THE CORE WAR III: Backstabber
Fire Tribe Camp – Afternoon
It had been almost a full day since the failed attack on the Ice Tribe citadel by the Fire Tribe. The two volunteers, a bone hunter and a nomadic member of the Sand Tribe, had perished in the onslaught. Axel, the Fire Glatorian with a fetish for chakrams, had encountered a being from his past and killed him for reasons left ambiguous to Ackar and his fellow warriors. It was a rough night that would indeed live on through the hearts of the participants.
A burial was commenced earlier that morning for the volunteers, with Perditus, Axel, and Ackar the only attendees. They would later find out the rest of the tribe, particularly Crotesius, had no respect for the dead combatants due to their reasons for joining the tribe; Bandit had joined for monetary profit and supplies for his clan of bone hunters, while Vorox had merged within the ranks for a taste of war, not caring which side offered him a position.
So Ackar, Axel, and Perditus left Kyry and Crotesius to finish repairs on the latter's Thornatus vehicle, which had suffered damaged in the previous night's skirmish. They walked through the sand to the mess tent, where the other members of the Fire Tribe ate and conversed in safety. Axel read the sign posted at the entrance:
ROASTED SAND BAT WITH CORN AND THORNAX JUICE
Axel voiced his displeasure. "Do we eat anything other than sand bat around here?"
"Food is hard to come by during these times, Axel," replied Perditus, "Personally, I would enjoy this more than the alternative."
Axel's curiosity gripped him. The Glatorian was a fairly recent newcomer to the Fire Tribe, so he had yet to experience the variety of routines the veterans engaged in, including the various meals. So far, Axel only had sand bat meat boiled, baked, broiled, sautéed, and possibly every other form of cooking imaginable … with one type of meat. The chakram man asked, "What else can I eat?"
"Thornax stew."
"Point taken, Perditus."
The trio entered the mess tent and grabbed their rations, then sat down at a table with Malum and the Agori Raanu. For the first few minutes, the group ate quietly, savoring the taste of the roasted sand bat, the aroma of sweetened corn, and the artificial flavor of the Thornax juice. It was when Axel departed from the mess tent did Perditus break the silence.
"So, why did he do it?" he asked his comrades.
"What?" said Ackar.
"Why did Axel kill that Spike character? And it isn't because they were in the middle of a battle."
Ackar looked at Malum. Malum glared back. The two obviously knew something about the Glatorian, but either was fairly reluctant to give any information away. Ackar made a gesture with his hand, motioning for Malum to talk. The latter nodded a 'no' in defense. The two exchanged several awkward gestures in a silent argument, one attempting to convince the other to unveil the truth behind Axel's shady relationship with Spike.
Raanu took this as a good moment to leave the table before forced involvement was to be put upon him. As for Perditus, he was clearly confuzzled why Axel's origins seemed to be of major concern to two of his superiors.
Finally, Ackar gave in and turned to Perditus, sighing in defeat. "Fine then," he began, "You know Axel is not originally from the Fire Tribe, right?" Perditus shook his head to say he didn't. "Some time before the beginning of this war, Axel was of the Ice Tribe. His real name was Lea.
"Lea …" Perditus pondered, "So Axel is simply an anagram of his original name."
"Correct." Malum said.
Ackar continued his tale. "Lea was one of the Ice Tribe's finest combatants and one of the higher Glatorian in status. One of his rivals in the niche was the one we know as Spike. Now Spike was a good friend to him as well. They were like brothers.
"All of that changed, though, when the silver liquid everyone obsesses about nowadays came to the surface. Spike wanted to fight on the Ice Tribe's behalf to obtain control of the substance. Meanwhile, Lea had no interest whatsoever. These differing opinions eventually widened a rift between the two, to the point where Lea decided to convert to our faction." Ackar finished the last of his thornax juice before he continued. It was hard to speak for an extended period of time in this parched atmosphere.
"The night Lea attempted to desert, Spike confronted him to think otherwise, but the former's will to leave was concrete. The two engaged in combat, where Lea was the victor and departed.
"They would encounter one another a few times before our recent skirmish, apparently still hostile to either."
Perditus's mind attempted to wrapp around the story. So this Lea character, the Axel everyone knew, was a traitorous Ice Tribe warrior who shared a strong bond with a friend; now they were rivals and enemies. Or at least, they were until last night. The pilot wondered how things would have turned out if they hadn't differed on their views of the silver substance everyone was fighting over.
"So, what happened to Spike?"
Malum answered the question. "He was Certavus's right hand man in the Ice Tribe army until Axel killed him."
Silence descended over the table as the other warriors and Agori continued to feast on lunch. Perditus was till curious about Axel's past. What else was there that drove them to hate one another? There had to be some other reason than their opinions of the war. Perditus decided to leave the table and find more answers to this mystery.
That left Ackar and Malum and the table. Again, silence descended over the table for a few minutes, until Malum broke the unsettling air. "I have to visit a friend in the medic's tent. Want to come along?"
Ackar dismissed the offer. "No thank you. It'd be best for me to watch over Perditus, now that he has knowledge of Lea's origins. You know how curiosity gets the better of him."
Fire Tribe Camp – Dusk
Axel stood at the edge of the camp, gazing out into the night sky. It was a clear, starry evening and there was a full moon radiating its gentle light into the grand expanse of desert wasteland. Not exactly the best place for sightseeing, but it was a peaceful night to reflect on recent events.
The chakram man twirled one of his spiked weapons around his arm like a bored Agori twirling a hula hoop. The fire warrior thought about the skirmish of the night before, and the encounter he had with an old friend. To the other Glatorian, he was known as Spike.
Axel, or Lea, knew his true name. It was Jaaden.
Jaaden died at the hands of Lea that night, on the sands surrounding the citadel the Ice Tribe had occupied. It was a pain for Lea to know he had killed his friend and rival on orders, but it was only for the best of the tribe and for the general good of the people.
Lea heard a set of footsteps behind him. He held one of his chakrams out like a shield, while holding the other at his side. Through the darkness of the camp, Lea could see it was Perditus, the pilot. The Glatorian lowered his arms.
"I almost implanted this in your chest," he said, grinning.
Perditus almost replied with a medical joke to compliment, but the pilot failed to present one. Rather, he strolled over next to Lea. Perditus looked at his acquaintance; his black and red armor had seen a lot of action since its owner's recent recruitment into the Fire Tribe.
"So, how has your day gone?" Lea asked Perditus as the former turned his gaze back to the perpetual masterpiece of the slumbering heavens.
"Fine," the pilot answered with an edginess to his voice. Lea took notice of it, "Nothing really to talk about except war and the repairs one my Thornatus."
"What's on your mind?" Lea laid a hand on his companion's shoulder. "Obviously something is biting you with the force of a rock steed."
At first, Perditus just kept silent. Stop being so loud, flyboy, Lea thought mockingly. It was a few long moments before the pilot spoke up.
"What's your opinion on that Spike character you fought last night?"
What? Axel questioned mentally. "Well, I obviously didn't like him if I killed him."
"I heard you were friends with him before the war," said Perditus. Lea shifted into 'caution mode'. "Besides the silver substance, why were you two so hostile to one another?"
How does he know this? Damnit, Ackar! I knew you couldn't be trusted. Lea knew where this was going. One way or another, Perditus was going to find out. Might as well break it to him. "It's all a ruse."
"Excuse me?" Perditus questioned. Lea dove for the pilot and grabbed his throat. Perditus fought back by kicking his assailant in the abdomen, then in the groin. Lea shook it off and executed a complicated action once the pilot was back on his feet. With a series of impacts to the chest via quick hands, Perditus collapsed. Lea caught his unconscious form and scanned the area.
Nobody was aware of the struggle. Good. With impressive stealth, Lea bounded away from the camp, Perditus in tow, and ran off towards a destination everyone knew of, but only he had a logical reason to depart to.
Ackar and Davson watched from a dune as the traitor whisked away with Perditus to the Citadel. Davson, a red and silver Glatorian, turned to Ackar. "What do we do now?" he asked.
Ackar was silent. He had witnessed a kidnapping and a soldier committing treason. Obviously the two couldn't catch up with Lea right now; the warrior was heading straight into enemy territory. This had to be dealt with numbers and brute force. Kill two sand bats with one stone.
"The Fire Tribe," Ackar began, "will attack tomorrow. We will storm their fortress, rescue Perditus, and capture the fortress. And Lea will pay the price for his crimes." With that, a burning desire ignited in Ackar's heart.
Lea kidnapped the pilot. The pilot was like a son to Ackar. Ackar would kill the traitor. As they said, what goes around comes around.
"Davson, gather Malum and the others. We need to prepare for tonight's assault."
(Cue Alien Forces from Half-Life: Opposing Force)
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER FOUR!