Our Lady of the Bolter

Our Lady of the Bolter is a lesser orders militant who is under the jurisdiction of Convent Sanctorum. They are stationed on Catachan, originally a mission sent to ensure purity of spirit amongst the population. Needless to say they ran into some problems acclimating, as the order had initially been a Dialogous order, but in time they found that shooting was far more valuable to life on Catachan than being able to speak 47 languages. During their tenure there they ministered to the faithful during the 13th Black Crusade and eventually took up arms, serving a small but role and were blessed to witness “The Sandino Miracle”. After contact was reestablished and Sandra Sandino was canonized as as minor Imperial Saint the order was formally established in her honor.
== The Sandino Miracle ==
During the demonic invasion that occurred on Catachan during the 13th Black Crusade a local guerrilla leader by the name of Sandra Sandino performed a miracle. She protected a vital communications center for 3 months, eventually by herself, against countless demonic entities. During this time she ministered to her people- anyone with a transmitter could hear her preaching day in and day out, often speaking in tongues, while lasgun fire and demonic screams raged in the background. She fought back with a storehouse of weapons and was canonized for her unlikely defeat of a Lord of Khorne, using a bolter. She died of her wounds, but not before the Sisters arrived to try to save her. They looked at the bolter she had used- it was one that could not have been stored in such an out of the way station. It was the relic known as the “Godhammer”, an ancient bolter forged in the time of strife. This weapon’s sudden appearance, and it’s use, was the reason for her canonization.
This unlikely hero had ignoble origins, starting life as a waif and eventually being drafted into the Imperial Guard. She fought with distinction as a Jungle Fighter and eventually served as a squad leader of “Sandra’s Sly-Boys”. She was described as cold, efficient, resourceful beyond her years, and possessive of a killer’s instinct. Even with these talents she could not have held off the tides that ravaged her with anything less than strength provided by the Emperor himself.
== Organization and Tactics ==
The Order of Our Lady of the Bolter is an Order Militant who specializes in heavy weapons and direct fire. They are known for their Retributor Squads and the Sisters of Battle of this order favor using bolter weapons (particularly heavy bolters). They are known for their stealth and tenacity, each of them having trained on Catachan. They use few vehicles and are known for their crack accuracy, particularly with heavy weapons. They are famously taciturn and refuse to die- often praying to their patron saint for the will to keep on. There are accounts of Sisters from Our Lady of the Bolter staggering on despite missing limbs, sections of their spinal cords, and even one account of a Sister who managed to fire a gun despite missing half of her face.
== The Godhammer ==
Forged in the Age of Strife the Godhammer is an ancient bolter that had been sealed in a vault on Terra. It was said to have been wielded by “a good man” who served the Emperor in his earliest years. Though it’s past is mysterious its sudden appears in an out-of-the-way communications hub on Catachan during the Great Rift was unprecedented. It is a golden bolter of an ancient pattern with the Emperor’s ancient lighting bolt symbol carved into it. It’s shots ring out like a great bell being struck and it’s ammunition is said to be able to pierce the hull of a tank. The Godhammer occasionally will disappear and reappear in the hands of a servant of the Emperor who needs it most. The Sandino Miracle is the only confirmed appearance of it recognized by the Ecclesiarchy but many appearances of it have been rumored (even prior to the Sandino Miracle). When absent the order will not leave it’s convent, returning to pray for whoever needs the strength of Saint Sandino and the Goddhammer.
=== List of Reported Wielders ===
* (Saint) Sandra Sandino: During the invasion of Catachan during the 13th Black Crusade.
* Sgt. Lysander Truss of the Death Cult, during the final battle of the Cursed Saint Crusade.
* Shi Yang of Somnium during the Siege of Level 23 in the Red Hive War.
== Notable Campaigns ==
Holy Sarian Campaign: The sisters of his order were sent as an auxiliary force to support the Catachan XIV Regiment during the counteroffensive to the Holy Sarian Campaign. They were successfully in repelling the Tau and later reclaiming the 9 worlds conquered by the forces of the Tau Ethereal Aun’El Sari. While they were successfully in reclaiming 8 of them during their campaign, they were repelled at the Second Battle of Toullom.
Sige Crusade: A small contingent of Witchunters hunted renegade and heretic Bythos Sige, along with his mercenary corp, for a year. The sisters that accompanied them never saw combat against the renegade but did battle several unrelated pirate crews in the areas. The mercenary crew escaped and the crusade ended.
The War of the Spider's Web: After a botched attempt by a feudal warlord to claim power for herself by resurrecting megarachnids through Nurgle-magic failed (big surprise) the system she claimed dominion over was cut off from the Imperium for 600 years. Once the nature of the zombified megarachnids were discovered, several elements of the Imperium's military might descended on the system in what is now known as The War of the Spider's Web. The Brotherhood of the Mammoth famously lead the charge and eviscerated much opposition on the outer worlds before the Emperor’s Servants, Our Lady of the Bolter, and 99th Draxian Vipers reinforced them and drove the necrotic spider-beasts back to oblivion.
== Notable Sisters ==
* Canoness Isabella: A sister who had half of her face destroyed by a demon of Nurgle. She staggered on after praying to Saint Sandino, using her heavy bolter to mow down her assailant and provide cover for her sisters until help could arrive. She had half of her face remade with cybernetics but she wears a mirrored mask. She says the reflection shows the wielder their faults. Isabella held the dying Saint Sandino in her arms and has not removed the blood-stained robe she wore that day (as it is a venerated artifact).
* Palatine Sofía: A deadly assassin turned devoted warrior. She initially tapped to join the Vindicare temple but in her early training she had a vision that told her to join the order. Her instructors were initially skeptical of sending their initiate to a Dialogus order on a deathworld to follow a vision but after a high priest verified her visions as valid she was sent off. She arrived just in time to join in the battle against the demonic forces. She was moved by Saint Sandino’s preaching and formally joined the order on the day she died.
* Sister Sandino: A relative of the Saint, her niece (the Saint has no children), took up membership in the order founded in her name. She is the current wielder of the Godhammer and serves as an Imagifer, leading a squad of veteran Sisters.
* Sister Stain: A unruly sister who has, none-the-less, distinguished herself as the order’s premier Seraphim. Her rage gets the better of her sometimes. She is known to go into combat with many knives, throwing or using them savagely.
Category:Adepta Sororitas
Category:Adepta Sororitas Orders
Category:Imperium of Man