Aurelia Victoria

Aurelia Victoria, Fleet-Mistress of the Templars of Sanguinius

**Aurelia Victoria** now serves as the Fleet-Mistress for the Templars of Sanguinius. A rare case indeed, she holds the role of master of the fleet rather than an Astartes of the chapter itself, due to having proven her ability and competence time and time again as a naval commander, and her loyalty as a Chapter Serf.

## Biography

Born on the world of Valhalla, Aurelia Victoria was orphaned whilst too young to even have memories from the time. Taken to the Schola Progenium, she has no memory of the world she was born on, she only knows where she comes from due being told. She does not know who her parents were or what they did, and she doesn't care to know as it is a useless distraction that has no benefits for her, they lived and now they are dead, that is all.

Indoctrinated and trained for several standard Terran years, Aurelia Victoria eventually ascended from her role as progena, and began her service as a Midshipman in the Navis Imperialis. Many of her first years were less than notable, dedicating everything she could to proving her abilities and competence, she soon became an official Ensign, then on to Third Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant and eventually Flag-Lieutenant.

As a Flag-Lieutenant, Aurelia Victoria served as the second in command aboard the Blessed Advance, a Dauntless-class Light Cruiser, commanded by Captain Theodore Vamro. Whilst in service aboard the Blessed Advance, between 905.M41 and 919.M41, she performed admirably through several campaigns. By 928.M41, a promotion was due. A Firestorm Frigate named Costara had been severely damaged in battle, and a majority of its crew was lost during said battle. The vessel was lacking a commander, and Aurelia Victoria was picked as its new master. Assigned the rank of Commander, she served as captain of the small escort ship for just above 20 years. By the year 948.M41, she had that mind for command and her abilities were more suitable for a larger warship rather than a small escort vessel. Raised to the rank of Captain, she was given command of the Cleansing Wrath, an Exorcist-class Grand Cruiser.

Commanding the Cleansing Wrath throughout several decades and an impressive amount of successful campaigns, she was once again promoted in 973.M41, this time to the rank of Commodore-Captain, having shown her efficiency and skill at overseeing several vessels of a battle-squadron. The Cleansing Wrath remained her flagship, as it was joined by an Overlord-class Battle Cruiser, 2 Dauntless-class Light Cruisers and 6 Firestorm-class escort frigates.

Answering a call for aid in 987.M41, Aurelia Victoria led her battle-squadron into battle to assist the distress call from an Imperial Grand Cruiser. However, when arriving in the system, the ship they sought to save was nothing but debris in orbit. A part of the ship that had remained in a relatively large and intact chunk had through some unknown method maintained a repeating distress call, as they were still reading the call even when they had arrived. Whilst it was shrugged off as a rare coincidence by some of the Captains of the other vessels in her battle-squadron, she herself did not. Certain that it was a trap, she ordered for all the vessels under her command to prepare for combat. This soon enough proved to have been the right choice, as the moment their vessels began to enter complete combat readiness, their ambusher struck. Possibly rushed and they wanted the advantage before the warships of the Imperium were fully at the ready, or a mere coincidence in timing, it was impossible to confirm which. Several attack crafts, identifiable only as a variant of Eldar vessels, struck swiftly and from seemingly every direction.

The battle lasted for several hours, as losses were suffered on both sides. However for every enemy they took out, the enemy seemed to have a replacement ready to enter from nowhere and join the battle. It was a death trap, one that would seem to be their final stand. Nearing the 20th hour of the battle, only the Cleansing Wrath remained, and it was severely damaged. They had lost control of the engines, their void shields were damaged beyond the ability to maintain an active barrier, they could at the most have flickering patches of a barrier scattered across the vessel. Though Aurelia Victoria had not given up, if she and her crew were to die then they would fight till the very end rather than whimper and wait for a pathetic and shameful death. They were surprised however, since after only another hour of combat, when the Cleansing Wrath lost the majority of its power and was merely a drifting wreck, their attacker seized their offensive and vanished.

Now stuck in the void, on the wreck of a ship, merely waiting for their attacker to return to finish the job, or for their air to run out and suffocate everyone aboard. Victoria Aurelia cursed the xenos, having left her and her crew the potential, and for every moment more and more likely fate of slowly suffocating aboard their own vessel. With far too many systems damaged beyond repair, propulsion, void shields and all their weaponry disabled or simply destroyed, Commander-Captain Aurelia Victoria allowed her crew the time to make their peace and offer their prayers to the God-Emperor, rather than trying to do what was impossible. Even if they had all the skills necessary to repair the vessel in the crew, they still lacked the resources and materials to do so.

It had been two days, the crew had managed to make the oxygen generator run for a short while again using an external power source, though the power source swiftly ran out. Stood firmly upon the bridge overlooking the ship that was to be her tomb, an aura of authority and control to her even in the situation they were in, as the air grew thinner and thinner. Their deaths would not be this day however, as it would seem their prayers had been answered. Barely having noticed at first without any radar or other systems operational to alert them to its proximity, she soon spotted the approach of a Battle Barge, a ship of the God-Emperor's own Angels of Death, through the large viewports of the bridge. Unable to establish contact with the new arrivals, Aurelia Victoria made her way down to the docking bay, arriving just in time as the entire Grand Cruiser trembled as the Battle Barge secured and sealed their docked entryway. Soon met with these angels of the God-Emperor, towering behemoths compared to mortal men, clad in black armour with red trims and various golden adornments, they introduced themselves as templars of the Templars of Sanguinius, sons of the great angel himself.

Initiating the evacuation of the Cleansing Wrath, Aurelia Victoria was told to attend the captain of the Battle Barge, named the Vengeance of Faith, and inform the command crew of what they might face when she warned that they may have been used as bait for an ambush, just as how another vessel had been bait to lure in the battle-squadron. In the middle of debriefing the captain and other officers, the Battle Barge shook as a shot had struck them, or rather two shots. One had hit close to the bridge, and another had hit the docking bay connection. Less than half of the Cleansing Wrath's crew had been evacuated, a mere 50 000 or so. Now opened to the vacuum of the void, without any power for anything, uncountable bodies erupted out from the Grand Cruiser's docking bay, the void now serving as their graves.

The impact from the shots and the explosive disconnection and exposure to vacuum had thrown almost anyone who wasn't standing, or wasn't a Space Marine, off of their feet. Swiftly wrapping her mind around the situation, Aurelia Victoria got back to her feet only to see that the Captain of the Vengeance of Faith had been severely injured in his fall by a blow to the head. Without hesitation, Aurelia Victoria took command over the bridge and the Vengeance of Faith. A risky move, as she didn't ask permission to do so, especially on a vessel of the God-Emperor's own angels. However she knew the enemy they were facing, she had seen their tactics and their tricks, and this time was not just ready, but driven by a burning lust for vengeance against the ilk of the xenos. Getting clear of the wreck of the Cleansing Wrath just before it erupted in a violent explosion, shot at by the enemy and splintered into even more scattered debris around them, Aurelia Victoria commanded the Vengeance of Faith with efficiency, skill and determination.

Once victory had been achieved, Praetor Itheael of the Templars of Sanguinius saw her acts as impressive initiative, a determination and drive to rid the Imperium of any enemies, and most of all a skill and competence for command. Remaining as the temporary commander of the Vengeance of Faith as it made its way back to the chapters home-world, Caedrum Primaris, she was ordered to accompany Praetor Itheael down to the planet in a Thunderhawk. Landing with a thud, she'd exit into a large hangar, with more Astartes than most would ever see in their life around the area. She was escorted through various tunnels and chambers, never once seeing the outside world itself, only the ornate and chiselled halls of the fortress-monastery, depicting stories and legends, heroes and saviours, each wall was a work of art by its own.

Eventually led far down, without a doubt far below the earth itself, she entered a chamber. It looked ceremonial, though any ceremony held here was not intended for her. Passing through the chamber, she was met with a spiral staircase, upon which each step was quite obviously sized for the giant Astartes. She was then ordered to attempt to ascend the staircase, so she began the seemingly simple task. Half an hour into the climb however it was clear that it was far from simple, the oversized steps making it far more difficult for her to traverse than any regular staircase, and the endless spiral going round and around over and over again nearly led one to lose their mind. As she continued the ascent, she noted how the cylindrical walls around had become brighter than they were when she started. The ornate carvings upon the walls had gone from depicting gruesome battles and horrors, to depicting more and more bright scenarios.

After 14 hours, she still attempted to pay attention to the depictions, which now depicted stories of Sanguinius' victories and accomplishments during the Great Crusade, she then eventually reached the final step. Taking a mere moment to breathe in deeply, and breathe out to try not to appear as a worn husk to whatever she would face beyond the door that was now ahead of her after 14 hours of climbing a staircase. Before she could move to open the door, it was opened by someone outside it, revealing a large hall, the interior of a grand cathedral by appearance, with the exception of far more transparent windows overlooking the world.

She would then be met by an Astartes clad in armour that made him look like he could take on at least 10 other Astartes with ease. Having met the Grand Excoriator, she was offered the role of permanent Captain of the *Vengeance of Faith*, having impressed Praetor Itheael as well as the Grand Excoriator who had been told of the events that unfolded, and the tenacity that had driven her to continue up the steps to this sacred chamber. She was told that she had managed to ascend to heights only the great angel could ever reach without vehicle or other assistance, a feat that had never been attempted by a mortal human, but nevertheless was far beyond expectation for any to manage it.

Accepting her new role, she served as Ship-Mistress aboard the Vengeance of Faith under the command of the Templars of Sanguinius, and directly overseen by the Praetor Itheael, the chapters Fleet-master. In 998.M41 however, Praetor Itheael lost his life in a vicious battle against the mechanical Necrons. Though the battle itself was won, the loss of Praetor Itheael and several of the templars was a hard blow. Once returned to Caedrum Primaris, she remained in orbit aboard the Vengeance of Faith, ordered to await word from the Trinity of the Blood, the commanding council of the chapter.

Several days later she received word to once more meet with the Grand Excoriator. Having impressed the Lord Ordinator, one of the three in the trinity, a long discussion had been held. Whilst there would be someone to replace Itheael as Captain, there were none who seemed fitting enough to bear the mantle of Fleet-master as well. Despite the role technically being held by the Lord Ordinator, it was still a duty designated to another under his supervision. By the agreement of the trinity, she was given an honour beyond imagination, as the role of Fleet-master was given to her, now dubbed Fleet-Mistress to suit her unique role.

Thrown into the inferno almost immediately as one might say, it wasn't long after her significant promotion that the chapter was called to the defence of Baal, the home-world of the Blood Angels which faced the threat of an entire Hive Fleet. Thus her first official undertaking as Fleet-Mistress was the command of the Vengeance of Faith as well as all other vessels of the chapters fleet in the coordinated defence above Baal, alongside dozens of other chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.

The war for Baal was devastating however, thus the event became known as the Devastation of Baal. Several chapters of the Adeptus Astartes were entirely wiped out, and those that survived were severely crippled. The Vengeance of Faith had been torn apart during the battle, into two parts. Once again, Aurelia Victoria's determination and zeal would show as she refused to accept an end there, as the vessel was being boarded by countless Tyranid bio-organisms. Making their stand for several hours, using hallways to bottleneck the xenos filth and retreating to the next bottleneck checkpoint when the previous one began to be overrun, Aurelia Victoria and the defenders of the Vengeance of Faith slew countless Tyranids, eventually making their final stand on the bridge itself. However with the arrival of the Indomitus Crusade, the Tyranids focus seemed to set elsewhere, and any orbital forces were eradicated by the newly arrived crusade.

Picked up a day later by templars of the chapter, they had been gifted a new flagship due to their partial focus on crusading. Transported to this new vessel, the Seraphim Sanguis, a Courageous-Tyrannis class battleship, she continued her role, now as Captain of the Seraphim Sanguis and still Fleet-Mistress of the chapter fleet.

## Personality

Cunning, calculating, stern and determined. Aurelia Victoria maintains an aura of authority and control around her. She was always in control of a situation to the best extent one could be. Her mind for void warfare and command of several vessels bringing the Templars of Sanguinius to outmanoeuvre their foes or dominate a battle with superior strategies. She cares little for what some would consider an ordinary life, such as a family and a home. Her focus is entirely on her duty and service.

She is hard in her commands, but she is not cruel or entirely without a heart. In impossible situations, she will not force someone to do something she knows is impossible and rob the individual of final moments of prayer and contemplation in such circumstances.

## Appearance

Of average height and weight for a human female, she sports a reddish brown hair and deep blue eyes. Her skin is a pale white, and she is outfitted with several mechanical enhancements, some designed to improve or replace something lost, such as her right eye. Others designed to extend her lifespan far beyond the standard for ordinary humans.

## Notable Quotes

### About Aurelia Victoria

"*She has displayed a capacity for void warfare and a competence in command that has impressed even I.*"
— Lord Ordinator Vallerius