Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 39

His armour felt stronger, its movements crisp and smooth. The ceramite casing had been repaired beautifully and the fibre bundle musculature hadn't felt so good in years. His new breastplate shone like a bronzed mirror and every detail and honour marking was polished. The back still felt hot on his skin but other than that Ferrac was pleased with the repair work, the plate's spirit had been restored to nearly mint condition.

"So, does this please you?" came the voice of Nathanal.

Ferrac swung his arms left and right, as the auto-motive pauldrons shifted their angles to compensate, saying, "It is good."

His voice was almost lost in the bustle of the landing bay, filled as it was with labouring chattels and grinding machinery. Teams of mortals doted upon the Amber Viper's twin Thunderhawks, Viper's Bite and Poisoned Fang, the only two gunships they had left. Further back smaller Arvus lighters and servitor-driven cargo lifters loomed, the salvaged craft forming the bulk of the Chapter's aerial coterie. They were essential craft, the Chapter couldn't function without them, but they were pathetic war machines when set against a true Thunderhawk. The venerable design powerful and robust and furious in battle. It was no exaggeration to say those two gunships held the Chapter's fighting strength in their claws and they were revered among the fighting ranks.

Ferrac turned his gaze from the twin craft to peer down at the mortal as he inquired, "Is this your work?"

Nathanal shook his head as he said, "Not mine, my finest apprentice, Kerubim."

Ferrac clenched and unclenched his gauntlets, approving of the increased strength as he said, "He does nice work."

Nathanal grimaced as he said, "When he puts his mind to it he can, sadly his focus is lacking."

Ferrac was surprised to hear that and said, "Surely to make the grade of Space Marine he must have dedication and fervour."

"That's not the problem, it's not even that he's learned all I have to teach him, It's that he knows he has surpassed me. He has reached the limits of what I can teach and he yearns for fresh challenges."

"Hunh, he's certainly going to get that," Ferrac muttered.

The pair of them turned to gaze at the ramp of Viper's Bite, where a red-armoured Astartes stood alongside two lines of warriors. These were the escort waiting to accompany the lords of the Chapter on their envoy to the Navigator House, a ceremonial detail in full heraldry. Their power armour shone to perfection, their honours were newly restored and their weapons were held rock steady. Excelsium Squad and Torvus Squad, the finest warriors of Primus Cohort, standing at parade rest, along with Kerubim and his Vorax robot.

Ferrac started marching towards them and Sergeant Excelsium barked, "Attention!" The squads slammed into formal stance in perfect synchronicity, and Ferrac was pleased to not see a fault among them. The Battle-Captain slowly paced up and down before them, inspecting his warriors with a stern eye. Excelsium's squad had their weapons held at rest and their jump packs gleamed while Torvus' Tacticals held their bolters in perfect alignment. Secundus and Tertius Cohorts operated with devolved autonomy, each sergeant given freedom to operate independently, but Primus was Ferrac's own command and he held his warriors to the highest standards. Not for him the sloppy attitude of the lower orders, he demanded the same conformity and discipline of any other Chapter. Secundus and Tertius were necessary evils in his mind, a crude mould from which to forge a true weapon. Primus was the future of the Chapter and one day all Amber Vipers would be held to this measure.

Ferrac was finally satisfied that all was in order and faced them saying, "Congratulations, you appear to be in order. I expected no less, but be warned the Amber Vipers are placing our necks into a noose. If this does not go as expected we may have to fight our way out."

Sergeant Excelsium grinned as he said, "Are we sure we don't want to bring the rest of Primus along?"

"Two squads is enough, more would place them on alert," Ferrac replied, "If it comes to violence twenty armed Astartes should be able to fight off a rabble of private bondsmen."

Excelsium hefted his trident as he concurred, "No Navigator's painted Huscarls will stand against us."

He heard a scuffle and saw Nathanal confronting Kerubim saying, "Oh no… you're not taking that Vorax along."

Kerubim's frowned as he protested, "But Bane will whine if I'm not here."

"It's not your pet!" Nathanal snapped, "It is a blessed device, a war machine not a mastiff."

Ferrac eyed the Vorax warily and interjected, "Leave it, we can manage without it."

Kerubim glared in frustration at being overridden but could not argue with the Battle-Captain. Finally he muttered, "As you wish, but keep him under control Nathanal, he will miss me."

"Worry about yourself," Ferrac muttered, "Because here they come."

From across the launch bay came Chapter Master Coluber, Shrios and the diminutive Navigator Mihas. Ferrac eyed the little mutant, completely dominated by the pair of Astartes looming over him as they walked across the bay. His face was still pale and his expression was nervous but he walked with a steady gait and soon reached them. Ferrac treated him to a growl as Shrios hurried him up the ramp but Coluber came to a halt and faced the squads. The Chapter Master gleamed in his plate armour, every inch of him resplendent and on his hip was his mighty relic blade Venom. Coluber looked over the warriors and then declared, "Brothers, today we write a new page in our history, today we take a glorious step out of the shadows and into the light. We are in orbit over Braxia and will soon meet with the Novator of House Chamandley. We seek to forge an alliance unlike any other we have known before, not merely for Navigators to steer our ships but for the recognition of a powerful Imperial institution. As such I expect each of you to be the exemplar of our order, wear your pride on your sleeve and hold your heads high. Now, to your places."

The two squads turned and marched into the troop bay of Viper's Bite but as they did so Nathanal stepped up and said, "I should be going."

Coluber shook his head and said, "No, your presence would confuse matters. I need this Novator to see us as a proud Chapter, so only Astartes shall go. I trust your apprentice can look suitably formidable."

Nathanal nodded and said, "He can look the part, just don't let him wander off."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Ferrac muttered touching the haft of his axe-rake which was clamped to his hip.

"Then let us move out," Coluber said, leading Ferrac inside the Thunderhawk.

Once inside Ferrac positioned himself in a restraint cage, locking himself in its bare bars. He spied the frail Navigator looking about in confusion, seeing no cage fit for a mortal, and called, "No soft comforts here mutant, this beast is built for war."

Mihas swallowed nervously but Kerubim spoke up, "Try binding yourself into the cargo netting, the pilots will try to keep this smooth."

Mihas hurriedly strapped himself in as Viper's Bite sealed itself shut and took off. The launch was surprisingly gentle, by Astartes standards, but Mihas closed his normal eyes and looked like he was about to be sick. Ferrac felt the engines stir as the gunship exited the bay, emerging into the void over Braxia's moon. Outside he knew the Amber Viper's fleet was sitting at geosynchronous anchor, awaiting the result of their envoy and doubtless under the guns of whatever orbital defences the moon boasted. He knew their meagre fleet of captured junkers wouldn't fare well in such a confrontation, even Wyvern wasn't that powerful in void terms. If this didn't go well they were in trouble.

As Viper's Bite began to drop Kerubim inquired, "So, what is Braxia like?"

Mihas was turning green but with a nauseous tone he replied, "A minor agri-world, of no real import. House Chamandley purchased land rights to the moon from the local Governor two-hundred years ago. We built our palace and the orbital guns out of our own pocket."

Kerubim sounded bemused as he mused, "The Governor let you build a private fortress on his moon?"

Mihas managed to inject some pride into his tone as he corrected, "Why not, after all we bought the whole moon."

Ferrac wasn't surprised by that but Kerubim started, "Fang-rot, how rich is your family?!"

Shrios laughed loudly at that and declared, "Boy, you have no idea. Navigators have been accruing wealth since the Emperor walked as a man. They have their fingers in every pot and a cut of every transaction in the galaxy. If mutants weren't so reviled they'd probably own the Imperium by now."

Coluber elaborated, "Most Navigator Houses own palaces on Terra and nothing is more expensive than land on Old Earth. The worth of a square metre of ground there could buy a Hive City on most other worlds. Owning a moon is short-change to most Novators."

Kerubim fell quiet in shock and the rest of the trip passed in silence. Ferrac had no interest in looking outside so he waited as the gunship hit a thin atmosphere and decelerated. He had done this countless times and was untroubled but Mihas looked like he thought the gunship would explode at any moment. Doubtless he was accustomed to soft descents in beautiful shuttles, complete with inertial grav-couches and nubile serving girls offering him beverages from crystal wine flutes, but a Thunderhawk was a different beast, they flew hard and fast and even without trying they reached the surface in mere minutes.

Ferrac waited until the Thunderhawk set down with a jolt then he was instantly on his feet and at the ramp. Ferrac saw thin lights outside and was moving before it even set down, followed by the squads in combat formation. They bounced out and formed a perimeter, guns facing outwards. He found himself in a bare rockcrete landing zone, sitting at the bottom of a shaft that rose high above. They must surely be deep underground, in a shuttle pad buried into the surface of the moon. The air was thin but steadily increasing and the bay was surprisingly quiet. No ground teams were waiting for them, no Tech-priest to service their craft and no servitors to refuel it. Yet there were guards, forty of them in a row before him. Ferrac eyed the humans and was not impressed. They were of no great height or build and bore only lasrifles as arms. Their uniforms were bright yellow, with black dots lining their limbs and they wore tall fur hats, that towered nearly a foot over their heads. Their boots were polished to a shine and their necks had leather stocks that kept their chins up at all times. Ferrac saw no scars on their faces, no signs any of them had fought a real battle and he judged he could kill them all on his own using nothing but his axe-rake.

His vox-bead crackled in his ear as Excelsium sneered, "Paper soldiers, these Navigators put their trust in men with no spine."

Ferrac ignored the remark as he strode forward and declared, "I am Battle-Captain Ferrac of the Amber Vipers, we are expected."

One small man, with a waxed moustache looked up at him and replied, "I am Vusergo, of the House Huscarls. We are your escort, Novator Chamandley will meet you in his throne room but first you must disarm."

Ferrac was amused by that and retorted, "That's not going to happen."

This Vusergo looked like a child who had been denied a sweet as he protested, "I must insist you relinquish your guns!"

Ferrac leaned in close and growled, "I'm willing to relinquish one round, where do you want it?"

Vusergo quailed but before anything could occur a loud voice cried, "Peace!"

Ferrac's head came up and he saw a gaggle of mortals entering the bay, each one covered in rich robes or fine clothing. They looked like a cloud of floating peacocks, each one competing with the next for the lavishness of their attire. Medleys of colours and hairstyles bloomed among them, a profusion of fashions and artistic flairs. Elaborate wigs and powdered faces were commonplace as was unsuitable footwear that looked poorly designed for running to his eye. There seemed to be some code to their dress, some indicator of hierarchy, but it was lost on Ferrac. Yet he could not help but notice they all had third eyes on their foreheads. Navigators, in the flesh.

Vusergo spun about and exclaimed, "Lord Chamandley, you should not be here!"

A wizened man came to halt before them and said, "Nonsense, I wouldn't shame so lauded a guest as a Chapter Master by making him walk to me. I am Walkaq Chamandley, Novator of this House and I honour you with my presence."

Ferrac caught the implication and seeing no danger barked, "Squads, form up."

Both squad instantly reformed, coming to present two lines leading from the Thunderhawk to the Novator. Two gleaming lines came to be, facing inwards and holding their weapons aloft, then the Chapter Master finally emerged. Coluber strode down the ramp and marched with his head held high, followed by Shrios, Kerubim and rather sheepishly Mihas. Ferrac heard the Navigators gasp at his glorious countenance and a few shrank back as he came to stand before them. Then the Chapter Master declared, "Novator, I am Coluber and I thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

Walkaq beamed insincerely as he replied, "The honour is mine, I offer you my assurance of safety upon your person and guarantee of safe passage."

Coluber nodded solemnly and replied, "May I present my aides, Shrios, Kerubim and Ferrac you have already met."

Walkaq replied, "May I present my wife Grizelda, my Vizier Burtao, my Majordomo Xateral and my Chief-Factor Lertia."

Various heads among the Navigators bobbed but Ferrac didn't bother to memorise them. Fat, vacuous hangers-on and yes-men if he ever saw one. They had no power or influence, the only real potentate here was the Novator. Yet even as he thought this one other stood forth, a man not in robes but a tight bodyglove, draped with a short cape over one shoulder and a pair of Shuriken pistols on his hips. His face was tanned and he had a broad grin and uniquely in this crowd he possessed no third eye. He was completely human and for some reason was grinned broadly.

Walkaq coughed slightly then proclaimed, "Ah yes and this is my good friend and trading partner. May I present the famous Rogue Trader, Saffor Rodoth Teliday."