The Emperor Protects: A Warhammer 40k Adepta Sororitas Story (FxF)

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In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.

The Emperor sits immobile upon the Golden Throne of Terra, his rotting corpse sustained by its millennia-old arcane machinery.  Across the Imperium's thousands of worlds, the black ships of the Inquisition hunt down those bearing the psyker's mutation, who must be sacrificed by the thousands to preserve the Master of Mankind.  Their souls burn to fuel His own, for it is only His incomparable psychic might that keeps all humanity from being devoured whole by the ruinous powers of Chaos.

It is well that He does not see what His Imperium has become in His absence.  Where the Emperor once dreamed of a civilization united by truth, reason, and hope, humanity now suffers under a dystopian nightmare ruled by superstition and terror.  The gears of immeasurably vast bureaucracy turn with human blood as lubrication, as billions fight and die fending off the hordes of aliens, Chaos daemons, and traitorous heretics clawing at the Imperium's gates.

And yet, for all the horrendous cost of survival, humanity survives.  For every war-torn planet drowning in corpses, another's people live in safety.  For every soldier who gives their all, an innocent child lives another day without fear.  For every life laid down in battle, another may be spent falling in love and raising a family and growing old in peace.



Among the Imperium's most fervent defenders are the Adepta Sororitas, the Sisters of Battle.  The church militant of the Ecclesiarchy who preach the Emperor's will, they are holy warriors sworn to purge the enemies of humanity with fire and sword.  Leading lives of strict discipline in convents across Imperial space, they hone their faith into a weapon as potent as either, a psychic force so strong that it can bend reality itself and perform miraculous feats.  Chanting battle-hymns as they march, they steel their minds against all fear, shrug off mortal wounds, and summon impossible strength.

Yet, for all their fervor and skill, Sororitas are as human as anyone.  And they must face the question...how long can one fight for faith alone?

So, yeah, I'm looking for a fellow 40k fan to write a story about two Sisters of Battle falling in love.  I've always gravitated towards the more grounded, less cartoonishly over-the-top grimdark portrayals of the setting--the ones that emphasize that for all the craziness of guns the size of skyscrapers and Space Marines with pauldrons bigger than their heads and stuff, the Imperium is still a place where normal people live their lives, people with hopes and dreams and loves and fears just like we have.  I also like to see focus on the small points of light in the grim darkness, stories that show that no matter how bad things are, there's still hope for a better future.  As I see it, a story like this can fit nicely into both categories.

SoBs aren't Space Marines--they're not sociopathic killing machines purged of all emotions not related to murder (well, most of them, anyway).  Some Orders might enforce celibacy and/or forbid them from having relationships, but when has that ever stopped anyone in all of history?  I find the image of these two soldiers--perhaps young and just coming to terms with the grim reality of their world, perhaps experienced and grappling with years of accumulated trauma--finding solace and fragile hope in each other's arms, all the more so for it being forbidden.  And will this distract them from the faith they rely on to survive, or strengthen it by giving them something real to fight for?

Also, badass warrior-nuns in power armor.  You can't tell me that's not hot ;D

I'm breaking my usual pattern here, in that I don't need this to be a super smut-focused story.  I mean, I still want smut, but I'm fine with it being, say, a 50-50 balance with plot, or even 60-40 in plot's favor.  As far as kinks, I see it being pretty vanilla.  Some light BDSM elements could fit, though, what with all that flagellation stuff the Sororitas are into.

If you love the sound of this idea, but aren't familiar with every single little detail of 40k lore, that's fine--I'm no expert myself.  (I've read all of two novels, Rynn's World and Helsreach, with the rest of my lore base assembled from game rulebooks, YouTube videos, and wiki-walking.  Incidentally, while I didn't think Rynn's World was that great, I highly recommend Helsreach.  It's got that whole believable human pathos against 40k's ridiculous over-the-top backdrop thing in spades, and manages to actually make Space Marine characters complex and interesting.)  However, I'd appreciate having someone who's at least familiar with the broad conceptual strokes, and comfortable looking up details when they become relevant.

Any takers?  Feel free to PM me!