Galaxy Troop Ship
The Galaxy is an interstellar fleet support ship used to transport regiments of the Imperial Guard from one star system to another. The Galaxy itself is not a proper warship although it will often operate as part of a battlefleet, supplying troops for planetary landings.[2]
Imperial Guard Regiments are recruited from a world's best warriors — gang fighters from hive worlds, planetary defence forces from industrialized worlds, tribal warriors from Feral Worlds and the feudal elite from Feudal Worlds. At the time prescribed by the Administratum, a troop ship such as a Galaxy arrives at the planet to recruit the elite warriors. They then begin a great journey through space during which they are trained in the armaments and tactics of the Imperium. They are issued with standard Imperial equipment — lasguns, flak armour and so forth — and instructed in the Imperial Cult. When they arrive at their destination, they have been trained into a crack force, their natural warrior skills honed to a razor-sharp edge.[1]
Some regiments are sent to conquer and pacify newly-discovered planets and may remain there afterwards as a garrison, forming a new warrior elite to rule the planet. Other regiments may be moved from warzone to warzone, fighting countless battles on the Imperium's behalf.[1] Galaxy and the regiments of the Imperial Guard they carry are often included in battlefleets when there are planets to conquer. The Guardsmen land on the planets after the warships have first destroyed enemy opposition in space and softened up the ground troops with orbital bombardment.[2]
The Galaxy has a compartment large enough to fit approximately 4 regiments but the size varies depending on the size of the regiments and the mission they're on.[2]
No Galaxy Troop Ships have been built since the Age of Apostasy, as the means to build them have been lost.[1]
Sources
- 1: The Beguiling (Short Story) — Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium (Omnibus) by Sandy Mitchell, pg. 520
- 2: Space Fleet (game)
Uncited
 |
- White Dwarf 139 (UK), White Dwarf 140 (UK), Imperial Spaceships by Jervis Johnson, Andy Jones, Simon Forrest and Rick Priestley
