Daughter of the Merciful Emperor

The colony of San Leor was relatively new when the Emperor first arrived here. When he left for Terra, its total population had not yet reached 10,000 and was composed mainly of farmers and fishermen under no centralized government. Interstellar merchants rarely visited since the amount of food they produced was just a little over their own needs. But however isolated the system was, this did not spare it from the threat of alien invasion.

With the battle for supremacy on Terra well underway, another battle was being fought in the heart of San Leor. Three years earlier, a small spacecraft had crash-landed undetected in the mountainous region near the colony. Within this vessel were aliens from a distant galaxy that would be known as Genestealers. A few months after their arrival, colonists began to mysteriously disappear in San Leor. Concerned citizens began organizing militia groups to defend themselves from their unknown abductors. One of these groups was led by Tomas Dominica, the man befriended by the Emperor when he first arrived on San Leor. Although he was a simple farmer, Tomas was a man of keen insight and well versed in martial skills. He had instilled upon his children the values of knowledge and self-discipline. But he was also well known among his peers as a tough but spiritual man. 

A deep sense of forboding told him that this was more than just a mere case of vanshing people. Tomas soon organized patrols to find out more about these mysterious disappearances. On one of these patrols, he was accompanied by his youngest daughter, Angelica, a rash but exceptionally gifted young woman. Unlike her older siblings, she never got used to doing the everyday chores and would always daydream of a life of adventure. Whenever she was scolded by her mother because of her carefree ways, her father admired her resoluteness. But Tomas also tempered his daughter's stubborness with a firm yet gentle hand. He and his wife knew from the first moment they saw her that Angelica was destined for greatness.

Their group travelled near the mountainous region where the disappearances were first reported. They had already spent hours exploring the area without finding any clues. Just as they were about to leave for home, Tomas' group spotted a small tunnel entrance partly hidden by a huge boulder. Feeling that this could be the hideout of the mysterious abductors, They decided to set camp not far from the entrance and have lookouts observe the tunnel entrance while the rest of them slept. They were all fast asleep when Angelica was awoken by a voice that told her that her companions were in grave danger. She quickly rose from her slumber and alerted her father. The rest of the militia was awaken by the terrified cries of the lookouts near the tunnel entrance and they all rushed to their aid. The sight that awaited them was horrifying. They arrived just in time to see their helpless comrades get slaughtered by a pair of huge four-armed monsters with razor-sharp teeth and claws. Gripped by terror, the other members of the miltia began to run for their lives. Knowing that none of them would survive if they all ran, Tomas ordered his daughter to escape to tell others what they saw while he would try to hold off these monsters for as long as he could. Angelica refused to leave, saying that she would not leave him alone to these beasts. 

Having no time to argue with her, he charged the startled genestealers with guns blazing. Although none of them penetrated the creatures' thick armor, one of Tomas' shots struck one of the monsters in the eye stunning it. The other stealer responded to the attack the with blinding speed and was about to decapitate Tomas with its claw when his daughter leapt between it and her father using her sword to block the lethal blow. Her swing caught the flesh between its armored limbs, severing its huge claw, but the other claw was able to strike Tomas, wounding him severely. Seeing her father down, Angelica cried out to him as she felt a mysterious force guide her hands as she raced to attack the creature again. This time, the blow struck the stealer's neck almost severing its head from its body and left the mortally wounded creature lie twitching upon the ground. She then went beside her ailing father to see if that he was all right, forgetting all about the other monster that had now fully recovered its senses. Tomas saw the monster as it approached behind his daughter and with no time to warn her, he pushed her aside before the stealer could do her any harm. But unfortunately for him, Tomas was unable to move himself away in time and the claw struck him instead. Turning around, Angelica was momentarily struck dumb by the sight of her father lying in a pool of his own blood. When thoughts of fear and anger threatened to overwhelm her, a mysterious voice spoke to her once more. It was a calm and soothing voice that told her that she must survive so that his sacrifice would not be in vain. 

Tightly gripping her sword with both hands, she surprised herself by calmly standing before the genestealer as it turned around to face her. That moment seemed like an eternity as both adversaries looked at one another, carefully studying each other trying to find a weakness. Then almost without warning, the huge purestrain genestealer charged at her. But just as its claws were about to come close, Angelica swung her sword into the ground, hurling a thick cloud of dirt and rocks at the rushing stealer.  With the creature momentarily blinded, she leapt high into the air as the momentum of the rampaging genestealer brought it beneath her. Silently praying to the mysterious voice for guidance, she brought all her weight to bear upon the tip of her sword as she landed on the monster's head. The sword penetrated the creature's armored skull, slicing through its brain and uppermost verterbrae, killing it instantly.

Badly shaken but triumphant, she returned to her father's side, hoping that he would still be alive. With tears of joy, she saw him open his eyes once more but her happiness was short-lived when Tomas smiled at her for the last time before closing his eyes forever. She sat there sobbing for a long time when the mysterious voice spoke to her once more. She asked him who he was and why did he help her. The voice told her that he was her guardian and that it was her father's wish that she continue his work. When asked how he knew all of this, the voice simply said that she must trust him. Angelica then remembered her father's words, "To trust others, you must first trust yourself." As she thought about it for a while, she felt something familiar about the voice, it was as if her own father were speaking to her, yet it was not his voice. Before she could thank her mysterious guardian, members of another militia patrol led by one of her brothers came upon the scene. They all tried to comfort her as they brought her and her father's body back to the colony. 

A few days later, her family was approached by the members of the militia group that had deserted her and her father and begged for her forgiveness. Her brothers and sisters told the worthless cowards to leave but she surprised them all when she told them that all was forgiven as her father had willingly sacrificed himself for their own sake. They asked her how she was able to defeat the monsters and she told them about the mysterious voice that had guided her hand in battle. Shamed by their actions and believing that some divine providence was with her, they asked her to lead them against the horrible creatures. She hesistated to answer for a moment but could not refuse when she remembered the voice saying that it was her father's wish that she continue his work.

Soon other colonists heard about her story as they joined her to purge the mountains of these alien monsters. They returned to the small tunnel where they first encounted the creatures. Knowing that her people would be slaughtered if they went into the tunnels, she had the tunnels filled with a highly flammable gas and set it alight. A huge ball of fire surged throughout the innermost tunnels, burning the genestealers that hid within. Those that survived the flame were crushed by the rocks as the tunnels collapsed from the force of the explosion. They proceeded to purge the rest of the caves and tunnels that the creatures were hiding in and soon the mysterious disappearances stopped.

Life would never be the same in San Leor. Although the militias had disbanded, the colonists remained vigilant to respond to future threats. With the help of the entire community, Angelica established an orphanage for the children of the victims of the alien invaders and a day care center that taught the colonists children while they labored during the day. Her wisdom and courage inspired many of her pupils while others admired her for her kindness and generosity. Whenever the colony was threatened by known or unknown forces, the people would rally behind Angelica and they would emerge victorious. As time passed, her life story soon became a legend among the people. 

When missionaries of the Imperium arrived after the rediscovery of San Leor, it was not long before the whole colony worshipped the almighty Emperor of mankind. A short time later, a small group of female militants was formed who had pledged to serve the Emperor in their own unique way by following the example of Angelica Dominica. They called themselves the Daughters of the Merciful Emperor.