Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 52

Bane's melta hissed as it cut deeply into the tree, slicing the trunk apart. The anti-tank weapon was designed to punch through reinforced armour and it tore through the wood with ease as it moved sideways. Bark incinerated in seconds, wood charred to ashes and sap boiled away as the sub-fusion beam bored deeply into the trunk and out the other side. Then it snapped off, leaving a vicious slice in the heart of the kilometre high tree.

"Cease," Kerubim ordered and the Vorax obeyed instantly, stepping back from the target. He waited a moment as the scent of scalded sap clung to his nostrils then moved in and examined the trunk. He was satisfied by the result, the cut was in perfect alignment and he swiftly determined the next angle of attack. He stepped back and muttered a string of numbers to Bane, setting the next shot into its cyborg consciousness and then looked about. As far as he could see bustling workers toiled, human Huscarls working side by side with the Amber Vipers. They were burning away the underbrush and shovelling the ground, as others paced up and down with Auspex scanners in hand. Further out a perimeter guard stood watch, protecting the dig site against further attacks. It was a picture of busy industry but most importantly nobody was standing in his designated drop zone.

"Attack," Kerubim ordered and Bane leapt to obey, its melta gun firing once more with the hissing of oxygen molecules being evaporated. Again the tree was sliced by a super-hot beam of energy and the two cuts came together, describing a thick wedge in the bulk of the trunk. The beam snapped off and the tree sat steaming for a second, then it began to groan. Kerubim hastily took a step back as the bark began to splinter and shatter, spraying splinters in all directions. The immense tree had just had a significant portion of its lower reach removed and the stress was too much. The titanic weight pulled it to one side as it began an inevitable fall to one side. Kerubim had precisely calculated the angle of the fall to take it away from the humans but still showers of wooden splinters pinged off his armour and nicked his face as the mighty tree careened over. It was an impressive thing to see a kilometre tall tree topple over and the noise it made filled the world with thunder as its distant summit plummeted downwards, slamming into the dirt over a kilometre away. Kerubim waited for the rain of displaced mud and twigs to settle then called, "Area clear, move in."

From a safe distance came a gaggle of Huscarls and Snakelet-scouts from Tertitus Cohort. They instantly set to work, shovelling earth away and hacking at roots with las-cutters. In a few minutes they had cleared a small amount of debris but still one of the youths muttered, "Damned roots, they're harder than plasteel. It's going to take ages to reach the auspex return."

Kerubim was untroubled as he replied, "We will keep working as long as we have to. The auspex says there is something big buried under this tree, possibly a cluster of power armours or maybe even another tank."

The crew continued working, digging to reach the buried treasure. Kerubim however turned his eyes to take in the scene, observing the efforts of the Amber Vipers to recover their prize. Everywhere men and Astartes laboured, covering themselves in muck as they sought the buried armour. Elsewhere the perimeter was watched by Squads of Primus with bolters held ready and dug-in heavy weapons emplacements manned by mortals, while the Vulture gunships sat on the rough ground, engines idling in readiness. The noise of the camp was a hearty beat of industry mixed with the shouting of work gangs. Kerubim looked up and saw a slice of sky overhead. He had personally felled a dozen trees, clearing the area of obstructions and opening a means for their transports to exit the dig-site without having to traverse the forest itself. That was a greatly welcome prospect, the idea of braving the Eldar again was sub-optimal. Kerubim feared no enemy but their numbers were not limitless and the weight of their prizes would slow them down. Better to leave as fast as possible once they had their treasure in hand.

Suddenly his vox squawked and Coluber's voice ordered, "Kerubim, report to my position."

"Order confirmed," Kerubim voxed back as he set off.

The young marine walked with a brisk step, his Vorax in tow. They passed various workgangs in their deepening pits and was pleased to see the first signs of Ceramite chassis starting to emerge from the dirt. Their angular frames were unlike anything else on this feral planet, distinctly imperial in make. Kerubim had studied the STC lore about Astartes wargear in depth was certain some of the shapes were Rhino transports, while another had a proud missile launcher array on its roof, unmistakably a Hunter anti-air tank. In other places men were dragging suits of power armour out piece by piece, their proud colours had been worn away by centuries of erosion but the Ceramite had proved inviolable to the ravages of time. Even as he watched a whole suit was lifted out of a pit, caked in mud but otherwise intact, as was the bulky plasma cannon strapped to its chest. It was an exhilarating sight, already the expedition to Athelling had recovered enough war gear to boost the Amber Viper's martial power significantly and there was every indication that yet more artefacts lay buried, waiting to be recovered.

Kerubim soon found the Chapter Master, standing near to Viper's Bite along with Battle-Captain Ferrac and a mortal Huscarl, Vesurgo of the Chamandley's Household guard if Kerubim recalled correctly. The mortal's voice was trembling as he addressed the Transhuman warriors but still he dared to say, "It will be getting dark soon."

Coluber replied indifferently, "Then we will have to rig up some floodlights."

Vesurgo shook his head and said, "That's not what I mean, my men have been labouring all day. You've been driving them non-stop since we arrived, they need a rest."

"Mortal weaklings," Ferrac muttered is disdain.

Yet Coluber stated, "If your arms grow tired then have your men rotate out with the perimeter guards."

"Tired men make mistakes, we're not like you. We can't last forever," Vesurgo protested.

Coluber was unmoved as he said, "We are no less tired than you, but the Emperor gives us fire. Perhaps you should address your men and put some vim into their spirits."

Vesurgo's face creased as he spat, "Easy for you to say, you didn't lose a man on the way here. I lost eight Valkyries and a hundred and nine soldiers to the Xenos attack!"

Ferrac leaned down and held his gun's grip as he snarled, "Care to make it a hundred and ten?"

Vesurgo's courage wilted in the face of the Battle-Captain's ire but Coluber stated firmly, "You have the authority to rotate your men as you see fit, but the digging will continue. Go make whatever arrangements you require... now."

Vesurgo seemed to decide discretion was the better part of valour and hurried away. Meanwhile Kerubim saluted his Chapter Master and declared, "Reporting as ordered."

Coluber glanced at him and said, "Yes good, I require a report on our progress."

Kerubim had been overseeing the excavation and said, "In the last twelve hours we have made excellent progress, we have identified the borders of the battlefield the Rogue Trader stumbled upon and are certain that everything of worth is concentrated within this small area. The first finds are being brought up now and we have several more promising leads to explore."

Ferrac sniffed, "Seems a small area, for so grand a battle."

Kerubim awkwardly admitted, "I have made an initial assessment of the discovery, I am sorry to say that Saffor Teliday overestimated the scale of the Howling Griffon's force. There isn't a Company here, not even close."

Coluber cocked his head and said, "Then what do we have?"

Kerubim drew in a breath and said, "Its a rough estimate, but given Auspex readings I can tentatively say we are looking at the remains of three Tactical squads and at least one scout-squad. Plus Rhinos and a Hunter tank."

Ferrac snorted, "Given the enemy we faced the Howling Griffons would have been better advised to bring a Stalker."

"Hindsight is always perfect," Coluber demurred, "Was there anything else?"

Kerubim nodded, "I have two strong returns, probably main battle tanks of some description but without clearer readings I can't identify the pattern yet."

Coluber turned to an open pit and said, "And tell me what you make of this."

Kerubim frowned as he saw a shape emerging from the dirt, unearthed one spadeful at a time. It was smaller and lighter than any tank design he had studied, sleeker and with turbine engines set before an open cockpit and a small open section in the middle. Kerubim had never seen the like but guessed, "A Land Speeder?"

"Land Speeder Storm," Coluber confirmed, "A rare find."

Ferrac nodded, "Our discovery may only be three squad's worth, but its still more than we've seen in years. This haul will take the Amber Vipers to greatness."

Coluber mused, "The question is how to get it out of here."

Kerubim proposed, "I recommend using the Thunderhawks to fly everything out, they're the only craft with the lift capacity to carry the vehicles."

Coluber lifted an eyebrow and queried, "That means sending a significant portion of our firepower away."

Yet Ferrac snorted, "Its that or level half the forest to let the Angantyr land."

Coluber concurred, "Very well, we will hold this position until the prizes are safely in our holds. Yet we cannot ignore the remainder of our mission."

"My lord?" Kerubim asked in confusion.

Coluber explained, "Recovering the Howling Griffon's wargear was only half our mission, we have yet to reach the lost starship. According to our readings it is fifteen kilometres further on from this location."

Ferrac hissed, "The Howling Griffons got so close then fell within sight of their goal."

Coluber agreed, "A tragedy but where they failed we shall succeed. I shall remain here and oversee the recovery efforts, Ferrac, take Excelsium squad to probe ahead and take Kerubim with you."

"Me?" Kerubim squawked in surprise.

"You're our tech-expert," Coluber replied, "You are best suited to understand the mysteries that lie ahead. I would summon Nathanal but there are troubling radiation emissions from the location, only a Space Marine can go. This dig is well in hand, you shall accompany the Battle-Captain"

Kerubim bowed to the order but in his hearts he could not help but imagine what lay ahead. A lost starship, undisturbed since the Dark Age of Technology, he wondered what mysteries it held and what dangers. This was an opportunity such as might come but once in a lifetime. He was eager to proceed and confront those perils immediately but sadly in his exuberance he forgot to consider the danger behind.