The laboratory fell silent.
Priest Alpha raised a tube of reagent.
A pale golden liquid rippled inside, gleaming captivatingly under the lights.
"Success, Advisor." Priest shouted excitedly. "A perfect Rejection Antibody Enzyme."
"It can't cure the Nurgle plague, but it can act like a firewall, deceiving the virus's recognition mechanisms."
"Once injected, our soldiers will be able to hold out longer in the plague fog, with fewer casualties."
Rovi nodded.
The deal was done.
A little chance at survival, bought with a life that was doomed to be lost.
It was an excellent asset swap.
He turned and looked at Mary, slumped on the floor.
Buck was trying to help her up.
But the woman seemed boneless, curled into a ball with vacant eyes.
"It's over." Rovi walked over, his tone calm. "I'm sorry for your loss, Ms. Mary. Your husband made an outstanding contribution to the Granary."
After a long while, Mary slowly raised a hand and wiped the tears from her face.
Her movements were sluggish, almost mechanical.
Then she wrapped both arms around her belly.
As though protecting the last spark of life in the whole world.
"I'll survive..."
She murmured to herself.
"I'll give birth to this child. No matter how hard life gets, no matter how much I have to suffer...I'll raise him."
"My husband wasn't a monster. He was a good man...He really was..."
Hope rekindled in her eyes.
It would sustain her, allowing her to survive in hell even after losing her husband.
As a manager, Rovi knew that the safest thing to do in this situation was to go along with her.
Find her a job.
Let her spend the rest of her life believing the lie.
But the books weren't balanced yet.
There was another deadly "hidden liability."
If it wasn't