Hey, Dakka! My returning enthusiasm toward my Sisters of Battle army inspired me to create more Dakka Fiction. This series I'm working on starts with an event mentioned in my previous effort, a character background for a Dark Eldar Syren named Sybil. It can be found here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/364936.page#2734061
While Sybil's story is more of a character profile, this story reads like a narrative and is much longer. I am hoping on having my continuation to it finished soon. The main character is a Dominion Superior I made up for my home brew Order of the Cold Fire army. I hope to have a miniature painted to accompany the story soon. Anyway, here it is. Hope you guys like it!
Dominion Superior Danica cautiously stepped into the office of Canoness Mona. She hated to bear bad news, but knew that her superior would have to know every detail of the catastrophe that had transpired only hours ago. Upon entering, Danica took in the familiar site of the circular room. The walls were a dark brown with stained glass windows to the left and right and a single transparent one directly opposite of the single door, placed directly behind the impressive dark wood desk of the Canoness. Mona stood behind this desk, looking out the window with her gloved hands behind her back.
“Thank you for arriving so quickly,” Mona said with a bit of a melancholic tone as she turned her head over her shoulder. “Please have a seat.”
“Thank you, Milady,” Danica replied, a bit intimidated by the sight of Mona’s bionic eye. She had seen this legendary scar on countless occasions, but this never changed the effect it had on her. “I suppose you would like to hear about today’s events right away.” Danica’s voice began to quiver as she recalled the horrors she had witnessed. Mona turned around, revealing the brilliant gold trim on the front of her power armor. She continued to stand as she looked upon one of her most trusted subordinates. She looked into the green eyes of the blond Dominion and could tell that this report would be difficult to take in.
“Indeed, Danica. I would like for you to start from the beginning.”
“Very well,” Danica started. “It all began this morning.”
* * *
Danica and Seraphina had just finished their breakfast and were walking through the wide halls of the convent to their morning worship. Warm sunlight poured in through the wide windows of the hallways and reflected off of the shining obsidian armor and white gloves of the Battle Sisters. Their dark purple robes flowed elegantly behind them as they moved and the silver trim of their power armor was radiating in the morning sunlight. At this time, neither woman was wearing her helmet, making it possible to see Danica’s gloomy face. Once Seraphina noticed this and her friend’s melancholic demeanor, she gently nudged Danica with her elbow, trying to cheer her up.
“What’s the matter, Sister?” Seraphina asked her superior. Danica slowly turned her head to face Seraphina. The other Dominion was looking at her with a dazzling smile that was made even more beautiful by the abundant light. Danica knew in her heart that she should only feel this amount of admiration to the god-Emperor of Man, but seeing Danica’s radiant smile and sparkling blue eyes always gave her a feeling that she could not quite explain or identify. There was even something special about her neatly brushed dyed white hair. Danica quickly pulled herself out of this state of mind and made sure to answer quickly.
“I suppose I just feel much pity toward Sister Elise.” Danica replied with a frown.
“Yes, it is quite a shame that a Retributor like her would be found guilty of blasphemy.”
“And to sentence her to become a Sister Repentia? She must be terrified. I know I should not feel anything toward an individual that has upset our Emperor, but she was such a good soldier. I cannot even begin to imagine what she must have said, Seraphina.”
“This may not entirely be a misfortune,” Seraphina remarked with another striking smile. “Elise may have fallen short in faith, but being a Repentia is a very respectable gesture and she still has a chance to prove herself in battle and be returned to our Order as a hero.” Hearing this optimistic take on Elise’s dire fate brought a slight smile to Danica’s face.
“You always know how to make me feel better.”
“I am glad to hear that, Milady.” Seraphina said to her superior before changing the subject. “I hope your thoughts brighten during this morning’s worship. It is a shame that Mona will not be here to lead the ceremony today, but I am certain that Father Adamus will do well in her stead.”
“Oh yes, we have no need to…” Danica’s words were cut off by an abrupt crash. She looked out the window and saw that a tower of the convent had a massive smoking hole in it. All of a sudden, a dark purple energy beam pierced through the damaged tower, causing it to cave in on itself. The cherub-like laud hailers that were installed in every hallway began to wail a loud, high-pitched siren. Another Sister Superior ran past Danica and Seraphina shouting “Get to the armory at once! Prepare to defend our home at any cost!”
At once, Danica and Seraphina rushed through the hallways to the armory and quickly assembled the rest of their Dominion squad. Danica wasted no time in retrieving her reliable combi-flamer. She looked around at the squad mates under her command. Seraphina had just put on her helmet and was reaching for her flamer. The other Sister permitted to use a flamer in the squad, Alexia, already had her flamer and was securing her respirator over her mouth and nose. After Sisters Mira and Victoria loaded their bolt guns and Sister Marita retrieved the squad’s Simulacrum Imperialis, Danica organized the squad and directed them toward their Immolator as fast as she could. The squad made it to the convent’s hangar within minutes and had no trouble finding their Immolator. Sister Katarina was already manning the transport’s dual heavy flamers and ready to drive it as the Dominions rushed into the open hatch and took their seats. They rolled out into the meadow surrounding their convent alongside other Immolators and Rhino transports. An antiquated Exorcist accompanied these vehicles as well, ready to provide missile support if needed.
Alien vehicles skimmed above the plains, headed directly toward Convent Pristina. There were five in number, and each one looked similar to Terran naval ships of times long passed. They were hovering platforms with minimal hulls, sails, sharp rudders, and excessive blades and spikes. The hulls were silver with a faint purple aura and the sails were black and had symbols depicting a jagged white spiral. Each one had long rifle-like weapons, and most also carried many troops on their open decks. The weapons on the vessels were still firing at the convent, but soon enough the whole fleet detected the incoming squadron of Sororitas tanks and redirected their efforts.
Danica’s Immolator was one of the front most vehicles in the squadron, and she and her squad were able to see outside through slit-like windows at the front of the vehicle. Alexia clutched her flamer tightly. “Whoever these invaders are, they will quickly fall before my purifying flames,” she boasted.
“And my bolter will line those fragile vessels with more holes than they can count!” Victoria chimed in.
“Remember, Sisters,” Danica began, “we know we are some of the most battle-ready Sisters in the Order of the Cold Fire, ready to enforce the Emperor’s verdict as swiftly as we can. However, we cannot forget that His will comes before our personal glories. In the Emperor’s name, have caution. I have heard terrible stories about who the enemy may be, but I pray they are not who I think.” Danica’s squad mates looked puzzled. They were almost certain that the threat was of Xenos origin, but the study of foul species other than humanity was discouraged in Convent Pristina. “Now then, it is time to go into the fray.” Katarina swerved the Immolator to a tactical angle and the back hatch opened, making way for the Dominions to set foot in the battleground as the Battle for Convent Pristina began.
* * *
Within one of the Raider craft in the fleet, a Dark Eldar known as Jogget continued to coordinate the slave raid on this primitive temple. As a Dracon, he was one of the most elite members of society in the dark city of Commoragh. This is why he refused to hear any warnings at how “impractical” or “irrational” this operation may be. He would succeed in capturing and delivering as many of these pure souls as he could take alive to the wych cult arena of his infamous mistress, Sybil. If he kept this up, Sybil would help him to ascend through the ranks society. Once he became an Archon, he would have more women than he would ever need to fill the inherent void within him, along with the power to easily fill any other appetite he would ever have for the rest of his long life. As his Raider got closer to the enemies ahead, he took his communication device and ordered “Kabalites, move into ground position.”
In one graceful, fluent motion the sadistic warriors of the Kabal of the Infinite Void leapt from their Raider transports and began to charge toward the human women with remarkable speed. At their head, a female Sybarite named Lynith charged in with an armor-penetrating blast pistol and a sword charged with an alien power source. Their silver armor shared the hint of purple seen on their vehicles and they carried long, elaborate rifles decorated with bones collected from previous raids. All at once, they lifted these rifles and fired at their unworthy prey. Narrow dark purple beams darted from the barrels, each one carrying a stream of thin clear shards that resembled glass.
Screams of agony were heard across the battlefield as poison shards from the splinter rifles of the Dark Eldar pierced through the power armor of the Battle Sisters, instantly injected potent toxins into their blood streams, and caused them to writhe in pain on the grassy knolls. The squad that fired these deadly poisons continued to advance toward Danica’s Dominion squad after decimating a Battle Sister squad with relative ease and efficient speed. Danica shouted “All flamers fire!” and immediately expended the single-use promethium canister of her combi-flamer as Seraphina and Alexia also sprayed torrents of flame at the aggressors. Before Danica’s eyes, over half of the targeted squad ran wildly in flames and were quickly reduced to charring remains. The remaining members aside from Lynith were leveled by the heavy bolters of the Retributor squad. Danica frowned, wishing that Elise could have been one of those who had just purged some of the Xenos attackers, but quickly shook this pity from her mind as she noticed that the leader of the diminished squad was running right at her. Pulling out her chain sword, Danica parried the slash of a power sword and attempted to strike the enemy, who resembled a slender, pale human woman with sleek black hair. Unfortunately for Danica, this alien was able to cut right through her chain sword with her power sword, and then kicked her to the ground. Danica quickly looked up and tried to regain her footing, but what she saw was discouraging. Another squad of these Xenos troops was approaching.
Behind the lines of combat, the holy Exorcist tank had targeted one of the alien transports, the only one that seemed to still have some infantry in it. The organist at its front only waited until the servitor behind her loaded a few missiles, and then struck the sacred keys. The resulting music was quickly followed by a volley of missiles. One of the missiles scored a direct hit on the targeted Raider, causing it to explode into a heap of smoldering rubble. As soon as Lynith realized that Joggett had been shot down, she secretly appreciated his sudden death. Since she was of natural birth, she could now easily fill the void Joggett left as a Trueborn or even a new Dracon. It was now her duty to execute this slave raid as well as possible. She looked down at the pathetic human on the ground before her. “Take her,” Lynith snapped to her minions “Her and the rest of this squad.”
Danica let out a fierce battle cry and unleashed a hail of bolt shells upon the filthy aliens that were attempting to capture her. As she was kept busy by these four enemies, she heard Seraphina cry out in pain, and this drove her to try with all her might to regain her footing and regroup with her fellow Dominions. Praying to her Emperor and calling upon her unwavering faith, Danica looked down the scope of her combi-flamer and eliminated the Xenos warriors one at a time with successive, single bolt rounds. As these soldiers, male and female alike, fell to the scorched earth, Danica stood up and witnessed a nightmarish event unfold before her. While Sisters Mira, Alexia, and Marita were engaged in melee combat with four of enemy troops, Sisters Seraphina and Victoria were on their knees aboard one of the enemy vessels. The female leader Danica had dueled with stood with a superior stance before them while what seemed to be another sergeant struck them with a green whip that crackled with electricity. Two of the soldiers were tying the Dominions’ hands behind their backs with some sort of wire as the female commander picked up their weapons. Before Danica’s eyes, the hovering transport sped away with her women and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She stood with her hope crushed as she watched the Xenos craft fly out of sight. “Milady!” Alexia called to Danica “We require your aid!” Danica rushed over to her remaining squad mates in blind fury. She saw that one of the abominations was dead from point-blank bolt gun fire and leapt at the remaining three that were combating her Sisters. Tackling one of them, she wasted no time in snapping his neck. Her adrenaline and hatred toward these enemies of Man were making her feel as strong as her genetically altered Space Marine brethren, and she would use this strength to clear the rest of the battlefield. Noticing that all of the vehicles had retreated with the one that had taken Seraphina and Victoria away, she knew that only two Xenos remained. Danica rose from her kill and kicked the remaining two enemies down after Sister Marita managed to push them back with her Simulacrum Imperialis. “Alexia!” Danica ordered “Cleanse these infidels!” On command, Alexia fired her flamer, dousing the opposing troops in searing flames. Once the aliens were nothing more but charred bone and metal, Danica looked down in sorrow. The battle had been won, but at a terrible cost. An entire squad of Battle Sisters had been lost, either dead in the fields or captured by these sadists. Another had been cut down in size by the vehicle that had fired at the Convent, but had some survivors. The other Dominion squad, Retributors, and Exorcist tank had been untouched. Worst of all for Danica, of course, was the loss of Seraphina and Victoria. Her own squad mates had been taken alive under her watch. Worse yet, she knew in her heart that this was none other than one of the most horrifying threats in the universe. These women had been taken alive by the Dark Eldar.
* * *
Canoness Mona, who was now seated behind her desk, leaned her head into one of her hands, allowing some of her auburn hair to fall in her face. She looked at Danica with her remaining natural blue eye and said “Thank you for your report, Danica, I knew I could count on an accurate one from you. I sincerely apologize that you lost some of your women and that I was not there to help.”
“It is alright, Milady,” Danica respectfully answered “No one could have foreseen this cowardly and dishonorable attack. I just hope we all defended this convent well enough in your absence.”
“We will have to call in some techpriests to repair a tower and part of the eastern wall, and we did lose a good number of Sisters before the battle even started. However, you and all of the others who were able to take up arms and drive out the threat did very well, and I commend all of you for that.”
“Thank you, Milady.” Danica replied. After much contemplation, she drew up the courage to bring up the enemy to her Canoness. “Now, if I may, Milady, I have something I wish to discuss with you.”
“Speak freely.”
“Most of my Sisters did not know who attacked us today. It was the Dark Eldar, was it not? I have heard horrible stories about the likes of them, but I never knew I would have to experience this nightmare in person. If these are Dark Eldar, is there any way I could learn more about them? I know it is against our teachings to pursue such dark knowledge, but I would do anything it takes to try to rescue Sisters Seraphina and Victoria, if I am permitted to try, of course.”
Mona allowed herself a slight smile. Danica was starting to really show what it took to be a strong leader. “Danica, I understand how important your Dominions are to you, and I respect that very much. As leaders, we must do all that we can to protect those under us. While we both know that it is not your top priority to pursue threats of Xenos nature, I will permit you to search for a way to launch a counter attack for all of our Sisters that were taken prisoner today. Of course, this will only be allowed when you are not actively engaged in any other mission. Since the current objective of the Order of the Cold Fire is to repair the damage done to Convent Pristina, I will allow you to pursue your goal at once. I recommend you start with the inquisitor I spoke with today. As you know, I was gone this morning because I was summoned to meet with Inquisitor Malthus of the Ordo Xenos over some Tau imperialists of their Viorla Sept trying to colonize a planet that is a bit too close to this one. Malthus got into the inquisition because of his vast knowledge of Dark Eldar. I suggest you meet with him and see if you can get any useful information for your cause. In the meantime, I will oversee the repair of this convent.”
“I will do so at once, Milady, thank you for allowing me this,” Danica stood from her seat and made the Aquila sign before her Canoness.
“You are welcome, Danica,” Mona replied “I am sure you will make the Emperor proud. May His light be with you.”
Danica left Mona’s office and immediately made her way toward the city of Victus. Once she arrived at the cathedral there and met with Inquisitor Malthus, nothing would stop her until she found a way to return the devastating blow that the Dark Eldar inflicted. Praying to her Emperor, she hoped with all her soul that Serpahina would not have to endure even half of the torture that she had heard the Dark Eldar were capable of inflicting. No matter how Seraphina turned out to be in the end, these evil Xenos would fall before the unquenchable faith of the Adepta Sororitas.
Trust No One
Cult of the Blade Denied 1000 pts 
