A Goliath-class Forge Tender of the Adeptus Mechanicus
A Goliath-class Forge Tender is a light cruiser-grade voidship typically operated by the Adeptus Mechanicus that has been contracted by Imperial merchant guilds, military units and planetary defence forces to perform maintenance and repairs on remote outposts and other merchant voidships throughout the galaxy for many standard centuries.
The Imperium swarms with transport vessels. Millions of these civilian voidcraft plough the space lanes, ferrying pilgrims, ore, fuel, foodstuffs, weapons, materiel, machine parts and luxury goods to untold billions of eager consumers across the galaxy, and all sometimes require the repairs and maintenance that are best provided by a Forge Tender.
Despite their large size, these vessels possess the cargo capacity of only a much smaller standard Imperial transport.
Role[]
The large crew of servitors, extensive machine shops and maintenance facilities aboard these ships allow their tech-priests to quickly repair damaged voidships and space stations.
In the 41st Millennium, Goliaths are relatively rare, but their services are always in great demand and occasionally one will be seen in the company of a large Navis Imperialis armada or Space Marine Chapter fleet.
Intelligence reports indicate that some of these vessels, crewed by Hereteks of the Dark Mechanicum, survive to this day within the Eye of Terror, but the existence of these vessels bearing the foul taint of Chaos has not been confirmed.
Sources[]
- Battlefleet Gothic Magazine 4, pg. 12