Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter287

Unwavering Conviction sailed into the Nakara system on a trail of plasma wash. The proud Strike cruiser was burning hard from the jump point, pressing for the inner system at maximum thrust. In space a direct line between two points is not always the swiftest course, so she made use of the local geography. Into the orbit of a dead world she fell, the barren rock lacking a wisp of atmosphere so the labouring miners below could look up in awe as a brilliant comet brought light to their lives for the first time. The Strike Cruiser yawed hard in the gravity well and broke orbit at twice the speed she entered, leaving her hurtling in-system at a significant fraction of the speed of light.

"Manoeuvre complete," Nyoir reported from the Sensorium, "Heading confirmed for intercept."

"Maximum time till we can commence deceleration burn?" Ryneon asked from the command dais.

"Six hours by the book," Nyoir reported, "But if we are willing to brake all the way to their doorstep we can push it to seven. That will tax the Machine Spirit of the main drives though."

"But it will shave four hours off our total travel time. This will be done."

Ryneon's orders sent the bridge into a flurry. Serfs labouring over long pews of consoles bent to their labours, communing with the ship's Machine Spirt as they had been trained to do. Brisk chatter arose as men and women made his orders into reality, and servitors chattered mindlessly in Binaric. A vessel of the Howling Griffons was a picture of brisk efficiency and Ryneon was satisfied the mortals would perform as expected. Space Marines were superior in all things, but an Astartes was far too precious to waste staring at an auspex screen.

Ryneon approved of the clean lines of the bridge, stark and austere. The shipyards of Mancora did not waste time making the bridge appear like a cathedral, as the Imperial Navy was want to do. The space was functional, bare of statues or extraneous choirs, the only noises being the sound of the ship's systems and crew working. The only concession to vanity was the hundreds of plaques adorning the walls. Each one inscribed with a sacred oath made by the ship master, be they Astartes or mortal, each one completed exactly as promised and immortalised forever. There were pledges to break through a Traitor blockade, vows to serve faithfully in crusades and campaigns, and a notable one to seek and destroy the Nurgle-tainted Space Hulk Charybdis, a vow completed despite it costing the life of every mortal crewman at the time.

"Summon Posix and put a display of the target on the Hololith," Ryneon ordered. A three-dimensional image coalesced into being and Ryneon beheld the Serpens Rex. They were looking at it from across half a stellar system and so the image was several hours out of date, but it was enough to judge the quality of the Amber Vipers. Rubble strewn plazas and toppled towers, smashed bastions and crumbling bulwarks that made his lip curl. Ryneon saw cathedrums allowed to be vented to space and holes drilled through the superstructure that had been left exposed, shameful, utterly shameful. That any imperial soul would see fit to live in such squalor was appalling, that an Astartes Chapter would sink so low was reprehensible.

"The Serpens Rex, it's even more miserable than I expected," Ryneon sneered.

"Damage is extensive," Nyoir agreed, "It presents little external threat, we can dock safely."

"Dock with that wreck?! I will not insult Unwavering Conviction so. We shall assume synchronous orbit and shuttle over in gunships. That is good enough for these Vipers."

Nyoir bent to peer at a screen, "We are picking up mass signatures of capital ships. Either the Amber Vipers have a sizeable fleet, or someone beat us here."

"I pity them, having to walk among such thieves and scoundrels."

Nyoir looked up with a wary expression, "You speak as if you know them, Brother-Captain."

Ryneon's lip curled, "I know all I need to know of them from the state of their base. Only slovenly wastrels would accept living in such squalor, the dishevelled appearance of their home reveals the dishonourable staining their souls. The Howling Griffons would never denigrate ourselves with such so indecent an appearance. The reports were correct; these Vipers are nothing but thieves and brigands, renegades deserving only of being crushed."

Nyoir glanced at the serfs, then moved to the dais. He spoke softly so the mortals could not overhear, "Captain Ryneon, must I remind you of our oaths?"

"You dare speak to me of oaths?!" Ryneon hissed in offence.

"Master Alvaro was clear; we are not to start a fight."

Ryneon sniffed, "Your memory is defective. He ordered us not to fire first; he did not command us to avoid fighting."

"Then you intend to bring bloodshed to the Conclave?"

"I intend to reclaim the relics of the Howling Griffons," Ryneon asserted, "How much blood will be spilled shall be determined by how stubborn those thieves prove."

Nyoir seemed discomforted, "Some would say that violates the spirit of our oaths."

Ryneon lowered his gaze to stare at the Bladeguard, "You take great liberties speaking of oaths, need I remind you why you were cast from the First?"

Nyoir's expression grew brittle, "I know my failings well."

"Yet you have refused to learn from them," Ryneon growled, "I should expect no less from a Terran-born. You will never understand the sanctity of an oath, as a son of Mancora does. No wonder you failed to fulfil your pledge."

Nyoir could not hold his gaze, "You shame me Brother-Captain."

"You make me do this Nyoir," Ryneon rebuked, "With your questions and doubting. I do not wish to reprimand you but am compelled to, for the punishment is due."

Nyoir whispered, "I serve as best I can."

But Ryneon uttered, "You are too emotional Nyoir, master your humours and I will not need to rebuke you again."

Nyoir's shame hung upon him and Ryneon observed his sorrow closely. The Bladeguard's failing was a millstone about his neck, one he would never be free of. It was not in Ryneon's power to absolve his misstep, and the Howling Griffons were not a forgiving breed. Nyoir must live with his shame, it was not for Ryneon to ease his remorse.

Their conversation was interrupted as Posix entered the bridge. He strode past the waiting mortal guards in a dazzle of red light, holo-scales shimmering like a sun setting over an ocean horizon. The envoy seemed keen, brisk in his stride and eager to begin. He strode up to the command dais and gazed at the Hololith musing, "The Serpens Rex, at last."

Ryneon looked at the Martian lord, "A dilapidated ruin."

"All the better, they will be desperate for the blessings of the Mechanicus. The service of a single Forge-tender could undo most of this damage, a fraction of a Forgeworld's output would work marvels. These Amber Vipers will not say no to me."

"You are not the only Mechanicus envoy coming," Ryneon pointed out.

"Pretenders and half-wits," Posix scoffed, "What can they offer to compare to the industrial output of Mars? Tokens and trinkets, vague promises and pledges: pathetic. I have the means to restore any facility, I bring armours and relics of antiquity, this will be no contest."

Nyoir was distracted by a bleeping alarum, "You may wish to reconsider that."

"Explain," Ryneon commanded.

"A Signal-pennant being broadcasted across the system."

Posix sounded confused, "Impossible, the Amber Vipers cannot know we are here. We are light-hours out, our energy signal will be indistinguishable from the background noise of space. We can see them because they are static, relative to the moon, but to track a moving object in the void at this range is impossible."

Nyoir shook his head, "You misunderstand, it is not the Amber Vipers who signal, it is another ship. One moving behind us, correction: a second signal. There are two ships."

"An enemy?!" Ryneon barked.

"Negative, the broadcasts are unencrypted, it is the other envoys."

Posix sniffed, "They wish to announce their presence early, we are only detecting the message because we lie between them and the Serpens Rex. Still it will take several hours for the vox-message to reach the destination. The Amber Vipers will not know we have all arrived for some time."

Ryneon was uninterested in the minutiae of space-travel and ordered, "Run their idents through the Logic Engines and tell me who is coming."

"Cogitating," Nyoir replied, "Machine Spirits are processing… a match, the Starstrider, a Gladius-class frigate of the Indomitus Crusade. They claim to have the representative of the Ordo Xenos on board and squad of Astartes."

"A mere squad," Ryneon sneered, "They are not taking this Conclave seriously."

Nyoir continued, "The other ident is still processing, must be truly obscure, if they.. . wait… a match, she is the Quaesitor Eruditio, a Strike Cruiser of the Blood Ravens. They claim to have the envoy of the Ordo Hereticus."

"Blood Ravens?" Posix mused, "Interesting."

Ryneon sniffed, "A Chapter of some notoriety, almost as shameless as the Vipers for theft."

"That is not why I am puzzled," Posix stated.

Ryneon sensed he was expected to make a follow-up inquiry but refused to be provoked so. He stood in silence, perfectly willing to wait out Posix's petty game and the Tech-Priest's will broke first, "The Blood Ravens are fleet-based, but generally patrol the Aurelia Sector, in what was once Segmentum Obscurus. They were on the far side of the Cicatrix Maledictum, when the great rift split the galaxy in twain."

"If they were destroyed in the Imperium Nihilus then these could be the last survivors," Nyoir randomly guessed, much to Ryneon's disgust.

"They were not destroyed," Posix refuted, "A Torchbearer fleet has made contact with the Blood Ravens, this is confirmed. But if they dwell in Imperium Nihilus why would one of their ships be this deep into the Imperium Sanctus?"

"A Company could have crossed the Nachmund Gauntlet," Nyoir speculated, "Or maybe the Blood Ravens found another way across, there are more perilous passages known to exist."

Ryneon had enough of this and ordered, "Cease this idle conjecture, it is unbecoming. We shall obtain facts when we arrive at the Serpens Rex. Till then it is pointless to speculate."

"Then you plan to proceed?" Nyoir asked.

"We must, there is no other option," Ryneon affirmed, "Our course is set and I will not deviate."

Posix observed, "The other envoys send word of their presence, shall we join them, or make our arrival a surprise?"

Ryneon looked to the Hololith, "Send a vox-hail to the Serpens Rex, telling them the Howling Griffons are en-route. The Vipers should make ready to receive us, and let us trust they roll out a decent reception, lest they sink even lower in my regards."