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Salvation Stolen - Sister Evangeline - 11-09-2017
Evangeline emerged from the cave she'd been taking shelter in. The heretic army lead by their heathen god had moved on, past her position, and on to the defensive lines where her sisters and allies in the Imperial Guard were ready to fight a pointless battle. The once pristine landscape, it's rolling green meadows, enchanting woods, the sparkling blue creek had been flattened by their advance. The ground beneath Evangeline's plasteel boots was now muddy, pocked with the marks of heavy boots, vehicle treads and the footprints of the gigantic abomination leading them. She could already see the corruption taking over the land as small iridescent tendrils began to slowly worm their way through the terrain and all manner of floral abominations had begun to bloom from the corpses of the guardsmen left to rot on the field.
She had set out to destroy that thing, her and a few of her fellow sisters, riding on scout bikes with the last of their melta bombs. Celestians and Chevaliers, sisters she'd served with in the Inquisition and were very dear to her heart were gone, crushed within an instant of being discovered. In the chaos she'd lost her bolter and her own power armour had been sundered. The wide gash the beasts talon had dug into her flesh still stung, though her expert suturing would hold it closed for the moment. Her Bolter was gone, the remains of the trigger group and the grip lay at her feet.
She'd seen guardsmen in this kind of situation before, she'd watch them fall to their knees in despair with their mission failed and their platoon doomed. They would pray to the Emperor first, invariably, and beg him for salvation. When no salvation came they would, all too often, pray to the dark gods, the ruinous powers responsible for the destruction wrought upon them. Despair would corrupt them or destroy them entirely.
But she was Sororitas, while she still drew breath the mission had not failed. She collected the pack and Lasgun off one of the fallen guardsmen, and found the sword of one of her fallen sisters, Celestian Serapha. Evangeline recalled how her cold, commanding demeanour which was expected of a sister of the Orders Militant melted when she got the weapon back to the barracks, and how she proudly proclaimed it's name.
Ascalon.
She placed the last melta bomb in her scavenged pack and slung it over her shoulder along with the Lasgun . She then took her Rosarius and wrapped it around her left arm, while in her right she pulled Ascalon from the muck, which completely slid from it the moment Evangeline place her hand upon it. Her shield robes, plasteel gauntlets and boots would offer as much protection as the carapace armour as those lying beside her wore, and she'd rather not disturb the fallen faithful of the Emperor. If anything she lamented that she did not have any promethium at hand and that they must now decay in this corrupted land.
She holstered the sword in a metal ring on her belt and opened her medical kit. She lifted two syringes from the kit, the same chemical they give to the sinners who ride exposed into battle controlling the Penitent Engines. She jammed them into her veins with no hesitation. Following an uncomfortable shudder, with her hands now trembling, she began running towards the enemy, whispering her own silent prayer to the Emperor.
It was not long before she was in the fray. Evangeline drew her hood down so as to hopefully be mistaken for a cultist. Shield robes were uncommon on the battle field, and though her colours were the wrong ones those making up the back ranks of the enemy paid her little mind. But as she grew closer and closer to the beast the demonic forces also increased in density, and they could smell the stench of her faith in the corpse god upon her.
The Horrors were first to take note, abominations of pink and blue, with arms and legs protruding from their misshapen head at intervals that were not natural. They all seemed to sniff the air as they slowly panned their revolting gaze into Evangeline's direction, away from their dazzling light show. Using their ill conceived frames they began bounding across the battlefield in her direction, sending multi coloured balls of energy in her direction as they screeched in manic tones that no human was ever supposed to hear.
The ground around Evangeline exploded into chaos, with vibrant flowers, swarms of insects and noxious gasses forming in the pot marks where the orbs landed. As she noted one heading straight for her she clasped her Rosarius tightly and instinctively called out to the God Emperor. The bolt exploded in a flash of light moments before striking her.
The sister noted a large rock in front of her and decided to thin out her pursuers. She rolled her shoulders slightly, pushing the Lasgun's strap from her shoulders and into her hands as she fell to her knees. The muddy earth let her slide a good while, letting her grab onto the rock and use her momentum to bring her around. She brought the weapon to bear on one of the ugly creatures gigantic maws and fired. It screeched with an insane mirth before turning into a blue pool of liquid. She shot at another, and it vaporised on the spot. And then another, and another.
It was during this she heard the corrupted cry of a traitorous legionnaire call out to his brothers, and with in an instant her cover was pelted by bolter fire. She took a few pot shots at the marine only to have them evaporate upon his tainted armour. With her cover chipping away Evangeline had to move. She slung her rifle back over her shoulder and continued to run in the direction of the massive beast, into the former front lines of the Imperial Guard battalion her sisters were aiding.
She headed into the maze of trenches, into the crowds of cultists with the big heavy boot steps of the traitorous legions shaking the earth behind her. Sword in hand she cut herself a quick path through them, before the blue and gold suits of armour pursuing her cut them all down, giving their lives little weight in the pursuit of their prey.
When she reached the far end she jumped over the trench, frantically digging her boots and gauntlets into the damp earth as she forced her frame up, the drugs coursing through her body unable to completely dampen the fact that her suturing had bust and she was once again bleeding. But now the beast was close. The anthropomorphic bird abomination casting down horrible warp energies upon her sisters and the survivors of the guard garrison. She could also see the sorcerer commanding the Rubric Marines behind her and those assaulting her allies.
She continued running, her drug fuelled sprint giving her the strength to leap over the next trench with a single bound. She as she ran she holstered Ascalon, pulled the bomb from her pack and armed it. She jumped over the next trench with the device cradled under her arm. As the distance closed the heretic Librarian turned his gaze upon her and though she couldn't see through his helmet Evangeline could feel his malevolent grin. She pulled her sword out again and charged at him over the final trench, aiming to slice him in two as she landed.
Then there was a sharp pressure in her back. Her legs stopped responding and she fell in a heap at the sorcerers feet. The sorcerer rolled her over and examined her body. A malicious chuckle echoed from under his helmet as he pried the device from her arms before dropping it to his power armoured boot and kicking it away, towards the last bastion of her allies. Evangeline could only sigh in relief as it exploded mid air, a sigh that was followed by a blood filled cough.
She looked down her stomach to see why her legs weren't responding, and her first reaction was to laugh. That sudden pressure must have been a bolter round, and it had taken a good chunk of her with it. The powerful drugs coursing through her body were probably the only thing preventing her from going into shock. The Librarian had already moved on, with her being beneath his contempt, he was more than content to simply let her bleed out.
But she was Sororitas, and she still drew breath, and that would be for another 30 seconds if she was correct about the size of the wound. The mission wasn't failed yet, she wasn't a martyr, yet. She looked to her left and saw her sword. Her body was lethargic but through sheer force of will she was able to roll her shoulders and flip over, the sword fell into her hand. She then dragged herself forward with her hands towards the feet of the sorcerer, her vision darkening with each move.
The arm holding Ascalon stopped responding right as she got to his boot, she ended up lying on it and instead placed only a hand on the embroidery on the back of his calf.
The heretic grunted with slight surprise as he turned to look at what would dare touch him.
"Little sister." He said in a bemused tone, his voice corrupted by his helmet "Stop struggling, your death here was already foreseen. At this point you're only prolonging the inevitable."
Any malice she had previously detected in the heretic was gone, replaced by a cool confidence and resignation. And she was having none of it. At first rage at his conceit bloomed within her as she forced her neck to crane so she could see into the visor of his blue and gold helmet.
He sighed again as he leaned over her broken body placing a power armour clad hand upon one of her shoulders. Evangeline gripped Ascalon in her off hand hard and as the Librarian flipped her she put the last of her strength into the momentum of the role. Her arm flung out and with it, Ascalon. Once it was clear from her body the device arced and sailed towards the sorcerers neck.
Whatever futures Tzeentch had deigned to share with this librarian, this event clearly wasn't included. The blade passed effortlessly through the heretics neck and pushed his body to the side. The heavy armour of the Librarian collapsed in a heap on her left side, crushing the bones in her arm and shoulder.
Around her the husks of the Rubric Marines also fell to pieces, the individual parts of the armour dropping to the ground with dull thuds and deafening clatters. She didn't manage to deliver the bomb to its target, but it was clear she took the head off a major lieutenant. She was able to crane her head enough to see the daemon, to see that with her efforts the survivors were able to concentrate fire on the abomination.
As Evangeline slowly passed her darkening vision was tinted a golden hue. She felt hands upon her body along with a warmth that filled her heart. The last thing she heard was the death rattle of the abomination.
In the next moment, the golden warmth was gone, so was the dull pressure thought out her body. There was nothing, blackness. She was floating in a void, she felt empty, as though something had left her. Her lungs... ached.
Her eyes opened and she took in a pained breath. She could feel her legs, her arms and her body felt cleansed of the stimulants she'd used not long before. It took a moment for her to make out the silhouette in front of her.
Quote:“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”
“This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.
“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.
“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”
She couldn't move, she couldn't talk, she couldn't scream, but she desperately wanted to. The suffering of her martyrdom taken, her place at the Emperor's table stolen. By this creature, this Omni a powerful creature no doubt, but not her Emperor. In her mind this thing was already placed in the same category as the chaos deities, such was its transgression.
The void faded and a blinding whiteness filled her vision, while water filled her now restarted lungs. She could move once more, so the first thing she did was clutch her throat and kick. She kicked and thrashed, desperately searching for the surface of this pool she found herself in. Her vision began to tunnel once more as she desperately moved on, driven by confused rage and survival instinct, dragged down by her equipment and clothing, but she was too addled to recognise the need to remove it.
She burst forth, clutching the side of the pool and coughed up the water in her lungs and crawled on to the pristine white floor. There she lay on her back for a time, catching her breath to a perfect silence. After a moment she collected herself, getting to her knees and pulling around her gear. She still had the satchel she'd scavenged from an imperial guards corpse, filled with spare power cells, her medical kit, along with some electronics she had scavenged from her power armour. Her Lasgun was intact and made the correct humming noises when she activated it. And she still had her Rosarius wrapped around her left wrist.
She then looked around at the space she was in, the only thing leading her to believe she was on solid ground was the fact it was pushing up against her feet. The horizon bled into the ground, and the only thing that separated them was the glowing dots spaced equally around her. They looked so far off.
She was confused, angry and a little cold, but more than anything she wanted answers. She grabbed her equipment and slung it over her shoulder as she picked a random direction.
RE: Salvation Stolen - Sister Evangeline - 11-10-2017
The sister was not one to wait without instruction. They had drilled that into her at the training convent; Without instruction always move forward; for idleness breeds complacency, always look as though you have a plan; for the citizens of the Imperium look to you for guidance, always act in accordance with the teachings of the God Emperor of Man as written in the Lectitio Divinitatus; For we are the instruments of His Divine Will.
She always had this feeling, ever since she was a child, which she would describe as a thread wound loosely around her heart. One end was knotted and would tighten and burn hot when she was threatened, while the other seemed connected to something else. The Astronomicon, the sister had always assumed, the Emperor's very soul that radiated throughout the warp. Though she never got a clean answer from the Ecclesiarchs, and only a few of her sisters claimed to have a similar feeling. In her final moments upon that accursed battlefield that feeling was stronger than ever, immense love and joy filled her to the point she felt as though she was going to burst.
Now it was gone. She was empty, devoid of the Emperors light.
It was enough to keep her on the edge of despair. But had the Emperor built the Imperium on emotion alone it would not have stood against the ruinous powers for as long as it did. What she could no longer get from her spiritual connection, she would get in the knowledge she had accrued. The God Emperor started off as a man, just as she was a woman. The same blood ran through her veins, the same spirit burned in her heart, human blood, a human soul. For eleven millennia humanity had stood alone against the darkness, men and women, just like her. She was among the greatest creatures to ever walk the universe, and if she couldn't feel the warmth of the Astronomicon upon her soul, she'd create it within her.
It was with these thoughts in mind that she was steeled for the ominous gate. Dark stone covered in black moss, and a negative energy coming from beyond the glowing portal. She would not stop though, the small ember of hope she'd spent the last few hours kindling would die if she did. So with only a moment given over to trepidation, she passed through.