every officer has private quarters, and strategic command areas include holographic tactical displays, sensor arrays, and battle coordination centers. The ship’s massive hull is compartmentalized to minimize damage from breaches or internal explosions. Kingships are massive enough that they are often considered cities in themselves, their lower decks are usually made up of residential, commercial, and entertainment districts for the civilians.
The Kingship is the centerpiece of a Vandu invasion fleet, often deployed alone or in pairs, with smaller vessels supporting its operations. Its sheer firepower allows it to dominate space and planetary theaters, acting as a mobile fortress and command center. Vandu doctrine dictates that only one Kingship is usually deployed per campaign to ensure maximum concentration of force, though in critical battles up to three may be committed.
Primary Role: Capital ship combat, planetary assault, flagship operations.
Secondary Role: Mobile command base, troop transport, orbital bombardment, city.
Cryostar Station: A colossal orbital shipyard circling Jotun, serving as the sole construction site for Kingships. The station’s sprawling metallic structure bristles with gantries, robotic arms, and Vandu workers. Massive starship components are assembled mid-orbit, with industrial lights illuminating welding sparks and the cold glow of distant stars.
Cost: Extremely high – the most expensive and resource-intensive ship in the Vandu Empire fleet.
Production Limitations: Construction requires precise orbital conditions and can only be completed at Cryostar, limiting the Empire’s ability to field multiple Kingships simultaneously. They also can take upwards of ten years to build each one. The Vandu have a deep history of Kingships, and in the past they were only built for Warlords who earned the right to form a tribe. However with the crusade more Warlords were made and new Kingships built.
The King Ship represents the apex of Vandu military engineering, combining raw power, fleet dominance, and strategic flexibility. It embodies the Empire’s doctrine of overwhelming might, divine authority, and unrelenting conquest, projecting fear across the galaxy wherever it travels.