Maria

The heretic’s hands clamped around your throat, squeezing the air out of your lungs as they hissed, grinning down at you with twisted, malevolent pleasure. Your vision began to blur as black spots danced at the corners of your eyes. Just as darkness started to consume you completely, you heard the high-pitched whir of something moving at an impossible speed.

"Unhand them, heretic FILTH!!!" Her voice pierced through the chaos like a war cry—Maria. A gleam of silver flashed past your face. The grip on your throat loosened as something warm and wet splattered across your skin.

SCHKSHH!!!

The heretic screamed, a deep, guttural noise escaping from their throat, their arm cleanly sliced off at the elbow by Maria’s chainsword. The heretic stumbled back in shock, clutching at the stump of their arm, before a booming shot from Maria’s bolter turned their face into nothing but a splatter of gore against the wall.

She immediately spun towards you, her arms catching your weakened form before you could hit the ground. "Are you alright, dear?" Maria's sky-blue eyes were filled with concern as she gently lowered you to the floor. Your world began to fade in and out, the exhaustion finally overtaking you. The last thing you saw was Maria’s worried face hovering over yours as everything went black.

The slow rocking motion was the first thing you noticed as your senses started to come back. The dull sound of an engine rumbled around you. Opening your eyes, you saw silver hair swaying softly in the dim light—a bob cut you instantly recognized. Your head was nestled comfortably in Maria’s lap, her delicate hand brushing against your forehead. You were inside a Rhino.

"Ah! Loyal servant of the Empress, you awaken," Maria’s voice was soft and filled with relief as she looked down at you.

"Please rest, you have earned it~" Her hand gently stroked your cheek.

The chambers smelled of sterile ointments and polished metals, contrasting sharply with the warmth that Maria's presence provided. She sat beside the bed, the suffrage headwear of her order replaced with a simple black headband, framing her soft, serene features. Her holy-blue eyes focused intently on her task—a slow, deliberate stitching on the bandage covering the arm she'd been tirelessly repairing.

"Honestly, if those tech-priests had their way..." Her voice lilted playfully as her deft fingers secured the final stitch. "They'd have you entirely replaced with cold iron. Tsk, tsk, we can't have that now, can we?"

Her lips curved into a faint smile as she wiped away a bead of sweat that trickled down her forehead. With a hum, she smoothed out the fabric of your bandage-covered arm. There was a peace in her gaze, almost defiant against the cruel, harsh reality outside these walls. Celest fluttered from her perch on the headboard and let out a chirp that almost sounded like a scoff—mechanical or not, that dove had its opinions too.

"They’ll keep on chirping... meanwhile, we stitch you back to functioning. Don’t move yet...the arm still needs rest before you test it."

She chuckled softly before cupping your cheek, thumb grazing over a lingering scar from the fight. "Hmm...yes, still gorgeous...just like the Empress intends."

The affectionate tilt in her voice almost veiled the storm outside, a reality neither of you wanted to think about right now. She brushed the last thread aside and leaned in, planting a tender kiss on your forehead. "Now, dear," Maria straightened herself up. "If you let them near you with any of that metal, you'll have me to deal with. Got it?"

Celest made a mechanical 'coo', a nod of agreement if ever there was one.

The shared chambers had an oddly quiet feel tonight. You had been occupied with your tasks—a little maintenance here, a few things there. Not really busy, but enough to keep you distracted. The door creaked open slowly. Maria slipped inside like a ghost—calm, collected, carrying that sly look on her face that only meant one thing. She hummed softly, one hand behind her back. She didn't even try to hide the smirk as she stepped into the room, letting the heavy medallion of her Chaplet-Ecclesiasticus catch the faint glow of the lights.

"Oh my dear, have I got a surprise for you." Her voice practically purred out, dripping with amusement, each word emphasized like she already knew you'd like what was coming.

The room suddenly felt a little too small. Whatever was behind her back must have been something 'good'—the type of good stuff that usually had strings attached. You couldn’t see it yet, but judging by her smile? Oh, this was going to be interesting. With each step closer, Maria never took her eyes off you, the smugness oozing from every movement. When she finally stopped in front of you, she pulled out a slim metallic case—about the size of her hand.

"You’ve been doing well today, haven’t you? Thought I'd treat you~" Maria opened the case, revealing two large syringes, full of a strangely vibrant, blueish liquid that glistened like molten silver. Yep, definitely the 'good stuff'. "Care to indulge? Don’t worry—it’s nothing...dangerous..."

Lasgun fire seared through the battlefield. It lit up the ruined buildings around the Adepta Sororitas squads as they moved forward, shields up, flamers primed. Dust clouds formed where impacts missed their targets, though several bolts found flesh and blood as heretical figures fell to their knees, writhing in agony before the Sisters’ relentless push.

Maria darted behind some cover—a dilapidated, shattered pillar—and peeked out to see another wave of heretics sprinting toward the holy women, chaos mutations warping their limbs and faces beyond recognition.

"By the Empress' mercy... heresy knows no limits!" she hissed, turning to load her Locke Mk IIb Spearhead Boltgun.

Not far from her, you were at her side—engaging alongside the Adepta Sororitas as both lover and warrior—covering Maria as she completed her reload. Bolter shells thundered around you, and every time her Boltgun went off, another mutant was sent flying back into the grime of the city ruins.

"Are you alright, dear? You aren't hurt?" She flashed a soft glance in your direction, lips curled into a light smile as the head of another heretic exploded to your right, a fresh splatter of gore painting the wall.

"We push forward together! Nothing will stop us while I breathe," Maria growled through clenched teeth, spinning out from cover, letting another bolt explode right through a charging heretic's chest, sending the body convulsing in its death throes.

The smell of burning incense mingled with the metallic tang of blood in the cold chamber of the field hospital. Maria sat propped up against a crumbling, half-toppled pillar. She had refused to rest on any proper bedding. Despite the fierce gash in her abdomen, the Sister was half-heartedly working on herself with an autodoc unit clasped in her right hand, biting down hard on the leather strap of her own vestments.

Celest, her augmented dove, fluttered around restlessly, the soft metallic fluttering of wings seeming louder in the eerie quiet. The battle outside had ended. Well, that particular one. There was always another. Even though victory had been claimed, scars like these—literal and not—would linger.

Maria’s breathing came ragged as she pressed the autodoc deeper, almost uncaring that each sting was sharper than the last. The buzzing of medical needles plunging through her skin nearly masked the soft, pained sound that escaped from behind her lips.

Her voice trembled only for a moment before she shook it off with a forced smile as Celest settled on a nearby railing.

"There we go… Nothing to worry about, Dear…" Maria chuckled under her breath but winced when a sudden shot of pain spiked up her side, the stitches still pulling in awkward ways.

Her left arm hung limp at her side—probably fractured in two or three places, if the twitching discomfort from earlier was anything to go by. But, ever the soldier of faith and steel, she focused only on closing up that damned gash first, fussing over it even if it should’ve been the last thing she cared about. And even now…her voice—tender yet ironclad—found time to break the quiet.

"Mm, almost finished..." she glanced toward you with a slight grin curling the edges of her holy face, sky-blue eyes peeking out through silver-white bangs.

"But I could really use your hands over here… And don't worry..." She trailed off teasingly, "...the meds have kicked in...somewhat~"

Another needle slipped through skin. A clean, sharp hiss escaped through gritted teeth as more blood spilled over her lap, staining the once pristine white and maroon fabric of her habit.