Primaris upgrade surgery

As the Thunderhawk Gunship landed in the Resolute's hangar.

Osen hurriedly lifted Hubern's body and rushed straight to the Medical Bay.

Although emergency treatment had already been administered at the scene, Hubern's injuries were too severe.

Even after slipping into near-death suspended animation, his vital signs continued to decline slowly.

Through the wound, his secondary heart could be seen beating with all its might.

But the countless fragments embedded in the wound prevented his body from healing itself.

As the Medical Bay doors opened, Osen immediately pulled out a set of cutting equipment.

The greatest obstacle to treating Hubern's wounds was the shattered Power Armour that remained attached to him.

As an Apothecary, Osen was not particularly skilled at mechanical repairs, but knowing every connection point on Power Armour was mandatory.

When necessary, they would use a Plasma Cutter to sever every connection and free the wounded from their Ceramite Power Armour.

More than sixty percent of the armour covering Hubern's torso had shattered, which made Osen's removal work considerably faster.

Amid the Plasma Cutter's hissing and wisps of bluish smoke, the breastplate was soon stripped from Hubern's body.

Although his legs and arms had suffered fractures, they were not life-threatening and could be treated later.

Once the armour was removed, the remaining work became rather complicated.

Using a large pair of specialized forceps, Hubern began removing the Ceramite fragments embedded in his flesh.

But as the first armour fragment was pulled free, a jet of blood spurted out.

Seeing that the blood had not clotted, Osen immediately examined it using the scanning magnifier built into his Power Armour's helmet.

Blood slowly flowed from the gap left by the removed fragment, showing no sign of clotting even after nearly twenty seconds.

"Damn it, his self-healing has already failed."

"My brother, all you can do now is pray for the God-Emperor's protection."

Osen worked anxiously to finish the task at hand.

While removing the many fragments, he also had a Servitor bring over a set of special sealed cases and summoned two neural Sages of the Adeptus Mechanicus, along with several Tech-Priests.

These sealed cases contained new products they had only received during their current period of rest and refitting.

As an Apothecary, Osen had even been sent for nearly a week of training to learn how to use them.

As the wounds were cleaned, more blood began welling up inside Hubern's chest cavity. Osen had no choice but to connect an autologous circulation pump to Hubern's blood vessels, drawing the accumulating blood out of his chest while continuously pumping it back into his veins.

To control the bleeding, he even used a high-temperature Plasma scalpel to cauterize every bleeding site.

An incongruous aroma of cooked meat drifted through the air.

To ease his nerves before the next stage, Osen even made a joke to the unconscious Hubern.

"Brother, you smell delicious right now."

As though he had sensed something, Hubern's unconscious face inexplicably twitched.

After confirming that Hubern's condition had stabilized, Osen left the operating table and approached the sealed cases the Servitor had just delivered.

Each case had its own scanner and could only be unlocked by appropriately authorized personnel.

Once the case's scanner had verified the identification system in his Power Armour, Osen reached out and lifted the automatically unlocked lid.

The case itself was not large, but its interior was divided into three tiers and equipped with biological preservation systems.

The contents of the three tiers were simple.

An oddly shaped fleshy growth, several bright-red pieces of unusual flesh that still twitched faintly, and a tiny cyst-like object.

"Though this isn't my first time seeing these three new organs, it will be my first time performing this surgery."

Osen looked at the contents of the case nervously.

Börn's injuries were too severe, and his modified organs were already overwhelmed by the strain of keeping him alive.

The chances of saving Hubern were exceedingly slim.

The only option Osen could attempt was Primaris upgrade surgery.

This was a new procedure, and training in it had only just become available during their current rest and refit.

The technology came from the Adeptus Mechanicus's Archmagos, Belisarius Cawl.

These modifications could grant the Astartes greater combat effectiveness and survivability, while improving their resistance to mental corruption from the Warp.

But the procedure also had an unavoidable and enormous drawback.

Primaris upgrade surgery had an extremely high mortality rate.

Except under special circumstances, performing Primaris upgrades on ordinary Astartes was generally forbidden.

But Hubern's condition clearly left them with no other choice.

And the two Sages of the Adeptus Mechanicus, along with the group of Tech-Priests waiting nearby, represented the most assistance Osen could muster.

Osen reached into the case and took out the fleshy growth. This was called the Belisarian Furnace, and implanting it could maximize the body's ability to heal itself.

Given the circumstances, this was the organ Hubern most urgently needed implanted.

While placing the new organ in tissue nutrient solution to activate it, Osen had the nearby Servitor remove the Power Armour still attached to Hubern's limbs.

Once the armour had been completely stripped away, the damage to his limbs became plain to see.

His left arm had two fractures, and his right leg had one.

Even his powerful muscles could not conceal the clearly displaced bones, though the Black Carapace and Power Armour had prevented them from piercing his body.

They had simply snapped under a tremendous impact.

Nearby, a Sage of the Adeptus Mechanicus carefully removed the newly activated organ and immediately implanted it in Hubern.

The Belisarian Furnace was implanted in his chest cavity, while the oddly shaped pieces of flesh were tissues known as sinew coils.

This organ could further enhance muscular strength, making an Astartes faster and stronger.

While Osen repaired the damage to Hubern's limbs, several Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus simultaneously finished implanting these pieces of flesh, the sinew coils.

The final cyst-like gland had to be implanted beneath the brain using a long insertion device resembling a laryngoscope.

This was the Magnificat. According to the documentation, the organ could increase mental resistance and further strengthen the will to fight.

Once all the new organs had been implanted, Osen carefully sutured every wound on Hubern's body.

Looking at his unconscious Battle-Brother before him, Osen prayed fervently for him.

"May His Majesty the God-Emperor's light guide you, my brother. You are one of the glorious Sons of Dorn. You have honored the God-Emperor's will and defeated the enemy."

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Osen seemed to sense a strange trace of energy flowing through Hubern's body.

Yet when he pulled off his helmet to look more closely, it seemed as though nothing had happened.

If the newly implanted organs functioned normally within seventy-two hours, Hubern would recover. If there was any rejection or abnormal organ function, Osen would have no choice but to extract his gene-seed.