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Adepta Sororitas

2K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Brother Emund 
#1 ·
I am doing some research for my on-going story "The Hunted". Do the Adepta Sororitas carry out boarding operations on ships? If so, do they use boarding torpedo's or other means?
I also have Inquisitional Stormtroopers with them, likewise, how would they board a craft.

I need to take the command crew alive!

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#2 ·
I don't think I'm the best one to answer this question, but I do remember a space vessel being raided by the Adeptus Sororitas in the book Faith and Fire. Of course, that was quite a few years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy on that one. But I think that did happen toward the beginning of the book. Now, how they actually board, I can't really remember I'm afraid:|, you could try giving Faith and Fire a read, it's by James Swallow.
 
#3 ·
the most common ways of boarding other space ships in 40k are usually Teleportation, boarding "torpedoes" (generally for Space Marines) as it's literally a torpedo with troop capacity, so it impacts hard enough that it would probably be inefficient for non Astartes, and lastly what we would consider boarding ships/pods that fit the stereotypical sci-fi brand, usually requiring fighter/bomber escorts to successfully board.

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Now as far as I am aware of in ship to ship fighting boarding is not a major thing, unless the goal is to either capture a ship, to destroy the ship via sabotage, or assassination. As such generally boarding will begin once a ship has been disabled or at the end of a battle. As it is more worthwhile to destroy a ship completely to deny the enemy than to potentially lose one yourself.

And from what I can remember from reading the Badab War FW books most fleet engagements, unless a fleet is brought to a pitch battle, would usually consist of a squadron of cruisers or a battleship and escorts, both of these would have their fair share of support craft that would be innumerable in a sense (such as no one cares how many fighters/bombers a fleet loses)

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Lastly I am only aware that if a ship had its void shields up then it is impossible to teleport onto a ship (Reference Horus and the Vengeful Spirit), the others are also unknown if they are able to pass through a void shield or their general requirements.
 
#4 ·
I did not consider the void shields so I will now add them! The ship has to be boarded manually and the captain captured. He is a high-ranked Heretic wanted by the Inquisition. There are also other members of the crew that they would rather capture alive so they could then be tortured (horribly) to death!! :grin:

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#5 ·
There's a good reason that boarding isn't a major part of ship-to-ship combat, namely that it's much easier to fight to kill than to disable. And if you're looking to board, you REALLY need the enemy ship disabled first. A ship with working void shields is difficult to enter, one with working weapons will try to kill you on the way in and power armour isn't rated for macrocannon rounds. Never mind all the OTHER parts that might be used as weaponry - a sufficiently deranged heretic might try to take the ship into the Warp without the Gellar field.

You can find a (sort-of-friendly as the ship isn't shooting back) boarding action in the Shira Calpurnia novel "Crossfire". The arbites are in a small ship and have to get in first - which means matching velocity (to be boarded ship already forced to a near halt by the Navy), getting in which requires them to find an airlock, manage to OPEN the airlock, and get the sealing right to keep both your own and the other ship pressurized.

Not as directly important to Sororitas as it was to the Arbites as their Power Armour is environmentally sealed (if they wear their bloody helmets...) and will likely let you power through the newly created wind tunnel, but air leaking out will at the very least have damage control shove a LOT of extra doors in your path.

Anyway, keep in mind that the ship may well be multiple decks each kilometers long, so you probably want to find an entrance near your goal... assuming you even know where that IS. The Captain you're looking for? He's mobile, and unless he has a very good reason to stay in one place you have a LOT of searching to do. Most of it probably through crew fighting back.

That will get rather like city fighting, but for obvious reasons neither side has much chance for reinforcements or artillery support. Or heavy weaponry, because hitting the wrong thing can cause anything from a giant explosion to a hull breach (esp. noteworthy for the boarders, as you don't know the ship as well). Flamers and melee are your friend, bolters get iffy, meltaguns are right out unless you KNOW what you're going to be using as a backstop.

It's going to get messy. On the good side, a good part of the crew probably doesn't want to fight (or, if the ship is Imperial, might well join your side - what pious citizen would fight a Sororitas?), and you'll have an edge in armor, training, and faith :)
 
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