Morning hymnals sounded through the gothic architecture of the massive cathedral, the din of hundreds of voices singing in perfect harmony filling every hall and every corridor. The words were flawless High Gothic, praises to the God-Emperor of Mankind to welcome the new day. Every woman within these sacred halls knew well the words, from the lowliest of novices to the Canoness. In the main hall of worship, where stained glass depictions of various Imperial Saints and the Emperor were arrayed, robed women sang and raised their voices. Directing the beautiful chorus was the Canoness, the Palatine, and the Sister Superiors.

When the hymnal came to a close the Canoness stood behind a podium, a scribe servo skull close at hand. Every set of eyes was locked upon the woman in rapt attention. The cathedral that had once been so filled with song was as silent as a crypt as they awaited the aging woman's words. Few Order Militants lived to her age and for the novices there most knew how judicious and harsh she could be. Half her face was dominated by cybernetics and her entire right hand had long since been lost in the line of duty. When she spoke her voice was clear and authorities.

"Sisters, as we welcome the new dawn so too must we continue to give thanks to our God-Emperor for the prosperity of our Order. It is our sacred duty as members of the Order of the Burning Hand to be ever vigilant and watchful for heresy, to root it out lest it find purchase in the hearts of our fellow man. Never is this more important than now as Sicarus celebrates the Grand Tithing. The Cathedral of Saint Lucia is a bastion of worship upon this world and amidst this revelry we must hold to the teachings of the Creed." She said.

"Some of you local girls may think to perhaps sneak away from your duties. Such behavior will not be tolerated. All members of the Order are to practice self-restraint, vigilance and spend their off hours honoring our lord Emperor with prayer and fast until the Grand Tithing is completed four days from now." The Canoness said sternly, earning a wince from the younger women in the attending mass.

"That is all. Praise be to the God-Emperor and Saint Lucia."

With that the sister slowly began to trickle from the main hall to go about their duties. The day was always a scripted a strict affair for those still training to be in the order. Humility, respect, and piety were drilled into the skulls of the young women along with rigorous combat training. Training administered most often by the Sister Superiors. One such Sister Superior was stopped by the Canoness on her way from the main hall.

"Sister Adella, please come with me. There is something we need to discuss."

Sister Adella turned, raising her brow in confusion but following nonetheless. Adella was a tall and statuesque woman in her early thirties, young for a Sister Superior. Her bobbed hair was bleached white like many of the sisters of the order militant and under her right eye was the holy symbol of the fleur-de-lis. Her features were sculpted and well formed, a beauty promised to the God-Emperor like so many others. An ill healed scar over her left cheek stole some of her beauty though she was not one who concerned herself with personal vanity.

The sister followed the Canoness into her office, the two black armored sisters standing outside of the door standing crisply at attention as both women entered. The office was a modest affair and its only decorations were various symbols of victory taken from the many battlefields the Canoness had tread upon. The Imperial Aquila was frequently displayed though also was the symbol of the Order of the Burning Hand, a minor order of the Order Militant. Nothing grand or sweeping but then, compared to many imperial cathedrals neither was the Cathedral of Saint Lucia.

The Canoness gestured for Adella to sit before her desk, the aged woman sighing slightly. She said nothing and simply seemed to be waiting for something. Sister Adella sat straight as she could before her superior, internally agonizing over what was the problem. Had she mispronounced a verse perhaps and the Canoness had caught it? The aged woman was as harsh on full sisters as she was on novices. More so perhaps as full sisters and especially Superiors served as examples to those not within the order. It took all her will power not to fidget nervously.

Eventually a knock came at the door. "Let her in." The Canoness said before the guard outside could even speak.

The door swung open and Adella turned slightly in her chair, gazing upon the new arrival. A shorter and rather slim woman dressed in a fine black leather coat. Her hair was a wiry and well-kept dark shade and her skin was dusky and exotic. At her side was a slender power sword though it was hardly the most dangerous item on her person. No, that went to the symbol around her neck. An uppercase 'I' with three dashes through the middle and a skull. The rosette of an Imperial Inquisitor, those who could touch any and all regardless of influence.

The door shut behind the inquisitor and Sister Adella bowed her head slightly. "Inquisitor." She greeted.

"Sister Superior Adella. Canoness Elise Orton." The woman responded.

Adella opted not to ask how the inquisitor knew her name. Such questions were best left unanswered. This was not the first time the Sister Superior had encountered a member of the Holy Ordos, the Sisters of Battle were the chamber militant for the Ordo Hereticus. As a faithful servant of the God-Emperor, Adella feared not the Inquisition or its reach for only the heretic, demon, or alien need dread an inquisitor. The Canoness nodded to the inquisitor in response before speaking.

"Adella, this is Inquistor Ayela Zyn Icarthia of the Ordo Hereticus. I did not wish to cause overt excitement by announcing her presence in this morning's mass so I hope you understand this meeting is confidential." The old woman said.

Adella nodded. The inquisitor took her position leaning against the Canoness' desk, her dark eyes never straying for a moment from Adella's cool blue orbs. The Sister superior met her gaze unflinchingly, confident in the purity of her soul in the eyes of the Emperor. The inquisitor smirked and looked pleased by something though Adella couldn't begin to guess what. It was often best not to try and understand the mind of the Inquisitor, for they bore witness to sights profane and despicable.

"It is a pleasure to meet you in the flesh, Sister. I read of your exploits in the records of your Order. How you led the kill team on Rathor V and killed the Hierophant of that foul Witch Cult. Or how you followed Inquisitor Urien Seltor into Hive Spire Traxus to stop the mad planetary governor from unleashing a warp plague upon the hive. You might call me a fan." The inquisitor said.

Adella had the sense of mind to blush slightly at the praise. "Please, my lady, I only did as any Sister would have. The Emperor guided my aim and my sword, without that I would not be here."

"Of course, but I'm not here to talk about any other sister. I'm here to talk about you." The inquisitor replied, waving away the humility.

The inquisitor produced a set of charts and placed them upon the Canoness' desk, spreading them out. It appeared to be a layout of the Sub Sector at large. She noted Sicarus, and not far from that the Sub Sector capitol of Dorith. The Dorith Sub Sector was large enough, possessing a number of terrestrial worlds of advanced development with only one or two feudal or feral worlds. Sicarus was one of those lesser advanced worlds. It was also the headquarters of the Order of the Burning Hand, its one claim to fame.

"Let me cut to the heart of things. I have been pursuing a dangerous heretic by the name of Qora the Defiler. She has managed to evade me throughout the sector at large however I have it on good authority she will be on Dorith for a meeting of sorts. Being that Sicarus was on the way I would like to enlist your assistance in hunting her down and purging her." Ayela stated.

Qora. That was a name Adella had heard in passing here or there in her missions abroad. A foul witch and servant of the Dark God Slaanesh. A hundred cults across the sector owed their existence to the heretic apparently. Inquisitor Urien had expected their quarry had even had dealings with the infamous woman. She felt her blood start pumping at the prospect of helping to bring down such a foe. Her place was not in the halls of a great cathedral but on the field of battle, purging the enemies of the Imperium of Man.

Adella looked to the Canoness. "I would very much like to accompany you in this most worthy endeavor, my lady, but the Canoness has final say on my deployment."

The older woman sighed. The Grand Tithe was not a good time to be sending out sisters and Adella knew that. The Order helped keep the peace upon the world and were really the only ones who possessed advanced weapons on Sicarus. The Tithe brought with it some unrest at times as the great holds of ships floating in sub orbit above were to be filled with ore. Ore some citizens believed to selfishly belong only to Sicarus and not to the Imperium at large. Riots did occasionally occur.

"I will authorize you and a squad of no more than ten other full sisters to accompany the Inquisitor. The importance of her mission warrants the order's attention and it is our duty to serve the Holy Ordos." The older woman stated.

The inquisitor beamed and inclined her head to the Canoness. Adella felt excitement rise within her at the prospect of facing off against the enemies of man once more. It had been far too long since she was absent the roar of her bolter and the snarl of her chainsword. Two years if she was being honest, ever since she had been named Sister Superior. The Sister stood and accepted the gloved hand offered to her by Ayela, gripping it firmly which earned a slight wince from the slim and less well muscled woman.

"Wow, strong hands. Anyway, meet me at the space port tomorrow with your squad, Sister. We'll be departing as soon as we can." The inquisitor said, departing and flexing her abused fingers.

Adella already was going through her mind as to who would fit well into her team. A few promising new sisters she had trained most likely and of course Iria would make an excellent 2nd in command. It would need to be kept quiet so she'd approach them all on an individual basis to avoid causing a scene. The last thing she needed was a mob of sisters swarming her, eager to prove their mettle in the fires of battle. As she headed to the door with a quick bow to the Canoness she was stopped by the sound of the older woman's voice.

"Sister Adella. Lead your sisters well and remember, place your faith always in the Emperor. No matter how dark things might get He will guide you and protect you so long as you believe in him with all of your being. See that your team knows this as well." She said, dismissing her after speaking her piece.