Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 57
The wind tore into his face, pulling his lips back over his teeth. The noise was incredible, filling his world with a thunderous cacophony. Without the glassic canopy flying his Vulture was nearly impossible. The wind in his eyes tried to blot out his vision while the roar of the air mixed with the howling of the jet engine just behind his head and the barking of the guns made Reddam nearly deaf, yet he refused to admit he was beaten. Reddam was a Space Marine, even half-blind and deafened he would not leave the fight while his Chapter was in danger. His Brothers were down there and he would not leave them.
Before him the air was filled with flying Eldar. They were everywhere, soaring over the embattled Amber Vipers with contemptuous ease. Reddam was determined to knock that superiority out of them as White Condor dove into their midst, weapons firing constantly. At his side rode the other Vultures, his squad and the survivors of the others. They had been duelling Eldar skirmishers along the perimeter and lost several of their number. Only seven Vultures were returning to the fray, they could only trust it would be enough.
Glord was firing the guns ceaselessly and he had to yell over the howling wind, "They're everywhere, I can't miss!"
Reddam could barely hear him over the din, only his implanted Lyman's ear let him discern the words, and he shouted back, "Keep firing, give them every last shot we have!"
Before his charge the Eldar scattered, their swirling forms rushing to get out of his way. The multi-lasers were flashing constantly and the heavy bolter roared, mowing beasts from the sky. Their surprise charge had shifted the balance of the battle, but not by much. The Eldar were caught off guard but rallied quickly, turning from the beleaguered ground defenders to confront their airborne attackers. Arrows began crashing off the Vulture's flanks, gouging the metal badly. Reddam was all too aware a single shot to his unprotected form could kill him and he desperately jinked left and right, thrashing the control stick as his feet kicked at the rudders. White Condor lurched through the sky, stumbling like a drunk but the desperate evasion bought them through alive. Others were not so fortunate.
Reddam saw a Vulture set upon by an Eldar who was lobbing some form of projectile. They shattered against the hull like a grenade, spraying razor-sharp fragments over the nose, which were eagerly sucked into the air intake. The Vulture lurched as its engine exploded, spewing black smoke as its lifting power died and it went into a nose-dive. The pilot was seconds away from death but he made the price of his life dear, he steered his dying craft towards the packed ranks of Eldar on the ground, ploughing into their masses in a fiery explosion.
Reddam felt his anger growing to see noble Brothers dying to alien hands but that was only the start. Off to his left he saw Kazao and Joffel duelling with an Eldar on a blue animal, the Xenos wielding a glittering green spear. The Amber Vipers flew at it weapons blazing but the beast barrel-rolled past them and the spear struck out. Kazao's Vulture lurched in the air as one of its wings was sliced apart, it staggered pathetically, barely staying in the air as the Eldar came about for another pass.
"Target that scum!" Reddam roared as he swung White Condor around and he felt the heavy bolter shaking the aircraft with its fury. A hail of tracers surrounded the Eldar, each one promising instant death but the rider urged his beast to dive, evading the salvo and diving back into the fray. Reddam broke off pursuit as he saw Kazao's Vulture limping along and shouted into his vox mike, "Kazao, break off."
"We can still fight!" the vox-bead hissed in his ear, barely audible over the din.
"Don't be a fool," Reddam barked, "You're crippled and useless. Withdraw, that's an order!"
Kazao's Vulture obeyed instantly, swinging its nose towards the shadow under the forest canopy. It was fifty kilometres back to base and Reddam had no idea if they could make it, but he had no time to spare to watch them. Everywhere Eldar flyers beset the Imperial gunships, while the ground forces were pressing forward, trampling a ring of fading flames to crush the last resistance. To stand and die against impossible odds was the stuff of legends, but the Amber Vipers could not risk that. They had not the means to rise from the ashes, there would be none left to sing of their deaths or continue to build the Chapter. They had to get out of here or their saga ended this day. Reddam could see the valiant form of Coluber, trying to organise a withdrawal back to the transports but he had not enough time to get his Marines out. Reddam knew he could not risk turning his back on the aerial war lest he be shot down, but without aid Chapter would die in the mud. The choice was clear and he would make it a hundred times over.
"Incoming fire support, danger close!" Reddam yelled into the vox, unsure if anyone could hear him as he pushed his nose down. White Condor dove for the ground, exposing its rear to any attacker who could intervene. Reddam felt like target icons were painted all over his back and his skin itched but he pressed towards the Eldar beasts trampling towards the retreating defenders. Glord held fire as they dove; letting the range close and then when they were in the perfect position he fired. A booming roar heralded streams of rockets shooting forth from the pods under the wings, leaving trails of exhaust as they crashed down into the midst of the Eldar. Fire, light and death were gifted unto the aliens. Explosions walked up the line of animals, blasting bodies apart, spraying fire and death in their ranks and throwing broken animals to the ground in steaming heaps of gore. The explosions were perilously close to the defenders but Glord had aimed perfectly and smote only the Eldar, leaving the humans unharmed.
The attack faltered for a moment as Redam pulled out of his dive, G-forces crushing him as he tried to see what was happening. The Eldar attack had stalled, thrown back for a moment and buying time for the humans to race to their machines. Men and Astartes poured into Valkyries, their orderly dispositions cast aside in the rush. Then there was a howling growl as something bigger rose above them. It was the Thunderhawk Viper's Bite, packed to bursting with warriors as it lifted off. The heavy bolters were already firing as it rose, sweeping the skies with deadly accurate fire. Waves of Valkyries took off in its wake, far less than had arrived but enough to carry the survivors to safety. Door gunners blazed into the madness, trusting to the sheer weight of fire to compensate for their frantic aim. So the aircraft took off, surging through the flying morass of enemies as they dove into the shadows of the forest and left the burning digsite behind.
"Cover the withdrawal," Reddam voxed, still unsure if anyone could hear him. The retreating transports were surrounded as the Eldar tried to prevent their escape. Reddam threw himself after them, opening the throttle as they plunged into the darkness. The world shifted from light to dim gloom and he saw nothing but wings filling the air but they charged in regardless, their multi-lasers stabbing out over and over. A flying beast took a shot to the spine and dropped from sight but another dashed past, its rider sending an arrow at him. The shaft struck Reddam's seat and sent sparks into his face. His skin burned and he knew a fraction of a degree to the right and it would have skewered his head. He blinked furiously but pressed on, chasing the retreating transports as they fought off their pursuers. A larger beast with five riders was trying to put shafts into Viper's Bite's thrusters but Larus and Tebes were already moving to intervene, their multi-lasers and heavy bolter punching holes into its wings. Elsewhere human pilots tried to evade shots, while steering around trees. It was a mad melee of confusion and bedlam, human against alien and Reddam wasn't sure if the Amber Vipers could escape this trap.
That was when Reddam saw it, the same blue beast that had clipped Kazao and Joffel's Vulture, coming for him. It was diving from above, the rider holding aloft that strange glittering spear. Already the foe was on an attack run, committed to a dive that would bring the lethal spear into contact. Reddam had seen the effect of that spear and he knew if it made contact White Condor would be destroyed. His hands were already moving, reflexively jerking the Vulture over in a desperate evasion. The world spun as he dipped his wing and his stomach rose into his mouth as his altitude dropped, the sudden lack of downwards thrust grabbing the machine and dragging it from the sky. It was a bold manoeuvre, with the speed of Transhuman reflexes behind it and they almost made it.
As they rolled the Eldar swooped and the spear snaked out, catching the rim of the cockpit and slicing through. A flash of green light burst from the crystalline tip, a discharge of living power that no human could have understood, let alone wielded. The tip of the weapon sliced through metal and readouts and controls, then it cut through Reddam's bicep and stomach and out the other side of the cockpit.
"Arrrrgh!" Reddam screamed as a line of liquid fire cut diagonally through him, searing agony tearing his torso apart. It was pain unlike any other he had felt, clawing at his nerves and gnawing at his muscles, leaving needles buried into his joints. His whole body locked up in protest, unable to see or hear as his vision swan and his ears filled with thunder. This was impossible, Reddam was Astartes, pain should fire his anger and rage but this torment ate his strength like wildfire and left behind the cold ashes of weakness. Whatever magics the Xenos had bound within that weapon were potent enough to cripple a Space Marine.
"Reddam!" a faint voice shrieked, cutting through the torment, "Sergeant, wake up!"
"Gnnnagh," Reddam snarled in agony.
"Open your frakking eyes!" the voice yelled.
It was Glord, his voice penetrating the Sergeant's pain. Reddam forced his eyes open and realised White Condor was falling, plummeting towards the ground like a dropped stone. The engine was chugging behind his head but without direction it was creating no thrust. They were falling from the sky in a powerless tumble, the world blurring as it spun around them. He had no awareness of the larger battle, no sense if they had been left to die or were in the middle of the fight. The wind was a howling cacophony in his ears and his stomach was in his mouth, the sensation of falling uncontrollably overwhelming all other input, save for the pain which dug claws of fire into his nerves.
Reddam had seconds to avert a fatal crash but his chest was on fire and he could hardly feel his arms. The Eldar's spear had taken his strength from him and left him weak as a newborn. The thought of that lit a defiant spark within him, the idea of being laid low by a filthy Xeno being an affront to every fibre of his being. Righteous hate gripped his hearts and made his lip curl. Reddam refused to be beaten by an alien, he refused to fail. Driven by his anger his arm moved and slapped the control stick, it took every ounce of his willpower to close his hand around it but he forced his digits closed. His arm felt like jelly but he kept his hand shut and leaned back, drawing the stick to him. His chest burned as pain tried to prise his grip open but his will was steel and somehow he managed to keep the stick back. He had control but alas no power to the thrusters and in the second it had taken him to grab the stick they had tumbled ever closer to the ground. Reddam couldn't spare the attention to check the altimeter but they must be close for Glord yelled, "We're going to crash!"
Reddam flung his left arm for the throttle but it was a dead weight, numb and unfeeling. His nerveless hand flopped over the small handle, unable to close around it. He knew his life was measured in seconds and tried again but this time he missed entirely, banging his numb fingers on a panel. The pain seemed to be mocking him, jeering at his incompetence as Glord yelled, "Pull up, pull up!"
Reddam made one last desperate attempt to grab the throttle and this time his thumb caught under the control. Frantically he heaved forwards, pushing the engine to the limit and the jet answered with a roar. Blasts of vector thrust shot out of the wing tips, fighting the momentum of their fall and Reddam heaved back on the stick, struggling to get their nose up. Blessedly they slowed, losing speed as the jet wailed like a banshee. Reddam could feel nothing but pain, not even the G-force crushing him down compared to the agony in his flesh but still he thought they were going to make it. That was when the ground rose and attacked them.
White Condor was braking hard when it hit the forest floor. Belly first it slammed down into the packed earth, throwing up a cloud of mud and broken roots. Plumes of dirt were instantly sucked into the air-intake, clogging the jet engine with filth. The wings cracked along their width, breaking into useless pieces and the twin booms snapped, raining plasteel chunks from shattered spars. The craft had slowed just enough to avoid killing the crew but the force of the crash broke White Condor's bones, the Vulture would never fly again. Reddam however was aware of none of that, all he felt was a kick to the rear like the foot of a god up his arse, then a shower of mud and dirt fell upon him, burying him in the muck. Pain surged to new heights and it was too much for him. Reddam's mind collapsed under the strain. Wounded and in agony he passed out, dropping into the pit of unconsciousness and he knew no more.