[Battle Sisters?]
"Sir, are you injured?" A clear, holy female voice emanated from the strong light.
A scent of roses and lilies wafted over, refreshing and reassuring.
Horatio looked up. Before him stood a tall woman in black robes and leather, covered by silver power armor, with golden trim along the edges of her armor.
Unlike the female soldiers of the Astra Militarum, who often used breast binders and leggings to conceal their female features, the Battle Sisterss' armor left space for their prominent areas.
Two magnificent "Hive Cities" instantly captured Horatio's full attention.
The beautifully designed power armor perfectly highlighted the Nun's features.
The Medical Sister's iconic holy hood sat on her head, beneath which was thick, smooth, black short hair.
This was completely different from the stereotype of 'Battle Sisterss all having white hair' that he had seen in his atlas.
Her dark short hair subtly emitted a noble and radiant luster.
She looked to be in her early twenties, with a fair, mature face that simultaneously displayed the unique tenderness and intellect of a woman, along with an ethereal holiness.
On the right side of the Nun's chin was a perfectly placed beauty mark, adding a touch of charm and allure to her pristine face, truly the finishing touch, making Horatio think of 2B from 'Nier: Automata'.
Hmm, a black-haired 2B.
"Sir? Are you alright?" The Medical Sister asked with concern.
"I'm fine. Over there, there are seriously injured people in that vehicle." Horatio pointed to the van transporting bread.
"Alright." The unknown Medical Sister picked up a professional medical rescue kit and ran towards the van, with Horatio following closely behind.
"Where are you hurt?" The Nun anxiously searched for the injured, while a medical Servo-skull hovered behind her, scanning everyone's bodies and transmitting data to the data pad on the Medical Sister's arm.
"God Emperor! It's the God Emperor's daughter. Quickly save him, boo hoo hoo…"
Upon seeing the Medical Sister, the woman's tears flowed freely, and she quickly performed an aquila salute with her child.
The Medical Sister nodded in acknowledgment, then looked at the pale-faced Bread seller.
The Bread seller's lips were white, and he mumbled softly, "Oh, my butt hurts."
With Horatio's help, the Medical Sister quickly helped the Bread seller up.
"Oh, it's already bandaged, and the hemostasis effect is very good…" The Medical Sister's eyes widened, and she murmured softly in surprise.
"I temporarily bandaged him up. Sorry, my technique is a bit rusty, but it should hold until he can be taken to the hospital." Horatio said with an embarrassed smile.
"Sir, you did very well. Your emergency bandaging saved his life, otherwise he might not have lasted until now. The God Emperor approves of your actions."
The Medical Sister respectfully bowed her head.
Horatio knew this was the highest degree of respect the God Emperor's daughters could show to a mortal.
As several expanded Valkyrie ambulance transports arrived, the medical team from the Navy Department's Medical Rehabilitation District also arrived. A set of stretchers was brought to the front of the vehicle at the Medical Sister's signal.
"Sir, could you lend me a hand?"
"Gladly." Horatio and the Medical Sister, one in front and one behind, moved the injured Bread seller onto the stretcher.
Above, a Battle Sisters Nun Order shuttle, fully loaded with seriously wounded, hovered over them, about to depart. A rescue line was thrown down from it.
The Medical Sister quickly secured the stretcher and threaded one side of the strap through a hook on her power armor.
She tugged the rope twice, and the rope began to ascend slowly.
"Thank you for your hard work." Horatio respectfully said, looking at the Medical Sister, who was gradually rising like an angel.
"It's my duty. I am Medical Sister Arabella. May the God Emperor's wisdom and goodness walk on Earth, and may the God Emperor's wisdom and light guide your path, kind sir."
After this direct interaction, these Battle Sisterss brought back Horatio's memories and understanding of the Battle Sisters Nun Order.
He remembered that after the Age of Apostasy ended, the Battle Sisterss were divided into two major Abbeys based on faith, conduct, methods, and political considerations.
One of them, Saint's Abbey, was located on a moon called Ophelia VII, and it oversaw the Order of the Bloody Rose, which wore red armor, the Order of the Valorous Heart, which wore black armor, and the Ecclesiarchy's 'poster girls', the famous 'Order of Our Martyred Lady', who were almost always the main protagonists in all propaganda posters.
The other Abbey was not as famous as Saint's Abbey; it was the Abbey of the Prescience, located on Terra.
The reason was also obvious—they were too calm, not fanatical at all, more like a dull female version of an Astartes Chapter.
Most importantly, they were almost entirely beyond the control of the Ecclesiarchy, instead directly obeying the Battle Sisters Grand Abbess.
And the Grand Abbess was one of the High Lords of Terra, theoretically on equal footing with the Ecclesiarchy's Pope.
This clear division of power also meant that the girls of the Abbey of the Prescience were not favored by the highly possessive Ecclesiarchy.
But no one would question the combat capabilities of the girls from the Abbey of the Prescience.
According to the Middle Hive veterans who liked to boast to children like them, the girls from the Abbey of the Prescience fought 'like an Emperor Bane super-heavy tank slowly rolling over the enemy's lines; we had never seen such perfectly aligned linear formations and synchronized volleys'.
Another little-known fact was that only they, the Nuns of the Abbey of the Prescience, could serve as the Grand Abbess.
Saint's Abbey, for obvious reasons: fanaticism, but not enough rationality, could only serve as the second-in-command, the Assistant Grand Abbess.
They also oversaw three sub-orders: the Order of the Ebon Chalice, with black armor and white robes; the Order of the Argent Shroud, with silver armor and red robes, the current Grand Abbess's mother order; and the Order of the Sacred Rose, with silver armor and black robes, which he had just seen with his own eyes.
The Order of the Sacred Rose Nuns did not call themselves servants of the God Emperor, but rather saw themselves as promulgators of the Holy Will and rational spirit.
The entire Nun Order firmly believed that they acted under the inspiration of the God Emperor's wisdom and were willing to strive to spread the God Emperor's glory throughout the galaxy, justifying by faith, which was completely contrary to the mainstream theory of the Ecclesiarchy.
The Ecclesiarchy propagated fanaticism and personal worship, while the latter propagated justification by faith and rational thought.
The two sides' faith theories were incompatible. If the Sacred Roses did not have guns in their hands and the Abbey of the Prescience backing them, they would probably have been branded as heretics long ago.
The struggle for believers and religious disputes was no secret in Abyss Port.
The Sacred Rose Abbey, which had an attached hospital, was located in Abyss Port, opposite the Navy Department, and Horatio had seen it with his own eyes.
That gleaming silver holy tower pierced the sky, spanning the Middle and Upper Hives, and was the largest and best 'Naval Hospital' in Abyss Port, as well as the training and internship headquarters for Medical Sisters.
This was a legacy of the Gothic War.
In the early 41st millennium, to suppress the evil plagues created in the crucible of Nurgle's power and to treat countless war casualties.
The Order of the Sacred Rose, active in the eastern and northern territories of the Imperium, established an Abbey in Abyss Port, the capital of the Gothic Sector. As Abyss Port's strategic importance grew, it gradually became the largest medical Abbey, eventually becoming the headquarters of the Sector's Medical Nun Order.
The Sacred Roses treated the Imperial Navy's wounded, and the Imperial Navy, in turn, did its best to transport the Sacred Roses and their faith to wherever they wished to go in the shortest possible time, establishing a wonderful symbiotic relationship.
The Nun Order was also a vast organizational structure, with many sub-orders.
Medical Sisters belonged to the Medical Nun Order. They were now both warriors and widely recognized as the best female doctors and nurses in the entire Imperium.
As the galactic war intensified.
Under the reforms of Morwen Vahl, the future Grand Abbess of the Battle Sisterss and the 'Joan of Arc' of the 41st millennium.
Medical Sisters were now also integrated into combat formations, becoming part of Battle Sisters squads, wearing heavy power armor.
Horatio solemnly performed an aquila salute to the Nun.
"Horatio." Until a serious, resonant female voice called him back.