Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 14
"Subitis! Subitis! Subitis!" Reddam frantically yelled into his vox, "Chapter command, come in, can anyone hear me?! This is Sergeant Reddam, we are under attack and require immediate assistance!"
The howling wind tore the words from his mouth and scattered them into the breeze. He could feel the air tearing at his eyes, sheer speed turning the limp gusts into a gale. Reddam hurtled over the moors as his squad fled, the ground was hard beneath their treads and the ride was so rough that it felt like it would break bones but there were no other options, it was flee or die.
Behind the squad came their hunters, the rebel craft blazing across the terrain as beige blurs. The Heretics had rallied their forces and given pursuit, determined to catch up and annihilate the Amber Vipers once and for all. Three Devilfish were closing rapidly, while the two remaining Piranhas kept coming back and over and over, strafing the Astartes with incredible speed. Normally Reddam would have favoured his squad in any race but the ground beneath them rose and fell randomly, small hillocks slowing their pace while crevices and dells had to be traversed. The rebels had no such concerns, their skimmer craft ignoring any obstruction, covering the terrain with effortless contempt.
Yet what was really slowing the squad down was Tebes, the wounded Brother who was lagging behind. His belly was a mass of Larraman cells, the transhuman clotting more effective than swathes of bandages. It was a testament to Astartes biology that he was still able to ride his bike, whereas a mortal would be crippled by pain. Yet Tebes could not completely ignore his wound for it was slowing his reactions and making him drift off course. He tried to keep up but the fact was that Tebes was dropping behind. To cover him the squad was running interference, crossing paths at random and firing off bursts of bolter fire to keep away the rebel outriders. They had managed to keep their group whole, but the tradeoff was their speed. The Devilfish were catching up and when they closed the net the warriors of Secundus Cohort would be annihilated.
Reddam saw a Piranha drifting nearer and turned his handlebars slightly, letting off a spray of bolter fire. The skimmer fell back but only a little and Reddam saw that his manoeuvre had cost him yet another morsel of speed. Reddam hurriedly came back into line and raced forward, even as he returned to the vox and cried, "Chapter Command, this is Sergeant Reddam. We are under attack in grid coordinates 342-457-010, we require immediate support!"
Besides him Joffel yelled over the roaring engines, "They can't hear us!"
Reddam wanted to refute him but could not; he had been calling out continuously to the Amber Viper's orbiting ships but had heard nothing in return. Perhaps the vessels were not in the right place or perhaps the rebels were jamming him, but either way it seemed that help was not coming. Reddam knew in his hearts that without aid his squad could not win this fight but he would be damned before he admitted such a thing.
Suddenly he saw the other Piranha closing, sweeping in laterally, its burst cannon already firing. He swerved hard to the right but saw the ground erupting around Tebes, the rebels going after the wounded Brother. Reddam reacted instinctively, throwing himself sideways and bringing his bike towards the skimmer. He had a moment where he could have fired his bolter but knew it would be too little. Instead he slammed his mass into the flank of the skimmer, feeling the terrific impact almost knock him off his machine.
He wobbled in his saddle for a heart-stopping instant but regained his balance in time to see the Piranha fly away. Its lack of traction made it far harder for the craft to recover its line of attack and its opportunity was spoiled. For a moment Reddam was elated but the manoeuvre had cost him too much speed and the nearest Devilfish had caught up. Reddam saw a bright flash and then an instant later his bike rang with impacts, the burst cannon chewing up his exhausts. He felt a round skim his shoulders, like a red-hot skewer to the back and knew an inch to the left and it would have blown out his spine. The Devilfish had fired wildly but now the driver had his range and prepared to finish him, yet suddenly Kazao appeared from nowhere, gripping his Krieg grenade launcher in one hand.
A muffled retort announced him firing a Krak Grenade and the Devilfish rocked as an explosion spread over its prow. No damage was done but the driver lost a hair of momentum and fell back, leaving Reddam in pain but alive. The Sergeant pushed it from his mind and concentrated on increasing speed, coaching every last effort from his bike. He knew they had bought another minute but no more, the rebels had them dead to rights.
In the corner of his eye Reddam saw that Tebes yet lived but was struggling along, slumped in his saddle. The youth's steering was erratic and his bike was wobbling badly as fresh blood ran down his legs. He looked like he could barely ride in a straight line, let alone fight. Reddam drifted closer and called out, "Tebes talk to me!"
Tebes stirred at the voice and groaned, "Sorry Sergeant, I think my time has come."
"Don't give me that," Reddam barked, "Astartes never yield!"
"Not my point," Tebes responded, woozily "We're not going to make it. The squad is finished… unless someone holds the rebels up. I'll double-back and draw them away while you break free."
"Are you trying to die a hero?" Reddam shouted.
Tebes lifted a blood-soaked hand, displaying his injuries and groaned, "I'm slowing you down, it's one life against five and I'm expendable."
Reddam wanted to rebuke him, he wanted to say that they would stay together to the end but he knew what had to be done, he had said much the same himself. Amber Vipers fight and die for each other, that was the truth, but it cut both ways. Tebes was willing to die for the squad and for the sake of the unit the Sergeant had to be willing to let him make the sacrifice. It was cold and ruthless, but the Amber Vipers were no stranger to bad choices, today he had to be cold-hearted in deed as well as word.
Reddam saw the rebels were closing once more. He drew in a breath to shout one last exhortation to his young charge but he was cut off as his vox bead suddenly squalled into his ear. Reddam grimaced as roaring static filled his hearing but then it cleared and a new voice came through, a harsh Transhuman tone that declared, "Support... Close…. Come in, can you… me? I repeat, Sergeant Reddam we see you, prepare for air strike: Danger Close!"
Reddam twisted to look upwards, eyes wide open as he scanned the heavens above. His jaw fell wide in surprise as he spied a tiny speck, diving almost vertically for the deck. It was a heavy cruciform shape with a blunt prow and short stubby wings, from which hung rounded stubs of missiles. The intruder was all heft and solid mass, a most brutal and unforgiving machine, built for war and war alone yet to Reddam's eyes it was utterly beautiful. A Thunderhawk gunship.
Elatedly Glord cried, "Viper's Bite!"
Yet Reddam was already shouting, "Faster you fools, faster!"
The squad pushed their machines to the limit, clawing for every morsel of velocity they could squeeze from their machines. Reddam knew they were already pushing to the limit but he still clenched his throttle harder, as if that could compel the machine's spirit through sheer force of will.
Above them the Thunderhawk swelled, swooping down upon the scene like an avenging angel. The rebels at last saw the looming attack and tried to scatter but Viper's Bite was already firing, rippling Mark XIV Hellstrike missiles in-between the retreating squad and their hunters. The missiles slammed down in a long line and massive fireballs blew up, explosions blooming so high that Reddam felt the heat of them scorch his bleeding back. A second later a blast wave threw him forward in his seat, almost hurling him over his own handlebars.
His bike danced beneath him and he fought for control before his wide tyres found their grip and it finally stabilised. He glanced backwards and saw the rebels were scattered and bewildered. Their last minute evasion had spared them from death but their vehicles were strewn everywhere, lacking any traction the skimmers had been sent into mad spins by the blasts and were frantically battling to arrest their own momentum. They spun helplessly, unable to intervene as the squad sped away.
Reddam watched as Viper's Bite pulled out of its dive at the last possible moment. Its nose rose as it fought to level out and it finally came to a horizontal flight, so low that he would have sworn it was brushing the bracken beneath it. The Thunderhawk turned towards them and its assault ramp began to open, a welcome sight for the wounded and harried squad. For an insane moment Reddam thought it wasn't going to stop, that the pilots were reckless enough to try to pick up the squad while still moving but then aero-brakes deployed and braking rockets fired, making the Thunderhawk jerk in mid-air, its momentum arrested to nothing. The gunship practically fell to the ground, its landing claws spraying up showers of pebbles and then the ramp slammed down, open and inviting.
"Get inside!" Reddam roared as he drove right at the waiting ramp. First up the ramp was Tebes, the squad making sure their injured Brother was safe then Joffel, Kazao, Larus and Glord. Reddam was the last in, driving into the tiny space at full speed. He slammed his brakes at the last second but still crashed into the back of the attack bike, bending the back fender as he cried, "We're in: go, go, go!"
The deck heaved beneath him as the Thunderhawk lifted off the ground, its engines whining with increasing power. The ramp began to rise but Reddam turned and saw the rebels closing once more, their momentary confusion passed. The Devilfish bore down, burst cannons firing, but Reddam was pleased to see the scorch marks all over their front cowlings. Then the ramp slammed shut and the Viper's Bite roared into the sky, making them all lurch as the gunship soared away.
For long moments G-forces pressed down, then they diminished and Reddam saw Larus and Glord helping Tebes off his saddle and tending to his wounds. Meanwhile Kazao and Joffel were securing their bikes in the tiny hold, notably keeping away from each other but Reddam was too tired to care about that. Reddam strapped down his own bike with perfunctory movements then checked the rest were similarly secure. The squad were edgy but alert, that was good. Astartes were never discomforted by danger, the stresses of war could not wear them down, unlike mortals they could endure any peril and come out thirsty for more.
After a moment Glord wiped his brow and with a grin declared, "Cut that a bit fine, didn't we?"
Reddam drew in a slow breath and then retorted, "I thought you could use the excitement, you looked bored."
Larus cut into the talk stating, "Tebes will live but his wounds are severe."
At that Joffel interjected," Rebel scum bled us, are we really going to let them go unpunished?"
"Good point," Reddam concurred then tuned his vox and said, "Cockpit, request we give the Heretics a taste of the Battlecannon."
"Negative," came the reply over the vox, "Orders were to return you to base."
"Fang-rot," Reddam swore, "We can finish them!"
The voice responded smoothly, "Not worth the risk, we can't endanger Thunderhawks for acts of vain pride. The rest of Secundus came back two days ago; you're the last unit to report in. Chapter Master Coluber wants to see you immediately."
With that the vox cut off leaving Reddam stumped. However Joffel was elated and said, "Did you hear that? Last unit back and the Chapter Master himself wants us. Surely we will be covered in glory!"
Reddam wasn't so sure, in his experience when commanders asked for warriors by name it was a never a good thing. But he would worry about that later, for now he had to make sure the squad recovered properly. With a sigh he went back to work, leaving whatever was to come as a problem for later.