Truth is the source of calamity. The moment when man, in all her wisdom, turned away from faith in the futile pursuit of truth was whence the traitor born.

- Mathias [1:37-40] Testament Luminus.

-//-

Blood. Blood all around her, blood flowing out of her, blood flowing into her, flooding her mouth. She laid there, body broken and armour ruined, with no power it weighed her weak body down as she coughed and hurled; slowly drowning in the crimson horror flooding her world. Aura moving in her distance, charging towards the hated foe.

She wept as she tried to scream only able to cough up a garbled mess.

No. Aura, stop... you'll die!

Dearest Aura. She did not hear her pleas. Blade in hand she charged onto a bloody death. Reduced to slabs of meat splattering onto the floor in a bloody heap. Rosetta's heart ached as it riled about in her chest. She tied to wail, to scream, to beg the Emperor to intervene yet nothing but a garbled mess spewed forth from her.

Where was the light that led her? Where was the golden throne when she needed it the most?There was only darkness. Darkness and blood... nothing more. In the distance one can hear the rumbling laughter of those who hunger.

Please... Aura... just stop.

-//-

Rosetta shot awake to find Squad Lorraine safe within Sabbat's Embrace as it busied itself with weapons checks and cleaning while the tank's engines grumbled to life and wheels began to roll. The motions and sounds of the usual ringing through the hall. She looked around and found Cornelia looking at her from her left.

Rosetta reassured her with a nod. She nodded back and returned to sharpening her Sarissa. Rosetta took a moment to force her nightmare back into the recesses of her mind, burying it behind the urgency of the here and now. She sat up straight, finding her bolter on lap.

Rosetta studied her bolter. Eyes running over the old leather clad handle, its trigger and then its broad, newly polished side shining in her sight. She ran her fingers across it, metal sheering across metal, stopping the moment the first of them contacted the small golden fleur-de-lis laid out proudly on its side.

Lies?

She stared at it, encapsulated by the boundless trains of thought that stemmed from that blasphemous word. After some time she snapped out of it, shaking her head free from the poisonous daydream.

Minutes passed and she claps it to the side of her power pack and looked around. Only a moment longer and she found Gloria at the end of the tank, reassembling her bolter. Cornelia to her left was paying and Cassandra to her right was resting. She turned to Cassandra, capturing her attention.

"Is it wise to let Gloria stay?" Rosetta asked with a hushed voice.

Cassandra nodded as she took out her flamer.

"The hospitaller did insist on a week's respite. Throneworld burns the day Gloria considers respite anything but sacrilege."

Rosetta frowned as she looked down at her bolter.

"A wasteful death might be all the same," she uttered.

"Death in service of the God-Emperor is never wasteful, Sister."

"Is it, Sister?"

Rosetta looked at her bolter as Cassandra watched on. In her helm she grimaced at the memory of Petra's head blasting apart right beside her then took a breath, pausing in consideration. The scene played over and over again in her mind. Now in the silence. With no duty nor distraction to keep her company it stung almost as much as the cursed memories of Mundinus.

The world slowed and her heart thumped as she let loose her tongue.

"No... death in service of the God-Emperor can be wasteful."

All around her went silent. She looked around and found pairs blazing red eye lenses dancing between rage and confusion as they stared right into her soul. Every part of her shivered, as mortified as she was liberated.

"Look around you, Sister. We carry the blessings of the Emperor upon our shoulders; our arms, our armour, the very food in our bellies. It is because of these blessings that we bare the responsibility to live and make good use of them, not die and leave them sullied in the mud."

Rosetta's eye looked around, even as she kept her face aimed at Cassandra. Gloria got up, put her bolter down and approached her. Rosetta shifted to face her as she approached, heavy armoured footfalls clanging in the near silence. Soon she stood before Rosetta, staring down in utter silence as Rosetta stared right back up into her eye.

"Renounce your words. Sister," she snarled.

Rosetta eyed her and considered it, Aura's last stand still fresh in her mind.

"I will not."

Gloria leaned in imposingly close.

"In Petra's name. Renounce your vitriol. Sister."

"This does not concern her. Misfortune is its own matter."

Gloria's took a step back and her hand curled into a fist and flew right at Rosetta. Rosetta flinched, pulling her head out of the way just in time as it slammed into the wall behind her. In an instant another fist was flying at Rosetta's face. She barely dodged it as armoured knuckles skidded across the side of her helm.

Rosetta arose from her seat, pushing Gloria away with all she had. The other Sister growling frustration as she stumbled back. She stabbed her finger at Rosetta, growling as she tore off her helm. Her pale blue eyes fuming, burning with icy fury as silver hair fluttered around her pale white skinned head as if static engulfed it before it fell back into place.

"How dare you blaspheme her name! Is that all we are?! All she was>?! No! We are women! We are sororitas! She! Was sororitas! How dare you deem us fit to barter like cold coins on the ferryman's vessel!" she barked.

Rosetta straightened her back, removed her helm and met her battle sister's gaze with all the strength she could muster. She shook all over. Her thumping heart flushing adrenaline into her veins. All she could do was make her stand.

"Her death is not cheapened by my words. Gloria. Your life has value just like any other in the order. It weighs down on all of us. Sister, I beseech you, do not throw it away on a petty chance for vengeance. That is indeed wasteful."

The pale Sister snarled with a face twisted by anger.

"It has everything to do with her!"

She throws her helmet at Rosetta and charges her.

"Gloria!"

Gloria froze in her tracks as all the Sisters shot to their feet, standing at attention.

The helmet rolled across the floor as Lorraine entered. She stops it with her foot then picks it up, stepping in between them as she studies the helm. Near silence reigned again as Lorraine let Gloria's helm have her full attention.

"What is truly wasteful is the attitude you all carry yourselves with. Where are my Sisters of Battle?! Where are my Daughters of The Emperor?!"

She walks to Gloria and looks her in her eye as she pushed her helm onto her chest, pressing against her coat-of-plates. Reluctantly, Gloria looked away as she caught it and Lorraine let go and leaned in close.

"All I see is a rabble of bickering curs."

She looks around at them all.

"One hour until we reach Hive Celestia Secundus. I expect no more of this!"

-//-

Sabbat's Embrace ground to a halt, its rear hatch fell open and Lorraine leapt out and looked around. Satisfied, she rushes the squad out with the wave of her hand. Thus did they jog out into the cold stale environment so typical of Helios, eyes scanning everywhere, only seeing allies.

Rosetta was last to leave. The instant she exited her transport colossal steel foot of an imperial knight slammed into the dry dirt next to her. She had to crane her head up as far as it could go to even witness the rest of the titanic god-machine as it lumbered onward in line with the rest of its house. The familiar blue and beige being displayed all too proudly upon its armour as it opened fire on the hive in the distance.

One knight of the line braced as a massive beam of immense power splashed away against its ion shield in a spectacular splash of searing blues and whites. Not even a moment later did it resume its advance as a thousand detonations engulfed the world around it in an ocean of fire.

In their wake the millions of grunts of the guard charging forward scurrying around the tracks of baneblades like a boundless horde of rodents desperately seeking cover. The baneblades, those massive mobile fortresses rolled forth, crushing all their enemies under eleven barrels of hell.  All the while the imperial knights towered high above them, fighting a war on a higher plane. The Imperial war machine has truly awoken and vengeance is at hand.

No matter what was said about the value of a single life one can not help but feel insignificant in the face of such monumental efforts. It almost made her earlier remarks seem almost worthless, perhaps even petty, in comparison.

"Squad follow me!" ordered Lorraine.

The squad obeyed and charged to the fray with the rest of  the order. A wave of silver melding into the rear of the imperial line. Rosetta looked around. It seems that they were all gathered here in their masses. The precise number eluded her but some two thousand silver clad Sisters had gathered for this spectacular event.

She smiled, letting the sensation of satisfaction take hold when imagining the strings Lady Mirabel must have pulled to make this a reality in a week. Then she looked back and smiled as she saw the revered Canoness standing atop the an exorcist tank, her great red cape, fluttering in the wind, armour gleaming in the pale sun. Utterly beautiful.

"Sisters. Be at the ready. Move into the trenches, find anyway into the citadel. As soon as one is found we will crack it open and flow through the breach." Lorraine announced.

"Understood, my lady," replied the squad.

Rosetta's body was alive again, muscles pumping with every stride, lungs working hard to supply her blood with much needed oxygen. Yet for all that, even as Squad Lorraine charged up the immense side of a baneblade all they could do is be dwarfed in its shadow. They were the Emperor's mailed fist blasting apart the enemy in the distance through the sheer firepower of eleven barrels of hell.

Rosetta's smile stayed with her. It was obvious why Mirabel wanted the view. What such glory to behold should never be ignored. Then she flinched as the machines halted and manoeuvred into fixed positions to hold the line.

Chatter filled the vox as that white beam blast across the landscape again, this time, sheering the colossal track off of a mighty baneblade. Rosetta crept up closer, eager for a better look but Lorraine's hand gripped her shoulder, pulling her back down.

Moments later the Knights were bunching up and the beam came again, splashing over ion shields in a mess of fire, white and blue. Next came Cornelia's voice.

"Sounds like we need to find cover."

"Agreed. Into the trench! Go! Go! Go!" Lorraine ordered.

A sudden barrage of thuds captured their attention and soon the land ahead was drowning in an ocean of smoke lit up with gunfire like the night sky. There was no telling friend from foe in that soup. Then the Knights started taking steps back.

The earth shook all around them as detonations tore up the earth and massive shells blew apart entire infantry sections at a time. Lorraine's shining armour was the only guiding light through the confusion. She led them along as they sprinted through the hell of smoke and fire, their armour weathering a storm of shrapnel.

Soon she found them cover in the cratered corpse of a destroyed bunker.

-//-