The Grand Liturgy - Magos Dahti & Sister Agathe
				[@Jb][@POOHEAD189][@BangoSkank][@ClocktowerEchos]

"...And remember: with the eyes of not only the people of the Imperium, but His living son, and thus the Emperor himself, we cannot afford not beget idleness. For it is as the Prime Edicts of the Holy Synod say: duty to the Emperor and the Imperium is what makes us human, and to forget this duty, especially in a time of such great importance, is tantamount to betrayal of what makes one human. The one who shirks his duty, then, is no longer human, but has become a beast with no place in His heart nor in the arms of His comrades, and should thus be destroyed. We must [i]all[/i] do our part as is asked of us. We must help our fellow man, and we must certainly stay vigilant for those who seek to sabotage our great work or, worse, to turn us against each other."

Agathe breathed, letting the scent of billowing incense and the faint smell of smoke fill her lungs - she found it calming, reminding her of home, and of her time training with her fellow Sisters...

And to a relatively novice Battle Sister, with so little experience leading her fellow man, any way to bring calm was valuable.

"...Now, of course," she continued, smiling. "Despite the hardship that will surely face us, we must also remember that it is a time of great joy in which we can serve His Son, and that is something certainly worth celebrating. That, more than anything, is why we are gathered here today. Few people are granted such opportunities, and we should absolutely be glad for them."

On the lower decks, amidst the steam and machinery of [i]His Divine Purpose[/i], the vox-casters carried the solemnly ordained voice of the Sororitas echoed through the chambers, landing on the audio-receptors of hundreds of menials, servitors, artisans, logi, lexmechanics, enginseers, electro-priests, and rune priests.

Arrayed before the Genetor were the varying members of the Mechanicus, each orderly and organized according to rank and file. ‘Twas a beautiful thing to behold, the regiments of the machine brought together to anoint such a grand vessel. As Agathe ordered the opening of the celebration, magnificent vats of sacred oils were carried upon the backs of servitors, upon platters made of platinum and palladium, the vessels themselves made of non-reactive ferrous metals which absorbed the heaviest of the ointments. Vaporizing coils emitted a fine, holy mist which wafted through the whole bowels of the ship, removing the ill-gotten spirits of isolation and rest, replacing them with the spirits of ignition and lucidity.

In return to Agathe’s words, Dahti spoke over the vox-casters as she finished her part, “And so too an opportunity for Mars to fulfill her promise, to the Omnissiah, the Most Holy Spirit of the Enthroned Emperor. This journey is most blessed by the Machine Spirit…for though it may seem that we enter into a shrouded night, surrounded by the Void on all sides - this is not so! No, brethren, both man and machine, [b]WE ARE A BEACON[/b]! Our vessel is a flagship of the might of the Imperium, a glorious symbol of our Emperor’s Divine Will! Indeed, this beautiful machine is [b][i]HIS DIVINE PURPOSE[/i][/b].”

The invigorated, zealous fervor of the stout Magos Biologis thrummed through the halls of the cruiser, “We are on the precipice of legend, of sanctity, and His Most Righteous Favor. Let us embark on the most ancient of all callings of the Imperium: THE GREAT CRUSADE FOR THE GALAXY!”

Upon the conclusion of the speech, a clanging bell and hymnal chorus sang out, carrying its signal through the laud-hailers on His Divine Purpose. As the Ministorum chanted praises of the Emperor in High Gothic, summoning the prayers and souls of the flesh; in counterpoint arose a binary dirge in Cant Mechanicus from the tech-priests, summoning the Machine Spirit to christen the journey ahead of them. A dual-procession began, one beginning in the heights of the ship, the other beginning the depths. Over approximately twelve hours, Sister Agathe and Magos Dahti christened, anointed, blessed, and sanctified every corner of the Ambition-class cruiser.

And throughout it all, the voice of a blessed choir - led by the Sister herself - was carried through the ship by vox-casters and laud hailers, filling the vessel's public spaces with the chorus of thousands of marching feet, thousands of voices chanting out prayers, and a song that sounded so angelic it was almost supernatural, carrying with it the notes of hymnals of hard pilgrimage in the God-Emperor's name. Others spoke of glorious heroes of the Imperium's past, of the tragic-yet-noble tale of the Cadians who fought in His name despite the annihilation of their homeworld, of the dashing and daring people who plied the stars to claim new worlds for the Imperium...

And, most of all, of the heroes of the present - the lord Roboute Guilliman, and the people who fought in his Indomitus Crusade.