Repentia is Alec Worley’s second Adepta Sororitas short story, after the impressive Whispers, this time exploring – as the title suggests – the Sisters Repentia, Battle Sisters whose sins have seen them cast out from their Orders and sworn to seek redemption in death. Two such nameless Sisters are all that remains of their squad, sent out to search for a priceless relic that might turn the tide of an ongoing campaign. Though their prize is at hand, the forces of Chaos stand between them and safety, and the God-Emperor has need of their lives yet.
Continuing his fine work from Whispers, Worley presents the Repentia as powerful, distinctive characters in a way that goes beyond their slightly daft surface depiction in the 40k background. The unnamed protagonist of this story is a fervent, intense zealot, screaming prayers as she fights and giggling with anticipation of the redemption she hopes to find in death, and whose threadbare sanity grants her phenomenal power. Worley throws her into a relentless, gruelling, fast-paced and action-packed narrative which should be preposterous but is in fact satisfyingly over the top and entirely appropriate. It’s not subtle, but it is insightful, and cuts to the heart of what makes the Sororitas such engaging characters.
