Lady Mary Indomitus studied
the augur displays intently. Somewhere out there, in the ruins ahead,
lurked her prey- a traitor Knight Titan that her allies, the Order of
Our Martyred Lady, had named The Folly of Sins. Like
her own Knight, Ifurita, the
heretic was armed with a massive thermal cannon that had wreaked a
terrible toll on the Adepta Sororitas force that had been sent to
quell what had appeared at first to be merely another brushfire
rebellion. Striking from a perfectly prepared position amongst the
ruins of a manufactorum, the traitor had destroyed two precious
Exorcist tanks and disabled or wrecked several Repressors, condemning
the Sisters of Battle to advance on foot into the teeth of the
rebels' guns. Despite their peril, Canoness Theresa had dispatched
Ifurita to hunt down
the withdrawing Knight, deeming it critical that the thing be
destroyed once and for all.
The
silver devotional bell that her ancient predecessor had hung from the
ceiling of the Knight's command chamber pealed softly with every step
Ifurita took. The
first Lady Mary Indomitus had been the Lady of a minor House, who on
gaining her inheritance learned that despite her high birth, the
House would not accept a female as their Lord. Furious, she had taken
Ifurita and declared
herself Freeblade, later allying herself with the Order. From that
time on, Novices of the Order had been apprenticed to the Knight's
pilot, taking on the role and the name with her death. One of the
first trials of any Novice under consideration for the position was
to endure the irregular tolling of a devotional bell throughout an
entire month of other instruction without complaint. Eventually, you
got used to it.
There-
a sign. During the engagement, pict-feeds from one of the Repressors
had revealed that The Folly of Sins was
limping very slightly and favouring its left leg. From the right leg
there appeared to be a slow leak of hydraulic fluid- not enough to
cripple the machine or even slow it significantly, but enough to
affect its gait. And enough to leave a trail, which Ifurita's
augurs had now detected. She pushed her Knight to full pursuit speed-
there was no need for subtlety here. The heretic knew she was coming.
Nonetheless, she kept a keen eye on the displays, knowing that the
enemy Knight held a massive, glowing warpblade in its gauntlet- a
non-standard configuration, but one which had to confer a significant
reach advantage over her own Thunderstrike. She had to be sure to
make her first strike count, and fortunately her alliance with the
Sisterhood gave her an edge the traitor would not be expecting.
Chasing at her heels came the Seraphim of Squad Galadriel, armed with
a brace of fusion pistols and melta charges. Should the heretic
direct its shields to repel her fire, it would find the mobility and
fire-power of the Sororitas jump infantry to be a lethal combination.
“Ifurita from
Galadriel.” came a call over the vox-net. “We sighted the heretic
on our last jump. Target bearing 027 mark 15 at one-hundred meters.
We move to bracketing positions. Emperor be with you, Sister.”
“And
with you, Sister.” replied Mary, charging the thermal cannon and
bringing Ifurita around
the last obstruction to face the traitor. She was already firing when
she realised the enemy machine wasn't facing her, but had instead
turned hard to its left.
Directly
towards Squad Galadriel.
Even
as her fire struck Folly of Sins'
ion shield harmlessly, even as she tried despairingly to warn the
Seraphim on the vox, the traitor's terrible weapon spoke. Rising from
behind a ruined wall on wings of fire, weapons already blazing futile
hatred, Squad Galadriel were immolated in an instant. The thing let
out an unintelligible scream, “Elcric eht esolc!”
“Abomination!”
she screamed, Ifurita switching
her transmission to external speakers unbidden as she kicked the
Knight into a full charge, cannon blazing. Her second blast beat the
shield, even as the enemy turned to receive her. The hit melted part
of the things head and knocked out secondary systems across the
entire right side, but the left arm, clutching that massive, glowing
blade, remained intact and began to swing towards her. Even as she
brought the thunderstrike up to attack, she knew it was too late.
There was no way she would beat the foe to the strike, and scant
chance of surviving it. She cursed as a shot from the traitor
partially penetrated her shields, causing minor damage to the right
leg, but in her heart she knew such concerns were irrelevant. There
was only the sword, and the doom it represented.
Scant
seconds from contact, everything changed. From the melted shambles
flanking Folly of Sins,
Seraphim Superior Galadriel rose like the personification of the
Emperor's vengeance. Her hair was gone, along with half of her face,
but somehow some shred of life and hatred still blazed within her as
her ruined jump-pack fired one last time to propel her at far beyond
its usual rated maximum velocity straight at the traitor. Within the
bony talons of her hands she somehow clutched a melta-charge.
“The
Emperor pro-” she screamed, slamming into the heretic's arm and
disappearing in a detonation as intense as a miniature sun. Ifurita's
charge crashed home before the smoke had even cleared, a massive blow
from the thunderstrike tearing the melta-cannon clean away from the
enemy Knight and sending the ruined machine careening through a
hab-block to collapse, weaponless, in a sparking heap.
“Ifurita from
Order Command.” chimed the vox. “We have lost contact with Sister
Galadriel- what is your status?”
“Squad
Galadriel gave their lives honourably for the Emperor.” replied
Mary. “Their sacrifice allowed the traitor to be brought low- my
augurs detect some systems remain operational, but I shall remedy
that immediately.” She took a step towards the wrecked Knight and
grimaced in sympathetic pain- Ifurita was
limping slightly and leaking fluid, but the damage was not serious.
Suddenly,
the vox-signal cut out, to be replaced by a new transmission, hissing
with re-entry static.
“Knight-Titan
Ifurita, this is
Inquisitor Lundus Ix. Stand down your attack immediately- I repeat,
stand down!”
“Clarify
your order, Inquisitor.” growled Mary into the vox-receiver. “The
traitor Knight Folly of Sins has
this day slain over twenty Sororitas, and you would command me to
spare it? Heresy!”
“Belay
that command, Ifurita.”
came a new signal, and Mary recognised Canoness Theresa's voice.
“Destroy the traitor, and avenge our Order. Be advised we are
tracking an orbital contact heading to your position- you may be
forced to defend yourself.”
Even
as the thermal cannon spoke once more, reducing Folly of
Sins to a puddle of molten
metal, the truth of the Canoness' words became clear. A drop-shuttle,
heavily armed and bearing the symbol of the Inquisition, roared out
of the sky, heat-shields still glowing, and landed next to the
blazing rubble that formed the funeral pyre of Squad Galadriel. As
Mary turned Ifurita to
face it, a small squad of power-armoured figures swiftly deployed
from the transport, taking up positions around the still-glowing
warpblade, which had been blasted clear in Galadriel's final act of
glory.
“Order
Command from Ifurita.”
she voxxed. “Inquisitorial forces have secured the last remains of
Folly of Sins. I
cannot destroy it without targeting them. No tactical threat is
presented. Your command?”
“Stand
down, Ifurita.” came
the immediate reply. “I am in contact with Inquisitor Ix and en
route to your position. The Inquisitor has a matter of critical
import to discuss with us.”
“With
all respect, Revered Canoness, what is there to discuss? The tools of
the traitor are to be destroyed wherever they are found, not studied
or 'discussed'. To do otherwise is the path of heresy!”
“Aye.”
replied Theresa. “But Inquisitor Ix has a Desolator-class
battleship in orbit and a standing Exterminatus mandate should he be
slain, so discuss we shall.”
--
They
convened some minutes later, after Theresa's personal Repressor and
the Rhinos and Immolators carrying as much of the Sororitas force as
possible had arrived. The Battle Sisters set up a cordon, and had
begun scouring the area for relics of Squad Galadriel to be
enshrined.
“So,
Inquisitor Ix.” said Theresa, her voice dripping scorn. “What is
it about our foe that you consider so valuable that you would condemn
a planet of billions to get your way? Even to be in the presence of
that... thing,” she spat on the ground “is an insult to our order
and to the souls of every martyr made this day! Explain yourself!”
Clad
in a suit of ancient golden Terminator armour, Inquisitor Ix wore a
sorrowful expression, and seemed to ignore the question. “This is
her, isn't it? Lady Mary Indomitus?”
“I
am, Inquisitor.” replied Mary. “The twenty-sixth to bear that
name.”
“And
the last.” said the Inquisitor. Theresa, her old Seraphim training
always quick to come to the fore, swept out two plasma pistols with a
curse.
“You
dare threaten! After all you have already dared?”
“I
do not.” said Ix. “Also, the plasma core of Repentance
is dangerously unstable and will overload if you fire it.”
Theresa
blinked, looking at her right gun in surprise. “I- what?”
“Allow
me to explain. I am Inquisitor Lundus Ix, of the Ordo Chronus.”
“Preposterous!
You lie!” sputtered Theresa, firing her pistols. The right gun
exploded, throwing off her aim with the left, and the fizzing bolt
hissed harmlessly wide. The Canoness recoiled in shock, clutching her
scorched hand. Ix largely ignored the interruption.
“Those
few who know our Ordo even existed believe we have vanished. This is
true. A temporal inversion of colossal magnitude trapped our Ordo
outside of time for all eternity. The only way we can ever escape it
is if.. ah, but I believe one of your Sisters has discovered
something.”
One
of the search parties had returned. The Sister Superior, who already
looked worried, went white when she saw Theresa's injury, but hurried
forward when the Canoness shooed away the Hospitalier treating her
and motioned her forward.
“Revered
Canoness, Honoured Inquisitor, we have found.. something.”
“I
have no time for riddles, Sister!” snapped Theresa. “Out with it!
Show me, Emperor damn you!”
Slowly,
with a nervous glance at Mary, the woman retrieved an item from the
pack she was carrying. It was charred and blackened, but as it moved
it issued a distinctive sound.
“But..
that's...” gasped Mary, mind reeling.
“The
devotional bell of the traitor Knight-Titan Ifurita,”
completed Ix. “which was destroyed in 757.999.M41 in combat by the
forces of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, in conjunction with the
Freeblade Knight-Titan Ifurita.”
There
was a terrible, ominous silence. The Inquistorial troops stood
motionless around their charge, whilst the Sororitas, faith and
reason warring on their faces, fingered their weapons nervously.
“Lady
Mary.” spoke Ix into the silence. “Relay the battle condition of
Folly of Sins when
first encountered today.”
“It
was... lightly damaged. The right leg was.. was... leaking hydraulic
fluid.”
“And
the present condition of Knight-Titan Ifurita?”
Mary's
voice spoke seemingly without her control. “Light damage. The right
leg is leaking hydraulic fluid.”
“The
weapon configuration of Folly of Sins?”
“Errant
configuration. Thermal cannon, heavy stubber, Thunderstrike gauntlet
holding.. that.”
“And
of Ifurita?”
She
felt almost like a spectator, helpless behind her eyes as the horror
unfolded. “Errant configuration. Thermal cannon, heavy stubber,
Thunderstrike gauntlet.”
“This
proves nothing!” shouted Theresa, but with a desperation in her
voice, normally so calm and full of faith, that cut her Sisters to
the heart.
“Its
battle tactics.” muttered one of Theresa's bodyguards. “Perfect
positioning, perfect timing. Almost as if...”
“As
if it had fought in this battle before.” said Ix, once again
completing a sentence no-one else would dare. “As I was saying, our
Ordo is only able to enter the normal flow of time if another
temporal paradox disrupts it. Today is the day on which Ifurita
takes up the warp-blade
Tigufsupmet
and turns forever from the Emperor's light.”
“Never!”
screamed Mary.
“If
this does not occur” continued Ix, ignoring her. “the temporal
repercussions will be immense. The Sons of Tallamor Chapter of
Astartes will never be founded. The Recundite Insurrection will
succeed instead of being crushed. The Orks of Waaaagh-Krumpkan will
destroy the Eldar of Craftworld Yme-Loc, allowing Hive-Fleet
Leviathan access to the Drakan Expanse. And all this is aside from
the new area of warp-reality interface that the temporal rift will
create in this very sector, dooming billions and creating a staging
post for the Thirteenth Black Crusade that puts Abaddon within
striking distance of Terra.” He looked at Mary, sadly. “You must
close the circle, Lady Mary Indomitus. It is the only way.”
It
was the look in his eyes that did it. The incredible depth of sorrow
and certainty in his gaze convinced her of the truth that his words
could not. She glanced over to Theresa, who had been compulsively
cleaning the soot and dirt from the bell as she listened to the
Inquisitor's words, and nodded mute assent.
“One
thing I must ask, Inquisitor.” said Mary, softly. “Why were you
trying to stop me destroying... the enemy? Is that not part of this
'circle' of yours?”
“Indeed
it is, Lady Mary. However, had the... other.. been recovered intact,
there are certain measures we could have undertaken to alter events
in such a way that your sacrifice would not be necessary. In this we
have succeeded many times, but our successes, and our failures, are
never known to any but ourselves. We will try again, of course- we
have travelled this path many times before. But time, if you will
forgive me, grows short. We must load Ifurita and
be on our way to deliver you to the site of the first recorded
contact with Imperial forces, and the path we must travel is only
open briefly. Say your goodbyes, but be aware that once the circle
closes, none of this will be remembered, and we will once again be
gone from the world.” He turned to walk back to his shuttle. “A
bulk lander will pick you up in ten minutes. Retrieve the blade, and
do not be late, and fear not, the weapon is outside of its own time
for now. It will not begin to spread its corruption until you are at
the appointed temporal coordinates.”
Theresa
walked over to her as the transport dusted off. In her hands she
still held the bell. “Sister, I cannot begin to understand the
burden the Emperor has placed upon you, but know this- your name, and
that of Ifurita, will
not end here. Your Novice has retrieved this bell's twin- put this
one in its place, for it is already a tainted thing. I had the
thought to scratch a mark into it, to see how many times Ix has been
around his circle, but Sister, they are beyond counting.”
Mary
took the bell, and turned to gaze at the still-smouldering remains of
the thing she still thought of as Folly of Sins. “I
wonder- was that still me in there? How many years had I been...
that? It seemed to remember everything that had happened, but
ultimately, it still lost. Galadriel's faith was stronger even than
its foreknowledge.”
“Perhaps
you... it... simply forgot. Perhaps it wanted to die, knew that it
had to in order to have ever existed. These things are not for us,
Sister. If not for that battleship and his infernal Mandate, I've
still half a mind to send Inquisitor Ix and his Ordo packing, but the
die is cast. Emperor be with you, Sister.”
“And
with you.” replied Mary reflexively. Theresa gave a quick nod, and
strode away, the Hospitalier fussing after her.
–
She
hung the bell, feeling the inside as she did so. It was a mass of
criss-crossing scratches in the silver, hundreds, maybe thousands,
too disorganised to count even if she had wanted to.
She
took up the blade, and felt its voice in the link. “I dna
ouy, etirw ot seirots hcus evah ew.”
it said. “Niaga nigeb ew os dna.”
She
strode into the lander, and servitors hurried forwards with
rune-encrusted chains. “I am sorry, Lady Mary” came Ix's voice
over the vox. “A necessary precaution, you understand.”
“I
understand.” she said. And with each soft peal of the bell, a sound
changed on a level too subtle for a sane mind to comprehend, she
found that she understood a little more.
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