A/N: Bionicle is the property of the LEGO Company
THE CORE WAR: Equals and Opposites
Fire Tribe Camp – Day
To only the main army, the headquarters of the Fire Tribe was closed to any unauthorized personnel. But for the high ranking combatants, the main session of the day was in progress. Inside the tent, the commanders were plotting a way to throw the Ice Tribe off balance to gain the upper hand in this Core War.
Inside the tent, only a few object were inside: a few chairs, several shelves, and a couple of tables. On one of these dimly lit tables was an aged sheet of parchment. Ackar and Malum studied the parchment map intensively. In this myriad of doodles and sketches, the entire area within the Fire and Ice Camps was mapped with great detail.
Ackar aimed his finger at a particular spot on the map. As his finger traced it, Ackar spoke to Malum. "According to our scouts, this river is undefended, particularly due to the fact it is too narrow and too shallow for boats to pass by."
Malum added, "And they didn't think of a foot-based invasion?"
Ackar nodded. "Then you have the plan all figured out?"
"We have a small number invade through the stream, take out any defenders that cross us, and take the tower as our own." Malum crossed his arms proudly. "I always knew there were some good brains in that helmet of yours."
"Very good soldier indeed," said Ackar. He paused as he rolled p the parchment map. He then placed the delicate doodle into a pouch over his shoulder and continued. "Come. If you are to lead this mission, you'll need to familiarize yourself with your teammates." He motioned and Malum followed into the desert heat.
They ventured out to an isolated area beyond the camp, where a group of figures were in the midst of a mock battle. On one side, a member of the Sand Tribe with a sword and a Bone Hunter with a crossbow were on the defensive, taking some cover behind a half-buried boulder. On the other were two members of the Fire Tribe, one of them an Agori with a fire staff and the other a red-and-black warrior with twin chakrams. These two were tiring the others quickly with determination.
Malum started forward, but Ackar stuck an arm out. "Wait," he said. Malum obeyed and observed.
The one with the chakrams tossed his spiked disks onward at the tan-hued opponent. The other responded with a leap and a flip, both simultaneous to deflecting the chakrams back at red-and-black. He then charged and swung his tail with enough force to knock red-and-black to the ground.
As this occurred, the Bone Hunter and the Fire Agori merely tossed their weapons and wrestled one another, until both were shrouded in a cloud of dust.
Ackar ended his moments of lingering and calmed the heated battle. The Sand Tribe member backed off and offered a hand to the chakram wielder. He took it and was hoisted up. Malum joined the rest of the group, along with other members who were observing the scuffle.
"Malum," Ackar said, "I'd like you to meet our squad mates."
The Bone Hunter saluted. "My comrades call me Bandit."
The Sand nomad saluted with his tail. "I am known by my clan name: Vorox."
The Fire Agori followed. "Cortesius, sir."
Then the chakram warrior reported. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"
Cortesius thumbed at Axel. "That's his nickname."
Malum closely examined the four troops. Each had his own quality that made him a part of the team, and in return, made the team and its faction successful in battle. After several minutes of questioning and discussion, Malum spoke to his squad. "Follow me to the officers' tent. We'll elaborate the battle that is yet to come.
As the quintet departed, Ackar noticed someone jogging in his direction from the low ridge bordering the camp. A closer look revealed it to be Perditus, a cocky hotshot of a pilot. Ackar was not familiar with Perditus personally, but was knew him by his piloting skills and his youthful rashness and boldness.
Ackar knew what was to happen. So he mentally prepared himself and awaited the pilot.
Ice Tribe Outpost – Dusk
Surel sat crisscrossed on the floor, meditating alongside Certavus. Unlike Certavus, who was serene, calm, organized, and collected, Surel was somewhat uncomfortable and anxious. Certavus always scolded him for that, but the Wise One was once youthful and full of energy in the past. So Certavus the Wise was patient with Surel.
Surel's thoughts drifted. Right now he saw six elements. He knew these as Ice, Fire, Water, Jungle, Rock, and Sand. They were in crystals, whose light was draining, dulling with time. Then he watched as they suddenly intensified in brightness and merged into one, gleaming gem. It was a fascinating, beautiful, yet terrifying image that slammed into his mind like a rabid rock steed.
Surel gasped and opened his eyes forcefully. He panted and turned to see Certavus gazing at him. The wise, elder warrior laid a hand on his pupil's shoulder with gentleness. "What is it," he asked with a hint of anxiety, "What did you see?"
Surel regained his composer in a moment's time and, with some shakiness in his voice, answered. "I . . . I saw gems. Brightly lit gems that dulled, then intensified in light at seemed to consume me. Then it all went black, as if shadow had overtaken me next."
Certavus pondered upon those words. What omen could this be? What could it possibly represent? An era of peace, then immense chaos? What? His thoughts wavered when a knock on the chamber door sounded. Master and student rose. "Come in," said Certavus.
A member of the warrior species entered with a role of parchment, wearing mostly white armor with hints of bluish-silver. He had a two-handed sword strapped to his back and wore a spiked helmet, greaves and shoulder armor. "This just in from the scouts, Commander," he said, "Apparently, the flaming natives have made camp near the ridged gorge southeast of our position." He then handed the rolled-up writing to Certavus.
The Commander unrolled it and gazed upon its contents. Yes, indeed they had camped at the ridged gorge, possibly to attempt an ambush or another hidden attack. He looked up at Spike. "How many did we lose?"
"All but one of the Agori, sir," said Spike solemnly, "The hotheads, then the Bone Hunters caught up to them." Then the messenger grinned ever so slightly, partly to Surel's act of overlooking his teacher's shoulder, partly due to the next sentence he was about to speak. "But they think the scouts are all dead, which gives us an advantage."
Surel had finished his idle reading and faced his two comrades. He crossed his arms, one of which stroked his chin in a let-me-think-about-this manner. "We could have snipers set around a vulnerable point around the outpost, or we could just meet them ahead and prevent losses here."
Spike and Surel faced Certavus, eager for an answer. The Wise One paused for a few beats. "I suggest we engage them here," he said, "We know this area, they don't, and we most likely have more armory than them."
Surel spoke to Certavus, "I'll get the defenses up and running, Master." The teacher waved him off and the apprentice walked off to fulfill his command.
Then Certavus laid a hand on Spike's shoulder. "Son of the Ice Lord, brother, are you ready to face the fire?"
Spike returned the same gesture. "We shall face it with a frosty welcome."
Ice Tribe Perimeter – Nightfall
Ackar led the squad on the shallow, narrow stream that branched alongside and into the Ice Tribe outpost. Behind him, Malum, Bandit, Vorox, Axel, and Cortesius ventured and followed the commander. As he kept himself inconspicuous, he thought of the conversation he had with Perditus mere hours before the operation.
He recalled the pilot approaching him, asking as he caught his breath, "Ackar . . . I wanted to ask you . . . permission . . . to join the operation to the outpost."
Ackar merely said "No." In return, he ended up getting another question.
"Why?"
"You are a rash driver," Ackar said, "Your reflexes are as fast as your vehicle, but your wit is slower than that. You must think. 'Am I prepared for this?' You are not, and I cannot afford a young and innocent soul being swiped into the void like a small flame. Do you understand me, Perditus?"
"Y-Yes, Ackar," Perditus replied. Then the pilot walked off. Ackar swore he saw the driver grin and cross his fingers. That meant something, as usual, rash was to occur. He dreaded the feeling in his gut, telling him that this wasn't to go well.
Axel tapped Ackar's shoulder to get his attention. "Hey, you alright?" he asked.
Ackar shook his head and came back to reality. Then the red-hued warrior comprehended his actions. He didn't realize he was halting the progress of the night op, as he was simply crouching in the shallow mud stream, eyes defocused and blankly staring at the path ahead of them.
"Yes," Ackar replied, then continued on the stream's path to the Ice Outpost. They traversed for some time until Ackar and Malum halted the party at a low barrier.
"We are here," said Malum. He edged ahead of Ackar and Axel to scout the area. Bandit and Vorox followed. Ackar, Axel, and Cortesius stayed behind and waited for Malum to confirm it was safe to continue. As they squatted in the mud, they listened to the clicks and chirps of the scarabax beetles and felt the gentle breeze blow on their backs.
Cortesius seemed annoyed when Ackar turned to face his comrades. The Agori was to mention a complaint, but Axel held his hand to the villager's mouth as a shrill whistling sound came about. Then the noise of metal striking metal and a cry of pain sounded.
"Bandit!" cried a voice.
Ackar stood up and quickly pulled out his sword. "Go! Go! Go!" he commanded. The trio rushed to aid their allies in the freshly-begotten battlefield.
Spike shifted his crossbow and watched the arrow plow through the Bone Hunter's head. The member of the Sand Tribe, who was beside the victim, cried out and grabbed his comrade's body. Several Ice Tribe warriors burst out of the double doors that led into the sanctum of the outpost. From the top level of the tower, Spike thought of this as entertainment. He felt the adrenaline pumping as he began to enjoy his sniping job.
He continued to watch as the sandman, his personal nickname for the Sand Tribe, quickly fell to the wave of warriors. Then the large red figure Spike identified as Malum was joined by three more beings, two warriors and an Agori.
This is their strike team? he thought, The hotheads must be desperate for our outpost to fall. Spike was somewhat bewildered at the small force that attempted to take the dominating structure. It was always a puzzle to wonder why six soldiers, four from the Fire Tribe and two of them from different tribes, were attacking a well defended citadel.
Spike then had two options flowing in his mind: He could join his frosted brethren and quickly eliminate these pathetic, yet courageous, invaders. Or he could watch from this here tower and observe without getting his hands dirty, and let the rest of the troops take them out. Either way, these mortal fools might as well die sooner or later.
Certavus's officer decided to kill of the lackeys and get this pointless skirmish over with. Spike ran down the flight of stairs to the next lower window. He laid one foot on the ledge, the other in the citadel, and aimed his crossbow at Malum. His finger slowly squeezed the trigger. Then he felt his foot slip. Spike cursed as his abdomen slammed into the ledge, then fell a couple stories onto the dirt below. The warrior lay stunned, unable to move for minutes.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! He screamed at himself in his mind. His wooden crossbow was shattered, and the wrist gaunt he wore wasn't functioning. Spike clenched his fist over and over to get the thing working, until the blade finally ejected. Then a foot landed on Spike's hand.
He grunted and felt a spasm of flared nerves surge. The foot then moved itself to the ground. Spike looked up at the owner of the foot with difficulty. He looked into the green eyes of a warrior with red and black armor, holding twin chakrams and wearing a spiked helmet.
"Hello, Spike," Axel said casually, "Nice day to have a scuffle, eh?" Axel then took one of his chakrams and rammed it Spike. The Ice warrior deflected the weapon with his own and leapt up to his feet, the pain quickly subsiding to nothingness.
"Axel, you're still alive and well," Spike mocked, "Fitting for a coward."
"So you do remember me this time. I'm SO FLATTERED!" retorted Axel. Then, without warning, the fire soldier stabbed his chakram into Spike's chest. As the Ice warrior stood there, frozen with shock, the circular tool of death had embedded itself halfway into his chest. Axel then grabbed Spike by the necked and popped it just like that; cool, clean, and without hesitation.
Spike's limp body fell to the dust in a heap. Axel plucked his chakram out of the corpse and turned away to rejoin Ackar and the others.
Malum had Surel on the ground. He had lost one of his claw tools and a shoulder plate. Surel had most of his leg armor shredded and creating a hellish world for the apprentice to Certavus. Malum rose his remaining claw tool up to strike down the defenseless soldier, when Surel threw his dagger into Malum's ankle. The hefty warrior collapsed and clutched at his foot.
Surel jabbed a fist at Malum's face and swiped his dagger, then limped away from the enraged being. Malum slowly got up and limped to Cortesius. Cortesius had a bit of arrow stuck in his armor at the shoulder. Strangely, this didn't seem to bother the Agori.
Malum got to his back and defended the small figure.
"How are we doing so far?" Cortesius asked, "I've been fighting for over ten minutes now and I can't tell if it's our battle."
Malum pondered as he struck down a sleek-armored ice warrior wielding a battle axe. Vorox, Bandit, both are gone. Axel is nowhere to be found, probably on his own agenda. Ackar is occupied on the other side of the citadel. All the while, we have five warriors for each of us to handle. Are we going to make it through this?
A rumbling noise of twin engines rose from the dust fields close to the citadel. The warriors in the area slowed and stopped, wondering what this was. Malum squinted to make out the dark shape in the darkness. Then he realized who it was. His eyes widened with horror.
"Get down!" he commanded.
A Thornatus, painted with gold and black chevrons, zoomed in and plowed through the ranks of Ice Tribe warriors. The driver zipped pass Cortesius and Malum with incredible speed and made several doughnuts in the sand before stopping to a halt. The pilot leapt out and jogged up to Malum and Cortesius.
"Perditus, you fool!" Malum shouted.
"Hey, mind if we get to chatting later," Perditus cut off, "Right now, we have some bad guys up our rear end." He pointed to the Thornatus. "Come on and strap yourselves in. We'll grab Axel and Ackar on the way!"
The trio battle oncoming warriors as they reached for the vehicle that would lead to salvation. They made it, Perditus taking the pilot's seat, Cortesius in his lap, and Malum on the tail end of the Thornatus. Perditus plowed his foot onto the accelerator and drove off around the citadel to retrieve the last two members of the team.
Certavus was in a saber lock with Ackar. The two were evenly matched, both being warriors, commanders, and veterans. But one was somewhat hot tempered, the other cool and collected. Certavus was intrigued by Ackar. Since the Wars began, he was a bit of a rookie and somewhat brash. He made mistakes that later on directed his life. Now Ackar was a leader, a mentor, and someone who you wanted at your side in a tight situation.
It was a worthy trait respected deeply by Certavus.
"You are a proud warrior." Certavus grunted under the strain of clashing swords. He pressed his weight into Ackar and removed his sword from Ackar's. He then twirled his in a reverse grip and swung it at the commander. Ackar blocked it and again delayed themselves in another lock. Certavus continued, "You are a respectable warrior, but this is my land. That is our treasure you attempt to steal." Ackar pushed Certavus back and squatted to aim a blow at the leader's legs. The Ice warrior leapt and landed behind the Fire warrior. Certavus then aimed his sword at Ackar's neck. Ackar fell on his back and blocked the decapitating blow.
"Stand down, cousin," Ackar warned, "Your life will be spared if you cease this conflict."
"I'm sorry." Certavus said. He was sorry to a point. He wished that he could just walk away now and end this useless banter of a war. But orders were orders, and the Ice Lord was in command of the Ice Tribe, not Certavus.
Certavus lifted his sword again. He was about to swing it down upon Ackar when Axel came from nowhere and slammed into Certavus. The Ice warrior was bewildered for a few moments, dazed by the impact of Axel's charge.
He lay there as he heard a vehicle pull up to the two warriors of fire. He heard a voice say, "Hop on!" followed by Ackar's confounded question "Perditus?" There was a brief argument between the few as Certavus slowly got to his feet.
Axel nailed him in the abdomen with his foot, grabbed Ackar, and both leapt onto the black and yellow Thornatus. Certavus watched in disbelief as the vehicle zoomed off into the darkness of the desert. Again, Certavus got to his feet, clutching his abdomen, and one of the nearby unwounded warriors threw a helping hand around his shoulder.
"Are you okay, sir?"
"Yes, Gelu," Certavus said, "I'm fine. Puzzled, but fine." He took a few moments to regain his composure. He looked at Gelu. "Where is Surel?"
"His leg is torn up. Got injured by Malum."
"And Spike?"
"Gone. Neck popped by the chakram man."
"Pity. He was a good advisor and partner, but I think he was a bit of a backstabber," commented Certavus. He looked away from Gelu and waved him off. As Gelu walked off to tend to Surel, Certavus stood with his arms behind his back and pondered. Ackar, as he mentioned, was a respectable fighter. Malum was corrupt and close to darkness. The Vorox and the Bone Hunter were working for personal profit. The Agori was a skilled combatant. But Axel, the one with the chakrams, was a mysterious one indeed. He seemed to be familiar, and it wasn't because of the weapons, the helmet, or the phrase "Got it memorized?", but it wasn't on the spot.
Certavus took a deep inhale and casually walked back to his chambers to meditate on the recent events.
Fire Tribe Camp - Night
Perditus took a swig of the Thornax cider and passed it to Axel. "Now that," the pilot commented, "was exhilarating."
Axel took his sip and passed it to Cortesius. "Funny, all you did was drive around like some manic rock steed. Still, you gave us one heck of a show."
"Definitely!" Cortesius said. He took a gulp of cider and gave the bottle to Ackar. "I owe you one for getting us out of there."
"Reckless, but I owe you my life, Perditus," said Ackar. Perditus looked slightly hurt, but still grinned. "I think you know what it takes to be a strong warrior. And maybe a hotshot, creative pilot."
"All I did was race in, extract you all, and then banged out."
"Indeed, but disobeying me and commencing a simple extraction was creative enough," Ackar teased, lightly fisting Perditus in the shoulder. He then took a swig of the cider.
"I didn't expect to see Spike," Axel commented, "Nice nickname, bad backstory."
"He was a student along with you and Certavus?" Ackar asked.
"Yeah. Had a friendship that eventually became a rivalry. Hated the guy. I wanted to kill him since we parted."
"Strange." Cortesius said.
"Eerie." Perditus added. There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Perditus broke the silence with a simple "lights out" call. Everyone except Ackar retreated to their hammocks and fell to sleep.
Ackar sat at the table and thought for some time. He felt some sorrow for Vorox and Bandit, but they wanted in for profit that only benefitted them. Also, Perditus seemed like a good candidate for any upcoming mission. But what really got on Ackar's mind was Malum's approach to Surel. The fighter attacked a helpless warrior, injured him, and left him there suffering before trying to kill him.
That will cost him someday, he thought, Attacking one who already conceded.
(Cue Mantis Hymn from Metal Gear Solid)
COMING UP NEXT: CALM BEFORE THE STORM