Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 409
"They got away, they aren't allowed to do that," Inos protested in a petulant whine.
"It is what it is," Wulfe grunted dismissively.
"We should chase them!" the Neo-Cadmus urged, "Run them down and squish them!"
"Dannae be daft, the forest is their turf, we go in there and we be the ones dying."
"But we can't let them get away!"
"They be coming back; this be our ground and we hold it," Wulfe snapped.
The Machine broke off, its frustration evident. Wulfe found it grating a Machine would act so emotionally, not like it actually had emotions, only simulated personality algorithms. Ironkin didn't act like children with a toy taken off them, but then the Neo-Cadmus were only half-finished. Their size and power had proved vital in the conflict, but their intelligence remained stunted, their strategic grasp feeble.
Annoyed Wulfe looked across the hillside. Silence fell over the slope as the fumes of battle filled the sky. Dead bodies were strewn far and wide, in amber Ceramite or denser Rotundus plate, a lot of Skitarii were laid out too, but Wulfe didn't have a care for the cogboys. The fight had been intense and brutal, two breeds of post-humans battling for supremacy. It had been closer than Wulfe cared to admit, the battle hanging on a knife's edge. Dumb as they were the Neo-Cadmus had swung the fight for the Votann, not that they would ever admit it.
Wulfe stowed his Graviton hammer and breathed deep, smelling the awful aftermath of war. Roasted flesh and fried circuits, burning rubber where Sagitaurs burned and the stench of corpses opening their bowels. The ground glowed where stray plasma had struck, vaporising much of it and making the surroundings run like lava. Wulfe had experienced these things a thousand times before but it struck harder this time, the memories the Psyker had dredged from his subconscious, raw as the day he'd made them.
He was saved from further introspection by the approach of Egor. The Mechanicus priest's robes were blackened with soot and his hem stained with mud. No fighter was he, no Magos Dominus, but his charges had wreaked havoc. Now he came to round them up, picking over the detritus of battle with a distasteful cast to his shoulders.
"Battlefield losses were unacceptable," Egor stated without preamble.
Wulfe was accustomed to the Tech-Priest's blunt ways and shrugged, "Crap happens."
"Yet your forces took statistically lower losses than my Skitarii, despite being engaged longer."
"Ye should make tougher soldiers then."
Egor bristled, "Many units are unaccounted for, not responding yet nor counted among the dead."
"So?" Wulfe sniffed.
"The Amber Vipers took prisoners," Egor growled.
"Then may they die quick, without opening their gobs."
"You do not believe captured units will reveal key intelligence?"
"Hearthkyn do nae break, be more worried about ye clockwork soldiers."
Inos leaned in, "We could go retrieve them!"
Wulfe snorted, "Ye is as plain as Tau girl. Ye want to go fight again, but we said nae."
"Sitting back is suboptimal!" Inos spat.
But Egor agreed, "Your strategic modelling is degraded. We do not have to go anywhere; the Amber Vipers will return to this locale. Space Marines of any designation do not give up."
Inos growled, "Records show they do not retreat either!"
"Incomplete analysis garners no favour. Link to the Noosphere and review files pertaining to Raven Guard, White Scars and Raptors."
Inos went silent as the machine mind worked. Wulfe shook his head, Brontes would have completed the task in a microsecond. As ever the Neo-Cadmus proved inadequate, a state that could not be tolerated any longer. Speaking of which, he needed to move the project forward.
Wulfe asked the Tech-priest directly, "Did we nab him?"
"The unit designated Kerubim: affirmative," Egor replied.
"Ancestor Cores be praised, I dannae think he'd be taken alive."
"Acquisition was achieved with the intervention of outside forces."
"Ye what?" Wulfe blinked.
"An Inquisitor Markof turned on his allies, he completed the capture for us."
"A pox-ridden Inquisitor?!" Wulfe snapped, "A weasley, treacherous backstabber hanging about. I'm not having this, not for one second!"
Wulfe turned on his heel and strode off, heading towards the edge of the battlefield. His keen eyes immediately picked out a silver Repulsor and the gathering around its flanks. Therguld and Ramdoth, both battered and scored all over but alive. With them was Skardar, the Brokhyr seemingly pleased as a priest in a brothel. All three were talking to a man in carapace armour, Inquisitor Markof, who was smiling coldly.
On the ground knelt Kerubim, being held down by a quartet of Ironkin. His armour and weapons had been stripped from him, leaving him naked and exposed. Silver skin glistened in the wan light, every inch metallic and glossy. His eyes however were filled with anger, his wroth burning hot. Were he not restrained he'd be attacking, Wulfe approved of that sentiment, it was exactly how he would act in response.
"Accursed betrayer!" Kerubim spat at the Inquisitor.
Markof didn't seem to care, "Can't you shut him up?"
"Cease prattling on, it do ye nae good," Therguld sighed.
"You will all pay for this..."
Kerubim's voice was cut off as Skardar backhanded him across the mouth, rattling his jaw. A trace of blood spilled from his lip, but his anger was not quashed. Kerubim glared in loathing at his captors, promising death silently. Wulfe almost wished he'd kill the Inquisitor, that smarmy wretch looked far too pleased with himself.
"What's he doing here?!" Wulfe snapped.
Therguld sniffed, "We captured the fool as planned."
"Nae him, I mean that lanky streak of piss!" Wulfe snarled as he made for Markof.
Skardar got in the way and said, "He be on our side."
"An Inquisitor aint on anybody side but his own! Wulfe spat, "The Leagues learned that in blood Too many times have oor Holds been attacked, and always an Inquisitor was skulking about."
"I said he be on our side, for now. Dannae say anything about tomorrow."
Markof snorted, "You don't like me, and I don't like you, but that doesn't mean we can't work together. I require allies to cull the Amber Vipers, you require knowledge. A partnership serves both our interests. If that doesn't convince you, then remember I did capture Kerubim for you."
Therguld agreed, "The Astartes were hard bastards, I was dancing with a flashy poser all day long. One good hit, that were all I needed, but he were greasy as an Eldar."
Ramdoth grimaced, "Went ten rounds with some ugly arse, that stupid dolt refused to die."
Skardar snorted, "Never thought ye meet ye match, did ye?"
Ramdoth growled, "He be no match for me!"
"In a fight, sure... in ugliness..."
Wulfe wasn't mollified, "It dannae matter, I aint having this weasel standing at my back!"
Skardar however countered, "I hear ye got into it with some clanking tin can, couldnae beat him."
"I nearly had 'im," Wulfe growled.
"Ha! 'Nearly' dannae buy ye a single screw," Skardar scoffed, "We need to know what the buggers be planning next."
"If ye trust a word an Inquisitor says, ye be dumber than Ramdoth after fifteen pints."
Markof glared as he hissed, "You doubt my word, I almost understand your stance, but know I have bigger concerns than you. You think I came to this world to put down a Tech-Heresy, and officially I did, but in doing so I found an opportunity to rid the Imperium of a vile canker in our midst. The Amber Vipers are Heretics a hundred times over, breaking Imperial writ on a whim. They have dodged justice time and time again, skipping past righteous condemnation so many times they think themselves inviolable. No more I say, their punishment is merited, and long overdue."
Wulfe's fists clenched as he spat, "And what 'a our work here, ye just gonna forget about it?"
"The Silica Animus," Markof sniffed, "A Heresy for sure, but not one I have to deal with. The first lesson an Inquisitor learns is to focus on the true threat, if we stopped to confront every petty dabbler in forbidden lore and criminal overlord we run across, then we'd never see the real danger coming. The Ordo Malleus teaches the greatest threat is always that which grows within. The Amber Vipers are mine to destroy, Abominable Intelligences are Mars' problem."
Ramdoth nodded, "He wants the Space Marines dead, I wanna help."
"Then ye be a fool," Wulfe spat, "He'll stab us in the back the first chance he gets."
Markof snorted, "And you'll beat me to death the second my intel ceases to be of use, we are all taking a gamble here."
"I nae be one for dice," Wulfe hissed as he stepped forward.
Skardar however blocked his way, "I gave him me oath we'd work together. A Brokhyr's word is a sacred troth. A Rotundus dasnae break his oath, nae now, nae ever. Will ye make an Oathbreaker outta me?"
Wulfe was caught in a bind. The Leagues of Votann were bound by customs and traditions as obdurate as any found in the Imperium of Man. Chief among them was the sanctity of oaths. No true Rotundus would forsake a promise, nor lead another to do so. Wulfe too was bound by debts he must repay, though it galled him to the bone.
"As ye will, he lives, but we keep an eye on him at all times," Wulfe spat.
Therguld nodded, "That's the smartest thing anyone said today. Imperials aint to be trusted. He can live, but I'm keeping a pair of Hearthkyn on his back night and day."
"If that's what it takes to move past this, so be it," Markof accepted.
Skardar nodded, "It be settled. So, let's get this shiny oaf back to the lab and see what makes him tick."
Kerubim had been glaring at them throughout and snarled, "I'll tell you nothing!"
"We dannae need ye to speak," Wulfe sighed.
"You worthless grit-sucker!" Kerubim cursed, "You have honour once, what happened to you?!"
The Ironkin heaved Kerubim up at a gesture from the Brokhyr and marched him away, arms held tight behind his back. Therguld, Skardar, Ramdoth and Markof followed, eager to begin the work. Wulfe watched sadly, holding back as he whispered, "Wish it coulda' been otherwise, but we all be bound by our oaths. Sorry lad, but this lifedebt can only be paid with a life. Hopes you die quick, cause you won't like living after."
