Liber Challenge- The Sable Hawks.

[Ekim_Trub]

THE SABLE HAWKS

CHAPTER NAME: ..............SABLE HAWKS.

FOUNDING: .................. THIRD.

CHAPTER WORLD: .............NONE, FLEET BASED.

FORTRESS MONASTERY/FLAGSHIP: ........THE HUNTER OF SHADOWS.

GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ... RAVEN GUARD.

KNOWN DESCENDANTS: .........NONE.

"Attack, re-deploy, then attack again."

Raised as part of the Third Founding, the Sable Hawks were created as a reaction force and tasked with aiding the defence of Segmentum Tempestus from the ever-growing Xenos menace and the increasing number uprisings and rebellions in the region.

Originally led by Commander Abnus Habrok, formerly a Captain of the Raven Guard, who was chosen for his extensive knowledge of strategy and tactics, pragmatic attitude and natural leadership abilities. It was Sorryn who moulded the Sable Hawks into the Chapter they are. Sorryn was originally a member of the Raven Guard 'Hawks' Company and as such favoured rapid deployment via Gunship, so when he took command of this new Chapter, he saw the opportunity to evolve this into a Chapter wide doctrine, and schooled the Sable Hawks in the use of Air Assault Tactics.

Coupling this doctrine with a seemingly innate marksmanship ability, the Chapter quickly earned themselves a measure of renown, and found themselves in great demand in defending the worlds that lie along the borders of Segmentum Tempest us & Segmentum Pacificus whose position often found them under attack from both Heretic and Xenos threats. As well as aiding these beleaguered Worlds, the Chapter was often found to be called upon to act as escorts to the numerous Explorator Fleets of the Adeptus Mechanicus operating within the region.

Like most Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, the Sable Hawks do not regard the Emperor as a God, but do offer him reverence as the pinnacle of humanity and as both the founder and master of the Imperium. Instead, it is their Primarch, Corvus Corax, whom they place their hearts and souls in, offering him reverence for the great warrior, tactician, leader and hero he was.

As the Sable Hawks bear the gene-seed of the Raven Guard, and they too suffer from the problems associated with it, such as a missing Mucranoid and Betcher's Gland.

The true size, strength and capabilities of the Sable Hawks fleet is not recorded, but they are known to possess at least 3 Strike Cruisers ("Nightspear", "Darkstar" & "Blackfyre") as well as their vast and ancient Flagship, the 'Hunter of Shadows', a ship capable of housing the entire Chapter if required to.

Believed to date back to the hallowed days of the Great Crusade, the 'Hunter of Shadows' houses numerous hangars and flight decks as well as a vast array of bombardment and defensive weapons. This allows the Chapter to quickly deploy its myriad of Gunships in order to swiftly secure victory.

Like all sons of Corax, the Sable Hawks are patient and analytical, striking with speed and precision only when they have determined an enemy's weakness. They regard themselves as the masters in the use of air assault tactics, believing no other Chapter is capable of matching their expertise and skill in fighting from Gunships.

Typically, a Sable Hawks assault will be carried out in "three waves".
Wave 1: Recon squads infiltrate the battlefield to perform "eyes on" recon and to perform sabotage or ambushes. They may be used to help coordinate air or artillery strikes if required.

Wave 2: The Chapter uses attack craft such as Fire Raptors and Storm Talons to establish air superiority by eliminating both enemy aircraft and air defences. Simultaneously, gunships such as Storm Eagles (and recently Stormravens) deploy the vanguard Infantry Squads who will carry out the mission as required or if secure the area to establish a LZ for further forces to be deployed safely. The gunships will provide CAS for the Infantry at this time to prevent them being overpowered.
Wave 3: If needed, Thunderhawk Gunships will be used to deliver further Infantry Squads and/or supplies and equipment, while TH Transports will deliver any armoured support needed by the forces on the ground. On the rare occasion that the infantry squads find that their Gunships are unavailable to provide air support, they will instead look to deploy Dreadnoughts, Predators and Sicarans to provide the needed mobile fire support.

Once on the ground, the Sable Hawks will always seek to gain a swift victory, utilising manoeuvre warfare & squad tactics to launch lightning assaults that unleash a torrent of mid-range fire before re-deploying to attack the next target. On the rare occasion that the infantry squads find themselves without their Gunships are unavailable to provide air support, they will instead look to deploy Dreadnoughts, Predators and Sicarans to provide the needed mobile fire support.

Although the Sable Hawks heavily favour this style of warfare, they are still Adeptus Astartes and will utilise any tactic required in order to secure victory in the Emperor's name.

The razing of Megiddo Prime: When the hive world fell to a Chaos Cult that had infiltrated the planets defence forces, the Sable Hawks answered the threat by deploying the entire Chapter to eradicate the traitors. However, it soon became clear that the rot of chaos had spread deep into the general populace after Cmdr. Abnus Habrok was killed by a group of suicide bombers hidden amongst rescued civilians. The death of their Chapter Master led to the Sable Hawks to fall into a state of unbound rage that resulted in them destroying every major hive in order to enact their vengeance.

Waaagh! Skullkikka: A Bad Moon Warboss famed for the large amount of Meganobz in his warband, Skullkikka's victories over many outlying planets in Segmentum Tempestus saw his ranks swell quickly into a large Waaagh! which saw itself moving core-ward until the intervention of the Sable Hawks. Once again, the entire Chapter was deployed to combat this threat to the Imperium, and thus began a long & arduous campaign lasting 15 years resulting in heavy losses for the Sable Hawks, with less than 300 Battle-Brothers surviving.

The Sable Hawks are to all intents and purposes a Codex Chapter, structured into ten Companies as it dictates. However, they have expanded the structure of each Company to better suit their own requirements.

Every Company now permanently maintains a recon squad who help gather intel for the Company and operate as saboteurs and skirmishers. The inclusion of this Squad to the Company Structure enables them to operate as independent battle forces without the need of Chapter support for extended periods of time.

It is also of note that the Chapter's Forges are still capable of producing mk.VI 'Corvus' Power Armour as they exclusively wear this pattern of armour. They seemingly only possess Tartaros-pattern Terminator Dreadnought Armour as well- presumably favouring it because of its enhanced mobility. Perhaps a result of their long-standing relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus?

Captain Ehrlen Vaako: Captain of the 3rd Company, Vaako is an exceptionally skilled warrior renowned for his skill with his twin swords, which he famously used to slay the Ork Warboss Skullkikka.

First Chaplain Kaitrin Vraal: Current leader of the Sable hawks following the loss of the Chapter Master and several other members of the Chapter Command in the campaign against Waaagh! Skullkikka. Wields the artificer-wrought war mace "Ossifrage" in battle.

The Sable Hawks use a call and response between the Commander and Troops as their battle-cry, clearly stating their loyalty and lineage; "For the Emperor!","For Corax!"

[That Guy Matt]

Very cool. Fits into established areas of fluff neatly. Fits the character of their parent while having some of their own.

 

I think it'd be cool if they had a a bit of a friendly rivalry with the Hawk Lords.

[Ekim_Trub]

Never thought of them having a rivalry with another Chapter tbh, but that may be something I could expand upon at a later date. Thanks for the idea.