Baebianna trembled uncontrollably as Gaius' power flowed through the conduit of her mind, her eyes rolled up into her head. She was lying on her side, on the silken sheets of the bed, jerking in tiny spasms with the Messiah of Slaanesh laying behind her. One arm was looped beneath her, his hand holding her jaw in an iron grip while the other came over her midsection to rest between her legs. His forehead pressed against the back of her skull, his telepathic powers commandeered her own, for she was an Astropath, capable of communicating to anyone of like ability, any distance away.
'The Troops are ready, then….Praetor Julian?'
The reply was a faint whisper in the back of his mind, 'Yes, master. The Sixth Legion stands ready to mobilize. Twelve hours after your command, we can be in the city.'
'Excellent. You are dismissed.' Gaius cut the psychic link and Baebiana went limp, panting like a dog left out in the heat. She let out soft mewling noises as his hand continued to move and he leaned in to bite her ear painfully, "Let's celebrate."
The doors to his chamber swung wide and Rebecca strode in, her leather wings folded against her back. Her hand was wrapped around the back of a man's neck, practically dragging him before the Messiah of Slaanesh. Gaius glanced over, not bothering to stop his sexual advances with the Astropath. "Do you mind Rebecca? I'm entertaining right now." He raised an eyebrow as he looked upon the handsome cultist who was wincing in pain under her cruel grip. "Or are you looking for a foursome?"
"Tempting," Rebecca purred. "But I think you need to hear what he has to say. This is one of the cultists placed at the cistern on the south edge of the inner catacombs."
"Well?"
"Marines, my lord!" The man blurted, his eyes wide. "In blue armor…Ultramarines I think! They've killed the sentries in the south passages."
Without warning, Gaius reached out and grabbed the man's hair, pulling him to him. His psychic might plowed into hapless cultist, who gurgled helplessly as all control left his body. He writhed in Gaius' grip as he combed through the man's mind, seeking his memories and watching them as though he had experienced them himself. "Ah yes…I recognize that one…good Brother Thale of the Ultramarines. And he's coming from the southern passages…so he should bump into our little pet down there."
"Should we send some Sisters down to eliminate him?" She asked hopefully, relishing the chance to take one of the vaunted Adeptus Astartes hostage to slowly torture and corrupt.
"No need. The Beast will kill them, or delay them enough…" He released the man who tumbled to the floor, his mind shredded.
Rebecca looked down at the dead cultist with some disappointment as Gaius turned his attention back to Baebianna, "So…I guess the foursome is out then…"
Simone stepped from the transport into the broad yard of the Sororitas' compound. The ride over had been blessedly uneventful. Even though they had to travel through some of the more questionable neighborhoods. The destruction of the cultist's base of operation and hiding places pleased her. She felt sympathy for the few honest citizens who had surely been caught, but such sacrifices were to be expected.
Though Katherine had been good about reporting, Simone had still wanted to make this trip. She wanted to see for herself the Sister's arrangements. And, admittedly, the lure of the peace she would find in the convent was appealing. She shivered remembering Gaius' hands wrapped around her wrists and his hot breath on her neck. She closed her eyes for a second and shoved the thoughts as far down as she could to seal them off. She needed to be clear headed. She strode to the closed doors of the entrance with Malachi and Lucas at her heels.
"Inquisitor Godschilde!" She heard a youthful voice call from the barbican of the gates. A fresh-faced Lay-sister gazed down at them from the crenalations. She motioned for her to wait and turned away, "Open the gates for the Inquisitor!" Seconds later, the thick bolts could be heard sliding back and the armored doors swung open.
Waiting there was Flavia, with her golden cybernetic arm and crimson Vestments power armor. She bowed slightly in respect, "Inquisitor, we were not expecting a visit. I apologize if we seem unready to greet you in more formal conditions."
"We need not stand on formality Sister, times being what they are." Simone noted the girl's cybernetic arm. But stopped as she realized exactly what it was. She had not realized that the Sisters here had such a powerful relic. She glanced at the young Sister who now bore it. She was so young. "I am in need of your Mother Superior, Sister. Is she available?" Simone asked the question but it was clear that she expected Katherine to be just that.
"We are at your beck and call, Inquisitor," Flavia said simply. "Will your men need some water or food while they await your return?" She asked, as men were not allowed within the walls of the convent itself.
Machai took a breath to protest but Simone quickly cut him off, "They are free to sample the hospitality of the Convent as they will, thank you Sister."
Flavia looked over her shoulder and nodded to another Lay-sister, who stepped forward to escort the men to the small building along the keep's wall nearby for waiting male guests. Flavia gestured with her hand, "If you'll follow me, Inquisitor Godschilde, I'll escort you inside."
Simone nodded, "Of course."
She glanced over to Malachi who was frowning as if she had decided to swim in shark infested waters. With a hesitation, the Inquisitor followed the young Sister into the inner courts of the convent.
As they passed through the narthex of the convent, Simone noted that the girl...for she was not yet old enough to claim the title of woman...would steal less-than-surreptitious glances. Caught, Flavia blushed slightly, "I'm sorry...I've...I've never met an Inquisitor before."
Simone couldn't help but smile, "I am just a servant of the Emperor, same as you are Sister." She said gently. She knew that the reputation of the Ordo Hereticus made everyone think they were far more frightening then many were. "I promise, I neither breathe fire nor eat babies." No, some small but growing part of her said snidely, but you certainly aren't the pure servant you say you are. Now are you? Psyker.
Flavia's blush deepened but an embarrassed smile flashed across her face, "Well...the baby thing is comforting...too bad about the breathing fire though. I imagine that would be handy in our line of work."
Simone ruthlessly squashed the voice in her mind and forced herself to smile, "Well, the Sororitas will have to be my fire as they always have."
"Sister Flavia!" A voice drifted down from a side corridor. Flavia stopped and waved with a frown. Turning back to Simone she asked, "Katherine's office is just down there, last door down the hall. Do you need me to escort you further?"
"No, thank you Sister, I can find my way. Please, return to your duties"
Simone watched her go for a moment. She was far too young to bear something like the Manus Victoriae. Especially with the fate that inevitably found it's wielders. But the hard part of her heart was glad to see such a power on their side no matter what the price of it's use. With a small sigh, she turned and went to the door Flavia had indicated.
"Sister Bethany," She heard Katherine's voice coming from the room, the door cracked slightly open. "Thank you for making some time for me today...I know you're terribly busy right now."
"My time is yours, Mother Superior," She heard the other sister reply. "All I have scheduled for today is a small ceremony for the martyred sisters being interred in the mausoleum."
Simone stopped; puzzled at the words she was hearing. Why was a Canoness speaking so to a Sister? She eased up to the door so she could hear more.
"Shall we go to the Chapel?" Katherine asked.
"No need, Mother Superior," Bethany answered. "You have a Simulacrum Imperialis here. If you'll kneel before it, that will be fine...The Emperor hears all."
Simone went cold. A Canoness was …? No, surely I have heard incorrectly. She peered through the partially open door, careful to move slowly so as not to alert them Sisters within. She paused, she was spying on the Mother Superior of the Convent, she thought and felt a blush creep up her cheeks. Like a child up past her bedtime listening to the grown ups. Surely they deserved their privacy, and her respect. But doubt nagged at her. If it were not what she feared she would retreat and wait till the Canoness left the office, she thought with a nod. She looked in.
Katherine now knelt before a Statue of the Holy Emperor, her hands folded and head bowed. Beside her the Canoness Bethany stood cradling a Litany of the Faith. She was dressed in familiar robes of deep burgundy and cream. Similar but strikingly different then the Convent's colors of Crimson and white. In fact the cut was different as well: more like the vestments of the Ecclesiastic order. Simone had never seen this vestment on a Canoness before though. Her suspicions grew but she waited to hear exactly what was taking place. There was no sense in embarrassing the women if all were innocent.
"Canoness Heirophant Katherine," Bethany spoke. "Here before the Emperor's graven image, unburden your conscience under the ears of his faithful servant. Allow your transgressions to be shrived from your soul, so you may be pure."
The Canoness took a deep breath, "I...I have felt despair, Bethany...despair I should be above. I should not fear...but I do. I fear for my fellow sisters. I feel guilt over their deaths when I should rejoice in their martyrdom..."
The cold that had grown in the pit of her stomach now froze Simone to her core. Bethany was hearing Confession as one of the Ecclesiarchy would do. Simone was stunned. This was an abomination. A blasphemy against the word of the Emperor. She stood, unsure for a moment what to do. Stop it now before it went any further? Or leave it to run it's course and confront Katherine later? She reached to where her bolter was strapped in its holster. She should put both of them to death before they could finish their next horrific word. She put a hand on the door to swing it open but paused.
Put them to death? The nasty little voice in her mind laughed. And isn't that one Chaos spawn calling the other evil! she squeezed her eyes shut, And who will purge you from the Emperor's sight, rogue? Who is more evil? A zealous woman loving the Emperor or one who claims to but is everything she hates? Simone took the bolter in hand and pushed the door open, making it bang against the wall.
Katherine whirled about, Inferno pistol whipped out from the holster at the small of her back. She froze as the sights of the weapon leveled on the Inquisitor, standing in the doorway with fire in her eyes.
"No, Katherine!" Bethany shouted interposing herself between the two women, arms outstretched to the side. She faced the Inquisitor with her eyes wide and head held high.
Simone leveled the bolter at the woman's heart. "Tell me." She struggled for calm, "Tell me I am delusional. That I am the victim of some Chaos filled dream. For surely that is the only explanation for what I have just witnessed."
"The explanation..." Bethany declared. "...is that I am filled with the Emperor's love and grace. That I have studied the Litanies as well as any priest of the Ecclesiarchy."
"Bethany..." Katherine cautioned.
The priestess continued, unabated. "Can a woman not know the Word as well as any man? You are a woman, Simone. Can you believe any man can know the chaste love for the Emperor we women hold in our hearts? He is our father, our husband, and our son, and no man can know the love a woman holds for them."
Simone goggled at the Canoness. "I have no desire to debate the mysteries of the faith. I am, however, very interested in maintaining the established order of the Emperor's worship."
Katherine gently pushed Bethany aside, slipping the Inferno pistol back into the holster, "Things have been perhaps...unorthodox here, Inquisitor, but I assure you not Heretical. You have seen the sisters of this convent and the sacrifices they have made in the Emperor's name. Can you doubt the faith of their deeds?"
Simone was unable to keep the incredulous look for her face. "You, of all people, should understand, Katherine." She shook her head, "We are all that stands between humanity and Chaos. Our Ordos stand on our faith and our obedience to the God Emperor. Our obedience is what separates us from the droves of Chaos." The Inquisitor never wavered. "It is all that keeps us from the fall. And you willingly throw that away because you feel like it?"
Something came and went in Simone's eyes, which might have been revelation. Gaius had said 'heretics'. Katherine and her Sisters were heretics. She blinked, he hadn't lied. She had proof of it now. And if she did her job she would purge the entire Convent. Burn it to the ground and never look back. And where would that leave them? Would she just be doing his job for him?
Katherine stepped forward, so that the barrel of Simone's pistol was just a centimeter from her forehead. "And we are obedient to the Emperor. We revere him. We love him. And we martyr ourselves for him." She watched the uncertainty on Simone's face with a flicker of her eyes. "If we are Heretics then let the Emperor judge us on the battlefield. Let him strike us down as we slaughter and die in his name."
Simone wanted to pull the trigger. She could see in her minds eye how Katherine's head would shatter. Let that be the Emperor's judgment, she thought. But her hand would not move. Her stomach dropped as she realized, that when comforted she could no longer deliver the justice she loved. The Emperor's justice that she had delivered to so many heretics in the past. Her mind whirled in confusion. She could almost hear Gaius laugh over her dilemma. Oh, yes, he would love this, she thought, love to see us at each others throats. Killing each other rather then him having to lift a finger. "I…I will not do his work for him." She stammered and dropped her bolter to her side. She lifted a hand to her head, where the sick hammering of pain had started pounding in her skull.
Him? Katherine wondered as she slowly exhaled. She hadn't been sure if the Inquisitor was going to pull that trigger or not. Her eyes darted to Bethany, who nodded and stepped forward, placing her hands on her shoulders, "Inquisitor?"
Simone shook her off, but without much force, "This must stop. I understand your ...zeal. But it must stop."
Bethany opened her mouth to protest, but Katherine interrupted her, "We serve the Ordo Hereticus and the Inquisition. You word is law, Inquisitor Godschilde." She turned to Bethany, "I'm reassigning you to Hope squad. Go fetch your Vestments." As Bethany hesitated, Katherine said quietly, "Now."
The other sister nodded silently and bowed before the Inquisitor and quickly exited.
Simone reholstered her bolter. She wasn't sure what to do or say now. "How far does this go, Katherine? How deeply does this horror reach?"
"There are less than three dozen sisters of this convent alive, Simone," Katherine said pointedly. "That's as far as it goes."
"How did ...No." she stopped herself, she didn't want to know. Didn't need to know. "I should purge the remaining Sisters. If I were to answer my calling, you all would be put to death." she saw the cold look in the other woman's eyes. "But, " she continued, "How can I do that? How can I throw away a weapon that until this point has been so vital?"
She went to the tall windows that flanked the back wall of Katherine's office. "There is no point in destroying what may still return to the Emperor's grace if only given the chance." Do you speak of her? the vicious voice asked, or do you scramble around looking for some hope for yourself?
Katherine was silent for a few moments watching the Inquisitor at the window. She moved to the door and closed it, leaning against the portal, "How is your head, Simone?"
The Inquisitor's back stiffened. The memory of her humiliation made her nearly gag. The Sororita, of course knew. Knew …everything, except that Gaius had come to her in the Hall of Order. Come and made her lash out with her power. She ducked her head making the pain roll through her. She had no words for Katherine. " I have no time to worry for it, Sister." She turned briskly, all business again, "I will over look this…situation until the crisis is past us. Then; I make no promises save this, I will do what must be done depending on the changes you make."
Katherine nodded, "By your command, Inquisitor." She lifted herself from the door and said, "He doesn't own you...you know. Not yet."
Simone shuddered visibly; the need to unburden her heart ached in her. And for a moment she saw a woman, a penitent, kneeling at Katherine's feet weeping and Katherine's gentle acceptance of her. Her love and understanding. She wretched herself out of the vision. But she looked at Katherine, her pain and humiliation plain on her face. "That will never happen. I will die before that happens." She said her voice suddenly very fragile.
"Harodiah likely said the same thing," Katherine replied. "This is what he does. The Eldar...whatever her name was...'Molly?'. Harodiah. That assassin Tigerlily. He will try to break you...first psychologically...then with temptation. You have to be wary. You have to understand what he is doing." She leveled her eyes at Simone, "He wants you to be his slave."
Simone pressed her fingertips to the throbbing in her temples. "It. Will. Not. Happen." She said with grim determination. "Never, again." She felt his hands, his lips as they brushed her neck when he whispered, 'I have such things to show you…' Taking a deep breath, she dropped her hands, "He only seeks to sow seeds of distrust and confusion. All the easier to destroy us if we are at each others throats."
Katherine stepped forward, within arm's reach of the Inquisitor, "You need to learn how to resist him. You need to learn how to shield your mind. You might feel as though these new powers are a curse...but without them, you are naked to him." She glanced at the door behind her, "Harodiah...one of my Repentias...She can train you...teach you how to focus your power to defend your mind from his. She has first hand knowledge..."
Someone to …help. Simone's pride stung but if she could help. Help keep him at bay. A small worrisome thought bubbled up. "How could she help?"
"She was Gaius' victim five years ago on Kali V," Katherine answered.
"How does that make her able to teach me....She is a psyker." Simone finished as realization dawned. "Katherine, you have no authorization for a psychic." She shook her head, how many rules had this woman played fast and loose with?
"She has chosen the path of a Repentia, seeking penance through martyrdom in battle with the enemies of the Emperor," Katherine shrugged. "For years she has locked her powers away inside her mind. She can teach you how to do the same...or how to use them to resist Gaius' influence."
It was a somewhat reasonable explanation. And honestly after what, Simone had seen earlier, it was the least of her problems. And the idea that someone could escape him was tempting. She nodded slowly, "Yes. Yes I think… if its possible to resist." She suddenly remembered the voice in the darkness. The sound that had led her out of the chaos of her own mind when Gaius had first attacked her. "All right, if it could help, I am willing to try."
"Let me take you to the cells," Katherine opened the door...