Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 221

The meeting of Serpens Rex and Angel's Revenge was a slow and drawn-out affair. The Starfort had taken three weeks to traverse the distance from the outer system to Lutum's orbit, while the slumbering Battlebarge was left to drift in space. Flurries of vox-messages went back and forth while they waited and by the time the Nest coasted into orbit Chattels had cleared out one of the great drydocks, one located in the Widdershins quadrant. Tons of debris and broken spars were ejected into the void, making room within the machine-templum for the Battlebarge to fit.

Actually docking the ship proved far more problematic. Lacking engines and thrusters to steer herself the Amber Vipers had to resort to hauling her inside. A hundred Arvus-lighters, Aquilla shuttles and servitor-tugs surrounded the Battlebarge, pulling on chains in a precisely coordinated fashion. She looked like a pincushion, covered in short spikes, but ungainly as it was it worked. Slowly her hammerhead prow rolled past the broken doors, her girth easily fitting inside the drydock. Precise adjustments were required at every step but slowly she sank into her new home, settling into the berth like a hand into a glove.

Docking tethers and rubberised air-umbilicals extended, tying the ship to the starfort and securing her firmly in place. Were the Serpens Rex in working order then great doors would have slammed shut, allowing atmosphere to be pumped inside to permit short-sleeved work, but it was not to be. Holes big enough to fly gunships through had been bored through the dock's structure and the doors were blown clean off, so she sat in vacuum as hordes of vac-suited Chattels poured over her hull, inspecting and examining every inch. Her guns were counted, her shield vanes and auspex arrays measured, the scope of her plasma drives was recorded along with the placement of her thrusters and the first sketchy estimates emerged as to what would be required to man and operate such a leviathan.

Ferrac however saw none of that. Following the docking he was leading his Master on an inspection tour of the interior. Chapter Master Coluber had boarded the Revenge at the first opportunity, escorted by the Brother-Exemplars in glorious raiment. In his shining plate he looked like he fit in here, the majesty of the vessel matching his pride and dignity. He looked quietly pleased with what he beheld, even though they were passing gaggles of workers collecting piles of dead Heretics from the broad passageway and carting them away in wheelbarrows. With them were Shrios and Inquisitor Markof, both scowling fiercely, but for very different reasons. They had also brought along Nathanal, the mortal artisan looking far less pleased with their new acquisition.

Ferrac was explaining, "Yes, a few Heretics did manage to get into vac-suits in time but we kept the oxygen turned off for two weeks, until they ran out of air. We've swept the major compartments and determined none are left to trouble us."

"You are sure of this?" Coluber pressed.

"Absolutely," Ferrac stated, "The ship is clear of foes and ready for new commanders. A most satisfying outcome of our mission, if I do say so myself."

Inquisitor Markof stopped dead in his tracks and spat, "Hardly! This mission has been a debacle from start to finish. This one's foolish glory-seeking and bloodlust endangered everything; he nearly lost the prisoner!"

"But I didn't," Ferrac retorted, "We beat the Heretics and your prisoner is safely away."

"Only by the skin of your teeth," Markof growled, "This battle was unnecessary."

Coluber sighed deeply and said, "Ferrac, I applaud your zeal but I must question your judgement. This was not the mission I gave you; you went glory-seeking when you should have been humble. I cannot have my officers going off and inventing their own missions."

"It wasn't my choice, they attacked us," Ferrac argued.

"Yet you could have withdrawn earlier and spared the Wyvern," Coluber hissed with a trace of anger, "You sacrificed our biggest ship, unlovely scow that she was, she was all we had. How can you possibly justify losing our prime warship?"

Ferrac looked at the walls and floor then replied, "I brought you back a Battlebarge."

Coluber's lip twitched in amusement as he snorted, "Brother, this is why I like you."

Markof didn't seem amused as he snapped, "You cannot let this pass!"

Coluber turned to him and rebuked, "The conduct of my officers is mine to judge, not yours."

"The Regent will hear of this," Markof hissed.

Coluber refused, "And he will see your prisoner was delivered as ordered. She is on the Peregrine with Maru Kysoto, our fastest ship, they will reach the jump-point any day now and make Translation to the Warp. The regent will have his prize, and we shall have our new warship."

Markof's eyes narrowed as he spat, "You play a dangerous game, toying with fire never ends well, it will be the end of you someday. That is not a threat, it is a certainty."

Markof turned on his heel and strode away, leaving them in his wake. Shrios sighed, "He's going to be trouble down the line."

Ferrac mused, "I still wonder about what secret purpose they needed the witch for."

Coluber sighed, "So long as he does not condemn us it doesn't matter. Having our name added to the list of sanctioned Chapters will be a boon."

"It will be nice to have the Tech-Priests not shooting at us on sight any more," Ferrac quipped.

"Indeed," Coluber affirmed, "Now Shrios, what did you find in the Gene-vaults of the Revenge?"

"Trouble," Shrios sighed.

"They were empty?" Coluber asked.

"Worse, they were full to bursting. Along with Lanfast's Progenoids we have a plethora of gene-implants."

"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Brother-Exemplar Seyda.

"I'm not sure," Shrios muttered, "There were always troubling rumours about the IX Legion's bloodline. Dark whispers among the Apothecary orders and furtive accusations of tainted blood. Plus Lanfast claimed the Cicatrix Maledictum did something to his Brothers, changing them somehow. There's no telling what warp-exposure did to their genes."

"Nobody cares," Ferrac snorted, "Stuff them into some recruits and any that survive we'll whip into an army of Space Marines."

"Gene-seed isn't to be treated lightly! Each Primarch's lineage has its own quirks and flaws, each requiring its own unique growth medium and implant procedures. You can't take a Raven Guard Catalapasean node and mix it with a Salamander Mucaroid and a White Scar Betchers Gland. Nightmarish horrors result from tampering with gene-lines. Our own stock is already chimeric, I shudder to imagine what will happen if I add those Progenoids to our gene-pool. Before I even think of trying, I must run clinical trials on test-subjects, to see if I can even make this work."

"Take your time," Coluber said, "We are in need of another recruiting cycle regardless. It is time to rebuild our ranks, to fill our new ship's barracks."

"About that," Nathanal sighed, "I don't think this is going to be nearly as easy you think. A ship of this displacement requires vast numbers to run, more hands than we can spare and that's only the start of our problems. The technical aspects are beyond me, this is no refit pirate hulk but the pinnacle of the shipwright's arts. I need far more skilled artisans and Enginseers than we currently have if you intend to make this ship sail and fight. I'm not sure I can even patch up the wounds she has taken already."

"You'll figure something out," Ferrac scoffed, "You always do."

"May I remind you there's an Omega Sicaran and Predator tank sitting in our vaults whose spirit are beyond my meagre ability to stir. I'm am no archmagos, my skills are limited. The hard truth is we are growing beyond our logistical capacity, in required skills as well as numbers. The Amber Vipers cannot grow any further unless something drastic changes."

"I may have an idea about that," Coluber reassured him, "Now we can talk to the Mechanicus new possibilities arise. We still have a number of rare STC patterns we have been holding onto, they would give much to possess such lore."

"You intend to start bargaining with a Forgeworld?" Nathanal asked with a note of hope.

"Something like that," Coluber allowed, "To be recognised as an extant Chapter opens many doors to us. But first, Ferrc you wanted to show us something?"

"Follow me," Ferrac said as he led them deeper into the ship. They descended several decks and passed many labouring Chattels, all sweating profusely as they toiled. Ferrac gave them no mind as he moved into the cavernous holds, where the artefacts of the Blood Talons awaited. He led them across a high-gantry, striding over a storehouse filled with pre-packed buildings and folded up structures. Any Battlebarge had the capacity to support three Companies in the field, including all their logistics needs. Below were carefully packed chapel-barracks, armouries, plasma-generators, vox-arrays and Machine-Cult shrines. There was even a complete Stronghold, housing all the vox-links and auspex gear to coordinate an entire warzone.

Nathanal whistled in admiration and remarked, "Astounding, this makes our ramshackle prefabs look like an Ork lean-to."

"Thought you'd like it," Ferrac grinned, "We found this store while sweeping the Revenge for survivors. We guess the Heretics were stocking up the ship for a war of conquest. There are also troves of weapons, missile launchers, heavy bolters, autocannons, lascannons and enough munitions to stop a Waaagh. Drop-pods, enough to deploy all of Primus in one sweeping assault. Plus we found two whole squadrons of Deathbirds, untouched in the reserve hanger bays."

Coluber nodded, "They'd make for admirable ground-attack craft, surpassing our Vultures in every way. But were there no Stormtalons or Thunderhawks?"

"None," Ferrac sighed, "Looks like the Blood Talons weren't jesting when they said their order was ravaged. Then they took almost everything they had left and threw it at Lutum."

"Almost everything?" Coluber pressed.

"Wait and see," Ferrac quipped as he led them to a heavy door. It was broad and tall, reinforced with heavy clamps and hinges the size of a grown man. Silver engravings in Binaric were writ around the lintel, entreaties to the Omnissiah for his blessings upon the contents. Twin marble statues flanked the door, Techmarines in stern pose, cog-toothed axes in hand and held ready to strike the unworthy trespasser. One look was enough to tell the viewer that whatever was inside was precious indeed.

Ferrac led them to a narrow opening, where they had forced their way inside and the rest followed him in. Within the vault lay treasures of inestimable worth. Boxy vehicles sat in rows, their caterpillar tracks broad and glacis plates thick. Seals of purity were embossed on their hides and Imperial Aquilas were fixed below narrow glassic visions slits. Beyond them lay Ceramite outlines in mournful pose upon stone biers. Suits of blessed plate laid in state, wounds exposed and pointed helms sunk into their chins. Their deathblows had gone unrepaired, left as they were in their final moments, but the marks of the winged talon were proud upon their pauldrons. Power armour, in great number.

"Such bounty," Coluber breathed in awe, "To think only a few scant years ago we were overjoyed to acquire two suits, but look at this."

Ferrac explained, "Left behind by the Blood Talons, we guess they didn't have enough bodies to fill them after the Neverborn attack. They didn't even have time to repair them before the survivors charged to their deaths."

"Mark VI," Nathanal commented, "With our power armour manufactorum nearing completion I can repair most of these, I am sure of it."

"How many are they?" Coluber asked.

"Enough to bring Primus Cohort up to full-company strength," Ferrac proclaimed, "And four more Rhino APC's to carry us to war."

"Such might could overturn whole worlds," Coluber affirmed, "But it will take years to build sufficient numbers for such a force, lest we leave Secundus a hollow shell."

It was then that Brother-Exemplar Hasak rumbled, "Big tank." All eyes swivelled to the end of the vault where something enormous squatted. On four caterpillar track units it sat, pressing down on the suspension like it was hunched up. Heavy weapon emplacements flanked a troop compartment big enough for a Dreadnought to stride through, certainly able to hold multiple squads at once. An upper deck was evident, like an armoured bunker built into the roof, boasting paired shield projectors and a fearsome twin-linked assault cannon. The nose was a clamshell hatch and the rear a drop ramp, making it a breaching tunnel as well as a transport. But the most impressive thing was an array of melta-guns built into the front, arming the vehicle's nose with a short-range punch that could tear through a fortress wall. Everything about it screamed coiled power and barely contained aggression, like a predator crouching the instant before the pounce and awe filled any who looked upon it.

"What is that?!" Nathanal exclaimed.

"Good isn't it," Ferrac chortled, "We had to look it up in the ship's data-archives. That is a Legion Mastodon, a heavy transport unparalleled since the Great Crusade."

"Astounding," Coluber breathed in wonder.

But Nathanal muttered, "Great, a third machine beyond my ability to consecrate."

Coluber ignored that as he wandered over and placed a reverent hand on the hull, asking, "Does this notable steed have a name?"

Ferrac shook his head as he said, "None that we can find in the archives, must be buried too deep for us to unearth. So I've taken to calling this beast 'Blood Talon'."

"A worthy name," Coluber agreed, "Blood Talon will bring glory to the Amber Vipers, while honouring her namesakes."

"And death to the enemies of man," Ferrac concurred, "Together we shall leave a trail of ruin across the stars. I can't wait to find someone to unleash our new strength upon."

*The Adventure will continue when the Amber Vipers meet with the Storm Heralds. Follow story to find out what happens*

*Author's note*

This story was originally meant to go differently, i never planned to keep the Battlebarge, but seeing fans reactions convinced me its about time they had a break. I'm going to return to the Storm Heralds for a time and work to finish their story but the Amber Vipers will return in due course