Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 26

The mutant was out there, Arbet could feel it as sure as the sun upon his face. The monster that haunted his nightmares was waiting for him, somewhere in the shadows, a beast in body and mind. Arbet knew it was coming for him; the confrontation was inevitable, all the old myths told him so. Hero against monster, man against beast, it had to be so, there was no other way it could end.

Arbet gripped his pulse pistol tightly as he slogged up the slopes, dashing from tree to tree. The thin pine woods covered the lower slopes of the mountain, cutting the hot sunlight into dazzling slats of light and dark. There were countless shadows in every direction, any of which could be hiding the mutant and the thought shredded his nerves. Behind him his platoon trudged on, sweeping the slope with their long pulse rifles as they searched for threats. Behind them came the Devilfish, floating serenely over the brambles and bushes. They had to avoid the densest clumps of trees but were making good time regardless. The Piranhas Arbet had dispatched ahead, to scout out the route and make sure they weren't surprised by an ambush.

Arbet didn't think they would find anything, the monsters wouldn't come at him so obviously. The mutant would creep on him in the dark, when his guard was down, it would take him when he least expected it. Arbet couldn't let that happen, he had to find it before it killed him and destroyed the world he loved. Arbet realised he was sweating, not from hearty exercise but with the cold clammy grip of fear. It wouldn't do, he had to compose himself, he had to be strong. Arbet stopped for a moment and breathed out, feeling his heart thundering in his chest. There was a sharp crack behind him and Arbet spun about as his stomach leapt into his throat. For a millisecond he saw scaled flesh, red eyes and the glint of claws but then his vision cleared and he saw it was only Egar. Arbet swallowed to calm his nerves and croaked, "Sergeant?"

Egar paused and looked him up and down then asked, "Sir, are you hale?"

Arbet realised his sweaty complexion and laboured breathing was making him look out of sorts and tried to cover by saying, "Its nothing, a steep hill climb is good for the stamina."

Egar frowned as he pressed, "Are you sure that's all this is?"

Arbet shook his head and said, "I am fighting fit and ready to go."

Egar glanced back to make sure nobody was listening then stepped in to say, "Lieutenant, the men are talking, about you and the mission. We have gone way past our patrol route already and they don't understand why."

Arbet realised his actions were causing doubt among the men, something an officer wasn't supposed to allow but he demurred, "I have my reasons, trust me."

Egar wasn't convinced and spoke, "Sir, we're exceeding orders, we were supposed to guard the flanks not go traipsing up and down every mountain in the range. What are we doing all the way out here?"

Arbet's guts churned but he covered by snapping, "The enemy is out there, I can smell them!"

A look of concern crossed Egar's face and he said, "You can what?"

"Turn of phrase," Arbet bluffed, "I know what I am doing, the monsters won't catch me off guard."

Egar was silent for a long moment then ventured in that careful tone Sergeants use when their officers are acting witless, "Sir… perhaps you'd be more secure in the Devilfish."

"No," Arbet growled, "I am in command here, we press on, that is an order."

With that Arbet turned and strode away, leaving the Sergeant to trail in his wake. He walked confidently but inside his mind was restlessly wrestling with his decision. He knew he wasn't acting right, his behaviour was making the men worried and he was losing their confidence. Egar was a good soul, he cared for the squad as if they were surrogates for his murdered sons but if even he was doubting the Lieutenant then was Arbet fit to lead? A small part of him thought about presenting himself as unfit for duty but the rest of him quashed the notion. The mutant was out there, he had to kill it, only when the monster was dead could he rest. Yes, he thought, when the deed was done he would stop.

Suddenly Arbet's vox bead squawked and a voice came in saying, "Trooper Jonas to platoon, come in."

That was the scouting Piranhas, the ones he had sent ahead and Arbet eagerly hit his vox and said, "Lieutenant Arbet here, report."

Jonas's voice came back, "Sir, we've found something. A large section of the wood has been levelled, someone came through here recently."

Arbet's heart leapt and he almost shouted, "Where are you?!"

Jones replied, "A kilometre ahead, straight on."

"Don't move," Arbet ordered, "We will come to you."

With that he leapt into a jog, forcing the platoon to run in his wake. He breathing was laboured but he was physically fit and only slightly winded as he reached the location. He broke out of the trees to find himself in a wide trail, one that had been hacked out of the woods. One glance was enough to see it was a straight line in the forest, a trail for something large to pass by and it had been cleared recently.

The piranha was floating ahead but Arbet stooped to examine the ground and said, "Tracks, caterpillar tracks left in the mud. Every thirteenth plate is marked with the Aquila."

Egar spat, "Imperials? Here?"

Behind him the platoon milled and Trooper Ganneth asked, "Why would they come all the way up here? We're miles from anywhere."

Arbet had not the slightest idea but the tingling in his palms told him he was on the right track, Confidently he declared, "This is what we've been looking for. They came here for a reason and it is up to us to stop them. We need to move fast now, mount up we need to move at top speed now."

Hurriedly the platoon boarded their Devilfish and Egar muttered, "Sorry for doubting you, Sir."

"Not an issue," Arbet replied distractedly as he pulled himself inside.

He stuck his head out of the top hatch as the Devilfish took off, following the trail in the woods. Arbet wondered why the Space Marines had left such an obvious trail behind them, and what they had been doing here, but such concerns were secondary. The mutant wasn't far away now, the confrontation was upon him and the final fight would soon be here.

Arbet scanned the route as they tore up the hillside, the skimmer vehicles not impeded at all by the slope. Within a few minutes they emerged from the wood onto a road and Arbet saw muddy tracks headed left, climbing up the mountain. "Left, go left!" Arbet shouted and the skimmers responded, flying up the road as they had no more obstacles to negotiate. The road blurred by under him and the wind tore at his face as they climbed. Forks and turns came and went, but the trail was obvious to see, the muddy track churned up by the passage of something immensely heavy. Faster and faster they went, leaving the foothills behind and ascending to the mountain proper.

Soon the land fell away and Arbet was treated to a stunning view of the distant valley, he could see the People's Liberation Army in all its glory and the city that lay before him. The wind stole sound from his ears but he saw flashes of light and fire and knew the battle had begun, the last stand of the Imperials was at hand and freedom loomed for all Maraha. It should have left him awed, but all he could think of was the fight before him, the death of the mutant and the end to all monsters.

Suddenly the road narrowed before him, closing so sharply the Devilfish had to slow down. The pass was too narrow to move fast and the skimmers had to go single file to get through. Arbet cursed every moment wasted but the transports easily made it through the gap, then they set off again. The Lieutenant grinned at their pace, with speed like this they would soon catch up. The Devilfish raced around a blind corner and before Arbet could even focus on the road ahead the Devilfish rang as something struck its prow. Reacting on instinct Arbet ducked under the lintel of the hatch but in the heartbeat he was exposed he saw a line of hefty bikes straddling the road, all pointed his way with bolters blazing. Arbet instantly realised that they had found the Space Marines; they had been waiting for him all along.

The Devilfish rang with hits, its prow taking a battering but the composite armour was far superior to merely human engineering and it held true. Arbet heard a whirr and then a second later the unmistakable sound of burst cannons firing, filling the air with deadly rounds. The hail of bolt fire ceased and the Lieutenant waited for cries of triumph from the driver but there was no such call and he poked his head out to see what was occurring.

What he saw amazed him, the Astartes hadn't waited to be shot at but neither had they retreated. They were headed right at him, closing the range faster than the drivers could compensate for and jinxing from left to right to avoid the sprays of fire. Arbet leapt up and shouted, "Take them down!" but the Astartes' reaction speed was blinding and before the Brownshirts could adapt to the unexpected move the Astartes were in among them. Arbet saw one of them flash by holding a lightning-shrouded spear in one hand. The Lieutenant gasped as he recognised that weapon, these were the same Space Marines as from before, his instincts had been right all along. The Space Marine drove relentlessly into the teeth of the fire, sparks flying from his bike's front cowling and as he flashed by he swung his blade and tore a deep furrow across the transport to the right. The Astartes flashed by, skidding hard to the right so to come up behind the Lieutenant's skimmer.

Arbet was about to call for covering fire but then he saw his worst fear made manifest. Bearing down upon him was a lone Space Marine whose head was hidden by a blank helmet, yet it was not enough to fool the Lieutenant. Arbet's eyes went wide as he saw the mutant at last, the being that had haunted him and stalked his nightmares. His heart thundered as he saw the terrible creature coming right at him, bearing down with a Grenade Launcher fixed to the front of his bike.

"Kill it, kill it!" Arbet yelled frantically but at the same moment the mutant fired, sending a Krak grenade flying at his Devilfish. Arbet was thrown forward as the grenade detonated, blasting a crater in the armoured prow. The kinetic energy sent the Devilfish skidding to one side, thrusters blazing as it attempted to compensate and Arbet was flung against the rim of his hatch, bruising his side as he fumbled with his pistol. He grabbed the weapon and fired it repeatedly at the moving target, he was rewarded with a crack of splintering Ceramite as he hit the side of the bike but then the mutant flashed past. The Lieutenant fired wildly over and over but couldn't get an angle and lost sight of his target. Then he felt the Devilfish spin under him and saw the rest doing the same, trying to target the looping bikes surrounding them.

"No, don't let them lead you!" he desperately shouted but it was too late. The transports were mixed up on the narrow road, caught in a jumble of prows and thrusters. They were getting in each other's way and unable to get a clear shot. Suddenly the spear-wielding Astartes shot out of the tangled confusion, racing away up the road. He was followed by the others, all of them racing away into the distance as the Devilfish banged up against each other. In seconds the Astartes had turned an orderly advance into a comical farce and then effected a withdrawal.

"Get back in line, they can't get away, pull up straight damn you!" Arbet yelled to get the transports sorted then as order returned he shouted, "Go, go, go! Get after them and send out the gun-drones and Piranhas. They tried to break us but failed, we've got them now."