Sisters, Part 3

A new chapter, this time from Ren’s(and Nora’s) point of view. They pay a visit to their old home, and to a monument to the fallen. Also, meet a few odd faces while they’re at it...

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Kuroyuri was better than Ren had ever remembered it.

After the two of them arrived on Remnant and stowed their wargear at Beacon, Brother Renaius and his old partner had chartered a shuttle directly to the small yet bustling town. The decade after the Long Year had seen the town restored, bigger and better than before the Grimm had razed it. Buildings had been rebuilt, utilities restored. The town had grown further in the time since, and to Renaius’s trained eye there wasn’t a single indicator of the town’s dark and distant past. And if someone built it, somebody else came. Many had migrated from Mistral and elsewhere to settle in the town, to get away from the crowding of the big cities. A few had even been Faunus, resettling from Menagerie for one reason or another.

The hotel, styled after the sort of place that Renaius and Nora had once seen on an agri-world a thousand light-years away had been their destination after a full night and day of travel. The hotel room’s bed was soft and comfortable, enough to make the Lamenter wish he’d once again had the accommodations of his old cell on the Vox, a firm mat upon which to rest and little more. Of course the bed was also too small for his frame, and his legs below his knees simply hung off the end. But he didn’t mind in the slightest, and had no problem falling asleep.

After a full four hour wake cycle for himself, three more in quiet meditation to let Nora have her full rest in the second bed in the room they shared, and a further one more for their morning routines, they had ventured downstairs to the lower level of the inn and the dining hall where a humble yet lively gathering were eating their morning meals. The inn’s cafe catered both to the inn’s patrons and local townsfolk, and that morning was no different. Residents and travelers alike dined and conversed, looked after by the innkeepers. Like the other patrons, they both wore fairly simple garb: trousers, shirts and boots, with robes for additional protection. Nora wore her habit, the garment the only indicator that she was more than a mere traveler. In his case, his sheer size was an indicator enough of his nature and status.

A brief hush fell across the room as Renaius ducked through the door and stepped inside, but soon returned to normal. Two strangers, an Astarte and a Sororitas out of their armor were no doubt a rare sight in these parts. The visits of their respective Chapter and Order respectively to Kuroyuri tended to be official in nature. Nora shot right past him, plopping down in a free spot at a table set by a wide window. Renaius followed, carefully sitting on the large, sturdy stool across from her. The waitress came along in short order, a Faunus with slightly curving goat horns and wearing a waitress’s outfit.

“Greetings travelers,” she said to them. “What will you be having?”

“Pancakes!” Came Nora’s enthusiastic reply when asked what she wanted. “With some apple slices on the side, and juice as well.”

“Of course. And for you sir?”

“The same is fine,” Ren told her. “Water instead of juice though.”

“Of course,” the waitress smiled. “I’ll be right back with your orders!”

As she walked away, Ren turned to Nora. “Why did I know you would ask for that?”

“Because it’s morning!” Nora replied to her Ren. “What else do you eat in the morning? Those triglycerine tube things?”

“Triglyceride, but no,” Renaius clarified.

“Wow, that really a Space Marine?” Someone from the next table over asked. “You were right, they are ten men and a half.”

“Yep,” another replied to the first. “Unless they’re feeding the locals something rare that is.”

“Oh, wouldn’t you know all about rare, you old coot.”

“Hey!” Nora called over to the duo at the next table. “Ren’s all mine, you can’t have him.”

The second of the two laughed at her remark.

Renaius had to suppress a chuckle. “Yes, I am a Lamenter. No, I’m not on duty, hence my attire.”

“Fascinating,” The first one spoke. “I didn’t think free time was a thing for, well, you.”

“Normally our free time is quite limited, but we’re on leave of sorts,” he explained.

“We just came home from a long mission,” Nora continued. “A week or two off won’t hurt anyone.”

“What my old friend said, fascinating,” the second man said.

“You know, you haven’t told us your names.”

“Oh? Oh! Where are my manners?”

“You forgot them about a million years ago!”

The first coughed, before continuing. “I’m Krai, and my old and dear friend here would be Trey. I guess you could call us travelers of a sort.”

“Ha, whatever,” the second, Trey, spoke.

“Well, we’ve introduced ourselves,” Krai said, “So who might you two be?”

“I am Renaius, of the Lamenters,” he said.

“And I’m Nora! Nora Valkyrie.”

“We’re traveling to the Graves before heading onto Argus,” Renais explained. “So, what are you two doing on Remnant? You aren’t from around here, but you don’t exactly fit the bill of being pilgrims either.”

“Oh? What gave you that idea?”

“Not pious enough to be a pilgrim, and you don’t fit the bill of being run of the mill tourists either,” Nora observed. “Those usually are better dressed and equipped.”

“Astute observations my dear,” Krai said. “You’ve got a keen eye on you for sure.”

“You’re not wrong, they ain’t exactly tourists,” someone walking up to their table spoke. “More like really annoying flies in my ears.” The man approaching the table was a Huntsman, or at least would have been once upon a time. His hair was more salt than pepper, and his face was deep with creases. His clothing fit the bill, the sort of rugged and vibrant garb that all Huntsmen tended to favor, albeit a bit worn through and faded in places. “Anyways, greetings, milord and milady,” the man continued with a smile. “I wasn’t aware that an honored Lamenter was visiting Kuroyuri. Allow me to welcome you to town.”

“You don’t have to call me lord,” Renaius told him. “I haven’t quite earned my armor just yet. And we just arrived late last night, to answer your other question.”

He looked him up and down. “A scout, right,” the man said. “Well, allow me to introduce myself. The name’s Graham, I help guard these parts.” The man gestured generally to the cafe, before sitting down at the duo’s table. “Well, when I’m not escorting travelers around to tourist traps at least.” He pulled a fresh travel ration from a belt pouch on his waist before unwrapping it. “So, what brings a Lamenter and a Sororita to this little frontier town? The Graves, I assume?”

“That, and we used to live here, a long time ago actually,” Ren explained. “We came to pay our respects.”

“Oh? The Graves too, I take it? Trey asked. How many were there again?”

“Twenty-one. And yes, that as well.”

Graham raised an eyebrow, ignoring the duo. “Town’s just a few years old. Did you live here before it was abandoned?”

“We did, yes,” Nora explained.

“I see.” The man fell silent for a beat, the shadow crossing his features indicative of the realities of life on Remnant that all its denizens were privy to, that towns came and went, and that the wilds around the kingdoms were dotted with ruins like this town had once been. “Well, I won’t pry.”

“Well I will,” Trey spoke up. “There’s a big mural of some weird horse thing in the town square. Is that thing wreck the pla-”

The man was cut off as Krai elbowed him hard in the side. “Show some respect, you old codger.”

“Bah,” was Trey’s response as he rubbed his bruised ribs.

“Well I know when to shut up like some of us,” Krai said. “This is a really nice world, really nice.” The old man scratched his chin as he thought about what else to say. “Definitely better than most places in the galaxy, methinks.”

“That it is,” Trey wheezed. “Less pomp and circumstance. At least every surface doesn’t have eagles nailed to it.”

“Well not yet anyways,” Graham muttered. He took a bite from his ration, chewed and swallowed. “Give it time. Pretty sure people’s grandkids’ll be praising the Emperor until the Grimm go home in a century or two.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Nora smiled.

Graham just shrugged. “I guess not Sister, I guess not. Food’s here, by the way.”

From where Graham had been sitting, he’d been the first to see the waitress come back, serving trays loaded with food for both of their tables. Whatever other conversation was put on hold as the waitress brought them their orders.

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Later that morning, the two of them strolled out of town, up a flagstone path out of town to a memorial to some of the world’s fallen heroes. It was built on a rise at the center of an empty field, a decent walk away from Kuroyuri. What had once been a crop field for the small city was now a memorial, paved over and ringed by twenty-one flagpoles, from which each hung a banner of the Lamenters. At the center and within a slight oval depression were a grid of granite rectangles embedded in the ground, seven by three. They were smooth and featureless, save for a single name engraved on each.

They were graves of fallen Brothers.

As the story went, the Lamenters had assembled their Chapter in full in that spot all those years ago, gathering outside of one of Remnant’s many small ruined towns that had been lost to the Grimm. Kuroyuri had been among the most recent, and it had been one of the first places the Lamenters had first made planetfall all those years ago. There, then-Captain Theosius had gathered his Brothers, every last Lamenter who yet lived. He’d made a speech there, and a decision to go along with it. They were all but stranded there for the foreseeable future, pitted against an indefatigable foe. The Lamenters would fight to defend this world, or they would die to the last trying.

What came next had been immortalized in murals and paintings across Remnant, but especially in Kuroyuri. The Captain had passed out simple shovels to all of his Brothers, and instructed them all to dig. The implication had not been lost on those Astartes, that they were not to dig a mere hole but their own grave. And if they were to die before their crusade was over, they would be buried there. By the end of the Long Year and before the torchbearer fleet arrived, twenty-one had fallen protecting Remnant, twenty-one graves unfortunately filled. Some had fallen protecting towns and settlements from the Grimm, overwhelmed by the beasts. Others had died fighting the Grimm Queen Salem herself in battle.

All of them had died heroes.

There were other people there, a small crowd scattered through the space. Some were travelers there to pay respects to the dead, others touring from elsewhere on Remnant. A few obvious pilgrims littered the crowd, openly praying to the Emperor and his Angels. Nora followed Renaius through the group, some stepping out of the way for the Sister and the giant that accompanied her. No music played in that place, no birds chirped or sang. It was a somber place, a place for quiet remembrance. For Renaius, it was the resting place of brothers he had yet to have, Brothers who died protecting a single cherished world among a million. He stood there before the fallen, as if to await a judgement that would never come. He realized that most if not all of his brothers had stood where he did, right then in that moment. He thought back to his past campaigns during his time as a Scout Brother, Even further back to his induction, the day he had ceased to be Lie Ren and had committed to becoming Renaius the Lamenter.

“Ren, are you okay?” Nora asked him.

“Of course,” he answered. “I was thinking about how far I came, how far we came to be here.”

“Yeah.” she was silent for a beat, before speaking. “There were a few times that I thought I was going to die, that if I was lucky, they’d bring me back home in a box like so many others. But somehow I’m still here. We’re still here Ren. The only thing we can keep doing is moving forward, and placing our faith in the Emperor to guide us.”

Renaius nodded. Korak, The Bale World, the lifeless rock that had once been called Slaughterhouse. A dozen dozen more worlds, where many of their visits had consisted of life or death battles for survival. His Brothers and Sisters had seen and weathered it all, fighting and surviving some of the harshest fighting imaginable. Bloodthirsty Chaos cults, Endless hordes of Tyranids, Ravenous Feral Orks and inscrutable Xenos of all stripes had been their foes over the past decade and a half. Most if not all had been purged at their hands.

“Hey, Ren, can I ask you something?” Nora said to him. “You know, since we’re standing here?”

“Go ahead.”

“If… anything happens to me,” she stammered for a second, “Just… let people know I lived, okay? Tell them I was here.”

Ren looked down at his long time partner, who had once stood eye to eye with him before his ascension. She seemed melancholic there, lost and far out of character for the woman who was normally anything but that, who was a beacon of life and happiness amongst her Sisters and all those surrounding her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, did his best to reassure her. “Of course I would Nora,” he told her. “Because I know you would do the same for me.”

“Yeah,” Nora said. She rested her head on the back of his hand for a moment, closing her eyes at the contact between them. “Yeah. Thanks Ren.”

“Of course.” They remained there for a time, offering silent prayers to the men that had sacrificed all they had for a world they barely knew.

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“So, you two are heading on to Argus already?”

“Indeed we are,” Renaius replied to the old Huntsman.

“Real shame, that,” he said with a shrug. “You two’re the first interesting conversation I’ve had in weeks now.”

The next train to Argus would arrive shortly, to take them onward to the next station of their journey. Renaius and Nora had headed there after eating brunch at a different cafe, that one being a bit more quaint and homely than the bustling inn. At some point, Graham the Huntsman had found them, if only to strike up another conversation.

Nora laughed. “Are you talking about those two old guys from the cafe?”

“Yeah, them.” The man shrugged again. “But they pay me to keep them alive, so I have no room to complain.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, but who are they?”

“Eh, they blew into town a couple of weeks back. They claim to be travelers passing through the segmentum on their way back home on the other end of it. Been here a few months, maybe longer, touring all the major points of interest. Far as I can tell, they aren’t lying, but…” he trailed off.

“But?”

“But they ain’t like any Imperial I ever met, is all I’ll say,” he explained. “All these pilgrims and tourists have certain ways of looking at the world, certain ways of fitting into it, if you catch my understanding. Those two? Well they don’t fit the mold.”

“Ah, I see,” Nora said. “So they’re acting all shifty, without actually acting shifty, if that makes any sense?”

“I guess that’s a way to put it.” Graham shrugged, putting his hands into his vest pockets. “Whatever the case might be, they ain’t causing trouble and they ain’t cheaping out on the crowns. Downright upstanding citizens in the respects that matter to folks at least.”

“Wait, Crowns?”

“Yeah,” Graham answered. “Honest to Emperor Imperial Crowns, not Lien. It doesn't really spend here on Remnant, but that little bank down the street lets me exchange them for Lien. No idea what orifice they’re pulling them out from, but I ain’t complaining.”

“Curious,” was all Nora had to say about it. “What do you think Ren?”

“It’s not exactly any of our business Nora.” There was something a little off about those two, but it wasn’t exactly either of their purviews. Not unless they started attacking the town, or were openly preaching something heretical. Then it would very quickly become their business. “But, if they are up to anything, I’d suggest letting the local Arbites know.”

“These podunk cops? Alright, sure thing,” Graham said with a dismissive chuckle. “Quicker to deal with them myself if it comes to that though. Also, your train’s here.”

The old man was right yet again, and their train rumbled into the station.

“Ooh, nice! I call dibs on the window seat!” Nora declared. The train pulled into the little station that serviced the town, and the other passengers that were waiting along with them began to line up to board. Nora dashed off, her personal duffel in hand to get in line.

“Quite the handful you got there Ren,” Graham said.

Renaius didn’t feel the need to correct him for some reason. “She is,” he replied. “But she’d say the same thing about me.”

Graham laughed. “I bet. Well, you two take care.”

“Same to you.” Renaius picked up his own duffel, leaving the Huntsman there and moving to join Nora in line. As they boarded the train and it departed Kuroyuri, Renaius couldn’t help but think back to the time he’d spent there. The two gentlemen in the inn, seemingly out of place on their world. And The old Huntsman, who had seemed oddly comfortable talking with an Astarte. He couldn’t help but think they were important, somehow.

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Another 3K words down. Some more worldbuilding here, nothing too interesting.

In other news, I’ve finished the next chapter of Through Victory, for those who read that. Expect it to drop sometime next week.