Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 319
Kazao gripped the control levers tight, waiting for the engagement to begin. The enemy lay ahead, caught in a trap, just waiting for the jaws to close. Bahamat was eager to join the fray, its excitement communicated via a shuddering growl of the engine, not quite suppressed by the suspension. The plasma carronades throbbed with potential power, the heavy bolters twitched without prompting and random spikes of the throttle told of the tank's yearning to join the fight, growing more frequent as the Machine Spirit pulled at the leash, demanding the gears be engaged so it could charge forth.
True battle lurked just minutes away, and the Omega Sicaran thirsted for blood. Kazao could relate, his own affliction never relented. A dry rasp at the back of his throat, itching incessantly and his sense of smell grew ever sharper. Even through armour plate and the funk of grease and oils that permeated the interior he could smell Reddam and Larus, their sweat and blood so faint no mortal could have detected it, but he did. The constant reminder that Transhuman blood lay so close was distracting, but the call of Bahamat was louder. The tank's hunger for destruction outweighed his own and so long as he could focus on the fight the craving abated.
Finally Reddam called, "Coluber sends word, advance!" At his command the tanks rolled forward, moving alongside the infantry as they emerged into the avenue. From one side to the other they filled the concourse, creating a piledriver of Ceramite that would roll up the corridor and grind any resistance to dust. It felt painfully slow from inside the Omega Sicaran, to be moving at a walking pace, but the coming fight demanded concentration of firepower. So the tank moved as infantry support platforms.
Kazao peered across the vast distance separating the two forces, seeing the Howling Griffons and Blood Ravens note their arrival. The enemy was framed in his autosenses, every detail picked out by Bahamat's optics, he didn't need to stick his head outside to see their reaction and the surprise that washed over them. A combined Space Marine force that outnumbered them three to one had emerged in their rear, cause enough to give anyone night terrors. Kazao swung the targeting reticules over them, eager to let rip. but was surprised when they turned their backs to the newcomers. Instead of standing and fighting the invaders were racing for the Gate, risking destruction for the chance to break into the vaults.
"Sergeant!" Kazao yelped.
"I see them," Reddam hissed, "Chapter Master, permission to pursue?"
Coluber voxed, "We cannot let them assault the Gates unopposed. We will close as fast as we can on foot, it's up to you to slow them down!"
"Confirmed," Reddam replied, "We have to get the Mastodon into the fight, Scorpus and Bahamat cover the flanks: Charge!"
As one the trio of vehicles burst into life, leaping from the sprinting ranks to roar down the avenue. Kazao slammed back as the sheer acceleration of the Sicaran was given free rein, tracks blurring as they raced away. At their side the Mastodon rumbled forward, towering bulk casting them into shadow. On the other side Scorpus rolled, turret tracking targets. They were moving fast but the ambushing force had been required to deploy far back, covering the distance would take a minute.
"Hold fire till we see the whites of their eyes," Reddam called, "We need to suppress, not snipe them. Larus you're drawing too far ahead, slow down."
"Bahamat doesn't do slow," Larus grumbled, "Tell the Soul Drinkers to hurry up."
"Why'd we bring them anyway?" Kazao spat.
"I'll show you why," Reddam retorted, "Chaplain Daggon, would you edify our spirits for the fight to come?"
From the Mastodon Daggon's vox rang, "Loyal sons of the Emperor, today we face the dark soul of treachery that lurks in the hearts of all men. These renegade curs feign allegiance to the Emperor but they fight only for their own self-aggrandisement. They are no better than the filth of the Traitor Legions and you will treat them as such! You are the righteous bringers of the Emperor's Vengeance! You are the executioner's axe that carries His judgement! Hate the Heretic, hate the renegade, hate the Traitor!"
Kazao was amazed by the fiery conviction of the zealous Chaplain, the commanding timbre of his words cutting to the soul of all. Even through the vox Daggon's ardent tones stirred the spirit and made hearts beat faster. The words were so simple and yet potent, making Kazao feel more righteous than he had ever felt before. If this was the power of the Chaplains, then he was left wondering why the Amber Vipers had never established their own.
In moments they had crossed the distance and Reddam at last gave the order to fire. Kazao squeezed the triggers and Bahamat let loose its fury. Searing plasma bolts erupted in a torrent, blasting into the ranks of the running Space Marines. Kazao twisted the levers as he fired and the turret rotated, spraying incandescent death everywhere. He saw plasma bolts hit the backs of Howling Griffons and burn through in an instant, incinerating spines and lungs to ash, turning some into nothing but charnel skeletons above the waist.
Kazao's salvo reaped havoc but he was not alone. Reddam discharged the Heavy Bolters, blasting mass-reactives into packed ranks. On the other side Joffel fired the Laser Destroyer, boring a perfect hole through the body of a Blood Raven. The Anti-vehicle weapon was powerful but lacked rapidity, thankfully the Phosphor Blasters on either side of Scorpus made up for it. Chugging canisters flew far, bursting into achingly bright flares of fiery death. Ceramite bodies were inundated, flailing in agony as they burned to death and fell to the ground.
The invaders at last had no choice save to turn and engage, but the true blow was yet to come. The Mastodon roared into the midst of them, heavy flamers to either side gushing plumes of burning promethium while the Skyreaper guns above blitzed bullets everywhere. The foe closed, trying to bracket the machine but the melta-array on its prow howled, liquefying the front rank to bubbling gore. The invaders paused as the Mastodon slammed to a halt and the clamshell doors burst apart, revealing another pair of war machines within.
"We are the Emperor's Storm!" bellowed Novak as he pounded from the dark interior at full pace. He slammed into the reeling foe, shield smashing aside any who stood in his path. His sword swung wide and cleaved Howling Griffons in twain, as his mechanical boot kicked a Blood Raven, sending him flying away in a heap of shattered bones. Novak was quickly beset but he fought on, in his element as he roared, "We are His wrath!"
At his side Maru Kysoto waged war as only a Librarian-Dreadnought could. His Katana reaped lives with gusto, the blade singing with psionic potential. He gestured and a wave of force barreled over a squad, sending them toppling like fallen pins. A Tactical Marine sent a missile his way, Maru caught it with his mind and reversed its course, sending it back to the firer where it exploded, showering bits of red and yellow Ceramite across his kin. Together the two Dreadnoughts wreaked carnage, mightier than any single foe, but they remained two set against a hundred.
"Covering fire!" Reddam barked, "Keep them from overwhelming the Dreadnoughts."
"This is what I call a target-rich environment," Kazao cackled, "I can't miss!"
The turret jerked left and right as Kazao blazed away, sending burning plasma into the swirling melee. A squad of Intercessors had their centre burned out, a warrior running at the tanks with a melta bomb in hand was reduced to a charnel heap of slag and a proud Sergeant trying to rally his Brothers was blown away with a single shot. Bahamat cared not that it was firing at its former kin, smiting them with sickening élan. Every shot claimed a life, every flash meant the end of a Space Marine's saga. Bahamat thrummed with vehemence, its engine snarling as it savoured the destruction it unleashed. Kazao had never felt deadlier, even in the fierce rush of melee he had not claimed so many kills and he relished every moment.
The tally was dire but the invaders were not broken. Half their force turned to engage the attack from the rear, but the rest pressed on. Bolters thundered, suppressing the Cerberii defending the Gates of Perdition and culling the gun emplacements set about it. Meanwhile lascannons and missiles flew from the ranks, striking the edges of the gate and trying to tear out its foundations. Again and again they fired, blasting craters into the barrier. No matter how thick, no barricade could endure such punishment forever.
"Take out the gunners!" Reddam barked.
"I need to keep the rest at bay," Kazao protested.
"I'll keep them away, you hit the heavy weapons!"
Kazao did as bid, raising his aim to fire for the Blood Ravens targeting the Gates. He lined up his reticules on a Blood Raven pointing a Lascannon at the Gates, knowing one volley of plasma would end him. Kazao grinned as he squeezed the triggers, but was stunned when nothing happened. He squeezed again but Bahamat refused to fire, ignoring his commands, then the turret jolted to the right.
"What are you doing?!" Reddam shouted.
"It's not me!" Kazao yelled, "Bahamat's gone rogue!"
Then the Vox wailed as Daggon yelled, "Sicaran beware, you have a passenger!"
Kazao twisted in his seat to peer out the optics ringing the hatch and beheld a terrifying sight. Auriga was standing atop the turret, feet braced among the capacitors as he planted his staff on the roof. The Librarian had circled around and mounted the tank from the rear, riding the vehicle like a bucking steed. His eyes were closed and yet Kazao knew he was somehow communing with Bahamat directly, bypassing the controls. The Omega Sicaran was under his direction, and at his urging turned its plasma Carronades upon the Gates of Perdition.
A cold rush ran through Kazao as he realised Auriga was exploiting the tank's dark spirit. Bahamat didn't care who it killed or why, it thirsted only for destruction, no matter whose. Auriga had sensed the malignant Machine Spirit and turned it to his advantage, a flaw in the Amber Viper's strategy only he could perceive. They had trusted a rabid mastiff to fight for them, and not considered it would bite the hand that held the leash.
Plasma streamed from the tank and ripped into the doors, devouring thick armour in seconds. The Gates shuddered under the onslaught, taking more damage from the Sicaran than all the invaders' heavy squads put together. Steam spewed from the capacitors as the plasma casks replenished and Kazao knew the next shot would be twice as deadly.
"We need infantry support!" Kazao yelled.
"Thirty seconds!" Coluber's vox rang.
Reddam barked, "We don't have thirty seconds, Kazao get up there and stop this!"
His hands were already reaching for the hatch, popping the lid as he drew his Fang. Kazao rose from his seat, intending to grapple with Auriga but the hatch was narrow and his backpack caught on the rim. There was no swift exit from this tank. A flash of grey-blue and a boot caught the side of his helm, slamming his head about as Auriga knocked him down. Kazao snarled in fury as he bounded back up, only to receive a stomp to the top of his helm. He powered through, forcing himself through the narrow aperture, ready to tackle the Librarian, only to find he was too late.
Bahamat's Plasma Carronades flared, ejecting a long stream of energised death. A continuous torrent of burning destruction struck the Gates, boring deep into the connection between door and wall. Molten Ferrocrete and Plascrete ran in rivers, gushing from the ever-widening hole as the plasma burrowed through and out the other side. The stream cut off as a terrible groan rang through the avenue. All paused for an instant as the violated stone crumbled, spilling molten stone like a struck boar does blood. Then the right door tore away from its mountings, toppling into the avenue with a crack of rolling thunder.
Kazao gasped as the Gates of Perdition fell, half-open and vulnerable. The invaders wasted not a moment to enter, pouring through the breach into the most secure vault of the Serpens Rex. Ryneon led the way, urging his squads inside before the closing infantry could reach them. Moments separated the Amber Vipers and Storm Heralds from the Howling Griffons and Blood Ravens, but moments were all they needed.
Kazao snapped around only to find Auriga vaulting the plasma weapons, diving from the tank to join his fellows. The Librarian didn't look back, leaving without a word. Bahamat however jeered at its master's distress, amused by their horror. Kazao felt the smugness in the tank's vibration, uncaring that it had aided the enemy, only that destruction had been wrought.
"Get back inside!" Reddam barked.
"We… we…" Kazao breathed as he tried to process what had just happened.
"Quit gawping," Reddam yelled, "This fight isn't over till they or we are dead. Seal your hatch and for Throne's sake shoot straight, hit the wrong thing in there and you'll blow the Serpens Rex halfway to the Halo Stars. This is it, we're going after them!"