Tales of the Amber Viper Chapter 2

The outpost burned fiercely, sending clouds of filthy black smoke into the night sky. Licking flames wrapped around its walls and shone through the glassic windows, testaments to the devastation within. Once this had been a lonely listening post, a watchful eye for the rebel army,casting a net over the endless moors of the planet but now it was ruins. The antennas of vox and auspex arrays were smashed, the generators broken and all around were scattered dead bodies, their brown shirts and coats stained with blood.

Racing away from that outpost Sergeant Reddam and his squad left their latest fight behind as they withdrew. Tapered headlights cast dim illumination before them but it was more than enough for their enhanced eyes. For days they had been hitting isolated targets and then withdrawing, sometimes striking several times in a day then relocating entirely to another grid quadrant. They always struck with speed and surprise and they never lingered long enough for the rebels to find them.

As he held onto his bike's juddering handlebars Reddam could feel numerous small cuts sealing shut over his arms and legs. The fighting in the listening post had been frantic and desperate, the bunker designed to hold off assaults long enough for distress calls to be issued. It hadn't helped off course, the Amber Vipers had still obliterated the outpost before any message could be sent but they had been forced to brave an onslaught of shotgun and autopistol fire. Normally Reddam would have discounted such armaments as meagre threats but that was when he had been blessed with power armour, now he wore only scout carapace-armour. He was still adapting to that change and he missed his familiar plate. Yet he had been ordered to give it up when he left Primus cohort behind, the Amber Vipers simply didn't have enough suits available to equip every Brother.

Reddam glance at his young charges, seeing their reactions to the fight. Some seemed elated and buoyant, others dour and miserable but they had all fought well and that was what counted. Reddam however had concerns; he knew all too well that none of these youths had fought together in the Tertius cohort, their time as scouts spent in other squads. It was Reddam's task to forge them into an effective unit but it was not one he cared for.

Reddam had spent time in the training halls, all of the 'Old Seventeen' had been required to do so. Yet he had sought reassignment to the Primus Cohort as soon as the first generation of recruits had risen to form the fighting arm of the resurgent Chapter. Yet now this second-generation of recruits were graduating from the scouts, doubling the numbers of the Amber Vipers. Sadly this meant the 'Old Seventeen' were stretched thin and were required to take up leadership roles in the field.

Reddam was distracted from his introspection as he noticed Kazao was having trouble with his bike, heavily jerking the handlebars from side to side. The weight of the grenade launcher was pulling him off to one side and he kept having to wrestle the bike back on course. Reddam slowed a fraction and drifted closer, pulling alongside to query, "Is there a problem?"

Kazao's voice was muffled by the helmet he always wore but he responded through gritted teeth, "It's nothing."

"Fang-rot," Reddam swore seeing the bike's distress, "You're steering is shot and the suspension is cracked. Why didn't you report this?"

"I can handle it," Kazao muttered.

"Don't be stupid boy," Reddam snapped, "This isn't the Tertius cohort, you must report anything that degrades unit performance."

From the other side Joffel called, "If he can't keep up, leave him to make his own way back to base."

"Abandon a Brother?!" Reddam snarled, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that. All Brothers report supply status."

Joffel quickly replied, "Bike bolters have two reloads, down to one spare can of promethium."

Tebes stated, "No reloads, two cans of promethium."

"Heavy bolter's down to the last drum," Glord called.

"We've only got what's left in the tank," Larus added.

"One reload," Kazao stated, "Two cans of promethium."

Reddam checked his own supply and saw how low it was, then he flipped his auspex to wide gain and checked the skies above. "Skies are clear, nobody's watching," Reddam declared, "That's it, we're diverting to supply cache nineteen."

"But Sergeant," Joffel whined, "We still have enough left for one more raid."

Reddam grimaced as he spat, "You seem to be under the impression that was a suggestion, when it was an order."

Silence fell and the squad followed in Reddam's wake as he veered away, heading off into the wilderness. He fumed over the need but it was essential, the squad had to restock sooner rather than later, he knew all too well how precarious situations could become in an instant. As they travelled he had a chance to glance upwards, seeing the stars above marred by a vague smear of purple. Maraha was an underdeveloped agri-world upon the Eastern Fringe. This far out into the galaxy the Cicatrix Maledictum was just a glimmer to the naked eye, yet that foul rift was never wholly obscured, it was always there reminding all of the calamity that had befallen the Imperium.

It was into that devastation that the Amber Vipers had emerged, rising from the ashes of extinction to forge a new destiny. They were a small force but zealous and proud, committed to rebuilding and determined to make a difference. For that reason they had come to Maraha, a forgotten backwater ignored by the great and powerful Lords of Terra. This planet was in the throes of a rebellion, inspired by the expanding Tau empire but the Amber Vipers would not suffer that heresy to continue.

Reddam thought upon this for a time but another part of his mind was continuously calculating his position and speed. A Space Marine could hold a perfect map image in his mind, keeping the location of all targets and support available at a moment's notice. He needed no compass or rangefinder to find his way and within an hour they arrived at the cache. Reddam pulled up sharply at the prefixed position and was satisfied to see the supplies were right where they should be. It resembled a low bulge on the ground, a number of crates covered by a camo-shroud to make them invisible to rebel aircraft. Establishing a network of such caches was the first task of the Tertius cohort, the snakelet-scouts secreting supplies via Arvus lighter for the following Secundus cohort and their far-ranging raids behind the lines. The fact that they used civilian shuttles and not Thunderhawks spoke volumes about the state of the Amber Viper's logistics. A hodge-podge of salvaged and purloined gear, taken from wherever they could get it.

Reddam dismounted and slipped his spear into a shoulder holster as he called, "Quickly, take what you need and don't get weighed down."

With haste the squad ripped open the crates, helping themselves to fuel and munitions. Bolter rounds, cans of Promethium, grenades, melta-bombs, cluster mines and caltrops were all hastily unloaded. Reddam too helped himself, ignoring the maker's marks that told of the dozen worlds these supplies had been acquired from. At least the bolter-rounds had Amber Vipers marks, he thought, the Chapter's workshops on their meagre fleet could still produce those.

His supplies replenished he turned and saw Kazao labouring over his bike, a pallet of tools laid out beside him. The lad was working fast, a tiny welding torch reflecting off his blank visor. Reddam stepped closer and said, " Repair estimate?"

"Two hours by the Codex," Kazao stated without looking up, "But we don't have that sort of time so I'll improvise."

"Carry on," Reddam ordered, knowing the serf-artisans would pitch a fit at the lack of blessings and prayers, but if there was one thing the Amber Vipers had learned in their troubled history it was how to make do.

He turned to survey the rest of the squad. Larus and Glord were tending to their attack bike, stocking the Heavy Bolter drums and refuelling the tank. Glord was saying loudly, "We went through the rebel scum like a vibro-knife through curd!"

"Dairy confections are not relevant," Larus stated blankly, "We performed as mission parameters dictated."

Glord snorted, "Oh, crack a smile. You killed ten men with the poison on those knives of yours!"

"Incorrect," Larus responded, "I killed nine men with knife thrusts, only one lasted long enough to die from the poison."

"Must you always be such a grox-brain?!" Glord retorted.

"I am not a grox," Larus replied crisply, "I am an Amber Viper of the Adeptus Astartes."

Reddam left them to it, shaking his head. The Amber Vipers were as eclectic with their recruitment as they were their gear. Harvesting war orphans from the campaigns they fought in and it had resulted in strange peculiarities in their manner. Glord's wild ways, Larus' habit of poisoning his knives, Kazao and his helmet, Joffel's thirst for glory and Tebes' moroseness. And it was up to Reddam to forge them into a unit.

Reddam saw the other pair stood over their bikes, arguing about something and he strode over. As he closed he heard Joffel saying, "It's a crude pick!"

Tebes gripped a heavy Pneumatic hammer in one hand, with a pick on one side and a flat head on the other and retorted, "It works for me."

"It's an ugly mining tool, no weapon worthy of an Amber Viper," Joffel scoffed, " Now this, this is a real weapon!"

With that he flourished a curved sword by a leather-wrapped hilt. It was curiously organic, serrated along one side and with a sharpened edge on the other. Reddam started in shock, "Where did you get that?!"

Joffel grinned and said, "You like it? I think someone made it from a Hormaguant's claw. Look at the way it curves, like Chapter Master Coluber's sword: Venom. With a sword like this I'll soon be promoted to the Primus Cohort!"

Reddam was incensed and growled, "I said, where did you get it?"

Joffel smirked as he explained, "I took it off that rebel officer I killed in the last outpost."

Reddam glanced at Tebes and spat, "Go get some ration bars."

Reddam waited till he was out of earshot then looked at the youth still crooning over his new toy and uttered, "Throw that away."

To his shock Joffel didn't instantly obey but asked, "Why?"

Incensed Reddam summoned his most damming condemnation and declared, "It is Xenos!"

"Oh," Joffel sighed, "Well in that case, I invoke Victor's Rights and claim it as my trophy."

Fang-rot, Reddam cursed to himself, the lad was not only insolent but smart, a dangerous combination. Joffel had correctly invoked the Amber Viper's tradition of claiming trophies from the dead. A habit started during their turbulent history as a means of survival, which grew into an inviolable right. What had begun as scavenging from battlefields was now deeply ingrained into their culture.

Begrudgingly Reddam admitted, "You are within your rights but don't push it. If I thought that was Chaos tainted I would have shot you already."

Joffel grinned, not looking at all abashed and remarked, "You know, I've always admired that spear of yours. Did you get it the same way?"

"That is not for you to know," Reddam muttered warily.

"But…" Joffel began.

"I said no," Reddam spat, "It came from the Time of Exodus."

That shut Joffel up, for the youths had been hypno-indoctrinated not to ask about the past. For long years Reddam and his kin had wandered the galaxy, alone and cut off. Too many disgraceful deeds had been performed to remember it with any fondness and Reddam tried not to think of the brave Marine he had taken the spear from, or the look in his eyes as he died. That was in the past, best to leave it there. Only the 'Old Seventeen' knew anything about that time and when they passed, as all warriors must, it would be forgotten. Reddam was glad of it, he had no wish for that shame to persist, the future was all that mattered.

"Tend to your bike," Reddam muttered and then he strode off. Joffel returned to his labours but Reddam was disheartened. That lad was too ambitious, too insolent and too smart by half, he was going to be a problem. If Marines like this lot were the heirs of the Amber Vipers, then Reddam was deeply concerned what their future would look like.