# The Colonel And The Canoness



## Worldkiller (Jun 16, 2010)

‘I love you,’ he said to her.
‘I know,’ she said, starring into his gray blue eyes just inches away from her face as he held her tight.
As he starred into her eyes he knew, in that brief second, that there could be no finer sight in the Emperor’s domain, indeed the entire galaxy. And he knew she was thinking the same thing.
On either side of an aisle going down the middle of the chapel warriors of many wars stood and witnessed what they had long known was coming, the joining of their two forces in something that went deeper than the fires of combat, the fires of love.
The man took one more stare into her eyes, and leaned in for a kiss.
In the doomed lovers hearts a fire blazed hotter than ever. He noticed the moistness of her lips and the throbbing of her heart he could feel, at least in his head, beneath her armor and he knew that this would have to be cut short. She was eager for her first passion, the love she had learned to enjoy before she ever even saw him.
He just wished this passion would lead somewhere far away, far away from all this…
But no. Just like every other wish in this wretched galaxy, this one would go ignored.
‘We have to go now,’ she said to him.
‘I just wish we had more time,’ he said.
‘I know, but we took an oath,’ 
‘I remember,’
Turning to a bridesmaid on her side of the aisle she extended her hand ‘My blade,’ she said and a long chainsword with a plasma gun worked into the hilt was handed to her.
She turned back to her husband of just a few short, blissful, moments, ‘See you out there,’ she said and turned away. Walking down the aisle without him every pew from front to back emptied with women following their Canoness.
‘Not the worst ceremony I’ve ever seen,’ said the groom’s best man.
‘What about wedding ceremony?’ said the groom.
‘The first I’ve been to. So it was lovely, everything considered,’
‘I knew it would be,’ said the groom, ‘everything considered.
Outside the chapel a war raged. Artillery bellowed as it vomited its deadly bombs and daemon worshipers screamed their hate. Hundreds of men died every hour. But a man and a woman still made time for their love, like a flower rising through the mud, refusing to be beat down by a rain of blood above it.
‘Well, I’m not going to keep my honeymoon waiting,’ said the Colonel. ‘My rifle, major?’
‘Here sir,’ said the best man.
Marching out to meet the war at hand the Colonel led his men to what he hoped would be the last charge against a foe that had led them through hell and back for so many years…
As he hefted his lasrifle to his shoulder his mind strayed back through the years to the first battle against this monster…

‘Move move move!’ shouted Colonel Mortimer. All around him men rushed forward, firing their lasrifles into the dust ahead, hoping to hit the filthy cultists hiding within. 
Mortimer heard the whine of artillery shells soaring in the air above him. Years of hard earned experience told him where they would come down.
‘Take cover!’ he shouted. Everyone around him dove to the ground, trying to make themselves less of a target.
The shells hit the ground, not quite within the ranks of the 44th Mobile Wraiths, but close.
Opening his eyes Mortimer saw that his warning had paid off. Few men screamed in pain. Mortimer knew few of the wounded would die. But some wouldn’t fight again. One men screamed out a name he hadn’t heard before and grabbed his leg which ended just below the knee.
‘Medic,’ said Mortimer, ‘see to the wounded,’
‘Yessir,’ said Cromen, Mortimer’s General Staff Medic.
‘The rest of you,’ yelled the Colonel, ‘Up the hill! Tear the throat out of the warp spawned vermin!’
With a great roar the men of the Wraiths charged forward with more vigor than before. The air became filled with the sound of lasfire discharge and the rattle of autoguns.
Above Mortimer a trio of Valkyrie aircraft soared toward enemy positions, carrying with them the few Storm Troopers the regiment had.
‘They can’t hold out much longer sir,’ said Mortimer’s Adjutant , Major Van Cleef.
‘No, they’ll retreat soon,’ replied the Colonel.
‘We should be able to get their base by day’s end,’
‘Then we’ll surround the mountain, take it in the morning.,’
‘Just like you planned,’
‘Just how the Wraiths fight. Come on, lets break these dogs,’
As Mortimer and Cleef hefted their lasrifles, Vox Operator Lee came running up to the Colonel, panting from carrying the heavy piece of equipment.
‘Sir…,’ he caught his breath, ‘message came fro you sir, from the city sir. More forces have arrived to help prosecute the war here,’
‘More forces?’ said Mortimer, ‘Well you get back on the vox and you tell whoever just voxed you that they wasted a trip, the Wraiths have this “war” wrapped up. We just need to put the bow on it,’
‘Sir, I don’t think I’d say that to them,’
‘Well who are them?’ asked Van Cleef.
‘Sobs sir. The Sobs,’ 
‘Damn, Sisters of Battle, a more annoying and tactically stupid bunch of Emperor Botherers I’ve never meet before,’ sighed Mortimer, ‘Bring up my Chimera. Van Cleef, you’re in charge till I get back. Don’t ruin things for me,’
‘Yessir,’

Arriving back at the outskirts of the capital city on Tantiv IV Mortimer stepped out of his Chimera, not bothering to wait for his bodyguards.
Marching towards a small tent that he guessed correctly to be the Adepta Sororitas ad hoc command post, it was covered with symbols of the Emperor, he got ready to start asking questions. Before he could though a woman turned around from a map one of her assistants was holding and faced him.
‘Colonel Mortimer I presume?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ he replied before jumping straight to what was foremost in his mind, ‘what are you doing here?’
‘We have come to aid in the prosecution of this war and finish it to the satisfaction of the Church,’
‘The satisfaction of the Church?’ said Mortimer ‘Mam there is nothing here but a few heretic who smuggled in old weapons and tried to overthrow the local government. This war will be over tomorrow. You wasted the trip,’ he turned around, intending to head back to the front.
‘Tell me Colonel,’ said the woman, ‘what do you know of the Dragon Schism?’
‘The Dragon Schism?’ said the Colonel, facing the woman again, ‘A chapter of Astartes descended into civil war, drawing all manner of xeno and Imperial forces into their maelstrom with them,’
‘Yes, you are mostly right. But it was not just xeno creatures that took part in that war. The dark gods that rival the Emperor on Terra,’ at the mention of the God of Humanity all the women clad in power armor turned their eyes to the ground, just for a moment, ‘also joined and took half the chapter into the warp with them. All the fact will never be known but what is known is that that half of the chapter now act as agents for Chaos,’
‘I see,’ said Mortimer, ‘but what does that have to do with this war?’
‘Five months ago a Preacher of the Emperor’s Church on Bella VII started having visions of a great evil coming from a planet he had never heard of. When a team of sanctioned psychers peered into his mind they saw the name of the world, Tantiv IV, and the figure that would bring about the great evil. The description of his armor matched the armor of the astartes involved in the Dragon Schism. The psychers were put to death shortly afterward,’
‘So that’s why you’re here? To kill a chaos marine that an entire regiment of the Imperial Guard hasn’t spotted?’
‘All renegade marines must be dealt with,’
‘Are entire chapters of Sororitas normally sent to kill one chaos worshipper?’
‘The magnitude of the predicted threat determines the strength and numbers of those sent to stop it,’ she said robotically.
‘I see. Well Sister, if I or my men see anything you spoke of, we’ll let you know. Until then, just stay out of our way,’ Mortimer walked back to his Chimera. None of the Sisters said or did anything to stop him. They just went on with their business as though he had never been there.

Back in the chimera on his way back to the front Mortimer sat back in his seat, trusting his aides to get him where he needed to be. The arrival of the Sisters had been an unneeded distraction in the final, most critical stages, in the war. To him they were nothing more than women who focused all their energy on devoting every breath to the Emperor, wearing power armor, ignoring basic battle tactics, and killing everything they could get away with calling a heretic.
They were an unpredictable, unreliable tool towards victory at best and the bane of perfect battle plans at the same time. Of course, if the battle was lost they would probably just say it was the will of the Emperor and that it was all part of his grand design.


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## gothik (May 29, 2010)

now heres something i would never have thought oiff bedore...nice start


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

very nice, rarely do I see love in the 40k universe, it shows hope for the future of mankind


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

you should contiue it


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## Kettu (Nov 20, 2007)

It's rather good except one little thing.
Sisters are meant to be rather well educated and trained in tactics and strategy.
The Canoness would be pretty much on par or even better educated in the theater of war then the most IG commanders.


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## gothik (May 29, 2010)

and heaven help the spouse if they try and out think them when it comes to the seven year itch......


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## Worldkiller (Jun 16, 2010)

What's the 7 year itch?


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## gothik (May 29, 2010)

straying partners


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## Worldkiller (Jun 16, 2010)

Well one of them is gonna die in the final battle scene, the story above is just the wedding, then the beginning of the flashbacks that lead to the wedding followed by the final battle scene.


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## TheSpore (Oct 15, 2009)

i thought sisters of battle weren't allowed to have lovers


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## Kettu (Nov 20, 2007)

What little fluff exists in their codex doesn't say anything but if you take BL as cannon then they are allowed lovers.


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## TheSpore (Oct 15, 2009)

eh i guess thats where the whole thing about the 40k universe never haveing love and any kind of drama in it i was just thinkin this given there nature they are basically nuns with guns


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## gothik (May 29, 2010)

nuns with guns? now thats a shaky thought and i think this is sweet usually any tales that has romantic inclinations ends in disaster and the sisters may be devout to thier orders but hey you can fight natural instincts either.


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## Worldkiller (Jun 16, 2010)

In Duty Calls its explained clearly that SOB's are allowed lovers and have family units.


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## Worldkiller (Jun 16, 2010)

I don't think I'm going to go back to this one, does anyone want to take over it?


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