Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 350
Naglfar broke contact and made for deep space. As gargantuan the ship was she was still outclassed by the long-range weapons of a Starfort, not to mention a fully armed Battlebarge. Thus Naglfar made her retreat along a vector that kept the Lamentantor between her and the newcomers, blocking their shooting solutions. By the time the Revenge cleared the angles Naglfar was halfway out of auspex range, moving faster than a ship of her size had any right to. A few desultory shots gave chase, but too few to trouble her aft shields. So Naglfar departed, leaving confusion and calamity in her wake.
Left on the ailing vessel the Amber Vipers made short work of the Vanagandyr, culling them with relentless fury. Waves of Primus and Secundus warriors pouring out of latched on gunships sectioned and cleared in minutes, till no trace of the attackers remained. Coluber led the efforts but all too soon was forced to count his dead.
"Damned Wolves fight hard," Shrios muttered as he harvested the gene-seed of a fallen Brother.
"We weren't expecting them, but we made a good accounting of ourselves," Coluber affirmed.
"Tell that to Seyda," Shrios grumbled.
That was harsh truth, the Brother-Exemplar had fallen in battle, giving his life for the cause. Coluber knew it was his decision to intervene that led to this death, but he stood by it. The mission demanded they make contact with Imperial forces, and the bonds of Brotherhood required they aid fellow Astartes in distress. Duty though had obligations to the dead, ones that must be respected.
Coluber found Hasak standing over the legs of his fallen kin. The head and torso had been dragged off, to be defiled by hateful foes. It felt bizarre to be paying respects to truncated hips and legs, but it was what they had to work with. The Rite of the Dead was old as the Chapter, and must be performed. Coluber spoke the ritual words as he knelt and took a spent bolt round on a chain from the remains, while Hasak collected a small chapbook, filled with handwritten notes on Maru's teachings.
Ritual observances completed Coluber turned to face the survivors. A gaggle of filthy mortals, standing in awe of the Transhumans, and one lone Blood Talon. He was missing an arm, and grasped a broken Chainsword in the other, but even with a helm on his displeasure was plain. Coluber knew Astartes were prideful, loathe to admit help had ever been required, but surely this warrior knew his ship would be lost if not for the Amber Vipers. More troubling was his claim to be a Blood Talon, a Chapter Coluber held extinct. It seemed they had survived, lost in Imperium Nihilus for Emperor knew how long.
"We seem to have won," Coluber started with an irrefutable fact.
"If you call this winning," Brovus spat.
"Show respect, we saved your ship and crew," Shrios snarled.
"We didn't need you," Brovus retorted.
"Your arm suggests different."
"Defying Skoll would have been a beautiful way to die, to live as a cripple is shameful."
Shrios snorted, "Don't be childish, it's only an arm. Get an Augmetic and you'll be good as new."
"You have Augmetics?" Brovus blinked in surprise.
Coluber sensed this was going sideways and interrupted, "I have to speak to your commander."
Brovus glared, "My Regnator summons you to the Obsidian Throne."
"Regnator… is that a Captain or a Chapter Master?"
"I know not those terms, Aronyx is greatest among us. He will deal with you."
Brovus set off, leaving the hold without a word. Coluber assigned Sergeant Ceces to secure the compartment, then took Shrios and Hasak with him. He voxed Ferrac, Reddam and Kerubim to meet him on the way, the standard layout of STC ships meaning they could navigate as easily as their own vessel. The Imperium's obsession with standardising everything making the internal layout universal.
Quickly they strode and Coluber noted how dilapidated this vessel was. The walls were damp and mould grew thick. Panels hung open and exposed wiring had been left unconsecrated. His armour told him oxygen was low and carbon dioxide high, for mortals, while temperatures would have left a man shivering. This wasn't battle damage, this was decades of neglect and ill-repair. The Amber Vipers routinely used scraps and detritus in their operations, but they worked night and day to maintain what they had. This hovel made the Serpens Rex appear a shining beacon of Mechanicus arts, and Coluber shuddered at the insult to the Machine Spirits.
Many levels they ascended, via stairs and ramps. The Captains and Techmarine joined them, silently nodding in greeting. Their weapons were wet with black blood and he knew they had been busy. Commentary was discouraged with a shake of the head, Coluber didn't want his thoughts known to the strange Marine leading them, and wasn't sure vox was secure. As they climbed masses of fearful people appeared, staring in awe from shanties set up in the corridors. No crew were these, no labours did they perform, they merely dwelt in poverty, forgotten by the Space Marines and left to rot. A waste of useful hands, in Coluber's opinion.
Eventually their course brought them to a shining chamber, kept in a meticulous state. A throne of Obsidian held a shining figure in gold, his armour sculpted and gleaming. A warrior in red stood to his left, a haunting figure in red and white to the right, and at the foot of the stair a mortal woman in a tightly buttoned uniform. Every Chapter had its unique ways, but this was stranger than most.
Brovus halted at the door, leaving Coluber to announce himself, "Hail cousin. I am Coluber, Chapter Master of the Amber Vipers. By the ties that bind the Adeptus Astartes I bid ye parley!"
The golden figure rested his hands upon his throne's armrests, "You speak ritual words not heard in generations among the Blood, yet past Regnators tell me to say, I am Aronyx, sovereign of the Blood and the Host. And you have claimed one of our ships; we demand you return the Angel's Revenge!"
Coluber laid his hands on his sword's hilt, "No."
"What do you mean, no?!" Aronyx spat.
"It means, I'm not going to," Coluber replied flatly.
"You defy our sacred rights!"
"I don't care," Coluber sniffed.
"You insult us," Aronyx growled.
Ferrac scoffed from his side, "Get used to it."
Coluber turned to say, "I present Battle-Captain Ferrac, Strike-Captain Reddam, Techmarine Kerubim, Apothecary Shrios and my guard."
Aronyx glared but recited, "My Centurio Roventor, my Lady of Hosts O'leia and my Sacredos Korinthus."
"Sacredos… That order is unknown to us. Are you a Chaplain or an Apothecary?"
The one called Korinthus looked unsteady on his feet, leaning on a chainglaive with multiple heads, "I preserve the mysteries and perform the sacred rites."
"Well, that clears up nothing," Ferrac grunted.
Coluber hastily cut in, "We weren't expecting to find Blood Talons here, alive no less, but when we saw you under assault by Traitors were duty-bound to intervene."
"The Sons of Garn have harried us for many a generation," Aronyx admitted, "We accepted our end had come at last. Your meddling robbed us of a beautiful death."
"You wanted to die?!" Shrios snorted in disgust.
"Death comes for all men, what matters is how we face it," Aronyx intoned.
"You wanted to lay down and die, that is the talk of cowards!" Ferrac snapped.
"You dare call us craven!" Rovenator snarled.
Coluber sensed this was not going well and reached up to remove his helm. Face exposed he could smell the unwashed bodies and stifled air, but seeing his eyes appeared to mollify the Blood Talons. Aronyx removed his helm too, and Coluber was stunned by his classic features. Proud and tragic, haunting in similarity to the many statues of Sanguinus that filled Imperial chapels. The others did likewise and the uniformity of their features was eerie, there were differences enough to distinguish them, but all the Blood Talons were imperfect reflections of the gene-sire.
The mortal woman spoke up, "Your sudden appearance baffles us."
Kerubim interjected, "Our starfort has a unique drive system, it allows us to travel without resorting to the Warp."
"Strange, I have never heard of such a thing. Did you acquire it at the Forges of Purgatory?"
Reddam bristled, "Who is this woman and why does she think she has any right to speak among Space Marines?!"
Aronyx frowned, marring his perfect brow, "O'leia is my trusted counsellor, of the Host."
"I thought you were the Host," Reddam mused.
"We are the Blood, the Host serves in different ways."
Coluber was troubled, "Am I understand you operate a mortal Auxilla, along with your Transhuman squads?"
"The Host are no auxiliary, they are part of us."
Coluber was dismayed, Space Marines and mortal armies were separated by ancient decree. To combine forces was Heresy. Alliances were common, but under isolated command chains. The last time someone had tried to merge forces had been the Badab War and the Astral Claws had been excommunicated as renegades.
"You defy Terra's edicts!" Coluber spat.
"What of it?" Aronyx sniffed.
"We should chastise you for Heresy!"
The Blood Talon's faces screwed up in wroth but then Ferrac snorted, "Holy Frak, are we arguing for orthodoxy… us?!"
Reddam grunted, "Imperium Nihilus is so screwed up."
Korinthus frowned, "Imperium… Nihilus?"
Coluber answered, "The dark half of the galaxy, on the far side of the Great Rift."
The Blood Talons shared confused glances, as Aronyx replied, "The galaxy… is dead. The Abyss consumed nine-tenths of the stars, leaving only madness and woe. We lost almost everything, but how did you survive?"
Coluber didn't follow but Kerubim stepped up, "Terra has heard no word of your Chapter since the Cicatrix Maledictum opened, have you had no word from Imperial authorities either? No word at all?"
"Terra is destroyed," Korinthus declared, "The Imperium died."
Coluber was aghast at the Heresy but Kerubim took a small holo-projector from his belt and shone an image of the galaxy. A belt of stars, cut through by a ragged band of red that pulsed like a bleeding wound. The Blood Talons jumped like they had never seen a Hololith, peering intently as they drank in the sight.
Kerubim explained, "You appear to be misinformed. What you call the Abyss is known to us as the Cicatrix Maledictum. The rift stretches from the Halo Zone to Ultramar, but it is only a few hundred light-years wide. The bulk of the Imperium is defined as Sanctus, and fights to maintain the rule of the living Emperor. The other side, where we are now, is called Nihilus and is far more dangerous."
The Blood Talons looked thunderstruck as Aronyx breathed, "Terra stands? The Emperor lives?!"
"What of hallowed Baal?!" Korinthus barked.
Kerubim replied, "Baal survives, Lord Commander Dante of the Blood Angels has been nominated regent of Nihilus, by the Primarch Roboute Guilliman."
"You lie!" Rovenator shouted, "I should tear out your throats!"
"Try it, little fledgling, and I'll break every bone in your body," Ferrac snapped.
"You speak of Primarchs and expect us to believe you!"
Reddam broke in, "It's true, Roboute Guiliman returned and by the will of the Emperor was named Imperial Regent and Lord Commander of the Imperium Entire."
"That can't be true," O'leia gasped.
Ferrac snorted, "It's true, but you shouldn't go getting excited over the Avenging Bean Counter."
Aronyx slumped in his throne, "What you say overturns all we know. The galaxy is not dead, Terra endures. This is… we never imagined the like. I can scarcely believe my ears. We thought we were the last, that all other Space Marines had died battling in the ashes. We thought we and the Sons of Garm were the final remnants. Yet you come with your starfort and magnificent armies, and that strangely armoured Techmarine, and tell us our beliefs were wrong. So many generations spent wandering in the dark, when at any time we could have sailed for Baal. Next you will say Sanguinius has risen from the grave."
Coluber sighed, "Alas, for that miracle we still wait, but perhaps you do not have to deal with this revelation alone."
"What say you?" Aronyx puzzled.
Coluber elaborated, "We crossed the Cicatrix Maledictum with a purpose. We seek a world called Dimmamar, but our starcharts are proving less than accurate. We require a guide, and it seems you could use a safe harbour. I propose you bring your ship into our drydocks and we travel together."
Korinthus frowned, "Dimmamar, this is known to us. But none among us have laid eyes upon it. Legend tells it dwells beyond the veils of midnight, where no man dare voyage."
"We dare," Coluber affirmed.
"You can try it without us," Rovenator scoffed, "This is madness, let these strangers depart and take their insanity with them."
"Refusing us would not be wise," Ferrac growled.
"Leave, lest I carve out your lord's hearts!"
"No man threatens Coluber in front of me," Ferrac growled dangerously.
Coluber saw a fight brewing and interrupted, "Do not think of us as interlopers into your affairs, but as long-lost friends bringing glad tidings. Ones with an armed Starfort sitting within gun-range, and three hundred Space Marines already inside your walls."
"You dare threaten us?!" Korinthus barked.
"I say we can be friends or enemies, I prefer the former, but the latter works too," Coluber hissed.
Aronyx lifted his hand to still the argument, "These are miraculous days, and a time for rest and reflection is needed. My head spins and Regnators past speak against hasty actions. I would hear more of events beyond our known horizons, and I am intrigued by your offer of a safe harbour. I shall allow it, if you agree to refit Lamentantor."
Roventor gasped, "You cannot be serious!"
"I can and I am, my Centurio," Aronyx stated, "You bemoaned our need to rob graves to sustain ourselves, imagine what that starfort can do for us."
"Acceptable terms," Coluber affirmed.
But Shrios turned to hiss, "You would give them our supplies!"
Yet Kerubim retorted, "You saw the state of this ship's Machine Spirits, they cry out for succour, and I am oathbound to tend to heed their call. I doubt we have enough stockpiled to do a full refit, but to leave them untended is blasphemy unto the Omnissiah."
Reddam agreed, "We need a guide, and these fellows must know their way around Imperium Nihilus."
Coluber settled the debate, "It is agreed, the Amber Vipers and Blood Talons shall journey together. We shall bring your ship into the Serpens Rex's drydocks, and you shall be our honoured guests. You shall feast from our tables and in return you shall show us the way to Dimmamar. There is a compact between us, and let no man question it."