Chương 31: Chapter Twenty-Seven - Ordinator

Alexis slipped out of the room without anyone even trying to stop her, which was nice. She was clutching onto something in one hand, Alma-9's final gift, and in a way, a gift from the High Transmechanic as well. It was a micro data-codex. Essentially, a smaller dataslate, without many of the usual interface features, but with the normal set of connectors on its side. It could hold a small amount of information in its banks, and this one only held one thing, she had checked. It was a letter of recommendation.

A little... rough, for a letter, but still. To whom it may concern, Tech Acolyte Alexis Lambda-3 is undisciplined, insubordinate, excessively familiar with servitor constructs, ignorant of proper decorum, and possessed of an apparently limitless capacity to interfere in matters beyond her station. She is also courageous, resourceful, technically competent, and, to my continued irritation, exceptionally effective. Praise the Omnissiah, I recommend her.

High Transmechanic Dracovos Alexis giggled to herself as soon as she was out of hearing range of the entrance to the Communications Array. That was high praise indeed! Well, maybe not the first part? She considered editing the file a little, but that would leave a mark. Besides, he wasn't technically incorrect, and technical correctness was often considered the holiest form of correctness, second only to being right after someone else made a fatal mistake that you warned them about.

Alexis' mood only got better when she ran into her other servitor friends and discovered that they were still alive. It was a great comfort, even if she could tell at a glance that CS-3-2/11 had a few splatters of blood on her chassis that hadn't been there before. Alexis had two hundred and eighty-something points, which wasn't far from the most points she'd ever had. She was tempted to start using them, but... she was also rather sleepy, and worried that today's massive windfall was going to be a one-off event.

If things went well, and she wanted them to, the genestealers and mutants infesting the lower decks of The Broken Scale would be dead soon enough, and so would her ready source of free points. So, she needed to be a little conservative about her spending from here on out. That, and the ideas she had for her friends felt like they might be expensive. Getting KYS to where she was now wasn't cheap. It was probably worth it to have a medicae stalker, but still, expensive!

Her dreams of a full killclade, with a half-dozen diverse servitor friends all armed and equipped with exotic weapons and tools was a little ways off. She yawned.

"Ahh, Machine Spirit Vyper?"

"Yes, Alexis Lambda-3?"

"So... do you have anything like recaff?"

"I do. There are energizing drinks available in the general Tier Zero catalogue, the one that all Vanguard have free access to. They aren't exactly combat stimulants, but they will keep you awake with few negative side effects and are only mildly addictive. Fortunately, not in a chemical way."

"I think I'd like something like that," she admitted. New Purchase: Hyper-Caffeinated Energy Drink Points Reduced to: 281 What Alexis received was a strange metallic tube, with a tab on one end. It was covered in what she mistook for mechadendrites at first, but on further inspection, the images around the can were of mechanical snakes. She figured out how to open it eventually, popping the tab which made a strong, fizzy noise and which surprised her a bit. She sniffed it, then shrugged and took a sip.

It was quite tasty, if a little sweet, but with an after-taste not too dissimilar to recaff. Then the drink hit her, and she tried to suppress the full-body shiver that ran through her like a jolt of motive force.

"Oh, that has... a kick to it." She couldn't say that it didn't work, however. Her body was buzzing a little, and it was only when she reached the end of the can that she realized that she had downed it all already. She shook her head and then regretfully placed the can away in her tool bag. She had been planning on taking a small break. She needed it.

Sure, there were times in the Servitorium where breaks were forbidden to her, and she had done sixteen hour shifts back to back before, but her flesh always betrayed her in the end. Today somehow felt more tiring than that, and yet not? She was energized, and it wasn't just the drink. She was making progress, in a way that hadn't been possible just a day ago. Sure, things overall were worse now than they had been for a long time, but her position, as risky as it was, was much improved.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Alexis owed a lot to the voice in her head, the ancient machine spirit whose origins she was afraid to ask about. She had to stuff those thoughts away soon enough when they made it to one of the spaces leading up to one of the main thoroughfares. When she arrived there, it wasn't hard to requisition some space onboard one of the buses heading back and forth through the ship's main arteries.

That meant being squeezed in next to some voidsmen and enforcers, but having her servitors there did afford her some amount of space. Alexis didn't like public transportation much, but it was fine, it got her where she needed to be. The bus stopped and she got off, helping 054-648 down the last steps. The space was filled with troopers and some support staff milling about. They made space for her, especially with KYS stalking ahead and acting as a breakwater of sorts.

It wasn't long that she was two floors down and in a larger room, one that looked like a wide, open cathedral, with massive pillars rising through the room covered in statues of the God Emperor, and space for rows of seating. Those seats were stacked up to one side, making room for soldiers and command staff and field medicae tents. Alexis was struck by the awkward feeling of someone who was somewhere very busy and who didn't belong. She rubbed her hands together and hunched over a little as she scanned the room.

There was command staff to one side, a few men in uniforms covered in medals arguing next to vox operators and waving papers about. Further to one side was an actual group of Sisters of Battle. They had their heads bowed and were praying at the small altar at the end of the room, though some of them were standing off to the side, speaking to themselves in low, hushed tones.

She knew that they were onboard, because the only thing faster than a ship in the warp was the gossip on said ship, but she hadn't expected to actually see them at all. Then she noticed a small contingent of the Adeptus Mechanicus working together at the far end of the room. In their midst was a man who, despite being shorter than some of the others, radiated a sense of power. She swallowed, then scurried across the room, apologizing as she bumped into a few people on the way.

It wasn't long that she was standing before the tech priests and making the sign of the cog. The man in charge looked up to her, which was a strange experience. She was used to the leadership being tall, but Ordinator Velpexa Thame was only as tall as her nose. Still, his coat (which was the kind of open-fronted longcoat usually worn by the skitarii, though covered by a row of medals and armoured plates) enveloped a body that was more machine than flesh. He glanced at her, then pointed to the side.

"Combat servitors, NW section of the room."

"Ah, sir, I was... I'm here to assist in the battle," Alexis said. The man stared at her for a moment longer. He had his flesh eyes, still, but there was a complex auspex jutting out of the side of his head which quickly scanned her up and down.

"Explain. Rapidly." She swallowed, then in lieu of explaining, extended the micro data-codex given to her by Alma-9. The Ordinator took it, then passed it on to a tall, thin tech priest standing by his side who inserted the micro data-codex into a cogitator built into his chest. A moment later they nodded and returned it to the Ordinator who scanned it himself.

"What am I to do about this?" he asked. Alexis bowed, hands clasped before her.

"I'm just here to help, sir! I, uh, am pretty good at fighting mutants." He paused for a moment more, then looked over the others. She thought that he had simply dismissed her when he started to bark orders in screechy binharic, accompanied by some rapid gestures and harsh pointing. Then his full attention returned to her.

"You are not part of the militarist faction," he said.

"I'm... not," Alexis said.

"That was a statement of fact. I am the leader of that faction on this vessel. I would know. Who are you, therefore, to expect combat as your due?" She swallowed.

"I'm just someone who wants to help?" He scoffed.

"Very well. You may blunt the damages we will take. Omnissiah willing, the munitions spent on you will not be used on the holy machines in this vessel."

"Thank you, sir!" she said.

"Um, who do I report to?"

"Me," he said.

"I do not have subordinates who have seen true war or extensive ship-boarding procedures. I will coordinate." He stared at her.

"You are now mine. Survive and I may find a better use for you, Tech Acolyte Alexis Lambda-3."

"Ah, yes, sir!" She wasn't sure if this was a mistake or not.