Written by Barry Reese
"Spoils of War"
What Has Come Before : After learning that Crescendo and Master Darque had manipulated him for months, X-O Manowar managed to free himself of their control with the help of his friend and ally, Gamin. Torn over the loss of his friends and lover, Aric Dacia has now declared war on those who would call him enemy!
"I'm going to ask you once more -- who's buying up the companies that used to make up Orb Industries?" Aric Dacia, cloaked in the sentient X-O Manowar armor, held the frightened guardsman by his neck. Strewn about their feet were several other armored guardsmen, servants all to Crescendo.
The guardsman, speaking through broken teeth, managed to croak out the words, "I...do not... know, barbarian. Our dealings with Orb have...long since...been finished."
A thin, cold smile spread across Aric's face. "Then there's no reason for me to allow you to live."
The guardsman barked out a laugh. "You...think you've won, Visigoth? Your doom...is inevitable! Crescendo...is...only resting."
"Then join your queen in her hellish slumber!" Energy coursed through X-O's gauntlet, flooding into the guardsman. He flopped for a moment like a fish on a hook before falling still. The former barbarian warlord let his foe drop to the floor.
"Quite a way with interrogating you've got there, Aric." Gamin, hiding in the shadows, looked away from the carnage. She was no stranger to violence or death - growing up on the streets had a way of making a hardcase out of anyone - but she didn't relish it, either. "Maybe you could leave one or two breathing next time so they could bleed to death or something."
X-O stared about himself and nodded. "Perhaps. They deserve to die slowly."
Gamin rolled her eyes. "I was kidding, Aric." The thief stepped outside, grateful to be free of the warehouse's dank interior. Since gaining his freedom, Aric had led her across the country and back. At each stop, he'd found one or more of Crescendo's safehouses and destroyed them, including their occupants. Along the way, they'd learned that someone was buying up the individual companies that once made up the conglomerate known as Orb.
"Have I upset you?" Aric followed after her, willing the armor from his body. It peeled away like a layer of skin, solidifying next to him in a sphere. "I thought you understood this was a war."
Gamin stopped in her tracks, turning to face Aric. The movement was so sudden that it brought the barbarian up short. She poked a finger into his chest. "A war? It's more like a massacre! Look, I can understand slaughtering Crescendo and Darque... she deserved it and he's just creepy as all get out. But these guardsmen don't stand a chance against you. You could smash her bases and let them go, or turn them over to the authorities. Lord knows, they've probably got records a mile long!"
Aric frowned. "These guardsmen are her footsoldiers. If and when she returns, they'll be used to attack en masse. I'm destroying her power base before that can happen." He reached forward and moved her hand aside, but kept it clasped in his. "But I'm willing to negotiate with you on some of this."
Gamin blinked in obvious surprise. "You are?"
"Yes. You're the only friend I have left. Randy and Ken are dead. Turok is lost to me and I spurned his friendship when last we met. I have no one else to turn to. If you demand that I alter my ways in this war, I shall consider it."
"Consider it?" Gamin let loose a wry grin. "Heh. That means you'll listen to me and not change a damned thing."
Aric grunted. "We'll see. Are you hungry?"
"Yep. Starving. You buying?"
"I have no money."
Gamin sighed dramatically. "I finally meet a gorgeous guy with a definite future mapped out in his head and he's jobless. Just my luck. C'mon, barbarian, my treat."
"He's back." Samantha Jones could barely contain her enthusiasm as she burst into her assistant's tent. Jonathan was lying on his cot reading the newest Clive Cussler novel, his eyes half-closed from exhaustion. Their archaeological dig had been particularly back-breaking as of late and she felt a momentary sense of regret that she'd roused him from his rest.
Jonathan looked up and stifled a yawn. "Who's back?"
Samantha held up an American newspaper which documented a series of rather bloody murder scenes in the U.S. "The Orb warrior."
"Hmm? You mean that guy in the armor?"
Samantha waited until Jonathan moved aside and she sat beside him. "Yep. I knew he'd come back. After all the research time I put into finding out who he was, I knew it wouldn't go to waste. Aric Dacia is alive -- and apparently he's pissed about losing his company."
Jonathan glanced at the newspaper. "It doesn't mention him in the article...."
"Of course not. Nobody knows that the armored man is really Mr. Dacia. I wouldn't know if I hadn't witnessed him changing into the armor myself*."
(*A big 'ol prize to the reader who remembers the issue number where that happened.)
"Okay. So he's back and he's killing people. Are you going to report him to the authorities?"
Samantha shook her head. "No. If you could have seen him that day... he looked like such a tragic figure. Then the more I found out about him -- how he just appeared out of nowhere to take control of an international company... There's so much more to him than meets the eye. I want to find him."
Jonathan's eyes grew as big as saucers. "What?! But the dig is scheduled to go on for another six months! And this guy might be a sociopath! And--"
Samantha put a hand over his mouth. "Jonathan, hush. You can handle things here until I come back -- and I'll be careful. But I've spent almost four years waiting for this mystery to be solved and I'm not going to miss out on my chance. Curiosity is my driving force, you know that."
Jonathan pulled away from her hand and shook his head. "Curiosity killed the cat, remember? Just be bloody careful."
"I will." Samantha kissed her friend's forehead and stepped out into the night, as giddy as a girl on her first dig.
Aric Dacia stood alone, watching as the rain fell steady and hard. Gamin was sleeping soundly in her bed, but rest was something that came infrequently for Aric. He glanced back and saw her angelic expression. It made him smile, thinking of her that way. Gamin was a thief, he reminded himself. She was hardly an angel.
But, then, Aric had always liked dangerous women. Diedre had been far more outspoken than most women of her time, to the point that his uncle Alaric had recommended putting her in her place. And Randy... Randy.
It always came back to her. He'd lost her twice, now. Once when Crescendo had murdered her and once when Aric had learned that his dream of marrying her and creating a child had been just that -- a dream, one engineered by Crescendo as part of her elaborate scheme of revenge. "My son and my woman. Both gone."
Aric lowered his head and cried, quietly. It was the way men cried in his day -- in solitude, with only their memories to soothe them.
"I will avenge you," he whispered, speaking in his native tongue for the first time in years. "I will avenge you."
"Ken used to handle this sort of thing for me." Aric tugged at his tie, feeling uncomfortable in a suit, even after years in the 20th century. "I'm not sure I --"
"Aric, zip it." Gamin sat beside him, wearing a very expensive dress that was both elegant and provocative. Aric hadn't asked her where she'd gotten the clothing, nor had she volunteered the information. Stolen, no doubt, he mused.
Aric glanced around the rather stately office and nodded. It reminded him of his own, back at Orb. "This lawyer must be rich."
Gamin chuckled. "Oh, yeah. I'm just glad I thought of calling around to see if Ken and Randy left wills. It's too bad Randy didn't, but I'm sure her family wouldn't mind you going through some of her things."
Aric remained silent.
Gamin shrugged. "Anyway, maybe Ken left you something. You never know."
The sound of a door opening silenced further discussion. An older man with wire-rimmed glasses stepped in and offered a hand. "Ah! Mr. Dacia. Very nice to meet you. I'm Josef Gallant, Ken's former lawyer. I have to say that I'd given up hope that you'd ever step forward."
Aric shook the offered hand while saying "I was away for some time. I meant to come by right after the funeral but... that didn't work out."
Josef sat down heavily behind his oak desk. "Well, it's never too late to put things to rest, Mr. Dacia. The majority of Ken's estate went to his family, but he left behind a letter for you. I can read it if you like."
"Please."
Josef cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses before unfolding a letter. "Let's see... Dear Aric. If you're reading this, it means that I've gone and gotten myself killed -- big surprise. I always had a way of rubbing people the wrong way. I know I'm speaking as if I know I'm going to be killed and not just die in my sleep, but I have a funny feeling that I won't go quietly. Anyway... I apologize for all the things I screwed up. I know that covers an awful lot, but I mean it. You were a good friend. Too good, considering how many times I let you down. But you taught me about honor and truth. I appreciate that. I'm leaving you with all my shares in Viatek -- it's not much but maybe you'll appreciate it. Viatek was a small company that my father founded years ago and it was the source of most of my money before I went to work for Orb and started making the really big bucks. This means you're the majority stockholder, Aric. At the time I'm writing this, your controlling interest has a net worth of almost $2 million. Not much compared to the money you've got rolling in from Orb, but not pocket change either. I'm leaving it to you because you're a fighter and I know you'll keep the company alive. It was my father's pride and joy -- more than I ever was. His disappointment in my lifestyle was pretty much total, but he trusted me with Viatek and now I trust you with it. Bye, Aric. I'll be waiting for you."
Aric opened his eyes and realized that he had kept them closed the whole time. "This company... Ken left it to me?"
Josef nodded. "Yes. I'm glad to tell you that Viatek has done very well over the last few years. I'd say Ken's $2 million estimate is a bit low in today's market."
Gamin touched his hand. "Aric, this is wonderful! You're rich again! You don't have to worry about Orb, you can start over with Viatek."
Aric shook his head. "No. Ken's given me the means to pursue another of my goals -- Orb will be mine again. I'll pursue the rights to the company name and I'll see about using this money to acquire as much of the old company as possible. Orb will live again."
Josef leaned forward, a large smile on his lined face. "You realize you'll need a lawyer and a financial advisor?"
"If Ken trusted you, that's good enough for me. Will you help me?"
"Mr. Dacia, if you're half the man that Ken said you were -- I'd be honored."
"He's coming after us. He'll realize who's purchasing Orb's old holdings and he'll try to destroy us..." Mr. Kane rubbed his slightly thin, long hands together. Like most of his kind, he could almost , but not quite, mimic humanity in appearance. No matter how hard he tried, he maintained an air of oddness.
"I know, but we'll be prepared for him. And we'll get our x-o armor back, as well." Mr. Kane's leader, a female called Nira, sat back in her chair and looked over the reports on her desk. "Orb was ours before it was his. We need it if we are to survive on this planet and revive the glory that was our people's birthright. The meat of this world will serve as plentiful foodstuff once we have regained our power in commerce."
Mr. Kane nodded in agreement, but he felt a cold knot of fear in his stomach. X-O Manowar would never stop until all of Mr. Kane's kind were dead. All of them. Because if there was one thing X-O hated, it was the Spider Aliens....
NEXT ISSUE : X-O Manowar is out to rebuild Orb Industries -- but so are the Spider-Aliens! How will our resident barbarian-in-a-can react to the news? I bet it'll be a bloody response, how about you? See you next issue!
LETTERS PAGE
A Note from the Editor : A few people have asked me if the X-O Manowar/Iron Man crossovers are in-continuity for this series. My response? Maybe. You see, in the crossover, Orb Industries is back to normal and Aric doesn't seem particularly surprised to find out that Crescendo is still running around. Now, if that crossover is set around the time of X-O # 68 (the last issue published by Valiant) or after, then it begs some questions -- how did Orb get rebuilt and when did Crescendo come back from the dead? It's possible that you'll see the rebuilding of Orb in this series and that we'll eventually segue into the crossover. Or not. You see, if I do build towards the crossover, then I'm stuck with the ending of that series -- which has Aric end up back in the year 410 with the armor. So we may never mention the crossover and just assume it "didn't really happen" in our continuity. We'll see. Now, on to the letters :
When V1F shut down, I hoped that the original authors would eventually write some more Valiant issues but I didn't want to set my expectations too high that it would happen soon. Needless to say, I'm ecstatic about the idea of a brand new ongoing X-O Manowar series. To me, this is much more exciting than anything offered from Acclaim nowadays.
So Crescendo's scheme to tear Aric away from an ideal modern life was possibly successful for several years in this new series. Even though Randy & Ken seem to be dead for good now, this prolonged dream concept provides an excellent way to add occasional 'imaginary' flashback scenes with both of them in future issues. The ending with Aric deciding to go on the offensive against all his enemies with Gamin's help looks very promising. I really like how you're handling Gamin. The bit where she stuck her tongue out at Crescendo is priceless. ^_^
Master Darque's calm demeanor and his reaction toward X-O ready to kill Crescendo was a really memorable moment in this issue too.I'm quite anxious to see how Aric copes with all of this especially the idea that his son never existed at all. That could be even harder to accept than losing his wife, best friend, and company for the second time.
Part 1 of the Harbinger Wars saga in the pages of Timewalker mentions that X-O has a son living over in Italy by 2062 so it looks like Aric may not be a father anytime in the foreseeable future. When the Wizard Valiant Special was published, Bob Layton's editorial parting words described Aric as 'the tragic barbarian trapped in a time not his own' which never seemed too accurate in '94 but it's certainly true for X-O's new direction. Virtually all of the Valiant heroes'personal lives took a turn for the worse once Birthquake began but I feel a lot more sympathetic toward Aric's suffering than say Phil Seleski who was directly responsible for the changes in his life.
Keith Ehrich
Thanks, Keith. I'm enjoying Gamin a lot, too. I really feel that she was the best thing to come out of the post-Birthquake X-O Manowar and you'll be seeing a lot of her here. The 'tragic barbarian trapped in a time not his own' is something I'll be playing up, as well. Aric has lost so much since he was introduced in the early '90s that it's almost a cliche now to tear his life apart. I'll be trying to help him rebuild things, instead, but he won't be forgetting about the past. We know from Rai # 0 that Aric will eventually find a new wife (and will have a son, as you pointed out from Timewalker), but that's a bit in the future for us. I think it's very possible that Aric might find wedded bliss between 1999 and 2062, so who knows? Maybe we'll see some happiness in Aric's future someday.
Barry Reese