Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 125

In the command centre of the Serpens Rex Coluber was presiding over a ceremony of induction. He held himself proudly, his armour gleaming and his chin high. His leg still ached but repeated surgeries had implanted plasteel rods to support the withered bone and his muscles had been stripped and grafted to restore their strength. He could move and fight once more but the pain lingered and he still bore a limp, he would bear it to the end of his days.

Coluber put this from his mind as he looked at the warrior kneeling before him. Brother Hasak, the giant aberrant. That such a twisted freak would rise so high was hard to believe but endless testaments had proclaimed his courage and valour, his steadfast commitment and unyielding devotion to Brotherhood. Maru Kysoto himself had probed the Aberrant's soul and declared him sound in mind and pure of spirit. If that wasn't enough a hundred eyes had seen him break a Necron leader over his knee and such bravery must be rewarded. So against all odds Hasak was to be honoured, by becoming a Brother-Exemplar.

Hasak had changed his apparel. He now bore the finest Mark VIII plate, the plate of dead Vardat lovingly restored to perfect from. The armour had been modified to fit his swollen frame but in Ceramite he merely looked like a taller than normal Astartes. The plate was dazzling amber in hue and bore the black snake and goblet icon on the left pauldron. It boasted engraved serpents coiled around the graves and forearms and his chest displayed the skeletal Emperor upon the Golden Throne. The Brother's head was bowed low and at his belt was a helm crested with a red hairbrush crest, that rose from the back and ended before the forehead.

Coluber looked down upon Hasak and uttered, "Do you vow to fight as my personal guard, standing at my side in battle and sharing every danger with me?"

Hasak replied solemnly, "I swear."

Coluber continued, "Do you vow to lay down your life for honour?"

Hasak replied, "I swear."

Coluber spoke, "Do you vow to be an Exemplar in thought and word and deed, so all may aspire to match your purity."

Hasak pledged, "I swear."

From the side came forth Kregulf the Cerberii and he presented a Burst-lance saying, "This is entrusted to you as a token of respect. Wield it well and with reverence, its value is greater than your life."

Hasak stood up and took the lance and vowed, "I shall."

Coluber accepted this vow then said, "Thus you are a Brother-Exemplar. Now go forth and let the Chapter see you."

Maru Kysoto interjected from behind, "Meet me in the third dojo in one hour, to begin your training."

Hasak bowed and then turned and marched out. Coluber was proud of the Marine's comportment and bearing, who would have thought an Aberrant could hide such valour. Yet there was little time for resting on his laurels, much remained to be done. Coluber turned about and took in his new headquarters, the gleaming walls and dazzling floor laid bare before the command platform. The centre was bustling with activity as Chattels went about their duties, filling the operational pits with busy industry and steering the Serpens Rex away from the Grim Pall nebula and out into the galaxy. It had taken weeks of arduous warp-jumps to clear the nebula, followed by a brief resupply at Kimdaria. It had not been a welcome return but the Knights had been pleased to learn of their noble forebearer's valorous end. House Mortan had honoured the fallen and promised to send the names of the Ghost Crusade to Terra via Astropath. With the word of a Knight House to back it surely Warmaster Drake's wish would be fulfilled, his crusaders would be remembered for their deeds and their banner placed before the Eternity Gate alongside the noblest champions of the Imperium.

Now the Amber Vipers pressed on, seeking their fate in the expanse of the galaxy. A great future lay before them but more immediate concerns lay at his door so he turned to his advisors. Arrayed upon the platform were Kregulf, Ferrac, Shrios, Maru Kysoto and the mortal Nathanal. All impatient to be getting back to their duties. Coluber knew they had their quarrels and feuds but all were dedicated to restoring the Amber Vipers to glory. So he better get on with it.

Coluber drew in a breath and commenced, "The formalities are done with, so let's address today's problems. Shrios, how fare our wounded?"

The Apothecary sniffed, "Those who will live have recovered. As for the rest I have harvested their gene-seed. This battle was costly, we went in with three hundred Marines we came out with roughly two hundred."

That brought winces and Ferrac muttered, "We barely got the third generation into their scout-plate, now we need a fourth."

"Subject to my approval," Maru interjected, "We agreed that your recruitment process is lacking in stringency and rigour. I plan to take steps to correct these errors."

"We need every hand that can hold a bolter," Ferrac retorted, "If we start rejecting good stock we will be extinct in a decade."

Coluber raised a hand and said, "Don't argue, we shall recruit and increase our numbers. But we need to improve the Marines we have as well. We shall draw up a new training regime when we have the chance."

Shrios was looking at Coluber thoughtfully and mused, "About the leg, you're sure you don't want an augmetic?"

Coluber asked, "Would it be as strong?"

Nathanal shrugged, "I don't have the materials or skilled hands to craft a perfect replacement, best I can give you is sixty-five percent of functionality."

"Sixty-five?!" Coluber scorned, "I'll pass."

"But the pain," Shrios pressed.

"It's only pain," Coluber scoffed, "Sixty-five percent of a leg is as good as dead. I can't lead my Marines hobbling like a cripple. Speak no more of this matter. Nathanal, tell me about our new home."

Nathanal pulled a data-slate from his overalls and muttered, "It's a sodding mess all over."

"Spare us the padded repair estimates and just tell us how long it will take to fix this place up."

Nathanal glared up at his masters and snapped, "I'm not exaggerating. This place is smashed to rubble. Had I the Forges of Mars and a thousand techpriests I would still need a century to return the Nest to what it was. As we are… you can forget it."

Ferrac glowered but Coluber overrode him, "Start from a point of status: what do we have that actually works?"

Nathanal drew in a breath and said, "I've cleared a docking pier for our meagre flotilla to berth. Life-support is operational in a thin passage between the dock and the central hub, more than enough room to house all our mortal and Transhuman personnel. We have rudimentary auspex and vox capability but no guns worth mentioning and our void shields are a wisp of gossamer… Frankly one well-armed cruiser could crack us in half. That's the bad news but the good news is her adamantium bones are strong and the realspace drives, Warp-engines and Gellar Field are working, just about the only things that aren't broken."

Ferrac sniffed, "So we can move across the galaxy but can't fight anyone when we get there."

"Only if all our Navigators combine to steer us through the warp," Shrios commented.

Nathanal sighed, "I know it's not what you wanted to hear… but there is one piece of good news. I've uncovered an asteroid processing and mineral refinery facility, if we can find a system with a good spread of asteroids we can forge our own munitions and replacement parts for armour, vehicles and ships."

Ferrac proposed, "I say we focus on getting the guns and shields operational."

But Shrios countered, "Pointless, we don't have enough Chattels to man them. I say we focus on getting the Forges and Apothecarion working."

Ferrac retorted, "We are Space Marines, we are supposed to fight!"

"That's no good if there are no Space Marines left to fight," Shrios argued.

Coluber cut them off saying, "Shrios is right, we must focus on building a support structure for the Chapter. The Serpens Rex will have to hang back from danger while our Brothers deploy to battle. If that offends you Ferrac, try thinking of it as a step towards self-sufficiency. With the Nest's forges operational we won't need to make grubby deals with Governors and sordid pacts for supply. We could fight for honour alone, as the Emperor intended."

"About that," Nathanal murmured, "When you said Tsumetai threw everything at the Necrons you weren't jesting. The relic vaults are empty, the armouries exhausted and the hangers depleted. I've searched a dozen vaults and found only broken parts and scraps of power armour."

Shrios frowned as he pointed out, "But the Nest is vast, surely you can't have searched everywhere yet."

"No," Nathanal lamented, "I estimate we've only searched five percent of the volume of this place. Sadly most of the internal access corridors are blocked. I'm reduced to sending vac-suited teams over the surface, looking for ways inside. It's not helping that Maru has denied us access to certain sections and reliquaries…"

All eyes slid to the Dreadnought but Maru only stated, "I am sworn to protect the secret lores and arcana of my lost Brothers. Those reliquaries are forbidden to all save myself, they are not for you."

"But…" Coluber argued.

"They are not for you," Maru stated with finality.

Coluber let it lie and said, "Very well, mark them as Perdita. Nathanal, what's our repair plan?"

Nathanal sighed, "If we're here permanently then I recommend decommissioning our three factorum-ships and salvaging them for parts. If we take them apart we can restore some meagre capacity to the forges and expand the liveable sections of the Nest."

"Do it," Coluber ordered, "We aren't going anywhere. Only leave Wyvern, Peregrine and the frigate squadron intact, we will need them."

Nathanal ticked a box on his data-slate but then Kregulf interrupted, "I am making preparations to relocate the Gates of Perdition to the Nest. I will not risk emptying those vaults, so I shall have the compartment cut out of the Wyvern and transferred wholesale."

"That will take months of hard labour!" Nathanal protested.

But Coluber said, "Better that than letting those tainted weapons out. Kregulf, you know your task best. I applaud your dedication to your vows, you have proven the value of the Cerberii and I shall leave your order's deportment to your best judgment."

Maru sniffed, "I disapprove of your existence, but sadly we are all reduced to using what we have at hand. Your weapons and robots serve, that will suffice for the moment."

Shrios added, "We'd have been overrun without your robot's scrapcode… but one question has been vexing me. How did you reactivate the Cadmus-robots in the first place?"

Kregulf paused slightly then admitted, "I didn't… they repaired themselves."

Coluber was put back and warily probed, "How?"

Kregulf growled, "A question I intend to answer, I will uncover their secrets. I must return to my duty, with your leave Chapter master."

"Everyone return to your duties but Maru and Ferrac stay a moment."

With that Kregulf departed. Nathanal nodded once then followed, as did Shrios. Coluber was left with Ferrac and Maru Kysoto and eyed his comrades. The apathy between them was obvious but the Chapter Master addressed them directly, "You two have been butting heads since you met but I will not suffer your rivalry to interfere in our Chapter's missions."

Maru stated dismissively, "I shall not let his continued slights steer my path. It is written, the true warrior must learn to forsake his dependence on the opinions of others."

Ferrac sniffed, "Just keep him out of my way in battle and I'll put up with him."

Coluber was glad to hear it and said, "Then we should address the losses in our ranks. Ferrac, start examining Tertius to see who is ready to join Secundus. Meanwhile we shall have to start recruiting new Snakelet-scouts, far sooner than anticipated."

"Yes," Maru said, "I have some suggestions for a revised training regime."

The Dreadnought sent an info-pulse to a glowing console, which pinged loudly. Coluber glanced at it with idle curiosity then his eyes widened as he saw what Maru was suggesting. He hastily scrolled through the pages and pages of notes and gasped, "You're serious?! You want to reopen the schools of bladework, piloting, command, shooting… more. All of them."

Ferrac glanced over his shoulder and spluttered, "Throne! This process will take a hundred years to train one recruit, two hundred!"

"Not so," Maru countered, "We have strategios-simulacra machines that can compress a week-long battle into the span of a few hours. I can train the recruits to be proper Astartes in a much shorter time than you can imagine."

Coluber was still scrolling through the reams of notes and deflected, "I admire your confidence, but I doubt this will be possible with our current status."

Maru growled, "You wish to remain base and ignoble?"

Coluber looked up and countered, "I merely state we lack the resources to do everything at once. Let us not try to run before we can crawl. Is it not written the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step... let us focus upon that step."

Maru chuckled, "You have been reading my works again, wise of you. What do you suggest?"

Coluber explained, "The Amber Vipers would not be served well by the degree of specialisation your lost Brothers practised. We need a flexible, responsive base of line-warriors who can adapt to any situation. The higher ranks though can learn to be more focussed. I suggest instead of starting at the bottom with the recruits you start at the top. Select the Brother-Exemplars and one Initiate from each squad of Primus, take the best of the best and make them even better. Teach them your secret lore so they can carry these vital lessons back to their Brothers. Your teachings will spread through the ranks, slowly, but in time the Amber Vipers will grow to embrace your ways."

"A compromise," Maru mused, "But an acceptable one. Very well, I shall start at once. I will see you at the ninth bell Coluber, to begin your sword-training."

With that the Dreadnought turned and stomped down the stairs and began the long walk to the doors. Coluber waited till he was gone then looked again at the reams of notes laid before him. He sagged in his plate and groaned, "Ferrac, go get us some beers."

Ferrac looked surprised as he commented, "I thought you didn't like beer."

Coluber looked again at the proposed training regimes and he muttered, "I don't… but I think I'm going to need it."