"Dominion Forest "

By Daft Phully

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"By The Emperor, who ever first thought to keep a Gambian Giant Pouched Rat as a domestic animal, should be confined to a penal colony, and...," thought Dominion Xylene, as she looked at the pathetic creature huddled in a corner. Never mind. A quick belch of liquid flame would finish this problem. It squealed in agony, and sprinted a good thirty yards (on adrenaline) in frenzied spurts back and forth across the main room of it's owner's home before collapsing in an ashen heap. One shot of Halon from the dispenser novice's gear, put out the multitudes of little fires caused by its death throws. The pet's former owner, and his family were already in restraints and being led away to perform service to absolve their sin. The wife had been chiding her husband about the fact that he should have gotten a canine, before an application of a stunwand silenced her complaints.

Xylene's face split into a grin as she watched this drama play out. Though as soon as she realized that she was smiling, she quickly turned away from the scene, and with her back towards the novice and the crowd, re-fixed the 'sororitas scowl' back on to her face. The Adepta Sororitas never smiled. With the stern authority that her expression belied, she dispersed the silenced crowd, and motioned for the novice to accompany her back to the waiting 'Rhino' transport. The Dominion couldn't wait to tell her battlesisters about this afternoon, but it would have to wait until after bedtime devotions, and the Dominion Superior was out of eavesdropping range.

Her Dominion Superior had left Xylene a vox-comm, while the sister was busy flaming that large rodent. The com wasn't an inquiry on the status of Xylene's task. Dominion Xylene motioned to her driver and told her to meet up with the their Mission in the Boelyn sector of Wakeman's Grotto. There was some sort of incident.

Wakeman's Grotto was a small, prefabricated outpost established by Ecclisiarchal settlers on the outlands of the Crusade-lands. Dominion Xylene was part of a small Mission that was assigned to guard this settlement, situated on the edge of a great primeval forest. The overall Cannoness Superior was to come up from the south to deal with this incident personally. If Mission Cannoness Stacia had herself come up from the south to investigate, it had to be serious. No time for idle chatter tonight.

The Boelyn sector was easier to find this trip. The driver just had to follow the light and stench of a funeral pyre that was well under way by the time they had motored up. Preachers were leading the faithful in loud prayer; begging The Emperor for deliverance from their sins. It seems that a Posie childe-one of the daughters had gotten lost in the forest- and had just been found. She appeared to be healthy, but was only ragged,and unclean. Her mother took her daughter out to the washhouse to clean her , when the mother screamed and pleaded with The Emperor to save her childe. The girl had some sort of fungus growing on her abdomen and groin, and it appeared that this fact did not concern the girl at all. Actually, she seemed rather content with the situation, and wouldn't answer any of the many questions put to her about what had happened. This is when one of the village elders sent a comm to the mission priory, to inform them of the situation. Cannoness Stacia, and her retinue were soon on their way to the north.

The Posie mother was racked with sobs as she chanted though a rite of purification, with the Sororitas. This was made more difficult by the pain caused by the use of blessed disinfectant , which would purify her spirit as well as her flesh.

Her childe was halfway through a different rite of purification; her diseased body bubbled in redemption on the pyre, and this is when Dominion Xylene joined up with the rest of her battlesister squad. Cannoness Stacia had already started to address the rest of Xylene's mission.

The Cannoness ordered the mission to seek out and cleanse the area. They were to take along a small contingent of the local Redemption to assist them. (Good. Someone to catch fire, first. It is, their only purpose.) As the mission was purifying the forest, the balance of force in the south would move up through Wakeman's Grotto, and into the forest to assist in this task. "Engage and hold, and may The Emperor guide your eyes and your hands." That was the order.

Celestian Superior Toluene gathered up her small force of battlesisters, Seraphim, and Xylene's fellow Dominions, and Preacher Al -Sam Gopal raised up some rabble from the Grotto's faithful. He was able to find eighteen militia, four ancient autocannone, and two of the settlement's most fervoured Emperor worshippers to lead them. A quick review of their marching orders, and the reinforced Mission entered the forest, to perform The Emperor's Business. And to Xylene's shock and awe, she was to lead her squad as Dominion Superior for this mission. She whispered praises to The Emperor in between the sanctifying of her equipment before the move out.

The Litannies chanted by the Redemption, as they marched in through the forest was sure to attract attention. But that feckless Ergot was able to lead his autocannonne team into a heavy section of woods and establish a good defensive fire position. "I keep forgetting that they have lived near these woods for many years and know this terrain much better than we."

Veteran Seraphim Superior Maudite Pearl led her small squad of Seraphim through the trees on the west side of Ergot's fire team. It was also Maudy's first mission as a newly promoted squad leader. Two new squad leaders. Cannoness Stacia must not have been expected much in the way of opposition this close to an Imperial settlement.

The newly minted Dominion Superior Xylene, got her squad bogged down in the approach and arrived in a position to support Ergot's autocannonne. Schroder's squad of rabble set up to our right. Celestian Superior Toulene touched down next to the Seraphim.

As the Seraphim and Schroder's squad prepared to move out, Ergot opened up with all his guns. It wasn't difficult to spot the target; some sort of tank was rumbling coarsely through the woods just up ahead. When the smoke cleared, there were a lot of downed tree branches, and a still-intact tank. And now the enemy knew where the mission was hiding. It was also the last moment of calm for the day.

There's an ancient military saying that goes something like all plans fall apart when contacted by the enemy. This battle unraveled faster than that. Toulene and Maudite Pearl's Seraphim must have thought that they could handle the APC and it's occupants, so they fired at it and then charged it, attempting to destroy it with holy melta. What they couldn't see was the triple ring insignia that meant that the Rhino was dedicated to the chaos god Nurgle. And in their haste to close with the unclean, they failed to notice the other Rhino skulking just out of sight, and steadily closing on them. Bolter shots were no match for chaos blades and the Celestian Superior and four Seraphim fell to the plagued onslaught; their battle cries cut short as infection turned their wounds a sickly green. Their attacks ineffective, the Seraphim Superior and the remains of her first command, fell back quickly into the wood from where they started, and were not seen again during the battle. Bloodlust without the tactics to back it up is always a bad combination.

Watching the Seraphim flee in disarray tested the faith of the militia, and they remained steadfast in their faith, and to their guns. They fought bravely and were almost slaughtered to the man. Preacher Gopal charged the demons, hoping to rally the remaining militia, but this too was in vain. His lean and ragged form dodged in and out from between the trees, and struck at bloated and oozing warp creatures again and again with minimal effect. At last, his skill failed him, and he succumbed to the infections of his wounds. Xylene could not tell if he was crazy or faithful or just buying time so the rest of the mission could retreat to the safety of the wood.

The Dominion Superior gave the order to fall back.

As the Dominions faded back into the wood, as one, they knew what was going to happen on their return. Dominion Bloom was nervously chanting an old litany"...all the scars are on the inside..." just under her breath. The squad uttered no other sounds. Her first command, mused Xylene, ending as this. She must have offended The Emperor by taking delight in the purging of that stupid rat. "Put the offending thoughts out of you mind, and pay attention to the present," she thought, "It's time to lead."

It's been called many things. The Kiss of Absolution. Brand of Remembrance. Other names. Each Adepta Sororitas of the Order of the Weeping Grail has one. The Signet ring contains a one-use chemical brand, under a removable jewel face. Touch the chemical surface to the skin and a permanent impression of the Weeping Grail symbol is burned into the recipient. It is the duty of each Adepta to collect the brands of fallen sisters, if it is not possible to recover the dead. Veteran sisters have brands of their lost battle sisters on their arms, legs, and chest; these brands are prayed over during prayers of remembrance. The use of the brand symbolically permits the flesh of the faithful to still serve the order, while the spirit seeks to rejoin The Emperor. The branding is an order- specific ritual for the Weeping Grail~ most likely influenced by the practice of the collection of spirit stones by the Eldar- or gene-seed collection by the Astartes. It was an arcane practice that was adopted by their order eons ago, or so they were told.

Xylene had already collected several brands in the decade of service that she had seen. But there was another use for the brand. One that would end in disgrace and punishment. The whole operation was apparently doomed from the start, and Dominion Xylene and her squad were the only survivors of this operation ; Now while it was good that she was able to pull her squad out and return to report on the infestation, she was still the leader of a failed command and her whole squad would suffer the disgrace of the sin of failure in the sight of The Emperor. This sin would mean they each would suffer horrific penance and there would be a good chance that her battle sisters would descend to the ranks of Repentias. Being sent to the Repentas was worse than dying. For one thing, Inquisitors would be called in to purge the weakness out of the fallen. And it wouldn't be pretty.

Even though the Adepta Sororitas was the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Hereticus, there was no love lost between the two organizations. A visit from a Witchhunter was always the start of a bad day. If Xylene took the brands of her command upon her, she would accept responsibility for the sins of the battle sisters and their flesh would not descend to the ranks of the Repentia within her singular disgrace. With the luck and the blessing of the Emperor, her battle sisters would continue to serve, in good order. Bloom went first, chanting a Litany of Absolution and touching her brand to Xylenes face- the smell of perfumed acid and burnt flesh filled their noses. And each of the other four Dominions did the same. The left side of the Dominion Superior's face smoked from the branding, and her eyes watered from the pain. It was done.

Now all that was left to Xylene was to make her report...