I ended up fighting the simulated Niandra for the whole night.
While the clashes were serviceable, I couldn't get over the feeling that the simulacrum could only perform as good as what was observed and experienced from my end. If a real fight to the death suddenly broke out between us, I was sure the genuine assassin would have more tricks to put me down, and that was even before involving weapons.
Darn, there is so much to learn for real close combat. I felt the only way to really improve was to set up as many real practice duels as possible. The morning arrived not with the expected Kryptorer's summon but a surprising commotion and an audience request.
I opened the door to my lodging to a small crowd. Present was Maylin, Welminah, Herlindya and Alicya with an awkwardly tense atmosphere hanging above them. Maylin especially looked somewhat distraught.
'Good morning,' I said to them and they all bowed to return my greeting. Knowing something was up, I went straight to the point. 'So, what brought you all here this early?'
The group silently turned their attention to Maylin. It seemed that they had agreed beforehand to let the preacher talk first. Maylin looked hesitant for a second before quickly gaining her resolve to speak.
'My lady, I apologise for bringing this matter to your direct attention. May I ask if it is true that you had directly requested Throne Agent Herlindya to disrupt my speech?'
'When and where was that?'
'Yesterday night in front of the monastery main gate.'
So that was what last night's extra crowd was about. I glanced towards Herlindya and she nodded discreetly. I looked back at Maylin and said, 'I did request some precautionary actions to be taken at her discretion.'
The preacher's reaction was instant, she looked both shocked and appalled for a second before her intense emotion could be sensed swelling beneath a barely maintained facade. I sighed internally and held up a palm to Maylin before she could explode.
'Let me speak to Herlindya first. You will have your turn shortly.'
While interpersonal relationship management was never my forte, the long years of grinding at a corporation had at least armed me with enough basic knowledge on how to handle situations like this. I then looked to the throne agent. 'Let's speak inside.'
Herlindya nodded and followed me through the door of my suite before I closed it.
'First things first, the document you mentioned.'
'Oh, here.' Herlindya passed over a piece of parchment. I read through what was basically an acknowledgment of my visitation of the site at a certain specific time and nodded.
'What do I need to do?'
'Please sign to acknowledge it,' Herlindya said while taking out a fancy pen decorated with, of course, subtle skull motifs along its exquisite body. She even used her data-slate as a makeshift writing board for me.
I took the pen, teetered for a second before signing my name on the parchment. It went surprisingly smoothly as this was the first time I signed my, or Syrine's name. While passing back the parchment I looked at the autograph with fascination.
This is not my handwriting.
It was a signature of artful flourish that seemed to embody both elegance and power. The inscription flowed with deliberate grace, each stroke assured yet refined, every letter followed a smooth trail in imperceptibly precise spacings. It was so far off from the clunky signature from my past life that there was no comparison between the two.
'My lady, please place your thumb here.' Herlindya flipped over her data-slate to reveal an identical document in digital format. I placed my thumb on the designated spot, it blipped and the process was concluded.
'So, what happened?' I asked.
'I have the report right here for your perusal,' Herlindya said as she quickly worked on her data-slate before passing it over with both hands.
Smart, I absorb information way faster with reading. Did she pick that up from Thaberus?
I nodded, took the device, read the whole thing with a glance and understood the situation. It was a report citing what Maylin had learned from her interviews with the sisters, to her intention to hold a live speech following the Ricene telecast on yesterday night.
The report was quite extensive on what was mentioned during the interviews, I especially remembered the part where two cultists tried to ambush our flank but got picked off after being exposed by my ability. Fearing the preacher would spread such detailed information to the masses, Herlindya stopped the speech citing security concerns and a directive from me. Sure enough, disagreements ensued, prompting this early morning standoff.
'Tell me you looked further into her background,' I said while passing back the data-slate.
Herlindya nodded. 'We did, up to five generations back.'
Of course they did, they are the bloody Inquisition. While I appreciated their thoroughness, going that far back seemed over heavy-handed for my taste.
'So, anything?'
'As far as we can tell, she and her immediate family are spotless.'
My mind went spinning. In a way Maylin was as good as I could hope for as a representative of the Church. Her background was now proven, as a person she was generally pleasant to be around and not overbearingly preachy with the religious stuff. Lastly, as shallow as it sounded, the fact that she was a decent looking young lady was greatly appreciated by what residue was left of my male soul. It was time to put her through a real test.
'Thank you. Please ask Maylin to come in, I will make a decision after talking with her.'
'As you wish.' Herlindya nodded and left the room.
* * *
'Preacher Maylin, Lady Syrine will see you now.'
The words jolted Maylin from her semi-trance state of daydreaming about the worst case scenario. The preacher looked to the throne agent, hoping to find any hints on what awaited her, but found not a single clue. Silently Maylin cursed as she recalled that most of the Inquisition's people were experts at hiding emotions and intentions.
Gingerly the preacher opened the door to the private suite before stepping inside, after walking through a short passage she entered the living quarter and came upon an expected yet incredible sight.
In the centre of the dimly lit room sat the Holy Daughter, her white robe the only plain-looking spot in the fully decorated suite. She was motionless. That, together with her totally neutral expression and body posture, gave Maylin the distinct impression that she was gazing at a statue of a seated goddess. Just as the preacher was starting to believe she was indeed looking at a statue, Syrine shattered the illusion by gesturing to a chair just beside her.
'Please, take a seat.'
Maylin hesitated for a moment at the notion of sitting so close to the Holy Daughter but eventually complied. While sitting down, she again tried to divine her own fortune before quickly giving up on the attempt. Compared to Herlindya who had been strenuous to read, Syrine might as well be an unreadable wall.
Just as Maylin was musing over her own thoughts, Syrine dropped a statement. 'I heard about your interviews with the battle sisters.'
Jolted to her senses, Maylin nodded and replied. 'It was my duty to verify their claims, my lady. They mentioned an observed phenomenon that happened a few times during the battle at the scholastica's inner yard, and many believed it was a blessing by being in close proximity to you.'
'What do you make of it?'
'I believe their claims warrant further investigations. Since we are on this topic, may I ask …do you know anything about what the sisters experienced? This battlefield clarity they mentioned.'
Syrine did not reply, instead she just looked at Maylin with her depthless eyes. At this very moment the morning sunlight had just managed to creep into the room, and as its soft rays spilled over the flawless features of the Holy Daughter, she practically glowed in the gloom. The preacher lost herself to the enchanting sight and just stared back. That hypnotising spell was broken when Syrine spoke again.
'Were you going to share the story with the pilgrims yesterday?'
'...yes.'
'What was the reason?'
'As a preacher I am obligated to strengthen the faith of the masses, there are few better ways than to spread stories of His miracles in these troubled times.'
'I see. There is this old saying, information is power…'
'...guard it well.' Maylin completed the sentence on reflex.
Syrine nodded. 'Depending on how you share the stories, you might accidentally disclose details for the enemies to use against us.'
'My lady, that's…'
'Did you harbour any ill intention?'
Startled by the question and its implications, Maylin staggered for a while before managing a reply. 'Of course not! I swear by the Throne and the Emperor can be my witness. I meant no…'
'Maylin, calm down,' Syrine interrupted and reached out. Maylin felt the touch and glanced down, puzzled by what she saw. At first, it seemed as though Syrine's hand was trembling, but a moment later she realized it was her own hand that was shaking.
Up until now, Maylin hadn't realised just how deeply her position had come to mean to her. The thought of suddenly losing the privilege to work alongside an upcoming living saint had shaken her to the core. She had heard many stories like this before, powerful people using the slightest excuse to ditch unfavoured advisors and servants. And now, it seemed like it was her turn to be dismissed.
Just as tears were starting to well uncontrollably, Syrine's next words surprised her. 'I believe you.'
Maylin could not believe what she was hearing and simply responded with an utterance. 'Huh?'
'I said I believe you. For your information, other than the exposed cults, the Inquisition highly suspected there might be other insidious enemies from within. That is why extra precaution is needed.'
The statement reminded Maylin of the slapping incident and the subsequent arrest of three high level clergy members; she went pale at that notion.
'Start thinking about how to spread your words without compromising us, I suggest you work with Herlindya on this. Can you do that?'
Maylin nodded eagerly.
'Thank you. Speaking of which, there might be a sword training session for me later today. Would you like to observe?'
Slack-jawed, Maylin could only continue nodding.
* * *
Outside my suite again, I watched as Maylin left the hallway with the throne agent, feeling guilty about what had transpired. I had infringed upon Maylin's privacy in favour of security by reading her mind, a seemingly necessary move that went against my personal beliefs. The reading revealed Maylin to be a simple preacher.
For a moment I just stood there, hoping this was not the start of some slippery slope on power abuse. Eventually I allowed myself a soft sigh before checking on the chronometer. No summons yet, it seemed like Kryptorer was still not ready. I did not feel like pressing him, in fact I was kind of afraid about finding out what was inside that vault and decided to just go on with my day.
'Welminah, is my schedule going as planned?'
The scholar nodded. 'A shooting refresher course in the morning, followed by jump pack lessons under direct supervision of Seraphim Superior Zharphia. Finally, a lesson on sword usage is scheduled with Sister Superior Markeylla in the evening.'
'Very well. Let Maylin observe the sword lesson, contact her when the session is about to start.'
'As you wish. My lady, there is this other, erm …request from the top,' Welminah said sheepishly, and surprisingly even Alicya seemed to grimace ever so slightly upon hearing those words.
'Yes?'
'The Canoness and the other Palatines would like to observe you shooting, they were intrigued by yesterday's report.'
I blinked. 'No problem.'
I went back to my suite to put on my power armour. First I traded my white robe for a light grey form fitting bodyglove from Syrine's collection, then I put on the fibro-muscle bodyglove on top of that before wearing the white livery, finishing off by snapping on the armour pieces. From start to finish, four minutes plus. I was literally getting better at such tasks by the day with my cheating attributes. Time to grab my "hand phone" and go. I looked to Solace and dropped a simple command.
Solace complied and fell in behind me. Fully armoured with helmet in hand and followed by my servo-skull, I stepped out of my suite. It felt like a nice going to work routine.
Some time later I was abusing the shooting dummies again at the gun range, this time with the Canoness and all her Palatines as my spectators. Wearing my power armour this time, the experience was different; the size of my hands were slightly larger with the armoured gauntlets while my view of the world was subtly changed by the Sabbat pattern helmet. I adjusted quickly and repeated my feats from yesterday. I even got to do the akimbo bolters near the end, missing not once during the whole session while improving on my reload speed.
With my inhuman abilities proven beyond any shadow of doubt, a secret sense of relief could be felt from the sisters as I poised to take my first practical jump pack lessons.
Zharphia Abaiyo, the highest-ranking Seraphim Superior of the Order, was summoned and officially given the task to train me in the art of jump pack usage. I had looked into Zharphia's profile as it was stored within the library and now inside my head. She was an orphan the Sororitas had picked up from a regional conflict twenty years ago and one of the rarer individuals with an African-resembling lineage.
The dark-skinned lady oozed with a strong and very competent aura that must have been shaped by years of having one of the most demanding positions. However, even the stoic Zharphia appeared apprehensive upon receiving the command.
'With all due respect,' the Seraphim Superior said carefully, 'may I know about Lady Syrine's current level of jump pack training?'
Markeylla answered. 'We have spent time at the wind tunnel and I can vouch that Lady Syrine has a foundation as solid as it can be. She deserves the best training, so that is where you come in, your expertise on this is second to none in the whole Order.'
Zharphia did not immediately answer, and I could sense her agonising over being responsible for my safety as this was a high risk activity for any human.
Just as it was starting to get awkward, Canoness Diadinah spoke up. 'Sister Zharphia, your caution does you credit. I understand your concern, you are permitted to call off the training anytime should you feel Lady Syrine is not ready.'
With that Zharphia finally agreed to take me under her wings and I expressed my respect with a slight bow.
'I will be in your care.'
The Seraphim Superior seemed slightly taken aback by my gesture but managed a response. 'It will be my honour to tutor you, my lady. I just hope you are ready for its stringent demands.'
My special one-on-one training with Zharphia happened just after lunch time. With Welminah and Magos Balpradus acting as observers, plus a team of Sister Hospitallers on standby, I started my first practical jump packs lesson in a special training area situated just beside the great citadel. A functioning jump pack was brought over by the Magos himself and strapped to my back.
'I have personally serviced and fine tuned this unit for optimum performance,' the Magos said with a hint of pride before helping me with the calibration of the neural interface. As we went through the process, Balpradus canted a short burst of binary to me.
I nodded discreetly and canted back via Solace.
The Magos froze slightly before replying with confidence.
After everything was set up, I became artificially linked up with my jump pack and could control it with just my thought pulse. I remembered this technology was still in its infancy in my past life, where people could play simple video games by using just their mind. As with almost everything else, it took but a few moments before the controls became second nature to me. My seamless compatibility with the neural interface provided superb control, it felt like having a new body part which I could control at will.
Ready to get busy, I designated Welminah as a secondary master for Solace so she could command the servo-skull around while I train. What followed was a crash course about more basic knowledge, operational procedures and equipment familiarisation, all of which I absorbed like a sponge.
Despite seeing first hand how quickly I learned the basics, Zharphia was still quite sceptical and had me run through some hoops to properly gauge my abilities. Needless to say I blazed through all her tests, and the sister's confidence in me steadily grew until she finally started teaching for real.
Zharphia was soon performing various advanced moves for me to replicate. Shadowing her steps I found myself doing all sorts of manoeuvres and incredible high jumps. At first the Seraphim Superior held back, but as I aced through everything her moves steadily became increasingly more complex and difficult. While I was sure this would be daunting for any beginner, none proved to be a real challenge for a cheat like me.
We raced through the area, jumped up to the top of a tall training structure, then glided down with controlled bursts. Following her lead, we flew between multiple obstacles before landing, only to repeat the process with increased speed, then flew between obstacles with narrower and narrower spacings. We repeated the runs until our jump packs were low on promethium and had to take a break for refueling.
'That was incredible, my lady,' Zharphia praised after we both took off our helmets.
'Thank you,' I replied simply, not knowing what to add.
'The next part is important,' Zharphia said, 'sorry to be blunt, but are you afraid of heights, my lady?'
I was baffled by her question. In my past life I was deathly-afraid of heights and could not stand watching those death defying videos of people playing around at the edge of skyscrapers. But retrospectively just now I was jumping up and down from tall buildings without experiencing anything resembling fear.
Zharphia took my silence as a resounding "no" and pointed to the slim tower behind us. 'Good, you have no idea how many promising candidates I have seen being held back by acrophobia. To conclude today's session you are going to jump down from there.'
The tower was roughly forty stories high, at the very top was a short platform that extended into mid air. I had wondered what it was used for until now: Seraphim base jumping.
A while later I was going up the tower on one of the many open air elevator platforms with Zharphia. I marvelled at the seemingly crude but rugged rows of conveyor-like platforms going down on the opposite end and imagined rows of Seraphims going up during peak training hours.
The ride to the top took some time and while Zharphia was silent, my passive mind reading sensed she was building up courage to speak. Not wanting to wait, I broke the ice.
'Something on your mind, sister?'
Startled, Zharphia quickly bowed before starting to speak. 'My lady, there is indeed an issue that I had been wondering about for some time now. With the utmost respect, might I humbly seek your indulgence to pose a question?'
'What would you like to know?'
'Are you … a follower of the Holy Progenitor's Covenant or a believer of their creed?'
I was stumped. A brief reflection upon information about this covenant from the books deep inside my mind revealed it to be a group of near-heretical offshoots among the countless Imperial cults.
The covenant's followers were consumed by the baseless but speculated theory that the Emperor was the progenitor of all humanity, fervently embracing the belief in a divine lineage that bound every human to Him as their literal forefather. Senior ranking members of this creed at times openly referred to the Emperor as "my father", earning them endless troubles with the Church.
Why would Zharphia ask such a question… wait, she was there.
In a heartbeat, my superhuman mind had logically pinpointed the origin of her inquiry. It must be that time when I had indirectly referred to the Emperor as "my father" to persuade that stubborn rebel general to peacefully switch sides.
'Ah, are you referring to my conversation with General Borrin? Is this a question of faith?' I asked.
Zharphia reacted with a hint of trepidation, her head remained low as she replied. 'I meant no disrespect, my lady. I could not figure out why you would refer to the Emperor directly as your father that day. Is the covenant speaking the gospel truth? Are all of humanity, everyone of us a direct descendant of Him on Holy Terra?'
Looking at the sister, I had a moment of epiphany; here was a person whose whole life had been revolving around religion. She could jump out of a flying aircraft without flinching, but a mere doubt on religious teachings gave her pause. The Emperor, the Adepta, the Church, the endless devotions and duties were all her life. I was under no illusion under normal circumstances my statement would have rendered me a heretic. That came with a chilling understanding I could accidentally spark a religious war with some careless words.
I found myself extending a hand to place it on her shoulder while tuning up the strength of my passive mind reading. 'Do you think that could be true, Zharphia?' I probed.
The sister slowly raised her head. 'I … don't know.'
There was nothing but zealotry inside this woman's mind. It was intense, pure and dangerous if misled. It also revealed that Canoness Diadinah did not disclose my identity to Zharphia, as opposed to Welminah's speculation. Girl, you need to have more faith in your own Canoness.
I smiled and decided on my answer. 'Zharphia, forget about the covenant and its creed. As for your other question, go talk to Canoness Diadinah about this, and mention to her that I think you are ready.'
By then we had reached the top. Zharphia was visibly relieved about the silly creed being debunked and nodded. 'Very well, I will speak to the Canoness when the next opportunity arises. Now let us finish today's lesson.'
They called it the "leap of faith" for a first time jumper. With a name like that I could not help but remember a certain assassin from a game doing crazy backflips into a mountain of hay. It took about five seconds for one to reach the ground from this height, giving one a three second window to activate the jump pack. If any accidents were to happen, I bet the impact would still hurt like hell for a human even with power armour and the safety cushion below.
Zharphia put on her helmet and simply walked off the ledge. I observed the sister keeping herself steady and firing up her jump pack a second before hitting the ground, she landed outside the cushion zone without a hitch. It was just another Tuesday for the Seraphim Superior.
I looked down from the height and felt my pulse rising. A legacy of my past humanity? I suppressed the uneasiness, put on my helmet and felt it seal before taking the leap.
As I dropped, my thought acceleration went into effect. Time slowed down as I took in all the details on the way down; the way gravity pulled at me, the winds hitting on my side, how my body cut through the air, the rapid dropping of digits in the altimeter built into my helmet's digital display. I savoured every second of it, burning the memories into my mind. Mimicking Zharphia's example, I fired up my jump pack at the last second and landed just beside her.
While Welminah and Balpradus walked up to us, Zharphia smiled and bowed. 'Perfectly done, my lady. I can't believe I am saying this, but you seem ready for an aerial drop. We will be having one such exercise early tomorrow morning, would you like to participate?'
Knowing this to be an experience not to be missed, I nodded.
'Sign me up.'