"Chapter Master!"
It was the first sound the taciturn warriors had cried out. Several veterans frantically dug Colvin out of his disintegrating battleplate.
Colvin was in bad shape. His face had grown even paler, while his hair had turned so unnervingly black that even under the light, it showed no visible sheen.
"Where's the Apothecary?!" a veteran shouted, his voice hoarse like a raven crying blood.
An Apothecary in full white armor, with the Raven Guard emblem painted on his shoulder, rushed over. The medical apparatus mounted on his power pack activated behind him.
Drills capable of piercing ceramite and laser scalpels meant for cutting flesh extended outward. The lenses mounted on the Apothecary's helmet rapidly analyzed Colvin's condition.
"There are many shadowed regions in the Chapter Master's body. Warp contamination. My recommendation is to extract the gene-seed while it remains pure."
The Apothecary gave his solution, and the veterans instinctively refused to accept it. Yet they could also see the corruptive mutations on Colvin's body, like blackstone.
"The Chief Apothecary once said: if he can still fight, treat his wounds. If he is grievously wounded beyond recovery, ease his suffering. If he has already fallen, reclaim from his body that which belongs to the Chapter. When a fallen Space Marine's gene-seed returns to the Chapter, it means he has not truly died. If there is no death, then pain loses its meaning."
"..." The Raven Guard veterans fell silent. They moved away from Colvin, leaving the Apothecary sufficient room to operate.
Next, the Apothecary would grant Chapter Master Colvin "The Emperor's Peace"—a spring-loaded metal piston device that could precisely penetrate a Space Marine's brain, bringing instant death and freeing the warrior from suffering.
"May our souls return to the Throne." The Apothecary was ready. His peace device was aimed