Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 304
Kazao moved stealthily back to the barracks. Missing a helmet his aberration was exposed and he could not risk being seen. It was harder than it sounded, Chattels raced to and fro with desperation he had rarely seen, filling the Serpens Rex with activity. Many times he was forced to halt and hide in a shadowed alcove or abandoned room, waiting for the route to clear. Making his way back was taking too long, which gave him unwanted time to think.
Events of the last few hours hung heavy, the murders and bloodshed squatting in his mind. Again and again he replayed events, and every time it did he felt a great upwelling of shame. The first kill he could excuse, desperate need and accidental blood drinking were almost understandable. The second however haunted him. He had stalked and killed an Inquisitor, with deliberate intent. It was hard to understand what he had been thinking, or if he had been thinking at all. Instinct had overridden reason, the calling of his thirst driving him to distraction.
That's what had gone wrong, he concluded, a failure of will. He had been careless and ill-disciplined, allowing his impulses free reign. It wouldn't happen again, he resolved, he would put this from his mind as if it never happened. Nobody knew, nobody would ever know, Kazao alone witnessed these events and with him the secret would remain. He had heard Reddam once wax on that some Chapters had the ability to erase their own memories, some quirk of gene-seed or Hypnogogic trick. He lamented the Amber Vipers ad never displayed this ability, it would be supremely useful right now. He would just have to learn to not think about it. Easier said than done.
Kazao was a few minutes away from their barracks when his vox-bead squawked, "Reddam to Kazao, Reddam to Joffel, come in throne damn you!"
Kazao's hearts leapt into his mouth but he caught his impulse to yelp and said, "Kazao to Reddam, reporting in."
"At last! Where in the hells of the warp have you been?!"
Kazao glanced down at himself, seeing his torn fatigues and cut scales. That he had been fighting was obvious, he could not pretend otherwise. Reddam would know at a glance, so Kazao had to make up a convincing story, and fast.
"I encountered the revenant in the lower levels," Kazao reported.
"You did?!" Reddam yelped, "Tell me you killed it."
"I… did not, it got away," Kazao lied.
"Throne, I wish you had killed it, that fiend has caused all kinds of trouble," Reddam growled.
"Sergeant?" Kazao asked in bewilderment.
"The thing killed Inquisitor Velpecula," Reddam spat, "The Howling Griffons are outraged, they've declared war and they've got the Storm Heralds and Blood Ravens with them."
"It killed Velpecula?" Kazao blinked, "Are you sure?"
"I don't know, it's all blown up in our faces. Just get back to barracks and armour up. I'm still trying to get Joffel on the Vox."
Kazao let the link die as he hastened his pace. He managed to find a clear corridor and jogged down it, while his head swam. Velpecula's body had been found, but nobody suspected he was involved. They assumed the revenant had done it. A thought occurred: this is good, you're in the clear. A second thought emerged: just act normal and nobody will ever know what happened. Then a third thought arose: the Amber Vipers are at war and it's your fault, many of your Brothers will die because of you. Shame and self-loathing arose, as guilt stole over him. Then a guilty fourth thought formed: you didn't think of your Brothers till third.
Kazao reached their barracks and stumbled through the door without hesitation. Within he found Reddam and Larus and Tebes, all armoured and picking up their weapons. Eyes slid to Kazao, then instantly rolled off, as all averted their gazes. Kazao realised his wounds and torn fatigues went without comment, none wanting to look directly at a mutant. His shameful visage was working in his favour for once.
"Emperor's Breath, where's your helmet?!" Reddam spat.
"Lost it in the fight," Kazao explained.
"Hasten into armour, we're going to need every edge we can get."
Kazao gratefully made his way to the arming servitor, stripping his fatigues off. He took the position as the machine-helot began fixing the undersheath, pulling it over his scales one inch at a time. The process was slow, but could not be rushed, ritual phrases recited all the while. Connections were slotted into implant sockets as exoskeletal spars were clamped to his frame. Minutes crawled by but at last the Ceramite plates were added, weighing him down. When the backpack was fitted his armour came alive, as did his rad-counter. Instantly Kazao felt a dry tickle at the back of his throat, as the radiation touched his cells. A worrying notion arose, had stray rads provoked his changed nature? He'd been deliberately exposing himself, to goad his aberration further, making him faster and stronger, had it also unlocked an unholy thirst in his cells? Had he done this to himself?
Thankfully his introspection was cut off as Joffel stumbled through the door, "Tell me it isn't true!"
"It's true," Reddam growled, "Word came in that the Conclave has fallen apart. War is coming to the Serpens Rex. We were given one hour to yield, or be brought to battle."
"One hour, nice of them," Larus sniffed.
"Respect for the sanctity of the Adeptus Astartes runs deep in every Space Marine, but do not mistake honour for mercy. When they come they will come full force, not holding anything back. They will tear through you miscreants like a hot knife through a Grot."
"Nice to see you respect our skills so much," Joffel scoffed.
"Remember how one Captain beat the daylight out the four of you?" Reddam spat, "Now add armour, weapons and several hundred more Marines to that tally. You have always been sorry excuses for Space Marines, half-assing your way through life. Now you face the real thing, and you're not ready, not by a long shot. They are better than you, accept it, and maybe you'll manage to live through this."
"Thanks," Larus retorted, "I feel inspired."
Kazao found his eyes lingering on Larus, his gaze drawn to the faint pulse in his jugular. Thick Transhuman blood gushed through those arteries, loaded with potent life-giving power. Not the thin blood of a weakling mortal but the glorious strength of a Space Marine, just waiting to be claimed. The memory of the taste lingered on his tongue, the echoed sensation of raw might made his hearts beat faster. Tunnel vision edged his sight, making all else fade away as the throbbing jugular called to him.
"What are you staring at?!" Larus spat in annoyance.
"I… what, nothing," Kazao deflected as he jammed his helm on and stepped away.
Joffel moved to don his armour as he asked, "What are expecting?"
Reddam explained, "A full assault on our positions, with flanking forces and a feint."
"How can you be sure?" Tebes argued.
"Because all three Chapters are Codex compliant," Reddam explained, "Tough and strong they may be, but they are predictable. They will follow standard tactical doctrine: a feint to draw our defences to a remote location, then a major thrust into our weakened lines. We can be unpredictable, move to counter the threat and we know our home better than they ever will. We are going to have to get creative."
Tebes didn't sound convinced, "The Codex Astartes provides sound strategy, the teachings indicate the three Chapters opposing us will achieve victory within two days."
"A lot can happen in two days," Joffel argued as the servitor drilled connections into his implant sockets.
"We will give them a fight they won't soon forget," Reddam assured them, "But they won't go down easy. Stick together, work as a team and do not let yourselves get pinned down."
"We will still take serious casualties," Tebes argued.
"Oh go play with your micro-lathe," Joffel hissed.
Larus looked thoughtful, "Sergeant, will the Cerberii join this fight?"
"You'd ask those disgraces for help?!" Tebes snorted.
"We fight fellow Space Marines, I'd feel a lot better about our prospects if we had some Fission-blasters on our side. A few of those Omniphage bombs would obliterate any threat."
"And annihilate the Serpens Rex," Tebes argued.
"It's a moot point," Reddam sighed, "The Cerberii exist to contain the tainted filth of the past, not use it. Only a threat to the Imperium Entire will move them to open those doors, this is not that. The Oaths of the Cerberii compel them to let the Amber Vipers be destroyed, before they risk letting their charges be mishandled. Nobody can order them to engage against their will, not me, not Ferrac, nor Coluber."
"Seemed a good idea at the time," Joffel scoffed.
"We will fight and win without them," Reddam assured them.
Joffel endured the laborious ritual of arming, then moved to take up his bonesword. Tebes hefted his mining pick and Larus his poisoned knives. Kazao grabbed his grenade launcher and refilled the chamber of his Fang knife, glad of the weapon's potent bite. Reddam took up his power spear and awoke the spirit within. Crackling disruption fields played over the curved edge of the blade, promising ruination as the light played in his eyes.
"That will even the odds," Larus nodded.
"It is very good at cutting through Ceramite," Reddam said with a sad note, "Alas that it is required once more. The rest of you will struggle to make a dent. Ceramite is tough, you'll have to go for the joints. Make sure your Fangs are loaded, they might make the difference in a tight spot. And Kazao, forget frag grenades, stock up on Krak only, they can make a dent even in power armour."
Kazao did as bid, filling his coffers with shaped charges but Tebes asked, "Do we need our bikes?"
But Reddam explained, "The Serpens Rex is too mangled internally to trust we will find room for them, we'll do this one on foot. Take extra clips for your bolt pistols, we will try to keep them at range as long as we can but expect it to get close and bloody. Remember, work as a team, it's our only hope."
Larus asked, "Where do we expect the blow to fall?"
"Unknown, but it will come soon. How, why, these things no longer matter, all you need to know is the Amber Vipers are going to war in our own home. Stand fast, watch your comrades' backs and know they will watch you in turn. This is going to be a fight unlike any you have ever fought before, hold nothing back and show no mercy, for they will not hesitate to kill you. We have six minutes till the hour is up, move out!"
They donned their helms and then the squad bounded out of the barracks, heading to war. Kazao went last, the pulsing thrill of battle calling to him. His hearts beat fast in anticipation and his mind was filled with tactical ploys and strategic assessments. So long as he had something else to think about he could forget the dark thirst lurking in his soul, the call of war drowning out his craving. As far as he was concerned may it last a long time.