Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 355

The Clockwise Whorl, Imperium Nihilus

"My headache just won't clear," O'leia moaned.

"There is a strange pressure," Aronyx admitted, "Regnators past find it disquieting."

"No, I don't mean a sore head, it's a splitting migraine," O'leia spat, "I can barely think straight."

"Quit bellyaching," Rovenator snorted, "You'll live."

"If it were just me I'd agree, but all our people report the same thing. This nowhere realm we travel, it's doing something to us."

Aronyx considered her words. For three days the Starfort had traversed this empty realm, carrying them across the stars in ways he never imagine possible. At first it had been exhilarating, then tedious, but it was swiftly growing concerning. Aronyx had found his questions on the matter fobbed off with vague excuses and hints not to delve further. Either the Amber Vipers didn't understand how it functioned, or they were hiding things from him. He suspected both may be true.

The Serpens Rex was as vast inside as out, a veritable city, torn from the surface of a world and set free to roam the heavens. Aronyx had been gifted tours of the interior, seeing the huge weapon batteries, training dojos, power armour manufactories and hangers. Truly the martial power of the Amber Vipers cast the Blood into shame, but in pride they were lacking. Aronyx found himself put off by their insolent manner, their mannerisms were coarse and boorish. He had thought that Battle-Captain was putting on an act to intimidate their guests, but his attitude seemed common. Currently Aronyx was being escorted through the starfort by a squad of heavily armed Space Marines and Strike-Captain Reddam, who at least seemed able to feign courtesy.

"By the stars, look at that one," Roventor gasped. Aronyx turned his head and across a busy concourse saw a party of Amber Vipers proceeding. They marched with heads held high, weapons held tight, but among the foursome slouched a stranger Marine. Without armour he seemed shorter, his arms weaker than any Astartes Aronyx had ever seen and his gait unsteady. But what truly shocked was the age upon him. This one outmatched all the others Aronyx had seen, his skin liver-spotted and pitted by age. The Regnator had been caught short by the marks of time on the Amber Vipers, but this one wore aeons upon his shoulders.

"Who is that?" Aronyx started.

Reddam was carrying a power spear with easy familiarity and informed them, "That would be Anaxar. He's undergoing retraining, following a harrowing ordeal."

"How old is he?" Roventor gasped.

"Anaxar's age is not a thing we comment upon," Reddam stated tersely.

"He carries centuries on his face," Aronyx breathed, "And yet you deem him fit to fight?"

Reddam's face darkened, "Anaxar has given his all to this Chapter. I will not have his name besmirched. He has sacrificed more than you can imagine, and his honour is beyond question. Speak ill of him and you will find Ferrac's temper a whisper on the wind, compared to mine."

Aronyx hastily covered, "I meant no disrespect, I was merely surprised. Our lives are hard… none among us have lived long enough to gather grey hairs."

Reddam stared for a moment then nodded, "Imperium Nihilus is a harrowing place, I understand your losses must be considerable. Amazing that you have managed to recruit enough neophytes to sustain yourselves. Still Anaxar is nothing, you have yet to meet our Chief Librarian, he is thousands of years old, though he does have the advantage of being a Dreadnought."

"Thousands?!" Rovenator gasped. Aronyx understood his dismay. The Blood were proud, but their doom came all too swiftly. To live as long as the Amber Vipers was impossible for them, to see the turn of a millennium was beyond imagination. A dark impulse arose, past Regnators asking what the strangers had done to deserve such blessings. Why had the Vipers been spared the curse, when the Blood were punished, another whispered. They acted so proud, but they had not suffered a tenth of what the Children of Sanguinius had, a voice sneered. Only one spoke against, a voice from antiquity reminding them that Sanguinius' suffering was greater even than theirs, they should accept his gifts with humility. Long lives were not desirable, what mattered was how one greeted death. Jealous voices fell silent, chided by the ancient wisdom.

Aronyx's thoughts swirled in his head but Reddam frowned as if listening, "Vox-call, from the control centre. We're about to emerge into realspace. Coluber summons you to witness it."

"Summons?" Roventor growled in annoyance.

Aronyx cut in, "Hush my Centurio. You, tell your master that I accept his generous invitation."

"As you will," Reddam stated noncommittally.

The Strike-Captain and his guards led the Blood to the heart of the Serpens Rex, marching briskly as they passed various hubs of defence and industry. The starfort was vast and it took time, but they eventually arrived at a lift-cage, controlled by a servitor. Rattling chains took them high and Aronyx stepped into the ornate control centre. He had seen it already but the graceful architecture and shining embellishments were still impressive. Quite at odds with the plebeian attitude of the Vipers.

What had changed was the party lurking atop the central pyramid. Aronyx mounted polished steps and rose to a level where Coluber awaited. With him were Kerubim and Ferrac, glaring in distrust as always. One other was present and Aronyx nearly missed a step as his head craned backwards. A towering war machine, humanoid in form but bulky beyond belief. His chassis was adorned with flowing script and his right arm was built into a blade as long as a man.

Coluber grinned, "Ah Aronyx, I haven't introduced you to our Chief Librarian. This is Maru Kysoto, poet-warrior and scholar of the mystic arts."

"Well met," Maru's voice issued from vox-horns, "I have been eager to make your acquaintance."

Aronyx stepped onto the final level and said, "I am honoured to meet you, though I thought you'd be…"

"Smaller?" Maru laughed, "I take it you have no Dreadnoughts among your ranks?"

Aronyx shook his head, "Alas we lost all such examples in the opening of the Abyss. We have had no psykers to guide us since."

"None?" Maru mused, "Do you not acquire Psykers on your travels? My understanding is the Rift promotes Psychic awakenings."

"We have learned at great cost the perils of the Psyker. Long ago we determined that the Lamenantor cannot be made safe while doorways to the Warp linger among us. Daemons seek ever to enter their minds, and no protection can be certain."

Ferrac grunted, "You kill them as soon as they manifest power, smart move. I wish we'd do the same. Useless naval-gazers."

Maru retorted, "You can insult me, but speak not of my apprentices."

"Mind whispers are no match for a good axe-rake."

"You are welcome to test that assertion at your leisure."

Aronyx was stunned at the way they spoke to each other, but Coluber's grin revealed this was an old jest between them. They sparred as old friends needling each other, not as bitter enemies. Another strange custom among the Amber Vipers, Aronyx concluded. Even if his life was as long as theirs, he did not think he would ever understand them.

A soft chime cut off all discourse as Serpens Rex slipped back into realspace. Their exit from nonspace was as smooth as their entry and Aronyx barely felt it. O'leia however gasped in relief, rubbing her head as if a vice had been removed. Across the control centre mortals sat straighter, and he noted a lot of them clutching Aquila tokens and kissing them in thanks.

"What have we got?" Coluber asked.

Kerubim was darting between pict-screens and said, "No signs of battle, no gravity inclines, no sea of fire."

"We're you expecting them?" O'leia grunted as she rubbed her sore head.

"You'd be amazed at what we've seen," Reddam sniffed.

"There is something…" Kerubim mused, "On the cusp of Astrographic detection. Not a ship, too vast for that. A supermassive star, no… light waves are Doppler shifting… this is unlike anything I've ever seen."

"Are we in danger?" Coluber pressed.

"We're looking at something from a distance as vaster than a stellar system. Nothing can touch us here, but I can't make sense of what I'm seeing. Data is contradictory and confusing. Let me put it into a Hololith, maybe a pict-image will be better."

An image formed over all their heads, three-dimensional in the manner of Archeotech of Imperial origin. Aronyx still found it marvellous, but the images within were of greater concern. An elliptical arc, squatted in the centre, brooding and dark. Around it a lantern spun, a ball of light orbiting the mass in long sweeps. Far out it ran, then curved about and dove nearer. At the closest point a spray of particles sheared off, spilling into the dark mass, before the fleeting light ran away again.

"What in the name of sanity is that?" Coluber wondered.

"Some sort of gas giant and an asteroid?" Reddam guessed.

"Far too massive," Kerubm replied, "The elliptical arc is bigger than a sun, I don't understand what I'm seeing."

Maru spoke up, "That is a black hole, and the light is a star caught in its orbit."

Kerubim leaned closer to a pict-screen, "Of course, I was thrown off by Doppler shifts. Temporal lensing is distorting our readings."

Aronyx watched as the star crested the end of its long journey and began a return leg. Like a ball on a string it dove, drawn back to its dark partner, where more sparks were torn from its surface. Coronal mass ejections, the star was being eaten by the black hole, tiny pieces being ripped away and consumed.

"Forgive my lack of understanding, but isn't this happening insanely fast?" Reddam pressed.

"You're right," Kerubim replied, "What we're seeing is tens of thousands of years of stellar motion, playing out in minutes. That star is moving several percentages above the speed of light, from our perspective. Time is passing faster near the black hole than it is for us."

"That is an inversion of natural law," Maru pointed out.

"You don't have to tell me, this is all backwards," Kerubim moaned, "Time should slow as one nears the event horizon, not accelerate."

Reddam groaned, "I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hate Imperium Nihilus."

Aronyx tracked the dying star as he breathed, "You are all missing the point."

"Point?" Coluber asked.

"It is beautiful," Aronyx explained.

"I don't see any beauty in Frakked-up physics," Ferrac snorted.

Aronyx elaborated, "You speak of the reality of the universe as if it is wrong, but behold the wonder it produces. We are witnessing the death of a star, a million years compressed into minutes. How many men can claim to have seen such a miracle? No one before us has beheld such a marvel, and none will again. We are blessed, unique among mankind. A star dies battling impossible forces, grappling to the last with a terrible foe. A futile battle but one fought with full vigour. Open your eyes, we are witnessing wonders."

The sun dove near the black hole again, plunging ever nearer its terminal end as Rovenator admitted, "It is quite a spectacle."

"If you like that sort of thing," Ferrac grunted.

"Is your life so miserable you cannot appreciate wonders?" Aronyx scoffed, "How dull your mind is. We exist in a time of majestic happenstance. Dark horrors and shining triumph in equal measure. All are equally empowered. The base and the high. You do not see the light, for fear of the shadow it casts."

Silence fell as the star was ripped again, tearing across the accretion disc at fantastic velocity. Aronyx watched in rapt awe as the sun fled again, flying far away and then curving back. Once more it plunged, closer than ever, too close. The star's orbit at last brought it to the point of no return and it was caught in the sink of gravity. It fell inwards, stretching into a band of gold that circled the event horizon, spaghettification pulling its shape out of true. It whipped around the perimeter like a mastiff around a race track, drawing closer and closer to the line of darkness. Then in an instant it touched the black hole and was gone, consumed utterly.

"My friends, we have witnessed its passing," Aronyx breathed.

"Truly marvellous," O'leia agreed.

"Wasn't worth getting excited about," Ferrac grunted.

Coluber agreed, "I see no strategic or tactical significance to this occurrence."

Aronyx ignored the remark, for his hearts were jubilant. Such days were rare, but all the more precious for it. The Amber Vipers may have long lives, but their existence was grey and shabby. They could not appreciate splendour beyond the shine of armoured plate and the flapping of banners in the wind. Perhaps short lives were better, Aronyx mused. His existence was brief, so he must embrace it fully, and experience every moment as if it was his last. Let the Amber Vipers linger in their drab mindset, Aronyx owned joy they would never know.

Kerubim was leaning over a pict-screen, "Oh, this is odd."

"Care to share?" Reddam asked.

"We couldn't detect it in the backwash of the dying star, but there's a vox-signal coming from nearby."

"A planet?" Rovenator mused.

"Negative, auspex detects an artificial construction, a space station orbiting the black hole. An observatory, I'd wager."

Aronyx and Coluber shared a look, and the Viper lord asked, "Is it caught in the temporal lens?"

Kerubim explained, "It's as far out as we are, no Doppler shifts in the signal. But it's human in make, Imperial coding layered in the message. A repeating call with no variation, could be an automated distress signal."

Aronyx drew himself up, "It is the way of the Blood to seek out those in distress."

"It's worth investigating," Coluber agreed, "I'll send a scouting party."

"I'm going this time," Ferrac spat, "Reddam's turn to sit on his arse."

"I shall join you," Aronyx concurred.

Coluber frowned, "Surely you are too important to risk on a recon mission."

"That is not the way of the Blood," Aronyx chided, "I shall lead from the front, as is proper."

"If that is your custom," Coluber allowed, "Let us see what mystery awaits us this time."