Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 330

Coluber strode into his private quarters, seething with trepidation. The wide room boasted a stunning vista of the rising towers at the Serpens Rex's heart but he paid it no mind. He strode to his desk, seeing all the seniors follow. Ferrac, Thaddis and Reddam, Shrios, Berio, Kerubim and Nathanal. Maru came last, his bulk forcing him to bend deep to enter, as the Brother-Exemplars took up station at the door.

When the hatch was closed Coluber barked, "Explain!"

"You seem upset," Kerubim remarked.

"You stride into my Nest and say we must sail into the most dangerous and haunted realm in the galaxy. Of course I'm upset!"

"You insisted I speak in front of everyone," Kerubim sniffed.

Coluber was not amused, for the announcement had caused much consternation. Rumours flew as all debated the meaning of the order, their discipline disintegrating. Coluber had hastily dismissed all squads back to their billets, as he dragged everyone else to his private abode, to be properly briefed.

Nathanal wearily lowered himself into the only mortal-sized chair, his bones creaking to Transhuman hearing, "What's all the fuss about?"

Reddam spat, "Imperium Nihilus! The lost half of the galaxy, cut off from the Astronomican and left to wither."

"So?" Nathanal shrugged.

Shrios growled, "If you paid attention to anything save your tinkering you'd know Chaos is given free rein there. Beyond the Cicatrix Maledictum, Daemons walk and nightmares roam as they will. All is horror and pain; random phantasmagoria appears from nowhere and worlds suffer fates worse than death."

It was a dire pronouncement but Kerubim countered, "That is not entirely accurate. Torchbearer fleets have sailed into Imperium Nihilus, and returned. They report the Astronomican is indeed blocked, and Chaos in the resurgence, but that mankind still fights on. Pockets of resistance hold, though they are isolated. There has been intermittent contact with Elara's Veil sector, Vostroya, Attila, Aurelia-sub, and Baal. The Indomitus Crusade crossed the Nachmund Gauntlet and Lord Guilliman appointed Dante of the Blood Angels regent of Imperium Nihilus, for whatever that's worth."

"He did?" Coluber blinked, "When did that happen?"

"Oh, maybe it hasn't occurred yet for you," Kerubim mused, "Time is broken in Imperium Sanctus, but in Nihilus the concept of time is a farce."

Maru broke in, "It is far worse than that, the great rift bleeds warp energy, saturating every world in eldritch power. Even in Sanctus the gifted see the results of a Psychic Awakening, but in Nihilus dreams come alive. More than just Chaos is empowered, the idle thoughts of men, half-remembered musings and legends so old as to become race memory become real. To sail those haunted tides is to move among mankind's forgotten myths, reason has no standing there."

Ferrac grumbled, "So it's a shattered wasteland of isolated worlds and pocket empires, where the rule is every man for himself and any concept of Imperial authority is a joke. I suddenly understand why Cawl has been building up the Serpens Rex's defences with such haste."

Kerubim replied, "I assure you..."

Coluber cut in, "Save the excuses, I know when I'm being played. Cawl has been planning this for a while, building up our Starfort, expanding its capabilities and self-sufficiency, he's been prepping us for this mission. But why the Amber Vipers?"

Kerubim sighed, "Because you have the means to achieve Starflight without resorting to the Warp."

"The Corposant," Coluber breathed as understanding dawned.

"That heap of crap?!" Ferrac spat.

"You know of it?!" Kerubim started in shock

"Someone tried to steal it from us. He claimed it could cross the Rift, but he nearly blew up the Nest trying. I thought it was just another failed experiment, you'd have to be mad to try it."

Kerubim refuted, "Belisarius Cawl has done meticulous studies. In theory the Corposant accesses a dimensional appendix entirely separate from Realspace, but not the Warp. The Kinebrach called it the Howling, Cawl refers to it as Non-space, but I prefer the Necron term 'Ghostwind'. With specially primed Psykers one can drop into the Ghostwind and sail safe from Daemons and Warp storm. The effort will kill the Psykers, but I have brought three hundred in stasis, all carrying the Cawl Imprimatur. More than enough to get there and back."

Kerubim sounded confident but Berio hissed, "And why should I allow one of my charges to be set loose?"

"Excuse me?"

"The Gates of Perdition do not open on a whim. I study my charges, I read Cawl's notes on the subject. Why should I allow so perilous a relic free?"

"Because Dimmamar has been found!"

Everyone blinked as Coluber asked, "Dimmamar... birthplace of Sebastian Thor?"

"Indeed, and our destination in Imperium Nihilus. It was thought lost, but a stray Astropathic distress call was detected by one of the few remaining Telepathic ducts. It survives, and we must go there."

"What is so special about Dimmamar?"

Kerubim drew in a slow breath then explained, "Belisarius Cawl worked for millennia to make the Primaris, for the direst of days, and deduced that they would be needed in numbers beyond counting. So, he took pains to make sure he was ready for the blackest night. Sadly, reality outstrips his most dire predictions. The rate of losses, the amount of Chapters needing reinforcement or replacing wholesale is alarming. He has striven to increase production, but demand grows faster than he can manage. The Imperium's need has never been greater and we fall short, but there is hope."

Coluber mused, "Cawl has a backup plan?"

Kerubim continued, "Cawl's cyro-vaults on Mars and his Forgeship were exhausted swiftly. But, aeons of labour saw him establish caches of cryo-vaults across the galaxy, as a safeguard against his unexpected demise. Explorator fleets have scoured Imperium Sanctus, unearthing hidden vaults and bringing thousands of cryo-pods into the light."

Maru broke in, "In the legends of the ancient Grekons there were tales of proto-historic heroes who fought Dragons. From their jaws were torn teeth and were sown into the ground fully formed warriors arose. Dragon's Teeth: an army waiting to be."

"More or less," Kerubim allowed, "Cawl has unearthed all the vaults in Imperium Sanctus, that leaves Imperium Nihilus, and they are far harder to reach. Fleets have been sent, but none have yet returned. Dimmamar hides such a vault, and we have the means to reach it."

Coluber gulped, "Are you saying Cawl buried a thousand Primaris Marines in cryo-stasis on Dimmamar?"

"No, I'm saying he left nine thousand Primaris Marines on Dimmamar, along with all the weapons and gene-tech they could possibly need."

"Fraaaak," Ferrac breathed.

"Frak indeed," Maru concurred.

"Nine thousand Primaris," Reddam mused, "Power enough to overturn sectors, no wonder the Regent signed off on this harebrained scheme."

Shrios shook his head, "So we are to employ an untested, Heretical relic to cross the Cicatrix Maledictum and search where none has gone since the Great Rift opened. All to seek a planet that might be rubble already, and dig up a vault that could be ashes. This is madness!"

"That is our mission," Coluber stated firmly.

"It's a jest!"

"It is what we have been waiting for!" Coluber snapped, "Since the Time of Exodus we have sought to act as real Astartes, to fight wars worth fighting. This is our chance to prove ourselves, to be who we should always have been!"

Shrios turned to Berio, "Surely you do not approve of this insanity, the Cerberii exist to stop misuses of power."

But Berio refuted, "I am sworn to only employ my charges over matters that affect the Imperium Entire, and this is such an issue. Nine Chapters of Space Marines... nine! The Imperium is beset on all sides, never has the need for Astartes been greater. Nine Chapters could change the fate of the galaxy, for the sake of all mankind the attempt must be made."

Ferrac grinned around his iron mask, "And I wager you are giddy at the prospect of using one of your toys for something other than destruction."

"Rare are such days," Berio admitted, "Not to be missed."

Shrios shook his head, "I can't believe you're considering this."

"It is more reliable, and swifter, than braving the Nachmund Gauntlet," Kerubim argued, "If the Corposant works it will cut decades off the mission."

"If it works?!" Shrios gasped.

Coluber cut short the argument, "We shall be bold, but the question is how shall we fare against the horrors that roam Imperium Nihilus? Nathanal, what is our status... Nathanal... Nathanal!"

The mortal had dozed off in his chair, but his head snapped up at the shout, "What?! Oh... status yes... I have the numbers... Yes, primary void shields and armour are restored, but we are lacking redundancies. Mainline weapons are installed on all quadrants, but the crews are untested and the calibrations are half-complete. On paper the Serpens Rex is restored to glory, but in practice our defences are thin."

"Care to put a number on that?" Reddam pressed.

"Not really," Nathanal sniffed.

"Do it anyway."

"You want me to pluck a number out of thin air?" Nathanal snorted, "As you will, sixty-seven percent capacity. I hope that satisfies you."

Coluber mused, "It will suffice, even half a starfort is a bastion to be reckoned with. And we have hundreds of Space Marines and the Revenge to back us up. We shall embark on this voyage, and any challenges shall be overcome. Though I am not blind to the dangers. A rearguard must be chosen, to ensure the Amber Vipers survive if we do not come back. I will hand-pick squads, to carry on our legacy if the worst happens."

Coluber's reflections were interrupted by a loud beeping on his deck. A Logic Engine was chirping for attention, most insistently. Coluber resolved to ignore it but unbidden it activated, causing a Hololithic pedestal to awaken. Coluber was startled, no one should be able to override his system, till he saw who was manifesting in the column of light. Mihas Chamandley, the Navigator heir. Of course, if anyone would be able to afford such high-level data-djinns it would be a Navigator. Coluber was almost impressed, but still resolved to have all Binaric-access sealed as soon as possible.

"Halt this travesty!" Mihas snapped as soon as his image formed.

"You are intruding into affairs not your own," Coluber retorted.

"Never mind that, I demand this abomination be halted at once!"

"First you explain what exactly you are protesting against!"

"The Corposant!" Mihas snapped, "Such Heresy cannot be allowed!"

Coluber's eyes narrowed but it was Berio who growled, "How do you know about that?!"

"The Mechanicus is riddled with factionalism, everyone spies on everyone," Mihas snorted, "Cawl's workings leak like a sieve."

"And why does the Corposant concern you?"

"Because it is a Xenos abomination, wrought from forbidden sciences. Its existence is a violation of Imperial Writ, to use it is a Heresy most foul!"

"And the fact it allows starflight without recourse to Navigators has nothing to do with it?"

Mihas bristled, "I resent your implication, my only concern is with the purity of the Lex Imperialis."

But Ferrac snorted, "Give over, you're just worried that if this thing works the Imperium won't need your kind anymore."

"How dare you! Coluber, I demand you destroy this vile contraption, else lose the favour of House Chamandley."

Coluber blinked, for that was no idle threat. The Navigator house was a major factor in the Amber Viper's acceptance into the Imperium, to lose them was a risk he couldn't take. He realised he was caught in a bind, a mission that demanded he use the relic, an ally who would turn on him if he tried. Coluber was lost for words, but thankfully another interceded.

"You seem to be misinformed about our requirements," Kerubim voiced, "I fully intended to approach you next, for your aid in sailing the Ghostwind."

"I... what?" Mihas started.

"The Corposant needs a Navigator to operate."

Berio leaned in, "That was not my understanding, Cawl wrote a primed Psyker alone can charge it."

Kerubim nodded, "That was Cawl's initial hypothesis, but while power can be supplied by one, three is optimal. The issue is that Astrogation in the Ghostwind is impossible, so exit vectors must be psychically calculated before entry. Three Psykers generate conflicting headings, their deviations growing exponentially as the distance scales up. Cawl was nearly flummoxed, till he determined a Navigator can process the paradox. You, Mihas, are essential to making the Corposant work."

Mihas blinked, "So, you aren't cutting us out?"

Kerubim shook his head, "We can't possibly do this without you."

Mihas seemed relieved, "I see... this will be interesting."

"Suddenly not so Heretical after all," Ferrac scoffed.

"I must make preparations!" Mihas brushed off the remark, "Send me your data, I must study it closely."

The image snapped off and Coluber breathed a sigh of relief. A major problem had been neatly avoided and his alliance with the Navigators had been secured. The idea he would have to choose between his mission and his ally was more troubling than he cared to admit. Berio however seemed perturbed, "Strange."

Coluber's eyes drifted over, "How so?"

Berio lifted an eyebrow, "It's just the files were adamant that a Navigator was superfluous."

Kerubim smirked, "They will actually be useful in plotting our realspace position between jumps, but mostly Cawl added that feature to avoid political backlash."

Reddam blinked, "You mean it's a fop, to keep the Navigators from throwing a fit? Surprisingly adroit of Cawl."

But Kerubim replied, "The Archmagos Dominus hasn't survived the unveiling of his Primaris without being supremely skilled at manoeuvring the rich and powerful to his ends. So long as the Navigators think they are needed, they will oblige."

Coluber nodded, "Then there are no obstacles to proceeding."

Shrios glared, "You can't be serious!"

"I am serious," Coluber replied, "We shall proceed to Dimmamar and retrieve the sleeping Primaris, as ordered."

Shrios growled, "I can't believe it's come to this."

Ferrac concurred, "I do wonder: what's in it for us?"

Coluber's voice was stern, "The opportunity to do our duty for the Emperor and the Imperium. To stop fighting for sordid pact and uncaring Regent, and bring the light of Terra to the dark half of the galaxy. No Space Marine should hesitate to do his duty. But if you seek material advancement, consider that along with this cache lies the knowledge and tools to make Primaris Marines, the one thing we have been categorically denied."

"Amber Viper Primaris?!" Shrios started in shock as the idea penetrated.

Coluber grinned, "The means to become equal to any other Chapter in the galaxy. Let Cawl have his armies, we shall go and fetch them for him, and when we return we will hold in our hands the means to make Primaris Marines of our very own. Come Brothers, there's not a minute to waste. Imperium Nihilus calls and we will answer!"