Alexei sat in the orbital command post, frowning as he reviewed two sets of reports. With the assistance of the adjutant, the preliminary screening of the plague-infected had been completed within three days. The number of infected among the Cadians was significantly lower than among the Doppler locals.
"Is it because Cadians have a higher inherent resistance to the Warp?" He was puzzled. Why was the gap so large? There had to be another reason.
All infected individuals had been isolated. Without intervention, it took as little as one day—and at most three—for a victim to progress from initial symptoms to death and reanimation as a plague zombie. The transition from coughing and fever to coughing up blood and skin ulceration was incredibly rapid. The source was now confirmed to be microscopic parasites hidden in the water and air.
Residents living closer to the inner river developed symptoms earliest. The virus had a one-week incubation period, and the number of infected was still climbing. Currently, the only cure was for Alexei to go around personally with Medics to treat victims one by one, but that efficiency was far too low. He needed a new method.
As Alexei pondered, the sound of mechanical gears whirring pulled his attention back. Cawl's massive frame stood before him. "I have discovered a fascinating phenomenon!"
Alexei blinked at the somewhat excited Cawl. "What is it?"
"That purple, viscous substance—it absorbs those damned Warp parasites." Cawl pointed toward the riverbed.
Purple viscous substance? Creep? Alexei's eyes lit up. That made perfect sense. On the Cadian side of the river, the Creep had not been entirely cleared away following Alexei's instructions. Only the Doppler III side had been thoroughly scrubbed clean by the local residents.
"Wait!" Alexei stood up abruptly. Creep was produced by Queens, and Queens could also spray a "Transfusion" fluid that healed Zerg. Wait, what if that could heal this plague? He just wasn't sure if a human body could handle the strain.
Thinking of this, he immediately used the Hive Mind's psionic network to summon Abathur to Doppler III. Then, he grabbed a glass container, preparing to collect a blood sample from one of the infected.
"What are you doing?" Cawl asked curiously as Alexei walked out of the command post.
"I have an idea I want to verify. Follow me," Alexei said without looking back.
Once Alexei had secured a small box of blood samples and led Cawl to a Medivac, Cawl asked, "Where are we going?"
"To see Abathur. I might have found a way to solve the plague. Are you coming?" Alexei turned and asked as he boarded the transport.
"...Very well." After a moment of silence, Cawl followed him.
After a short flight, the transport exited the atmosphere. The massive silhouette of a Leviathan appeared in their field of vision. "Dread take me... don't tell me you can control this thing as well?!" Cawl's voice carried a hint of disbelief. In his view, those organisms were at most ground forces active on Aiur; he hadn't expected a biological capital ship.
"Of course. I am capable of many things," Alexei shrugged.
"Then I must truly investigate exactly what you are."
"I'd like to know that myself, but let's set that question aside for now."
As the Medivac docked inside the Leviathan, Cawl and Alexei began walking across the soft "ground." "Gods, I truly despise this feeling. My multi-pedal locomotion servos are telling me they are extremely uncomfortable," Cawl complained. However, he continued to observe his surroundings incessantly; this was his first time inspecting such a massive biological warship up close—rare data indeed.
Alexei didn't speak, leading Cawl to the center of the Leviathan's ventral cavity. A vast number of Zerg were gestating here, with dense clusters of Larvae crawling about and several massive Hatchery pools bubbling continuously.
"How eerie. Is the Swarm always this disgusting?" Cawl looked at the Zerg with some distaste, using his Omnissian Axe to flick away Larvae that blocked his path.
Alexei ignored him and found Abathur, who was busy with something in front of a pool, and quickly approached.
"Abathur!" Alexei called out. As the massive creature turned around, he said, "Summon a Queen. Have her spray some Transfusion mucus to see if it can deactivate the Warp parasites in this blood."
Abathur let out a chittering response, and a Queen scuttled toward them on its many-jointed limbs. "Honestly, it looks a bit like you," Alexei teased Cawl.
Cawl remained silent, staring down at Alexei.
"Fine, I was just joking." Seeing no reaction, Alexei waved it off and turned back.
The Queen approached the box of blood samples and spat a glob of green Transfusion mucus onto it. Under the watchful eyes of Alexei and Cawl, the Warp parasites in the blood actually lost their vitality and became inert.
"By the Omnissiah, it actually works?" Cawl buzzed, as his servo-skulls began analyzing the chemical composition of the mucus.
Alexei, however, frowned. He remembered that if humans ingested this substance, they might mutate. "Abathur, can you adjust this substance so it has no side effects on humans while retaining the deactivation effect?"
After a moment of thought, Abathur replied, "Possible. Requires time."
"How long?"
"Two days."
That fast? Alexei's eyes brightened. Truly a master of genetics. "Fine, I'll come back for it in two days."
---
"Cough, cough, cough..." Cassius coughed incessantly. He felt as though he were going to hack up his own lungs. "Damn it... cough..."
He had been placed in an individual isolation room. He stared at the dull white ceiling with hollow eyes. What a cursed life. Cassius felt he was near death. He only hoped the Emperor wouldn't reject the soul of a failure like him.
Creak... The door to the isolation room was pushed open. Alexei and Cawl walked in, holding a cup of unknown liquid.
Cassius turned to look at them. He tried to speak, but another coughing fit seized him, spraying flecks of blood onto the floor.
"I..."
"It's alright. We're going to save you," Alexei comforted him, then raised the glass cup. "Drink this."
"What is this... cough?" Cassius's voice was extremely raspy; his vocal cords had been shredded by the constant coughing.
"Something to save you."
Looking at the green mucus in the cup, Cassius felt instinctively that it wasn't anything good. But seeing that the Archmagos of the Mechanicus wasn't saying anything, he braced himself and drank it down.
"Gag—"
"Keep it down!" Alexei rushed forward and covered his mouth.
"Mmph, mmph!" Cassius struggled wildly, finally staring at the ceiling with an expression of utter despair.
Alexei let go of his mouth. "Well?"
"It tastes like a hundred-year-old fermented booger. Fishy, stinking, and sticky as hell," Cassius cursed irritably. Suddenly, he froze. His voice—it was clear. "I... I don't seem to be in as much pain anymore."
Alexei and Cawl exchanged a glance. "I told you it would work."
Cawl remained silent, his mechanical eye flickering as he processed unknown thoughts.