Part XIX - Mirabel's Fall

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Her victory complete, Rosetta sat there locked away in her private quarters. It had been two months since the fall of Wyvern's Citadel, yet the memory of the battle was still fresh and raw in her mind.

She reflected upon the madness that led to it. The injustices, the heresy, it all tore at her soul with grief. Most of all the image of Mirabel falling to her own insanity stung her heart. In her mind, Mirabel had always been the greatest of them all.

She meditated in her room for hours as the sun set in the east. Concentrating, digging through her own expansive mind. Soon visions came, of people, of places, events, both good and bad. Eventually, she strained as she discovered thousands of years worth of memories.

Focusing on the name Mirabel and what it meant to her she managed to direct the search. Hours passed and she witnessed entire years fly by in mere minutes. Her heart ached, Rosetta despaired as she saw the horrors Aura endured throughout her long life.

Then an opportunity came, her heart yelped, and she pounced upon it. Time froze and a moment in her memory shone through all others. In it was a face, Mirabel's face. Not that of a mad woman consumed by her follies and failures but one of pride, beauty and love.

Rosetta concentrated on this one memory. It was not long before it consumed her mind. The memories were not her's but Mirabel's. Carried by the fragment that once resided within her they became Rosetta's now.

-//-

"Push east, Sisters. I ran into our prize. By the Emperor! I face four of them alone!" Rosetta announced through the mic.

"Understood Sister. We're on our way." Came Lara's Voice.

Mirabel listened from where she sat. She looked to the east and found Lara's squad push ahead. Resistance from the Guardian Knights grew fierce and the Sister's advance ground to a crawl. Wary of being bogged down in the midst of the enemy's own stronghold.

"We must drive out the last of them! The Inquisitor needs this artefact! Press on Sisters! To the east!" Mirabel yelled as she pushed her Celestians onward.

They pushed on slowly; ammunition spent every inch of the way as desperate defenders hurled themselves at the Sororitas. Mirabel gazed downward as Praetor in all his blood-drenched glory tore apart an enemy beneath him.

The great white lion was her pride and joy. Nothing matched Praetor's might, beauty and pride, nothing. Sensing the enemy thinning, she petted him and tugged on reins attached a collar buried somewhere underneath his mane.

With the order given Praetor lept onto his hind legs and roared. Relishing his own fury, Mirabel screamed as she called the charge. Emboldened by the show of might the Sororitas surged ahead pushing the final advance east.

Praetor's mighty feet hammered against the stone as he charged down hallways. The great lion rammed into a formation of the golden armoured knights. Massive paws crushed bone, flesh and metal underneath his enormous weight.

Finding her way east Mirabel slaughtered her way to Rosetta's position. The battle was almost over, her victory so close to complete and yet her prize was so far gone. She came upon the eastern wing of the castle only to find a massacre.

Blood and gore coated the walls and floor. The body parts of so many enemies laid scattered about the hallway. The window had been blown away. To her dismay she found Lara there butchered into two with her arm lopped off.

Mirabel had to fight to control the rage and exploded within her heart at the sight of poor Lara. She dismounted immediately to search the area. Things did not add up at all. She wondered where was Rosetta and Lara's squad.

She searched on to no avail until she resorted to the vox. Putting her right hand's index finger to her ear, she activated the vox bead embedded there.

"Lara Squad report! Rosetta report!" She ordered.

For a few stressful moments, nothing but static came through.

"Lara Squad report! Rosetta report!" She repeated.

"Linda here. Lara left in search of Rosetta. We are working our way towards her last known position."

Mirabel felt the anger burst from her control.

"And you let her! Have you learned nothing in your life?!" She barked through the mic.

"I apologise, my la-."

Mirabel shut off the channel and switched to the master channel.

"All Sisters converge upon my position. We will continue pressing east. Report any sightings of Celestian Rosetta."

It was not long before they had all gathered upon Mirabel's position.She feared it was the same enemy who had taken Rosetta and killed Lara. They held fast against the local primitives with ease yet Mirabel found Lara's death disturbing.

She stood up and thrust out her sword.

"Push onward! Form a new line and push east around the keep!"

All was well but a massive explosion shook the earth as a wall of fire and death shot down the hall consuming three sisters. Then through the smoke came the purple armoured Astartes. With power weapons and plasma pistols in hand, they charged into the midst of the Celestians at impossible speeds.

In the classic form of Astartes close combat doctrine, they surged down the halls with lethal precision. They butchered the Sororitas like fish in a barrel. Perfect strikes, swift attacks, shock and awe, these were the principles of an Astartes' war.

One Sororitas turned her meltagun upon one and fired as a power sword's blade cut her head in two. The melta blast carving an enormous hole into the torso of her murderer. In the rush of battle, the two slumped to the floor, dead in each other's blood.

Another Astartes was downed with a plasma bolt to the face while a third slammed into a Sororitas. His immense weight, crushing her against the stone wall. He almost laughed as he hurled himself into another for another crushing blow.

"Insects! Insects the lot of you! I shall crush you all under my boot!" The Astartes roared.

More and more Astartes poured into the Sororitas' ranks pushing the Sisters back. Bolter fire flickered back and forth all across the halls of the keep. The Sororitas barely held their own as the momentum drove against them.

The concentrated barrage of bolt rounds from three Sisters downed another Legionnaire. As he fell, another lept over the corpse's shoulder, rammed through a squad of Sisters and charged Mirabel with another following his lead.

Praetor leaned back onto his hind legs, narrowly avoiding a power sword strike and pounced on the leading Astartes while Mirabel launched herself at the second. With Claw and blade, the two fought as one.

Mirabel dropped down low barely dodging a slash with a magnificent strike from Praetor. His claw slamming into Astartes battle plate with herculean might, staggering the giant while Mirabel drove her sword into his armpit drawing out blood and bringing the superhuman to his knees and giving Praetor to smash the helm off and tear apart the Astartes head inside.

Mirabel dashed to the left just as the second lased out. Too fast to evade, the strike cut Mirabel's left pauldron off. She spun around raising her pistol just as the Legionnaire's blade fell upon her once more.

Opening fire upon the hilt of the sword she blew away fat armoured fingers. The sword fell free of the Astartes' hand. Carried by the momentum of the swing it flew wildly into the floor inches from Mirabel's face.

The Traitor Astartes drew his plasma pistol upon the Canoness. Mirabel dove to the right. Making him turn just as Praetor dove in for the kill. Biting down on the Astartes' right arm he bent metal and broke bone and the Astartes roared in pain.

Pulling himself free of Praetor's grip he dropped his pistol and staggered back against the wall. Leaping in for the kill, Praetor but onto the helm and tore it off. Mirabel followed it up with a bolt shot to the Marine's eye.

Relishing the brief respite afforded by the Astartes' death, Mirabel looked around. The Sororitas held but their numbers were dwindling. There was only one thing left to do.

"Pull back, Sisters! Pull back and reform!" She barked into the vox.

It did not take long for her most trusted Sisters to heed her words and acknowledge the orders. As one they moved slowly. Firing a horrendous torrent of fire they held the Astartes back as they retreated.

-//-

Mirabel gathered her sisters into one great hall in the western wing of the keep. There were fewer than twenty left. She cursed her fate. She cursed the one who cast her into this hell. So much for all their advantages, they were up against Astartes.

Mirabel could feel the cold chill of despair crawl up her spine. Her heart sank, then Praetor nudged her arm. Purring, he pushed himself under her arm and she rested her hand upon his massive snout. Together, the pair shared a heart-warming moment. Now more than ever he was there to give his master courage when her own faltered.

Her heart warmed up with new passion until a male voice suddenly came over the vox like the foul reminder of a grim reality.

"Lady Mirabel!" Demanded the voice.

Instantly, a mixture of panic and annoyance flooded her enraged soul. She both hated and dreaded the one to whom it belonged to. She wished she could purge herself of its bearer's sinful existence. Nevertheless, she knew her place, and she bit her tongue.

"Yes, Lord Theodosius." She answered.

"Is it done? Theodosius asked sternly.

"N-no my lord. The enemy repelled us."

"The primitives of this world proving a match for the esteemed Adetpa Sororitas?"

"No my Lord. We face Heretic Astartes!"

Theodosius grew silent for some time. Mirabel could imagine his frustration but had no sympathy for the petulant man.

"Find. That. Artifact!" Theodosius barked before cutting the connection.

Grinding her teeth together, Mirabel growled in frustration as a Celestian approached. A black haired woman with a solemn face. She approached Mirabel with her habitual scowl at the world.

"Twenty-six dead, including the entirety of Lara's squad. What are our orders, Lady Mirabel?" She said.

Mirabel bit her lip as she swallowed the news. It felt like drinking acid. These were Sororitas, and Celestians at that. Loyal, capable servants of the Emperor. Now they died searching for trinkets in some forsaken fortress that should just be levelled from orbit.

"Understood Cassandra. Any sign of Celestian Rosetta?" Mirabel asked.

"No, my lady," Cassandra answered plainly.

Mirabel flinched.

"We hold here for now. Once we confirm the location of any remaining Traitor Space Marines, we will advance on my order. Understood?"

"Yes, my lady."

Mirabel looked out a window at the Heliosian sun.

"Rosetta... Where are you?" She whispered into the air.

The world shook as an explosion unleashed a firestorm throughout the halls. Smoke filled the area as the Sisters formed up to receive another attack. They held their ground faithful to the emperor and their personal might.

A torrent of gunfire blast the ashen mist downing some and jarring others. Sororitas power barely held up to the concentrated efforts of bolt and plasma. Like shooting stars of blue and fiery yellow Astartes munitions cut through the mist into the midst of the Sororitas.

Praetor growled and roared as bolts battered upon his armour and bore into his flesh.

"We're vulnerable out in the open here. Push forward!" Mirabel ordered.

As one her Sisters returned fire and moved on. Gunning down a Legionnaire they ran into a crossroads leading to three different hallways. Mirabel halted, unsure as to where to go she began to despair.

"Where to now, my lady?" Asked Cassandra.

Mirabel hesitated, then she was petrified as she found the monstrous giants closing in from all directions. All Sisters looked at her and she them. Thrusting her sword forward. She charged down the hall with the wounded Praetor by her side.

"For the Emperor!" She roared.

-//-

Rosetta gasped as all turned white. Her blood boiled with rage as the memory blurred with naught but fragmented visions of horror, loss and bloodshed became all she could salvage. She wanted more but stopped herself.

That was the past. Rosetta rose to her feet, released herself from her meditation and watched a new day dawn. With it, she vowed to no longer wallow in the past. It was what she had in that moment that now mattered. She will do what she ought to do and look not to the past but instead to the future.

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