Katherine winced as she walked slowly and stiffly across the room of the infirmary. Her entire torso was tightly wrapped in semi-rigid bandages to minimize the movement of her ribs and vertebrae that were damaged in the battle against the Keeper of Secrets. For three weeks she had laid in the care of the Hospitallers of her Order. Sometimes she had been at peace. Sometimes she had been overcome with terrible grief, weeping at the loss of so many of her sisters…at the loss of her beloved mentor, Magdalena.
Painfully she slipped into the red and white habit of the Order of Saint Celestine, trimmed in gold. She had rejected the Hospitallers' suggestions of pain-killing potions and unguents. Purity through Suffering. Salvation through Sacrifice. Such were the mottos of the Adeptus Sororitas. Moving with care not to aggravate her injuries, she strapped on her baldric and belt. The weight of her simple power sword and plasma pistol was comforting, like the greeting embrace of an old friend.
She waved off the concerned admonishments of the Hospitallers as she left the infirmary. She could lay idle no more. Though she had been convalescing, she had remained informed of relevant news that transpired on Kali V in the wake of the battle with Gaius and his followers. Legatus Trajanus, the commander of the Third Legion of Byzantium Nova, had disavowed any knowledge of Gaius' corruption. Confronted with the evidence when they had entered the STC facility after Gaius' death, a great wrath had taken him. And a guilt for not seeing it sooner…or, Katherine thought, perhaps guilt for not having the courage to face the evidence right before his eyes over the years he had served the Byzantine military. Still, Trajanus had sworn he would make amends. He vowed the Third Legion would remain on Kali V to help the local guard units and Cadian forces in hunting down and destroying the remaining Tyranid nests that were scattered around.
There was still much work to be done on Kali V, but it would fall to the Adeptus Astartes and Imperial Guard…the Commandery of the Ardent Blade, of the Order of Saint Celestine was no more. Of the one hundred thirty five sisters that had come to the planet, only twenty-two still lived. Katherine had lost so many lives dear to her, the women who raised her from her very earliest memories in the convent. The cleanup of Kali V would have to be at other hands. The Sisters would be limping back to their commandery on Pentateuch.
Walking through the devastation that had been Point Phobos, she saw the dropship parked in the old vehicle yard. It would take them to the INS Emperor's Eye…the black starship of the Inquisition that would bear them home. Her sisters were loading what was left of their vehicles, weapons, and supplies in it, directed by Sister Rhoda. She glanced over to see Katherine approaching and trotted over with a concerned countenance, "Mother Katherine, you should rest. You need more time to heal."
"Yes…" Katherine smiled dryly, "We want to be sure I'm fully healed before I face the pyres of the Inquisition for murdering the Inquisitor."
Rhoda glanced around to be sure they were alone before raising an eyebrow conspiratorially, "But Mother Katherine…you didn't kill the Inquisitor." As Katherine opened her mouth to protest, Rhoda continued, "The Daemon killed Inquisitor Gaius."
The Canoness stood for a moment with her mouth agape as she considered that. Finally, she rolled her eyes, "Yes…but…mutiny against the acting commander and violation of Inquisitional Mandate is still a death sentence."
"What if the storming of the Titan wasn't an act of mutiny?" Rhoda postulated.
"Are you suggesting we lie to the Ecclesiarchy?" Katherine asked incredulously.
Rhoda shook her head with an innocent expression, "Of course not, Mother Katherine. However, if we were careful with the presentation of details, then we needn't lie." She shrugged with a slight exaggeration in her shoulders, "We choose the truths that are told. Fact: During the battle with the Tyranids, the Titan was infested with Daemons of Slaanesh. Fact: You, and the commanders of the other forces on Kali stormed the Titan to remove that infestation of Chaos. Fact: The Inquisitor was slain by a Keeper of Secrets before you avenged him by slaying it yourself."
