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@->--

        That, basically, was it.  Father Deacis told me who to send in
next, and sent me back out with instructions to return home immediately
and make preparations for my departure.  I had by no stretch of the
imagination truly understood what had happened, but it sunk in as I
walked the short distance from the hall to my home, which was not quite
on the edge of town.  We had learned about the Sisterhood, of course.
We had been visited once by a Sister Dialogus, who had given us a brief
lecture about the necessity of accurate translation in dealing with
non-humans, and those human communities that had been isolated from 
the Emperor long enough that they had developed their own languages.  She
had spoken a few words in the tongue of the Eldar, and then told us how
many possible meanings could have applied to those few words, and the
disastrous consequences that could arise from a mistranslation.  And we
knew of the Sisters Hospitalier, of whom there were a handful in the
City supervising the Adepts who ran the hospitals and trained
apothecaries for towns like ours.  But we had never studied languages,
or medicine, and what little etiquette we had been taught certainly
didn't qualify me for the Orders Famulous.  Could they actually be
considering me for the Orders Militant?  They were legends to us,
something we had never seen, and heard of only in tales of far-off
worlds, fighting in the crusades alongside Titans and Space Marines, and
all the other exotic creatures that populated the fantastic myths we
listened to and read.

        One of the relics in Clearsky City had been a suit of armour,
worn by a Sister of Battle over a thousand years ago, during the defence
of our world from the Orks.  Could that really be me?  The women who
wore that armour were saints, great warriors.  Not me.

        I regretted then - I still do - that my mother was away at the
time.  She had taken a trip to visit some distant relatives of ours in
the City, who had just had a baby.  We couldn't afford for all of us to
go, and they were on her side of the family.  It would be three days
before she would be back, and our town didn't have any sort of
communications equipment like the City did - even if father had sent
word to her at once she wouldn't have arrived back before tomorrow
night.  So he didn't send word, as it wouldn't have done any good, and
it would only have preyed on her mind while she was in the City.

        But I missed seeing her that last night, before I left.  Father
was good, but we had never been really close, and he wasn't really the
type to get involved with feelings beyond asking if we had had a good
day.  I think, now, that he may not have been certain how to deal with
me, after three boys - he'd worked out how to raise boys, and wasn't
quite sure if I should be treated the same, or entirely different, or
what.  He told me how proud of me he was, and how he knew I'd bring
honour to my name and be a true servant of the Emperor.  I think he
wanted to say he'd miss me, but he didn't.  Of my brothers, Franc was
away on a training exercise - he was already a junior recruit of the
Guard, likely to begin actual training within the month.  Gardon
obviously knew I was leaving, but didn't seem to behave any differently
- he and I had always been competitive, and I suppose he wasn't pleased
to see me be selected for something like this before he'd applied for
junior Guard.  Wane, the closest in age to me, promised to look after my
kitten.  He'd had a cat himself until the winter of the year before,
almost from the day he was born according to mother.  And so I came to
be standing in the doorway of my home for the last time, holding a bag
containing my clothes, and two pictures, one of my three brothers, and a
more recent one of myself and my parents - in this one I was holding
Jazz, the kitten, who was then only a couple of months old, whereas now
he was close to being a cat.  My father and brothers stood beside me as
the woman I had seen in Father Deacis' office, the Sister Superior,
walked the short distance from the auto that had brought her.

        "Your daughter is fortunate," she said to father after the four
of us had bowed, "she will have the chance to serve the Emperor to the
best of her ability."

        "None could ask for more, ma'am," replied father.  His voice
sounded slightly distant, but as I couldn't see his face I wasn't sure.
 The woman nodded and looked at me directly.  Suddenly I felt my chest
tighten, and I doubt I could have spoken if she had wanted an answer
from me.

        "Follow me," she said, and turned back towards the auto.  I
wanted to stay a moment, but she didn't look back and I didn't want to
give her any cause to doubt me, so I followed without pause.  I got a
glimpse of my father as the auto pulled away, standing in the doorway,
watching, then we were gone.

@->--

To be continued...

-- 
TRANSLATOR:  Chris Cook
TRANSMITTED: Alliance Heavy Cruiser Artemis
CROSSFILE:   http://www.netspace.net.au/~alia/
AUTHOR:      Sister Antonia
THOUGHT:     To every life a light that shines.