With her husband out, Seilya confined in herself that she wouldn't be seeing him for the next few days besides during extended breaks and such as the ability of an astartes to stay awake and function for multiple days on end also meant some pretty bizarre work schedules for them on the Ark by normal standard. But alas, such was life when you decide to marry a space marine.
With her power armored donned and hair combed neatly in a small, old mirror, the War Maiden grabbed her pack and slung it over the shoulder. Locking the door and obtaining her rifle from the container outside, Seilya dashed to the nearest shuttle terminal. Now that the Ark was finally out of the Immaterium, it meant that the shuttle craft were operational again and no more having to sit in internal transport trams or walk all the way across the ship.
One trip down a staircase and up a lift later, the maiden got to the terminal. It was an open area with a wide bay window to look out into the void from and it seemed that there was already plenty of void traffic with other shutters and cargo transports zipping about along with routine strike craft patrols and exercises. Seilya's heels clacked loudly against the grimy, cracked marble floor of what was previously part of a corvette. The entire terminal was was like an internal space port, a massive electronic billboard update periodically with incoming arrivals and departures as a PA system blared the same times only much louder. Passing through a crowd of people, Seilya flashed her Ordo Sororitas icon at the ticket master who nodded as she past through the gate.
Skipping through the security check, Seilya stopped before a child psyker with a coat loaded with seals and runes and trinkets, flanked by a pair of Nova Militarum guardsmen; clearly assigned to both protect the psyker and escort anyone she deemed dangerous out and to also kill her if she proved to be unable to control her power. "She's all clear." the little girl looked up from a text made to educate young psykers like her, and warmly waved with a big cute smile "Hello sister!~"
Seilya waved back and continued on wards with renewed haste; her shuttle was already at the gate and set to leave. Pushing through the looser gaggle of people, holding her Sororitas icon high to signify who she was and why people should let her through, the maiden got on to her shuttle. It was an odd little thing, the bastard child Valkyrie transport and a Taurox Prime that was sealed and safe for space travel after it got a visit by some architeks. With most of the seats taken, Seilya took a standing spot and held on to dangling cord to let an elderly old man take the last seat.
A gently dinging tone played in the hold before an image of a strapping young pilot flashed up on an archic screen attached to the back wall before a voice crackled over the intercom:
"This is your pilot speaking. My name is Atams Wodend and this is Shuttle Flight DT-6-4 to Cathedral Ward 9 aboard the Yonder Light. Our flight should take around about ten minutes and we've been blessed with clear space with no debris of any sort but it is recommended that you hold on to something at all times just in case. We will be lifting off in less than a minute once the hanger bay has cleared, thank you for flying with us today and we'll be landing shortly. Imperium Aeternum."
Sure enough, within a few seconds Seilya could hear the engines charging before a sudden surge forward signaled that they were moving and now in the void. Looking out of a sealed view port, the sister had a chance to meditate and look out into all the lights that danced between the behemoths. One thing she was taught is that even in the darkest times such as these, people must be able to see the light and beauty of things less they fall to despair which in turn leads to heresy. It was oddly calming these shuttle flights, they always managed to calm Seilya down even after a long, busy day. Some days could be quite busy surprisingly enough, just like the busy teens who where chattering away in the peanut gallery.
"Hey hey, did you hear? Apparently a daemon appeared in block A6!"
"Oh my Emperor, what happened?!"
"Hehe... well, apparently -I heard this all from my friend by the way- someone spotted a red daemon on catwalk with this big ol' sword-"
"Musta been one of them Corny daemons!"
"Shut it and let me finish. But anyways, they screamed and ran with the thing right behind them. Thought he was going to be killed but then one of the Knights appeared in his underwear and beat the shit out of it with his hands! Apparently he was coming back from washing."
"Really? I don't believe it."
"Oh yeah? Than how do you explain the blood on the wall in A6?"
"Whose this other 'friend' of your's who told you about this mate?"
Seilya chuckled as the story teller went silent only to insist that it actually happened. A small tap of her heels brought the young ones to rapt attention that they were telling such a story in the presence of a Sororitas. In unison, they clapped their hands together and begged for forgiveness to which Seilya brought out her icon and held it in one hand as she granted forgiveness to them with her other. She wasn't fully qualified to deliver forgivenesses, but she reckoned that her actions would be enough of a pardon for them to get to a proper Priest to confess. They were going to a Cathedral Ward after all.
After some profuse thanking, the rest of the trip was uneventful and relatively silent minus some humming from another passenger. As advertisements and PSA flashed regularly on the screen behind her, Seilya thought it appropriate to close her eyes in silent prayer. She could feel it, the vibrations of the machine that flew her, the hissing of the air refreshers but more importantly, the gentle, loving touch of the Emperor of Mankind. Not the false proxy which had torn holy Terra apart, but the one who would come back one day.
Another tone brought her out of her trance and the pilot spoke again:
Alright folks, we are a minute out from landing in the Yonder Light. Please remain seated or stationary until the craft has come to a complete stop and I've turned on the 'okay' light. I hope you have enjoyed your shuttle flight and me and my fellow pilots will be waiting to take you on your next flight, thanks for flying with us. Imperium Aeternum.
In short time, the Valkyrie/Taurox hybrid came into an airlock, hissing winds blew into the void as the doors closed and pressure was stabilized. Once the green light flooded the compartment, everyone began to filter out into the terminal.
This one was a fair bit grander than the one which Seilya had come from, no doubt due to it being a former holy ship of the Emperor and the home to a Cathedral Ward. Golden leaf was artfully plastered on select decorations as dedicated servitors helped to mop up the floors and shine the innumerable skulls and busts giving the place an aurora of cleanliness found in few other places in the fleet.
"Ahh, there you are Sister Seilya!" a jovial priest with a bionic eye and cane appeared in front of the wife of Ahral, a pregnant hospitaler right behind hime waved at Seilyra from behind the man.
"Father Lutz, Sister Frei, greetings to the both of you." Seilya gave the priest a firm handshake and hugged the medical sister, "How's the baby?"
"She's coming along just fine, I checked it myself earlier." Frei chirrped, "My husband is also overjoyed, says he's glad that we had the procedure done."
"Glad to hear it, will he be joining us today?"
"Sadly not, Villiam is currently training some guardsmen. He's probably giving them hell right now."
The trio laughed as a servo-skull whizzed over the crowd, dodging several others before dropping straight down and resting on Father Lutz's shoulder. It bore a small golden crest on its forehead, one that detailed the fluer-de-lis of the Ordo Sororitas and held in its metallic jaw a scroll of parchment that the priest reviewed, bionic eye zooming in an out, "Well, we shouldn't keep the Canoness waiting it seems; the Emperor demands his will be carried out with great haste. Shall we depart sisters?"
Seilya nodded and smiled, looking forward with a face full of pride, "Let us carry on to the abby. May the Emperor guide us, Imperium Aeternum."