Armorum Fidei Chapter 20

From the roof of Narthi they could see distant flashes of light beyond the horizon. Somewhere out there a battle raged, a faint rumble like distant thunder revealing artillery exchanging explosive death. How they longed to be a part of it, to be delivering the God-Emperor's condemnation to the Xenos but no, they were stuck here, watching over another fruitless attempt to convert the populace. Narthi wasn't even heading in that direction, the Train-city was slowly turning away, curving about to place the battle to its rear.

Justini gripped her polearm tight as she fumed. Bitter thoughts arose at her allotted task, sent to guard a missionary delegation. She knew it was an important duty, to spread the Imperial Creed, but a higher calling awaited them. The God-Emperor was first and foremost a warrior and commanded his servants to never rest while Xenos threatened the survival of mankind. The Sisters of Battle should be at the front, singing praises as they culled the disgusting aliens, instead they were left to stand guard. Justini could not help but dwell on her mother, wondering if she would have meekly obeyed such orders or raged against the affront.

She was knocked from her introspection as Praxi muttered over a squad vox-link, "Look at this gaggle of wretches, pathetic dregs the lot of them."

"Barely worth the effort of converting them," Lexia agreed.

Heleyna growled, "We should be out there fighting Psybrids, not kicking our heels here."

"I can't argue with that," Justini sighed.

Along the rooftop was a familiar sight, sullen crowds of men and women, forced to listen to preachers bellowing catechisms of the Imperial Creed over their heads. With a war on they had stubbornly refused to set foot outside their moving city, terrified of being caught unawares, so the Sisters had been forced to come aboard. Their Rhino was somewhere out of sight, driving alongside the slowly moving city as it fled across the surface of the world. Justini would rather be down there than up here, but again she had no choice.

Lexia continued, "Does Tyreck really think fear of the aliens will convince these folk to give up their heathen ways?"

Resita sniffed, "The Friar seemed to think so."

"He's a fool," Praxi snorted, "He's not looked up from a bottle in an age, he's got no idea what it's like out here."

Lexia sneered, "Always the same, whenever there's a crisis the first thing the upper crust do is look to advance their agenda. He doesn't care a figgin for the Psybrids, all he's thinking about is getting off this planet."

Phantea cut in, "It concerns me that faithful celestians would question our orders. We have been given a mission and we will see it completed. To question is to doubt and doubt is the door to Heresy." That cut off all the griping and the squad promptly shut up. Justini however glared at her Canoness' back. She knew Phantea had doubts of her own, hidden thoughts and misgivings. For a Canoness to reveal such weaknesses troubled Justini, surely their leader should be beyond such failings. It made her wonder what else Phantea thought, what sinful fears she nurtured deep within. More than ever Justini resolved to keep a close eye on Phantea.

Abruptly Resita stated, "I don't like the look of that." Justini peered through her autosenses and saw a sullen knot of men muttering to each other. They were glaring at the missionary standing over them on a ladder and from their expressions they were growing angry. The man in his brown robes was reciting verses of the God-Emperor's protective power but the natives seemed to find offence in such words and were goading each other on to speak out.

Before they could act Phantea stepped forward and snarled, "You will be silent during sermons!"

Her outburst failed to cow the men and one of them snarled, "Bloody eagle-preachers, we don't need you harping on while the Far Strangers are upon us!"

The Celestians stepped forward to form a wall of Ceramite as Phantea barked, "The God-Emperor fights for your world, in return you owe him your devotion!"

"The eagle ain't done nothing for us," another man spat, "We've always been left to rot."

"Oh crap," Praxi whispered as angry glares spread through the crowd like wildfire. Justini saw it, the sullen resentment and frustration filling faces everywhere. Fear, she realised, fear was stoking their fury, goading them into a rage. Far from breaking their will the Psybrid incursion had made these people volatile and the Sister's presence was like a flaming taper dropped into a barrel of Promethium. One wrong word now could spell disaster.

She was about to suggest they rethink their plan when a man darted forward and tried to grab Heleyna. He managed to lay hands on her arm, which was unfortunate for the Sister reacted swiftly, smashing her shield into his face with a cry of "Don't touch me!"

"Heleyna, no!" Phantea barked but too late for the traumatised Sister's mace rose high then fell, slamming into the man's skull. Energy fields flared and his head exploded, showering blood and brains over the faces of the horrified crowd.

Silence fell for a single moment then someone cried, "Murderers!" and the mob erupted into startling fury. One second Justini was faced with resentful civilians and the next they were a howling mass of feral savages, rushing the Sororitas with less restraint than a mob of Orks. The Sisters reacted the only way they knew how, by levelling their weapons and fighting back. Justini swung her polearm about as the head erupted with disruptive energies. The curved blade attachment diced flesh and cloth like it was nothing and her power-armoured strength sliced through four people in a single sweep. Bisected parts of bodies fell to the deck, charred stumps smoking from cauterising energy, but more people pressed in, drawing knives and pistols from beneath their robes.

The Sisters slammed shoulder to shoulder, forming an impenetrable defence. Resita and Lexia let off continuous shots that downed the nearest foes while Praxi fired quick bursts that dug deep furrows into the mass. Phantea's sword swept through those who made it past their fire while Heleyna held the far flank, shield and mace smashing any who came near. Justini was left to hold the left flank, polearm sweeping and stabbing to hold the mob at bay. She wanted to scream at the people to desist, to tell them the Sisters were here to save their souls but it was useless, all reason was stolen from these people and only ruthless strength kept them from rushing over the embattled Sororitas.

"The missionaries..." Phantea called but too late. Justini saw the holy men being ripped from their ladders, a half dozen preachers torn down by the mob and set upon. Fists and boots pummelled while knives grew wet with blood and the preachers died, screaming for divine protection that was denied. The sight hardened Justini's heart and she put all thoughts of mercy from her mind. These heathens had slain servants of the Golden Throne, that made them Heretics and there was no forgiveness for such a crime.

"We're outnumbered a hundred to one!" Lexia cried, "We can't stay out in the open."

Phantea concurred, "Praxi, clear a path!"

The redoubtable Sister obeyed, clicking a setting on her storm bolter and then letting rip. The juddering weapon howled as mass-reactives sprayed in a torrent, carving a path through the crowd like a threshing machine through a wheatfield. Bolts designed to penetrate Ceramite tore into skin and bone with ease, and then detonated, exploding torsos open left, right and centre. Praxi swung her aim to and fro, dicing everything in their path and making a red fog of ruin out of blood and bone.

A brief opening was made as the crowd reeled and Phantea bellowed, "Follow me!" She set off into a run and Justini was a step behind. Power armoured boots splashed into gory puddles of blood, staining greaves red and bones crunched underfoot as they ran. They gave it no mind, long accustomed to such sights and pressed on, leaving the crowd to gawp in their wake.

One man recovered quicker than his comrades, he drew a knife from beneath his robes and leapt to stop them escaping. Justini reacted smoothly, stabbing her polearm at him. The pointed tip took his arm off at the elbow and his knife-hand fell away, flopping on the deck, but he didn't stop. Ignoring the smoking stump of his arm he tried to grapple with the Sister, his one remaining arm scrabbling on Ceramite. Justini was shocked, she'd seen men do amazing feats on the surge of adrenaline and courage that came in battle, but never anything like this, it was like pain meant nothing to him. Yet worse was his face, a blank mask of emotionless intent, void of feeling or rage. He wasn't angry or enraged, he was a vacuum of personality and in his eyes something inhuman danced. Justini saw then that the man was a puppet, his body commanded by a mind not his own, an alien will driving him on

The moment stretched for an eternity but then Justini twisted about and brought up the haft of her polearm. The butt caught the man on the rear and sent him flying, power-armoured strength causing him to soar over the edge of Narthi and go plummeting towards instant death on the cold ground below. Justini didn't stay to watch him die, already racing to catch up. While she had been wrestling the others had secured a large hatch, held at an angle by two pistons as thick as man's thigh. Resita and Lexia lay down covering fire as Praxi reloaded and Justini dove past, hurrying down a steep metal stair. The moment she was inside Phantea and Heleyna swept their weapons through the pistons, severing the supports. The hatch slammed down with a crash, sealing off the roof and leaving the Sisters alone on the stairs. The last sight they had was of enraged men and women charging at them, but then the light was cut off, leaving only the noise of fingers scrabbling at the hatch.

Justini sagged as she spat, "That was too close."

"We nearly lost you," Praxi breathed, "A few more seconds and the crowd would have had you."

Justini shook her head and said, "They weren't the problem, that man who jumped me, he wasn't normal. He fought with all the agency of a battle-automaton."

"You don't mean..." Lexia probed.

"His mind was gone," Justini stated, "His body was being directed by a will not his own."

"The Psybrids?" Resita gasped, "But the wards..."

"The Xenos found a way around them," Justini hissed, "I know what I saw."

Phantea muttered, "You may be right but this is hardly the time to debate, that hatch won't hold forever. We need to relocate and summon aid; we can't fight ten thousand people on our own."

The Canoness stepped downwards and Justini trailed in her wake. They made a swift descent into the heart of Narthi, expecting to be confronted by a wall of foes. To her surprise no mobs awaited them, no torrent of murderous madmen or blank eyed killers. Instead there was a distant screaming and shouting, accompanied by barking retorts of gunfire and thuds of bodies hitting metal. Justini frowned in confusion but they soon found the first body. Laid out on the ground was a fat man in a rich robe, one of the vaunted Enginseers, he'd been knifed in the back and left to bleed out. His body was still pink and bleeding, he'd been killed while the Sisters fought above.

"Are they killing their own?" Praxi gasped.

"By the sounds of it," Phantea growled, "This riot is everywhere, the whole Train-city attacks itself. There can be no doubt, this place is tainted by Xenos domination."

"We came too late," Resita lamented, "The aliens are here already."

"Stand proud, the God-Emperor will repay this insult," Phantea hissed then voxed, "Rhino His Glory, come in. Phantea to Rhino... yes, I can hear you... Relay to Currens Ecclesia that Narthi has embraced Heresy, we need immediate reinforcement... Yes, you heard me... How long? That's too long we... come in, come in, I've lost you..."

Heleyna touched a wall and said, "Feel that rumbling, external guns. The Rhino is gone."

"Damnation," Phantea snarled, "We just lost our way out. But they got a vox-message off. Currens Ecclesia is coming at top speed."

"How long?" Justini probed.

"Six hours," Phantea spat.

"Six hours..." Praxi groaned, "Trapped inside a tin can with ten thousand madmen who want to kill us."

"Half want to kill us to serve their alien masters, the other half hate us on principle," Lexia muttered.

Justini however countered, "We can prevail, with His grace there is no task we cannot overcome. We will survive, we will triumph for He is with us!"

"Well said," Phantea affirmed, "We have no options save to fight on. With all the confusion we may slip by unnoticed and if not... then rest assured Currens Ecclesia will avenge us. This city has turned its back on the God-Emperor and will pay the ultimate price for its Heresy."