Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 299

"Then we are agreed?" Ryneon asked the gathering.

Posix answered, "Our alliance is set, the bonds between us firm."

Velpecula added, "I will abide, for now."

Yet Auriga asserted, "Such sentiments are easy to say, but the truth is found in deeds not words."

Ryneon looked about the circle and saw their growing conflict. In a corner of the Howling Griffon's barracks they met, setting out their strategies for the coming day. Ryneon had watched the bidding war for the STC and found it base and unbecoming for any Imperial dignitary, but he could not deny the alliance had been effective. The united front of Posix and Velpecula, Howling Griffon and Blood Raven, had left all other spluttering in impotency. Their case was undeniable, but none of them could be considered firm allies, their unity was fragile. Ryneon needed to temper their bond.

Ryneon lifted his chin and declared, "We can be confident of success, but if we are divided we will be broken by our rivals."

"I request elaboration," Auriga stated.

Ryneon continued, "We must consider the possibility the other factions will unite against us, the Cawlist faction and Ordo Xenos. They now have common cause and may well form their own power bloc, in which case we will be stalemated."

"They cannot equal the productivity of Mars," Posix sniffed.

"But they have rarer treasures, to tempt Coluber's greed. We must consider wider options, less conventional methods of getting what we want."

Ryneon hoped to tease out their secrets but to his surprise Velpecula grinned, "You lie poorly."

"Excuse me?!" Ryneon started.

"You wouldn't last long in the corridors of Terra, you telegraph your intent like a beacon on a midnight hill. You want something else, not the STC, you did not come here for them."

"I do not…" Ryneon protested.

But Auriga cut in, "He seeks the return of the Howling Griffon's relic vehicles."

That cut Ryneon off, and he stared in shock. The Librarian had just thrown open the box he'd been concealing, spilling secrets wantonly. How, when, and why, these questions burned bright in Ryneon's hearts. None outside the Howling Griffons knew his secret orders, and not one among them would spill the truth. Auriga's knowledge was impossible, but more concerning than that was his intent.

"What have you done?!" Ryneon growled in anger.

"Be not offended," Auriga waved off, "I seek only truth between us, the perfect clarity of allies united in common cause. Towards that effort I shall tell you plainly, I too seek a relic, one locked away in this midden's most secure holdfast."

"You do?!" Posix blurted in shock.

"I confess it freely," Auriga stated, "As I know Ryneon seeks his own treasures, and Velpecula plans to blow this scrapheap to slag, once she's got what she wants."

Velpecula's eyes popped wide as she snarled, "How did you know?!"

"It was obvious," Auriga sniffed.

"Is this true?" Ryneon asked.

Velpecula glared in outrage but hissed, "I am charged to prosecute the Amber Viper's Heresies. I was charged by the Inquisitor Lords of Hereticus to secure the STC's, then punish these renegades for their crimes."

Posix looked from face to face, "You want a relic, he wants more relics, she wants to blow this place up. Am I the only one here who actually plans to do what he said he was going to do?!"

Velpecula sniffed, "As I said, I was to secure the STC, then kill the Amber Vipers."

Ryneon's eyes narrowed, "I find your lack of honesty troubling."

"As if you didn't lie!"

"I never lied, I merely withheld certain facts I deemed classified."

"Semantics," Velpecula spat.

"Do not test me," Ryneon growled, "If you stand between myself and my goal, I will end you."

The tension between them grew, even though Ryneon towered over the frail woman. He could kill her with a gesture, and yet somehow she did not seem outmatched. The Inquisitor had steel, Ryneon could not deny that. Her confidence was not blustering, there was a sense to her that she was as dangerous as he was, in different ways.

Their eyes locked for long moments then, Velpecula grinned and in an entirely different cadence she growled, "I like your style."

"Your voice," Ryneon blinked, "It… changed."

In a gruff burr she scoffed, "Never trust your senses around an Inquisitor."

"You are no Terran-born," Ryneon accused.

"At last, he's slow but he gets there in the end," Velpecula snorted.

"Why the charade?"

Velpecula sniffed, "When you deal with the people I do, where one comes from is as important as the Inquisitorial Rosette. All fear an Inquisitor, except Lord Inquisitors, they trust people who went to the right schools and had the right grandparents. Even among Inquisitors, many doors will open only if you have the right bearing and tone of voice. Certain types would automatically reject a farmgirl, from a world swallowed by the Cicatrix Maledictum, but they are all so ready to bend over and take it from a high-born lady of Terra."

"You are a deceitful creature," Ryneon sniffed, "Yet not half as much as Auriga."

"You have an accusation to make?" Auriga inquired blandly.

"You know too much," Ryneon spat, "You turn up with a precious relic of the Howling Griffons, knowing secret orders. You know Velpecula's secrets, and Throne knows what else. This is more than a coincidence; you planned all this from the start!"

Auriga's lip twitched in amusement, "You seek treachery where there is none, but I wish there to be trust between us. Let me share my truth, this is my psychic gift, to see the bonds that bind the universe together and trace the cracks in them. I see into the hidden places of reality, tracing the weave of destiny and finding the smallest thread to tug upon."

Ryneon blinked, "You are a Telepath?"

"A precognitive," Auriga explained, "More exactly I can perceive the weak points in things, the smallest fractures in structures that appear unbreakable. I cannot tell a lie from a truth, but I can see the pressure points that will break a soul wide open. Like a flaw in a precious gem, that requires only the smallest tap to break into a million pieces. I can see the vulnerable points in people, weapons and armour, fate and destiny. I see the flaws in reality, and I can either break them or fortify them. I see imperfection in our alliance, one that can only be corrected by clear unvarnished truth. We must be honest with each other, or fail utterly."

"That's how you knew to retrieve a banner before coming here?" Ryneon pressed, "To garner my trust?"

Auriga allowed, "I did not know why or what for, but it was shown to me that I would require it when I came here, among other things."

"Well this is all well and nice," Velpecula laughed in her coarse tone, "Are we all friends now?"

"Not friends, but our causes align," Ryneon stated, "We all desire the same things, the paths to our goals align."

"We shall gain the STC's and our relics by working together," Auriga declared.

Posix sounded annoyed, "The STC's first, this I must insist upon. Then you can pursue whatever madness you please, I will not allow the gears to jam with sand."

"You may proceed as you will, I need time to plan anyway," Ryneon allowed.

Their agreement was struck and uncomfortable as it was it served his purpose. They would work together to achieve their mutual goals, then go their separate ways. Ryneon did not believe for an instant that their alliance would last a moment longer, but so long as the Howling Griffons retrieved their relics it was tolerable. A Sacred Oath oft demanded dubious choices but remained inviolable all the same; if it was easy then it would be of no worth.

A soft cough from behind interrupted the meeting. Ryneon turned and found Nyoir standing behind, head bowed in humility, "Forgive the intrusion Brother-Captain."

"Nyoir, did you misunderstand my orders not to violate our privacy?" Ryneon retorted.

"Unless vital news was forthcoming you said," Nyoir affirmed, "Brother Regulam sends word, there has been a… disturbance."

"Don't keep us hanging man, out with it!" Velpecula spat in perfect Terran tones.

"Brother-Captain?" Nyoir hesitated.

"You can speak freely before these ones. It seems we have struck a note of honesty among us. Make your report."

Nyoir didn't looked convinced but declared, "Regulam sends word, via triple-encrypted vox, of an incident in the Serpens Rex. Of what nature he knows not, but there have been deaths. He reports seeing mortal corpses being burned in large numbers, near the edges of the liveable sections."

"An accident?" Posix scoffed, "A malfunctioning Machine Spirit, such things are common on any Imperial ship."

But Ryneon retorted, "Regulam is not the sort to waste time on trivialities, if he thinks this significant enough to report, it is significant."

Velpecula narrowed her eyes, "Deaths in space are common, but trying to cover it up is not. The Amber Vipers have something to hide, something they wish us not to know."

"I sense a fracture in destiny," Auriga confirmed, "Fate is cracking, many possibilities open, most of them dark and terrible."

Ryneon nodded, "The fact the Vipers wish none to know what happened means there is something worth knowing. This could be vital to our cause. I shall have Regulam investigate further; we must learn what it is Coluber seeks to hide."

Nyoir stiffened, "I volunteer to join the hunt!"

"You?!" Ryneon sneered, "This is a mission of subtly and stealth, not something to whack with your sword. No, you shall return to your duty and let the expert handle this."

"I…" Nyoir went to say but caught himself, "Yes Brother-Captain, at once!"

Nyoir pivoted and strode off. Ryneon shook his head and muttered, "He thinks he can equal Regulam in stealth, it is to laugh."

But Velpecula sniffed, "You may trust this Regulam, but I do not. Blundering Astartes know only how to shoot and smash; I shall go investigate this myself."

"You should…"

"I am an Inquisitor, I go where I will!" Velpecula spat.

Posix added, "You can all scheme and argue, but I will have none of it. I go to plan my next move in the Conclave; someone has to make sure the STC are ours."

The pair left without another word. Ryneon did not waste words trying to stop them, knowing their wills were set. That left him alone with Auriga, who seemed to have something to say. Ryneon could feel the question burning in the air between them, but did not invite it. If Auriga had something to say, he could damn well say it.

Finally the Blood Raven's will broke, "This Nyoir, you dishonour him."

"Your gifts show you that?" Ryneon growled.

"I see the fractures in your relationship," Auriga explained, "It is a weakness in our alliance, a flaw that waits to break wide open. It could destroy us."

"Nyoir follows orders, that is all that I require of him."

Auriga sighed, "But the rebukes and admonishments you pile on his head… the abuse."

Ryneon did not try to deny it, "It is a harsh lesson I teach, but one that needs to be hammered home. Nyoir's failures are many but worse is his refusal to admit his flaws. He cannot accept the scope of his failure; he thinks he does not deserve his punishment. So long as he believes he bears no blame for his faults, he cannot grow past them. I have no wish to be the cruel tyrant, but that is the role he needs me to play, till his pride breaks."

"Is what he did so foul?" Auriga sighed, "My gift reveals a sword that did not cut, a finish line not crossed, an oath left unfilled by fickle chance."

"He failed a Sacred Oath," Ryneon explained, "Perhaps for a Blood Raven this is no small thing, but for a Howling Griffon there is no greater sin. Our oaths define us; they bind us in chains of obligation. Once sworn they cannot be averred or set aside, there are only two outcomes we can accept, victory or death."

Auriga pressed, "Even when fickle mischance conspires to thwart you?"

"Chance is meaningless set against will," Ryneon claimed, "Failure of action reveals a failure of commitment. The body may fall short but the will would continue, to either end."

"You mean you would embrace death?"

"Victory or death, not mere words. If I had failed, as Nyoir failed, I would have put my bolter to my temple and pulled the trigger."

Auriga seemed taken aback, "I sense no flaw in your commitment. I am surprised, I knew you were exacting in your demands, but did not expect you to be so rigid in your principles when it came to yourself."

"You thought me a hypocrite?"

"Honestly, yes," Auriga confessed.

Ryneon glared at him, "Principles are not principles if I ignore them when they become inconvenient to me."

"I apologise," Auriga offered, "My gift reveals flaws, but that does not bring a complete understanding of souls. I offended your character and for this am contrite."

"I forgive your insult," Ryneon allowed, "Now let us speak of how we will reclaim our relics, after the Conclave concludes."