Soon the elite Celestians flowed in. Silent and swift they searched the great hall. Soon Mirabel followed the last one in on the back of her blessed lion. He growled and roared as if offended by some presence.

"Hush, Praetor," Mirabel said as she petted the beast.

Without hesitation, Rosetta came to her side. She removed her helmet and bowed her head she sheathed her sword and made the sign of the Aquila.

"The traitors had are no more, my lady!" She reported.

"Aye, but have they have left something behind? Clues, omens, evidence of their reasons for turning from his light. Find them!" The Canoness demanded.

Rosetta considered loyally showing the jewel to her lady but then she hesitated.

No, she'll be displeased to see it! She cannot be displeased!

The thought crept into her mind and stayed her hand. Instead, she hid it. She slipped it into an empty ammo pouch and purged it from her mind; leaving Mirabel none the wiser.

"We must search this place then move on." She ordered.

Rosetta bowed her head again.

"As you wish my lady." She replied.

Rosetta searched the corpses and combed the walls with the others. Looking past shattered jewels and burnt books she carried on. That is until she felt an odd breeze tickle her right cheek.

She turned to its source and squinted as she found light where there should be none. She gasped as it turns out to be a secret tunnel. A passageway through which survivors could escape.

"Hidden passage!" She called out.

"Mara!" Mirabel demanded.

With a nod one of the Celestians stepped forth while all others withdrew. Mara drew her melta and took aim while Mirabel mounted back onto Praetor. With a single blast of immolating heat, she blew a massive hole into the rock.

With that Praetor took off. Roaring with righteous rage and zeal, it charged into the tunnel. Unwilling to let her lady go she caught onto the mighty lion's side and gracefully swung onto his back.

Grabbing hold of her lady, she clung on with all her might. Pulling herself up against Mirabel's back she felt a blissful haze overcome her. Her heart throbbed, her breath left her, and every muscle in her body trembled with bliss.

Mirabel's scent, her silky silver hair, her passion, her soul, her everything was the perfected work of the divine. She praised the emperor of every heart-throbbing moment she spent clinging to her lady's body.

Mirabel grew too focused on the hunt. Rosetta was an insignificant detail compared to the prize at hand. Praetor growled as he caught the scent of the enemy in the air. The beast sped up even more. Almost straining in his efforts.

A flash of golden light made Mirabel flinch, and a bolt cut her left temple as it passed her by. Drawing Mirabel's pistol Rosetta fired into the forest. Her high explosive shells blew away the trunk of a colossal tree.

It toppled over and came crashing down. Its immense size and mass drove the enemy out into the open. She was not surprised to find three more golden warriors scurrying out of the darkness.

Mirabel drew her power sword and in one fluid motion decapitated one in an instant. While Praetor pounced on the second, shredding it with ease under its mighty paws. All the while Rosetta gunned down the last one.

Without pause, they charged off, ever further into the wilderness in search of their prey. Leaping over logs and surging along narrow roads through the woods; they became lost amidst the thick undergrowth.

Praetor tripped on the barbed wire, and the weights that held it in place gave way. In a violent whirlwind of wire, they wrapped themselves around the lion's legs and dug deep into his flesh. Instantly he tripped, flipped over and ground to an agonising halt.

Just then, more of these strange, seemingly alien warriors charged. One pounced on Mirabel leaping high into the air for one mighty death blow. The Canoness rolled to the side and swung with her sword cutting off the fiend's leg in a burst of blood and gore.

As he fell, Mirabel got up to her knees, and in a single downward, vertical slash beheaded the traitor. Then another struck her head as she ducked and let the blade passed over her.

She then shot back up catching the enemy under the arm at lifting him up off his feet. Then with all her might, she slammed him into the earth with backbreaking force. Followed by a swift decapitating strike.

Her plasma pistol glowed bright and blue as she opened fire blasting apart enemy after enemy as they charged her. Mirabel kept moving, barely dodging another bolt to her face. All the while Rosetta recovered and stuck her back against hers.

With power swords moving with grace and precision and pistols barking with gravitas and might. Back to back two Sisters of kindred spirit chanted holy battle hymns into the uncaring galaxy as they fought off its golden horrors.

These people, no, these creatures were silent, so utterly quiet as they sprinted back and forth like humanoid insects. Their inhuman snarls and growls disturbed the soul; their barbaric mannerisms disgusted the heart. They were repulsive things that deserved nothing but death and damnation.

Their armour were celebrations of the ideal human form. Made to emulate muscle, hair and face with only three openings over the mouth and eyes. Perhaps it is a reminder of their fall from grace, their once graceful souls of grand and mighty design.

Now what was left was a vile shadow of once mighty men. Mirabel thought of this while she butchered yet another of their number. Her heart sank with despair. She took pity on the poor souls she slaughtered before her crying eyes.

A blow to her temple knocked her off her feet and onto her side.

"My Lady!" Cried, Rosetta.

"R-Rosetta... I-I'm sss-" Mirabel struggled to utter as she drifted into oblivion. The vision of

Rosetta standing alone, brawling with the enemy was the last image in her eyes.

-//-

Thunder rumbled across the sky as Rosetta led Praetor into a cave system and out of the rain. There they settled in the dark and waited for morning light. Praetor, ever the intelligent protector allowed Mirabel's body to slide off his back and onto the cave's hard stone.

There he huddled around his unconscious master at rested. His deep growl with every breath betrayed sorrow and worry. Rosetta sat not too far from him. Her spirit, however, was restless, her mind raced with questions and thoughts.

She stood up and returned to the entrance of the cave and watched the night sky as rain poured down from the heavens. She thought of the day that had passed so quickly. She took a step outside.

Raising his head Praetor growled at her, warning her not to go. She smiled, she could see why her lady loved him so much. She looked back at him.

"Hush, I'll only be gone a moment." She assured him.

Then he snorted, licked his wounds and returned to rest. With that Rosetta stepped outside but stopped just short of passing into the rain. She found a large rock and sat on it and watched the storm blow over.

Their actions were reckless, performed without thought. They should never have come here alone. This situation was terrible. No backup, one of them wounded and the pair of them were alone again.

It was like the reverse of what happened five years ago. Alone, trapped in enemy territory and struggling for life. Her stomach growled as she reached back but found her ration pack was missing. Instead, she reached for the jewel she looted in Wyvern's Citadel.

It had not changed one bit. It was beautiful, utterly sublime. In the dark, it's amber flames turned into all manners of blue and cyan. Such an enchanting display of glorious colour. Such a jewel of perfection.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Asked a child's voice.

On stress induced reflex Rosetta pounced into action. She drew her power sword and activating its energy core. She slashed in the direction of the voice only to stop at the last second with her blade pointing at a familiar face.

A small, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl stood before her smiling with the face of an old friend. Wide-eyed and crying Rosetta cover gaping mouth with her free hand.

"Aura?" She asked.

The girl crossed her eyes; she looked confused.

"I don't know anyone by that name. It isn't mine... In fact, I have no name." She said plainly.

"No name?"

"Yes... I'm so lonely that I forgot my name. Should Aura be my name?"

Rosetta relaxed and sighed as she deactivated and sheathed her sword. Then she nodded and sat back down. Aura sat next to her, hugging her knees tight and allowing her blue robes to flow across the ground.

"Are you one of the star people?" She asked.

"What?" responded Rosetta.

"Star people... Our holy saviours who came down from the heavens on ships of white and gold."

Rosetta thought of the girl as a local. Insignificant in most ways. It was, however, a testament to her order's fame for even this hermit to know of them. She nodded yet again.

The giddy little girl gasped with excitement.

"So that's why you were fighting the Guardian Knights!"

"Guardian Knights?"

"Terrible people of strange golden armour... They should be protecting these lands, but instead, they keep everything for themselves."

Rosetta watched the strange little girl. She appeared to be somewhere about ten years old. She was almost identical to her old friend at that age. Watching the girl before her reminded her of her old friend now more than ever.

After some time in silence, the girl looked at Rosetta, attracting the Sororitas' attention.

"Why, Aura?" The girl asked.

"What?" Rosetta responded.

"It must mean something... Why Aura?"

After a pause, Rosetta answered her question.

"Nothing... It is history now... Nothing more"

Aura smiled, knowing the hidden meaning of Rosetta's words.

"War consumes us all." She remarked.

Rosetta, not understanding the meaning behind Aura's words, did not respond. She began to wonder about them. Somehow, it became apparent to her that the little girl Rosetta was speaking to was an orphan who knew death and loss. Even then she knew sympathy like none other. Just like the Aura of old.

The two sat there in silence as the rain poured ever more. The night carried on, dimly lit by the jewel's abnormal glow. Soon the girl watched the jewel in Rosetta's hand and looked at her. Rosetta looked back the girl.

"Look after that jewel, Lady." Aura warned with a smile.

Rosetta raised an eyebrow.

"People have been killed for less." She continued before a beam of light blinded Rosetta. She looked up and found an Aquila lander lowering itself before her. When the light passed, the child was gone.

-//-

"Rosetta! Lady Mirabel is through this door. Look proper as you stand before your superiors!" Barked Alexis as she watched Rosetta catch up to her.

Rosetta jogged down the narrow hallway of stone and iron. Fist-sized craters were visible on the walls. The scorch marks made them stand out like black stains on the rock which appeared akin to sandstone. It had been three days since the battle; they were back in Wyvern's Citadel.

Converted to suit Mirabel's demands the castle became her base of operations. Today Rosetta had been abruptly summoned to the command centre. As such, she assembled at the door with Alexis pulling her along.

Like an overstressing mother, Alexis had been barking at her all day. Talking about being proper and dressing in her best. Often even giving her armour the occasional tug to make sure it fit on perfectly.

The whole experience amused the young Rosetta. It was most, unlike her Sister Superior. Yet something about today scared her. She hadn't had the chance even to train nor pray. Fixated on keeping her beautiful Alexis dragged her along as if they were about to enter a ceremony or celebration.

Then the doors opened and Rosetta stepped into a room full of chanting Celestians and Mirabel holding her sword upright. She stepped into the centre with Alexis following in behind her and closing the door.

"Sister Rosetta of the Order of Divine Light kneel!" Ordered Mirabel.

Rosetta bowed her head as she obeyed the command. Mirabel took a step forward and placed the blade of her sword upon Rosetta's left shoulder.

"By the power of the Ecclesiarchy..." She then lifted the blade over Rosetta's head and placed it on her right shoulder. "...By the will of the Emperor, I name thee... Blessed Celestian of the Order of The Divine Order. Go forth and serve with pride dear Sister."

Rosetta stood up and bowed her head again.

"Thy will be done!" She responded solemnly.

-//-