Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 193
Verina was dreaming again, she knew it in her bones. Once more she found herself in a dark forest, the silent boughs looming far overhead. Light and darkness were slats upon the ground, casting fallen leaves into brilliant illumination and the shadows of trees made pits of utter darkness. The air was chill on her nose and her ears hissed with the static of pure silence. Everything was still and calm and yet she felt peril all around, dream or not she was in danger.
Verina found herself moving through that forest, naked and unarmed. She was hunting, as she was being hunted. She had heard once if one knew they were in a dream they could take control of it, but this dark forest seemed stubbornly unchanging, its reality a lodestone that she could not affect. She didn't like that, she wished she could be dreaming of flying like a bird or swimming in the purest ocean, instead she had been dumped here with a hostile foe, one who wanted to end her.
The only thing Verina seemed to be in control of was her body so she stepped carefully, placing her bare feet so they did not rustle any leaves. She dearly wished she was in armour and in that curious fashion of dreams realised she suddenly was. She smiled at that and pictured her weapons, only to find them in her hands. It seemed she had some limited control over this dream.
Armed and armoured Verina stepped into the shadow of a tree and came out into the light. Before her lay a toppled statue, covered in black leaves. It had been a statue of the God-Emperor of Terra in glory, face stern and commanding. The marble base had crumbled, toppling it over and it was dirty and cracked, a representation of a faith cast aside. Yet someone had cleared the leaves from its face and washed the grime from the angular features. Signs of devotion not yet extinguished.
Verina was not amused by the symbology. Her faith lay with her new idol, given wholly to the Emperess and no other. Doubt and reactionary thought had she cast aside, leaving her purely devoted to she who owned her soul. Verina would kill anybody to prove her worth to the Emperess, brave any odds to be with her. The ache in her heart never faded, the painful absence gnawing at her spirit night and day and she would make it whole, no matter the cost.
Verina stepped over the statue and looked for her hunter. A lumpy shadow dwelt beyond a tree but she did not fall for that trick again. Instead of advancing she pressed herself into a shadow, waiting out her stalker. Time passed, how much she could not say but it did pass. Finally she saw movement in the corner of her eye. She held her breath as a humanoid figure darted between two trees, back laden with a generator pack. Again the shadow moved and again, closing inexorably and she gripped her chainsword tight as it crept around her tree, then she swung.
Roaring chainteeth burst to life as she gripped the handle and swung a decapitating blow. The other reacted with blinding speed, getting her own chainsword up in time to parry. Whirring teeth met whirring teeth and the two weapons threw each other aside, only power armour assistance keeping them from being ripped from the wielder's hands.
Verina saw a face identical to her own on the other, filled with self-righteous hate. It was shocking but this time she did not freeze, her heart filled with ire and she lashed out again shouting, "False shade!"
The other backpedalled, yelling, "It is you who are false!"
"Liar!" Verina screamed as she chopped downwards, "I am Verina, not you."
"You are the lie," the other hissed as she slashed low, "A perversion laid upon us, leaving us ensorceled and enslaved by a witch. But I survived and I will reclaim what is mine!"
"I see the truth, I have seen the glory. The Emperess opened my eyes and showed me how to live in the light of her grace."
"She should have taught you to mind your feet," the other snarled.
Suddenly the other kicked at the piled leaves, throwing up a spray of wet mulch into Verina's face. She yelped as wet plant matter blinded her, clinging to her eyes. She threw herself back, knowing the other was coming to kill her. She slapped at her face, trying to clear her eyes as she stumbled back. Surely the deathblow was coming yet before it could land her back slammed into an iron bough and she awoke.
Verina staggered as her senses returned to reality. She found herself leaning on one of the Revenge's bulkheads, cold plasteel pressing on the side of her head. It took several seconds for the oddity to penetrate her confused mind, disjointed realities jarring her senses. The forest had been a dream, but this wasn't her bed chamber, it wasn't anywhere she knew. Verina realised she was in a part of the ship she didn't know, somewhere in the lower decks where tens of thousands of ratings sweated out short lives of toil and misery. How she came to be here was a mystery, had she walked this far in her sleep? It didn't seem likely but that was the only possible answer she could devise.
It was then that it penetrated her mind she was wearing her full plate and that chilled her to the bone. Bad enough to be sleepwalking, but to have the presence of mind to armour herself first, that was bowel-loosening. She thought of the other and wondered if she was responsible, making Verina do things in her sleep. Or maybe she was going mad, she hoped she was, it was a better answer than another sharing her soul.
Verina waved her chainsword to clear the clogged gore from the chainteeth, then froze as she saw her sword was covered in blood. Whose blood and how it got there were questions lacking answers, but judging by the amount it had been a fatal wounding. Without thought Verina keyed her vox and called, "Verina here..."
Her voice trailed off without a way to finish but Dylun's voice came back, "Verina?! Where are you, nobody's seen you in six hours."
Six hours, she cursed, had she been wandering the decks that long? She eyed the scratchings on a bulkhead and said, "I'm on deck one-seventy, compartment alpha-three, conduit tango-4. "
"What the hell are you doing down there," Dylun snapped, "Never mind, I'm bringing an armsmen party to you."
"No!" Verina cried in panic, "Just you, only you."
"I won't ask why but stay safe, I'm coming to you," Dylun replied.
Verina cut the link as she fretted. She felt like she was losing her mind and shame filled her. None could know of this, nobody. Dylun she knew she could trust, but if the crew found out then her command would be taken from her. She would never see the Emperess again, never bathe in that glory. She couldn't allow it, she would have to find some excuse to cover her lapse. With nothing else to do she turned and staggered along a narrow passage, lined with ice-encrusted pipes. There were no turnings or junctions, only a straight run and soon she came to an open hatch, half-filled with a dead body.
Verina paused as she looked for danger but found none, the corpse lay still and undisturbed. She knelt to examine the body and saw instantly the gaping rent left by a chainsword through the abdomen, it seemed she had found the source of the blood on her sword. A closer examination revealed the man was a lowly rating, with dirty overalls and grime encrusted hands. His neck bore a brand of the Imperata, signalling his loyalty. Yet in his left hand was a sharpened shiv, bearing a fleck of ceramite upon it. That he had died in a struggle was obvious but was he attacker or defender, would-be murderer or unwitting victim? Verina had no answers and that troubled her greatly.
For long minutes she peered at the corpse, trying to spot something she had missed but found nothing more. Eventually the sound of boots rang in her ears and she stood up as Dylun and Moryna appeared. "What's she doing here?" Verina snapped as she sheathed her sword.
"Wasn't my idea," Dylun protested, "She insisted on coming."
"Never mind that," Moryna hissed, "What happened here?"
Verina realised she would have to say something and covered, "This man attacked me, I was forced to kill him to defend myself."
Moryna eyed her warily and probed, "What were you doing down here alone?"
"I..." Verina stammered, "I was touring the ship after the battle, as a good commander should."
Moryna looked suspicious but Dylun bought her lie as he knelt and remarked, "This is one of the ratings from Lutum. Strong and not yet starved by life below decks. Lucky you were wearing power armour, else he may have killed you."
Verina was glad to see they accepted her cover story and pointed out, "He bears the brand of the faithful. He was one of us."
Dylun rubbed his jaw and mused, "An infiltrator perhaps, hiding in the ranks and aiming to take out a high-ranking leader. Or..."
"Or he betrayed us," Moryna hissed.
"Impossible!" Verina protested, "None can embrace the Emperess and doubt her majesty. Her light is all."
The pair of them didn't look at her as Verina frowned and pressed, "What are you hiding?"
Dylun stood up and brushed his hands saying, "There have been a number of... incidents in the lower decks. Altercations, murders, people going missing."
"Why wasn't I informed?!" she snapped.
"Because such things are typical in a starship," Moryna stated, "On every average day hundreds of crewmen expire, in a number of ways. This is not unusual even, in the Imperium."
Dylun continued, "What makes this strange is the signs left behind, mad rantings and fevered cries of treachery and deceit. Vile lies about the Emperess' benevolence and power. We hushed it up, lest rumours spread but more and more incidents are occurring."
"Are you saying the crew is mutinying?!" Verina gasped.
Moryna replied, "I'm saying it has been a long time since we felt the Emperess' loving presence, too long. Some cannot bear her absence, they go mad, ranting and raving of their previous lives. Some even cry to the Golden Throne to save them. Reactionaries, recidivists and counter-progressives, clinging to the old faith. We thought them lone madmen, but if they can attempt an assassination on you they must be organising."
"They must be mad," Dylun spat.
"They must be stopped," Verina demanded.
"Yes they must," Moryna agreed, "But I fear only the return of the Emperess will quell this madness."
Verina drew herself up and declared, "Then we must redouble our efforts to retrieve her. The Imperials lurk in the Ion storm but they will not stay there, when they emerge we must finish them once and for all."
"What of these recividivists?" Dylun pressed.
"You must deal with them," Verina ordered, "Moryna, you must double the daily sacrifice, strength our Emperess so she can steer our path. I shall return to the bridge and make ready for the next fight. Be certain, this can only end when she is with us once more. Ave Imperata!"
"Ave Imperata!" the other two chorused.
Verina lapsed into silence after the proclamation. Her words were bold but inside her heart quailed. It seemed her dark dreams were more than fevered delusions. Madness had taken hold on the Revenge and it had touched her too, undermining her sanity. She would end up like these reactionaries, howling insane devotions to the Golden Throne of Terra as she cast aside her new salvation. No, she wouldn't allow it, but the only way she knew to cure herself was to ensure the Emperess' return. She swore again to retrieve her sovereign, not only for a cause but for her own sanity. She had to get the Emperess back, else be damned forevermore.