Immaculate Blessed Cathedral of the God-Emperor, Holy Terra, 0 975.999.M41
The encounter with the Black Legion had left the millennial spiritually drained. The doting attention of the rogue Eldar did little to nourish his soul, though he found the sense of close friendship blooming into true romance something he felt he could oddly agree with despite her tossing aside of such intimacy considered to be 'more noble' by the galaxy at large. Such was the reason he was here, located directly at the headquarters of the Adeptus Ministorum within the Grand Cathedral of the God-Emperor.
From what he could tell geography-wise, the location of the headquarters of the Ecclesiarchy was within the region referred to as the Eurean Boot millennia ago, a place where many churches and religions had risen and fallen. Within the sanctum of the building, he eyed the floor - compared to the gilded spires of ancient metal that rose up the sides of the building, the floor seemed to have been built of the rubble of some ancient building, with pure gold having been used as the mortar. Slowly he stepped forward to a single stone that seemed out of place, a stone that had a set of letters engraved upon it in a language he could sparsely understand. The words were Latin, or so it seemed... and he knew naught about them.
Lapis super sanguinem
qui effusus est hereticus
novissima senectus
"Upon this stone lies the blood that has been shed of the last old heretic." A barbed female voice arose from behind the carapace-armored human, power maul and Volkite weapon by his side. "The Emperor cast the last stone of the last church upon the body of the last of the Terran priests after engaging and besting the resident unbeliever in a match of ideas, wit and dogma." Silently, he turned around before eying a woman with white hair arranged in what he could describe solely as a bob cut, hair sparsely even touching the top of her shoulders. She herself wore a suit of human-sized power armor practically comparable to the suit of artificer armor he had been gifted. In one hand, she held what looked like a bolter, though the fuel canister underneath the weapon's barrel clearly identified it as some sort of flamethrowing weapon. In her other hand, a lethal weapon was colored in solid scarlet - a chainsword, the lethal design of the ancient cutting tool having been compacted to the size of a standard single-handed blade.
An interesting piece of history, certainly." He turned to more fully face her, preparing for the worst case scenario. "If I might ask... who are you?"
"Your death, heretic."
With a loud cry, she unleashed a great gushing gout of burning promethium from the tip of her hand flamer, the rev of the chainsword echoing throughout the cathedral as she rushed towards the millennial. Dodging to the far side, he grasped at her arm, attempting to pull her off balance, but the augmented strength the power armor granted her was more than enough to send him flying towards the statue of some Imperial saint, the head of which was knocked off the rest of its metallic flesh and ended up in the hands of the ancient human.
Slowly returning to his feet, he began to, with his feet, kick the decapitated sculpt towards the woman who lurched towards him, as though it were some kind of sport. With a strong kick, he sent it hurtling forward, right into the path of the Sororitas, who found it caught up in her gait. She fell forward, stumbling as he brought the power maul forward, slamming it against the whirling teeth of chainsword, the resulting impact breaking the blade and causing the teeth to shatter, flying about the room. He cried out as a blade slashed across his shoulder joint, the Sister herself falling back with a wound that nearly perforated her cheek all the way through, her weapon rendered useless for the time being despite its motor still whirring as though the weapon still had bite. She was down, but considering the augmentation her suit had compared to his own, she still had the advantage - such was why he slid down and wrapped his legs around her neck mercilessly, thankful that the armor of the female warrior didn't come with a gorget.
As he choked her, hands free to wield his weapons, two more women screamed and out of nowhere charged him, their corset-like attire contrasted by the tremendous two-handed chainswords they wielded. When they closed upon him, he released his legs from the neck of the Sororitas, letting himself roll backwards as the massive weapons slashed at the ground. The noise the gargantuan blades made as their teeth gouged at the rocky floor was horrific, and he forced himself to back up as he was soon cornered by the two Repentias.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck... I'm fucking dead...
"Enough." A voice reverberated within the chambers - a voice that rang familiar to the ancient human. The voice had spoken up during the meeting of the High Lords regarding what was to have come of the millennial, the voice of Ecclesiarch Decius XXIII. The human's attire, sans particular markings and the futuristic design, almost perfectly mirrored from the days of the ancient church leaders who once called the Eurean Boot the center of their own dioceses. "He has heard not a single word of the sacred scriptures regarding the most holy God-Emperor, yet you immediately decry him as a heretic without offering him opportunity to submit to the Imperial Cult. Do this not again, lest you be sent to the Repentias for your actions."
"Whew..." The millennial stood up cautiously, raising his hand for a shake and wincing as he did so. "Thanks... You really saved my ass back there." A quick glance down, and Decius ignored the hand, instead turning away to begin his discussion of the basic history of the Ecclesiarchy proper.
"The Adeptus Ministorum began at the behest of Saint Fatidicus, who spread the words of the truth throughout the Imperium, converting billions to acceptance of the Emperor's divinity. The Adeptus Ministorum proper was formed as a branch of the Imperium. For centuries, we kept the faith... until a tyrannical madman named Goge Vandire used vile manipulation to usurp the position of Ecclesiarch. In the end, it was the guardians of the God-Emperor himself, the Adeptus Custodes, who saved the Imperium from his wiles by exposing Saint Alicia Dominica, the leader of Vandire's bodyguards, to the presence of our Lord himself. She decapitated the heretic after decrying his deception, his last words being that he was far too busy to die."
The two passed by a large statue of what appeared to be a very feminine angel - and inscribed upon the massive base of the monument was more Latin:
Alicia Dominica
Hic requiescit corpore
fidelis Deus-Imperator
"Saint Alicia was the founder of the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, the militant wing of the Ecclesiarchy eternally responsible for ensuring proper devotion to the God-Emperor and purging heretics." A sinister glance came from Decius as he eyed the millennial - though he had never heard the doctrine of the Imperial Cult, the Ecclesiarch could practically sense that he was in no fashion to eagerly receive a doctrine different from whatever religious beliefs he held. Even a single doctrinal difference would be looked down on by the leader of the Adeptus Ministorum.
Through a hallway they walked, guarded by even more heavily armored women who wielded the same weapons of bolter and chainsword as those he had faced, their helmeted forms identifying them as Celestians, some of the most elite warrior-women within the militant force of the cult. "So... Why only women? I'm getting a serious vibe of nuns with guns here."
"According to Sebastian Thor, may the God-Emperor accept him, the previous military forces of the Ecclesiarchy, the Frateris Templar, were to be disbanded due to their susceptibility to manipulation at the hands of Vandire. No men under arms were permitted - but he allowed the Brides of the Emperor, Vandire's bodyguards, to be integrated into the Adeptus Ministorum proper, ensuring at least some form of protection for our numerous cathedrals." Both men stopped in front of a large vehicle, one the millennial identified as the Rhino of the STC specs from earlier - yet it had an intriguing turret mounted atop it.
"This is a Justice-Pattern Immolator." A Sister stepped up to the pair, her helmet's vox-caster garbling her voice intentionally. "Instead of the standard variant, which mounts two twin-linked multi-meltas on the Immolator's turret, replacing the twin-linked heavy flamers typically utilized. These can also be replaced with the blessed heavy bolters and their sanctified ammunition." She turned to the elder human - though he was taller than her, even with the powered armor she wore, still she frightened him.
"Ah yes, Sister Lia... Please tell our guest more about the Sororitas... and do showcase the Penitent Engines to him, as well as the Arco-Flagellants." Turning away, not even giving an 'Ave Imperator,' the Ecclesiarch returned to hs duties, leaving the two alone. Lia, thankfully, was unarmed, calming his nerves a bit as she turned and motioned for him to follow her down yet another hallway.
Psykers were treated poorly. Criminals found themselves turned into honorable superhumans. But nothing prepared him for the sight of the twin prisoners in service to the Sisters of Battle. Nearly fleshless arco-flagellants twitched behind thick glass walls, their hands long replaced with a cocktail of weaponry and their head covered with mechanical augmentations. Restrained next to them were the Penitent Engines - masterworks of Dreadnought-like machinery that left their user completely exposed at the front. Tears eternally streamed from the operators, flowing down their robe in constant trails of saline.
"These are some of the worst punishments an individual may receive... Though conversion into a servitor or Arco-Flagellant is considered a degree below simple execution, being integrated into a Penitent Engine requires a sin of the deepest level of heresy." The way she said it gave the millennial some indication that she hoped - or did they pray? - he would find himself a part of such a terrifying construct one day.
"Perhaps I should inquire of you... What forms of punishment were there in your time?" Well, that was a bit disturbing... after all, the last thing he wanted to recollect was how tame death in his time was compared to the methods of the here and now.
"Well, um..." He cleared his throat. "Mostly they just injected them with extremely strong drugs that killed them. In some places, we hung them, or electrocuted them, or gassed them, or used them as targets on the firing squad." She nodded, soaking in the information like a sponge - something he found surprising for someone outside the Mechanicus. "So, how'd you end up here?"
"My mother was a heretic. I killed her after my Sisters showed me the way."
"Okay then..." He turned away, fingering the Inquisitorial rosette in his hand before slipping it back within a pocket inside his armor. "You know, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but this isn't a combat zone. Mind taking off that helmet? Not like taking it off'll result in you becoming super duper visually impaired to where you fuck the tour up."
A soft sigh elicited from Lia's lips as she slowly brought her hands to the seal, loosening it as she pulled the helmet away. As her face was revealed, the look of forced composure gave way to far more legitimate shock - certain physical features caused him to raise an eyebrow and step back. "How did... I thought the Imperium hated all y'all. How the fuck did that work out?"
Lia was, after all, not what he expected.