21 The Odds

An Apothecary of the Grey Knights sat across from a man in his early 20s, looking him in the eyes for a minute before sighing. 

"Jaxton. This is the 5th month in a row. The results are the same each time you get tested," the Apothecary was tired of seeing the kid. He had gotten closer to him with every visit, and by this point, he wanted to save the kid from further heartache.

Jaxton was a young man with pale skin and natural green hair, which meant that he had some sort of mutation. Even if it was a very small one. 

"But why? I heard that-"

"I don't care what you've heard," the Astartes cut him off. "Do you know what the chances are for the best knight to survive the procedure to turn them into an Astartes?"

Jaxton shook his head at the question. He knew they were low, but didn't know how low. 

"One in two hundred. Those are the odds for someone who is a well-trained knight," the Apothecary informed him. "For someone trained from the age of 5 with the best trainers, the best genetics, and indoctrination, they have a one in one hundred chance of surviving the procedure. 

Thanks to our Sorcerers who are skilled in the Lore of Heaven and can manipulate and predict fate on a small level, we can up those odds to one in five. That means up to a 20% chance of survival. 

The Primarch has said that we are allowed to perform the implantation on anyone who can beat 10%. But you, you come nowhere close."

The Apothecary kicked his chair off, and he moved toward a large digital board. He typed something in on the keyboard next to it, causing the screen to light up and show Jaxton's profile. It included a picture of him as well as his medical history. 

"Rebellious: one in one hundred

Mutation, slight: one in one hundred and fifty

Calcium deficiency: one in two hundred and twenty

Inferiority complex: one in three hundred and seventy-seven

Flunked out of the academy which is just a shit ton of things that I don't wanna list out one by one: one in one thousand, two hundred, and thirty-four

Stage 4 Cancer: One in two hundred and fifty thousand, five hundred, and seventy-one"

Jaxton looked at his history and all the numbers posted up on the board. As much as he wanted to deny the numbers, he knew that they were all true. 

He was an idiot that kept getting into fights that were none of his business. He failed the academy because he couldn't accept that he wasn't smart enough for the advance classes. And he was dying. 

"Is there really no way for me to join the Astartes? Can't you petition it or override the rules?" Jaxton asked, needing to become an Astartes. That was his only chance at living. 

"Kid. You fucked up any chance you had of becoming one of us when you flunked out. I could pass you, but that would mean I go under scrutiny when you fuck up in the future. Until the day that your brains get blow out, I get in trouble for whatever shit you stir up. Even if I'm already dead. I'm not putting my neck on the line for someone who the Primarch hasn't designated me to or who is not one of my brothers."

"I promise. I won't mess up. This is my only chance," Jaxton was ready to get on his knees if it meant that he would be accepted into the Grey Knights. He would rather risk his life on the table and spend the rest of his life on the battlefield before just giving up and accepting that he was going to die. 

The Apothecary was about to deny him when the door swung open. Dagon who was still in recovering from his final surgery walked in and looked at Jaxton and the Apothecary. 

The Grey Knight recognized Dogan as one of Baldur's people. He was one of the first to go under the knife and even though he shouldn't have survived as the odds were heavily against, the man had somehow managed to pull through along with the triplets. 

"Put him through on me then. If he fucks up or dies and wastes the Gene-Seed, I'll personally take responsibility," Dogan promised 

The Apothecary wanted to reject it. He didn't want to be the one responsible for a senior officer getting wrapped up in nothing but bad news. 

"You know what you are saying, right? He would need an entire other set of procedures where we basically cut him apart and replace half of his organs. He might not even survive that surgery, but then would need to put his weakened body through 4 more rounds of surgery. He's just not gonna make it," the Apothecary told Dogan the facts.

He didn't want the man to get his hopes up and get involved in a lost cause. But unfortunately for him, Dogan was a man who believed in miracles. 

"I didn't have a great chance when I started out. Psykers used to be hunted here, and now I am one of the three most powerful people on the planet and a member of Baldur's Council. If had to put numbers on those, what do you think my odds were?" Dogan asked him telepathically while a lazy smile stayed on his face

The man walked out the door a waved behind him. "Put him on my tab."

The Apothecary sighed and looked at Jaxton in disbelief. 

"Guess you just might live through all this. Cause you got some dog shit luck if you were able to get the head of the Sorcerers to vouch for you."

Jaxton looked at him in disbelief before looking at the closed door. He had no idea that the person who had just taken responsibility for him was someone so powerful.

The next day, the boy was put under the knife as he began his first surgery. And that was his first step to becoming the first Grand Master of the 13th Chapter of the Grey Knights