Versions of Diplomacy

Sino found that things had spiraled quickly out of his grasp, mostly due to Sabreur and Stormrider tempers.  The twins were fighting.  He was fairly bemused that in the commotion that followed their escape from Swerthia, he was largely forgotten and ignored.  He found himself a spare cabin that appeared to be reserved for guest passengers (although what kind of person would willingly buy passage on a Stormrider skimmer Sino couldn't fathom.  He, of course, was a special case).  The crew apparently had no idea who he was, only a vague idea that he was connected to Ajiin's rescue and that was good enough.  They watched him though, carefully, and Sino made sure to tuck away all his Cadre insignia.  He had a feeling that an officer wouldn't go over well with the crew unless the twins assured them of it first.

And the twins… well.  They were distracted.  From what he gathered from the crew's idle talk and the shouting the two Stormriders threw at each other; the shift generator was broken and they were trying to blame the other.  Sabreur held that it was Langley's fault for leaving it on for too long.  Langley protested that she would have turned it off sooner if a certain someone (her brother) had gotten up to the helm in a reasonable amount of time.  Sabreur said that he couldn't have possibly been any faster as someone had to unload his experimental ammo, after all.  And then Langley went into a tantrum about experimental ammo that was being loaded into newly repaired guns.  That made Sino quite curious about what had damaged them in the first place but between the glares of the crew as he passed and the fact that he didn't understand everything about his situation he refrained from asking.

There were some things he had to do that might be best handled on his own, anyway.  He could care less about the first mate – let him figure out his family history on his own.  Besides, Ajiin really struck him as the quiet type who would sort things out by himself and if he finally did voice a problem, well, then it would usually be a problem that demanded immediate attention.  Probably not his.  So Sino let the twins battle it out about the shift generator and the experimental ammo and let Ajiin to himself.  The necromancer, however, was going to be his problem.  And he suspected, the reason for the wary looks he was receiving from the crew.

He'd have to be very careful about this.  If there was any threat to that girl, as far as he could tell, he could expect himself to be thrown off the side of the ship in the middle of some moonless night with no land in sight without a second thought from any of them.

So, it was late one evening, when things were quiet, that he knocked on the door that reeked of necromancy.  The twins were both asleep.  Their fight was winding down and Langley seemed to be realizing she had him on board again, when she wasn't down in the lower reaches of the skimmer with her brother, fixing this mysterious shift generator.

He'd have to sneak a look at that thing at some point.

The crew was on night watch and the hallway was empty.  There was silence from the room for a moment and then the door opened and Sino had no time to react.  A scrawny arm grabbed him about the throat, bony fingers digging into his neck, and Sino caught a glimpse of cold gray eyes while he scrambled to draw his knives before he was pulled into the room.  The door slammed and locked of its own accord and Sino was slammed against the wall and held there, barely able to breath from the grasp around his neck.

"You will not touch her," a voice said.  Male.  Sino clawed at the arm holding him up, unbelieving at how scrawny it felt in comparison to the strength that was behind it.  It was like steel had been wrapped around bone.

"You will not touch her and you will not inform your superiors about her."

The man let go and Sino fell into a heap on the ground, rubbing his neck and trying to catch his breath.  He heard a rustle of cloth and after a moment his eyes adjusted to the faint green glow that came from the floor.  A summoning circle.  It appeared to be permanently written into the floor of the Ark.  And the man…

Sino froze.  He was tall, bending over the bed where the necromancer girl was sound asleep, and one hand was hovering near her brow, those long fingers that had been so violent seconds ago gentle now.  And the man's hair… braided past his waist in colors of green, blue, and purple.  It matched the ornate decoration of his robes, the intertwining birds and the writhing skeletons hiding behind their feathers.

"Who-" Sino began.

"Look at the circle and figure it out."

Sino did so.  Swallowed hard.  A summoning circle, all right, to the Underworld.  Invoking the Avatar of Vengeance.

"Mihos," Sino said stiffly, standing and trying to regain a bit of his composure, "I don't understand."

"Good," the avatar replied, turning away from the girl and staring down at him, eyes cold, "You don't have to understand to do as I say."

"I-"

"You do your job and you do it very well," Mihos said quietly and Sino felt that he should not try and speak any longer.  Just listen.  This was an avatar.  "When I sensed this girl of mine using necromancy on a large scale I became interested in the affairs of the mortal world… and I saw that your path would cross with hers.  I know you and what you are, Sino Naite.  I can list where the souls you have dispatched have gone, if you care to hear it.  The slavers – those have gone to my brother of Indulgence.  But I wonder – where will your soul go when you die?"

"I carry out my orders," Sino said, swallowing hard.

"And maintain that the ends justify the means, do you not?  I think you might go to Fastile… if you believe that to the end of your days."

"If you're questioning my methods-"

"I am," Mihos said, staring at him and Sino felt sweat trickle along the back of his neck, "Because if you follow your beliefs and the rules of your organization you will be turning what is mine over to the authorities.  I will not have that."

"The will of the avatars supercedes the Cadre-"

"Again, orders and rules for justification."  A brief flash of anger passed over Mihos's features and then the avatar was unreadable again.  "Must be quite a convenience to your conscience when you can point to your orders and say that ‘see, this is why I killed these souls.'  I can't guarantee it'll work in the Underworld, however."

And this time, Sino drew himself up and returned Mihos's glare with his own.  If Mihos wanted to taunt him, fine.  But Sino was going to at least push back, if only to prove he could.

"Sometimes the end DOES justify the means," he said, his voice strained but determined.  "I would think that the avatars would recognize that."

"We do," Mihos acknowledged and Sino shivered once, unaware at just how scared he had actually been just then, "We also recognize discernment – or a lack of.  Think very hard on your methods, Sino, and how far you're willing to go in the name of your country and the Cadre."

Mihos turned to look at the sleeping girl once more.  Stood very still for a while.

"Her name is Crystal," the avatar finally said, "She is a necromancer.  Learned from her grandmother when she was a child and then I found her.  What will you do with this?"

"It is your will that I let her alone."

"Pretend I made no threats."

Sino licked his lips.  He would have turned her into the Cadre.  Plain as that.  Necromancy was illegal for a reason… but… there seemed to be something off about all of this.  There was the smell of necromancy in the room, certainly enough, but it lacked the taint that made necromancy so wrong.  What was it that Mihos was asking?  Sino took a deep breath, trying to settle his thoughts.  Part of him just wanted to laugh at the situation.  All he wanted to do was get a feel for who this necromancer was so he could decide how best to apprehend her upon reaching port.  And now with a few moments of talk he was reconsidering everything.  After talking with an avatar.  It was insane.

Mihos had mentioned Fastile.  What was the lie, then?

"I-I'm not certain I can answer…" Sino finally said.  An excuse of an answer, buying time to think.  But Mihos smiled.

"Because you're not certain anymore," he said confidently, "Good.  Think very hard, Sino Naite.  I know you will not do anything to Crystal simply because of my threats but I would prefer you had your own reasons as to why as well.  Because you will die at some point and I'd rather not have you making more work for my fellow avatars and I.  Now go."

The door opened, unbidden, and Sino staggered out of the room and into the hall.  He collapsed against the wall and the door shut behind him, dark again with no trace of anything unusual.  Sino gasped and raised his hand to his brow, wiping away sweat and slicking back his damp hair.  He felt very weak as the entire experience rushed over him like a wave.  The Avatar of Vengeance.  Hell.

"Need some help getting back to your cabin, Sino?"

He looked up, slowly.  The first mate was standing there, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.  Beyond him Sino could see the door to Ajiin's room lying open.  Sino just laughed softly and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Is that – normal for here?" he finally asked.

"I'm not sure what you're referring to, but probably."

"Mihos."

"Eh.  Yeah.  I suppose."

The first mate held out a hand and Sino took it, getting unsteadily to his feet with a tug.  For a moment the two men regarded each other.  The first mate appeared to not be sleeping well lately.  Understandable, with all that had happened.  For a moment Ajiin appeared on the verge of saying something but he only shrugged instead and turned to return to his cabin.

"Langley told me what you did.  Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome," Sino voiced softly after him.  Then he turned and walked – staggered, more like – back to his own cabin.  Ajiin wouldn't be the only one sleeping fitfully in the days to come, that was for sure.

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