Mother Superior Katherine took a long, deep breath, holding it as the Meltaguns fired. Crimson beams arced down the hall to strike the heavy armor last doors at the end of the corridor. The heat of the weapons seemed to suck all the moisture from the air as burst after burst was poured onto the portals. Acrid smelling smoke began to waft throughout the corridor, making Katherine's eyes burn and water. The grisly lacerations on her cheek burned from the fumes, the flesh of the right side of her face held in place only by a thin layer of synthetic skin applied by Rhoda after her fight with Rebecca. The door was glowing white-hot, blackening the walls on either side.
"Now! Katherine shouted. The bolters of the Lay-sisters erupted, seventy-five caliber explosive shells hammering the door. The stressed hinges of the door shattered and the massive portals toppled into the room beyond. "Sisters, follow me!" The Canoness leapt over the smoldering armored doors into the Governor's personal chambers.
Gaius hadn't taken the opportunity to redecorate yet, so it still bore the ubiquitous Imperial Aquila in gold on tapestries of deep blue hung between the angular Roman-Gothic columns. Only the shrine of the Emperor opposite the door had been defaced, the golden statue melted to a blob of slag. The Governor's chambers was an open suite of half a dozen rooms, separated by half walls and lines of columns. The entry way branched off to an office on the left, the desk and holotable littered with reports, maps, and other command paraphernalia. To the right was a large chamber filled with luxurious furnishings, clearly a lounge for entertaining guests with kitchen and lavatory beyond. Directly across from the foyer were a half dozen stairs leading to the Governor's bedchambers.
Standing on that raised dais before the door to the bedrooms, was Gaius Romulus Saevitiae. His armor of deep violet was crafted to appear has a sculpted musculature. A lavender cloak of velvet flowed from rings on his shoulders to brush the marble floor. Blonde ringlets of hair framed his chiseled face in tight, short curls, his ice-blue eyes lined heavily in kohl. Standing about the dais were six corrupted Sororitas in their obscene armor of pink and lavender. Other former sisters stood ready in the lounge and office, gruesome psychic weapons held ready.
Arrayed about Katherine were her Seraphim in their golden armor, now only four in number. Sister Rhoda stood behind her, the aegis of her shield lifted to protect not only herself, but the Inquisitor standing behind her. Her five Celestians surrounded Simone, bolt pistols and blades ready. Malachi, Delphias, and Lukas, Godschilde's personal retinue, formed an inner ring of protection around her. Four Dominions with Meltaguns and nine Lay-sisters in crimson armor fanned out, training their weapons on the traitorous former Sororitas.
As Katherine took a half step forward, Gaius crooned, his eyes locked on Simone's, "Welcome, ladies. I knew you'd come…the winds of destiny have blown us together…for the last time."
"Yes…the last time." Katherine nodded, her face holding a strange, serene calm. "I'm in no mood for soliloquies. No more games. Let's end this." Her left hand rested on her deadly Inferno pistol.
"As you wish," Gaius bowed theatrically. In a lower voice he spoke to his "Sisters of Slaanesh", "Remember your orders…Katherine and Simone are to be brought to me alive…the others are yours to play with as you will…"
Katherine's hand whipped up, pulling the antique pistol from its leather holster. A scarlet beam of superheated plasma burst forth from the wheellock-looking weapon, searing across the dozen meters that separated them. Gaius tried to twist aside, but Katherine's aim was true, striking him in the left pectoral plate of his daemonic armor. "Arrgh!" He growled, spinning away in a swirl of lavender cloak. Into the Governor's bedchambers he disappeared as the Corrupted Sisters sprang forward.
One of the Sisters of Slaanesh slammed into her, knocking the pistol from her hand. Gritting her teeth, she swept Magdalena's Bane from the scabbard, the blade instantly surrounded in flames of pure silver. It arced up in an ascending backhand that caught the former Sororitas under the right arm. The sword cleft through her ribs, shoulder, and head in a grisly fountain of blood. With a dancer's grace, Katherine charged through the gap in the Chaos line and ran for the entrance to the bedroom…Rhoda's "No, Katherine! Wait!" lost among the din of battle.
