Arson’s lips flashed a wicked smile, then he pressed his neck against the blade. The Warchief pulled the blade from his neck and threw it onto the ground. “BAZSEKTH!” He cursed.

Seleth, the Doasian who was standing behind me walked up to the Arson and knelt. “Are you Dr Zelkah’s protege.”

“I have no reason to lie.”

“Where’s your research?”

“No.” Arson said coldly, shaking his head. “It doesn’t work that way. I’m not giving you shit unless I have some insurance.”

“Look around you friend,” Seleth said calmly. “You don’t have much bargaining power here.”

“This is what I don’t like about negotiations, especially with people who don’t know their place.” Arson said, looking at me.

“I just said that I fixed the degraded DNA of your children back in my lab. I can improve Compound C90 and you want to negotiate. With. Me? YOU SHOULD BE BEGGING ME FOR MY HELP! THIS IS WHY I CAN’T STAND NONE OF YOU. YOU LOOK AT US AS US SCIENTISTS WITH SUCH CONTEMPT. YET ALL YOU DO IS FIGHT AND KILL EACH BEFORE YOU LOOK FOR A SOLUTION. A SOLUTION THAT CAN HELP US GET OUT OF THIS PUTRID PLACE. THE PLANET WARNED US. IT TOOK THE WORLD WHEN THE IMBIBE CAME ONTO US AND YOU WORRIED ABOUT ME. GETTING. ONE. OVER. YOU.”

The room went silent, but I could feel the anger boiling from Calian, the Warchief. In the eyes of such a man, this would be seen as disrespect.

My time in Dawn Light allowed me to know how divisive the differing Tribal Politics of the Doasa Nation was. They told us one thing, never meddle with the Tribes themselves.

The few retrievals and assassinations I’ve engaged in did lead me to the Doasa Nation, but nothing that forced me to mingle with the Doasians.

A bead of sweat dripped down my face, and I turned left. Eltessa was staring at Arson, stupefied. As if she’d made a mistake and it was about to turn around and bite her in the ass. I would be lying if I didn’t feel what she felt, I mused to myself.

The staring contest between Arson and the Warchief had longed past five minutes. Five minutes of my skin was pricking me from how thick the air had become within the tent. “What’s your request?” The Warchief grunted.

“I want to join your job?” Arson said firmly.

If I didn’t think my ears weren’t hollowed out, I’d swear the bastard just said he wanted to join the Doasian tribe. I turned to Eltessa whose face was shocked, rightfully. I then looked at the Doasians in the tent and their face was horrified, sullen, full of disbelief and worst of all, disgust.

Warchief Calian chuckled a loud laugh, looking at Seleth. He shook his head whilst Seleth tried to form words, but with seconds passing none came. “You’re funny Scientist. Funny, but this isn’t some joke.” The Warchief said trailing into a growl. “You experimented on my kids. What makes you think you can just join because you can ‘fix’ us? Hmm?”

“Because if you don’t allow me to join your Tribe, you will start dying off faster within the next six years. The ELS sequence within your DNA has reached the stage where it’s deteriorating at a faster rate. I can stitch a new sequence that is superior to the ELS, but I need time. I know Tribes have rules. I am willing to join in to help. If you don’t want my help. That’s fine. Kill me and let’s get this over with!”

Arson pushed his head up and pointed at his neck with his eyes. “Go ahead.” He said, end me. The resolve in his was one to be commanded. He was no warrior, nor was he built like a tank to withstand a beating, but he showed guts and determination.

It was a stark contrast to what he spoke to Hallon back in the Mess Hall, it was coy, sharp and downright condescending. It also seemed as though he cared for the children, or was it just words? “Once I retrieve my kids, safely, that’s when I’ll decide your fate Scientist.”

“Lets—

“REPORT!” Someone shouted spilling into the tent. The Warchief’s lips draw to a line and looked at the young man with beads of sweat splattered across his face. “This better to be good is Galkin on his way. The extra water would be appreciated!”

“No Warchief, at least thirty vehicles are making their way here.”

“Shit…there here already?” Eltessa huffed. “You don’t have much time Warchief, my man has a way into the bunker. We can lead you there to retrieve your kids.”

“Humph…why do I feel like you’re there to get something for yourself.”

“Dr Hallon Efroniz is my brother. He’s located within the bunker I’m trying to retrieve him.”

“Hallon has a sister?” Arson chuckled, “A looker at that!”

Eltessa snapped her head to Arson and licked his lips at her. “If I’d known, I would’ve worn my best lab coat!”

“Who’s Allon froniz’?” The Warchief asked, butchering the name.

“A fellow researcher.” Arson said. “He specialises in Automatons”

“Automatons? As in robots?”

“Yes,”

A wry smile flashed across the Warchief’s elongated face. He then nodded for a second and walked over to his council. Seleth followed after and the congress of Doasians began.

I turned to the Doasian lad who’d brought the news and watched him straighten up the moment he saw me eyeing him. Discipline, I noted, that means this Calian fellow, runs a tight operation. It’ll be hard to lose him.

After five minutes passed, the congress disbursed and Calian walked up to Eltessa. “I can help retrieve your brother, but I want his research.”

“I don’t care about his research. I just want my brother. He’s been held captive.”

“Captive?” Arson laughed.

“No one’s captive here!”

“I received a coded message from him. It says that he’s been held against his will and the coordinates of his location are here!”

“She’s lying…” Arson howled.

Eltessa didn’t flinch but scowled at Arson who in turn looked at me. “Warchief, do you wanna know how I got here? That man there. I don’t know what he did, but he coarse her brother to bring me to him. Then he left him in the bunker. If he was here for him, then why did they bring me out and he stay behind?”

A loud smack echoed through the tent and my right cheek began throbbing in pain. I looked Eltessa in the eye and tongued the inside of my cheek, feeling the throbbing sensation pulse vicariously. “You bastard, you lied to me. You said you didn’t find him!”

“SHE’S A LIAR!” Arson growled.

“His research is too valuable to be left in there. Do you know how many credits I can get for selling that on the Black Market? At least eight hundred million credits.”

Eltessa rocked her hand back to slap me, but I caught her hand and then shoved her off. “The credits you paid aren’t enough,” I grunted. “Your brother’s work on the other hand. Now that’s the real prize.” I said with a smile on my face.

Tears began to flow from Eltessa’s eyes like a waterfall. My lips curled into a knowing smile, then I shook my head for good measure. She balled her fist in anger and then began to shake profusely. “Warchief!” Arson pleaded. “She. Is. Lying.”

“I don’t care…” The Warchief said firmly, spinning his knife around his fingertips before darting towards me. I sidestepped, avoiding his thrust, then blocked another thrust from the Doasian to my left. “Keep this up and not only will not be able to get inside. I won’t share the map I have on how to retrieve Hallon’s research.”

The Warchief froze, and then raised his hand. The Doasian warrior stopped midstroke from jamming his blade into my chest, but unbeknownst to him, I was about to spin out of the way and decapitate his head with my short sword.

“You a have map?”

I tapped the side of my head and watched the Warcheif’s right jaw protrude from annoyance. “I see, what shall I call you friend?”

“Assassin,” I said, looking at Arson. “But enough talk. If we want to get Hallon’s work, we need to get inside now. If the reinforcement for the bunker is here. We don’t have much time. We’ve wasted enough time as is.”

“I don’t trust you.” The Warchief grunted.

“I don’t care, I just want to get out of this shit without before I get my head blown off. The credits ain’t worth it.” I said, looking at Eltessa who was still sobbing on the ground.

“Then we have common ground!” He said.

“What?” I said confused.

“Common Ground, you know? I don’t kill you, you get me Hallon’s research everyone’s good.”

“You probably think I’m stupid.”

“Look around you Assassin, you knew it was stupid coming here…regardless.”

My lips curled into a bitter smile, and I begrudged and nodded in agreement. “You’re, I guess we can come to some form of agreement.”

The Doasian Warchief’s smile was genuinely, but the glint of melancholy and anger I saw in his eyes told me one thing. This bastard’s out for blood and mine’s probably on his list because he definitely would have questions on snuck past his camp and killed four of his Doasians warrior, making their way to Sceleratus.

But that was just my luck, as usual.