Katherine wiped the tears from her eyes as she lay face down on the table, surgical cloths draped over her naked skin. "Stop moving." The Sister Hospitaller ordered sternly, freezing with her stainless steel implements buried deep in her back. Katherine glanced back and the Hospitaller cleared her throat, "Please?…worthy Canoness."
She took a deep breath and lay still. Though treated with a local anesthetic for the pain, she could still feel the chirurgeon's scalpel and clamps poking around inside the muscles of her back. There was a tugging sensation and the Hospitaller pulled out a chunk of Tyranid carapace, shrapnel from the explosive spore mine. "Just a minute…there are a few fragments still in there."
After a few moments Katherine heard the clatter of the surgical tools dropping in the tray. The tugging sensation of the stitches being used to close up the wound was slightly disconcerting. "The wound is deep, Canoness. You should rest a few days, or you could reopen it."
The Canoness glanced at the Vestments, the suit of powered armor leaning against the wall with its back open, ready for her to step back inside. "There's a battle going on out there, Sister Alice. They need every soldier on the walls."
Alice sighed and rummaged through her equipment, "I'll staple it and apply some plastiflesh, but that's the best I can do."
When she had finished, Katherine stood, shivering slightly in the cold infirmary with just a thin paper surgical cloth wrapped about her skin. Around her were a dozen other Sisters being treated for wounds of varying severity. She took a moment to go to each and offer words of comfort and prayers to the Emperor to speed their recovery. Casting the paper cloth aside, she stepped into her Vestments, ignoring the bloody "softsuit" laying on the floor. The softsuit was a skin-tight garment normally worn underneath the powered armor, but hers was ruined and she didn't have the time or the inclination to find another. She felt the cold embrace of the suit's interior against her naked skin as it sealed her inside with a hiss.
Outside the infirmary, she was greeted by the smell of blood, gunpowder, diesel fuel, and the unmistakable odor of Tyranid innards. The Bugs were attacking all along the walls of the corridor between the city of Parvati and Point Phobos, though the Black Templar encampment was thus far secure in the center median of the highway. She tied her medium-length blonde hair back in a ponytail as she walked through the camp, "Rhoda!"
The adjutant appeared from around one of their two remaining Immolator APCs, "Here, Mother Katherine."
"Status?"
Rhoda pointed toward the collapsible shelter nearby, "The Sisters who are still combat capable are awaiting your orders. Deborah and Abigail have reorganized the remaining Lay-sisters into two, six-woman squads. Rachel and Bethany have four Dominions between them, and we have four Celestians without a Sister Superior. Rebecca and Eve are all that's left of the Seraphim."
"Put Bethany in charge of the Celestians and let Rachel command the Dominions. I'll take a spare flight pack and take Rebecca and Eve as my command squad." Katherine sighed. She rubbed her eyes and looked toward the walls where the Marines and Guardsmen were laying down fire to fend off the charging Tyranids. "Get the Sisters up and ready to move out, I'll find out where we can do the most good."
As Rhoda headed for the shelter, Katherine walked toward the perimeter of the camp. As she approached, two Marines in the dark armor of the Black Templars intercepted her. She nodded in respect, "Brothers."
"I'm sorry Canoness, we have orders to ensure you remain in camp." One of them said, his voice modulated through his helmet speaker.
"Excuse me?"
"Orders from Commander Jorn, Canoness." He replied.
"I don't take orders from this Jorn."
"No ma'am, but we do," The second Marine stated. "His orders were quite clear. We are not to allow the Sisters to leave the encampment."
