Written by Barry Reese
"Caught in the Middle"
The MIB Mothership. October 2, 1999
Aric Dacia stood in an ever-growing pool of blood. Diedre floated on her back, her long blonde hair stained brown and red. Her eyes stared blankly up at Aric, her lower lip swollen and bruised. Something brushed against Aric's other leg and he whirled to face it, his heart hammering in his chest. His armor was gone and he wore only the thin battle garb that he'd taken into battle again and again at his uncle Alaric's command. The absence of Bekhara made him feel naked and vulnerable.
The object that had touched him bobbed into view. A horrible patchwork obscenity, it was the mingled corpses of Randy Cartier and Ken Clarkson -- they had been neatly cut down the middle and sewn together, creating a nightmarish reminder that everyone Aric knew eventually met a violent end.
Aric roared, turning away from the ghoulish creatures that surrounded him. This cannot be real. I was battling those aliens in my office - there was a bright light and then... this. Steeling himself, Aric closed his eyes tightly. Twice since coming to the twentieth century, he'd found himself in worlds that were not real* -- and twice he'd seen through the lies. Though he was a barbarian at heart, that heart was one that blazed with courage and determination. He would never again be a pawn to anyone or anything.
(*First, in X-O Manowar # 44-47 and then once more, as revealed in X-O Manowar # 69.)
When he next opened his eyes, he felt a momentary burst of pleasure that he was, indeed, free of the illusion. But that joy faded quickly as he looked about him and realized his situation. He was still cloaked in his armor, but he was in the middle of a madhouse. A human-shaped cylinder held his body in place and as he leaned forward, he saw dozens more similar cylinders lining the dark corridor. Greenish lights gave the place an eerie feel, but what truly chilled Aric's soul was that the fact that almost all of the cylinders held things. Some of them looked like normal people, sleeping peacefully. But others... others held things that could best be described as proto-humans. They were in various stages of creation (or was it the opposite, Aric wondered), their bodies only vaguely resembling humanity.
Aric stepped out of the cylinder and flared his nostrils. When he had been beamed aboard the ship, the Men in Black had obviously sent him directly to the cylinder. The thought projection was amazing, probably induced by the cylinder itself. He could only imagine the horrors that the other people were experiencing. Time to free them later, he mused. "Good Skin... Find the bridge of this ship. I want to slay its commander."
Bekhara, his sentient armor, answered immediately. It scanned the interior of the mothership in less than a second, pinpointing the most likely area for the bridge. A schematic of the mothership's layout appeared on the interior surface of Aric's visor. With a smile, he strode off towards his destination.
Orb Conglomerate HQ, Northern California.
"Mr. Dacia! Watch ou--" Samantha Jones burst into Aric Dacia's office, ignoring the complaining secretary nipping at her heels. Just moments before, she'd watched openmouthed as the two mysterious men in black had teleported away. Knowing where they were going, she'd taken it upon herself to aid the man for whom she'd come all this way.
Instead, she found a shattered window -- and one very unusual young woman. Gamin, thief extraordinaire, was looking out the window when Samantha shoved the door open. Now, she turned with an interested expression. "Can I help you?"
The secretary looked about in alarm. "I'm sorry, Ms. Gamin, I couldn't stop her... oh my! Should I call security?"
Gamin shook her head. "Don't bother. You might want to contact a glass dealer or something, though." She nudged a shard of broken glass with her foot. With a sigh, she turned back to Dr. Jones. "I'm sure Aric would have appreciated the attempted save, but it's a bit too late."
Samantha waited until the secretary had reluctantly left before stepping fully into the office. "My name is Dr. Samantha Jones -- I was hoping to see Mr. Dacia today. Are you..." Samantha found herself pausing, feeling an odd sensation of jealousy. It was silly, she knew -- she'd never met Aric directly. But over the last few years, the mystery of him had gnawed away at her so long that he'd become hers. To think that this woman might have solved that mystery already... "...an associate of his?"
Gamin smirked. She was a careful observer of people and she recognized the signs of concern in this strange woman. "You an old girlfriend?"
Samantha colored. "No. In fact, we've never met before."
"Could have fooled me." Gamin turned away and drew forth her neurocortical transmitter. Designed originally to induce holographic images directly into the minds of her targets, it had now become the on/off switch for the holographic Ken Clarkson. With a flip of the switch, Ken reappeared. "Ken -- Aric was just kidnapped by two bald guys in black suits and shades. Sound like anybody you know?"
Ken crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "I will not be turned on and off like that again! I can't believe you did that to me -- bad enough I find out I'm not even alive anymore."
Gamin ignored him. "Do you know these guys or not? I need to go after them if you do. Aric might be in danger."
"I doubt that. That man can handle anything." He glanced at Samantha, then back to Gamin. "Who's she?"
"Beats me."
Samantha watched this exchange with a growing appreciation for the fact that, thanks to her own driving curiosity, she had just fallen into a bizarre new world. Strangely enough, the idea was quite compelling.
The MIB Mothership.
X-O Manowar blasted the doors that barred his entrance to the bridge. They held for a moment but eventually caved in to the onslaught. Few things in the universe could stand up to the power of an xo manowar class armor, especially in the hands of an experienced user. He stepped through the smoking wreckage, his fists clenched. "Come forth, scum! Aric of Dacia wishes to speak with you!"
"Still referring to yourself as a Visigoth, eh? You'd think that after a near decade of being in this time, you'd have outgrown such notions." Six Men in Black stood in a semicircle in the center of the mothership's bridge, surrounded by computers and machines which baffled Aric. The same MIB that had kidnapped him was speaking now, his features drawn tight. "You've caused no little amount of damage, but that's to be expected, I suppose. If you'd be willing to listen to reason--"
"Reason?! You invaded my home! Kidnapped me! And then tried to torture me with false images -- and now you ask for reason?!" Aric glowed with power, as his anger mounted.
The Man in Black raised a hand. "Dacia. Please. There are six of us here, and more scattered throughout the ship. Even with your armor, we would overwhelm you. We sought out an alliance, not a war between us."
Aric smiled coldly. "You keep mentioning this alliance -- why do you think I would even consider such a thing?"
"We had hoped you would recognize our plight, Aric of Dacia. We are few in number, our homeworld is lost to us and we cannot reproduce as you do. Transforming humans is our sole means of adding to our race. And, unfortunately, we have enemies. Powerful ones."
Aric regarded the being before him. He sensed the man's power -- had felt it firsthand, in fact, during their battle at Orb. But now there was a note of hopelessness that gave him pause. What could drive a warrior to such despair? "Go on."
The various other MIBs filtered away, some of them resuming tasks at the computer consoles. Others exited the bridge entirely. The one that Aric regarded as the leader, however, remained where he was. "Understand this, barbarian. We would have left this planet alone had we not lost our own. Since then, we have come here and infiltrated your society -- out of necessity. We number less than two hundred in all, but those two hundred are spread across your globe. Some of us, like those onboard this ship, band together for our research and expansion missions. Others serve as spies within your world's governments and intelligence agencies. We are everywhere -- and one day, we shall call this planet home."
X-O sneered, "You are beginning to anger me. Promising to conquer my homeworld is not the way to gain my trust!"
The Man in Black removed his glasses, revealing hollow eyes that glowed softly. "Tell me, Aric, when the Romans tried to stamp your kind out... to rob you of your homes and your lives... how did you react?"
"I killed as many of them as I could, swearing that if I had to die, I would take as many of them as possible with me."
"Ah. But the key thing is -- you were willing to go to whatever lengths were necessary. As are we."
"Why not turn your plans on your enemies, rather than on my world?"
"Because they are a mighty empire, Aric. And Earth is soft and weak -- or least it was when we first arrived. We thought it would be an easy acquisition for us. But since then, we have found numerous mysteries, both great and small, that intrigue us. We wasted much time investigating them and hiding our own experiments gone awry. The mythology of the 'Men in Black' sprang up around us and we encouraged it, I admit. We investigated all signs of extraterrestrial activity on Earth, both for our own protection and seeking out weapons to use in our bid for power. But our enemies have now begun to turn their own attentions towards Earth -- and we need more power. Our energy manipulation is not enough any longer...."
Aric grabbed the Man in Black by his collar and pulled him close. The other MIBs turned and stared, obviously waiting for some signal to attack. The barbarian seethed, "No more games. Who is your enemy? Tell me or I'll kill you where you stand."
The Man in Black put a hand firmly on Aric's chest. "I believe you have prior experience with them. The Dromak empire*...."
(*First introduced in X-O Manowar # 53-56.)
"Vessel en route now. Confirmed sighting."
Aric turned to the MIB who was manning the scanners. Grunting, he let go of the Man in Black to whom he'd been speaking. "What sort of vessel?"
The Man in Black smiled. "A Dromak ship, located just outside Saturn. I brought you here so you could perform a service for us. Destroy that ship and the Dromak's plans will be set back by months."
"I'm not your pawn."
"No, but you are a hero at heart. A savage one, yes, but a hero. And that makes you predictable. If you refuse, we'll send a charge of electricity through every one of those cylinders you saw. The people in them will die. All of them."
Aric looked surprised. "You are nothing than savages! Those people mean nothing to you!"
"Actually, they do. They serve as potential recruits, every one of them. We would hate to lose them. But one way or another, we will. If you destroy the ship, we will free them."
"How do I know I can believe you? Your honor is hardly something I would put faith in."
"Vessel in view now. Weapons are on-line and charged."
Aric looked to the viewscreen. The Dromak vessel was large and well-equipped. He remembered vividly how powerful their armored warriors had been. If they attacked Earth en masse, the damage would be great.... "I do this not for you, but for the people who are innocents in this."
The Man in Black smiled. "Of course."
Just Outside Saturn.
X-O Manowar was in his native element -- War. Assaulted by a squad of armored Dromak soldiers and buffeted by the warship's weaponry, he was amazingly calm in a sea of turmoil. Shielded by the protective power of the xo armor, he returned fire with incredible ferocity. His ion cannon blasted a Dromak warrior in two, while jammed his armor-created sword into another. Alien blood covered his armor, making him look like some ancient personification of battle come to life.
Onboard the Dromak vessel, the hulking Commander Dorg watched with growing anger. his grayish skin was darkened with emotion and the bony ridge above his eye was furrowed. "<It is him. The same human who ravaged our fleet years ago. He has finally returned*.>"
(*Translated from the Dromak.)
Sub-Commander Kreel hissed, "<We can overwhelm him! He is only one man, despite the armor! Then the armor can be ours....>"
Dorg held up a hand for silence. "<Do you think he has allied himself against us? That he has actually chosen to aid those mongrels?>"
Kreel shook his head. "<It matters not! Their fate will be sealed once the armor is ours. If they have managed to gain his favor, it only delays the inevitable!>"
"<Hmm.>" Dorg stood up and clasped his hands behind his back. "<Pull back. Let him and his friends think they have driven us away. It doesn't matter. Our alliance with the Spider Aliens have assured our presence on Earth*. The human will fall prey to us soon enough.>"
(*Remember that mysterious 'alliance' that Kane mentioned back in X-O Manowar # 72? Now, you know -- it was with the Dromak.)
Outside the Dromak vessel, X-O Manowar continued to slay his enemies. He and Bekhara moved as one, the sentient armor sensing his every desire and responding instantly. So wrapped up in bloodlust was he that he failed to notice the Dromak vessel pulling back. It was only when he found himself without further opponents that he realized he had won. Part of him urged him to press the attack, chase the Dromak back to their base -- but he had no desire to leave those innocents onboard the MIB mothership. "Lick your wounds, Dromak dogs. When next we meet, your blood will flow freely enough."
The MIB Mothership.
"They shall be beamed directly into the hospital nearest Orb's headquarters." The Man in Black looked at Aric with newfound appreciation. The Visigoth was dripping blood and gore onto the floor of the bridge, his armor shining wetly.
"What happened today shall not be repeated." Aric quickly jammed his sword against the MIB's neck. "Fight your own war -- and make sure the battlefield stays far from Earth. Do you understand?"
"Of course, XO. It is apparent to me now that you will never join with us... willingly."
With a roar, Aric swept his blade quickly across the MIB's neck. The man's head flew off in a spray of blood and landed square in the middle of the command chair. His shocked expression looked almost comical, etched forever onto his face.
Several of the Men in Black stepped towards him angrily but he stood his ground. "Take another step and you'll join him in Hell. I have my vengeance for his deceptions. This battle is over for now. Agreed?"
One of the Men in Black made an expression of disgust. "Agreed."
A flash of light surrounded XO, sending him -- and a shipful of abductees -- home.
NEXT ISSUE : X-O Manowar # 75! What do we have planned for such an important event? No hints, I'm afraid -- but I guarantee, you'll hate yourself if you miss it! Be here for an anniversary extravaganza!
LETTERS PAGE
Barry, you guys are the best. All of you. I can't believe all of you are carrying on these Valiant characters for us (your adoring public).This gesture by you and your fellow writers has earned you a fan for life. I just found the Valiant FanFic page recently and have already told Mike Hintze my feelings. I am currently letting all of my friends that are into reading good stories about your site. Keep up the good, no, Great work!
Eric Gill
Wow! Thanks, Eric. I really appreciate that. The Valiant Universe is something that I really loved and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one. Thanks for writing!
On another note, this issue we mention an alliance between the Dromak and the Spider-Aliens. This was inspired by their partnership in X-O Manowar/Iron Man.