Shae hurried through the teeming crowds of people with her daughter's hand clasped in her own. Grunts of anger and annoyance preceded her as she delved deeper into the crowd but she ignored them, her goal lay ahead.
The shrine building stood tall and glorious, stain glass windows with depictions of the Emperor's chosen smiting foes of the Imperium lined the walls and the inspiring visage of the Aquila was sculpted in gold above the building's entrance.
She felt her daughter stumble slightly and looked down towards her.
The black haired eight year old at the end of her arm regained her composure and continued to keep up with Shae's strides. Shae could feel tears welling in her eyes.
"No." She thought, "She will have a better life with them than she could ever have here."
Shae was only thirty years old but looked and felt another decade older. Since the age of ten, Shae had toiled and slaved away in several manufactorums, served and cleaned tables in dozens of bars and low class resteraunt and even spent time working within the city sewers. The only love she had ever experienced in her depressing life was that of her dear Arthur Mc'noy. Arthur was a guardsman from the icy planet of Elysia. His regiment had landed upon her unimportant homeworld on their way to a siege-taking place upon another (and obviously more important) planet. They had met while he and a few of his brothers in arms had come into the tavern where Shae waited tables one evening. The two of them had gotten talking and after Arthur brought her a few drinks they soon found themselves back at her hab-unit.
After that, the two of them had spent every day of that week together, Arthur had treated her well and Shae was already in love with her man from the stars. It was not to last however. The following week the Elysians were heading out and Arthur came to see Shae one last time. She told him that she was with child and that she was scared, he told her if he survived the coming war that he would come back for her and if not, he came from a noble family that would provide for them both.
Neither of these things ever came to fruition. Shae's man from the stars probably died screaming for his mother or perhaps never even saw his death approaching.
Shae had raised their bastard daughter by herself, leaving her alone in the days while she worked and often only seeing her for a couple of hours every night cycle. As her daughter grew older she had become more self reliant and Shae often worried that she would resent her for her absence.
Shae finally reached the Shrine building's doors and shoved her way through the last part of the crowd. As soon as she stepped upon the slab stairs that led up to the door she heard a barked order of; "Halt!"
Shae looked up and saw a line of five Adeptus Arbites blocking the doorway. Each of them carried shock batons bar one who held a las pistol in his hand and beside one of them was an attack dog with cybernetic augments visible embedded in its fur.
"M'lord, I beg of you." Shae cried out to the one wielding the pistol, "My daughter, she is here for the Confessor."
The Arbite holding the pistol retrieved a data slate from his jacket.
"Name."
"Zethina, Lord." Shae quivered and looked down at her daughter. The little girl looked back up at her with a semi-confident expression across her face.
"Send her through, you are not permitted to enter." The arbite then said.
Shae looked away from Zethina and widened her eyes.
"But my-"
"Your payment will be delivered to the hab-unit you stated upon the document you submitted, only the girl will enter."
Shae suddenly felt light headed. "So soon." she thought, "This is it."
Shae knelt down next to Zethina so her head was level with her own.
"This is it, sweet one." Shae sniffed and wiped a tear from her cheek, "You will go into that building and become something greater, I promise you."
"But, but what about you, mother?" Zethina's little voice replied.
Shae let out a sob like laugh and felt more tears advance from her eyes.
"Do not worry for me, child. Knowing you have a better life will be enough for me."
"But mother-I don't want to leave you." Zethina had spent her life barely seeing her mother, but the time they had spent together had been heaven for her.
"Go, child. Go and see the stars. I love you." Shae hugged her daughter tight and after Zethina returned the embrace, pushed her towards the slab stairs.
Her daughter took the couple of steps up the slabs and reached the arbites. The line parted and the man with the pistol beckoned her inside.
Zethina turned back and looked at her mother in the eyes for the last time.
Shae gave a tear filled smile back and felt herself slipping.
Her brave little daughter turned and entered the Shrine building.
Only then did Shae fall. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands and screamed in agony. She cried hysterically and prayed to the Emperor to watch over Zethina.
"Find your father, Zethina. Find him and be safe." She said through her sobs knowing full well that it would never happen, not in a universe this cruel and unforgiving.
Zethina glared out into the body littered courtyard from one of the barracks' gaping wounds. The corpses of the marines she had killed an hour or so before were still lying where she had left them. Two Sisters that risked going outside had already looted the marine corpses that had been closer to the Barracks. They had retrieved several bolters and at least twelve magazines for them.
Crouched next to her were Jezail and Diona who had joined her in her watch.
Zethina had left the Canoness and the Preacher after they had concluded their conversation with the details of the Loyalist amongst the Lions.
The preacher had only described the marine as having a Deathwatch shoulder plate and being a Sergeant, the Marine had not had time to say anything before the betrayal occurred. The two leaders had also told her of Canoness Taula's fate, Celestian Phebia confirmed her to be dead after saying that she had seen Taula and her own Celestian squad enter the briefing room.
Zethina grimaced at the thought of it, even now the betrayal was so heinous and cowardly that she could not help but feel overwhelmed with hatred and grief.
"Sister Superior." Jezail said.
"Speak, Sister." Zethina said, not taking her eyes off of the courtyard.
"Do you hear that?" Jezail replied.
Zethina stopped a moment and listened. Turning, she saw the rest of the sisters in the room looking up and listening out.
"Do you hear it, Sister?" Jezail asked again.
Zethina stood and strode over to a higher up hole in the wall and looked out. Outside she could see the walls and spires of the outer part of the fortress and above that the sunless murky skies. Along with all that, she saw the source of the noise.
Flying in a perfect formation was the bulky and crimson form of a space marine Thunderhawk and either side of it was the smaller form of a Stormraven.
"They're back." Zethina said with a glare.
As Zethina expected, a minute later Canoness Lethe, Preacher Kyronev and their Celestian squad entered their room. As they had done so, the dull hum of the Thunderhawk's flyby echoed over the deathly silent fortress and was shortly followed by the higher pitch zips of the Storm-Talon escort fighters.
Zethina looked at the Canoness expectantly and Lethe immediately walked over to her. "Sister, Zethina. Sister Kelsi is commanding our sisters to the south of the barracks, I shall be joining them and the Preacher shall be remaining here. You are to repel any and all attackers for as long as possible, if we survive that, then we shall speak of further courses of action."
"I shall carry out your order, Sister Canoness." Zethina replied.
Lethe nodded and turned on her heel and left the room, her Celestians following suit.
Preacher Kyronev walked over to Zethina with his archaic sword drawn.
"We carry out the Emperor's judgement this day." He said loud enough for every sister in the room to hear. "Deffend against the traitors to the last!"
"We are bound by duty, led by honour." The sisters chorused in response.
Kyronev strode over to the back of the room and knelt before the ruined shrine to the emperor. Once the shrine had held over a hundred candles and the miniature statue of the Emperor had been pristine and detailed. Now however, the candles were strewn across the floor and the statue had sustained damage that had chipped the Emperor's face off as well as one of his mighty pauldrons.
One of the sisters who had ventured out to forage amongst the bodies outside approached Zethina.
"It may be a weapon that has been used to kill our own, but I believe you could make some use of it, Sister Superior." She held out a bolter before Zethina.
Zethina took the bulky weapon and thanked the Sister.
"What is your name, Sister?"
"Sister Jeane of the order of the wounded heart, Sister Superior."
Zethina had not noticed that the sister before her was not of her order; this was due to the fact that she wore no symbolic robes and the iconography upon her armour was badly damaged.
"I thank you, Jeane, fight well."
"And you, Superior Zethina." Jeane smiled.
Jeane then handed an extra magazine to Zethina and Jezail before hurrying over to another three Sisters on the other side of the room.
"Sister Superior," Jezail said.
"Yes, Sister Jezail?" Zethina replied as she looked over her new weapon, she had three magazines for the weapon and she planned to use them proficiently. Even so, the thought that this weapon had probably been used to slaughter her sisters the day before sickened her.
"I was just wondering, did any of our sisters from your squad survive, apart from yourself?"
Zethina shook her head grimly.
"None were spared the traitors' betrayal."
"None except you, Sister Superior." Diona said; her voice muffled because of the rebreather over her mouth.
"I never asked either of you, how is it you two escaped the betrayal?"
Diona hefted her multi melta onto here lap and gave out an audible sigh.
"My team had been up on the outer walls when it happened." Diona's voice lowered as she told the story, "Sister Superior Agnes had been called over by Sergeant Freinrik, the sergeant of the tactical squad stationed with us, and a moment later it began. Superior Agnes' head exploded from the bolt round that the traitorous bastard had fired into her face. The pure brutality of these marines is not lost to me. The entire tactical squad began to open fire on us and we attempted to fight back, but they had the element of surprise and we were few in number. Sister Helen ordered a retreat and we began to fall back towards one of the towers, I was the only one who made it inside. I decided I would rather die there with my sisters rather than be hunted through the halls of this forsaken fortress, I walked out of the cover firing my weapon, I killed three marines in one shot and then another two, but still they came."
Zethina listened intently and Jezail had her head lowered.
"Their sergeant fired his pistol at me, it hit me in the chest and luckily my power armour protected me, but the second time he fired the armour on my leg gave."
Diona extended her leg and revealed the red stained bandage that was tied to her shin.
"I fell and fully expected to die there, but that's when I saw her."
"Her?" Jezail echoed.
"Sister Kaltia." Diona turned and Zethina followed her vision to the Seraphim in the corner of the room. She was still talking with the two seraphim from the Order of the wounded heart and the red tints in her hair shone.
"Sister Kaltia came down from the heavens and kicked the Sergeant clean off of the walls before killing the rest of the marines present. She helped me inside and we both made our way through the fortress until we found the Confessor."
"I am sorry for your losses, Sister." Zethina said remorsefully, "But the Emperor smiled upon you that day by sending Seraphim Kaltia."
"Of that I have no doubt." Diona's face creased and though Zethina could not see it, she knew Diona was smiling wistfully, "I only wish he had smiled upon my sisters who died alongside me that day."
Their conversation was interrupted as Preacher Kyronev strode inbetween them and looked out into the courtyard. His aged face twisted into a grimace and his white hair blew in the wind.
"Won't be long now."
Zethina looked up at the Preacher. "Until what, Lord Kyronev?"
Kyronev did not turn back when he spoke.
"If this is their force returning, we won't last much longer. Once they bring their armour to bare we shan't be able to stop their advances."
"We shall die in service to the god-Emperor of mankind." Zethina said reassuringly.
"We shall die at the hand of traitors without warning anyone of their betrayal." Kyronev glowered out at the barren courtyard, "The cowards won't meet us on a fair playing field, they will fire at our walls until this old building buries us, like cowards same as before." Kyronev leant up against the part of wall that had survived whatever had made the hole in it, "I had a son you know, Khevin Yoren his name is. Last I heard, he had joined the Imperial guard and fallen on the battlefield fighting against an Ork invasion."
Zethina could see Kyronev's eyes welling up.
"I gave up everything to ascend in the holy ranks of the ecclesiarchy, gave up my old name, gave up my home and even my son, in service to our father." Kyronev's face once again twisted into a visage of fury. "I will not wait to be destroyed by our enemies on their terms." He turned to Zethina, "Superior Zethina, hold the line."
"Of course, Preacher." Zethina bowed. Preacher Kyronev turned and stomped across the room, the chains on his robe jangling and disappeared through the open door.