Chapter 37: A Month in Stasis
POV: Leon
*Burst!*
I charged through the reinforced medicae door like a Leman Russ battle tank through a PDF barricade, eyes scanning rapidly for Varn. After a moment of searching, I spotted him sitting near the window, resting quietly. Relief washed over me, but only for a heartbeat.
My breath caught in my throat as my eyes fell upon the stump of his missing left leg. Guilt struck me like a bolt shell to the chest. My hand gripped the wooden frame of the medicae bed with such force that the aged wood cracked under the pressure of my enhanced strength. The gnawing self-loathing began to bubble up again, thoughts swirling about how I failed to protect him.
But my spiral was abruptly interrupted by a dull thud on the side of my head. Normally, that might have hurt, but with the Emperor-blessed strength now coursing through my augmented frame, it felt like a tap from a servitor.
"Ow! Throne, what happened to you, you walking fortress? Why are you so sturdy all of a sudden?" Varn groaned, massaging his clearly bruised hand. He chuckled through the pain.
I didn't laugh.
My eyes were still fixed on the spot where his leg should have been. I didn't even try to hide the anguish in my expression. Seeing my silence, Varn sighed and leaned back into the bed.
"Leon, stop that. You don't need to worry about me," he said with surprising lightness. "I'm fine now. Better than fine, actually. I'm alive. So don't beat yourself up over it."
"Then explain your leg. It's gone because I couldn't protect you better," I muttered, the words tasting like ash.
He sighed again, this time with a mix of annoyance and appreciation.
"I said I'm fine, you big oaf. Besides, Goss whipped up a prosthetic leg while you were out cold. Come look."
He reached beside the bed and pulled out a truly unorthodox-looking prosthetic limb. Its sleek ceramite plating was clearly cobbled together with salvaged Mechanicus parts. It had menacing spikes jutting from the shin, what looked like a miniature chainblade at the thigh, and the toes were equipped with servo-jaws. A tech-priest would either faint or fall in love with the design.
I stared at it in stunned silence.
Varn laughed at my expression. "Yeah, I know. Classic Goss."
He began strapping it on, adjusting the magnetic clamps and stabilizer cables, then glanced back at me.
"Anyway, how long have you been awake? Last thing I heard, you were out for a month."
I blinked. My brain stalled.
"WHAT?!"
My voice echoed across the medicae wing like a Vox-amplified announcement.
He laughed again. "Yup. You've been sleeping like a stasis-frozen Dreadnought."
He threw on a dark green guard-issue shirt and matching pants that had definitely seen combat. Patting my shoulder, he grinned.
"Well, since you clearly haven't had time to look around the base, how about I take you on a tour? You've missed quite a bit."
I followed him out, steps syncing with his surprisingly smooth stride despite the new prosthetic. As we passed through the reinforced doors, Merah was still at the front desk, deeply immersed in her dataslates. She looked up and smirked.
"Morning, Varn. I take it Leon finally woke you up?"
Varn exhaled heavily and nodded. Merah chuckled.
"Hah! Of course he did. I was going to tell him you were fine, but the moment I mentioned your room number, he vanished like an Eldar on a stealth mission."
I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was striking down the daemon—Pete—and praying Varn had survived the carnage.
"Nah, it's okay," Varn said with a casual wave. "I'm grateful for his worry. He wouldn't be Leon if he didn't carry the weight of the Imperium on his shoulders."
Merah smirked and made shooing gestures. "Alright, alright, enough dramatics. Go give him a tour. I'm swamped here trying to make sense of these medicae reports and resupply requests. Shoo!"
She practically chased us out with her stylus.
As we exited into the morning light, I took note of how much busier Aunty Cass's medicae facility had become. Orderlies hustled around. Civilians wandered in and out. Dataslates and vox-chatter buzzed everywhere. It wasn't like this before.
'Aunty Cass's hospital wasn't always this active. What's been happening while I was in stasis?'
I didn't get long to think before Varn, still walking ahead of me, spoke up without turning back.
"Leon. Don't interfere. I know what you're thinking. All I ask is that you trust us. We finally have a chance to do some real good here. So please—let us."
His voice was steady. His back, once weighed down with guilt over Mr. Jacobs and me, now seemed to stand tall with purpose. With hope.
I smiled softly.
"Okay. I trust you guys. I always have."
Varn finally turned and grinned. "Well then, what are you waiting for? Come on. Let me show you everything you missed while you were taking your Emperor-damned beauty nap."
I chuckled and picked up my pace, falling into step beside him as we marched forward into the changed world I had yet to understand.