Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 20
Screaming rounds filled the air, creating a blizzard of deadly shots as Twin cones of death sprang up before the Vorax cyborg. Anything caught in that area would have been eviscerated, torn to shreds by the onslaught of rounds, even power armour would have failed the test, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of fire. Scout armour, by comparison, stood no chance at all.
Yet Reddam was not there, for the second the words left Kardas' mouth the Sergeant had flung himself to the side, moving with Transhuman agility out of the way. The torrent flew through the space he had occupied a heartbeat before and chewed into the wall beyond, shattering the stonework and leaving huge impact craters. Reddam hit the floor shoulder first and rolled with his momentum, rising to his feet to dash away, jinking randomly from side to side. The Vorax pivoted after him, red eyes blazing as it chased him and as it did so it emitted a blurt of Binaric code that Reddam would have sworn sounded angry. With a heavy clomp it stomped forward, rotor cannons blazing, accompanied by raucous laughter from the balcony above. Reddam felt the rounds passing within a hairsbreadth of his back as he threw himself behind one of the pillars holding up the dome, sheltering behind its thick stonework.
He slammed his back against the cool surface and felt vibrations hammering into its stout girth as the cyborg killer poured fire into his cover. Clouds of dust and chipped stone flew around his narrow shelter as streams of bullets chewed it apart and he could do nothing but huddle there, gripping his spear tightly. His enhanced hearing told him the angle of impacts was shifting and the range shrinking: the Vorax was advancing and his cover was about to disappear. Reddam prepared to leap out the moment the Vorax appeared, determined to die with his face to the foe but suddenly another thunder arose. It was a Heavy Bolter, Reddam recognised, the steady boom-bangs of explosive bolt rounds hammering into metal. The blizzard chewing away his cover ceased and he heard heavy stomps as the Vorax turned about. He dared to lean out of cover and saw the cyborg facing a new enemy, the welcome sight of Glord.
While the Vorax chased Reddam the rest of the squad had relocated, taking cover behind other pillars. They leaned out of cover and let off snapshots with their bolt pistols but their fire merely pinged off the automaton's reinforced armour, as useless as a stubber against a tank. Yet it was Glord who drew the Vorax's attention, the youth standing between two pillars with his Heavy Bolter roaring.
"Come and get it you piece of kak!" Glord shouted as his weapon thundered, the fusillade exploding against the Mechanicus construct's armour. Plates were dented and panels scored bare by the torrent and the Vorax shuddered as it stomped about, bringing its own cannons to bear. Glord was undaunted though, firing continuously as death turned to face him and then his Heavy Bolter ran dry.
The Vorax squawked triumphant Binaric as it strode confidently forward, its rotor cannons spinning up to fixate upon Glord's exposed body. The Astartes leapt for the nearest pillar, but he was too slow and the Vorax thrummed as it prepared to fire. Yet an instant before it could shoot Kazao stepped out from behind another pillar, his helmet glinting darkly and from his Grenade Launcher spat the fat shape of a Krak Grenade. The explosive caught the Vorax on the side and blew up with a plume of fire. The machine staggered under the blast, its armour at last taking real damage and its guns sagged downwards.
From above Kardas shrieked, "No! You're supposed to die!"
Yet Reddam was already roaring, "As one, charge!"
With that he surged forward, leading with the point of his spear. In the corner of his eye he saw Joffel and Tebes charging, their weapons held high. Joffel was the fastest and charged right at the machine, his gaunt sword was made of Chitin and it would not penetrate the armour plating over its hunched back so he did not try. Instead he dove for the floor, skidding under the machine's legs as his sword slashed at its legs. Hydraulic fluid splurted out of a severed line and the Vorax squealed in Binaric as it lurched, losing speed in one leg. Meanwhile Larus leaned out of cover and threw one of his knives at its eye, but the small dart glanced harmlessly off the reinforced armourglass.
Taking advantage of its distraction Reddam ran past the machine's rear, his spear slashing at its bulk. The energised blade tore a deep furrow, leaving sparking mechanisms exposed. Reddam dashed away before the Vorax could counter but Tebes was already charging into the fray. The young Astartes drew back his arms as he ran and heaved his mining pick in one huge overhead sweep, slamming the flat head into the cyborg's shoulder. A crashing boom reverberated through the solarium, the sound of metal on metal ringing out like a struck bell and the Vorax staggered. For a moment Reddam thought it had taken critical damage, but only a moment.
The construct's eyes flared red and then it surged, throwing its arms out wide as it roared angrily in Binaric. Tebes was stepping back from the recoil of his own blow and one of the lighting wreathed blades protruding under the rotor cannons caught him a glancing blow to the chest. Carapace armour parted under the blade's touch and thick blood flowed freely as Tebes was sent staggering.
Tebes held one hand to his chest where blood seeped through the rent in his amour as he retreated, but the Vorax stepped back, bringing its rotor cannons to bear. Before it could fire Reddam slammed into Tebes, sweeping the lad off his feet and bearing him behind a pillar's safety. A hail of rounds erupted around them, chewing at the pillar as Reddam growled, "By the Maelstrom boy, you seriously need to learn how to dodge!"
From behind another pillar Glord was hurriedly fitting a new drum to his weapon and he called, "What does it take to kill this thing?"
Reddam was about to reply but then he heard a clanging noise and he leaned out of cover to see Joffel dancing around the Vorax. The automaton was lashing out left and right with its blades, trying to hit the weaving Astartes but Joffel was moving rapidly and kept out of the way of the sparking weapons. In return his sword swept and cut in looping sweeps, scoring the armour over and over. It was a fine display of skill but it was having no effect at all, the thick armour proof against his organic weapon and Reddam yelled, "Run, you damned fool run!"
Suddenly the bulbous weapon on the Vorax's back sprang to life, energy coils shimmering with power. The Vorax chittered evilly in Binaric as it targetted the dancing youth and then before he could react it fired. A fork of lightning shot forth, wrapping around Joffel, digging into his flesh and bone. The warrior convulsed as his nervous system was hit with raw electrical energy, the arcane projector earthing lightning through his body. Joffel fell down as his legs gave out, dropping his sword as his grip failed and from above Kardas yelled, "Yes, kill him! Kill them all!"
The Vorax poured it on, cooking the youth alive and Reddam knew he was too far away to intervene. Yet from nowhere came a small projectile, that caught the Vorax in the side. It was a Krak grenade and it hit the cyborg square on, detonating in a blaze of light and heat. The shaped charge buckled a plate on its shoulder and the Vorax staggered, its lightning gun snapped off, losing track of its target. Instantly Reddam was in motion, running at the machine from the other side. He lashed at its flank with his spear and was rewarded with a deep groove in its armour. He ducked as a weapon arm swung at him and jabbed with his spear at an eye, forcing the machine to fall back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kazao running for the fallen Joffel, his grenade launcher smoking. The mutated Astartes grabbed Joffel by a burnt arm and began to drag him into cover, shouting, "Come on, I've got you!"
The Vorax saw the pair limping away and swung an arm at them, its mechanical voice screeching in Binaric. Reddam saw the attack and lashed out with his spear, catching the arm and knocking aside the aim at the last possible instant. There was a burst of rotor fire and Kazao went down, blood spraying from his shoulder but the blow was non-fatal and Kazao dragged Joffel behind a pillar.
The Vorax growled in Binaric and redoubled its efforts to end Reddam's life. Energised blades flew at his face and he fended them off as best he could but the machine was relentless and drove him backwards. Attack after attack came at him and his spear blurred as he parried and countered, holding the construct at bay. It was a deadly test of speed and skill and one slip would see him dead but Reddam knew something the machine didn't, he knew he was only a distraction.
Suddenly Tebes charged into the fray, his chest covered in scabs but his arms as strong as ever. He roared in anger as he swung his pick right at the buckled plate, where the grenade had hit and with one mighty blow he sundered the metal, sending the plate flying. The Vorax screeched in Binaric and Reddam saw a mass of pulsing tubes and small canisters exposed in its innards. They were filled with preservative fluids and small lumps of grey neural tissue that quivered as life supporting nutrients were pumped through them. This was the Automaton's control cortex, the Mechancius' fundamental injunction against forging machines without a soul made manifest.
The Vorax desperately flailed about but Tebes swiftly swung again and his pick struck true, shattering the cortex into a smear of gore and grey brain matter. Reddam had expected an explosion of fire and metal, he had expected the cyborg to either go berserk or collapse to the floor but there was no such spectacle. The Vorax slowly ground to a halt and the light went out in its eyes and then it froze, standing there as still as a statue as it weapons went cold. There was a cry of anger and fear from above and Kardas screamed, "No! This can't happen!"
Reddam didn't even bother to look up but shrugged his spear and said, "Larus, complete the mission."
Larus nodded as he sprinted past and then leapt up, catching the balcony one-handed and hauling himself up. Reddam heard cries of pain and terror and the sounds of knives tearing flesh to ribbons but he wasn't interested in witnessing the mortal's deaths. Instead he walked up to Tebes and patted him on the shoulder saying, "Well done lad, a good kill. Learn to duck and you will be a power to be reckoned with."
Tebes nodded but kept one eye on the Vorax as Reddam walked over to the fallen.
He found them behind the pillar, both wounded but alive. He squatted down and saw Kazao pulling a bullet from the meat of his own shoulder. The mutant looked up and claimed, "It merely scratched me."
Reddam saw the bullet had hit bone and knew well the agony the youth would be experiencing but Astartes had no use for pain so he said, "Good, go and check on Tebes."
As Kazao stood and moved off Reddam looked at Joffel who was sitting woozily upright. He looked like he was badly sunburnt, almost as if he had been cooked and Reddam knew a few more seconds and he would have received a lethal blast. Reddam scowled and said, "That was stupid."
"I saw an opportunity," Joffel muttered.
"No," Reddam snarled, "What you should have done is coordinate with your squad, not make a brash grab for the glory. Remember laurels go to the squad, not the individual, Amber Vipers are nothing alone. As it is you nearly died for no purpose and owe Kazao your thanks."
"Thank that mutant?!" Joffel snarled contemptuously.
"Your Brother saved your life by risking his own," Reddam barked, "If you can't understand that you have no place among us."
With that he stood up and left Joffel to muse upon his words. He heard silence falling on the balcony and knew the targets were dead. He drew in a breath and declared for all to hear, "Mission accomplished Brothers."