Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 148

"How can any man turn against his own species?" Ferrac growled.

"The concept of treason should be no stranger to you," Coluber pointed out.

"Chaos is chaos," Ferrac retorted, "But to turn on your own kind, to willingly serve the alien is incomprehensible. It is an affront to the natural order of the universe."

Coluber couldn't help but silently agree. The captive Kerubim had brought back was shocking, a human being serving Xenos struck at everything the Imperium stood for. Ten thousand years ago the Emperor had decreed that mankind would never again be enslaved to the alien. He had taught that humanity had a manifest destiny to rule the stars. Aliens were to be hated and reviled, exterminated wherever possible and driven out where not. The ideas of humans being subservient to an alien's will was an offence Coluber could not abide.

The Amber Vipers had withdrawn after suffering a humiliating defeat. A series of minor skirmishes had erupted as the Tau consolidated their position but the Amber Vipers had managed to extract themselves without further loss. Yet the Tau had successfully carved out a landing ground and even now would be preparing another offensive. Coluber had to retake the initiative but to do that he needed the information in his captive's head.

Coluber declared, "I share your outrage but we can't kill him out of hand. We can't fight an enemy we know nothing about. I sent high-flying servo-skulls over their landing ground but they were all shot down by Tau drones. We are fighting blind, the prisoner is our only source of intel."

"Then we must extract the information, by any means necessary," declared Maru Kysoto.

Coluber looked up at the Librarian-Dreadnought and asked, "You are agreeable to torture, strange, I thought you would harp on about dignity and honour."

Maru sniffed, "I give no consideration to race traitors. This man has sworn his life to Xenos, a grievous insult to the Most Glorious Emperor. I would gladly test the sharpness of my blade by ramming it through his heart, did we not require him to talk."

"Are we sure his mind is not ensorceled?" Kerubim interjected, "Perhaps some technological or psychic coercion has stolen his will?"

Yet Maru Kysoto replied, "No, I would sense such an obvious leash upon his spirit. This man serves freely, he is proud of his allegiance. Certainty radiates off his spirit."

Coluber sighed as he considered the matter. They had the prisoner secured in an empty warehouse, beaten but not broken. The Brother-Exemplars watched him silently, but everyone else had stepped outside. They had roughed him up to prove their seriousness, then left him to stew on his fate. They could have ripped the man limb from limb with ease but Coluber needed him to talk, so their efforts had been limited, but time was running out.

Across an empty district of the Forge the Amber Vipers regrouped. The Brothers were battered and bruised but eager for revenge. Shrios and his apprentices were busy tending wounds and harvesting gene-seed, but Coluber knew the sight of the dead would strike to the hearts of his kin. Those squads who had suffered losses performed the Rites of the Dead with vows of retribution on their lips. Those who had not yet engaged the foe also burned for vengeance, the deaths firing their zeal and honing their bloodlust. Soon battle would be joined once more, which made their interrogation even more important. He had brought Maru and Ferrac to assist and allowed Kerubim to attend, as he had brought the prisoner in. Kregulf and the Cerberii had promptly departed, claiming this was none of their concern.

Maru turned his bulky torso about and asked, "Tell me more of these Tau."

Kerubim glanced up and exclaimed, "You don't know?"

Coluber answered for him, "They were not extant when our venerable Librarian began his stasis-slumber. For your information the Tau are a new threat, a young Xeno race who only achieved starflight recently. The Imperium began encountering them a few centuries back, their pocket empire growing along the Eastern Fringe."

Maru sounded surprised as he retorted, "They were allowed to live?"

Coluber sighed, "The Damocles Gulf Crusade was launched to wipe them out, but it ground to a stand-still. Terra had seriously underestimated their military prowess and technological witchery. Tau guns and tanks reaped fearful tallies and the Crisis Suits were unlike anything we had faced before. Destroying the Tau Empire would have demanded more resources than the Imperium could spare when the Tyranid menace came broiling out of the intergalactic darkness. We had bigger concerns so the Tau were marked as a problem for another day."

"A foolish mistake," Maru muttered, "You say they co-opt other races to their service?"

Ferrac muttered, "Famous for it, they absorb other species into their ranks and convince them to fight for them. They even subvert human worlds; we've tangled with rebels armed with Tau gear on several frontier planets."

"Disgusting," Maru uttered in scorn, "No right-thinking man would accept Xeno dominion over his world."

"Which brings us back to our prisoner," Coluber stated, "He has to know his death is certain, but how to convince him to talk?"

Maru said, "It will be difficult, fear breaks the will of some men but makes others grow harder and stronger. This is such a man, he believes he is fighting for a principle and shall defy us to his last breath. I can undermine his resolve, telepathically work on his doubts and insecurities, but it will take considerable time."

"Too long," Coluber said, "The Cerberii have devices that can strip a man's mind…"

Kerubim however sighed, "All still in orbit, why don't we simply eat his brain?"

"Too imprecise, I need numbers and dispositions. Exact details not vague impressions."

It was then Ferrac snorted, "You're all overthinking this, let me show you how it's done."

Coluber's eyes narrowed as he said, "I need him to talk, not bleed all over the floor."

Ferrac merely scoffed, "Trust me."

Ferrac stepped into the warehouse and Coluber followed, wondering what his Battle-Captain intended. Within the prisoner sat on a metal box, his arms bound before him and his feet tied together. His head was low and his hands cradled before him but Coluber could see the puffiness of his face and the broken fingers, taps the Space Marines had given him to soften his will.

The man's head rolled up and he blinked through bloodshot eyes as he spat in strangely accented low gothic, "Come to give me an iho-stick and shove me up against a wall?"

Coluber stopped before him and said, "That is coming, but not yet. You will answer my questions first."

The man leaned forward and spat a bloody gobbet on the floor as he cried, "That's all you'll get from old Hamer."

Coluber leaned down and hissed, "You defy the Emperor with this display."

Hamer rocked back and sneered, "He ain't my Emperor, I was born and raised in the Tau Empire. Your wretched Imperium never cared for me or mine; you abandoned my forefathers to die, only they managed to live and they didn't forget your betrayal. I know all about your Golden Throne and corpse-god and I want no part of it. Your lot preach of rewards in the afterlife but the Tau believe in rewards while we're still breathing!"

Kerubim started in anger, "He is the Emperor of all Mankind! You shall die for that!"

However Coluber stopped the youth with a raised hand and said, "He's trying to provoke you into killing him. He's seen enough war to know he won't leave this building alive, but hopes to avoid the coming pain. Ferrac… over to you."

The Battle-Captain casually reached out and placed his gauntlet around the man's head. The huge hand encompassed the back of his skull with ease and Ferrac gripped him firmly in Ceramite digits. He leaned down and hissed, "I am currently exerting 200lbs of force, as much as an average man can squeeze. Know my grip will not waver or diminish, but it will increase. Every lie you utter, every refusal to speak, will increase the weight upon your skull. The human cranium can typically withstand five hundred to a thousand pounds of compression; I admit I am curious to find out how much you can take."

"That's it?!" Hamer scoffed, "You think that will scare… gnnnugh!"

Ferrac's digits twitched, closing his grip slightly and as he had said they did not tremble in the slightest. Unlike a mortal's grip his strength did not waver, his grip was steady as a vice and just as relentless. Hamer's head was squeezed by a grip that could shatter stone and he felt every pulse of his blood through his head.

Coluber stared into the man's eyes and asked, "How large is your army?"

"Can't tell you… guuuunh!"

Coluber barked, "How many more ships are coming?!"

"Can't say… gaaagh!"

"What are your tactics?!" Coluber yelled.

"No… naaaaaaagh!"

With each denial the grip increased and Hamer's skull was compressed even more. He twitched and jerked, his legs flailing but Ferrac held his head utterly still. The man was sweating profusely and his eyes were going bloodshot as his skull creaked in the Space Marine's grip. Death was but a twitch of Ceramite digits away and Ferrac hissed, "A Space Marine can bend plasteel in his hands and grind stone to dust. Your head will pop before my hand gets tired."

Hamer face was bright red as he protested, "Won't… can't... My fathers… the Greater Good… No… No… Raaa… Urgh… Stop! Make him stop!"

"Tell me everything," Coluber barked.

"Anything," Hamer squealed, "Just call him off!"

Coluber nodded to Ferrac, who did not let go but ceased increasing the pressure of his grip. Hamer's eyes were wide and frantic as the Chapter Master asked, "How many ships are in your expedition?"

"One!" Hamer wailed, "Only one. We're exploring see, one ship sent into the unknown to see what's out here."

"An exploratory mission," Coluber mused, "So, no more reinforcements are coming. The only forces you have are what's already landed. How many squads is that?"

"One cadre!" Hamer squealed, "A hundred or so Fire Warriors, drones, some Vespid, few hundred humans. There's a couple of tanks, some heavy suits and the Crisis team. That's all, I swear!"

"Manageable numbers," Coluber pondered, "Tell me of your commander, what tactics will he employ."

"I don't know… Yaaargh! No stop, I'll speak… I'll speak. Shas'El Alohvar, Commander Coldsteel, he's a veteran of the Fifth Sphere. Wily and ruthless, they whisper he called down artillery upon a refugee camp when it was overrun. He was standing in it at the time, called down fire on his own position, don't know if that means steel or madness but he's dangerous."

"What of his character?" Coluber pressed, "Is he considered and deliberate or rash? Will he dig in and fortify or advance immediately?"

"Tau ain't much for holding lines in general, they like mobility. He'll throw up some defences while he prepares but won't hang about for long. They'll be everywhere, using all the angles. You'll never see them coming."

Coluber hissed, "Then time is of the essence. We must strike first, before this Alohvar can ready an assault. Thank you, you have been most cooperative, but I have no further use for you now. Ferrac… kill him."

Ferrac's hand jerked and the man's head imploded within his grip. Bone broke, skin and blood vessels tore and brains oozed out between Ceramite digits as Hamer's head was crushed to paste. The body dropped to the cold floor and Ferrac shook sickening gore from his hand as he crowed, "See, that was easy."

Maru scoffed, "I could have done it without the mess."

Coluber sighed, "It doesn't matter, we need to move. We have to hit the Tau hard and fast, strike into the heart of their position with everything we've got. We have to hit them first, before they have a chance to hit us. Speed is everything."

Maru cautioned, "A hasty blow is oft a wasted strike."

But Coluber countered, "Letting your enemy gather his strength is a bigger mistake. Remember this landing force is all they have, if we break them at the outset we can win this."

"What of the ship in orbit?" Ferrac asked.

"We'll deal with that later," Coluber stated, "Breaking the ground force is key. I want every Brother, every bike squad and Snakelet made ready. We'll launch an infantry assault as soon as possible. Meanwhile the chattels will continue stripping the Forge."

Kerubim blinked in surprise, "You want them to keep working?"

"I haven't come all this way to leave empty-handed. They can fill the shuttles with parts, ready to fly back to the Serpens Rex as soon as the orbital lanes are clear. If nothing else I want that power armour manufactorum, I'm not leaving this world without that."

Ferrac nodded as he said, "Then we better get the squads lined up."

"Go, I'll be there in a minute," Coluber affirmed.

The party left and the Brother-Exemplars went with them. Coluber waited until they departed then sighed as he let his doubts surface. He knew he was gambling with his meagre Chapter's life but he saw no other choice. Either he struck with everything he had or let the enemy rampage over his forces. War was a risky business and sometimes one had to stake everything on one throw of the dice. Half-measures and hesitant strategy were guarantees of failure.

Filled with trepidation Coluber marched out, readying to lead his Chapter to war. Yet little did he know he was being watched from afar, a cold intellect drawing snares tight around him and laughing as he danced to its tune.