Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 242

Ruuka's lungs were heaving after descending five decks. He was in peak physical condition, and heavily augmented, but his pace was punishing and soon tested the limits of his endurance. Still he pressed on, racing to reach the Tezla while there was still time. He left Dannye to hold back the revelation of their treachery. Ruuka didn't know how well the Secutor would fare against a Space Marine, but he felt the cold grip of time closing around him. Every moment increased the chance that their scheme would be thwarted.

From the spine of Zar-Quaesitor to the docking berth of the Tezla would require him to descend seven more decks and cover three kilometres of ground, a challenging prospect at the best of times. Regrettably as he descended into the ship's busier compartments traffic slowed him down. Teams of menials wandered into his path, along with Tech-Priests and Skitarii patrols. Ruuka was forced to slow down to let them pass, cursing every second of delay as he fumed.

Another kilometre passed in grinding frustration but then everything changed. The floor shook under him and gravity tilted for a moment, throwing everyone to the side. Servitors toppled over and Tech-Priests shouted in Binaric as they staggered, crashing into walls with a clang of metal meeting metal. Everyone in sight milled in confusion and Ruuka saw a Skitarii Alpha put a hand to his helm, receiving updates via vox.

"What's happening?!" he shouted at the combat leader.

"Classified," the alpha replied.

"I am Executor to Magos Pycelo, tell me what's happening!"

It seemed his authority was high enough for the Alpha said, "Several plasma bottles in the main drives have overloaded. Our engines are crippled."

Dannye, the thought arose, his agents had staged their attack. The timing couldn't be more perfect for the Alpha cried, "More explosions in the energy transfer conduits, this is no accident it is sabotage. All units are ordered to the Enginarium to secure the primary reactors!"

Every Skitarii in sight took off, bounding away with furious speed. Ruuka wondered how many of them worked for Dannye, not enough to claim the ship he suspected but enough to sow panic and confusion among the crew. Sorting out friend from foe would take considerable time, long enough for Ruuka to reach the Tezla and make his escape.

Hastily he took off again, bounding past sprawled servitors. As he ran he clicked his vox in a pre-agreed fashion, signalling those among the crew who were loyal to him. He hadn't expected events to blow up so quickly but blessed his foresight in making preparations. For years he had been making friends among the crew, forging ties of loyalty and mutual respect. He hadn't been scheming a mutiny at the time, but was aware that one day he would inherit the ship and thought it better the crew embraced the transition willingly. Pycelo by comparison had been aloof and distant, demanding obedience and giving little praise in return. Ruuka wasn't the only one treated with casual indifference and when he'd made overtures was surprised how many respected adepts chose his side over the Magos Explorator's.

He finally reached his destination and skidded into a docking berth as wide as a city block, extending between the two ships as a tether. At the far end rose the hull of the Tezla, her hold's hatch wide and inviting, but between them stood ranks of armed crewmen. Ruuka screeched to a halt as he found himself confronted by ranks of autoguns, all aimed his way. Behind servitor-cargo pallets and forklifts armed crew of the Tezla waited for him, clearly expecting his arrival. Grim faces lurked behind them and trigger fingers were tight as a hundred weapons threatened to open fire.

Ruuka's heart fell at the sight but worse was the party stood in the middle of them. The looming machine that housed Pycelo waited, a pair of las-talons hanging under his frame and a Gatling cannon raised on top. He had no features to express anger but his rage was evident by the growling of servomotors and Ruuka knew why. In a tight knot stood Wulfe, Krusin and Treya, all of them standing in their master's shadow, their allegiances plain.

"Stand down you rusty cog!" Pycelo snarled angrily.

Ruuka lifted his hands slowly but eyed Treya and snapped, "You sold me out."

Treya revealed no trace of regret as she retorted, "Of course I did, you were never going to succeed."

"You chose his side over mine," Ruuka hissed.

"His side is better armed," Treya scoffed.

"The Famulous knows who greases her cogs," Pycelo snapped, "But you, you turn on me, betray me! I made you what you are, I gave you everything and this is how you repay me! How could you do this?!"

Ruuka was done pretending to care and snapped, "What else could I do? Always with the impossible demands, never giving me a fair chance to live up to them. I could never do anything with you always standing in my way!"

Pycelo actually sounded shocked as he gasped, "I… I was never in your way."

Suddenly Krusin stepped forward and uttered, "Do not let your resolve waver."

"Aye," Wulfe snarled, "This wretch turned on his gene-father, tis a disgrace. Let me end him!"

"No," Pycelo sighed as his weapons came online, "I'll do it myself."

Ruuka stared down the old man and knew one volley would end him, yet lifted his voice to declare, "Anyone who's had enough of this bitter miser, now's the time to pick a side!" Suddenly a party of crewmen at the back swung their weapons about, targeting another fireteam and letting rip. Solid shot and lasfire smote the men from behind and they went down without ever seeing their betrayers. A heartbeat later a dozen more teams opened up, gunning down comrades with cold disdain. Surprised loyalists went down in droves, but those further out rallied, swinging their guns to bear on the betrayers and returning fire.

A furious firefight erupted in the docking berth, men shooting comrades in the back and exchanging vicious volleys at point-blank range. Pycelo' centre mass spun about as he cried, "What is this?! Stand down, everyone stand down!" Ruuka however had already darted behind a cargo-pallet, drawing his sword as he watched the drama unfold. Everywhere he looked his followers gunned down Pycelo's forces, they were outnumbered but had the advantages of surprise and cover and this made a telling impression on the fight.

Ruuka however had other concerns. With a gravelly roar Wulfe came charging at his cover, gravity hammer swinging. Ruuka had a moment to dive away before the pallet detonated, crushed into a mangled ball of wreckage by the enraged Squat. Wulfe kicked the tangle of metal aside as he pursued, swinging wildly. His face was screwed up in fury, his wroth terrible to behold and one hit of that hammer would end Ruuka. The Executor was forced to retreat, ducking and weaving away from sweeps of the blunt head as he looked for an opening. Wulfe was relentless, he was enraged and he was strong, and yet for all that Ruuka noted how slowly he was moving. The wounds of Hadreb still weighed upon him, no amount of stubbornness could compensate for those telling injuries and Ruuka saw his opening.

The hammer swung overhead and smashed a crater in the floor and Ruuka struck. His arm extended and shot over the haft of the hammer, plunging into Wulfe's shoulder, where Ceramite breastplate didn't quite meet his shoulder pad. Wulfe snarled as blood flowed and his left arm went slack. He let go his weapon and tried to lash out with the right but Ruuka drew back and thrust for the hip, tearing a deep wound into the joint of leg and torso. Despite his resilience and fury Wulfe could not stand without a working leg and he fell with a cry of frustrated rage. Leaving Ruuka free to break away.

"Get back here, I'll bite your ankles off!" Wulfe snarled but Ruuka had other concerns. Pycelo was advancing, weapons sweeping back and forth as he sought a target. Ruuka instantly activated his shimmer, blurring his location before the Explorator could lock on. Pycelo couldn't see his treacherous gene-son but opened fire anyway, spraying wild with las and shot as he engulfed the general area in destruction.

Ruuka yelped as shots passed inches from his head, causing him to duck. Las peppered a forklift, spraying him with hot sparks as the Gatling cannon swept back and forth, laying down sweeps of hot lead. Pycelo's wild shooting cut down many, killing his own men as much as the mutineers. Ruuka saw comrades falling, riddled with shots as Pycelo advanced, blind to the damage he was doing to his own side.

Ruuka drew his gun and lay prone as he aimed upwards, whispering, "That's it, keep coming, a little closer, one more step." He waited until Pycelo was nearly on top of him, aiming up into the mechanisms of the Explorator. He could see the las-talons flaring as they swept about, see pumping pistons and the pulsing fluid links that supported the brain in the jar. The organic matter was shielded from fire, but Ruuka shifted his aim slightly and opened fire upon the mechanisms that supported it.

Flaring rocket exhausts shot away, twisting in the air as they sought his target. He had fired from point-blank range, straight up into the mechanisms and they hit with deadly accuracy, blowing fluid links apart, smashing pistons and breaking power lines. Pycelo's frame froze as damage ripped through him, making mechanical limbs falter and jerk wildly. Las-talons stuttered then died as his legs slipped out from under him, dropping the old man onto his side like a dead spider, helpless to move or fight.

"Mutiny!" Pycelo roared, "Feckless traitors have me pinned! Someone help, Treya, Krusin, Wulfe! Help me!"

Ruuka sneered in contempt of the flailing Explorator but before he could finish off the old man a cold voice cut through the din of the fight, "That's enough!"

Ruuka turned to look and was astonished to see something he never expected. At the hatch of the Tezla Magos Biologis Krusin stood, her hand locked around the neck of Treya. She was using the Famulous as a living shield, and with her other hand held a small meson-pistol to the side of the neck. Krusin had taken Treya hostage, and Ruuka was as stunned as any to see it.

"Tell them to stand down!" Krusin yelled, "I'll kill her if you don't!"

Ruuka was confused as he yelled, "You think I care for her enough to surrender?!"

"Not you abacus brain!" Krusin snapped, "Pycelo, you order your troops to stand down or she dies."

"What?!" Pycelo erupted, "Krusin, you join with this glitch?!"

"She's gone mad," Treya squawked from her awkward position.

"You picked your side, I picked mine," Krusin retorted, "Now stand down!"

Ruuka was lost at the surprising turn but Pycelo called resentfully, "Stand down, let them go. Stand down I said!"

Firefights died down as both sides ceased firing and Ruuka ordered, "Everyone to the ship."

With hesitant steps, the mutineers broke cover, inching towards the ship. They held weapons in wary hands but no shots came their way as they moved towards the hatch. Pycelo's troops watched them every step of the way but none dared break his orders, compelled to do nothing as the traitors withdrew.

Ruuka moved to Krusin's side and muttered, "This I was not expecting."

"I'll explain later," Krusin replied, "Where's Dannye?"

"I left him behind, I think he… no wait.. here he comes."

From afar came the bounding form of Dannye, moving at tremendous speed towards them. He skipped past the milling loyalists before they even knew he was there, skidding up to the hatch as he called, "We must depart, my distraction teams are being culled. Our window to leave is shrinking!"

"Everyone on board," Ruuka ordered, "Signal the bridge to break moorings and set sail immediately!"

The last mutineers hurried into the Tezla but Pycelo called, "You will find the galaxy is a very small place when I am your enemy. I'll find you and make you pay for your treachery."

Treya growled, "If he doesn't find you I will. Your deaths will be as slow and inventive as I can make them. I promise you this; I will make you suffer for daring to touch me!"

It was a harsh threat and yet Krusin didn't sound worried as she sniffed, "In that case, there's no point keeping you alive."

With a shove she sent Treya staggering away and then put a meson-beam straight through her head. Treya froze for an instant as her brain was destroyed, then fell to the deck with a perfect hole drilled through her skull. Ruuka gasped in shock as he saw the Famulous murdered before his eyes, but then the great hatch began to grind closed. Pycelo roared in denial and bitter curses followed them but there was nothing that could stop the hatch from slamming closed. Ruuka heard the mooring lines breaking and the ship drives powering up and knew they had made their escape. Tezla was free and so the mutineers made to depart, leaving ashes in their wake as they fled for the stars.