本章概述：

????????????亞歷桑德拉做了必要的事。

????????????In which Alessandra does what is necessary.

?

正文：

我的心跳聲震耳欲聾。

一時(shí)之間，砰砰作響的心跳聲是我在伊莎萊的懷里唯一能聽(tīng)到的東西，而伊莎萊的皮膚也沒(méi)有了片刻前那種發(fā)燒般的溫度，這令我稍稍滿(mǎn)足。除此之外，伊莎萊現(xiàn)在變得有些不一樣了，她懷抱著我的方式是如此的溫柔，她的手指不停地?fù)徇^(guò)我的手，像是在告訴自己我還在這里一樣。

然而，教堂外傳來(lái)的低沉的爆炸聲提醒我，這里不是休息的地方。這里已經(jīng)發(fā)生過(guò)了一些事，而再明顯不過(guò)的是，這里不是應(yīng)付它的地方。

我有些不舍地起身，掙脫了伊莎萊的手。她放開(kāi)了，隨后站到了我身邊，但可能只是因?yàn)榈贸隽伺c我相同的結(jié)論。

“你確定你還好嗎，亞歷桑德拉？”她問(wèn)道，小心翼翼地伸出手來(lái)。

我用自己的手截住了她的手，將它向前拉到我的臉頰上。我們之間已經(jīng)發(fā)生了變化的事情之一，是我的懷疑……哪怕僅在幾個(gè)小時(shí)前，我也仍在思忖：伊莎萊關(guān)于自己的意圖的故事是否只是……一個(gè)故事。我想知道自己是不是被耍弄，被用于針對(duì)帝國(guó)的某種可怕的陰謀。

在她把我?guī)У竭@個(gè)小教堂的那一刻，懷疑便逐漸減輕了，而當(dāng)她堅(jiān)決要求知道我對(duì)她做了什么時(shí)，她嗓音中的恐懼和控訴則令之煙消云散。

我靠向她的觸碰，點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。

“看到了嗎？”我給了她一個(gè)淡淡的微笑，“我一點(diǎn)事也沒(méi)有?！?/p>

她搖了搖頭。

“我還是認(rèn)為那并不可能，”伊莎萊堅(jiān)稱(chēng)?！澳阒獣责嚳收邌?？我從你的靈魂之井中汲取了……后果本該立竿見(jiàn)影且十分可怖?！?/p>

“帝皇保佑，”我輕柔地說(shuō)，而伊莎萊則嗤之以鼻。“你笑了出來(lái)，但你說(shuō)發(fā)生過(guò)的事是不可能的，是嗎？”伊莎萊猶豫著點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭。“可它就是發(fā)生了，”我指向了自己，“我現(xiàn)在毫發(fā)無(wú)損，我受到了庇佑……我不需要你相信我的信仰，伊莎萊，但我知道帝皇庇護(hù)著我，一如他庇護(hù)著自己所有的子民。”

“好吧，讓我們希望他繼續(xù)保佑你吧，”伊莎萊疲憊地說(shuō)道，不再去理會(huì)這場(chǎng)談話(huà)。“現(xiàn)在，我們應(yīng)該做我把你帶過(guò)來(lái)時(shí)想要你做的事，然后繼續(xù)下一步，不知道我們離下一場(chǎng)掠奪派對(duì)還有多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。”

“你的打算是什么？”

伊莎萊指向我。“你需要護(hù)甲，可你的那件沒(méi)法被輕易地修復(fù)，假設(shè)它還可以修理的話(huà)?！?/p>

我皺起了眉頭，轉(zhuǎn)向我隕落的姐妹們。

“伊莎萊，就算我能接受從死者那里索取，”我指出這嚴(yán)重的戰(zhàn)斗損害，“我也懷疑我的姐妹們的戰(zhàn)甲中是否還有能工作的機(jī)魂?！蔽铱聪蛩齻兊奶籽b的左臂，然后搖了搖頭?！岸椅覍?duì)戰(zhàn)備與維修儀式（the Rites of Armament and Repair）了解并不深，我沒(méi)法確保能把零部件從一件套裝換到另一件上?！?/p>

“你不需要這么做，”伊莎萊搖頭回復(fù)道。“用完好無(wú)損的那套就行了?！?/p>

她指向我的姐妹們，我抬起眼眸，看了看她們，又看向伊莎萊。

“沒(méi)有一套完整的?！?/p>

伊莎萊又一次無(wú)言地指向我的姐妹們而……不，我轉(zhuǎn)頭看向她們，回頭看向伊莎萊，用難以置信的眼光盯了她一會(huì)兒，隨后沿著她的手的角度，視線(xiàn)沒(méi)有看向我的姐妹們……

而是看向了阿拉貝拉的雕塑。

以及裝點(diǎn)著它的那套精工動(dòng)力甲。

“不！”我立刻把目光移回伊莎萊身上?！拔也粫?huì)為了一件護(hù)甲就褻瀆我自己的修會(huì)的圣殿！”

“褻瀆它？”伊莎萊大笑起來(lái)?！拔叶?！那我們就一起繼續(xù)行動(dòng)吧！我很確定獸人到來(lái)時(shí)會(huì)對(duì)那件盔甲——”她猛地指向那座雕塑，“報(bào)以它所應(yīng)有的尊重！”

我臉色煞白，一想到一個(gè)獸人技霸會(huì)對(duì)我們的一件圣遺物做出什么，我的靈魂便畏縮了。

“它是一件圣物！”我反擊道，拼命地想找出一個(gè)替代方案?！澳羌o(hù)甲屬于已經(jīng)殉教的光耀紫藤修會(huì)大修女！絕不是我可以隨意取用的！”

“那么再說(shuō)一遍，”伊莎萊尖刻地說(shuō)道，“如果你就這么確信，那我想我們會(huì)把它留在這里的！”

“這不公平，伊莎萊！”我走向她，厲聲喝道?！澳悴荒芫瓦@么從圣物盒里拿走·一件圣遺物！在從這座雕塑上取下哪怕一塊之前都要舉行儀式和典禮！”

伊莎萊的表情都能抽干一座海洋世界了。

“我很確信你的圣徒姐妹能理解我們急于求成的需要，”她堅(jiān)定地回答道。

“我……”

我轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身去，盯著那件護(hù)甲，意識(shí)到自己正真心地考慮伊莎萊的話(huà)令我的雙腿戰(zhàn)栗起來(lái)。我真的在考慮爬上圣阿拉貝拉的雕塑，將死去的大修女的護(hù)甲扒下來(lái)為自己所用。

伊莎萊嘆了口氣。

“要么我們拿走它，”她伸出一只手掌，“要么我們就毀掉它，”她伸出另一只手，這個(gè)想法更加令我作嘔了。“做任何其他的事都意味著把它交給獸人?！?/p>

我緩緩地走近那座雕塑，停在了我的姐妹們的腳下，抬頭看向了圣阿拉貝拉的雙眼。據(jù)說(shuō)她是所有的伙伴中性情最平和的，在她的姐妹們頭腦發(fā)熱的時(shí)候，她便是智慧和理性之聲。

“除非經(jīng)過(guò)你的允許，否則我不會(huì)觸碰那件護(hù)甲，亞歷桑德拉，”伊莎萊從身后走近，將一只手搭在我的肩膀上，輕柔地說(shuō)?！暗愕每禳c(diǎn)作出決定?！?/p>

性格溫和，智慧，以及理性。

“這里還有什么我們需要的？”我簡(jiǎn)單地問(wèn)了一句，伊莎萊對(duì)我揚(yáng)了揚(yáng)眉毛，隨后頷首，指著雕塑后面。

“有一堆補(bǔ)給品放在教堂——”

“——圣所——”

“——的最里面，如你所說(shuō)……我找到了你的武器用的彈藥，我猜應(yīng)該是受祝的，還有口糧條，凈化水，以及一些裝著看上去像是油膏和灰燼的東西的包?！?/p>

我對(duì)每一條都點(diǎn)頭回應(yīng)，但只對(duì)最后一條發(fā)話(huà)?！澳切┦怯糜谖溲b儀式（Arming Rites）的，把它們收集起來(lái)然后裝進(jìn)摩托里，我會(huì)處理回收護(hù)甲的事。”

“就用一條胳膊？”伊莎萊平靜地轉(zhuǎn)身看向我，然后點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。

“如果我們要帶走它，那我們會(huì)在這種情況下盡可能做得準(zhǔn)確無(wú)誤，”我堅(jiān)持道，“少一點(diǎn)我都不會(huì)接受。”

伊莎萊嘆了口氣，然后又用那種似人的古怪習(xí)慣聳聳肩，這不是我第一次想知道這到底是一種共通的文化特點(diǎn)還是為了我而模仿出來(lái)的矯揉造作。

“那就照你說(shuō)的做吧，”伊莎萊轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)去，小跑到雕塑后面的圣所。我對(duì)于她在圣地上四處搜尋的念頭并不感到緊張，但目前而言我也只能要求這么多。

那些補(bǔ)給品是被用于武裝戰(zhàn)斗修女們以對(duì)抗人類(lèi)之?dāng)车模阉鼈兞艚o獸人肆意揮霍——可能還會(huì)被用來(lái)殺死其他修女們——則完全無(wú)法想象。如果我們不得不背棄一些神學(xué)上的繁文縟節(jié)以確保我們的神圣爆彈不會(huì)打向自己，那就這么做吧。

“請(qǐng)寬恕我，受福的阿拉貝拉，”我默念道。

我費(fèi)了好大力氣才爬上了雕塑，然后開(kāi)始緩慢而艱辛地拆除盔甲。每一片盔甲都被神圣的禱言和手稿固定，我虔誠(chéng)地取下每一部分，與此同時(shí)背誦著抄錄在上面的每一個(gè)教理問(wèn)答。

我從護(hù)手，護(hù)肘和臂甲開(kāi)始，在將它們從圣者的手腕和手上取下的同時(shí)欣賞著其光澤。維護(hù)這座圣殿的修女們一定是格外勤奮地保證了它的整潔，畢竟在一座巢都里讓任何物件保持如此的潔凈都是一項(xiàng)艱巨的任務(wù)。

“A spiritu dominatus, domine, libra nos（秩序之靈在上，主呵，拯救吾等）.”

我小心翼翼地抱起第一組護(hù)手和臂甲，將之輕輕地放在地上，置于我隕落的姐妹們身前。

“于閃電暴風(fēng)中，吾皇救我?！?/p>

我在片刻之后取下了第二組，讓它加入自己放在地上的姊妹的行列中。

“于疫病、誘惑、及戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中，吾皇救我?！?/p>

接下來(lái)的是上臂甲和肩甲，我的動(dòng)作必須極度小心，因?yàn)楹笳叩拿恳患殖林厍覐?fù)雜，但我強(qiáng)行讓自己在取下它們時(shí)保持平衡，將之依次放置到位。

“于克拉肯之災(zāi)厄中，吾皇救我?！?/p>

我解開(kāi)了足部護(hù)甲，然后把它們放了下來(lái)。

“于墮落者之褻瀆中，吾皇救我?！?/p>

在這之后的是膝甲和大腿甲。

“于惡魔之誕生中，吾皇救我?！?/p>

倒數(shù)第二個(gè)是圣人脖頸邊的護(hù)頸，我更加謹(jǐn)慎地挪動(dòng)右手以作杠桿，并不得不用半僵的左臂來(lái)解開(kāi)它。

“于異種之禍患中，吾皇救我?！?/p>

我疲倦地呼出一口氣，低身放下神圣的護(hù)甲片，將之固定到位，然后抬頭看向最難的部分：一整塊胸甲，我做好準(zhǔn)備，隨后伸出手臂手掌向上，并抬頭朗誦禱文。

“A morte perpetua, domine, libra nos（于永恒之死亡中，主呵，拯救吾等）.?愿禰僅給予它們死亡，愿禰絕不放過(guò)，愿禰絕不饒恕，吾等懇求禰……毀滅它們?！?/p>

祈禱結(jié)束后，我沿著雕塑的身高向上移動(dòng)，以英寸為單位緩緩地解開(kāi)護(hù)甲的神圣印記，將護(hù)甲的重量壓在后背和肩膀上的同時(shí)從雕像上脫下胸甲和腿甲，隨后走上從石臺(tái)到地面的艱辛、半盲的旅程。

這段旅途可謂險(xiǎn)象環(huán)生，但我還是做到了，我將盔甲的最后一部分放到地上?，F(xiàn)在它成為了我的隕落的姐妹們身旁第四具軀體，只是沒(méi)有血肉。

“地上的帝皇呵，我懇求禰的永恒之仁慈，”我輕聲開(kāi)口?！爸獣远[的摯愛(ài)之女兒們已在對(duì)禰的侍奉中隕落，愿星炬之光帶她們到禰的身側(cè)…….我現(xiàn)在攜她們的職責(zé)于己身，人類(lèi)之圣主呵，以保它免受異形，異種及異端之荼毒，直至它能被歸還于禰?！蔽以俅蔚拖骂^去，叩首于地面?！?strong>Ave Imperator ad Domine Aeternum（致以永恒之主）”

“亞歷桑德拉？”伊莎萊的聲音低沉而充滿(mǎn)敬意，我抬起頭來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)身看著她?！拔覀儽仨氁吡耍s快。”

在我儀式性地拆除盔甲的過(guò)程中，她已經(jīng)在噴氣摩托上盡可能地裝滿(mǎn)了它能夠輕松攜帶的圣所里的物資。我并不感到驚訝，我一直都專(zhuān)注于自己的任務(wù)，而考慮到我走下雕塑時(shí)攜帶的重量，任何的分心都可能是災(zāi)難性的。

相反，我很感激她沒(méi)有試圖提供幫助。即便我會(huì)感謝她，我也不能準(zhǔn)許一個(gè)外星人來(lái)負(fù)責(zé)一項(xiàng)神圣的使命。這并不是因?yàn)槲也恍湃嗡?，說(shuō)到底有些事是必須要做到位的。

“我們還得把盔甲固定好，”我對(duì)著摩托點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭。

“這么說(shuō)你不能穿上它了?！边@句與提問(wèn)相比更像是陳述，我點(diǎn)頭表示同意。

“就算我愿意在缺乏應(yīng)有的準(zhǔn)許和儀式的情況下著甲——當(dāng)然我并不愿意這么做——”我為伊莎萊的表述補(bǔ)充上最后一部分，“它也沒(méi)有動(dòng)力包，一旦收容單元損壞的話(huà)，我也不想冒險(xiǎn)從我隕落的姐妹們身上拿走一個(gè)?！蔽覓咭曋忝脗兊倪z體嘆了口氣?！安?，它必須用我自己的護(hù)甲上的……而這些……”

隨著我皺著眉逐漸停下，伊莎萊抬起了一側(cè)的眼眸，我隨后再度看向了我已經(jīng)抱以信任的異形……那個(gè)我關(guān)心她超過(guò)了一個(gè)神皇之女所應(yīng)當(dāng)?shù)某潭鹊陌_(dá)靈族。

“怎么了？”

隨著我問(wèn)出下一個(gè)也是最后一個(gè)問(wèn)題，我感到自己的嘴在厭惡中扭曲。

“伊莎萊……你能讓那些動(dòng)力核心失穩(wěn)到什么程度？”

———————————————————————————————————————

一陣沉悶的爆炸聲撼動(dòng)著空氣，此時(shí)我們離小教堂還不過(guò)幾公里遠(yuǎn)，我把臉埋在伊莎萊的肩膀上，因我剛剛準(zhǔn)許她做的事而戰(zhàn)栗著。

在死亡中，我的姐妹通過(guò)充當(dāng)引誘下一批獸人進(jìn)入教堂的誘餌完成了最后的復(fù)仇。我盡可能快地清洗并拋光了她們的盔甲，每一具都被懶散地靠在神殿的其中一根支撐柱上，它們的動(dòng)力核心被設(shè)置到最大出力并被連接到了一個(gè)匆忙設(shè)置的近距離觸發(fā)器上。

我在修女會(huì)的戰(zhàn)斗頻段上留下了一條短波循環(huán)通訊以警告任何可能前往教堂的姐妹們，畢竟我相當(dāng)不認(rèn)為獸人能破解戰(zhàn)斗修女的加密協(xié)議，哪怕它們真的費(fèi)心去嘗試這么做。

然后我們就離開(kāi)了，沒(méi)過(guò)多久我們的陷阱就被觸發(fā)，圣火吞噬了我的姐妹們的遺體和這間教堂，并將前來(lái)劫掠的綠皮們埋在了數(shù)百公噸的石塊之下。

“謝謝你這樣做，”我低聲回應(yīng)道。“我本來(lái)下不了手的?！?/p>

伊莎萊回頭看了我一會(huì)兒，然后微微點(diǎn)頭，俯身用嘴唇輕撫我的臉頰。

“為了你，亞歷桑德拉，”伊莎萊回答，“我愿意做任何事。”

我戰(zhàn)栗于她說(shuō)出這些話(huà)的方式，這并非因?yàn)槲覒峙滤鼈兓蛘呤撬鼈兞钗也皇娣?，而是因?yàn)槲覔?dān)心這種感受很可能是相互的。

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原文：

The sound of my heartbeat was deafening.

For a time that thunderous beat was all I could hear as I laid in Isarae’s arms, and I felt some satisfaction that there was no trace of the fever-sick warmth to her skin that had been there a few moments ago. Moreover, there was something different to Isarae now, and the way she held me was so gentle, and her fingers kept brushing over my hand as if to assure herself I was still there.

The muffled explosions beyond the chapel walls, however, reminded me that this was not the place to rest. What had happened here, and something had happened beyond the obvious, this wasn’t the place to handle it.

With some reluctance, I stood, pulling out of Isarae’s grip. She let go, but only just, perhaps come to the same conclusion I had as she stood up next to me.

“You’re certain you are alright, Alessandra?” She asked, cautiously reaching out.

I intercepted her hand with mine, drawing it forward and putting it to my cheek. One thing that had changed between us was my suspicion… even until a few hours ago I still wondered if Isarae’s story about her intentions was just that, a story. I wondered if I was being toyed with and strung along, used for some terrible plot against the Imperium.

The moment she had brought me to this chapel, that had faded, and the fear and accusation in her voice when she demanded to know what I was doing to her made it all but vanish.

I leaned into her touch and nodded.

“See?” I gave her a faint smile, “I’m perfectly fine.”

She shook her head.?

“I still say that’s not possible,” Isarae insisted. “Do you know what the Thirst is? I drank from the well of your very?soul… the effects should have been immediate and terrible.”

“The Emperor protects,” I said softly, and Isarae scoffed. “You laugh, but you say what happened is impossible, yes?” Isarae nodded tentatively. “But it happened,” I gestured down to myself, “I’m unharmed, I was protected… I do not need you to believe in my faith, Isarae, but I know that the God-Emperor watches over me, as he does all of his subjects.”

“Well, let us hope he continues to watch over you,” Isarae said wearily, waving aside the conversation. “For now, we should do what I intended to do when I brought you here and move on, there’s no telling how long we have before another looting party happens along.”

“What did you intend?”

Isarae gestured to me. “You need armor, and yours cannot be easily repaired, if it can be repaired at all.”

I grimaced and turned to my fallen sisters.

“Isarae, even were I comfortable taking from the dead,” I pointed out the grievous battle damage, “I doubt any of the machine spirits within my sisters’ wargear are still functional.” I eyed the left arms of their suits, then shook my head. “And I don’t know enough of the Rites of Armament and Repair to trust that I would be able to change out parts from one suit to another.”

“You won’t need to,” Isarae replied, shaking her head. “Just use the intact set.”

She gestured towards my sisters and I raised an eyebrow, turned to look at them, then turned back to Isarae.

“There isn’t an intact set.”

Isarae gestured wordlessly at my sisters again and… no, I turned to look at them, looked back at Isarae and eyed her disbelievingly for a moment, then followed the angle of her hand not to my sisters…

But to the statue of Arabella.

And to the suit of Artificer Power Armour adorning it.

“No!” I snapped my gaze back to Isarae. “I am not defiling a shrine of?my own Order?for armour!”

“Defiling it?” Isarae barked out a laugh. “Oh, I see! Then let us move along! I’m sure the Orks will treat that armour,” she gestured sharply at the statue, “with all the respect it deserves when they arrive!”

I blanched, my soul recoiling at the notion of what an Ork Mek would do to one of our sacred relics.

“It’s a holy relic!” I countered, flailing as I tried to come up with an alternative. “That armour belonged to a martyred Canoness of the Order of Radiant Wisteria!, it’s not mine to take and wear as I please!”

“Then once again,” Isarae said acidly, “if you’re so certain I suppose we’ll leave it up there!”

“That’s not fair, Isarae!” I snapped as I advanced on her. “You can’t just take a relic from its reliquary! There are rites, rituals, and observances to be made before removing even a single piece from the statue!”

Isarae’s expression could have dried up an ocean world.

“I’m certain your sainted sister would understand our need for?haste,” she replied tightly.

“I…”

I turned to stare up at the armour, a tremor setting up in my legs as I realised I was truly considering Isarae’s words. I was actually considering climbing up the statue of Saint Arabella and prying the armour of a dead Canoness off of her, and donning it myself.

Isarae sighed.

“Either we take it,” she extended one palm up, “or we destroy it,” she held up the other, and I felt my gorge rise much worse at that notion. “To do anything else would mean giving it over to the Orks.”

Slowly, I approached the statue, stopping at my sisters’ feet and staring up at into the eyes of Saint Arabella. It was said that she was the most even-tempered of all the Companions, that when the heated heads and hearts of her sisters waxed choleric, she was the voice of wisdom and reasoned counsel.

“I will not lay a hand upon that armour unless you permit it, Alessandra,” Isarae said softly as she approached from behind me and laid a hand on my shoulder. “But you must decide quickly.”

Even temper, wisdom, and reason.

“What else is here that we need?” I asked simply, and Isarae raised an eyebrow at me before nodding and gesturing behind the statue.

“There’s a cache of supplies in the backmost section of the chapel-”

“-the sanctum-”

“-as you say… I found ammunition for your weapon, blessed rounds I suspect, as well as ration bars, purified water, and kits of what appear to be oils and ashes.”

I nod at each point, speaking only at the last one. “Those are for Arming Rites, gather them up and secure them to the bike, I will deal with retrieving the armour.”

“With one arm?” Isarae turned to me with a level look, and nodded again.

“If we are taking it, we will do it as correctly as possible under the circumstances,” I insisted, “I will countenance nothing less.”

Isarae sighed, then shrugged again with that oddly human mannerism of hers, and not for the first time I wondered if it was a shared cultural trait or merely a copied affectation for my sake.

“As you say, then,” Isarae turned and trotted off behind the statue towards the sanctum. I was not thrilled with the notion of her rooting around on holy ground, but as it stood I could only demand so much.

Those supplies existed to arm Sisters of Battle against the foes of mankind, leaving them for the Orks to use as they would, possibly using them to kill?other Sisters?was utterly beyond consideration. If we had to bend a few theological niceties to ensure our own sacred bolt rounds weren’t being fired at us, then so be it.

“Forgive me, Blessed Arabella,” I muttered.

With some difficulty, I clambered up the statue and began the slow, painstaking process of removing the power armour. Each piece was fastened and secured with sacred oaths and scripts, and I untied each one with reverence, reciting the catechisms scribed onto each one as I did.

I began with the gauntlets, couter, and vambraces, admiring their sheen and polish as I removed them from the wrists and hands of the saint. The Sisters who kept this shrine must have been exceptionally diligent about keeping the shrine tidy because keeping anything this clean in a Hive city was quite a task.

“A spiritu dominatus, domine, libra nos.”

Cradling the first gauntlet and vambrace with care, I carried it down and set it before my fallen sisters.

“From the lightning and the tempest, our Emperor deliver us.”

I retrieved the second set a moment later and it joined its sister on the ground.

“From plague, temptation, and war, our Emperor deliver us.”

The rerebrace and pauldrons were next, and I had to move with great care as each one of the latter was heavy and unwieldy, but I forced myself to remain balanced as I carried them down in turn and set them in place.

“From the scourge of the Kraken, our Emperor deliver us.”

I unfastened the sabatons, bringing them down next.

“From the blasphemy of the fallen, our Emperor deliver us.”

The poleyns, and cuisses came after that.

“From the begetting of daemons, our Emperor deliver us.”

Second to last came the gorget from around the Saint’s neck, and I took even greater care there as I moved my right hand around for leverage, and was forced to use my half-numb left arm for the unfastening.

“From the curse of the mutant, our Emperor deliver us.”

I let out a weary breath as I lowered myself down with the precious piece of sanctified armor and set it in place before looking up at the most difficult part, the full cuirass, and bracing myself before extending my hands and arms, palms up, and raising my head and voice in prayer.

“A morte perpetua, domine, libra nos.?That thou wouldst bring them only death, That thou shouldst spare none, that thou shouldst pardon none, we beseech thee… destroy them.”

The prayer complete, I moved up and along the length of the statue and slowly, by inches, released the sacred seals of the armor, taking the weight of it onto my back and shoulders as I slipped the breastplate and tassets free of the statue, and began the arduous, half-blind journey down the stone monument to the floor.

It was a close thing, but I made it, and I lowered the last piece of the armour onto the ground. Now it lay as a fourth body, empty of flesh, beside my fallen sisters.

“Emperor On Earth I beseech thy mercy eternal,” I began softly. “Know that thy beloved daughters have fallen in service to thine name, and may the eternal light of the Astronomicon bear them to thy side… I take now their charge to carry with me, oh Holy Master of Mankind, to safeguard it from the depredation of the alien, the mutant, and the heretic, until such time as it may be returned to thy care.” I bowed my head again, pressing it to the floor. “Ave Imperator ad Domine Aeternum.”

“Alessandra?” Isarae’s voice was low and respectful, and I raised my head to turn and regard her. “We must go, and quickly.”

In the process of my ritual dismantling of the armour, she had already laden the jetbike with as much of the sanctum’s supplies as it could easily carry. I wasn’t surprised, I had been entirely focused on my task, and any distraction might have been disastrous considering the weight I’d been bearing down off of the statue.

On the contrary, I was grateful she hadn’t tried to offer her help. As much as I would have appreciated it, I could not have permitted an alien to handle a sacred task. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her, but some things must be done properly, after all.

“We have to secure the armour, too,” I nodded towards the bike.

“You cannot wear it, then.” It was more of a statement than a question, and I nodded my agreement.

“Even were I willing to arm myself without the proper sanctions and rites, which I am not,” I added the last part at Isarae’s expression, “it has no power cell, and I do not want to risk removing one of the ones from my fallen sisters’ in case the containment unit is damaged.” I glanced over at my sisters’ bodies and sighed. “No, it will have to be the unit from my own armour… and these…”

Isarae raised an eyebrow as I trailed off with a grimace before looking back up at the alien I’d begun to take into my confidence… the Eldar I had begun to care for more than any daughter of the God-Emperor ought to.

“What?”

I could feel my mouth twisting in distaste as I asked my next and final question.

“Isarae… how unstable can you make those power cores?”

?

———————————————————————————————————————

We were not more than a handful of kilometers from the chapel when a muffle detonation shook the air and I buried my face against Isarae’s shoulder as I shuddered with the weight of what I had just permitted her to do.

“From what I know of your kind,” Isarae began quietly, “I think your sisters would have approved.”

In death, my sisters had made one final act of vengeance by acting as decoys for the next troop of Greenskins to pass through the chapel. Their armour was cleaned and polished as quickly as I had been able, and each one was left resting slouched against one of the main supports of the temple with their power cores set to maximum burn and linked to a hastily rigged proximity trigger.

I had left a shortwave cycling vox on the Sororitas battle frequency warning any of my sisters who might come to the chapel of our ruse as I highly doubted that Orks would be able to pierce Adeptus Sororitas encryption protocols, even if they could be bothered to try.

Then we had left, a short while later our trap had been triggered, consuming my sisters’ bodies, along with the chapel, in holy flame, and burying the Greenskins who had come to loot and pillage it beneath hundreds of tonnes of rockcrete.

“Thank you for doing that,” I whispered back. “I would not have had the heart.”

Isarae glanced back at me for a moment, nodded slightly, leaned in, and brushed her lips against my cheek.

“For you, Alessandra,” Isarae replied, “I would do anything.”

The way she said those words made me shiver, not because I feared them or because they made me uneasy, but because I was afraid that the feeling might very well be mutual.