Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 385
In a restored throne hall Coluber gathered the masters and Captains. A chamber once abandoned and since restored to glory. Marble pillars and burnished walls gleamed and statues of Marines long dead stood under graceful arches. The roof was Armourglass, allowing vistas of cold stars to be seen at all times. Coluber had chosen this hall for important matters, and here had met envoys of Terra and held councils of Chapters. A large throne dominated the far end, but today he did not sit. Instead he stood, as he witnessed solemn oaths being sworn.
Coluber accepted oaths of fealty with a look of dignity and bid, "Be welcomed to my service. Henceforth you shall not fight as a line Astartes but as my honour guard, standing at my side in battle and sharing every danger with me."
Brother Anaxar looked up from his kneeling position and declared, "I shall not flag nor fail, no threat shall pass me by. If I must lay down my life to vouchsafe yours, then it shall be so."
"Thus you become a Brother-Exemplar," Coluber declared, "This duty is more than a reward for skill in battle. You dwelt alone for years uncounted, and yet never wavered in your duty. All look upon you with admiration and linger in awe of your dedication. Truly you embody all that is best in the Amber Vipers and have set an example for your Brothers to follow. You are an Exemplar in thought and word and deed."
Oaths sworn Anaxar stood and displayed his new plate. Instead of ramshackle gear he now wore virgin plate, the very best their limited manufacturing base could produce. Fresh and noble, with the layered plates over shoulder and hip that were becoming distinctive of the Chapter. The helm bound to his hip had a faceplate fashioned into serpentine aspect, with embellishments around the eyes that appeared predatory and ivory fangs framing his respirator grille. He bore engraved serpents coiled around greaves and forearms and his chest boasted an image of the Emperor upon the Golden Throne, the hollows of his deathly skull watching eternally.
Hasak stepped forward and presented a Burst-lance. Anaxar took it gingerly, unfamiliar with the grip and weight. It would require intense training to use to its full potential, but Coluber was sure he would master it. Anaxar had rebuilt his strength after his long ordeal, and was finally back to peak performance. If he could overcome that ordeal, he could learn a new weapon.
Anaxar took an experimental swing, "It's point-heavy."
"You'll get used to it," Coluber assured.
"Damn straight I will," Anaxar grunted with a smile, "I endured the rigours of time itself, a misaligned spear isn't going to defeat me."
"Then go with Hasak and commence your training immediately," Coluber ordered.
The pair bowed and left, to begin schooling the new Brother-Exemplar in the katas unearthed in the Serpens Rex's dojos. Coluber watched them go and was satisfied he had made the right decision. Anaxar would make a fine exemplar for the Chapter. One task completed Coluber turned about and took in the others. In a wide circle they waited, Ferrac, Reddam, Maru, Kerubim and Mihas Chamandley. All of them had been restored, their wounds made good and plate refreshed. Marks of battle had been repaired and scars healed. Even Coluber's arm was hale, though the burn to his skin would remain for the rest of his life, yet more scars to add to his collection. One face was missing, Berio, who had returned to his post. The Cerberii were the dark mirror of the Brother-Exemplars, examples of disgrace not honour, they were not fit to be present at so lauded a rite.
"So that's finally over with," Ferrac sniffed.
"Trust you to sully a fine display with your boorishness," Maru lamented.
"I know this is just a fop, to cover that Anaxar is no longer fit to be a sergeant."
Maru retorted, "You know nothing, less than nothing, for if you knew that you knew nothing, then that would mean you knew something."
Ferrac growled, "I know there are a million words in low gothic, and not one encompasses how much I want to beat you with a chair."
Coluber was used to the pair's verbal jabs and brushed it off, he'd long accepted they liked goading each other. Ferrac and Maru were diametric opposites, but the more time they spent together the more alike they became. An observation he was sure neither would appreciate.
Coluber interrupted their verbiage, "Anaxar deserves this promotion. While he has grown too distant from his squad to return to them, that should not detract from his accomplishments. Anaxar's deeds merit award, and this appointment shows all that he is an ideal Amber Viper."
Reddam concurred, "I am glad to see him back in armour, he deserves it. We lost too many Brothers in this expedition."
Coluber could not help but agree, "We have lost good friends and leal comrades. But they died in service to duty, such is the fate of us all. We shall honour their names, and strive to equal their examples. Shrios will be remembered."
"And Nathanal," Kerubim added.
"All of them," Coluber affirmed, "Let us hope we do not have to add more names to that tally."
Mihas cut in, the Navigator had been preparing for the long slog back to Imperium Sanctus and seemed confident in his proposed course, "Now we have navigational markers we should be able to return in a fraction of the time. The Corposant's qualities are known, its limits measured. We should cross the Cicatrix Maledictum in less than half the number of jumps to reach Dimmamar."
"And the Stilling?" Coluber asked.
Mihas sniffed, "I estimate we should lose no more than ten or twelve thousand more mortals on the voyage through the Ghostwind."
Coluber held that acceptable. That was about the number of an average Imperial cruiser's crew. In the Imperial Navy a single battle could see many times that number lost, the sheer mass of humanity had ever been the Imperium's most inexhaustible resource. Still the fact that their souls were forfeit could not be overlooked, this Coluber would not permit to continue.
He declared, "When we return to Sanctus I plan to throw the Corposant back behind the Gates of Perdition, and send word to Cawl that his experiment failed."
"I'm not sure that will deter the Archmagos," Kerubim sighed.
"Tell him to go Frak himself," Ferrac growled.
Kerubim however took on a distant expression, "Perhaps there are ways to minimise the risks. A convoy system, ferrying fleets across the rift and back. Moving the Corposant between tug-vessels, so no crew has more than two exposures to the Ghostwind."
"That chrome plating your ass has seeped into your brain," Ferrac scoffed.
"Be more respectful, or I won't fix your axe-rake next time," Kerubim chided.
Ferrac's hand drifted to his weapon, which had been restored by the Techmarine. New plating had been added and the motor blessed with repairs. The sharpened points of the teeth glistened, fresh and wicked. They were the fangs of Draugr, taken from his remains and repurposed. Wulfen-teeth lent the weapon an evil aura and Ferrac had delightedly declared they seem impossible to chip or blunt.
"I'm surprised Berio let you keep those," Reddam commented.
"The Cerberii know better than to cross me," Ferrac snorted.
"They should confiscate anything potentially Heretical," Reddam pointed out.
"Berio's welcome to try," Ferrac grinned as he patted his wulfen-toothed weapon possessively.
Coluber turned to Maru and asked, "Did the Blood Talons send any last missives?"
The Librarian-Dreadnought had been monitoring their departure and reported, "None, their ship Translated to the Warp without incident. I cannot track their Empyreal wake in these storm-tossed tides. Where ever they go, they go alone."
"Tis for the best," Coluber concluded, "The dark reaches of Imperium Nihilus are in dire need of protectors. The Blood Talons have much work ahead of them."
Kerubim muttered, "I still say they could have done more good in the Crusade. A thousand Primaris Marines will not go unmissed."
Ferrac however countered, "A thousand Marines is still small change compared to the horrors roaming the stars. One little ship won't last long on its own."
"I wouldn't discount them so easily," Reddam argued, "They survived generations alone, they will survive whatever comes their way."
Maru sounded wistful, "I wonder where Korinthus will lead his new band of Brothers?"
"Where they are needed most," Coluber asserted, "They will be far from idle, of this I am sure."
"Emperor be with them," Reddam intoned.
"Emperor help whoever gets in their way," Ferrac jested.
Kerubim looked annoyed, "Your decision to release them will not go unremarked. We can expect dire rebuke for giving up a ninth of our charges."
Ferrac grunted, "Rebuke? What's that arsehole of a pencil-pusher going to do? Send us to the worst hellscapes, make us commit war crimes, take on all his dirty jobs and give no thanks? Oh wait, he's done all that already."
"We can endure his censure," Coluber agreed, "We still bring back eight thousand Primaris, more than enough to consider our mission a triumph. Of all the expeditions sent to retrieve Cawl's vaults in Nihilus, we alone have returned. That is a success by any measure."
"And what of our future?" Maru asked, "What awaits us upon our return?"
Coluber considered it for a moment, "First we collect Drill-Captain Thaddis and the snakelets. Then we continue as we always have. Fighting for the Imperium as best we can. Facing darkness and danger where no others dare to tread. Fulfilling our Emperor-given purpose and fighting till the last drop of blood. The Amber Viper's greatest glories lie ahead!"