Epilogue
The battle was over.
Only one of the militant Sororitas still stood and she was fading as she stared at the fallen Imperial Guard all around her. A few, so very few of them were slowly climbing out of their cover even as Sister Hannah felt her life fleeing through the rents in her armor. Even as she stepped carefully to a fallen sister and recovered the slain woman's ammunition to reload her boltgun. None of the squad who had accompanied her to this forsaken hellhole would ever rise again and she knew sorrow.
She had known that her superiors would not be happy with her losing Georgia. She had few regrets, even being demoted back to common battle sister hadn't fazed her but so much. She knew she had done the right thing. She had seen too much though and knew that her life wasn't worth a great deal. This mission was her end and she had accepted that. She wished some of her sisters had survived but they too had accepted it. Had accepted their fate with hers.
Hannah gasped as the sounds of demonic chanting began again and the Guards bolted back into cover. She started to do the same and bit back a scream as her leg folded the wrong way underneath her. She hit the ground hard. One of the heretics had connected solidly to her leg and she hadn't thought the wound but so bad. It was worse than she had thought. She crawled into what pitiful cover was available. The enemy was coming again. Hadn't they had enough? They had killed hundreds, maybe thousands of the scum, but the cultists just kept coming. One Guardsman moved in his cover, obviously trying to reach her and she shook her head.
"I am gone to the Emperor's side." Hannah called weakly to the guard. "Die...well... Make... the Emperor proud!"
Not today.
Hannah jerked and nearly fired in reflex as dark armored forms appeared out of nowhere to take up positions all around the area. The Guard were staring just as she was as a large misshapen form strode out of nowhere to stand beside Hannah. A wraithguard! But…odd. No weapon? Was Hannah dead already? Hallucinating?
You are a mess, Senior Sister. Did she know the voice that was coming from the Eldar machine! It wasn't visibly armed, but only a fool thought Eldar went anywhere unarmed and the four squads of Eldar warriors who stood suddenly protectively around the area were a pointed hint that no Imperial should fire. Will you accept my aid, Senior Sister? Was the voice female?
"Do I have a choice?" Hannah asked, her tone listless as her boltgun fell from fingers that suddenly had no strength. Feral cries sounded in the distance. "They are coming."
"They are about to learn an important lesson. 'Leave our sister alone'." A haughty Eldar voice sounded and Hannah bristled even as her life fled. The being who came into her view wore armor than was not Eldar! It was Imperial, but red with an odd xenos symbol on the shoulder. It had Imperial insignia on the helmet though. She too was not armed! "Are you sure, Georgia? She will not be happy."
Mom won't be happy either but I owe Hannah for protecting me. The voice came from the machine as it knelt beside Hannah and odd golden energy swept out from it to coat Hannah. Her pain faded and her mind cleared. She stared at the machine. She did know the voice and it was impossible!
"Georgia?" The Sororitas demanded, trying to grasp her boltgun, but it was swept away by the odd looking Eldar female's foot.
"Don't even think about it, Sororitas." The other said with a growl. "Your weapon cannot hurt her in that chassis, but I do not want to explain to everyone why she got the paint scratched. Again." That was sour.
That was not my fault. Georgia protested as the golden glow from her machine cut off and Hannah felt better than she had in weeks. Months. That idiot Fire Warrior didn't identify her target before she fired. Shadowsun wasn't happy with her.
"And you simply popping out of nowhere in front of that entire Tau Hunter Cadre was such a good idea?" The Eldar demanded as she knelt beside Hannah and the sister's eyes bulged as she saw the Eldar holding a Sororitas rosary! The Eldar was praying for her like a Sororitas would! Hannah didn't move as the Eldar finished her prayers. When the Eldar spoke again, it was almost as scathing as a Veteran Sister's could be. "If Farsight hadn't believed Caerys, if he hadn't called to warn Shadowsun that you were doing something stupid, the Tau would have fried you! Shadowsun alone could have destroyed the chassis and you. You know that. We all explained! So did she! That was dumb."
I know. The voice of Hannah's one time protectee was grim as the machine looked at her. Shouts, screams and weapons fire came from all around as the Chaos scum charged again, only to scream very differently as they crested the small hill that sheltered the tiny last holdout position. This time, they screamed in horror as two dozen Eldar opened fire from cover and tore them to pieces in the blink of an eye. None of them made it more than three steps. Sudden silence fell. The machine turned to look at the other fallen sisters and a great sigh came form it, but then Georgia's voice turned jubilant. This sister is still alive!
"Georgia!" An irate voice sounded and Hannah's eye went wider as three Sororitas in odd armor appeared out of nowhere just like the Eldar had. The armor's colors were not familiar. It looked kind of like the heraldry of the Sisters of the Lost Rosetta, but not quite. They all took up positions around the machine even as golden energy came from it to coat Sister Julia who moaned softly. Another form in Sororitas armor strode out of nowhere to glare at the machine. The woman was old, but her face was almost serene. Upset with Georgia, but serene. Odd. "We understand your need to heal, girl, but do not run off like that! Only the Eldar could keep up with you! If you get hurt again, your mom will flay us all!"
These Sororitas were not carrying boltguns! Their weapons were xenotech but had Imperial and Sororitas insignia! What the hell!?
"Sister?" Hannah begged as sister Julia moaned again and then fell still.
She is alive. The voice from the machine promised. It is all I can do here. If we get her back to the ship, we can do more.
"Georgia." The older human said in a flat voice as the Eldar warriors took up formation around the machine and the odd Eldar who still knelt beside Hannah. "You know how they will react. We need to take it slow. As in slowly. Not running off into the middle of battles." She shook her head as she looked at Hannah who stared at her. "You are very confused, um..." She paused. "Not Senior Sister?" She queried.
"Just Sister now." Hannah said softly, not daring to move. None of the five survivors of the company of Guardsmen who had accompanied her squad dared to move. The Eldar were not quite aiming at them, but no smart human assumed Eldar could not move fast. "I lost Georgia." She looked from the old Sororitas to the machine and back. "Didn't I?"
I um… That was Georgia! It is a long story, sister Hannah. There is good, bad and a lot of mess in the story. We are trying to make things a little better. We need help. The plea in her tone was heartfelt and Hannah felt her eyes start to burn.
"We did our mission here." Hannah said quietly as she looked at the heretical Vox broadcaster that they had been sent to destroy. It was burning, the melta charges had done their work. "There was never going to be any evac. This was a suicide mission."
That is the only reason they let me come! You were thrown away and will not be missed! Georgia pleaded. Please! Hannah! We need you! We need your faith in my mother and my Grandfather! I need you! I fear I will lose my way and I have already lost far too much. Please! I don't want to lose you too!
"What order are you?" Hannah asked as she held out a hand to the Eldar whose armor, she realized suddenly, had Sororitas emblems all over it! So did the wraithguard! The other pulled Hannah to her feet seemingly without effort.
"We are the Disciples of Mira." The old human said with a nod. "We are an offshoot of the Lost Rosetta. We, um, things got weird even before Georgia and her sister landed on us and our lives went totally nuts."
"Yeah, girl has the subtlety of an artillery barrage." Hannah quipped as she let the Eldar pull her to her feet. She stilled as the female xenos bent, picked up Hannah's boltgun and offered it to her in the proper Sororitas manner! Georgia's machine couldn't huff, but it sure seemed to try. Hannah took her boltgun, but then safetied it and slung it. Fighting wasn't an option here. "You serve the Emperor?" She asked. All four of the newly come Sororitas bristled and Hannah shook her head. "This is hard to process." She said by way of apology.
"No joke." The older woman said as Georgia's machine moved to the still breathing Sororitas. "No, Georgia! Let the drones do that!" She commanded. "You know how gentle they are."
Hannah won't react well to them! Georgia protested as several xenotech devices appeared to hover around the area. Tau drones! Hannah kept from drawing her boltgun by sheer willpower. More than one Guardsman jerked, but none fired. Good..
"Can you blame me?" Hannah asked. "I will carry her."
"And we will ward you. Any who wish to come may." The old woman said with a nod to the Guards who still hadn't dared move. "My name is Simons and I served the Emperor as well as the Greater Good. Now? I serve Georgia's mother. Any who come with us may choose that path if they so desire. Or, they may return to the Imperium, but know that if you do, your lives will be short and painful. They do not like us or what we represent."
"Sister Hannah? Orders?" The senior surviving Guardsman, a corporal, asked a bit timidly.
"I think we are dead either way. We have no way to leave and there are always most Chaos scum than we have ammunition." Hannah shrugged. "I think I need to find out what is going on. You all stood and fought beside me. I thank you for that and would welcome your company."
"It is what we do." The man replied, eyeing the odd collection of beings around them. "But this is really weird."
Everyone laughed at his dubious tone.
"Oh, Guardsman, you have no idea." The odd Eldar who had prayed for Hannah said with a wide smile as Hannah picked up her stricken sister. "We are using xenotech transporters. We will need to sequester you until we can be sure none of you have taint, but we will be quick and sure. None of what we do will hurt."
"How can you be sure?" Hannah demanded as energy built around them. Then they were elsewhere and the room they stood in was huge. Odd. It was mix of xenotech and Imperial architecture. But that paled beside the black clad Eldar Farseer who stood nearby, all but tapping her foot in annoyance and the scaled form who stood beside her whose face held resignation. The four strange Sororitas moved to stand beside them, wary, but not hostile. The Eldar warriors nodded to the Farseer and left, utterly ignoring Hannah and the other humans who were relaxing.
"They cannot be." The scaled form said in a melodious female voice that rang like bells in Hanna's weary mind. "But I can. Be at ease, Sororitas Hannah. You humans will be tended and you will all have time to make whatever choice you wish. Unlike many, I do not take free will from others."
"No but you define the word Machiavellian, Old One." An irate voice sounded and Hannah stilled as a golden hologram shimmered into being appeared nearby. She had never met the woman, but she had seen records. Kay was not happy! Both the odd xenotech machine and the odd Eldar stiffened as Kay glared at them. "Girls. We are going to have another talk. Now." That was not a suggestion.
"Yes, mother." The odd Eldar and the machine chorused weakly. Hannah stared as all three of them vanished and both the Farseer and the scaled being shook their heads.
"Kay." Hannah said slowly. Both nodded as the Guards were led away by another guardsman who wore similar odd red armor to what the female Eldar wore. A human woman in the garb of the Sisters of Serenity came up and Hannah laid her stricken sister down to be tended. "That was Kay! How?" She asked.
"She is hurt still. She cannot leave her hiding place until she is fully healed. That will take some time. Even my power has its limits." The scaled being said with a sigh. "That said, she refused to let her daughters go out unsupervised. With my aid, she can watch and she can talk to them. Or in this case, probably yell at them." She shook her head. "They scared us all, running off like that."
"Such a scrunity was wise of her." The Farseer said with a growl of annoyance. "The sheer chaos that follows those two must really please the Laughing God, hence why so many Harlequins keep showing up."
"Long story." Hannah said weakly.
"You have no idea." All of the others chorused.
Hanna felt her world slowly stabilize. Here she was, surrounded by xenos and xenotech, but she did not feel threatened. No, she felt relieved. Calm for the first time in a long, long time.
"Eldar and others xenos." Hannah nodded to the Farseer who nodded back. "Humans." She nodded to the Sororitas whose leader nodded back. "And you." She nodded to the scaled form. "Old One?"
"That is what they call my kind." The other replied. "You cannot pronounce my true name, but you may call me 'Guide' if you so choose. That is what I do, what I am for. I do not command, I guide. This world I have returned to after so long is broken. The C'Tan destroyed us, and their monstrous creations destroyed them. What we did to fight them set all this into motion. I do not know if I can fix any of this but I have to try. As far as I can tell, I am alone." Boundless sorrow echoed in her voice and Hannah felt her eyes burn. She saw the Eldar crying and more than one of the others was as well.
You are not alone! Georgia's voice heralded the machine appearing nearby. The odd Eldar who claimed to be her sister did as well. Kay too appeared, her face impassive. I am with you, Guide.
"As am I." The Eldar Farseer declared. All four of the Sororitas nodded with the oddly Sororitas like Eldar.
Hannah looked at Kay's image and Kay slowly shook her head. "I am with her too. I cannot command you, Sister Hannah. I have no right to do so. I am not my father. I tried so hard not to lie to any of you, but in the end? I had to."
"We would not have taken the truth well." Hannah said quietly. Then she looked at where Julia lay sleeping quietly. The holy sister who had been tending her smiled at her but then frowned, eyeing Hannah's wounds. Her eyes turned hard and Sister Hannah sighed. Healers. She held up a hand before the holy sister could speak. "You need someone to mind Georgia again, don't you?"
Hey! Georgia sputtered but everyone else laughed.
"She does still do dumb stuff." Kay said with a long suffering sigh. "Not even Eldar future telling can keep her from doing that."
"Some things will never change. We will talk when the healers let me go." Hannah said as the holy sister rose and stalked towards her.
"That may be a while." The healer in question said with a growl as she started scanning. She winced at whatever she saw on her auspex. "Idiot warrior! How long did you- You know? Never mind! You. Come. Now." She started off, crooking a finger. Hannah sighed, but followed, her bad leg dragging. She turned her head to where everyone else was staring at her, most commiserating.
"We will talk, but um… I think I could work with the crazy girl again."
"Less talk, more walk!" The holy sister snapped. "We will get you out of your armor and get you tended. Then you can talk." Georgia's machine was suddenly walking with them. "Apothercarium Three is free, Lady Georgia. Apothecarium Two is ready for the other and the prognosis is good. I have directed the drones to get the systems ready for a moron who doesn't bother to clean her wounds!" Her tone was scathing.
Ah… Do what she says, Sister Hannah. Georgia said with a weak chuckle. Please? I don't want to lose you too!
Both sisters paused as Hannah stopped and turned to the machine. She bowed formally to Georgia. The holy sister clucked and took hold of her armored hand, pulling insistently.
"I don't want to lose you again either, Georgia." Hannah replied as she was led towards her future. She wasn't sure about that future but one thing was sure. She wouldn't be bored. "What is our next step." The holy holy sister huffed and Hannah sighed. "After I get out of this one's clutches, that is." Georgia snickered, but when she spoke, her tone was worried.
We have to find a ship. A very special ship. Hannah looked at the machine and Georgia made a noise that was half worry, half awe. An ancient Imperial fortress monastery called 'The Martyr'. There is someone aboard we have to recruit.
"One lost ship in the whole of the Imperium?" Hannah inquired the medic touched her cheek. She never felt the small patch that the medic applied. None of her implants or armor sensors detected the drug that was quickly coursing through her body. "Sounds like you need a miracle." She never noticed when her voice slurred. She stumbled and the holy sister caught her, easing her to the table that was now glowing golden.
Suddenly, that wasn't a holy sister! Hannah felt fear rise as the Tau Earth Caste medic bent towards her, but then it faded. Everything did and all she could do was lie there as odd red machinery closed in on her. Fear, anger, none of it would come. Even her silent prayers fell into utter silence.
I know you are scared, Sister Hannah. You no reason to be. Georgia reassured her. We will not harm you. As for finding the ship? We have some advantages, but we can certainly use your help. Georgia's voice held a smile now. You just need time to heal and a bit of time for us to explain. Rest, sister. Your old life is gone. Your new one, with us, spreading hope, has begun.
The Tau smiled as Hannah spun away into red tinged blackness. When she spoke, it was kind.
"Welcome to the Disciples of Mira, Hannah."