Authors Notes. As mentioned this is the sequel to Realm of Madness. Sister Insane is a short 12 part story of horror and violence. This story is finished and my plan is to release 2 parts combined into 1 every week after re-reading and refining it, meaning a total of 6 full chapters. As it was written in segments rather than chapters some may be slightly longer or shorter than others. This story contains some grahpic descriptions of violence so be warned. Anyways hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think.
Fidem et Ignis and her sister ship Malleus et Incudem emerged from the Warp almost simultaneously. Both cruisers were three kilometres of gilded spires, high gothic arches and gigantic stained glass windows. At first glance they would appear to be nothing more than enormous floating monasteries and in many ways that assumption would be correct but they were so much more than that. These were battle cruisers; beneath each intricately detailed arch was a gun battery of immense power or hanger bay lined with squadrons of fighters and troop carriers. Of the two vessels the Fidem et Ignis was the most ostentatious and the most heavily armed, being the flagship of the newly appointed Canoness Allria it made sense for it to be so. Her prow mounted ram bearing the shape of an Imperial Aquilla, its golden wings folded back and heads leaning forwards as if diving in for the kill. It was here that the ships nova cannon was mounted, its barrel jutting from the eagles body, when fired it would appear as if the beam had been produced from the Aquilla's heart. Every single panel of the ships matte black hull was inlaid with silver scripture and prayers, every gun barrel ending in the open beak of a golden eagle. At the ships stern gigantic plasma engines blazed with blue light though in the void they were utterly silent, propelling the cruiser to its destination.
Within the bowls of the Fidem et Ignis, amidst the maze of corridors and sealed off to most of the ten thousand strong crew, was the barracks of the Adepta Sororitas. Two full decks had been refitted to accommodate half the Preceptory with the other half aboard the Malleus et Incudem. Here the corridors were lit by braziers and the constant sweet scent of incense hung in the air. They had separate food halls, shooting ranges, close combat training cages and most importantly of all, chapels.
Amongst all of this were the Sisters privet quarters. Some lavishly decorated and adorned, others filled with only the basics a woman would need. It was inside one of these rooms, one that contained only a single bed draped with a deep crimson silken sheet on one side of the room and a desk with a mirror above it on the other, that a woman sat in silence. In one corner a small marble statue of Saint Katharine sat atop a wooden table surrounded by burning candles of white wax. She inhaled deeply and the calming incense she had lit filled her nostrils. She had cleared a space on the ebony desk, pushing aside a pile of papers and books so that she could lay out a small needle and two metal bars. Next to these was a small pot of anti-septic liquid, some cotton wool and a bag containing four tiny metal balls. She looked up into the mirror; there was sadness in her hazel eyes. Idly she caressed the tattoo on her right cheek, a black rose with a single drop of ruby blood falling from its petals. That was the mark she had been given on the day she took her Oath, the day she had become a fully fledged Battle Sister. It represented her duty and her devotion to the Emperor of mankind. All of her Sisters had one and almost every Sister had the image repeated in some way on another part of their body. They wore them with pride as they would a battle scar.
Battle Sister Damasious the Ever Silent however had many scars she did not proudly display, both mental and physical. She glanced down at her left arm where three letters had been carved into her pale flesh. They stood prominent pink, starting below the bend of her elbow they spelt out a name. Damasious felt her eyes filling with tears as she read it...
Kai.
With a hiss of anguish she looked away and back up into the mirror. Her haunted gaze glared back at her. Her jet black hair streaked with blue was closely cropped at the sides of her skull but her fringe kept long and brushed so that it fell over her left eye to her cheek. In either side of her bottom lip two silver rings glinted in the flickering candle light. Damasious had once been a fresh faced youth, full of enthusiasm and bluster despite her painful childhood. Now she was pale and drawn, her cheeks seemingly hollow and her eyes that had once been bright and glittering now filled with pain and hatred. She had once been told she was beautiful by a blushing and somewhat drunk Cadian Guardsman who had taken a liking to her when she had served alongside them at the Eye of Terror. Looking at herself now she wondered if he would still feel the same way or would he see only her resentment and pain? It seemed as if the life had been drained from her, leaving only a shell behind.
Flicking her hair aside she took the needle from her desk and wiped with the cotton wool dipped in the anti septic. Retrieving two of the balls from the bag she screwed them to the bottom of each of the curved bars. Looking back into the mirror she took a deep breath and pulled out the flesh of her right eyebrow. Exhaling she pushed the needle through, enjoying the cleansing pain. A moment later she felt the rush of adrenaline and sighed in satisfaction. Withdrawing the needle she took one of the bars and pushed it into the hole before screwing a third ball to the other side. She dabbed away the blood. A few minutes later she had repeated the action, placing the second bar a couple of millimetres away from the first. These were the seventh and eighth piercings she had given herself over the years. Apart from the rings in her lip she had three in the top of her left ear and a bar in her right breast. Pain was something she'd learned long ago could remove you from reality even if only for a moment or two. Damasious leaned back in her chair enjoying the brief euphoria as adrenaline surged through her blood to counteract the dull ache forming around her eye socket.
Her attention was dragged back to reality when her door chime sounded. Damasious already knew who it would be. Despite being naked from head to foot she rose and padded across red carpeted floor and pressed the hatch release, stepping out of sight of the corridor before it hissed open. Her assumption had been correct. Sister Superior Amendera stood in the door way, her arms folded and tucked inside the wide sleeves of her black robes. Her lustrous blonde curls spilled over her shoulders as she stepped over the threshold.
Amendera was beautiful, in Damasious's mind she was the essence of female perfection. Her features were noble with high cheek bones and narrow sweeping jaw. Her skin flawless and gently tanned. Amendera too carried the rose tattoo upon her cheek and that seemed only to enhance her beauty. Hers however had an additional blood drop below the first; the significance of this however was unknown to Damasious.
Damasious wandered back to her desk and started clearing up her piercing remnants. Amendera closed the door behind her, when she turned her emerald eyes fell upon Damasious and she smirked.
"One day I will come in here and you will be wearing something." She approached the shrine in the corner and lit one of the candles that had flickered out.
Damasious shrugged at her remark and sat down on the bed, tucking her knees to her chest.
Amendera turned the room's only chair to face Damasious, the smile on her red painted lips fading slightly. "How are you?"
Damasious made a "so-so" gesture with her hand and Amendera nodded.
"I wish you could tell me exactly what happened on that hell world." She said solemnly, "We lost so many Sisters, Damasious you are the only survivor you count yourself lucky."
Lucky? Damasious shook her head, always the last one out, always the last one alive. Amendera had taken a special interest in Damasious ever since she had been assigned to her command a month after or so after Kai's disappearance and a week after Damasious former unit was slaughtered by Dark Eldar. Amendera knew very little of Damasious' history, everyone who had ever known Damasious before her oath of silence was dead. No one had heard her speak for fourteen years and Damasious wasn't about to change that now, it had been so long even she had forgotten the sound of her own voice. Damasious did not know why Amendera had chosen to show her so much attention. Perhaps she thought she could help her. That notion amused Damasious. She was far beyond help now. Her scars proved that.
"I know you were close to Sister Kai before she disappeared." Amendera continued.
Damasious could not meet the Superiors gaze, close was an understatement. No one knew just how close they had become or the things they had shared, the nights of sinful bliss.
"When we came to pick you up, I saw her body," Amendera sighed, "and I know it was you who ended her life. I'd recognise wounds made by Storm Fang anywhere."
Damasious looked past Amendera to a glass cabinet that hung on the wall. Inside was Storm Fang, a weapon Damasious had wielded for close to sixteen years. It was a stunning weapon forged by master Iron Priests a millennia or more before she had been born; it had been gifted to her in the final breaths of one of the most powerful warriors Damasious had ever known. Longer than she was tall, Storm Fang was a Frost Blade of incredible power and design. Its black casing inscribed with silver runes she knew the meaning of but had never spoken aloud since learning them, its grip wrapped in blue stained leather that had worn and been replaced dozens of times. Its pommel was formed of a snarling wolfs head with eyes made of sparkling sapphires. Its teeth were onyx black diamond that could tear through almost all known materials. Despite its size and apparent weight Storm Fang was as nimble as rapier and Damasious had honed her skills to perfection. With Storm Fang in her grasp there wasn't a soul aboard the ship that could best in her in the cages, it was as if the weapon itself was alive with the souls of all those that had wielded it before her. There were times she swore she could feel them in her blood, pushing her to the limits of her strength and endurance and then beyond when she needed it, like they became part of her, infusing her with all their knowledge and experience. Perhaps that explained why she always remained standing when everyone else had fallen. Perhaps they were keeping her alive for some purpose she had yet to fathom.
Amendera gave Damasious a pitied look, "If she had turned, I can't image how that must have felt."
Damasious did not respond. Once again Amendera had greatly underestimated the impact of those brief minutes when Damasious had once again come face to face with Kai. Her oldest friend and the only person she had ever truly loved. It had broken her spirit and perhaps even her faith. She wondered sometimes if it had broken her mind.
"Damasious, I have known you now for a long time and yet I do not know you at all. No one does."
Amendera rose from her chair as Damasious reached up to wipe a tear from her eye.
She took Damasious' hand, "I only came to say that I am here if you ever need me. For anything." She kissed Damasious gently on the top of the head and left without another word.
Damasious curled into a ball, her back pressed to cold chamber wall. Her skin prickled but she paid no heed to the chill. Storm Fang had all but made her immune to the touch of ice, another odd side effect of wielding the blade. She stared at it remembering the day it had been passed to her. She saw the face of the man who had been Storm Fang's master and in his eyes the ghosts of all those that held Storm Fang before him. In her mind she heard a distant howl carried across the wind. It was a mournful sound, one that echoed the shadow that had fallen upon her soul.
Ten Battle Sisters walked in two rows of five, side by side, in silence. All were dressed in their ceremonial power armour. While it still retained the practical functions of any suit of Adepta Sororitas armour, it was far more ostentatious. Instead of standard matte colour scheme, each suit was polished to a mirror shine black with silver trim, except Amendera's whose armour was trimmed in gold to signify her rank as Superior. Each suit was a slimmer fit, hugging each Sisters frame more closely to further emphasise particular assets. Their boots were high heeled to give additional height for a more imposing stature. Knee guards were formed of leering silver skulls and a silver Aquilla was emblazoned on their gorgets. Each sister wore a waist sash of deep crimson fabric as well as their leather ammo belts and bolt pistol holsters. To complete the look every Sister had brand new purity seals attached to their armour with red wax. None of them wore their helmets, these were hung from their hips on magnetic clamps, instead each Sister had applied appropriate make up as they saw fit. Damasious had gone for her usual, black lipstick and eye liner. She walked at the back of the group, behind seven Sisters she knew and two she didn't. Sisters Grace and Ava had been added to the unit in the two months Damasious had been out of action following her confrontation with Kai.
She remembered very little of what had happened on that hell world, its name forgotten despite the short space of time since she had been there. What she could remember was a blur of blood and bullets, screaming faces and dying Battle Sisters. Damasious' recollection of the hours following her duel with Sister Kai was hazy at best. Amendera had arrived in a storm of gunfire and death like an avenging golden haired Angel to haul Damasious to safety. Side by side they had battled through hordes of mutants and traitors. Damasious recalled the pain of her wounds dragging her to and from consciousness but Storm Fang never stopped moving. With her left arm around Amendera's shoulders Damasious wielded the blade one handed, cutting down any mutant that got to close. Eventually she'd been bundled aboard a shuttle and after that she remembered nothing but blackness and sorrow until she woke up in the infirmary a month later. Even now despite being fully healed, her wounds would ache, dull reminders of one of her darkness moments.
Damasious' attention was dragged back to the present by the sound of engines powering up. Beneath her boots the steel plate floor gave way to a mesh walkway as the procession passed into the cruisers main hanger bay. Damasious looked down to the gigantic space below, where dozens of servitors and maintenance crews prepared an Aquilla Lander and a Storm Raven for departure. Damasious was surprised by the sight of the Storm Raven, in her experience it was only the Adeptus Astartes with access to them. Canoness Audeniana had clearly had some very good connections within the Adeptus Mechanicus, contacts her replacement Canoness Allria had likely maintained.
Canoness Allria herself was present on the hangar deck, a crimson and white furred cloak draped across her shoulders caused her to stand out prominently from the drab grey uniforms of the rest of the crew. Hearing footsteps she turned and looked up, a smile creasing her lips as she regarded Amendera's squad descending into the hangar.
"I knew I'd made the right choice selecting your unit for this assignment." She remarked as the Sisters lined up in front of her.
Allria walked along the row inspecting each Sister and nodding approvingly. Damasious met her stern gaze as Allria reached the end of the row. Her brown eyes narrowed in concern for the briefest of moments as she regarded Damasious but in a second the odd look was gone, replaced by satisfaction.
She rubbed her crimson gloved hands together, "Excellent."
Damasious grimaced, wondering what exactly the Canoness had been thinking.
Allria was an imposing woman. One who had likely seen and done it all more times than Damasious could count. It had always been said she would one day take the mantle of Canoness but no one had expected it would be so soon. Sister Audeniana had been slain along with so many other sisters during the very same mission Damasious had survived two months prior. She'd been one of the sacrifices made to bring Kai out of the warp. Damasious still blamed herself for her death and the others. Kai had been looking for Damasious and Audeniana had been caught in the aftermath of a broken heart. Kai had brought about the destruction of an entire world just to see her former lover again, though her actions had been manipulated by the will of another.
Damasious shuddered, trying to push the thoughts from her mind. She tried to focus on something else.
Allria seemed to have taken to her new position with ease, though Damasious could see lines in her skin, especially around her eyes that had not been there the last time she had seen her. Allria too had dressed in ceremonial armour, hers even more ornate than the other Sisters as fitting with her rank. Her greying, brown hair was tied into a ponytail and her lips painted a glossy red.
"Cardinal Valten will be here shortly and you will escort him to the surface. Once there you are not to leave his side. Valten is there to retrieve something of extreme value to the Imperium, its and his safety is paramount. He will brief you further during the decent. Dessinisima is a Shrine World however and it is incredibly unlikely his life will be threatened, never the less I expect you all to be on full alert at all times." Allria eyed each Sister as she spoke to emphasis her point, "Clear?"
"You can count on us Canoness." Amendera replied stiffly.
Damasious looked past Allria through the void shield to the lush green and blue world of Dessinisima below. She had heard only rumours of what it was like on the surface. People spoke of beautiful forests and sparkling oceans. They said the cities had been carved into the mountains themselves and that the Cathedrals towered above all else in their magnificence. She was told of winding cobbled roads and a happy satisfied people who lived in the safety of the Emperor's light. It was known as a paradise, a place re-discovered during the Great Crusade and since largely ignored by the Imperium as a whole and as such it remained untouched by the industrial machine.
"Attention!" Allria ordered and the Sororitas snapped ramrod straight, Godwyn De'az drawn across their chests, all except Amendera and Damasious who did not carry Boltguns, instead their arms fell by their sides.
To the left one of the Hangars's many access portals opened with a hiss and Cardinal Valten entered. To Damasious's surprise he was not draped in finery and riches like most of the High Priests and Deacons she had met. Valten wore a simple tunic of royal blue with a gold trimmed collar and cuffs. He wore a cuirass of golden metal, with an ivory Aquilla across the chest. Around his waist a wide black leather belt was buckled with another Aquilla and a Plasma pistol holster hung at his hip. He wore a pair of golden greaves and his outfit was completed by a dozen purity seals attached to his armour and clothing by green wax. His skull was cleanly shaven, with scripture tattooed the left side of his head. His features were hard and sharp like a hawk, finished off by a pointed black goatee. If anything he looked less like a cardinal and more like an Imperial Guard General even with the entourage of scribes and hooded priests following in his wake.
"At ease ladies." He countered Allria's order with a dismissive gesture of his hand. "This may seem unusual to you I know but I will explain everything once we are on the move and speed is paramount." His voice was gravelly but powerful; Damasious could easily imagine him giving sermons without the need for a voice amplifier.
He nodded to Allria as his entourage boarded the Aquilla shuttle. She gestured to the Storm Raven. Valten reached out and shook her hand before walking up the ramp. Allria turned to the assembled Sisters.
"Do me proud ladies. Amendera, move out."
"Sisters on me!" Amendera ordered and the procession turned as one to ascend into the darkness of Storm Raven's troop compartment.
Damasious felt an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach as her boots thunked against the ramp. It was almost as if she could feel Storm Fang shuddering in its sheath on her back. She gulped; the contents of her guts seemed to bubble like a boiling pan of water. As she was bathed in the eerie green glow of the compartments lights a cold sense of dread had settled in her mind. Something was awry but what she couldn't fathom what. This was just a routine retrieval right? She shook her head, how many times had routine turned to shit storm in an eye blink?
Inside the Storm Raven had been converted to house Sororitas instead of Astartes that meant the oversized restraining harnesses were gone in favour of regular sized seating. Damasious was last in and hit the hatch switch with her fist. Above her head a red light began to flash as the ramp whirred closed. She carefully strapped Storm Fang into an over head locker and sat down to buckle herself in. This was not a combat drop so the restraint bars remained open.
Opposite her sat Sister Emilia, who smiled when she caught Damasious's gaze. Emilia had already been a member of Amendera's unit before Damasious had been assigned to her fourteen years earlier. She was a pleasant woman, thick black hair and handsome features. She had been scarred though, two pink lines bisected the left side of her face turning one of her blue eyes a milky white. How she had received them Damasious did not know, Emilia never spoke of it.
Damasious felt the Storm Raven lurch as it began to lift off the deck and the green light changed to amber. Though muted by the metal walls she could hear the engines growling as they propelled the air craft up and out of the void shield and into space. There were no windows to look through but Damasious could imagine the Fidem et Ignis growing steadily smaller behind them as the Raven blasted away towards Dessinisima below.
After several minutes of silence Valten finally spoke.
"Sisters, what I am about to tell you is information privy only to a select few. I'm only telling you so that you can fully understand the gravity of the situation we have found ourselves in."
No one said anything but a few uneasy glances were exchanged and Damasious felt a knot in her stomach again.
"A week ago while digging beneath one of the Cathedral's in Dessinisima's capital city, Dellimya, the crew discovered a secret chamber. Originally the plan had been to extend the crypts that were already in place but when they knocked the wall down they realised that it was fake. What they found appeared to be a laboratory that was empty except for one container." Valten paused as if judging how to carry on. "Inside the container were several items, including something the High Lords believe to a sample of genetic material, the same materials the Emperor used when he created the Primarchs."
Amendera let out a gasp of surprise. Damasious frowned, how could they possibly know that's what it was? Luckily Sister Mira had been thinking the same thing and the fiery red headed Sister, with purity seals woven into her hair cleared her throat.
"With respect Cardinal how can you be certain of this?"
Amendera shot her a disapproving glance for speaking out of turn but did not challenge the Sister; instead she looked to Valten who nodded slowly.
"I am not certain but the High Lords are, how they came to this conclusion has not been shared with me. I am here simply to recover the item and return it to Terra. They trust me to complete this task and I will not question their orders."
"But why not send Astartes or the Adeptus Custodes?" Amendera finally broke her silence, her curiosity peeked.
Valten did not seem to mind being asked these questions however, he seemed if anything pleased to be able to tell someone. "The Custodes will not leave the Emperor's side even for something like this." He paused, "It is likely if this information gets out then the traitor enemy of mankind may seek to claim it for themselves, use it to their own dark desires. The High Lords decided that keeping this as low key as possible reduces the risk, two Sororitas cruisers visiting a Shrine World is nothing unusual and is unlikely to attract unwelcome attention."
"What do the High Lords intend to do if it is what they say?" Mira asked quietly. "Could they make another Primarch?"
Valten shook his head, "I do not know, it is unlikely, that information was lost a millennia ago but it matters little. A discovery like this is unprecedented and dangerous whether it can be used or not."
Silence descended in the cabin. Damasious knew of the Primarchs, knew their names, those who remained loyal and those who did not. They had perhaps been the most powerful creatures in the universe save the Emperor himself. At the back of her skull an ache began to form, her earlier unease returning. If what Valten said was true she couldn't possibly imagine the implications. A new Primarch perhaps or something far worse if it fell into the wrong hands. She gripped the edges of her restraint seat, knuckles turning white inside her gauntlets. It was a common belief that there were things in the universe that should stay buried. Damasious began to wonder if this should have been one of them.