Chương 61: Chapter Fifty-Three - Judgment

"That went well," Vena said as she reentered Clarice's chambers. She supposed that very soon this part of the ship might be repurposed for someone else. Even a temporary Lord Captain deserved a better position, or at least one closer to the main bridge. Maybe Clarice would take the Executive Officer's quarters? They'd be appropriately close to the Lord Captain's and it would be close enough to still use all of the amenities around those quarters. It would send the right message.

As for herself and the other Vanguard, it might not be too difficult to secure some space for the others. She suspected that Alexis would appreciate it, and Octavia would enjoy it. Vena... could use some quarters here as well, though she was aiming for some of the director's quarters in the medicae deck below. As it happened, a small section of the deck had just been cleared out, which was wonderfully fortuitous.

Sure, it was a little warp-tainted, but that only meant that few would complain if she chose to claim a part of it.

"For a certain definition of well," Clarice said. She was followed by Gabriel, her personal psyker, who moved off to one side and stood guard by the entrance with a blank expression.

"Oh?" Vena asked as she spun around.

"You have the capitancy of the ship, and the writ is just a few months away."

"The writ isn't mine," Clarice replied. She crossed her arms and stood a little taller. She struck an interesting figure standing that way, though the attempt to make herself larger was rather lost. Vena hummed.

"You are correct. It isn't yours. Though I'd argue that it may only be a matter of time. Win over the loyalty of the Mechanicus, the medicae, and the Sororitas, and then the Voidsmen and others of import on the vessel, and ripping the writ away from you would be impossible. All you need to do is captain with competency."

"Easier said than done," Clarice replied.

"But... I at least know the value of delegation. I'll be overseeing things, and praying to the Emperor that the next few weeks are not so eventful as the last few days."

"Emperor willing," Vena replied.

"Indeed. One thing remains uncertain, still," Clarice said.

"You. And I suppose your strange 'Vanguard' companions. What, exactly, does that mean? Who are you, really?" Vena hesitated.

"I suppose... take this at face value, but I have never once lied to you. I am Vena Venin, junior medicae. I have trained most of my life from birth to now to be a medicae in the service of the Caduceus family. My companions, likewise, are truly who they claim to be... some exaggerations aside. If you want more than that, then we'll have to have this conversation in private."

The small single-use privacy device she had purchased was still on the dining room table, and still functional, but Gabriel was also still here. Clarice hummed, then turned to her psyker and gestured to him. He bowed to her, nodded to Vena, then slipped out.

"And say I believe you," Clarice said in the tone of someone with little belief in them.

"How have you three risen so much? The Emperor blesses, but not like this."

"Not the Emperor, I'm afraid. But also not one of the Great Enemy. Someone anathema to them." Vena reached forward.

"Vyper, the projector, please?"

"Certainly." This was something they had spoken about previously. A small plan that hinged on Vyper not being shy, for a certain definition of the word. New Purchase: Handheld Holographic Projector New Point Total: 550 Clarice tensed as the projector appeared in her hand.

"What is that?"

"A hologram projector," Vena replied. She had seen a few of these during her lessons, usually they projected diagrams of organs or detailed scans of a patient's body.

"You're familiar with the concept?"

"I am." Clarice narrowed her eyes.

"Are you so good at sleight of hand for a reason?"

"You'll find that I'm not that dextrous," Vena replied.

"Vyper, if you could project The Broken Scale?" If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A diagram of the ship appeared above the projector. It was accurate, as far as Vena could tell. Maybe scarily so, with every gun, antenna, and relay visible. The level of fidelity on the scan was quite good.

"Impressive. What point are you trying to prove?"

"Vyper, zoom out, please, show us the area of local space we're in." The projection of The Broken Scale became smaller and smaller until it was no larger than a grain of rice. That was about when the second item in local space appeared. Vyper. The Protector hovered there, almost perfectly round, though there were clear imprints and small indents and what could have been ports along its, her, sides. Clarice had blanched already.

"What is that?"

"The item we struck in the warp," Vena said.

"Vyper."

"It's xeno." Vena nodded.

"It is. Fortunately, I have never subscribed too well to the idea that all things xeno are bad. Once you learn enough, you discover that many things are more complex than that. Plenty of our most common medications are derived from non-terrestrial biological compounds, and I suspect that several of our technologies are as well."

"This makes you no better than the heretics we just ordered the death of," Clarice said.

"First, avoid harm," Vena said as she straightened.

"It's my family's creed. I would like to think that given the choice between assistance from a benevolent force greater than we are, and an infestation from the warp, the choice is rather clear."

"That doesn't make it any less heretical," Clarice said.

"Maybe not. I suppose you'll just have to suffer with the knowledge that you're sheltering heretics. Fortunately, our goals seem to align on one thing; we want to help. Alexis cares deeply about people, in a way that would never let her rise. Octavia wants to feel the righteousness that comes from destroying what she perceived as evil. And I... I want to see a world where people suffer less." Clarice closed her eyes tightly for a long time. Vena gave it to her.

She nonetheless set the projector down on the table with a definitive click. The image started to rotate slightly, and it made the tiny form of the vessel they were in all the smaller.

"The Vyper you speak to on occasion is this thing?" Clarice asked.

"Yes. She can hear you," Vena replied. She had confirmed as much earlier.

"When we first met, she said 'I will aid humanity. Do not resist.' I think she intends to keep to that. It's her purpose."

"And if she doesn't? If she is like all other xenos who betray humanity?" Clarice asked.

"Then we're all fucked," Vena said lightly.

"I suspect that Vyper has guns which fire rounds the size of The Broken Scale. We will have a few seconds to pray for the Emperor's mercy before being vaporized. That is the 'Do not resist' part of the proposal, I suspect."

"Ah," Clarice said.

"Now that we've established that, what should our plans be moving forward?" Vena asked. She was going to put Clarice in the Lord Captain's seat, then ensure that she had the writ under her control. It was the easiest way to avoid scrutiny from the greater Imperium. Then, once that was done, Vena was going to start changing things. Clarice might not like it, but Vena didn't care. She wasn't attached to the woman. She was a useful pawn in a greater game.

Having her be a happy pawn would be optimal, but a good doctor didn't care if the patient didn't like the taste of the medicine as long as it kept them alive. She had access to a great bank of knowledge now. It had to be shared, disseminated, and used. It wasn't all selfless. She had always wanted to be one of those famous medicae who discovered something that was obvious in hindsight, or one of those who saved the masses.

She supposed that a little selfishness wasn't all bad when it may result in billions saved, even if those billions would maybe not appreciate it.