Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 427
The following weeks were a whirlwind of meetings and tours of the Nest. Reddam spent his days talking to Sergeants from every Cohort, addressing their concerns and making sure they approved of his appointment. Other Chapters could just impose a new leader and expect the rank and file to accept it without question, but Reddam knew his Brotherhood well and made sure to meet them individually and talk as Brothers. Few seemed upset at the idea, though those who cleaved to Maru's philosophy asked when formal rituals of investiture would be performed. Reddam promised them a ceremony at a later date, along with fobbing off complaints of other squads hogging all the training cycles, poor quality rations, laurels promised but not awarded and million other gripes that Reddam privately considered utter grox-dung.
When he finally grew weary of tackling everybody's problems he retreated to Coluber's office, no, his office. He'd been avoiding it for days, unwilling to cross that threshold. Once he did reality would sink in, the change in his life and the new status bestowed would be a fact. He'd be Chapter Master, in truth as well as name. He wasn't sure he was ready for that.
"I've summoned Tebes and Joffel, tell me when they get here," Reddam said to Hasak as the Brother-Exemplar took up his station by the door. Reddam stepped within, looking over the office. A fine view of the rising towers at the heart of the Serpens Rex lay beyond a broad Armourglass window. A desk, bed, bookstands, armour rack, various cogitators and Holoprojectors, all tools he would need. Upon the desk lay two wooden cases, one twice as long as the other, items he had ordered retrieved from the vaults and delivered unto him. A disturbed sand garden lay at the heart of the room, long since marred by ugly boot prints. Someone had made an effort to restore it, but crudely and lacking in beauty. Reddam resolved to have the entire thing ripped out and paved over at the earliest possible convenience.
Reddam stomped over to the glass and looked upon his people. The Serpens Rex, ancient, filled with mystery and danger. Broken and rebuilt, greater than it once was and lesser. It was his responsibility now, to protect and employ. He must walk the narrow path between honour and survival, the same thorny road that Coluber had negotiated for years. To Reddam it fell to fight the Emperor's wars, but do so in a way that didn't wipe out the Amber Vipers. He wasn't sure he was up to the task.
"Got guests," Hasak called.
"Send them in," Reddam ordered as he moved to the desk to greet his squad mates, but it wasn't them.
Into the chamber strode Ferrac, Thaddis, Berio and Maru. The Librarian-Dreadnought was restored, his frame perfect in all ways. Kerubim, that was Ericthonius, worked fast and well. Reddam took in the splendid lines and smooth functioning of Maru's mechanisms in awe. One who could make such restorations in days surely could make Amber Viper Primaris real. Yet that didn't cover for the fact they weren't who he had summoned.
"I thought you said my visitors had arrived," Reddam snapped.
"Said guests," Hasak sniffed.
"I need to appoint a guard who can say more than two words," Reddam sighed, "I didn't summon you."
"Doesn't matter," Ferrac growled, "We have an urgent matter to discuss."
"I have more important business, you can go wait outside," Reddam retorted.
"Don't go thinking just because you're in charge you can go about telling us what to do," Ferrac scoffed.
"You gave me this role!"
"And you were dumb enough to accept it," Ferrac grinned.
"This is important," Berio added.
"What could be so important as to barge in here?!"
"Chrysoar," Berio stated, "The Daemon grows restless."
That shut Reddam up. The Daemon-possessed bolter was still in their custody, locked behind obsidian walls and guarded night and day. Nobody knew what to do with it, and nobody wanted to make a decision. Reddam realised with a sinking feeling it fell to him, he would have to make the judgement.
"What's the latest?" Reddam stalled.
Berio said, "The scratchings grow hourly, and the whispers in the Chattel's ears cannot be stopped. It calls to them in their dreams, promising glory. I have forbidden any mortal to approach its cage, and as for those who laid eyes upon it, I have slit their throats, lest a seed of taint was planted. The Cerberii guard it night and day, but our watch falters. We cannot contain it."
"How did this go unnoticed for so long?" Reddam sighed.
Maru explained, "Chrysoar was claimed in battle, taken without suspicion. The Howling Griffons in turn took it from the hands of Traitors, unwittingly exposing themselves to its effluent. We thought Ryneon was a duplicitous cur, but in hindsight his soul was long ago corrupted by the maisma of Chaos."
Ferrac glared upwards, "Is it not, very specifically, your role to make sure things like this do not Frakking happen?!"
Maru was unrepentant, "Chrysoar contains no typical Daemon. It is of the lowest emanations of the Prince of Excess, without thought or reason. A curdled knot of desire and avarice, a festering, stagnant pond of ambition. Those near it merely hear their own desires echoed back at them, magnified to vile excess. It has not yet achieved the critical mass of emotion to spawn a true Neverborn."
Thaddis mused, "So... it's a proto-Daemon. What you get before a Daemon manifests, merely an embryo. That's how it passed notice."
"In terms you can understand yes, but now it wills itself into being."
Thaddis frowned, "Could it have amplified Kazao's aberrations?"
"That is not impossible," Maru sighed.
Berio shook his head "Doesn't answer the question: what are we going to do with it?"
"Send it to the Ordo Malleus," Thaddis suggested.
"Let the Inquisition know we've had a possessed Bolter laying about the Nest for years, we all know how that ends," Ferrac muttered.
"Then what?!" Berio pressed.
Maru mused, "There are oubliettes deeper in the Serpens Rex, vestibules none of you have been told of. Many dark horrors are imprisoned there."
"How many?" Berio asked suspiciously.
"Do not ask," Maru deflected.
Ferrac snorted, "I doubt these lockers could hold a Daemon's influence forever."
"We are going to destroy it," Reddam suddenly declared.
Everybody blinked as Maru cautioned, "Destroy a Deamon... that even a Librarian-Dreadnought cannot do."
"We can smash the physical casing, then throw the bits into a star," Reddam proposed.
"That will only banish the proto-Daemon back to the Warp."
"It won't be here, and that's good enough for me. The Amber Vipers have a nasty habit of picking up stuff that comes back to bite us in the arse. I intend to change that."
"End Victor's Rights?!" Thaddis gulped.
Reddam leaned back on the desk, "End it, no, but take more care certainly. My first decree is that no item taken from enemy hands can be claimed until the Cerberii and Librarius have examined it in detail. I will not risk another Chrysoar. And other changes are necessary."
Ferrac groaned, "Chaplains, we're talking about Chaplains. The whole sodding Codex Astartes to boot."
Reddam however corrected, "No, not Chaplains. We are not the kind of Marines to bow in prayer and chant decrepit litanies. Neither shall we adopt Codex companies. Primus, Secundus and Tertius are robust formations and serve us well. However I do plan to expand the Brother-Exemplars, have a squad's worth for each Cohort and Captain. A new Captain for Secundus must be chosen, someone younger, not of the Old Seventeen, it is time for fresh blood to lead. The Cerberii too must become more visible, with power to mete out punishments for minor infractions. We have become accustomed to having our way, letting things slide, content in our laxity. We must make our Brothers understand they are being watched, that sin will no longer go unpunished."
Thaddis nodded to the door, "And the Aberrants... you plan to..."
Reddam informed them, "I don't plan to purge them outright, they have done no wrong. But the practice will end, the Apothecaries shall no longer employ defective gene-seed. The Aberrants will pass into history, that is my will. Coluber dreamed of a glorious Chapter, it was his life's work, but his mistake was failing to winnow the wheat from the chaff. Coluber made many compromises, necessary when we were small and weak, but no longer. I intend to purge our souls of all impurity."
"Sounds like a plan!" Ferrac chuckled.
"Yes indeed, now if you don't mind, I have to speak to my squad mates," Reddam chided.
At his gesture Joffel and Tebes strode in, Reddam's old friends and comrades. They had fought together longer than a mortal's lifetime and there were none he trusted more. When their Brothers betrayed them, they had stood true, unwavering in conviction. Reddam wished he could fight alongside them forevermore, but with his elevation their squad no longer existed, and their roles had yet to be defined.
Tebes strode up and made the sign of the aquila, "Reporting as ordered Chapter Master!"
"Oh, lighten up," Joffel smirked as he slouched over, "No need for formality."
"I'll be the judge of that," Reddam growled but then smiled, "But be at ease anyway."
"You have new assignments for us?" Tebes enquired.
Reddam nodded, "Straight to the point, and yes I do. For your sterling conduct and most worthy example I have decided to promote Tebes to be a Sergeant in Secundus. You shall be granted a squad of newly-elevated initiates and teach them how to be Amber Vipers. Your courage, your fortitude and your unwavering dedication shall make you a fine example to follow. To honour your deeds a new weapon shall be entrusted to you."
Reddam opened the larger box on his desk. Within lay a magnificent powered broadsword, its length almost as long as Reddam's former spear. Wonderous was its make, the crossguard formed into serpentine heads that snarled at the universe. It was presented to Tebes, who lifted it with some difficulty, its handle large enough for both hands. The mass of it would make it hard to wield from a bike, but not impossible, yet on foot would perfectly complement Tebes' skill with a mining pick.
Maru spoke up, "Behold Whisper, older even than my long-passed kin. Forged in ancient days, as a contest between Brothers. Honour it well, you hold in your hands a weapon forged by the Primarch Vulkan himself."
Tebes bowed his head, "I vow I shall slay a thousand Heretics with this blade."
Reddam next turned to Joffel, "Your fierce spirt and eager zeal do you credit. You are the boldest of all Amber Vipers, thus you shall be despatched to join the Deathwatch."
Joffel's face fell as colour drained, "I... What?!"
Reddam confirmed, "The Deathwatch, we are to send Marines to the Watch-fortresses, you shall be among the first to don the silver and black."
Joffel's jaw worked, "But... I thought... I mean the Brother-Exemplars are a man down..."
Reddam's eyes narrowed, "You seem to under the misapprehension that joining the Deathwatch is some form of humiliation. It is not. To serve the Ordo Xenos is to stand alongside scores of other Chapters, share their wisdom and experience, and learn from the best of the best. Understand that for many Chapters this will be the first time they meet an Amber Viper, and the first impression we make on their hearts shall be your conduct. I am trusting you to be the best of us, our fiercest and boldest soul, unwavering in the face of danger, laughing at peril. You shall be our envoy to the Deathwatch, and when those Brothers return to their Chapters they will speak of the Amber Vipers as true Astartes. If you have any doubts in the amount of trust I bestow on you then look upon this..."
Reddam flipped open the second case and within lay Venom. Coluber's relic blade, its curved edge pristine and deadly. Reddam offered the blade and Joffel took it with a trembling hand. It fit his palm perfectly and he lifted the blade to the light, admiring its keenness and easy heft. A practice swing showed he understood the sweeping style required, his lost bonesword teaching him well. Joffel's face cracked a smile as the honoured granted him became clear.
"I will treasure this," Joffel breathed.
"As I will cherish the memories we forged," Reddam concurred, "We have been the truest of Brothers, and though our time together comes to its end we shall always be comrades in heart."
"And so our deeds as a squad end," Tebes concurred.
"Not yet it doesn't!" Ferrac chipped in.
"There is one matter yet to address," Thaddis added.
"A matter more vexing and shameful must be resolved," Maru agreed.
Reddam knew what they meant and growled, "Larus, our erstwhile Brother must face the due punishment for his crimes."
