The Guardsman

They had been travelling together for some time. He missed his old partner. The fact that he had ever even had the chance to work with a Space Marine, like equals, that was unheard of. They had become great friends even if their partnership had lasted barely over a year. The Marine had saved him and he had seen something in him. The passion, the burning hunger to destroy the Sisters of the Night. This Marine, he decided that he, a simple guardsman, could help him accomplish his mission. He could have done it alone, more than likely, but for some reason, he gave the guardsman a chance.

They had been effective and they understood each other. It was like they read each other's mind. Maybe that was not very far from the truth. Before his passing, his friend had mentioned something about some sort of sense...a feeling, a psychic magnetism, of sorts. They had not been able to discuss before his admonition. Yes, the Space Marine was flawed, there was definitely some sort of psychological damage inflicted upon him that had never healed but Brak still liked him and he could keep him grounded. It's like Brak was his anchor to the real world and without him, the Marine's psyche would collapse.

Brak did not feel important nor did he feel that he was, in some way, babysitting a Space Marine. This had been one of the only times in his life, that he had felt that he mattered to someone other than his family. Richter was not only his partner, he was his friend and in his name, he would continue on the path that Richter had taken to purge the Sisters of the Night.

Now he was alone, in his friend's ship. No way to know where the Sisters of the Night had run to hide. And that daemon, that horribly vile daemon. She had taken his mind and now she had his body. If only he could find her and destroy her once and for all, retrieve his body and return it to his Brother's. He heard the sound of static on the radio, he listened carefully as he watched out the window, adrift in space waiting for some clue as to where the Sisters of the Night were. He listened carefully but it was nothing. A trading ship communicating with the trading station nearby. He slumped in his seat. This had not been a very effective strategy to find the Sisters of the Night. He would need to think of something else.

If only he had asked the Sisters of Battle if he could join their task force, then he would be in the thick of the action, purging traitors and honouring his friend but no, he had been too intimidated by the one with the golden eyes and so, he stayed quiet and stayed behind. Eventually, he left Sanctus in his friend's ship and since then, he has sworn an oath to destroy the Sisters of the Night but all he has been doing is going around in circles in a wild goose chase.

Well, he was far away from Sanctus now. There would be no point in returning there. He decided to follow his instincts, as he had seen Richter do on so many previous occasions. He set a course for Aurora, unsure why he wanted to go there but it seemed like a better option than Stygian and it was physically closer. He would go to Stygian, once he had a body to return.

With any luck, Sister Leah of the Order of the Dawn would allow him to either join their task force or share the location of the Sisters of the Night. In times like these, he missed his friend. It was lonely being out here in Space. He was used to being a part of a team. He had fought many wars in his time in the Imperial Guard, then he had met Richter and they always seemed to find the traitors or some other heretics to purge. Being alone like this, it was not good for him. He was afraid he might slip as Richter had, although Richter did have a daemon of the Dark Prince whispering in his ear. Brak was simple alone and bored. If he did slip, it wouldn't make a difference to the Imperium.

He cleared his throat when another communication came through the vox, in case he had to speak. He had not spoken in quite a while, there was no reason to, really but when he heard the voice on the other end of the communication, he immediately responded.

"Please give me coordinates of their sighting? I will join you in this battle Sister Leah."

"Zephyr, the ship was spotted on orbit. We are still a ways out. Are you near the location?"

"Yes, I should be there shortly."

"Do not engage, Brak. If they try to run, just follow and maintain communication with us. We are on our way."

"Roger. Watch and Wait."

Brak did not like to watch and wait. He was a man of action but the order had been given. Still, he prepared for battle as he set a course for Zephyr, where he would wait for the Sisters to arrive. That golden eyed Sister, she felt familiar. Although he was not in the habit of watching Sisters of Battle for the simple reason that, if you happened to see a few of them show up somewhere, odds are, someone was about to die. They usually caused people to cower in fear and beg for mercy. He could not help but watch her. She did seem a bit annoyed by the attention he was giving her the last time they crossed paths. His eyes quickly dropped to the ground as he waited to be dismissed.

He wondered if he would be allowed to join the task force. Perhaps, if he proved himself worthy, he would be accepted, although he was not holding his breath. The Adepta Sororitas, traditionally, like to work alone. As he approached the planet, he prepared for the battle. He did as ordered and waited, as he scanned the planet. It appeared the Intel was good but he had orders. How was he going to prove himself from this far away? He needed to go down to the surface and try not to be detected. He said he would watch and wait, he did not specify where he would watch and wait from.

As the small ship settled on the far side of a lake, he set out, armed and ready for battle. He turned the sound on low on his vox. His hope was to get near enough to observe the Sisters of the Night and relay the plan, if they happened to leave the planet before the task force arrived. He told himself that but he knew that he would do everything in his power not to allow the ship to leave before they arrived. As he walked, crouched through the woods, around the lake, he heard odd sounds that shouldn't be found in nature. Sounded almost like someone crying. He needed to focus and stay on task. The Sisters of the Night had to be stopped. Whoever was crying should not be a concern of his. He kept his eyes on the ship, it was still far enough away in the distance. If only he could make it to the ship without getting caught. If he could make it aboard, it would be even better. As he walked, silently crouched, he realized that his feet were getting wet and he was not nearing the ship at all.

He stopped walking and tore his eyes off the ship to look around. Something was wrong. He was standing ankle deep in the lake. He was out in the open where everyone could see him. He couldn't understand how he had gotten so far off track. It had seemed as though he had been walking in the forest only a minute ago. How could this be possible? Twenty feet away, deeper in the lake, he saw a shape rise out as the sound of muffled crying became louder. The figure was dark, with long, wet, light pink hair reaching down past her shoulders. Her skin was scaly, like a reptile, and black. Her back was to him and she turned slowly, a pair of hands over her face and another holding on to a pearl necklace and a fourth hand holding a spear. When her hands moved away from her face, Brak almost fell backward in the lake. It was worse than anyone could imagine. The scales continued all over her face, her bright red eyes looking like lasers fixing their targets but that was not the worse part. Her mouth...it was sutured shut by small snake-like creatures that hissed. When she showed her palms, there were mouths that howled loudly and showed forked snake tongues that grew out of them and attempted to catch hold of him. He raised his weapon and fired at the daemon.

The daemon howled as it was hit in the chest and she fell back in the lake. Brak backed away, back on shore, as fast as he could. The resistance of the water made him stumble as he backed onto solid ground, the water bubbled and steamed where the women fell back. As a bubble swelled larger than the other, a loud howl was heard. Brak quickly glanced in the direction of the ship where he saw the Sisters of the Night turn to look at the Lake. Brak hit the ground, pretty sure he was not seen as the daemon resurfaced. He crawled as far away as he could as he listened to the Slaaneshi warband whistling and laughing and making fun of the daemon in the lake. He kept crawling until he found a large rock to hide behind. Quickly, he blocked his ears as the sound of the wailing started overwhelming him. He peered around the rock and saw the daemon lashing out at the Sisters of the Night that approached her in the water.

"You cannot kill us Julia! The dark Prince wants us to succeed. Now, go back to the bottom of the Lake and be a good girl, maybe, one day you will be forgiven."

As the daemon lashed out at the Sisters, they used their whips to attack her. The daemon was absolutely miserable and fell back into the lake.

When Brak turned back around, he was surprised to have found that Sister Superior Leah and Sister Bethany stood before him. Sister Leah cocked her head.

"Whatever happened to wait for us and do not engage?" She asked quietly, still wearing her helmet to protect her eyes from the light.

"I had no intention...I just wanted to watch the ship and the warband, maybe hear of their plans..." his voice trailed off as he looked down in shame.

"Instead, you thought a dip in the lake was a good idea?"

"I...that was not intentional. I don't even know how I got there. I was walking toward the ship, crouched and the next thing I knew, some girl was crying and I was ankle deep in the lake."

"Next time, just wait at the ship, Brak." Sister Bethany said. The guard nodded.

"Alright, are you coming or do you want to go back to the Lake? We'll take care of the Sisters of the Night first, then we'll look into the daemon." Said Sister Superior Leah.

Sister Bethany extended her hand to help him up. He felt both ashamed and awed by the kind gesture. He was also intimidated by her. He accepted her hand but did not look up at her. He stood behind the Sisters, his weapon ready as they rejoined the rest of the task force. He wondered how long they had been there and what they had seen. If they had arrived shortly after him, how were they not affected by the daemon? He thought about Richter, how he must have suffered with that daemon always speaking into his mind. No wonder he had needed him to tell him whether events were real or if he was imagining or being manipulated into believing they were real. After his small ordeal in the lake, Brak was already feeling more tired and worn out and he hadn't fought anything or anyone yet.

As the Sisters started making their way to the enemy ship, Brak followed. Soon he heard the daemon beckoning him. He grunted knowing he would fail again. Failure was not an option, he tried to block out the sounds of her misery and he followed the Sisters of the Dawn closely. Suddenly, he realized Sister Bethany had fallen back and was standing in his way. He cocked his head confused as he looked at her.

"You are heading to the daemon again. Perhaps we should deal with her now as I see other civilians heading for the Lake."

"I-I was?" stammered Brak. "I apologize, I don't know why or how it gets to me."

Sister Bethany smiled. "It's alright, I hear her too. She is hard to refuse but we must fight it and purge the daemon. Save the people of this world and rid them of the chaotic filth. Sister Superior Leah and the others have gone ahead to the ship. You and I can dispatch the daemon."

"Alright. Do you have a plan?"

"Actually, yes. Listen to her summons and follow but remember, I am here with you. We will fight her together but it will be an easier kill if she thinks she is winning."

Brak nodded. "Great, I'm the bait," he thought to himself. Had it been any other Sister of the Order of the Dawn, he wouldn't have a hope of surviving this encounter. For some strange reason, perhaps it was her feats, her eyes of the fact that she was blessed, she believed that their odds of survival were more than half. As he thought of all this, he soon realized his feet were wet again. In the center of the lake, rose the daemon. The creature's profile was just as wicked as her face. On the other side of the Lake, a long line of people walked into the lake, drowning without even realizing what was going on. Brak raised his weapon and shot at the daemon once more.

As her moaning became more of a roar, the people stopped walking, confused and started helping people out of the lake. The daemon turned on Brak.

"You will not deny the Dark Prince!!"

Brak shivered as her voice seeped into his very soul. Suddenly, without meaning to, he dropped his weapon. The daemon approached him and he started walking to meet her. He willed his legs to stop but they did not listen, he only managed to slow himself down. He wanted to look for the Sister of Battle, Bethany, was her name but he could not tear his eyes off the beast that was enchanting him. Sweat started forming on his brow, his arms outstretched in front of him as a father walking toward his long lost child. His thoughts moved to his daughters. There were three. There was only one now. One was taken by the Adepta Sororitas. He had only known her one day but he loved her with all his heart, hoping she was still alive and spreading the Emperor's light upon the Imperium. Another was killed by the Slaaneshi warband that was here, on this very planet, just across the Lake. He murdered Julia Sansoucy, who was now a daemon and was beckoning him to his own death. Anger rose in his heart but he did not let it consume him. He fought the influence of the daemon but she only came faster toward him.

The daemon's hands also outstretched before her as the snake tongues hissed at him and started growing in his direction. Panic arose in his heart but he could not scream. He prayed to the Emperor and hoped that the Blessed Sister would act soon. He was defenseless, facing an angry daemon but, he had saved countless other people from the daemon. He calmed as the snakes wrapped themselves around his wrists and pulled free his heart, his treasure, his half of his daughter's necklace. He tore his eyes away long enough to watch the small leather bracelet he had worn since the day she had been born, around his wrist. She had the other half of the heart. The Sororitas had allowed him to give it to her. He wished one day to see it again, so he could recognize her but today, he would die.

As the daemon pushed him down into the water as he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He was calm and even though he was about to die.

## Sister Bethany "The Blessed" Federova

Bethany watched as the daemon's attention turned to the guardsman. She readied her attack but before she could jump into the lake, two members of the Slaaneshi warband, the Sisters of the Night, crept up on her from behind. They must have been sent earlier to discover who the person was who had gotten the daemon so worked up. She turned and engaged the two vile women. Her speed surprised her. It reminded her of the time on Sanctus when the Emperor had blessed her. She fought off the two mockeries of Sisters of Battle with fast and concise moves without sustaining any injuries. When she turned back toward the lake, she still felt the blessing and power coursing through her body. What she saw made her jump into action. The guardsman was being overtaken by the daemon. She needed to get in there and save him. He was a good soldier. She had met him twice before and he couldn't fall today.

True to her word she jumped into the lake and ran at the daemon with the intention of beheading it while it was distracted but something caught her eye. She stopped and stared for what seemed like forever. Gently, she picked up the jewelry and brought it closer to her. Her eyes must be deceiving her, they had not adjusted appropriately to the light on this planet. She held on tight to the bracelet and gave herself a mental shake then looked up at the scene. Her mind raced but she needed to focus on the battle at hand. The guardsman was alone against a daemon, he was counting on her.

She ran at the daemon, who kept two of her disgusting appendages on the guardsman, keeping him underwater, and used the two others to fend her off. Bethany fell back but her resolve was tenfold. She would save this guardsman, she would not let him down. She knew him and she had heard of his achievements even before she had been born. He would not die because she got distracted.

## Benjamin Brak

His lungs were burning as he struggled against the appendages biting down on his shoulders and keeping him below water. He felt the need to breathe and he was starting to get confused. He was waiting for something or someone but he could not remember. He could not wait anymore but he was so tired. He let go of the appendages as his arms started moving down, they brushed something on his thigh. He had to do something but what was it? What was holding him down? He felt light headed. Just then, he remembered his friend Richter. The drugs the Sisters of the Night had used on him. Luvia...the daemonette, what she had done to poor Richter. He closed his hand on his weapon, used the last of his energy and aimed his laspistol toward the other end of the appendages. The water got hot, boiling even. He could no longer hold his breath as pain seared through him. He took a breath and all he got was water. The appendages unlatched and curled away from him. He pushed up into a standing position, coughing and choking, utterly exhausted. What he saw was amazing.

## Sister Bethany

She ran toward the daemonette, her chainsword ready. As she approached the daemonette, it screeched and released the guardsman as the water around it bubbled and heated up. She was fine because her power armour regulated temperature. She swung at the daemonette with incredible speed and vigour. The appendages that had once tried to kill the guardsman, curled up in pain as the other two tried to get a hold of her but there was nothing for those foul teeth to hold on to. She tore those two arms off as the daemonette screeched once more. It hit her with its other arm and sent the Sister of Battle flying back into the lake. This had to end now. She would purge this daemon and send it back to the warp. She was blessed, after all. She stood right back up and charged the daemon, ducking under its arms. When she got close enough, she pushed off the bottom of the lake, which was not deep and jumped right over the daemon's head, swiftly taking it off with her sword as she stood behind it. As soon as the head fell, Bethany ran to the guardsman, catching him before he fell backwards into the lake. Now, she could concentrate on helping the man and on the meaning of what she had seen.

She carried the guard onto the bank of the lake and laid him down in the sand. She removed her helmet and her eyes quickly adjusted to the light which was a nice change that had happened after she had been blessed. She no longer suffered when there was too much light. She checked his pulse and breathing. He would be alright or so she prayed to the Emperor that he would be alright. Bethany sat next to him on the grass and looked at the bracelet she had found in the lake. She must have been watching it for a while because, when she looked back at the man, he was watching her.

She returned the jewelry to him.

"Where did you get this Brak?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I...I got it for my daughter."

"Where is your daughter?"

"I don't know. I pray she is alive. She was taken as a baby to serve the Emperor."

Sister Bethany watched him for a moment.

"She lives." She answered.

Brak sat up quickly, coughing. He seemed so happy with such a small piece of news. She produced her own bracelet, opening her palm and showing it to him.

"You? Where do you get it?"

She smiled a little when she answered. "I heard stories of my father, the great hero. The guardsman who saved the Canoness. I never thought I would meet him. I was allowed to keep this small piece of jewelry, that was all that my father asked, the day I was taken into the Adepta Sororitas and so it has been with me ever since I could remember."