Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 430 The Insecure Nun

The vehicle slowly drove through the city's wide streets, and the towering buildings outside the window twinkled with lights in the twilight.

Although the planet where Langdon Abbey is located does not have a massive hive city like other worlds of the Empire, its urban scale is still astonishing—huge metal buildings rise from the ground, and spaceships constantly take off and land in the bustling spaceport, transporting supplies from all over the galaxy to this planet.

Xi Dejia gently pressed his forehead against the cold car window, gazing at the flowing street scene outside.

This wasn't her first time in the city, but every time she stepped into this concrete jungle, she felt an indescribable sense of alienation.

As an untouchable, the void energy field emanating from her body poses a deadly threat to ordinary people, making it impossible for her to live a normal life in the city.

Only after years of rigorous training at the monastery and fully mastering the skills of controlling force fields was she allowed to briefly enter the city once a month for shopping.

However, even if she could control the force field, poverty remained another insurmountable obstacle in her path.

The meager allowances of the Silent Sisters were only enough to buy the most basic necessities, which meant that every time she went to the city, she could only stay in the outskirts of the market. Those simple shops selling cheap food and daily necessities were her entire understanding of the city.

The brightly lit towers and lavishly decorated commercial districts in the city center were always out of reach for her.

But everything is different today.

Vincent drove through the familiar market and continued deeper into the city.

Xi Dejia nervously gripped the fabric on her knees, watching the scenery outside the window gradually become unfamiliar and bustling.

When the vehicle finally stopped in front of a magnificent palace complex, she almost forgot to breathe.

Vincent handed the vehicle over to the officials who came to greet him and gestured for Sidja to follow him.

They passed through the heavily guarded courtyard and arrived at a flat helipad.

There, a shuttle was quietly waiting for them.

Vincent didn't exchange any pleasantries; he simply gestured for Sidgar to fasten his seatbelt and put his luggage into the storage compartment.

Once everything was ready, the shuttle's engine roared, carrying them through the atmosphere and soaring into the vast starry sky.

The shuttle quickly burst out of the planet's atmosphere, and the dark cosmic curtain unfolded outside the porthole, with starlight shimmering like shattered diamonds.

Sidja held his breath, watching the steel behemoth gradually enlarge in front of him—a void ship was silently hovering in orbit, its massive outline gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster under the starlight.

This was her first time leaving the planet's surface and her first time witnessing the majestic form of the Voidship.

In her mind, Langdon Abbey was already a behemoth, but the warship in front of her gave her a breathtaking shock—it was like a steel mountain floating in the void, with turrets, sensor arrays and thruster nozzles covering its massive hull, and countless lights shining like stars on the hull.

"Is this the power of the Empire?" Sidgar stood in the enormous hangar that could hold the entire monastery, gazing at the boundless universe through the wide observation windows, his heart filled with an indescribable awe.

The busy ground crew in the hangar, the neatly arranged aircraft, and the tech priests of the Mechanicus moving back and forth all reminded her that she was standing at the corner of the vast military power of the human empire.

Vincent seemed to sense her shock, and a slight smile appeared on his lips as he explained, "This is just a 'Sword-class' high-speed frigate, the smallest type of warship currently in service with the Imperial Navy. However, it is fast and highly maneuverable, so the Governor specifically sent it to pick up the nuns of the Demon Hunter Order."

“Are there any other sisters?” Xi Dejia asked silently in sign language.

Vincent nodded in response: "There are four Demon Hunter Orders that responded to the Governor's call, and your Landon Abbey is the second. We still have to go to two other places to pick up people."

After saying that, he gestured for Xi Dejia to follow, and led her into a spacious elevator.

With a hum of machinery, the elevator rose smoothly, taking them to the upper deck of the frigate.

The elevator came to a smooth stop on the upper deck, and as the hatch slid open, a bright and clear view opened up before Xi Dejia.

In stark contrast to the industrial style of the lower decks with their roaring machinery and exposed pipes, the corridors here are covered with deep red non-slip carpets, the walls are inlaid with brass decorative strips, and at intervals hang the imperial double-headed eagle emblem and the fleet's honor flags.

The soft lighting from the ceiling lamps cast a warm, pale golden glow, making the entire area appear dignified and elegant.

Vincent led her through several corridors, finally stopping in front of a hatch engraved with the imperial coat of arms.

As identity verification was completed, the hatch slid open silently, and Sidja couldn't help but widen her eyes—before her lay a suite comparable in size to the main chapel of Langdon Abbey.

The entrance leads to a reception room furnished with leather-upholstered sofas and a low table inlaid with mother-of-pearl, while oil paintings depicting the empire's glorious battles hang on the walls.

Further inside is a spacious bedroom with clean white linen sheets on the bed and fresh flowers on the bedside table.

In the separate bathroom, the gilded faucets and marble-inlaid bathtub gleam under the lights.

Siddeja stood awkwardly in the doorway, her rough nun's robes a stark contrast to the luxurious surroundings.

She instinctively gripped the hem of her dress; this treatment far exceeded her expectations—in the monastery, even clean hot water was only available for a limited time.

Vincent seemed to sense her unease and said gently, “This is just standard procedure for important guests in the Empire, and you are perfectly entitled to it. Please get some rest; there is a long voyage ahead.”

As he spoke, he handed her a data panel that shimmered faintly: "If you need anything, you can use this to write down your request. Although the crew doesn't understand sign language, they can all read."

Xi Dejia gratefully accepted the data pad and lightly touched the screen with his fingertips to test it.

The decision by the old nuns in the convent to insist on teaching her to read and write High Gothic seemed so wise at this moment.

Only after the hatch closed gently and Vincent's footsteps faded into the distance did Sidgar breathe a long sigh of relief.

She stood up carefully, awkwardly wiping her hands on her rough nun's robe, afraid that her palms would soil the gleaming furniture surfaces.

She carefully placed her badly worn suitcase on the luggage rack in the corner of the room—a package that would have seemed large in the monastery now appeared so small and shabby in this spacious room.

(End of this chapter)