The Multiverse Project: Warhammer 40,000

Joanna was placid throughout the entire briefing. Besides giving her testimony on the engagement and subsequent capture, Joanna did not utter a word as the war council went about discussing their plan of battle. Glancing around the room, it wasn't hard to see the…changes that have come upon the men and women of the Glorious Army of Tera-Antebella. Some radiated grace and allure with unnatural ease, stylish studs and tattoos adorned scandalous places like lips, eyebrows and ears. They leered at one another, passing salacious hints without genteel decency. Joanna caught lord Matthias, a man twice her age, openly giving her a lecherous beckoning when she entered the chamber. She almost vomited then and there. But at the opposite end of the spectrum, many of the gathered lords and ladies were restless and violent, all of them crying for the enemy's blood to be spilled and suggesting idiotic battle plan that would prove costly for both side. Joanna felt sick, not only from the claustrophobic pressure of finding the place she thought she knew perverted into something unnatural, but the odor. A nauseating perfume of clashing scents, from candy sweet to rotting rust, the swirling fragrances made her head spin. The toxic aroma faded when the meeting was adjourned and the occupants made their exit, Joanna relished the clean air that rushed into her lungs.

"Stay," a hard voice stopped Joanna from rising and she found herself locking eyes with general Steelwall Janet, Tera-Antebella most decorated military commander and her mother.

"Your performance was a disappointment," the grey haired woman said, "sloppy, amateurish and detrimental to our war effort."

"My performance was impeccable," Joanna shot back fearlessly. Others might tremble before Janet, but not her. "The men you gave me, those belonging to Joshua and Nicholas, were second-rate soldiers of the most ill reputable stock."

"A poor shepherd will always blame her flock," Janet said easily.

"Those men were thugs and criminals," Joanna went on. "They can fight, sure, but once they smell blood they become little better than beasts, loosing themselves in the madness of the kill and casting aside all sophistication of warfare."

Janet was silent for a moment, before assenting with a shallow nod, "perhaps, but a good commander can pull off a victory regardless of the disadvantages heaped upon them."

"You will never allow such a lowly mob to fight alongside your Steelwall brigade," Joanna pointed out.

"No, I won't," Janet admitted and finished her red wine.

"And yet you put my men under Nicholas's command," Joanna pressed on hotly, "where they suffered more than forty percent casualty because of his incompetence."

"A real shame that," the casualness of Janet's utterance grated Joanna. "Your men's conducted themselves most exemplary when the Immortal Spirit battlegroup broke our line, covering the retreat for the entire army. Their sacrifice stopped the invaders from encircling us."

"Why?" Joanna demanded sharply.

"Watch your tone, girl," Janet warned and rose from her seat. Joanna flinched but held her ground as Janet stalked around the long table, back straight and poised like a lance.

"Was it because of Syrathel and those other Sororitas?" Joanna stared at Janet, summoning every ounce of courage to meet those piercing blue grey eyes. "Will this be how my displeasure is treated? All voices of dissident thrown head first into the jaws of death?"

Janet's hand reached down and took her chin between a sharply manicured thumb and forefinger, the soft touch and well-mannered smile was malicious, promising swift violence. Joanna trembled, and a low laughter emanated from Janet's throat.

"Of course," Janet traced the contour of her jaw with the gentle touch of a mother. "How much longer will you deny enlightenment? Syrathel's miracle was undeniable."

"It is not of the God Emperor," Joanna voice quivered.

"Does it matter?" Janet went on. "Who are we to deny the gods when they come to us, tangible and real, as opposed to a rotting carcass on a throne that is blind and deaf to our prayers?"

"Akecheta was right, all of you are corrupted."

Joanna let out a pained gasp when Janet's nails dug cruelly into her cheeks. The smile was gone, replaced by an affronted glare that burned like branding iron. And for a moment, Joanna thought she saw an unnatural red glow searing away the blue of her eyes. It was gone in a blink.

"Do not speak that name in my presence again," Janet hissed, adding more pressure until Joanna's defiance crumbled into a pathetic mewl. When she was sure Janet had drawn blood, Joanna nodded quickly and was released. Panting, Joanna touched her cheeks to check the damage and sighed in relief when she found the skin dented but still intact.

"Men of class, character and breeding all across the planet were willing to go to the Warp and back for the chance to win your hand in marriage," Janet loomed above her, cold and scornful. "Yet you elected to rut with an animal."

"He's not an animal!" Joanna hissed, but mother's oppressive aura robbed the fire from her declaration.

"I should never have indulged your father's whimsy," Janet pressed on, deaf to her rebuttal. "All those times and moneys spent on the misguided notion that the Ekkaroqian savages can be civilized. It took years after his death for me to repair and restore our family's name in the eyes of the lords and ladies of Tera-Antebella, washing it clean of the taint the Ekkaroqian had placed upon it." The grin that crept up her handsome visage was devoid of kindness. "Yet I was too late to save my own daughter from the heathen."

"Stop it," Joanna's protest was a weak sob.

"I should thank providence that his seed didn't take hold in your womb," Janet went on nonchalantly. "The lengths I go through to make sure that such disgrace never surface…it was a shame that so many had to die for your secret."

"Please…" Joanna was begging now. She had no regrets over what she and Akecheta shared, a pure, unbreakable piece of happiness, but mother always knew how to twist those sweet memories into a knife. Joanna had grown accustomed to such abuse, but the pain it elicits never lost its sting.

"When you see that savage on the field tomorrow," Janet took hold of Joanna's chin again, this time she didn't resist. "You will kill him. Then I want you to bring the corpse back to me, I want to watch it burn. After that you will kill his sister, his friends and all of his kin until every last one of them are nothing but ashes. Is that understood?"

"Yes," Joanna conceded and Janet leaned down to give her a gentle kiss on the cheek before letting her go. She felt violated by the touch.

"Your regiment will be deployed along with those of Nicholas's, Matthew's and Francis's. I will know if you disobey me," Steelwall Janet made some minor adjustment to her uniform before heading for the door, stopping at the threshold to glance appraisingly back at Joanna. "I see you're wearing the old color."

Joanna glanced down at the dark blue uniform she now wore, a replacement for the gray that got scuffled during her capture. She had worn this at her graduation from East Point Military Academy. Father had been so proud, the memory putting a smile on her face.

"Why?" And like that, Janet shattered her recollection.

"It was the only uniform available to me at the moment," Joanna answered easily. "I have no time to spare for laundry, what with the battle and all."

"And why have your regiment adopted the same trend in fashion?" Janet pressed, perceptive as ever.

"Soldiers like to emulate their commander," Joanna shrugged. "They see me wearing blue, so they're wearing blue. It gives the regiment an identity of its own and sets them apart from their peers. You should know how competitive the soldiery can be in an army this big."

Janet stared at her for a few seconds longer before making her exit, calling back as she headed down the stone corridor, "Have your men ready before dawn."

"Yes mam," Joanna stood up and saluted Janet retreating form, holding the posture until her mother disappeared behind a bend. Sagging back into the chair, Joanna let out a breath she'd been holding, grabbed the wine bottle, pressed the rim to her lips and took three impolite swigs before placing it loudly back on the tabletop, the piercing warmth steeling her nerves. There was no turning back now then, tears accompanied the forlorn realization. Rising once more, Joanna made her way toward the door. What she was about to do would be a grievous sin in the eyes of the God Emperor, but what other choice did she have?

"Tomorrow's going to be messy," Henry said as he and Ladaee strolled through the quiet row of tanks, slumbering like great beasts beneath the starry sky, peaceful and ignorant of what is to come. The crews of the fearsome war machines were either at the mess hall or the many shrines set up by Father Joseph and the Sororitas, finding solace in companionship and faith before dawn crests the western horizon.

"You always say that," Ladaee clung tighter to his arm, the warmth of her body warding off the night's chill.

"Yeah, I know, but…" Henry tried to smile, but a sigh came instead. "I don't know Ladaee, it's just…things could always goes wrong, you know?"

"We will prevail regardless," Ladaee leaned her cheek on his bicep.

"Your optimism is truly infectious," Henry couldn't help but laugh, despite the looming threat of the morrow, Ladaee's words were enough to ease his fear. "Thanks Ladaee, you really know how to cheer me up."

"Better than Laura I hope?" Ladaee pouted playfully.

"Jealous? Ow!" That earned him a painful jab in the ribs.

"Mama bear doesn't like anyone coming near her mate," Ladaee huffed.

"You made that point vividly clear," Henry chuckled, but solemnity banished it quickly enough. "I don't like her plan though."

"Neither do I," Ladaee said after a moment. "Do you trust her?"

"I do," Henry answered without doubt or hesitation.

"Then I will trust her too," Ladaee nodded firmly as they took a right at a junction between two Krieg Leman Russes, a Tallarn Conqueror and a Cadian Vanquisher, the ground here slopping gently upward until the pair found themselves cresting a windy hill that overlook the open plateau to the west. The flat plain shone bright from the thousands sprawling campfires, the radiance eclipsing the stars above, a great host of arms that stretches from the unreachable north to the deepest south, their ranks disappearing into the western horizon where the earth touched the sky. It was both intimidating and majestic to behold. So enraptured by the sight that Henry didn't noticed someone sitting in the dark until Ladaee tugged at his arm urgently. The figure flinched, then swiftly sprang up and saluted crisply.

"Lord general Henry," commissar Raine stood at attention.

"At ease commissar," Henry waved off the formality as Ladaee quickly let go of him, they cannot appear too intimate in public. "Getting a good look at the enemy?"

"Just lost in thought sir," the commissar glanced quickly between him and Ladaee. "If you wish to be alone with commander engineer Ladaee, then I shall not bother you."

"Nonsense! You stay right where you are," Henry flashed his pearly teeth. "In fact, I think we're the one who's intruding here. So, commissar Raine, may we please join you this evening?"

Taken aback by Henry's polite overture, and most definitely not wanting to appear rude by rejecting the offer, Raine stiffly ushered them to a spot beside her, "I…would be honored, lord general, commander engineer."

"Much obliged," Henry indulged in a little southern colloquialism and went to join Raine, Ladaee sitting down between them, acting as a buffer. A little bit on the possessive side, but very cute nonetheless. Lowering himself down on the soft grass, Henry let out a contented sigh and spent the next few minutes savoring the peace before everything goes to hell.

"Permission to speak lord general," Raine spoke up suddenly.

"Of course," Henry said. "And please, enough with the formality, it makes things kinda awkward you know?"

"Alright," Raine eased her timbre until it sounded normal. "You seem to harbor a strong vindictiveness against the Antebellan, despite never being aware of their existence until now. Judging by how concerned your colleagues appear to be, I surmised that this isn't how you normally conduct yourself. I am curious as to where this hatred stems from."

"I see you've been busy," Henry grinned. "That's some fine detective work, lady commissar."

"Thank you," Raine's lips quirked minutely upward and Henry took a deep breath before continuing.

"To answer your question, the Antebellan, their culture, their appearance, hell, even how they speak drags up very painful memory. My people were enslaved once, but even after the chain of bondage were shattered and we were emancipated, people like the Antebellan, the decrepit and their descendants, refuse to see us as equal. Prejudice and hatred prevails, and both sides drifted further apart from peace and understanding as time went on. I guess I'm just projecting my frustration and anger on the Antebellan because they give me a familiar target to shoot at. It's wrong, I know, but it feels so damn good sometime."

"Yes, it feel so good that you spent hours lamenting what you've done," Ladaee added.

"I'm thankful I can still feel shame for my action," Henry said.

"You are a good man then," Raine said solemnly, and it was then that Henry noticed an old timey watch clutched tightly in her palm.

"Oh damn, I'm so sorry lady commissar," Henry bowed profusely at the perplexed Raine. "I didn't mean to interrupt your pre-battle ritual. We can leave if you want."

Raine's confusion morphed into one of hostile suspicious in the blink of an eye, the lady commissar quickly stuffed her watch back inside her coat, "how did you know that?"

"I read your files, especially your exploits with the Antari Rifles," and when Henry said he 'read her files', he meant he read the short story she was in. "Come on now Raine, you weren't the only one snooping."

"So I see," Raine glared at him sourly. "You know of what I've done then?"

"You did what any decent commissar would've done," Henry said carefully, seeing how distress Raine was becoming.

"I lied to them," Raine went on sulkily. "The men and women I befriend, that had put their trust in me…I threw them all into the fire without a second glance."

"You did what had to be done," Henry shrugged. "What's the alternative? Tell the Antari that there's no reinforcement and they're screwed either way? You were trapped between a rock and a hard place, and in the end you made the right call."

"I betrayed them," Raine sighed dejectedly.

"Oh come on, now you're being too hard on yourself."

"And you know what the worst part is?" Raine bulldozed over Henry's comment. "I'll do it all over again. For the Imperium, for the Emperor, I will do what must be done for the sake of victory, no matter how much it grieves me to do so. And I will keep doing it, like an alcoholic that breaks every promise she'd ever made."

"You're just a hard ass, that's all," Henry's simple prognosis drew an incredulous look from Raine.

"That's all you have to say?" Raine was caught between disbelief and outrage.

"Yeah, what else is there?" Henry continued nonchalantly. "You represent the indomitable and uncompromising end of the commissariat spectrum, while Tangmo veered toward the exact opposite, being the dude bro type. Both of which are vital for a healthy Imperial army."

"I see," Raine conceded with a sigh. "Still, one can only take so much scowls and sneers before even the most hardened wall begin to crack. I find the distraction to be an absolute detriment to my duty."

"Ha! You're like the stuck up class president getting jealous of the popular kid!" Henry's laughter only made Raine more miffed.

"You know you can try being nice if you want people to like you more," Ladaee spoke up.

"I am not willing to compromise my creed for a few smiles and thanks," Raine snorted disdainfully.

"No one is suggesting you be less hard, only more flexible," Ladaee said. "I'm not saying you should start singing like Tangmo, but be ready to break a few rules for the sake of those under your command, because if you do, you wouldn't need to lie to them when the worst come to pass. By the Throne, if the men like you enough they will stand by you, even until death."

Raine sat silently for the seconds that followed, and Henry was glad to see her tightened expression softening. After a moment, she nodded and said, "I will take your words under consideration, commander engineer."

"See that you do," Ladaee huffed triumphant the same moment a squadron of Valkyries flew overhead, made a flashy maneuver over the Antebellan camp before dumping a big load of leaflets on their head, the papers drifted down like snowflakes, passing through the void shield and disappearing into the bright neon light.

"What does the leaflet say?" Raine watched the Valkyrie banked upward. "Are you telling them to surrender?"

"Nope, we're telling the Antebellan that they're marked for dead," Henry smirked. "There will be no mercy, no quarter, and we won't except surrender from traitorous heretics. We also told them to go shoot themselves."

"Do you think it is wise to be on the defensive?" Raine asked. "From what I've seen, it looks as if the entirety of the planet's PDF is here. We will be outnumbered by a significant margin."

"But we'll be well entrenched, not to mention having complete control of the sky, which in turn will keep our supply line open indefinitely while the Antebellan deplete their numbers on our position," Henry couldn't stop the tightness creeping into his timbre, even the best laid plan can go astray. "Don't worry Raine, you and the Auxilia will be with me and Damien, we'll hold the line."

"Remind me who goes where again?" Ladaee spoke up.

"The King Ghidorah, the Evangelion, the Undertaker, the Death Korps, the Praetorian, the Grey Watch, the Fire Guard, the Tallarn, the Auxilia and the Ultramarines will take the southern flank," Henry said. "While the Nynaeve, the Thorin, the Elsa, the Cadian, the Mordian, the Dawn Blade, the Dragon Blood, the Homeland Rifle and the Wind Walker has the north. The Sororitas are sprinkled across both flanks."

"We need to keep an eye on the Sisters of Battle," Raine said. "Ever since the incident with Syrathel, they have become even more reclusive and erratic, unwilling to cooperate with the Militarum in all matters. The canonesses themselves were practically of no help what so ever during the briefing. I fear they might have an agenda of their own."

"If Syrathel shows up, they'll probably break ranks," Henry said. "But we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Good enough for now, I suppose," Raine spent the next few minutes looking up at the night sky before speaking, "and your inquisitor friend is taking a few companies southwest into a valley?"

"Yeah, supposedly there's an ancient eldar webway gate somewhere in that area," Henry said. "She and Amberley are gonna try and open it. You do know we're friends with them now, right?"

"At this point, I don't know who's friend or foe anymore," Raine snorted.

"I guess you're right," Henry sighed, his eyes drifting to the Antebellan's encampment, a glittering city of gold shining in the darkness. Although he knew what lurked beneath the lovely façade, Henry had to admit that the sight was indeed beautiful.

"I hate all this waiting," Ladaee stretched her arms until it gave a satisfying pop. "I wish there was some way to make morning come quicker."

"I know a way," Henry smirked.

"Which is?" Ladaee asked.

"Sleep."

"What is that?"

"Huh?" Tangmo tore his attention away from the Megumin's pandemonium light show, the sight of the powerful energy blast wreaking havoc across the Antebellan's void shield was truly mesmerizing, and followed Leilatha pointing finger down to the medallion dangling from his neck, a polished onyx incased in a metal frame. "Oh this, it's from R&D."

"What is it exactly?" Leilatha asked as Vakon's heavy artilleries begin the bombardment in concert with Ae-Shin's air force bombing run, hammering what remained of the void shield until it shattered, leaving the camp, and more importantly, the power generators open for harassment.

"We'll know when it actually works," Tangmo's goofy laugh was met with Leilatha annoyed frown, the pounding of field artilleries now joining the thunderous percussion of their heavier cousins, fire and smoke bloomed across the Antebellan encampment in horrific multitudes.

"By the Throne, tell your men to watch their fire! Don't damage the temple!" Shit, he'd completely forgotten that the Sisters of Battle were in the trenches with them. Miriya was waving frantically at the gigantic temple complex looming behind the Antebellan's camp. From what he could make out through the morning's haze, combined with satellite reconnaissance from the days before, Tangmo would describe the place as a combination of the Hagia Sophia and the Vatican City, and about four times bigger.

"Calm the hell down, we're bombing the camp, not the temple," Tangmo rolled his eyes.

"Just watch your fire," huh, no pious or pompous declaration of how important the Sororitas relics inside were? No berating words for the guardsmen? If Tangmo was being honest though, the sisters have been rather, what's the word? Dispirited? Yeah, that's it. Although they still retained the same sharpened discipline, their passion and piety appeared to have taken a back seat. Can't blame them really, after Syrathel's little speech, he doubted anyone could remained upbeat.

"The enemies are moving into an attack formation," Korri's voice blared in his earbud. "Ranks and files of infantry at the front with supporting half-tracks at their backs, the vehicles are armed with heavy bolters, Vulcan cannon and heavy las."

"And those dickheads are just walking up to us?" Tangmo peered above the trench and pressed the binocular to his face, snorting at the grey wall marching toward them, drummers, fifers and flag bearers leading the way. And this was the first time he ever saw their flag, a red field with a bright golden saltire topped off with a blue star in the middle.

"I always like an easy target," Evangeline's comment drew a healthy laughter across the trench.

"Make ready!" Tangmo climbed up the fire step and braced his Zetton lasgun on the sandbag parapet, the guardsmen and Sororitas adopting the same position. Three hundred yards behind them the entrenched Macharius, Leman Russes and field artilleries made their last minute preparation and picked a target. The half-tracks opened fire but their weapons were out of range, the volley wild and directionless, managing to inflict only minimal damage on the trench.

"Armor column, take out those half-tracks sons of bitches please," not two seconds after Tangmo said that, the Nynaeve, the Thorin and the Elsa unleashed their roaring payload, joined moments later by the Leman Russes and artilleries, the symphony of whistles and thunders was superbly musical, and absolutely metal. As expected, the half-tracks column were destroyed, brilliant flaming shrapnel cutting down all within its immediate radius, shredding platoons worth of soldier into bloody pieces. The infantries quickened their pace to a jog, advancing forward despite the death of their armor support.

"What in the fuck?" Tangmo couldn't believe his eyes as the Antebellan infantry came to a stop two hundred yards from the trench, every soldier standing at attention, lasguns shouldered.

"Make ready!" Officers wearing plumed hats bellowed down the line, the soldiers responding crisply. "Take aim!"

"Fire!" Tangmo finished the command for them and light erupted across the trench, the overwhelming volley annihilated the Antebellan's battle line before any of them can even return fire. See, if this was the Napoleonic era, the Antebellan by-the-book strategy might have worked. Against a technologically superior enemy trained in modern warfare tactic however…yeah.

"The enemies are in retreat!" Akecheta leapt onto the parapet suddenly, tomahawk brandished high above his head, "after them! Forward!"

"Get the fuck down!" Tangmo wrenched him back inside the same moment a lasbolt cut through the air where his head had been. "What is it with you people and banzai charging shit?!"

"We must engage them in honorable close combat!" Akecheta declared indignantly as he got up and dusted himself off, nearby Kenshin bobbed his head agreement.

"This is a delicate military operation," Tangmo shot back. "It is a very complex plan that requires us to follow it strictly, because no matter how careful we are, shit will inevitably go wrong. So can you please not be that one asshole who fucks everything up?!"

"Only a guardsman would think trench warfare requires any complexity of thought," Cassandra, Miriya's right hand woman, made her biting remarks as she reloaded her bolter.

"I heard that!" Tangmo growled at her.

"It was meant to be heard," Cassandra gave Tangmo an infuriatingly innocent look.

"Save it for the heretic Cassandra," Miriya chided the woman and trained her bolter across no man's land. "Another wave is inbound, contact imminent."

"Half-tracks and Salamanders, coming in fast," Leilatha bellowed into her earbuds. "All heavy weapon teams switch to armor piercing rounds, tanks and artilleries begin sustain salvo, slow them down and keep them pin."

"You heard the lady, open fire!" Tangmo trained his lasgun at the light vehicles rushing for the trench at a breakneck speed, the armor column barely able to keep their formation intact. The barrage of shells tore half of them apart, but those that survived, thanks in part to the suicidal Mad Max strategy, got closed enough that their mounted guns became something of nuisance. The half-tracks and Salamanders swerved to a stop and companies of Antebellan infantry poured from the hull, screaming 'yeehaw!' as they charged the trench on foot. Kenshin was infinitely pissed that none of the Antebellan got close enough for him stab, the short burst of las and bolts took care of them with laughable ease.

"This reminds me of the battle of Luwan," Lingxin smiled brightly at Kenshin. "When my grandmother defeated your grandfather and pushed the Kuronese devils back across the hills."

"We won that battle!" Kenshin fumed. "The Buxiunese were routed like whipped dogs and lost nearly half a million solider in the fight!"

"Oh how the simpleminded readily believes the propaganda fed to them," Lingxin chuckled haughtily. "We tactically withdraw to a more defensible position, all the while inflicting horrendous casualties on the Kuronese."

"That's not how it happens!" Kenshin blurted.

"Yes it is! My grandmother said so!" Lingxin huffed hotly.

"Actually, the Kuronese technically won that battle," Min Jae spoke up. "However, due to the massive casualty they suffered in the offensive, the Kuronese were forced to abandon the hills and retreated back to the staging area when Buxiunese reinforcement arrived to retake the contested area. And yes, four million people died in that fight, so calling the battle of Luwan a 'victory' seems a bit of a misnomer. Not to mention idiotic."

"As much as I appreciate the history lesson, let's us concentrate on the present, shall we?" Evangeline cut in before Kenshin and Lingxin can gang up on Min Jae. "The Antebellan are making another push."

"Okay, what are those rednecks throwing at us this time?" Tangmo gazed across the battlefield, now littered with splattered red corpses and burning dead tanks.

"It's a cavalry charge," Evangeline placed the binocular down and braced her lasgun.

"…I'm sorry, what?" Sure enough, a phalanx of grey clad cavalry emerged from the smoky plume, trampling over the dead at a trot, lances held high, proud and noble as if posing for a painting. Tangmo couldn't believe this shit. Those fucking morons are going to Light Brigade charge them!

"Cavalry," Tangmo deadpanned.

"Yes sir," Evangeline nodded.

"With hooves and shit?" Tangmo pressed.

"A fine breed too, if I may say so myself," Evangeline commented.

"But…why?!" Tangmo waved at the pillboxes, the tanks, the artilleries, the freaking lasgun in his hand. "I mean, horses?! Seriously?! In this day and age, with lasers, machineguns and missiles, those dickheads are using cavalry against us?!"

"It's rousing, I'll give them that much," Leilatha offered.

"I'm not gonna deny that it looks cool, but after we wrecked their tanks, this is beyond fucking stupid," Tangmo went on. "Not to mention ridiculously easy."

"We can let them get close," Krillen made his snarky comment, "seems only fair to give them a fighting chance."

"Fuck that, we're gunning every last of them down," Tangmo laughed when bugles spurred the cavalrymen into a gallop, they howled and hollered, swords, lances, laspistols and regimental standards blazing high above them. "They deserve to die for being this fucking stupid."

And so it went, the horses and the riders got cut down until their bloody charred meats became indistinguishable from one another. Hours passed and the scene was repeated with minor variation. Tanks, men and horses charged the trenches, and every time the attack failed, the Immortal Spirits battlegroup suffered next to no casualty while the Antebellan were beaten back bloody. First they were elated by how easy the battle progressed, because honestly, what's not to like about gunning down a bunch of morons who served no better purpose than that of a moving target. But then the monotony sets in, and the fervor that had burned so furiously before now dimmed to a low simmer, enough to warm but not to boil. This went on for another hour or so. Boredom soon ran its course, leaving behind the hollow, pitted feeling of suspicion.

"Okay, seriously, I'm not liking any of this," Tangmo poked his head above the parapet as the latest wave of Antebellan infantry retreated.

"The idea of victory abhorred you?" Isabel gave him a sidelong, and very conceiting, glance.

"Are we winning though?" Tangmo shot back.

"They're dying, and we're not," Krix removed a power cell from her smoking hot rapid-las, this one resembling a M249 light machine gun, and slammed a new one home. Her new flamer, this one doing away with the huge fuel tank in favor of a more compact canister not that dissimilar to what the Sororitas used, was strapped to her back. "I say we're winning."

"The commissar's right," Krillen eased his grip on his lasgun. "We've been fighting them for nearly a month and this sudden change in quality is unnatural."

"Perhaps these subpar specimens are all that remains of their army," Danae piped up.

"It's not the question of quality, but tactic," Min Jae said. "Even if they only have raw recruits, why are they simply throwing them at the trench? Where did the finesse and strategy we've witness in the last month go?"

"You spend your entire life fighting the Antebellan," Kenshin turned to Akecheta. "Have they used this strategy against your people before?"

"No," Akecheta shook his head, looking perturbed. "The Antebellan always pride themselves in their mastery of what they deemed civilized warfare. This is…unusual."

"He cares not which way the blood flows…"

All eyes snapped toward Leilatha, her hardened gaze never leaving the blasted field of corpses, clouds of flies drifted across no man's land like revenant feeding upon the cadavers, twisting and churning against the rotting breeze that wafted over the trench.

"What did you just say?" Miriya demanded.

"That is the tenant of Khorne, is it not?" Leilatha met Miriya's accusing glare head on.

"Be very careful of what you say, lady commissar," Miriya warned. "Why did you utter that blasphemous phrase?"

"Just a simple observation," Leilatha went on. "Khorne's power is fueled by the shedding of blood on the battlefield. Every soldier slain will only empower his followers and scions, driving them to greater feat of bloodletting."

"Khorne doesn't seem to be helping them much," Evangeline was rightly skeptic, given how badly the Antebellan were performing.

"These were not his scion," Leilatha said grimly. "These were sacrifices, lambs herded to the slaughter. He cares not which way the blood flows, remember?"

Not a moment after the sentence ended, the familiar low rumbling horn shattered the ambience of war, and from the horizon rose a bloodthirsty feminine roar that drowned the world under its elated resonance, the intoxicating fragrance of wet blood rode the wind in companionship to the rising cacophony.

"Here we fucking go again," Tangmo gritted his teeth. "Thanks for the heads up Leilatha."

"You should know by now that I'm always right," Leilatha grinned smugly.

"We beat them before," Lingxin snarled. "We'll beat them again."

"At least we're not fighting in some cramp town this time," Kenshin mused to the trench's agreeing murmurs.

"About time you get to see your wayward sisters," Krillen slid a bayonet down the muzzle of his lasgun, the glance he gave the Sororitas was mocking.

"So it seems," Miriya and the Battle Sisters honed their focus across the field, bolters loaded and ready. "We all have to face the fruits of our sins eventually."

"This is not your fault, you know that right?" Tangmo offered the solemn Miriya. "Shit just happens, and all we can do is clean it up."

"I envy your simple view of the world," Miriya said despondently, her squad didn't look too joyous either.

"In the end, everything boils down to the simplest solution. You just need the heart to fix your mistake."

Tangmo and Miriya shared a look then, and the Battle Sister offered him a stiff thanking nod before turning her attention back to the battle. Tangmo was glad to see some tension leaving the sister's scarred visage.

"Movement!" Following Krillen's pointing finger, Tangmo saw the Antebellan marching with the same unwavering fortitude toward the trench, but this time they didn't come alone.

"By the God Emperor and his Saints…" Verity, who had joined them on the fire steps and was sidled up beside Leilatha, gasped when the Khornate sisters strode up alongside the Antebellan, their battle square rippling with animation, eager to unleash violence upon the trench's occupants. Then, shoving passed the grey clad soldiers, came the Scandinavia and Polynesian berserkers, still naked, still hot, and still absolutely batshit crazy. Tangmo was flipping his Zetton lasgun to full auto when he spotted a lithe figure striding calmly to the front of the berserkers. They eyed her movement as a pack of wolves would an alpha-male. The Chaos Sororitas wore a black cloak, and a headdress of ornate spikes and skulls was perched upon her brow like a royal crown. Her skin was blue and crisscrossed with swirling crimson patterns. She scanned the battlefield, her movement poised and regal, before giving a gentle nudge of the head.

The berserkers surged forward to a boisterous war cry, sprinting toward the entrenched guardsmen and Sororitas with fatalistic abandonment. Following them at a more temperate pace was the Antebellan, lasgun lowered as they advanced at a fast jog, never breaking their formation. The Khornate sisters however, were maintaining position along with the mysterious woman.

"Alright boys and girls just like last time…"

"Through blood do you earn your salvation!" A piercing howl interrupted Tangmo, the bellowing command was punctured by the sharp crack of an electro whip. Glancing back, Tangmo's jaw dropped when he saw the Repentia forming up behind them. Beside the red sashes, strips of holy prayer and a few leather straps they were as naked as the berserkers. But what made Tangmo baulk wasn't the nudity, but what they were about to do.

"Now wait just a goddamn minute," Tangmo spoke up as another crack rent the air.

"Your chance for absolution is at hand!" The Mistress of Repentance roared, spurring the Repentias into a bloody frenzy.

"Yo, don't you fucking…!"

"Honor the Emperor with blood this day!"

"Hey! You are not charging…!"

"Slay every heretics and sinners in your path! Forward sisters! For the Emperor!"

With an all-conquering scream, the Repentia charged, Eviscerators chainsword roaring high above their heads, admonition of pious fury spitting forth from snarling lips. They stormed passed tanks, artilleries, munitions dumps and bulled aside every guardsman that got in the way, their speed unchanging even as they approached the trenches. Tangmo couldn't tear his eyes away, naked women usually have that effect on him, but a firm hand quickly snatched the back of his head and pressed him face first into the sandbag parapet.

"Avert your eyes," Leilatha hissed above him.

"Aww come on, that's not fair," Tangmo squirmed to no avail.

"And here I thought you would learn your lesson after Jigugeum," he caught Leilatha shaking her head from the corner of his eyes.

"But these gals are on our side!" Shadows darted above him as the Repentias leapt across the trench. Tangmo tried to glance up but Leilatha shifted her grip so that her palm covered his eyes. "Are you freaking serious right now?!"

"Don't look up!" Leilatha snapped. "Evangeline, Lingxin, sister Miriya, please make sure that propriety is observed."

"With pleasure," Evangeline was very satisfied with the directive.

"You know, they're probably wearing panties or something, right?" Tangmo mumbled through a mouthful of sandbag.

"I can assure you, they are not," this was Miriya, the sister was not amused.

"Goddamn it, how many fucking Repentia do you have?" Tangmo was starting to complain when Leilatha released her grip and his head rose free. Turning his neck this way and that to straighten out the kinks, Tangmo glanced across the field just in time to see the Repentias and berserkers colliding into each other. See, on paper, epic naked catfight battle royal sounds like a million-dollar idea. But when the combatants are disemboweling, tearing and bashing each other into unrecognizable mushes of meat…yeah, that's a serious boner killer.

"Well this is downright horrid," Tangmo cringed when he saw a laughing Viking berserker ripped a screaming Repentia's jaw off her skull. The berserker was brandishing her trophy when another Repentia cleaved her in half with a chainsword.

"I can't tell who's who," Krillen gritted his teeth, the gallons of blood drenching the Repentias and berserkers was making it hard to distinguish one from another.

"That won't be necessary," Lingxin pointed out. "The Repentia are breaking though."

"Give them covering fire!" Tangmo opened fire on the flanking Antebellan trying to mend the breach made by the Repentias, the ensuing salvo cut them down en mass and cleared a path for the frenzied nuns to advance deeper into the enemy's line. The Khornate sisters didn't stirred but the cloaked woman stepped forwards alone, her pace leisurely, heading straight for the Repentias. She threw away her cloak, revealing an ebon armor decorated in golden skull motif, and unfurled her sword arms. All four of them. Roaring, her maw gleaming with needle like teeth, the Chaos Sororitas met the Repentias head on, her four evil looking tulwars cleaving through them with ease.

"Holy fucking Christ, I didn't sign up to fight fucking Kali!" Tangmo gapped as the four arms Chaos Sororitas murdered her way through the Repentia, the nun's furious piety proving incapable of stopping the Blood God's chosen.

"What do we do?" Krillen asked him.

"We kill the bitch," Tangmo tapped his earbud. "I want every…"

"Is this the best you have to offer me?!"

Snapping his head toward the boisterous announcement, Tangmo found the Chaos Sister standing proud amongst the ruinous remains of the Repentias, the mighty warriors of the Imperium reduced to nothing but mutilated, broken corpses arrayed at her feet like sacrifices. Held aloft by the head in her upper left hand was a Mistress of Repentance, the woman fighting weakly to pry the claws digging into her temples.

"Where is your God Emperor?! Does he hear your prayers?!" The Chaos Sister laughed, the cadence mocking and boastful. "See how he abandons his daughters and hides from a power greater than his own! You are forsaken! Just another skull for the Skull Throne!"

"The Emperor is always with us!" The Mistress of Repentance yelled shrilly, blood poured from her mouth. "Fight on sisters!"

"Sing then little bird and is if he comes for you!" The Mistress of Repentance's words shattered into an agonizing shriek as the Chaos Sister slowly, painfully, squeezed her head. The Mistress's desperate struggle ended with a wet, bony crunch. Laughing, the Chaos Sister threw the corpse at them, the armored body bounced like a ragdoll across no man's land before skidding to a stop not ten yards from the trench.

"Forward sisters! In the name of the God Emperor, slay that apostle of the Dark Gods!" Galatea declaration blared across every frequency. "Advance sisters! In His name let none survive!"

"Galatea you idiot, shut the fuck up!" Tangmo bellowed into his earbud. "All Imperial unit will maintain position inside the trench, nobody is going over, you got that?!"

Of course they didn't the get that. All around the trench the Sisters of Battle were climbing up the fire steps, pushing aside cursing guardsmen and taking their places, ready to leap forward onto the killing field. And holy shit, was that a power halberd? Damn, it looked like every Argent Shroud was rocking one. The way they stood with pikes held up smartly and the white and red plumes adorning their Sabbath helm made them look like the Swiss Guards. Mechanical smacks and clicks drew his attention back to the immediate surrounding, and he spun to find Miriya with a bolter cradled ready at her chest.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Tangmo snarled.

"You have no authority over us, lord commissar," Miriya spared him a chilly look then swept a stern gaze over her squad, the hardness softening when it found Verity, the hospitaller was trying so hard to be brave despite the fear raking her visage. Then, raising her bolter high, Miriya leapt onto the parapet and roared:

"For the Emperor! For Saint Katherine! Forward!"

Tangmo can only facepalmed as the Sisters of Battle charged across the battlefield, screams of pious litanies and vindications drowning out the thunderous report of bolters fire, salvo upon salvo unleashed on the Khornate sisters and their leader. The four arms Chaos Sororitas laughed her satisfaction but did not moved to engage. Instead she waved her troops back and disappeared behind a row of flaming half-tracks, the Battle Sisters followed them into the veil of smoke and fire.

"A hundred credit say they're heading straight into a trap," Kenshin piped up.

"Ae-Shin, anything from the drones?" Tangmo tapped his earbud.

"The Antebellan are maneuvering their forces to trap the Sororitas, lord commissar," the admiral responded. "The infantries are marching forward to intercept the Battle Sisters, while the armor columns are swinging left and right to complete the encirclement."

"Well what do you know, you're not such a bad gambler after all," Min Jae smirked at Kenshin.

"Sir, what are your orders?" Krillen asked. The Cadian colonel was perched half way out of the trench already.

"Well, the gentlemanly thing to do would be to sally forth and help the ladies," Tangmo offered.

"This is not the time for chivalry," Leilatha shot him a look.

"If we relinquish our position, we risk comprising the entire battlegroup," Evangeline added before Tangmo can retort. "The Antebellan superior number will crush us."

"Let's just call in an artillery strike on the Sororitas once the Antebellan got the noose around their necks," Lingxin spoke up. "What was it that they said? The Emperor will sort out His own?"

"We cannot abandon our allies," Akecheta stated simply and a round of argument went up amongst the high command, with the women advocating for them to stay inside the trench and leave the Sisters of Battle to their fate, while the men urged the Immortal Spirit battlegroup to assist them. All eyes were shifting to the undecided Tangmo when the Leman Russes and Chimeras behind them roared to life and started trudging forward.

"Henry, what's happening with the tanks?" Tangmo tapped his earbud.

"We gotta help them dude," Henry said. "We can't just sit around and watch them die."

"You know this is exactly what the Antebellan wants, right?" Tangmo rebuttal was halfhearted at best, considering that he was all for helping the Sororitas. Hey, they might be a bunch of stuck up divas but it wouldn't be right to abandon them. Beside, they're hot, and seeing something so beautiful getting destroy was fundamentally wrong.

"We're still gonna kick their asses," Damien gave his vote of confidence.

"Into the fire then?" Tangmo asked for confirmation.

"Into the fire my friend," Henry said and cut the transmission.

"Welp, we got our orders ladies and gentlemen," Tangmo ducked as the Leman Russes and Chimeras sped over the trenches, and popped back up when the war machines were rolling across no man's land. "We're going after the Sororitas, let's not keep them waiting."

"The nuns will be the death of us," Leilatha scoffed as she joined Tangmo above the trench and jogged after the tanks with the rest of the battlegroup.

"You're probably right, but at least I know you'll be there to save me again," Tangmo and Leilatha shared a brief, but meaningful smile before banishing all inconsequential thought, both good and bad, and shifted their focus on the battle raging ahead.