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[h1]A Coming Of Steel[/h1]

[i]Many claim they wish to destroy their enemies. If this were true, most would be compelled to destroy themselves.[/i]
-"Discourses on the Faith"

[img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/67/ef/7f/67ef7f38d041ca72ffefb8c111fae756.jpg[/img]
[h3][i]Inquisitorial Cruiser[/i][/h3][/center]


The small dark lit chamber rumbled with the Cruisers engines as it sailed through the black void. The room was illuminated by a half circle of candles, the majority of which focused atop a small altar. Positioned crossed legged in the center of the circular room before that same altar and devoid of equipment or armor Canoness Superior Veruya Mercia sat in the middle of the room motionless. Breathing air in slowly through her built in respirator that aided her cybernetic lungs, Veruya could practically sense the palpable calm that had just come over the ship, signaling the sudden exiting of the unpredictable warp into real space. The change from exiting the suffocating shroud of the Empyrean was like a breath of fresh air. The gnawing energies of the warp finally lifting was a relief to the Canoness. The light of the Emperor always seemed so much fainter when in the bowels of that place. 

Several minutes after the shift came the hiss of hydraulics which signaled the opening of the only door into the chamber. In stepped a robed figure, and without looking Veruya knew it was Digna Macvicar of the Sisters Dialogous. 

Stopping a respectful distance away Digna reported, “Canoness, we have now exited the warp and are within the Seleucis Subsector, the Imperial captain estimates we will arrive within the orbit of Pontius Secundus within four Terran hours.”   


Veruya did not respond for a short while-- then said in an oddly synthesized booming voice, “very good Digna. Have the sisters ready within the hour. We will meet in the main cathedral and begin prayer followed by preparations for the coming crusade.”


“Of course Canoness,” the sister dialogous bowed before turning on her heel and leaving through the door once more. Having accomplished her given duty to inform the Canoness Superior when they had arrived. 

Veruya lifted her head toward the altar before her, before her gaze fell unconsciously toward her right arm as she raised it. The long sleeve of her robe fell away to reveal a metal hand that gleamed a metallic shine from the light of the nearby candles. Her thoughts went to the dark day she had faced death in her near fatal duel against Warboss Klog. The Ork who had led the mighty ‘waaargh’ on Nuskerus. The result was a dead xeno and the majority of the Canonesses chest caved in and a broken ruined arm. She might have died from her injuries had it not been for the quick thinking of a techpriest that recommended the immediate cybernetic surgical implants that had replaced a great deal of her internal organs such as her lungs along with her right arm up to the elbow. Reinforcing her spine, and augmenting the strength of her right arm. In fact, it was these same cybernetic implants that had spawned the name of Veruya’s order that was born a few weeks after the war ended. All in honor of her efforts in the purging of Hive world Nuskerusof the ork scourge.


In turn, many of her Celestian sisters had since undergone bionic improvements. Primarily those who had received fatal wounds during the long campaign. Even those who were unharmed had done so, seeing it as a form of paying homage to their beloved Canoness. At first, Veruya had not known what to think of such an act; while the benefits to their performance were unmistakable. The shift from organic to mechanical was not something to be taken lightly. While it was true that it was [i]said[/i] that the Holy God-Emperor and the Omnissiah were both held to be aspects or faces of the same divine being. Any learned scholar of the faith knew it was a highly contested view between the cult of Mechanicus and the Imperial Creed.  

The last thing she wanted was for her order to delve into the fetishism level of love the Iron Hands displayed for all things cybernetic. Flexing the metal fingers of her bionic arm, she sighed, even the sound of breathing out so was oddly synthesized and artificial thanks to the cybernetic components that made up her upper neck and entire lower jaw. 

The candles had begun to gutter low in Veruya’s private chapel. They burned in sconces formed of greenskin skulls taken on the open streets of Nuskerus, the largest one at the foot of the altar belonging to the warboss himself. Light shone from the empty eye sockets, and wax dripped from yellowed tusks. Veruya had taken the skulls herself and remembered each blow with eidetic precision.

The sword that struck these heads lay on the obsidian altar she knelt before; its edge was keen as the day it left the techsmith’s forge. It was a potent and blessed power sword named [i]Shades of Violet Mercy[/i], called so due to its violet finish, colored so thanks to the rare mineral it was forged from. When charged with power it hummed a deep amethyst light that seemed to resonate in the hearts and minds of those who witnessed its power. Condemning the damned and inspiring those loyal to the Emperor's light.  

Like the masterfully-crafted bolt pistol sitting next to it, the weapon was bound to her by a duty without equal. Finally, she sensed her silent vigil was over; having entered her fast since they had entered the warp to reach the subsector. As always she performed them when traveling through the Immaterium as to ensure safe passage through its madness. She stood smoothly, lifting the sword and pistol from the altar as she rose. The blade captured the light, reflecting a violet glow from its star-forged edge. It was time to make the necessary preparations.