Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 210
The flaring detonations in the Hololith brought a cold smile to Juto Hornan's face as the brilliant discharges cooled into red embers and swirling ashes. With this action the Carmilla declared her allegiance to the universe, leaving no doubt as to her new loyalties. Hornan had expected this moment to be filled with trepidation and doubt, but he felt nothing save exultant as he shed his veneer of loyalty to the decrepit Imperium and planted his flag. It was freeing to no longer have to pretend to bow to those self-serving wretches.
From the surveyor pit Gansay called up, "Ship kills confirmed, the Fire Ships are toast."
"Signal Revenge the time has come to finish this," Hornan ordered with glee, "They can end the resistance with one pass. Steer course 300 mark 245, bring the bow up and put us alongside the battle, I want to see this."
The crew hurried to obey, bustling around the secondary bridge as they sought to bring Carmilla to her new course. They were a mix of old and new faces, those who had joined the mutiny from the start alongside younger officers who had seen the way the wind was blowing and switched sides. Hornan had been sure to make examples of any who refused to embrace the new order, setting firmly into the minds of the rank and file that he was still in command. For the hundreds of junior Commissars there was a special fate, the cheering mutineers nailing them alive to the bulkheads as payback for a lifetime of misery. True a lot of the crew had been beaten back into chains and put right back where they had been, but only the weak, the strong had carved out new positions in the hierarchy and taken up the whips of their tormentors.
Yes, Hornan had broken free of the shackles that bound him and now was free to seek his own path. Only two obstacles remained, the first being the still absent Landry, the chief Commissar had vanished into the depths of the hull, surely plotting some mischief. Hornan wasn't overly concerned, he was the most hated man on board and would be killed as soon as he dared show his face. The other problem was the remaining Imperials, they had seen Carmilla's betrayal and knew her Captain had turned traitor. They had to be eliminated before they could send word far and wide, else Hornan would be dodging hunters for the rest of his life.
He leaned back to enjoy the sight of Revenge finishing off the Imperials but to his surprise Gansay called, "Signal from Revenge, they want us to engage with Jormungadr and end her."
Hornan gritted his teeth and spat, "Tell them to do it themselves."
Gansay relayed the message but paled as he returned, "They demand we join the fight, else they will turn their guns on us."
At his side Tinag muttered, "Looks like they don't trust us yet."
Hornan spat, "Of course they don't, they know we'll abandon them at the first chance. Looks like we're going to have to get our hands dirty. Signal Revenge we will comply, and tell them to watch out for that last Fire ship. Launch Furies and tell Ambos to have fun killing Imperials. Helm, bring us to course 150 mark 050, half thrust. Ready lances to engage."
Hornan watched the Hololith spin as Carmilla turned. Behind Echidna and Revenge bore down on the lonely mote of Wyvern, fearsome predator beasts of the wild closing on a cornered mastiff. The odds were poor and the weight of firepower badly skewed, but like all trapped animals this was when they would be most dangerous. Hornan put it from his mind as Jormungandr came about. The planetary assault monitor was Carmilla's equal in mass and firepower but her wounds were greater and her helm sluggish to respond after her mauling. Carmilla was far sleeker and nimbler, but her lances had limited coverage, only to the prow, Jorumungandr enjoyed a far greater arc of fire. Not for the first time Hornan cursed the lack of gundecks on an Enforcer-class, but the lances would be more than enough. Hornan was certain Carmilla was Jormungandr's match.
Slowly the ranges closed and Hornan clenched his fists in anticipation, but then Gansay called out, "Jormungadr is signalling us... Correction, Captain Anthor is signalling you, personally."
"Oh, this should be good," Hornan chortled, "Let's hear what the old void dog has to say."
The vox-horns crackled and then a gruff voice issued forth, "This is Anthor to that vile streak of mastiff-piss Hornan. You are going to pay for this treachery, I am going to rip that scow of yours apart and laugh as I send you to hell!"
Hornan smiled at the rage and frustration in the voice and sneered, "I think we angered him."
Tinag didn't sound so confident as he remarked, "He commands a well-armed ship."
"So do I," Hornan retorted, "But he's angry, angry people make mistakes. Let's poke the bear: comms broadcast on an open channel."
He waited a moment then proclaimed, "This is Juto Hornan to that impotent blaggard Anthor. I hear your pathetic mewling and I laugh at your bleatings. I have thrown off the shackles of Terra, it is a ghoul state of suffering and woe, where lecherous sots grow fat off the labours of worthier men. I spit on your Imperium!"
The vox roared, "You shall pay traitor, all you filthy scum will die. I will enjoy scraping your blood off my bootheels."
"Just like every self-entitled cur I have met, threats and bluster hiding your weak mettle. I have spent a lifetime bowing to men like you, but no longer. I am stronger than you, you cannot touch me any longer."
The vox snapped off as Jormungandr heaved to, bringing her starboard batteries to bear. Bombardment cannons along her spine came into alignment, all pointed Carmilla's way. Gunports slid open as rows of macroweaponry presented their barrels, each one promising fury and blood. A combined broadside was coming and Carmilla was sailing straight into it.
"You wanted him angry, he's angry," Tinag muttered.
"Good," Hornan retorted, "Le's just hope he's vexed enough to..."
Then Jormungandr let rip, flurries of discharges sweeping her flank. A hurricane of shot and shell crossed the void, waves of destruction lashing out to strike Carmilla's shields. Hornan was nearly thrown to the floor as the ship bucked wild, heaving about as her systems convulsed with feedback. Explosions wracked the prow, barely held at bay by the shields as crewmen cried, "Impacts, impacts! Wild power surges in the power conduits, lock them down now! Shield vane seventeen is about to blow, begin an emergency mass to placate the Machine Spirits. Ruptured fuel line in starboard hanger, reports twenty-three dead and more every minute. Unguents, get some blessed unguents on this console before it overloads!"
Hornan could only hold on as the torrent came but he knew the sounds of a ship well and this was not as bad as it could be. Jorumangandr had fired the second they came into range and weakened her salvo; she would have been better off waiting for the range to close. The shields were tested sorely but they held, they would hold, he was sure of it. A moment later a terrific tremor shook the ship like a rattle and Hornan staggered as he realised a Magma bomb had struck them. The shields failed with a screech and his stomach flipped but as they did so the torrent of explosions pattered out and silence fell. They had done it, they had ridden the storm and come out alive.
Hornan leapt upright and bellowed, "We have them now, transfer all power to the weapons and set for sequenced fire: lock on target!"
Tinag held a moment then confirmed, "Power level optimal, shooting solution is ready. We are locked on."
"Then by all means, fire," Hornan commanded.
Three beams of collimated las shot from Carmilla's prow, crossing the distance at light-speed to slam into Jormungandr. Her shields quivered as the first beam played over them, tracing a line of incandescent fury over the thin barrier. It was too much for the flagging ship and they failed with an electrostatic bang, then a moment later two more beams struck home. The first plunged into Jormungandr's keel, punching deeply within her oxygen recycling systems and waste-food convertors. Oxygen mixed with combustible gases and ignited, spreading a wildfire through her bowels that incinerated hundreds of filthy ratings in an instant inferno. The other beam went high and tore over her spine, ripping free a bombardment cannon and severing power conduits to the rest. Her dorsal weapons were left powerless, a critical hit that would take weeks to repair, time she didn't have.
"She's crippled," Tinag reported, "Flames are spreading fast, she's done for."
Hornan snapped, "Not yet. Restore shields and recharge the lances and latch us onto her stern. I want to kill her myself."
Hornan watched as Jorumungandr twisted in the void, trying to break free of the engagement. She was desperate to flee and poured power into her manoeuvring systems but Carmilla had ever been her match and stayed on her rear with ease. Port and starboard, up and down, there was no direction where Carmilla could not find her and all that stayed the final execution was the time it took lances to recharge. As she ran flames and air spewed from the crippled ship's belly, signs of her deadly wounds. The old pugilist had taken one hit too many and was going to bleed out in the arena, dying a warrior's death but not quickly enough for Hornan's taste. He wanted to end this fast, and the passing minutes gnawed at him as the lances built up power.
Finally after an eternity Tinag reported, "Lances are charged."
"Finish this," Hornan ordered.
Once more Carmilla spat fury and this time three beams struck Jormunagandr's engines. Plasma bottles shattered, energy lines blew apart and star-hot matter spilled free as the deadly force carved deep. Jormungandr screamed over the vox as her drives were sliced to ribbons, leaving her adrift and helpless and still the beams punched deeper, right into her Enginarium compartment. The reactors detonated, exploding in a brilliant torrent of purest energy and Jormungandr's bulked swelled with barely contained power, rivets and welds in her hull parting to leak purest light. Then the ship exploded, blowing apart in a fiery cascade of burning metal.
Cheers wracked the bridge as Tinag crowed, "Ship-kill!" Hornan basked in the warmth of victory, his victory. For the first time he felt the heady rush of command, the adulation and satisfaction of leading his men to triumph over the odds. He had felt the burden and the sorrow before but not the joy and he liked it a lot. Wild cheering continued as Hornan looked over his bridge then called, "A worthy kill, what say we do it again?! Bring us onto course 050 mark 200, aim us right at the Wyvern. Recharge the lances, I want to do to the Space Marines what we did to Anthor!"
The crew hastened to make it so, working to bring Carmilla to bear. The Hololith swirled but then a great cry of dismay arose in the gunnery pews. Hornan frowned as he saw officers bending over red consoles and shouting at each other in confusion. He banged the railing and called, "What's happening?! Gansay sort them out."
Gansay hurried over and began berating officers but then turned to the dais and called, "Power lines to the lances are blocked, we can't shunt any energy through them."
"Warp hells!" Hornan spat, "Fix it immediately!"
"We can't, the problem isn't here. Someone in the bow has manually disabled the power feeds, this is sabotage!"
Hornan gasped, "Sabotage... Landry. That wretched whoreson Landry, he did this. He's trying to retake the ship!"
"Landry?!" Tinag gasped, "The commissar strikes back."
"Not for long," Hornan hissed, "Keep us on the edges of the battle, I'll deal with him."
"What are you doing to do?" Tinag started.
Hornan drew his chainsword and spat, "I thought I'd start by killing him. If he thinks he can retake the Carmilla from me he's badly mistaken. I will kill him slowly and painfully and teach him that I will never bow to anyone ever again!"