Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 247
When Ruuka set foot upon Cippum the first thing that hit him was the smell of manure. It hung on the air, heavy and cloying, cutting through the spaceport funk of exhaust and expended fuel. To the uninitiated the term 'Agri-world' conjured images of pastoral fields and sunny skies, peasant girls in flowing dresses and farmers driving herds of Grox to market. The reality was quite disappointing, Cippum was like a hundred thousand other planets, drab, torpid and stinking. He'd seen it as they came in to land, seen thousands of kilometres of browning fields, where grain and vegetables were nurtured with liberal applications of fertiliser and nitrate solutions. Cippum was truly unremarkable, save in one way.
Ruuka lifted his hand to shade his eyes to peer at the mountain of crystal that loomed over the spaceport. They were many kilometres away from its base and yet it still dominated the horizon. It was clearly manmade, too straight and angular to be a natural feature and yet the passing of millennia had dulled its surface. Once it must have shimmered like fire, but now it was a dirty dishwater hue, drab and faded in grandeur. Still its sheer immensity drew the eye, large enough to be picked out from low orbit. Enduring, resolute and mysterious, it sat upon Cippum as an eternal mystery, revealing nothing of its purpose. And it was but one of hundreds of such constructs scattered about the planet.
"Time is wasting," Dannye snapped as he alighted the shuttlecraft.
"Patience," Ruuka urged, "The local Governor is coming to meet us."
Krusin stepped out of the lander as she scoffed, "Feeble intellects, a precise mind value timeliness!"
"Our time is not limitless," Dannye chided, "Tezla is a swift ship, but Zar-Quaesitor is on our stern."
"It's all part of the diplomat's dance," Ruuka countered, "Governor Bryne wants to show us he can make us wait on his pleasure. Be grateful they aren't making us come to their palace, a lot of planets would expect the visitors to come to the Governor, not the other way around."
They settled in to wait and Ruuka was given cause to reflect that they could have had worse luck. There had been a scant chance Cawl would send Astropathic missives ahead, to warn the locals not to welcome Ruuka, but it seemed he hadn't. Whatever secrets were buried here Cawl obviously didn't want the rest of the Mechanicus to know they existed, or he wanted them for himself. Either way it works to Ruuka's favour, vox-exchanges had been cordial and the Governor eager to greet them. Almost too eager.
Ruuka craned his head back and looked into the heavens, where a lurid rent split the sky apart. Cippum was only a thousand light-years from the Cicatrix Maledictum, close enough to be seen even in daytime. The metaphysics of how it could be viewed across the galaxy, when its light should take millennia to travel so far, was causing no end of constipation among Imperial savants. All that could be said was it was of the Warp and as such laughed at pesky physics. Its effects however were more troubling, fear, panic, discord and despair, even in worlds far from its clawing horror existential dread had taken hold. No wonder Cippum's governor was desperate for a distraction.
A noise drew his eye and across the vast expanse of the spaceport he spied a motorcade, a trio of armoured men riding thin bikes, followed by a trio of Taurox transports. They sped across the packed Ferrocrete of the spaceport, heading past lines of shuttles and cargo-lifters. Even for a rural backwater like Cippum a spaceport was no small affair and it took them several minutes to draw near and screech to a halt. Two transports lowered their doors and men in carapace plate jumped out, holding Lasguns upright as they formed a ceremonial honour guard. Ruuka wasn't impressed, PDF volunteers were makeweights and rest-day soldiers, reckoned good only to slow an invader down while the Imperium mustered a real response. He alone could probably kill all of them, let alone Secutor Dannye.
Yet from the third vehicle alighted a trio of nobly dressed individuals. A woman in a robe probably considered fine by local standards, a callow youth with sticky-up hair and an older man in a red jacket and black trousers. Ruuka had met all types of Governors, fat and inbred, intelligent and sly, heavy-handed tyrants and devious plotters. Governer Bryne seemed to break that Mold, he was fresh-faced and eager, seemingly happy to greet the visitors, a warm smile spreading over his features. No man remained Governor for long without a ruthless streak but Bryne seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve, either he was a skilled actor or his family dynasty was impervious to local political strife.
Bryne walked straight up to them and called, "Welcome, welcome to Cippum, one hundredth and ninety-third wonder of the galaxy!"
Ruuka bowed low and said, "Governor Bryne, a pleasure to meet you. I am honoured you came to greet us in person."
"Nonsense, we here are humbled that so many vaunted Magos Explorators deem us worthy of a visit. Our crystal pyramids draw the finest minds from across the Segmentum, to ponder their timeless mysteries."
And bring with them much needed trade and credits, Ruuka thought to himself. No wonder the Governor was so eager to greet them, the planet's economy no doubt depended heavily upon passing tourists. He didn't say any of that as he turned to his companions and said, "Secutor Dannye and Magos Biologis Krusin."
"Greetings! May I in turn introduce my wife Jusilda and my son and heir Bryer."
The boy looked bored by proceedings and the woman mildly confused by events. Ruuka revised his opinion of the Governor down a notch, if he was grooming this diffident boy to take over the reign then Bryne was sorely underestimating the trails and travails of Governorship. This dynasty must be truly secure for the man to have lasted so long, either there was a devious administrator of power steering events from behind the throne, or one of Bryne's ancestors had been such a ruthless bastard that all potential challengers still feared his legacy.
Bryne continued his spiel, "Come, come, we have prepared a feast in my palace. Ride with me."
Dannye growled, "Inefficient, our mission..."
"Can wait a day," Ruuka cut in, "We would be honoured to join you. Please lead on."
Bryne led his family back to the Taurox as the PDF embarked but Krusin leaned in to whisper, "We have no time to waste chitchatting."
"We need local knowledge," Ruuka retorted, "I will gladhand the fool and keep him busy. You meanwhile will be scouring local archives and data-vaults, looking for signs of unusual activity or historic legends of forbidden zones. If we're right what we are looking for won't be in the pyramids, but somewhere else."
"And what will I be doing?" Dannye asked.
"You will be getting to know the local soldiers."
"For what purpose?"
Ruuka explained, "Soldiers talk, they are famous for it, especially horror stories. Listen to their griping and find out what the worst deployment on this mudball is. I haven't been to a world yet that doesn't have one spot considered haunted or cursed. Find out where the soldiers dread being sent, and we will have our lead."
With that Ruuka lifted his head and stepped into the Taurox. Inside an attempt had been made to furnish the vehicle for a Governor. Cushioned seats had replaced bare metal benches, the lighting was improved and there was drinks cabinet but still one could not escape the fact it was a military machine. The floor was bare metal, the roof low and the vision slits narrow. Ruuka was curious why they travelled so, but kept his mouth shut as an indifferent Amasec was offered, trying to keep his face straight at the taste of the pisspoor brew.
Ruuka watched as Dannye and Krusin sat in creaking leather chairs and then the Taurox set off with a grinding wheeze. Ruuka was tall enough to glance out the vision slits from a seated position and saw they were leaving the spaceport on a lateral line to the nearest pyramid. Swiftly they left the Ferrocrete apron and entered a modest city, stark and unappealing to his eye but typical of Imperial architecture. None of the local buildings were above five stories tall and mostly grain barns and crop warehouses. A large statue flashed past, of an imposing man with a clenched fist held close to his chest and a furious expression.
Bryne caught Ruuka's attention and commented, "The great Horoto, my grandfather and founder of our dynasty."
"He looked tough," Ruuka commented.
"He was a hard man, for hard times," Bryne sighed.
"Bitter murderous bastard," young Bryer muttered under his breath.
That explains a lot, Ruuka thought to himself, but said, "Governor, I find it odd you travel in a military-grade Taurox."
Bryne's face fell as he explained, "Alas the last few years have been troubled. The great rift split the sky the very day my father died and since then our troubles mount daily. Mutation and insurrection seethe in the cities, the Arbites struggle to contain the threat of rebellion but it grows unchecked. Trade ships stopped to Cippum in ten years, our economy is in deep recession. Apart from the monthly tithe-ships we haven't seen an Imperial vessel in ten years. That is why we are so eager to welcome you, it is a sign that times are stabilising, that our Crystal Pyramids once more draw the curious intellectual."
Ruuka cared nothing for the local's petty woes but affected concern as he said, "Governor, I must tell you our interest is not primarily with the Crystal Pyramids. We are here for another matter."
"I don't understand," Bryne frowned.
"We have reason to believe that the Crystal Pyramids are merely a part of the wonders of Cippum, that the focus on their majesty has cast other marvels into shade. We wish to sponsor an expedition to probe unexplored parts of the planet, places where few venture. Places most avoid. Naturally we would compensate you for your time and effort."
Bryne rubbed his jaw and said, "That's a novel approach, not heard that one before. Well it's your credit chit, but I don't know what you expect to find. There's nothing on Cippum to match the wonder of the Crystal Pyramids."
"Nothing forbidden?" Ruuka pressed, "No place deemed too dangerous to go?"
Surprisingly it was young Bryer who spoke, "There's the sea of Annwyn."
"What's that?"
"Nothing," his father hastily covered, "It's nothing but a dried-up seabed."
"But all those salt-miners died," Bryer protested.
"A tragic industrial accident," Bryne firmly stated, "Before the rift opened. The salt plains had almost been tapped out anyway, the harvesting operation teetering on non-profitability. When an explosion occurred, investment pulled out. You've got the wrong end of the stick there. You'll be better served exploring the pyramids, that's where the real wonder lies."
"Of course," Ruuka said, "I defer to your expertise."
The Taurox pulled to a halt and the rear door opened, revealing a Palace wall that loomed over the surrounding districts. Before the gates a crowd waited, and they hastily sprang into life as the Governor emerged. Soldiers prodded waiting men and women to cheer as a brass band began belting out the March of the Primarchs. A dance troop went into action, white sleeves flashing and bells tied to their ankles ringing as they moved together and clashed sharpened swords with a tinny thud, then jumped back. A taste of local flavour, barely noteworthy in Ruuka's experience but Bryne and his family lapped it up as they greeted the crowds with waved arms.
Ruuka held back and moment and hissed, "Did you catch that?"
"You think it is your lead?" Krusin replied.
"I do, and I want to know more. I'll go keep the Governor distracted, you dig into the records and find out what he's hiding about this accident. Before the day is out, I want to know everything there is to know about the Sea of Annwyn."