[i]Blessed is the mind too small for doubt.[/i] The little Sister did not spend precious breath on many words during the flight. There would be time aplenty for confessions and penance later, and no doubt the Confessor's mind was heavy with the sins of those Sisters who he had been with before leaving the confines of the convent-fortress. Sister Procyon was, technically, her superior, having been among the ranks of the Order of our Thrice-Pierced Martyr for longer than Lisbeth, and there was no need to bandy words when they were already bound together in their service of the divine Emperor. The roar of the Aquila's engines would have stolen any words away before they could be understood anyway. Instead, Lisbeth spent her time in useful contemplation, and silently ran her fingers along the many beads on her chaplet, wrapped several times around her armoured waist. 

[i]Eight hundred and six.[/i] She did not yet know where she was going, or why, only that it was His will. Her mind wandered, and Sister Dominicia found herself questioning, as she often did, exactly what drove the mind of a heretic. Were the stars in the sky not numerous and beautiful enough to prove the perfection of His creation? Were the verdant worlds He gave not enough to appease the need for a place to call home? [i]Eight hundred and seven.[/i] Certainly, the pilgrims she had guarded were faithful enough; they loved their God-Emperor, as surely as he adored them, and many had travelled for a lifetime to see the places He had walked. 

[i]Eight hundred and eight.[/i] Scratching her inked eyelid, Lisbeth breathed heavily through her nose. Such questions were not the realm of mortals; there were answers for them, and if it was meant to be, He would give her those answers at the right time. Until then, she would listen and obey. The craft shook as a pocket of turbulence passed over the Aquila, and Lisbeth's gaze turned toward the Sister-Hospitaller in the cabin. She was used to being the shortest woman in the room, and even some of the novices were taller than her, but by the Emperor, the Sister-Hospitaller was like a tree! Had it not been for the tools she carried, Lisbeth would have been certain a woman built like that would have been a warrior born - but He worked in mysterious ways. 

[i]Eight hundred and nine.[/i] The grinding of metal on metal and a change of the light told Lisbeth that the destination was near; the landing gear was deploying. [i]Time to do your part,[/i] said His voice, and she stood, shrugging the shoulder that her bolter strap hung from. "[b]Hnnnnngggggrrrrrrkkkkkkkshhhhh[/b]," groaned the bay door, letting the light of the outside flood the cabin. Thanking the machine spirits and the Emperor for their safe arrival, Lisbeth quickly made her way out, greeting the Sister-Celestian with the aquila across her chest. She made quick progress into the Preceptory, where the images of the Saints never failed to astonish the Sister; the great heroes of the Imperium were icons to be revered and emulated, and she could still remember every detail of the stories she was told in the Scholae of their mighty deeds. Perhaps, one day, Lisbeth could herself be worthy to stand in their shadow. 

"[b]You have all been chosen[/b]," the Canoness-Preceptor said, next to a noble Inquisitor - a man with the God-Emperor's ear, the personal herald of his wrath. It was almost too much for the young Sister to believe. She was to journey with the Inquisitor? To serve by his side in the fight against the witch, the mutant, and the heretic? Even the years of discipline, devotion and training were not enough to completely quash her elation at being chosen for this most privileged of duties, and she was all too ready to stand forward, making the sign of the aquila on her chest. "Battle-Sister Lisbeth Domincia, of the Order of our Thrice-Pierced Martyr, honoured to serve, my Lord." Lisbeth's heart beat fast in her chest, and just at that moment, she felt as though she could march into the Eye of Terror herself and cleanse every trace of the taint therein. Instantly, she was ready to march at the Inquisitor's side, to death or to victory, in His name.