Chapter 360: Accessing The Medical Section 3

A thin field rose from the floor and moved slowly over Aurelian’s body, starting at his feet and working its way upward.

It didn’t hurt, though he felt a faint pressure behind his eyes when the scan reached his head.

Eirenne watched every reading as it appeared.

"Heart stable. Neural activity is higher than normal, but still within the expected range for a commander. No foreign material detected."

Rhoswen crossed her arms and looked toward the projection.

"What about his personality?"

"Untreatable," Eirenne replied without hesitation.

Aurelian turned toward her.

Rhoswen burst out laughing, clearly far too pleased with the answer, while even Doctor Marr had to hide a small smile.

The scan continued for almost a full minute before the field finally faded. A moment later, the chamber’s voice returned.

"Commander status confirmed. Tier III command development stable. Neural burden above baseline. Physical adaptation below recommended command range. Recovery debt detected."

Aurelian frowned at the last part.

"Recovery debt?"

Doctor Marr looked at the explanation appearing on the nearby display before answering.

"It means you haven’t fully recovered from repeated combat, advancement, and long periods without enough rest. Your body has kept working, but some of the repair it should have done was delayed."

Rhoswen looked pleased to finally have proof.

"We’ve told you to sleep."

"You’ve told me many things."

"This one was correct."

Astra ignored the argument and kept her attention on the medical report.

"Is it dangerous?"

"Not right now," Doctor Marr said. "But if he keeps advancing and fighting without proper recovery, it could turn into a real problem later."

Aurelian read through the recommended treatment plan.

Rest.

Better nutrition.

Nerve stabilization.

Controlled physical training and adaptation.

There were no strange drugs, no dangerous procedure, and no promise of some sudden change that would make him stronger overnight. Nothing needed to happen immediately either.

The matrix was not offering him a miracle.

It was simply telling him that he was tired and needed to recover properly.

That made it easier to trust.

"Can it treat the preservation patients first?" he asked.

The chamber answered immediately.

"Treatment priority may be assigned by the emergency steward."

"The patients come first."

"Priority confirmed."

Vaela’s shoulders relaxed slightly after hearing that.

Aurelian stepped off the scanning platform while Eirenne copied the full report into her records.

"The matrix recommends that you begin treatment within thirty days," she said.

"I heard it."

Rhoswen looked toward Astra.

"Make sure he actually does it."

"I will."

Aurelian decided there was no point arguing with both of them, especially in front of the doctors.

Vaela moved closer to the main display.

"How many patients can the system treat at once?"

"Twenty-four," Eirenne replied. "Twelve treatment pods are active. Another twelve reserve pods can be restored within six hours."

Doctor Tal began reading through the treatment requirements.

"Then we should bring the worst preservation cases down first."

"After we test the system," Aurelian said.

Vaela looked at him.

"With whom?"

"No one unstable."

Doctor Marr nodded in agreement.

"We should begin with someone who is already awake, able to understand the risks, and willing to give permission. Their condition should also be something the medical teams upstairs can already handle. If the matrix fails or causes any unexpected reaction, we stop immediately."

Vaela considered that before nodding.

"That is fair."

Eirenne opened another group of records, and the central display changed.

Energy reserve: thirty-eight percent.

Medical material reserve: forty-one percent.

Long-term treatment capacity limited.

Aurelian studied the numbers for a moment.

"Can Sanctuary Ardent replace the materials?"

"Some of them," Eirenne replied. "The remaining supplies require biological compounds and refined elements that are not available inside the sanctuary."

"What about Helion Bastion Twelve?"

"Possibly. Its manufacturing systems may be able to produce part of what we need."

"Send the requirements to Meridian."

"I will."

The matrix was valuable, but it was not unlimited.

Like everything else they had found inside Sanctuary Ardent, it had survived by slowly using old supplies that were never meant to last forever.

If Aurelian wanted it to treat thousands of survivors, he would need proper supply lines, trained medical staff, production support, and people who understood how to maintain the system.

The matrix wasn’t magic.

It was another piece of infrastructure.

That meant it could become part of the Crownward March instead of remaining some rare machine everyone was afraid to touch.

A new signal reached Eirenne from the upper levels.

"The first Arcturus convoy ships have entered the system."

Aurelian looked toward the lift.

"They’re earlier than expected."

"They only reduced speed after crossing the final jump point."

Astra turned toward him.

"We should meet them."

"Yes."

Vaela remained beside the main display, still looking through the treatment information.

"I’ll stay here with the doctors."

"No patients until the test plan is approved," Aurelian reminded her.

"I heard you the first time."

Rhoswen leaned closer to him as they started walking out of the chamber.

"She’s going to bring someone down the moment we’re out of sight."

Vaela looked over her shoulder.

"No, I’m not."

Rhoswen smiled.

"Good hearing."

They entered the lift while Eirenne sealed the treatment controls behind them. The matrix remained active, with white lines of light moving through its branching structure as more of the surrounding medical systems slowly woke up.

Aurelian looked back once before the wall closed.

Sanctuary Ardent had not hidden a crown.

It had not hidden a weapon powerful enough to destroy their enemies.

It had not hidden some machine that could fix every problem they faced.

What it had hidden was more useful than that.

A way to treat the people it had protected for so long.

A way to reduce the strain commanders carried from advancement, combat, and repeated use of their bonds.

A way to help Humans survive in places where normal bodies struggled.

Used carefully, the matrix could strengthen the entire Crownward March. It could help the preservation survivors recover, support commanders as they advanced, and give medical teams new options for cases they could not handle before.

Used badly, it could become something dangerous.

The sanctuary population could be turned into test subjects.

Ambitious people could fight over control of the machine.

Commanders could push themselves too far because they believed the matrix would repair anything they damaged.

Aurelian would not allow that.

The lift began rising toward the Continuity Vault.

Above them, Arcturus family ships entered the damaged system and found Solenne’s fleet waiting around Sanctuary Ardent.

Repair vessels moved toward the broken launch halls, medical ships requested permission to dock, and engineering teams began receiving Eirenne’s first reports.

The sanctuary had survived the Compact.

Now it had to survive the attention that came with being valuable.