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I've just read the short story Whispers and it has the Sisters of Battle arriving via Thunderhawk (transporter). I don't remember them using Thunderhawks before - is this the first time or have I missed it somewhere?

Well, they use Rhinos and stuff. . . Would make sense. It's not like the church doesn't have the money and influence to get them.

The missionary on site expected guardsmen to hop off the transport instead, specifically, he starts to panic when he sees it unloading rhinos.

I just assumed it was a standard transport solution across the Imperium, is there something else the guard use to deliver tanks to the surface?

 Captain Joystick wrote:
The missionary on site expected guardsmen to hop off the transport instead, specifically, he starts to panic when he sees it unloading rhinos.

I just assumed it was a standard transport solution across the Imperium, is there something else the guard use to deliver tanks to the surface?

Huh - I misread that part. I thought he'd asked for Guard, and was happy it was Marines ("mighty celestial warriors"). The only non-Marines who've used Thunderhawks previously are the Inquisition. Might just be author-error.

Guard use Valkyries to land troops and have a range of Landers (such as the Tetrarch for armour.

He very explicitly expects guardsmen to come off the transport (he wants them to shoot lasguns into the air to impress the locals). At least until he notices the rhinos.

Its entirely possible its author error, but it makes sense to me. The missionary explicitly called for a small task force and I honestly don't know any guard transport that carries vehicles in small numbers, while the Tetrarch strikes me as a 'big commit' asset.

That said, it's also not entirely unreasonable that the missionary doesn't know what vehicle to expect the incoming guard teams to come in in. He may have just recognized the ubiquitous thunderhawk sillouette and been like 'oh, I guess that makes sense!' Much the same way I did when I read it.

 Captain Joystick wrote:
Its entirely possible its author error, but it makes sense to me. The missionary explicitly called for a small task force and I honestly don't know any guard transport that carries vehicles in small numbers, while the Tetrarch strikes me as a 'big commit' asset.

The Guard don't really do 'small'. Infantry have the Valkyrie, and there's the Sky-Talon for light vehicles, but everything else is normally landed & unloaded away from the combat zone.
I've also got it stuck in my head you need to be a superhuman to fly a Thunderhawk - Marines are OK, while Inquisitors & Grey Knights use hard-wired servitor pilots.

Re-reading it I've got a few more questions about the start:


I suppose the easy answer is that there's already an Imperial presence in the system, but that's not specifically stated.

 Captain Joystick wrote:
The missionary on site expected guardsmen to hop off the transport instead, specifically, he starts to panic when he sees it unloading rhinos.

I just assumed it was a standard transport solution across the Imperium, is there something else the guard use to deliver tanks to the surface?

The Navy uses the Devourer Class Dropship and Tetrarch Heavy Lander to deliver Imperial Guard troops and equipment to the surface. But their size smacks of large scale planetary operations and "strategic assets".


But I see no reason for the Thunderhawk not to transport Sisters or Guard. But the Thunderhawk in the lore is generally associated with the Space Marines and Inquisition. So, it's likely a situational thing, and operated by somebody other than the Imperial Navy.

 oldravenman3025 wrote:

 Captain Joystick wrote:
The missionary on site expected guardsmen to hop off the transport instead, specifically, he starts to panic when he sees it unloading rhinos.

I just assumed it was a standard transport solution across the Imperium, is there something else the guard use to deliver tanks to the surface?

The Navy uses the Devourer Class Dropship and Tetrarch Heavy Lander to deliver Imperial Guard troops and equipment to the surface. But their size smacks of large scale planetary operations and "strategic assets".


But I see no reason for the Thunderhawk not to transport Sisters or Guard. But the Thunderhawk in the lore is generally associated with the Space Marines and Inquisition. So, it's likely a situational thing, and operated by somebody other than the Imperial Navy.

Quite possibly the Sororitas keep a handful of Thunderhawk Transporters for getting Rhinos and variants down to the planet: Its a ready-reliable STC design that is already able to carry 2 Rhino STCs with no modification and is armed to the teeth (I-lore, 3 TL HB each side is enough to clear a landing site without issue).

Oh great, now I have the image of a flying church full of Repentia in my head....

Only way to get it out is to convert one.

 dracpanzer wrote:
Oh great, now I have the image of a flying church full of Repentia in my head....

Only way to get it out is to convert one.

He couldn't identify it as a Sisters of battle thunderhawk until he saw the rhinos, so I assume the ship itself was either unadorned or not actually Ecclesiarchy property.

That said, I once wrapped a land raider in sanctum imperialis panels and it looked quite good.

 Captain Joystick wrote:
He couldn't identify it as a Sisters of battle thunderhawk until he saw the rhinos, so I assume the ship itself was either unadorned or not actually Ecclesiarchy property.

That will have to remedied...

my understanding is that very few people ever seen marine so wouldn't recognise a thunder hawk either. as far as the rhinos go i guess it could be more that he noticed they weren't the vehicles guard normally use or as a priest had seen sisters of battle tanks before?

 Captain Joystick wrote:

 dracpanzer wrote:
Oh great, now I have the image of a flying church full of Repentia in my head....

Only way to get it out is to convert one.

He couldn't identify it as a Sisters of battle thunderhawk until he saw the rhinos, so I assume the ship itself was either unadorned or not actually Ecclesiarchy property.

That said, I once wrapped a land raider in sanctum imperialis panels and it looked quite good.

Maybe it should also be fitted with large gothic statures. A loud hilor system for broadcasting full volume chanting.

And a bell. Because bell ringing as you fly makes so much sense to the impirum

This obviously confirms plastic Sisters and the plastic Thunderhawk.

 jhe90 wrote:
A loud hilor system for broadcasting full volume chanting.

Two volume settings:
- 11
- 12 (for when all your Sisters are wearing helmets and therefore you know you won't make them all deaf.)

beast_gts wrote:

 Captain Joystick wrote:
Its entirely possible its author error, but it makes sense to me. The missionary explicitly called for a small task force and I honestly don't know any guard transport that carries vehicles in small numbers, while the Tetrarch strikes me as a 'big commit' asset.

Why was he expecting the Imperial Guard to be all male?

Because all male guard units are the most common?
One of the Ciaphas Cain books mentions female regiments being rarer, and mixed regiments being almost unheard of. And of course there are the real world parallels.

Oh great, now I have the image of a flying church full of Repentia in my head....

Only way to get it out is to convert one.

Sisters superheavy when?

Sororitas have their own void warships so Thunderhawk's makes perfect sense given the way they operate.

I assume that Sisters of Silence do the same.

I did ask Forgeworld FB when we get our Sisters doors for their ThunderHawks - they said it sounded cool and would pass it on

 fallinq wrote:

beast_gts wrote:

 Captain Joystick wrote:
Its entirely possible its author error, but it makes sense to me. The missionary explicitly called for a small task force and I honestly don't know any guard transport that carries vehicles in small numbers, while the Tetrarch strikes me as a 'big commit' asset.

Why was he expecting the Imperial Guard to be all male?

Because all male guard units are the most common?

I assumed it was because he advised (or it was known beforehand) that the locals had an aggressively patriarchal society and that female officials would rattle the integration proceedings. More than anything that seems to be the cause for the missionary's alarm. Because seeing female soldiers would cause the natives to react a certain way and that reaction could provoke only one kind of response from the Sisters of Battle.

While fun, the Cain books have a tendency to make big sweeping universe shrinking statements without really acknowledging the impact, same with that bit about Jenit Sulla being the only woman to reach the rank of general. I tend to write them off as incomplete information passed through multiple layers of narrators.

Clearly if they aren't happy to see the militant arm of the Adepta Sorortitas they're heretics, so they must be purged.

 Melissia wrote:
Clearly if they aren't happy to see the militant arm of the Adepta Sorortitas they're heretics, so they must be purged.

The leader of the Adepta Sororitas force is of a similar opinon and has little truck with such nonsense.

 Mr Morden wrote:

 Melissia wrote:
Clearly if they aren't happy to see the militant arm of the Adepta Sorortitas they're heretics, so they must be purged.

The leader of the Adepta Sororitas force is of a similar opinon and has little truck with such nonsense.

Their is no room in the emparors domain for such nonsense.
Only service to the Emparor.

Nonsense, meet ablaze prometheum. Ablaze prometheum, meet nonsense.

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:
Nonsense, meet ablaze prometheum. Ablaze prometheum, meet nonsense.

If that fails it's cousins bolt shell and melta are willing to help out.

 Mr Morden wrote:
Sororitas have their own void warships so Thunderhawk's makes perfect sense given the way they operate.

I assume that Sisters of Silence do the same.

I did ask Forgeworld FB when we get our Sisters doors for their ThunderHawks - they said it sounded cool and would pass it on

Isn't a thawk just rhino doors?

locarno24 wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:
Sororitas have their own void warships so Thunderhawk's makes perfect sense given the way they operate.

I assume that Sisters of Silence do the same.

I did ask Forgeworld FB when we get our Sisters doors for their ThunderHawks - they said it sounded cool and would pass it on

Isn't a thawk just rhino doors?

I don't have a Thunderhawk so I don't know.

 jhe90 wrote:

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:
Nonsense, meet ablaze prometheum. Ablaze prometheum, meet nonsense.

If that fails it's cousins bolt shell and melta are willing to help out.

In this case, power armored fists were enough.

I imagine it depends on the sector, if a Forge World that can produce them is also one that the Ecclesiarchy can brow beat, bribe, or scream at incoherently enough until they cough up a few for the Emperor's most faithful warriors.

 jhe90 wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:

 Melissia wrote:
Clearly if they aren't happy to see the militant arm of the Adepta Sorortitas they're heretics, so they must be purged.

The leader of the Adepta Sororitas force is of a similar opinon and has little truck with such nonsense.

Their is no room in the emparors domain for such nonsense.
Only service to the Emparor.

Which book was that?
I might try and pick it up.

 jhe90 wrote:

 jhe90 wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:

 Melissia wrote:
Clearly if they aren't happy to see the militant arm of the Adepta Sorortitas they're heretics, so they must be purged.

The leader of the Adepta Sororitas force is of a similar opinon and has little truck with such nonsense.

Their is no room in the emparors domain for such nonsense.
Only service to the Emparor.

Which book was that?
I might try and pick it up.

in the OP short but enjoyable read.

Whispers