Responsibility
This story, part of the community effort on the Emperor's Nightmare chapter, shows a Nightmare Apothecary caring for the members of the Sleepless between battles.
- Apothecary Balstor's form moved quietly down the halls of the battle barge. He passed through passageway upon passageway, barely registering the bulkhead sliding past as his feet guided him to his destination. His mind was elsewhere, occupied with reports and charts, linear progressions which caused his brow to furrow in worry.
- Coming to a hatchway, he stopped for the first time in his journey and recognized the signs in front of him. The door, painted in the honored colors of the chapter, also bore dire warnings of what it contained. Even among his battle-brothers, few others held or wished for the authority to enter this section of the ship. Yet Balstor knew that the Sleepless it contained were his responsibility, and that they deserved the best care he could offer them. Stepping forward to press his gauntleted arm against the sensor plate, the door registered his armor and opened with a smooth hiss. Beyond the hatchway stretched a long, tall vault, a pedestal before him glowing with runes cataloging the status of its contents. The hatch slid shut as soon as he stepped inside, and the apothecary stopped for a moment to take in the great chamber.
- Here there was not the same silence as outside, where all that could be felt was the low thrum of the ship passing through the immaterium. This voyage had gone smoothly, as the chapter's voyages tended to, and many of the brothers had taken this welcome respite to rest. Balstor approved. Far too many of the brothers fell to his charge as it was. In here he could hear them... held behind heavy doors and locks, the Sleepless awaited their next task. Some more patiently than others.
- Near to the entrance was the Hall of Repose, a side chamber filled with cots for those who could still be subdued. Their rest was fitfull and shallow and they did not dream, but Balstor was glad for whatever respite he could give them. He checked on the levels of their sedatives, and for a select few, their restraints as well. Satisfied, Balstor marked in the great logbook the statuses and conditions of the brothers. Putting the stylus down, he moved to the next task.
- Beyond the Hall of Repose the Vault of the Sleepless began in earnest, hatchways extending down the corridor as well as stacked above one another, reaching the ceiling high above. The lowest chambers were reserved for those Sleepless who still retained their sanity, though for their own good as well as the chapter's needed to be segregated from the rest of the brothers. They had not been so long without rest that they could not be reasoned with. Yet within the eyes of each burned the knowledge of their fate, as the strain of endless waking took its toll on their mind. They were allowed to interact with each other for the most part, but their conversations were brief and shallow. Most preferred to pass hours gazing out the broad viewports into the passing void. Others tended to their armor, administering with utmost precision paints and lubricants. The apothecary looked carefully over the records of each, and questioned a few as to their state. All answered honestly, and succinctly. None of the answers were unexpected. Balstor left them to their vigil.
- Above them were ensconsed the brothers who no longer accepted their fate with such calm. From this level more noise emanated, as ceramite gauntlets battered on bulkheads, seeking release from the prisons of their minds. Their roars of torment were muffled by the shielded hatches, but Balstor knew their pleas by heart. These brothers were no longer allowed their weapons, for fear of what they may see fit in their madness to use them for. Taking a lift platform up, he checked the screens mounted to each hatchway, detailing the activities and vital signs of its inhabitants. In the past the apothecary would gone in to the chambers and attempt to distract the anguished marines, but he knew all too well that his sympathetic counsel could do nothing to relieve them, and today could not find the strength to try. May the Emperor have mercy on him.
- Rising again, the lift platform passed a tall, blank face of bulkhead, specially engineered to contain not a single rivet that could used as a handhold. The third and topmost level was kept isolated as high above the floor of the chamber as possible. Every precaution needed be taken, though the Emperor knew that even that had not always been sufficient. Rising finally to the level of the highest chambers. There were only four hatches here, each placed as far away from each other as possible. Two of them held nothing for the time being, praise the Emperor. But the other two...
- No sound emanated from the heavily shielded chambers. Their inhabitants saw no point in making needless commotion. The apothecary checked his equipment out of deeply-engrained habit, ensuring that his Narthecium was fully functional and loaded with the most powerful tranquilizers known to the chapter. He knew better than to stray into the cells which housed these two powerful warriors. Yet even with the powerful wards which restrained them, safety was not always assured. And so Balstor must be prepared to face what every brother of the chapter feared- one of their own, crazed beyond recognition in fanatical service to the Emperor. Here there were no readings to check on the inhabitants of the cells. Their condition was not in question. Instead the apothecary could only check and recheck the wardings and locks which imprisoned them.
- On this day there were no anomalies. Balstor felt a wave of relief pass through him as he completed the inspections, and muttered the Emperor's Benediction in thanks. Though these battle brothers were tormented souls, helpless in the face of their chapter's curse, the apothecary could not help but pray that they would see battle again soon, that they may have a chance to go to their final rest at the Emperor's side. Such was the only respite that awaited them. As he returned the lift to the deck and exited the Vault, Balstor reflected that such was the only true respite for them all.