Part of Danie Ware’s excellent series of Adepta Sororitas tales, short story Sacrifice sees Sister Augusta and her squad in dire straits when their shuttle is shot down over a toxic chem-planet. Cut off from Imperial forces in inhospitable terrain, the Sisters need to defend their position until they can be safely extracted, but they’re pinned down and vulnerable with an unarmoured Sister Hospitaller and an injured pilot in their midst. As enemies close in all around, Augusta and her Sisters look to their faith to not just protect them, but also guide them to survival.
Taking place chronologically before the events of Mercy and the Augusta novellas, this is both an action-packed set piece and another interesting examination of how Augusta responds to being tested. It’s short and sweet, concentrating on what Ware does so well – intense, precise squad-level action backed up by evocative depictions of how the Sisters’ faith manifests. It’s a quintessentially dark 40k story highlighting the brutal realities of life in the Imperium, and adding another layer of detail onto the character of Sister Augusta. If you enjoy a bit of Adepta Sororitas fiction, and especially if you’ve been following this series from the beginning, it’s worth checking out this bleak, brutal short story.
Sacrifice is available as a standalone e-short or in the Black Library Events Anthology 2019/20 – click here for the chance to win a copy of this exclusive anthology.
See also: my interview with Danie Ware talking Sisters of Battle and Women in 40k
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Is there a suggested reading order for this series?
Danie has a reading order on her website! http://danieware.com/warhammer-40k-fiction/