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PRELUDE
Probationary Palatine Alicya Sabatith found herself preparing to do what was previously unthinkable - guiding yet another psyker into the heart of her monastery. Desperate times had called for desperate measures.
It had been a few days after the conclusion of the Battle for Nusquam, and Alicya watched impassively beside Inquisitor Thaberus as the gunship Flameraven banked and turned expertly before slowly landing on the fortress monastery’s primary landing pad. The powerful downward draft of the gunship caused the robes, coats and purity seal parchments of the people waiting nearby to flutter furiously.
Upon landing, a side door of the Flameraven opened and two figures appeared. An elderly lady gingerly stepped forth, accompanied by a young boy. The pair fumbled slightly down the extended stairs to stand before their hosts.
Alicya took extra note of the slightly hunched old lady who seemed way past her prime, but conceded to the fact that a psyker’s capacity is not dependent on their physical ability. Appearance wise the lady was quite short and not much taller than the accompanying boy. She wore a standard imperial storm coat embellished with an inquisitorial emblem, her eyes were covered behind a pair of round shades while a tall psychic hood rose to loom over her frail features.
‘Master Thaberus,’ the elderly lady began to perform a deep bow towards the trenchcoat wearing inquisitor who waited at the forefront of the group, but her action was cut short by the man himself. The usually stern inquisitor walked over, gently helped up the bowing lady and asked softly, ‘Mei Jie, it has been a while. How are you feeling?’
Surprising Alicya, Inquisitor Thaberus had spoken with a tone more akin to someone meeting a senior member of the family than a master greeting his servant.
‘Thanks to Zaki, the worst has passed. It seems like I will be sticking around to continue my service.’ The old lady replied with a smile while reaching towards the young boy who came with her, but as her hand touched the boy she recoiled suddenly, as if she had just grazed hot metal. ‘Ah, sorry, Zaki,’ she quickly apologised. The little boy, who was wearing a simple grey tunic, merely looked at the old lady with a blank expression and shook his head.
A pariah, Alicya noted.
‘I see his null powers are growing, we might need to get an inhibitor for him soon,’ Thaberus remarked. ‘Come, I will get you acquainted.’ The inquisitor then turned to Alicya and formally introduced the old lady, ‘Palatine Alicya, this is Throne agent Yehai Mei as mentioned in our previous discussions. With her help, we will have a better chance on the second attempt.’
Alicya nodded slightly before ignoring the newcomers. Due to indoctrination, professional indifference was the greatest courtesy she could conjure for them at the moment. The palatine then remarked to Thaberus, ‘I pray for it to work this time too, it has been such a monumental task to have all the parties agree on the procedure in the first place.’
‘Agreed, palatine. We need her back as soon as possible.’ Thaberus nodded and continued, ‘Agent Yehai was in a medically induced coma until recently due to all the happenings. Please see to her well-being while she is here in your care.’
That done, Thaberus left with his party onboard the Flameraven.
* * *
Some time later, in the most secured chamber within the monastery, Alicya observed the gathering of three psykers and noted that while they did not speak much with one another, the relaxed body language of the old lady suggested she was glad to be reunited with Fulton and Tsalieh. They must be communicating telepathically, Alicya realised.
In the aftermath of the greater daemon’s incursion, there had been a flurry of purity tests done on all the important people involved for possible warp taint. The young palatine witnessed how the two psykers were worked to the bone and even with her predisposition against witches, she felt a hint of sympathy for them. Before Alicya realised it, she and most of Inquisitor Thaberus’ party had become fairly acquainted during the gruelling period.
Turning to the heavily augmented figure standing in the middle of the chamber, Alicya asked in a vain hope for new developments. ‘Magos, any changes?’
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Magos Balpradus who presided over the procedure replied flatly, ‘None. Despite her being in supposed perfect physical health for more than enough time, she still shows no signs of waking up.’ He then turned to Sister Hospitaller Veritta who was standing nearby. ‘All key personnel are present, we are ready to begin the second attempt.’
‘Throne willing, we will have better luck this time and wake her up from the inside,’ Veritta Kern who was overseeing the event for the inquisition remarked solemnly.
Moments later, Alicya observed the ongoing procedure with her arms crossed. From her point of view, all she could see was the three psykers gathered behind the Holy Daughter on her bed. Both Fulton and Tsalieh had one hand each holding onto the shoulder of Yehai. The old lady was the only one who had both her hands lightly touching Syrine’s temples, and they had been at it for quite some time now.
While Alicya could not see what was really going on, judging by the strained expressions of all the psykers and the perspiration gathering on their foreheads, she suspected it was not going smoothly at all. The palatine also noted with mild discomfort as the air inside the chamber seemed to grow thicker with each passing moment.
Then the uneasy silence was broken by Balpradus’ unexpected announcement. ‘The patient is exhibiting unusual brain wave patterns.’ Before Alicya could decide whether that was good news or bad, she noticed the psykers starting to shiver with even heavier perspiration.
Is that normal? Alicya wanted to ask but the temperature inside the chamber abruptly plummeted. Alarmed by the unexpected event, the palatine looked to the sister hospitaller who was supposedly more experienced in such procedures and saw Veritta’s unconcealed surprised face, and then - BAAAM!
There was a bright flash accompanied by a shock wave, sending the psykers and medical tools flying. Veritta screamed as a thin layer of frost formed instantly inside the medical bay, rapidly covering the floor and most surfaces except for Syrine and her bed.
Alicya had raised her gloved hand just in time to shield her face from the blast. With clenched teeth she peeked into the direction of Syrine, and to her horror witnessed a misty figure forming above the unmoving Holy Daughter. Alicya silently cursed all the people who had assured the safety of the procedure and reached for her bolt pistol, but froze as she started to recognise the solidifying figure.
Wait, this … this couldn’t be! Alicya’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Trembling, she took a quick glance and confirmed that the pentagrammic wards that were installed inside the chamber by the inquisition were still intact. This was no warp breach. The frozen marble rang crisply as Alicya dropped to her armoured knees, and hers were not the only one as the sound of robed and armoured knees falling to the floor echoed in the whole chamber.
Alerted by the loud commotion, the Celestian squad guarding just outside the door stormed in with weapons raised, but upon witnessing the scene inside, the elite sisters too lowered their weapons and fell to their knees.
There, above the unmoving Holy Daughter, was the translucent but unmistakably regal visage of the Emperor. The astral form of the Master of Mankind seemed to be made up of holy lights, shining with countless colours and flickering unstably before speaking in a voice that was heavy with displeasure. It was but a whisper, yet the weight behind the words boomed like thunder.
+YOUR PRESENCE HERE IS NOT AUTHORISED.+
Everyone flinched at the accusatory tone from the sovereign of their species, and in response some bowed their heads so hard they were slamming their foreheads onto the ground. Most if not all were trembling uncontrollably, Alicya included.
Just as they were expecting divine retribution, the manifestation together with the sudden frost quickly dissolved into the air, leaving a chamber of bewildered Imperials. Alicya blinked, and then blinked again to confirm the phenomenon had ended. Breathing heavily, she slowly picked herself up from the floor, her sight refusing to leave the spot where He had once been.
The palatine remained stunned for a few more seconds before snapping back to her senses, and together with Veritta she hurried to Syrine, finding the Holy Daughter still unresponsive but otherwise unharmed. The hospitaller quickly went through a series of checks on Syrine before giving Alicya a quick nod, signalling everything was fine.
Sighing with relief, Alicya asked, ‘Magos, status of the Holy Daughter?’ The tech-priest, who was standing utterly still during the whole event, uttered some binary before looking at his instruments, and after a while he gave a metallic reply.
‘Her status has reverted back to preprocedure.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Confirmed, palatine.’
Alicya took another deep breath before walking towards the psykers who were still sprawled on the floor. She reached for the man by his collar, pulling him up and finding herself practically shouting with a hoarse voice, ‘what in the name of Throne was that? Explain it to me now!’
The dazed psyker, blood flowing down from his nose and ears, simply held up his hands but did not reply. It was Yehai who coughed an answer on his behalf. ‘A moment please, sister. I can explain.’
After being helped up by Tsalieh, the aged psyker took a moment to tidy up herself and went before Syrine. She bowed deeply and whispered for forgiveness before talking in a shaky voice. ‘We weren’t strong enough. Even with the three of us, our combined effort was like a breeze blowing at a fortress gate. We could not get in. So, we changed our approach. We pushed and pushed on her mental wall until a ripple was created, then we peeled at the highest point of that ripple with all our strength to look inside, but everything bounced back.’
‘And that created what we saw just now?’ Alicya pressed.
Yehai nodded shakily.
While Syrine’s legitimacy seemed to be proven yet again, her condition had remained the same. The bittersweet result had Alicya wanting to pull her hair off in frustration, but instead she held her hands together and whispered a prayer.
By the Emperor’s grace, please come back to us, Holy Daughter.