Sister Mercy-is-for-the-Weak

Introduced: Post

Last Seen: Aeolus IX - Post

### Background

Sister Mercy is one of only a handful of surviving members of the Sororitas Invicto Corde (Sisterhood of the Unconquered Heart), an Itinerant Order of the Chamber Militant within the Monolithic Church. As with other Itinerant Orders, the Sisterhood was tasked with assisting Inquisitors in combating cults and organisations proven to be heretical or seditious, as well as serving alongside conventional troops in large conflicts, or those holding special interest to the Church. Essentially an all-female regiment of elite dismounted and light mechanised infantry, the Sororitas Invicto Corde was a rapid attack force the equal of any Shock Brigade, with the weight of the Church's limitless wealth behind them, and access to specialised and uncommon equipment beyond the requisitionary pull of standard forces.

Recruited by Inquisitor Lord Maruseva during the Sisterhood's secondment to him while investigating an Acheron cult devoted to Apollyon which had been festering within the 428th Tengger Cavalry of Korum, a decorated veteran regiment that recruited from a dozen worlds in the region sharing a common root in the original human diaspora. Unfortunately, a combination of corruption and bureaucratic malfeasance within that sector's government had allowed the cult to flourish for decades, metastasising throughout the regiment's command echelon, its regimental culture and traditions. Worse still, the garrisoning of elements of the 428th on its levy worlds - a standard practice of Tagmata regiments - allowed the rot to fester within the proud, feudal warrior cultures of almost all of its recruiting worlds. Several of the worlds were issued "double-X" (Extermination in Extremis) orders by Maruseva, including Kukul, seat of the 428th's command echelon and regimental headquarters. Bombarded from orbit with thermobarics, atomics and viral weaponry. Those worlds were stricken from standard navigation systems and placed behind an Inquisitorial Cordon. As with other such locations deemed dangerous to the fabric of the Hegemon, any non-Inquisition vessel violating the Cordon is subject to immediate destruction or forfeiture, along with the summary execution of all hands.

The Sisterhood assisted Maruseva in what essentially became an interplanetary pogrom, settlements were razed, countless adherents of the cult were hunted and slaughtered. Even the rumour of Apollyon's worshippers was enough to lead to towns being firebombed, hives' food and water supplies poisoned, megacities being besieged and systematically butchered. All in the name of the Empress, the faith, the safety of the species. Eventually, assistance was summoned from beyond the veil of reality. A tide of horrors and extradimensional nightmares spilled forth and trapped Maruseva and his forces on Djinghis VI, trapping them in an ever tightening net resulting in Maruseva ordering the entire planet firebombed, including their position. Maruseva and a few Sisters survived only thanks to the collapse of a sewer junction that buried them a hundred feet beneath the surface, with only the air in their powered armour preventing them from suffocating as the firestorm raged above.

Sister Mercy and the other three survivors were rescued two days later by the house guard of the ship that had borne them there. They were each sworn into his service, their Order and its ship, the *Fidei Defensor*, which had been rammed into an irrecoverably decaying orbit by a heretic cruiser, little more than ash and wreckage, lost to history.