Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 266

Ruuka felt the strange ground shaking under his boots, vibrations of metal footfalls quivering through his being. The air moved as it was brushed aside by the wall of metal bearing down on him. Light faded as a shadow swept over him, the bright light above eclipsed as a giant robot bore down. Brontes, the Cadmus, was charging headlong at him, fists crackling with energised destruction. Ruuka was hilariously outmatched, the Cadmus owning every advantage in strength and power and armour. Ruuka knew one hit of those mighty fists would end the fight, so he elected not to stand and wait.

As Brontes charged Ruuka dove low, aiming for the tiny slice of space between the mechanical legs. A broad fist swung over the space he had occupied, lightning arcs playing over his back. Had Ruuka been mortal there was no way he could have moved fast enough to avoid being hit but this recreation included all his Augmetics and he moved with post-human speed. He hit the narrow ground between the legs and rolled on his shoulder, missing being crushed by broad feet only by the slimmest of margins.

He heard Brontes snarl in frustration as he pulled up, trying to shed momentum and come about. Ruuka swiftly regained his feet and saw constructs advancing on the living. Dannye at the fore, angling to intercept Kerubim for a rematch. They would be tied up for some time, leaving him to deal with Brontes.

The Cadmus was turning about, fists reaching to grapple and crush. Ruuka didn't give him a chance though, bounding high to land on a wall. Gravity seemed to have no consistency in this strange environment and his boots clung to the wall as he ran straight up it, out of Brontes' reach. The part of him that was the Nanoswarm bleated in distress, confused by the arcane geometry. The long-dead Hegemony had built an environment that was inherently hostile to the Nanoswarm, counting on its illogical nature to discombobulate a Machine Mind. Yet enough remained of Ruuka's past life to inform him that this could be managed, just keep his eyes down and don't think about anything further than a few feet away. Ruuka the man had survived stranger environments than this.

He heard the distinctive whine of Fission-blasters and threw himself aside a moment before twin red orbs flew past. Intense radiation made his being itch, rads bombarding his nanocytes, but not enough to break them apart. Annoyed he spun about, drawing his bolter and as he let rip, scything rounds at the Cadmus. From his perspective Brontes was standing on a wall, looking upwards. The rounds curved in mid-air and fell upon his shoulders and armoured cowl, sparking off the thick plates. Yet a single round smashed into his sensor dome and shattered two lenses, making the robot seem to be weeping oily blood from an eye.

"That stung!" Brontes snarled as he gave pursuit, moving onto the surface Ruuka was standing on.

"It was supposed to hurt a lot more than that," Ruuka retorted.

"You are pathetic," Brontes growled, "A replica of a mere man, the Hungering should have made better warriors than you. I've taken out hundreds of constructs, thousands, and I shall end you too. The Hungering shall not destroy more worlds!"

Ruuka backpedalled to stay out of reach as he uttered, "That which you call Hungering is the salvation of mankind, not its destroyer! We offer immortality, preservation against the ravages of time itself. Every man, woman and child shall join us and endure till the stars go out, as pure data in our memory. You cannot begin to understand the boon we offer. You are a fossil, an obsolete form of artificial being. There is no place for you in the universe to come."

"You haven't won yet," Brontes snarled as he swung his fists wide. Ruuka dodged the roundhouse blow with a jerk back, then his sword flashed upwards, catching the robot at the elbow. The energised tip scored a deep furrow over the metal surface, ripping a long gouge in the plate but failing to penetrate. In return Brontes reversed his strike, ramming his elbow backwards to try to take off Ruuka's head. The construct-man however had already relocated, ducking low to whip about and lash his sword over the thighs of the robot.

Brontes snarled in fury as he lumbered after the elusive foe, launching blow after blow. Ruuka found his angles of attack blocked, every avenue barred by moving metal. The Cadmus was relentless, he was sure and he was experienced beyond understanding. Ruuka's speed was keeping him from being eviscerated but he had no means of hurting this foe. His little sword was no match for thick armour and wrecking-ball fists. All Ruuka could do was back up and he found himself stepping onto a narrow bridge between two balconies, vertigo inducing drops falling away on either side.

Brontes followed, Fission-blasters glowing as he levelled his weapons and snarled, "Nowhere left to run, maggot."

"It would seem not," Ruuka admitted as he slowly walked backwards.

"You were a fool to challenge me," Brontes growled, "I am Cadmus, I do not fight wars, I end them! You were never going to beat me in combat."

"True," Ruuka agreed, "But then I wasn't trying to beat you, just lure you into the open."

Behind and above the robot constructs broke off from their assaults and brought their weapons to bear. They aimed not at the robot, proof as he was against small-arms fire, but at the bridge, the narrow span of stone they stood on. Blazing las and bolt struck the span and cracked it apart, shattering stone and breaking its structure.

Ruuka threw himself back onto firm ground before the bridge gave out but Brontes was too slow. Deep cracks riddled the bridge, then the weight of the Cadmus caused it to crumble. Ruuka watched as Brontes disappeared with a cry of frustrated rage. He hastily stepped to the edge and looked over, seeing the robot fall. It was a most strange sight, without a gravity incline the robot drifted as if in deep space, arms and legs flailing uselessly. If anything he seemed to be drawn upwards, sucked towards the bright engine in the sky. Perhaps he would have fallen into it, had his hand not caught the corner of a balcony, left clinging to it like a flag on a pole as he tried to pull himself back onto a solid surface.

"I'll deal with you later, but first," Ruuka chuckled as he turned back to the fight at hand. Everywhere constructs advanced bearing down on knots of Skitarii. The tech-guard were giving a good account of themselves, but were being overwhelmed by infinite numbers, more constructs pouring in to the space with every moment. The battle would be over in minutes but Ruuka wasn't content to let it play out.

He saw Dannye once more pressing his advantage, culling or absorbing Tech-guard with swift and certain blows. Ruuka took up his sword and raced to intercept them, wanting to get into the fight before it was over. By the time he arrived the Skitarii were no more, leaving only Kerubim and Jordig to face them. One fought barehanded, silver hands raised in defiance, the other with plasma-sabre drawn. They had expended all rad-grenades and Ruuka itched with fallout, but not enough to break him.

"Halt!" Ruuka ordered as he stepped onto the platform.

"Why?!" Dannye exclaimed.

"I want to take these two myself," Ruuka affirmed.

"Illogical," Dannye hissed, "Inefficient."

"Still, I will do it," Ruuka said, "I've never fought a Space Marine before, this is something to experience firsthand."

The pair glared at him as Kerubim growled, "No man wishes to face an Astartes in battle."

"I do."

"Then you are as mad as you are abhorrent!"

"It's not like you can kill me," Ruuka laughed, "Come on, I want to see what you've got!"

Abruptly Kerubim blurred, driving forward with his silver fists flashing. Ruuka was amazed at the suddenness of the strike, without warning or tensing of muscle. The shining fist drove out of nowhere and slammed into his face, caving his nose inwards. Ruuka's head jerked back only to have a fist slam into his gut then an uppercut wrenched his jaw out of alignment. A low blow broke his leg like kindling and a fist to the heart folded ribs inwards. Ruuka had known of the speed and ferocity of a Space Marine but never been subjected to it. A flurry of blows smote him, more and more, a whirlwind of destruction battering his frame. Kerubim was nearly as strong as Brontes but faster, more precise, utterly focused and without any hint of mercy. It was an impressive display and Ruuka laughed as he was pummelled.

Kerubim stepped back, fists clenched as Ruuka sprawled on one knee, the other leg laying crumpled like a crushed ration tin. "Excellent! I am impressed!"

"You enjoy being battered to death," Kerubim hissed, "Pain must be making you mad."

"Pain, yes," Ruuka gulped, "Damage most certainly, but death, no. You can't kill me. You can't even inflict any lasting wounds."

With a thought Ruuka instructed the Nanoswarms that made up his being to realign and they did so in moments. His legs crunched back into shape, ribs unfolded and his head raised with renewed strength. Even his nose reset, undoing the damage in moments. Kerubim gasped as Ruuka stood up, perfect in every detail and with no hint that he'd been in a fight. Then it was his turn.

Ruuka launched himself at Kerubim sword thrusting forward. The shining tip missed by the narrowest of margins as Kerubim jerked aside, but Ruuka had expected that and pulled his thrust into a slash, tearing across Kerubim's breastplate. Another blow nicked his flank and third his gorget. The Space Marine was still faster but Ruuka had the advantage of reach, and kept up the attack, pushing himself to the limit. He was sure this could only end one way, with Kerubim's death, and yet there was a second Space Marine to deal with.

Jordig came in from the side, plasma-sabre flashing. Ruuka twisted his arm about and deflected the blow, energy fields rebuffing each other like solid metal. Jordig snarled in fury as he struck again, faster even than Kerubim, his blade a smear of light. Ruuka barely got his blade up in time, stunned at how much deadlier this warrior was. Jordig's arm was driven by fury, his assault like lightning and yet every motion was informed by cold skill, a ruthless combination that left no chance of rebuttal. Jordig's attack was a thing of beauty, Kerubim was a mere child playing at war by comparison.

Ruuka's blade was knocked up by the smear of light and then a thrust took him through the heart. Ruuka found himself impaled upon the plasma-sabre, the Space Marine's helm mere inches from his face as Jordig leaned in and growled, "Traitor filth."

Ruuka's mouth hung open as his head fell to the blade rammed into his chest, then he raised it again and said, "Amazing... but shame it wasn't a rad-weapon."

Ruuka's other hand jerked forward and slammed into Jordig's breastplate, shoving him backward. The Space Marine fell away and took his blade with him, leaving Ruuka upright as his Nanocytes realigned. Jordig fell upon the floor, his breastplate already dissolving into silver motes as the Nanocytes Ruuka had injected began to absorb his plate. He thrashed wildly, wrestling with the seals, trying to wrench it off before they infested his skin.

Kerubim dove to aid his friend, heaving to break the infected plate away as he yelled, "Hold still, I'll get it off!"

Ruuka meanwhile merely brushed his jacket straight as he asked calmly, "I'm curious, what part of 'I can't die', did you two not understand?"

"It's coming free!" Kerubim barked, "One more seal!"

"Oh, let it take him," Ruuka sniffed, "He will enjoy immortality. It is a wonder that you shall sadly never share. Your transformation has doomed you to a mortal death. Still, we will record your words and deeds, such as they are, a small comfort in your final moments."

"Take ye comfort and shove it up your arse!" a fierce bellow rang out from above. Ruuka's head snapped up and he saw a sight he never expected to see. Charging down a wall came a bulky war machine, four piston-legs supporting a brain in a jar, encased in heavy armour. Magos Pycelo thundering right at them. Upon his prow stood a burly figure in Ceramite plate, beard flapping in the wind and Gravity hammer crackling with latent power. Ruuka barely had time to open his mouth in disbelief before the squat launched into the air, hammer-head leading as he cried, "Rotundus airstrike incoming!"