Aside from first glance, cultural practices differing between imperial and local peoples caused tensions in an instant. With the Sororitas absolute objection to compromise and aggressive nature, diplomacy broke down swiftly.

It had only been a week since the celebrated annexation of Helios, and already rebellion and war had spread like wildfire. This planet was once united under the emperor's light merely days ago. Now, it seemed intent on tearing itself asunder.

Fighting at the forefront of this new war were Mirabel's Sisters of Battle. Seeking a swift victory in battle, she committed her entire order to a holy crusade. Resolute in their faith in the Emperor and their righteous cause they rode their mighty rhino tanks into battle.

-//-

The sudden bang of a direct hit barked throughout the troop compartment. Battle Sisters murmured and whispered their prayers of protection, honour and benediction. They knelt as one before a small shrine dedicated to the Emperor.

It was a decorated statue of him at his prime upholding the silver star. The sacred emblem of the order. Such was its nobility that it embodied the hope of the Imperum. Rosetta herself uttered prayers of benediction as she gazed upon its shining glory. She made the sign of the Aquila as she finished and took hold of her bolter.

She could hear the deep thud of the pintle-mounted storm bolter through the thick skin of her rhino. Another loud bang amidst the muffled rumble of war echoed throughout the compartment, and she praised the Emperor for the shelter her transport provided.

As the sisters, all started finishing up their blessed prayers Alexis appeared before them. Her black hair framed an ageing, scared face. She was a veteran of a lifetime of commitment. Unyielding, unrelenting dedication to the Emperor had been the framework of her life.

Rosetta had to admire the woman. Upon her brown-eyed face bore the anger of one who lived through too many wars of the Imperium. Today she guided them all into battle.

"We of the Adepta Sororitas stand for one purpose and one reason. That purpose is to show the Emperor's Divine Light to all who are consumed by darkness. That reason is unity. Unity for mankind, unity for the galaxy. The Emperor Protects! By his grace, you know what to do!" She proclaimed.

The rhino tank shook as it ploughed through a brick wall. The gunner hammered home a stream of storm bolter fire through ranks of traitorous filth. The survivors were splattered across the upper glacis of the rhino. Devotion had come in the form of the  Adepta Sororitas' armoured assault.

Soon the tank ground to a halt and its rear ramp lowered. Cannon shot slammed into the earth, kicking up a cloud of dirt upon impact. Alexis took the lead as they waited for the ramp to complete its descent. When it hit the grassy earth, and the sisters charged out as the enemy swarmed their position.

Armed and armoured in primitive medieval equipment they were a pitiful sight. They charged the Sororitas on mass only to be cut down in their hundreds by disciplined bolter fire. Mass reactive shells of high-explosive munitions detonated upon contact with steel, flesh and cloth.

In the name of the Emperor, the Adepta Sororitas moved with precision and speed. They laid siege on a rebel citadel. The reason for the rebel's betrayal was unknown, but then heresy does not reason.

Rosetta put on her helm and charged out with Isabel at her side. She sprinted around to the tank's right flank and laid her eyes on a mighty citadel. The Order was laying siege to the fortress known as Wyvern's Citadel.

Exorcists rained hell from above as entire squadrons unleashed their deadly payload upon the enemy walls. The primitive bulwarks collapsed as powerful munitions penetrated the parapets and detonated inside the walls.

Overtaking her Sisters, Rosetta was the first to charge into the breach. Shots from black powder weapons ricocheted off her blessed armour. She felt a burning passion as she aimed with her holy bolter. By the might of the Emperor, she found her prey.

They were a sorry bunch of fools who sought to hold her back with a hedge of pikes. They advanced as one while she cut them down with the blessed might of her bolter. She drew a frag grenade and threw it into their midst.

The world shook as their formation dissolved in the wake of its detonation. Rosetta roared with deep satisfaction as her emotions burned within her very soul. Glory and triumphant bloodshed these things are what fuels a warrior's spirit.

To her right, Alexis kicked down the door to a watchtower and charged right in bolt pistol, and he favoured chainsword roaring. To her left, Isabel set buildings alight with her flamer. All around her, her squad rushed in with purpose with the order following in behind them.

Like a wave of fire and white armour, the Order of Divine Light poured into the settlement. Battle Sisters broke into battle hymns as all resistance dissolved in their wake. None could withstand their wrath. None could escape their judgement.

Mirabel herself lead the charge. Her blessed lion was an image of the divine. It ripped and tore through countless traitors with its bloody claws. Mirabel held her power sword up high. Golden lightning surged from its hilt up its blade. Ever the symbol of imperial power and justice.

Rosetta's every coveted desire fuelled her as she surged ahead. Holy righteousness and zeal burned hot in her soul. Switching to her power sword, she drove it through flesh and steel. She revelled in the bloodshed; this was justice, this was beauty, this was perfection.

Penitent Engines rampaged through the streets butchering all around them with brutish, bladed weapons. Retributors pounded into enemy barricades and formations with heavy bolter fire. While Seraphim soared over the walls, pistols killing with lethal precision.

Then came another missile bombardment on the keep. Rosetta looked up at the enemy's last bastion. Primitive bombards fired in all directions. It would have been a challenge to besiege if they were equals in technology. This ordeal was a merciless yet deserved slaughter.

None will fault the white beast that beset the traitors that day. Blame would fall upon the bloody hands of those who refused to accept the pure light of the Imperium. Such was the Emperor's will. Such was the holy charge of his servants. Such was the fate of the traitor.

-//-

The midday sun blazed high in the sky while Isabel placed a melta bomb on the keep's main gate. Once finished, she looked at Alexis who watched the courtyard behind them as Sororitas piled in. Then Mirabel appeared on top of her growling, blood-soaked mount.

Rosetta watched at Alexis' side. Awed at such a divine image as the triumphant Mirabel, she almost lost herself. Battle had always made her burn white hot with desire. The rush, the adrenaline, the danger, it all flooded her soul with each passing moment. Sometimes so intense she feared it would become addictive.

That same fear drove her to keep these sensations secret from her Sisters lest she is persecuted for such heresy. She worked hard to do so. Never speaking of it, even as it consumed her soul with burning passion. They would never understand its true flawless nature.

However, now was not the time to dwell on such matters. There was bloody work to be done on the other side of that door. Alexis nodded, and the bomb was triggered. A sudden, overpowering detonation followed a sudden buildup of heat and light.

In a moment, the massive iron gate was destroyed in a pile of molten slag and billowing steam. Rosetta and six other sisters rushed into the doorway and opened fire. They saturated the place beyond in a storm of bolt rounds.

As they reloaded, the Order advanced on through. Room by room they purged the keep of all life. It was not long before they have scoured the entire building except the great hall. Another great iron door barred their way, and again Isabel was called upon to set up the melta bomb.

A familiar build-up of heat and light obliterated the door in a pile of molten slag and billowing steam. Then the Sisters rushed in with bolters blasting. Riddling everything within mass reactive shells, blowing holes into furniture, art and architecture alike.

Then in a golden flash of light, something was shot through the lens of a Sororitas' helm. It penetrated glass and bone, and the woman dropped dead. Then three others were felled the same way. Isabel stepped forward and with her flamer unleashed a jet of flame.

The flames consumed the room in a swath of destruction and from the fire appeared three golden warriors. As the crossbows on their wrists burned off, they drew master crafted blades from jewel-encrusted sheaths.

Just as Rosetta and her Sisters set her bolters upon them, they sprinted at blinding speeds. Silent and swift they leapt from Sororitas to Sororitas. Their blades were elegant, long and thin, piercing even the ceramite encased power armour of the Sisters of Battle.

Tossing aside her bolter, Rosetta drew her power sword and with one fluid motion slashed vertically upward. She cut the blade of an incoming sword. Its wielder then stepped hard on the floor and launched himself at her.

In a mighty collision, he tackled her to the ground and began to pound into her helmeted head. With a potent right hook, she smashed him aside and rolled onto the top of him and lifted her sword to strike when he took hold of her arms.

The golden warrior's strength proved mighty and overwhelming. Even her armour whined and squealed as battling forces warped it out of shape. Soon Rosetta was forced to drop her blade. With that, he pulled her to the side and rolled back up top then his face jerked to the left, and he took off.

Roaring into the room was Alexis. Bolt pistol firing and chainsword revving she forced the warrior back. All the while Isabel held another back behind a wall of flame, and the third ran rampant through the Sororitas' ranks.

Rosetta retrieved her power sword and sought to aid Alexis and end her quarry. As one the pair launched strike after strike in a relentless running battle. Unarmed with only his speed the golden warrior was cornered and butchered to pieces by the combined fury of two Sororitas.

The second dove through the flames, tackling Isabel to the ground and drove his blade through the right lens. Alexis roared as she leapt into combat. Mighty swings of her hallowed chainsword drove him back but not for long as he ducked then launched himself high up into the air.

Bouncing, leaping and sliding the skilled warrior was impossible to land a hit on. There seemed to be no end to his energy. All the while Alexis was drained of strength. Then she cried to the heavens as the warrior she faced drove his sword into her shoulder.

Rosetta charged into the fray. Alexis dropped her weapons and took hold of the foul traitor's arm. She pinned him in place while with a single perfect strike Rosetta decapitated the thin golden warrior.

It took the combined might of seven bolters firing away at the last one to land a hit and finish him off. They were swift, elite and precise. In their silence, they these warriors of golden armour seemed almost alien. Xenos or not the Sisters prevailed this day.

Few survived. Even fewer retained the strength to stand. It was a bloody encounter. Feeling her strength ebb away Alexis slumped to her knees as Rosetta caught her.

"Hospitaller!" Rosetta roared.

Alexis muttered something inaudible. Rosetta looked at her.

"Hush Sister. The Emperor protects!" She urged Alexis.

Alexis simply closed her eyes smiled while Rosetta held her. Somehow Rosetta was utterly ignorant of the feat she had just accomplished. To remain upright and moving while all others collapsed from exhaustion was not a detail to dismiss.

-//-

In the aftermath,  Rosetta stayed while the wounded were all evacuated. Rosetta was left alone in the keep. She wandered throughout the main hall and whispered prayers of resolution and sanctuary as she passed the bodies of dead sisters. However, that was not the only reason why she was here.

Curiosity drove her onwards. Questions flooded her mind. Most of all, questions about their identity. Who were these instigators? What was their cause? These questions only came to her now that they were dead. Watching the bodies, she fumed with frustration.

For now, she resorted to searching their bodies. It was then that she came across a single exotic jewel bound to one warrior by a golden chain. It had a certain quality to it. A level of detail, quality and grace that made seem almost alive with beauty.

It took the form of a waxing crescent on a single circular plate of platinum. The light side of the moon was a brilliant marvel of crystalline beauty. Manipulated rays of light made it appear to shimmer and shine and glow in a myriad of blues, pinks and purples.

The dark side of the moon was a marvel in its own right. Crystals of amber and yellow, built into a background of flawless obsidian. The light inside the jewel seemed to flicker and move, forming the illusion of dancing flames in the dark.

Such perfection could only be a divine gift of great fortune. By the Emperor, she took it without thought.

-//-