Chapters “Where are my weapons? Why are they still not in production?” Asked a man sitting at the head of a large rectangular table. The man was wearing a black suit and blood red tie. On the shoulders of his suit were the logos of CHECKMATE Arms.
Seated around the table were the board of directors for CHECKMATE Arms, which the CEO was very unhappy with. The CEO’s name was Christopher Razka. He was in his mid-thirties, but at first glance he appeared to be about five years older. His hair brushed back was dyed dark brown to hide the gray. His face had a fair amount of wrinkles which giving him a much older appearance. His two brown eyes glared at everyone in the room.
“These new weapon designs are proving to be more difficult to create than we originally thought,” the COO answered. “We’re probably going to need a lot more help if we hope to get these new weapons into production before the end of the year.”
“Which was exactly my point four months ago,” Razka stated. “But no, you had to do it your way. You didn’t want to hire more employees because you thought it was an unnecessary expense,” he accused, pointing his finger to the CFO. “If we don’t have these weapons in production by the end of the fourth quarter, my company is going to lose millions of dollars on this project alone!”
“You’re still evading the real problem at hand, Chris,” the CFO said. He was a man in his early fifties and had snow white hair. “If you want to keep this company going, you need to allow us to expand to new customers.”
Razka rolled his eyes in annoyance. He had always held a strong resentment towards George Bradley, his CFO. “I’ve told you this countless times Bradley, yet you never seem to understand. My company makes the most advanced weapons, vehicles, and aircraft in the world. The only country I trust to use this power responsibly is the United States.”
“Well, I think the fellow board members will agree that this company has grown as much as it can depending solely on American contracts,” Bradley countered, earning agreeing nods from most of the other directors.
“I did not build this company just to hand out these weapons to any nation that’ll pay up. We are not going to give this to other nations, so I suggest you do your fucking job and find a way to fix the mess you’ve gotten yourself in.”
Christopher Razka always hated board meetings. But that was the price he had to pay in order to be Chairman and CEO. Thankfully, it was Friday, and a good drive in one of his many cars always seemed to calm him down. As the CEO of CHECKMATE Arms, one of the largest weapons companies in the world, he had an abundance of money. Thus, he owned a collection of very expensive cars, his favorites being the SLR McLaren Sterling Moss Edition, and the Plymouth Superbird. Living in South Carolina and just outside of Charleston had its advantages.
His house was in a secluded area, which gave Chris the privacy and isolation he had come to get used to after the years. As far as anyone that knew him was concerned, Razka had no life outside of CHECKMATE. For the most part, they were correct. He never really recovered from losing his parents when he was only twenty-five years old.
It was about five in the morning and Chris was fast asleep in his queen size bed. His large bedroom had two dressers, a nightstand, a walk in closet and a TV in it. He was abruptly awoken by a bright flash of light appeared just a few feet away from the foot of his bed. Acting on pure instincts, Chris pulled out a USP .45 pistol from one of his nightstand’s drawers and aimed it at the glowing blue light. When the light faded, Chris got out of his bed and slowly walked towards where it had been. What he saw was beyond his comprehension.
“What the hell?” he whispered, not believing what he was seeing in front of him.
A dark blue horse of some kind was lying unconscious on the floor. Only thing was, horses didn’t have horns and they sure as hell didn’t have wings. What was even more disturbing was the fact that her mane and tail looked like a clear night sky. She was also wearing a black tiara and necklace with a white crescent moon on it. After what felt like a century of staring, the creature slowly opened its large midnight blue eyes and looked up at him.
“Just what the fuck are you?” Chris asked, mostly to himself.
“What’s going on?” it asked in a feminine voice. “Who are you? What are you?”
Now Chris Razka had a few options. Clearly, whatever this thing was, it wasn’t from Earth. He could just shoot it now and forget about it, but that obviously didn’t sit too well with him. He decided it would be better to figure out what it was and why it was in his room.
“My name is Christopher Razka, and you have ten seconds to tell me who the fuck you are and what you’re doing in my damn house,” he said, aiming the gun at her head.
“We did not mean to scare you,” she started. “I am Princess Luna of Equestria, and I take it We are not on Equis anymore.”
“What are you?”
“I think the better question is what are you?” the night princess countered.
“I’m human, now answer my question,” Chris demanded as he was starting to get impatient.
“My name is Luna and I am an alicorn.”
“Why are you here?”
“I don’t know, I think something happened while I was teleporting. What it was that caused me to end up here is unknown to me,” Luna said.
Razka frowned deeply. He was the billionaire CEO of the largest weapons company in the world and here he was having a conversation with a talking pony that had a horn and wings. Looking at the alarm clock on his nightstand he realized there was no point in going back to bed. “So I take it we’re stuck in this situation until you can find a way to go home,” Razka assumed.
Luna let out a heavy sigh. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Follow me,” Razka ordered as he walked out of his room and headed down a flight of stairs.
“So do you have a job, Chris?” Luna curiously asked, hoping to have a friendly conversation with the human in front of her.
“I’m the founder and CEO of CHECKMATE Arms, the largest weapons company in the world,” he said, putting the two slices of the bagel in the toaster. “How about you? I take it from all that fancy jewelry you come from wealth.”
“I’m the princess of Equestria. I rule alongside my sister, Celestia.”
Just then, Razka’s cell phone started ringing. He picked it up from the charger, not taking his eyes from the horse alien. “This is Razka,” he answered. He was silent as he listened to what the person on the other end was saying. “First quarter of next year isn’t good enough… You tell Bradley that if those damn weapons are not in production by the end of fourth quarter, he’s fired! I will not go in front of the Secretary of Defense and tell him that he’s got to wait until first quarter next year when he was told it would be third of this year… I want some fucking results, not excuses.” Chris slammed his phone on counter top. “Jackass,” he muttered.
“What is that?” Luna asked, looking at the phone in wonder. “And why are you so mad at it?”
Chris rolled his eyes. “I take it your world doesn’t have much, or any technology. That is a cell phone. It allows people to contact others that are far away.”
“So what has thou so angry?”
“My CFO is this close to putting my company in a very bad position. If he doesn’t fix it, I’m going to send him into third world poverty,” Razka replied, his voice reflecting his anger. “But none of that is really important right now, I suppose.”
The two spent most of the morning getting to know each other and their different worlds better. Razka found himself strangely fascinated with the world of Equis the more Luna talked about it. To him, it seemed that because of their ability harness the power of magic, they had no need for the kind of technology humans were so dependent on. Another thing were the Elements of Harmony. Although he didn’t give two shits about the so called magic of friendship, Razka was impressed with the unrivaled power the elements held. What the human couldn’t understand though was how Luna’s world was so peaceful compared to Earth. Their species and the others seemed to always get along with one another. Granted there were a few exceptions to that observation, but other than that these ponies didn’t seem to encounter nearly half the problems humans would.
“So tell me more about Earth,” Luna insisted after she finished telling Chris about Equis.
“Well for starters, we humans are a divided species. We have formed our own nations and we are constantly fighting each other usually because of our obsession with power,” he began. “We use advanced technology in our everyday lives for various purposes. Because we never know when or where our next war will be, the governments invest a lot of money into defense technology. It ranges from simple weapons to some of the most advanced war machines in the world.”
“And here we thought aliens would be an all knowing and perfect society,” Luna said in quiet tone.
Chris let out a soft chuckle. “Turns out we’re even worse than all of you.” After a few moments of awkward silence, Chris finally spoke again. “You said you’re a princess. So what exactly do you do?”
“I rule over the night and watch over the dreams of my subjects,” Luna answered. “Where I come from, the sun and the moon are raised and lowered by my sister and I. By the way, is there anyone else in this house, like family?” The night princess sounded a bit worried, as she had not taken into consideration that Chris may not live alone.
“I live here alone and I don’t have a family. I have no siblings and my parents died when I was twenty-five, so I guess that’s one less thing you need to worry about,” he calmly answered.
Luna immediately felt a pang of regret after she heard his answer. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
Chris just looked down at his bagel, his neutral expression replaced by one of sadness. “Hopefully you have a plan on how to get back to your world,” Razka said, changing the subject away from his deceased parents.
“I’m going to try and see if I can contact my sister through the dream world tonight,” Luna informed. “I just hope I’ll be able to reach her.”
The rest of the day was uneventful for Razka and Luna. Aside from not eating meat, Luna wasn’t a very picky eater, which was a great help to Chris. Lunch and dinner consisted of just a salad since Chris lacked the food necessary for anything better. He made a note to himself to get groceries tomorrow. When it was time to go to bed, Chris gave Luna the guest room, which also had a queen size bed in it. Aside from the bed, the room was entirely empty, owing to the fact that it was never used.
“Thank you, Chris,” the midnight colored pony said sincerely.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he replied before leaving the room.
When Christopher Razka opened his eyes, he saw that he was in some sort of dark featureless space. And he wasn’t alone. Standing in front of him was Princess Luna and another pony he didn’t recognize. This pony was slightly taller than Luna and had a very contrasting appearance to the night princess. This pony’s fur was white and she had a flowing rainbow-like mane and tail. The only similarity Razka saw was that this pony had a horn and wings as well, granted her horn was much longer than Luna’s.
“So you’re the human that’s taken my sister in,” the white alicorn stated.
“Where in the hell am I and who the fuck are you?”
“You’re in the dreamscape right now,” Luna calmly answered. “This is my sister, Celestia.” She pointed a hoof at the Alicorn standing by her side.
“What am I doing here?”
“I was hoping to learn a few things about the being my little sister is staying with,” Celestia answered. Her voice was calm and strangely soothing.
“I’m a thirty-four year old who’s the CEO of the largest weapons manufacturers on Earth. Luna told me that she was going to talk to you to try and figure out a way to get her home. Do either of you have any ideas yet?”
Celestia and Luna exchanged worried looks before the younger sister spoke. “We do not have any ideas how I will get back to Equis. My sister will do everything she can to find a way, but it will take time.”
“The sooner, the better. If you are discovered, you will never leave Earth. The American government will sure of that,” Razka warned. “I’ll do what I can to keep your presence here under the radar.”
“Thank you, Chris,” Luna said, giving him a sincere smile. “My sister and I would like to speak alone for a while. I’ll send you back to your own dreamscape now.”
Once Chris was gone, Celestia gave a worried look towards Luna. “There’s something about him I don’t like.”
“I will admit he’s not the friendliest individual, but I believe there is a way that can be fixed.”
“And what way did you have in mind.”
“Friendship. He tries to act uncaring and tough, but I can see through the mask, for it was the same one I wore so many years ago.”
Author's Note
So I had this idea for a while and I finally decided to make it into a story. I might need to make a few minor edits, I'm sure I missed something rereading this. Leave a comment below and maybe a like. I'm always accepting constructive criticism.
Edit: Thanks to BLACK M3SA for editing this!
Razka woke up at about eight in the morning. He took a quick shower and put on some casual clothes, just jeans, and a white collared t shirt. The weekends were the only times when Razka wasn’t dressed in one of his custom made suits. He checked the guest room and was glad to see that Luna was still sleeping soundly on the bed.
When Luna finally awoke, Chris already had breakfast ready for the both of them. He had prepared a simple meal consisting of scrambled eggs and hash browns. They ate in a comfortable silence and after that, Chris showed Luna the various technologies of his world, including his collection of cars in his garage.
“Why do you have so many of these cars? Don’t you only need one to get around?” the princess asked, looking at all the various cars.
“You could say I have a love for cars.” Before Chris could say anything else, his cell phone started ringing. Letting out an annoyed sigh, he answered it. “What is it?”
“Nice to hear your voice too, Chris,” George Bradley said.
“You’ve got five seconds to tell me what you want before I hang up.”
“The Secretary of Defense has just arrived at the airport in Charleston. He called saying that he wanted to meet you at your house to discuss the Striker Project.”
“Then tell him to fuck off, I’m not in the mood to have him tell me things I already know,” Razka snapped.
“He’s on his way now, so you’re talking to him whether you like it or not.”
“Why the fuck am I only being told about this just now?”
“Because the secretary probably knew you’d try to blow him off if he told you earlier.”
Razka hung up the phone and put his attention back on Luna. “Go to the guest room, and lock the door. Stay quiet and don’t come out until I tell you to,” he quickly ordered.
“What, why?” she asked, clearly confused as to what was going on.
“Someone’s coming and like I said before, no one can know you’re here. Now go.”
Luna gave a quick nod and jogged up to the room Chris gave her last night. After ten minutes passed by Chris heard his doorbell ring. He went to the front door, and opened it. General Joseph Shepard, the Secretary of Defense, was standing outside.
Joseph Shepard was in his late forties, had light brown hair and eyes, and was wearing his highly decorated uniform, showing off all the awards he had gotten during his service in the military. Razka’s face remained neutral as he let the general in, and led him into the dining room. The two men took a seat on opposite sides of each other before starting their conversation.
“So, Mr. Razka, I suppose you know why I’m here,” Shepard began.
“Unfortunately, I do,” Razka said in a cold tone. “Due to the incredible stupidity of my CFO, the Striker Project won’t be ready to go into mass production until we near the end of fourth quarter. “
“You promised me you’d have these weapons ready much sooner than that. DOD want’s results, not empty promises.”
Razka frowned. “You will have your precious weapons soon enough. Building these weapons is a very delicate and dangerous task. After all, these aren’t your average guns.”
“Our administration has paid a lot of money for your continued and exclusive business. What about the UATAV Project?”
“The UATAV Project is still in its proof of concept stage. If you paid as much attention to CHECKMATE as you claim, you’d already know this,” the CEO retorted condescendingly. “Our efforts are currently focused on finishing the Striker Project.”
“The Joint Chiefs and I want to see a prototype before the second quarter of next year. We want to see what our billion dollar contract bought us.”
“And so you shall,” Razka said, nodding his head. “The Unmanned All Terrain Assault Vehicle has been producing promising results.”
“That’s good to hear. The president himself will be seeing the weapons demonstration of the UATAV once it’s ready. We’re also going to be getting a bigger budget at the start of next year,” the general said. “If those weapons aren’t in production by that time, CHECKMATE won’t be seeing a single cent of that money.”
“You have my word that those weapons will be ready by the end of the year and come that time, you’ll be seeing a new and improved CHECKMATE Arms. I do believe the time has come for a new fucking CFO.”
“Good luck with that. Any ideas on who will be replacing Bradley?”
“Marcus Stahl’s daughter, Janet. From what I’ve heard, she’s exactly what I need to replace that son of a bitch Bradley.”
“You do realize that Janet Stahl is on her way to becoming the CEO of United Airlines. You really think she’d leave that just because her dad was CHECKMATE’s original CFO?”
“The difference is that she would make more money as my CFO than she ever would as the CEO of United,” Razka stated. “Besides, they’re still suffering from what that jackass Smisek did to the company. If Janet’s anything like her father, she’ll take my offer.”
Shepard got up from his seat. “JCS sees the power in your company, Razka. You’re due in Washington in two weeks. You’d better have some good news for us by then.” With that, the secretary left without saying another word.
When Razka heard the front door close and was confident Shepard was gone, he went upstairs to let Luna know it was safe to come out.
“Who was that?” Luna asked.
“That was General Joseph Shepard, the Secretary of Defense,” Chris answered. “He’s given my company a lot of money in contracts for all the weapons and vehicles we’re making. He’s been a strong supporter of our company up until a while ago. Our subpar performance has not gone unnoticed. If I can’t get my company back on track, we may lose our grasp as DOD’s near exclusive weapons supplier.”
“What’s DOD?” Luna asked curiously.
“Department of Defense. They are responsible for protecting the nation.”
“This sounds like a big deal. Do you think it will come to losing your grasp?”
“No. I just need to… convince the board of directors to do what I tell them, then everything will be where it should in my company.”
Luna frowned slightly at his comment, not liking what the CEO was implying.“You don’t have a lot of friends, do you?”
The accusation left Chris unfazed. “I don’t have the need or luxury of having friends.”
“Then what’s the point of having all this wealth and success if you don’t have anyone to share it with?” The night princess challenged.
“The point is obtaining the one thing that all men crave: power,” Razka retorted. “My company supplies the US with almost all of their weapons, aircraft, vehicles, and other war tech. I am one of the most powerful men in the world.”
“I learned a long time ago the true power friendship has. When I see you, I see a bit of my former self as well. Alone, scared, and refusing to admit you need help when you need it most. But most of all, I see that lust for power.”
“And just why the hell would I want to befriend you? Don’t forget that the only reason I’m helping you is out of whatever goodness is left in my heart. I’m not doing this to be your friend.”
“I want to help you, Chris. But I can’t do that if you don’t let me.”
Chris let out a heavy sigh of defeat. “You just aren’t going to fucking stop until I give in, are you?”
Luna grinned. “Nope.”
After dinner, Chris took Luna outside to enjoy the night sky. He came to the conclusion that fighting her would prove harder than just going along with her idea. Chris was glad he lived in a secluded enough area that the pony princess could go outside without worrying about anyone seeing her. They were in a field with a perfect view. Luna was laying on her stomach, while Chris stayed standing.
“Do you believe there’s a life after this one?” Chris asked, never taking his eyes off the stars above.
Luna was a bit caught off guard by the sudden question. “I’ve never really given it much thought, seeing as how I am immortal.”
“I like to believe there is. That when we die it’s not just emptiness. The hope for something better after we die.” Chris let out a soft sigh. “So how old are you?”
“I’m over 2,000 years old.”
A faint smile formed on the human’s lips. “People here talk of how great it would be to live forever. They never realize that living forever means watching everyone around you get old and eventually die. We will all die one day. Why waste precious time trying to change it?”
Most of her life, Luna had been told by so many ponies how lucky she was to be forever young. She always hated hearing it. “You’re one of the first people who hasn’t said my immortality is a good thing. You’re right too, being immortal is a very heavy burden. Having to come to terms with the fact that one day, you will watch your closest friends die.”
"You said you see a bit of your former self in me. Care to elaborate on that?"
"That's a conversation we may have later. I'd like to enjoy the night for now," Luna calmly replied.
The two sat in silence, enjoying the peaceful night sky. It was the first time in a long time that Razka actually taken the time to stop and just enjoy the scenery. He had always admired the beauty and purity of nature. Very rarely did he find time to just relax nowadays. Tonight, Razka would let himself relax. Tomorrow, he’d deal with contacting Janet Stahl.
Author's Note
Here's chapter 2! I'm sorry it took so long to upload, I've been busy with a lot of things lately. It's a bit shorter than I'd have liked it to be, but whatever. I'll try and have the next chapter up sooner and make it longer, but I can't make any promises. Thanks for all the likes and faves! I'm glad to see you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!
Edit: Minor edits here and there. Doing the best I can to get the next chapter up as quickly as I can.
Side Note:
I'd Love to Change the World
Razka was sitting in his office, patiently waiting for his guest to arrive. The office had one large window behind his desk. The walls of the office were lined with framed awards and bookshelves, but Razka never really noticed how many various awards he had accumulated over the years as the CEO of CHECKMATE. A sudden knocking on his door interrupted his thoughts.
“It's open!” Razka hollered. When the door opened, Razka was happy to see Janet Stahl walk into his office. “Miss Stahl, I’m glad you could make it here,” he politely greeted as he got out of his chair and walked over to Janet.
He had never met Janet face to face, but he had seen enough pictures and articles about her to get a good idea of her personality. Razka met Marcus Stahl’s wife once at a company celebration for something he couldn’t remember. Janet had her mother’s long, straight brown hair and her father’s dark blue eyes. Another trait he noticed in her photos was that Janet could look like the nicest woman in the world, or the meanest one. It was a trait that Razka greatly admired.
“If you don’t mind, I think we can skip the pleasantries and get right down to business,” she said.
Razka nodded his head in agreement as they took their seats. “I don’t believe in going the long way around the barn, so I’m just going to say it. I called you here because I want you to be the new CFO for CHECKMATE Arms.”
“You do realize that in less than a year I’ll be the CEO of United, right?”
“I’m well aware of that, but I know that CEO of United Airlines doesn’t meant shit to you,” Razka countered.
“I’m already a CFO, why should I turn down a major promotion just so I can take the same title to a different company?”
“Because there are two types of people in this world. Those who crave money, and those who crave power. You strike me as the kind of woman who understands the value of power.” Janet remained silent and kept an unreadable poker face up. “If you agree to be my CFO, you’ll have more power than you’ll ever have anywhere else.”
“So why exactly do you want to get rid of Bradley?”
“The fucker thinks he can turn the Board of Directors against me, kick me out and take my place as CEO.” Razka frowned just thinking about the man he loathed so much. “When I fire him and replace him with you, it will send a very clear message to anyone that’s thinking of overthrowing me. A good CFO is usually a CEO’s right hand. So when that right hand turns on you, it makes life very difficult.”
“As much as I’d like to, I can’t just quit overnight. Give me a week or two and I’ll ready.”
“Let’s make it a week,” Razka grinned.
Luna could barely contain her excitement when Razka walked into his house. “Christopher, I think I know how I can get back home!”
Unlike Luna, Razka maintained a calm composure. Countless years of skepticism made him somewhat immune from getting excited. He took off his shoes and walked into his kitchen, throwing his keys on the counter. “So what’s your plan?”
“I was talking with my sister and we have an idea,” the night princess started ecstatically. “We can create a portal that will be powered by my magic.”
Razka gave her a skeptical look. Even without any specific details, he knew that it would very complicated. “I take it you need me to create the portal.”
“Can you do it?”
“I need to know what you need the portal to specifically do first. What would be the easiest way for you to show me?”
Luna grinned. “Through your dreams.”
“All right. In the meantime, I need to begin scouring the world for the best scientists to build this portal. And figure out how the fuck I’m going to keep the board from finding this out.”
“So you want my portal to link with a pre-existing portal back in your world,” Razka clarified. They were in an open grassy field under the pale moon light.
Luna nodded, standing by Razka’s side. “That’s correct.”
The man ran a hand through his thick hair and looked to the star filled sky. “I’ll need one week to rally this planet’s best scientists and about another two weeks to come up with a concept design.” Razka let out a heavy sigh. “I might need to bring Stahl in on this as well, but I need to know if I can trust her first.”
“How will you be able to determine if you can trust her or not?” Luna inquired.
“The only thing I can think of is just showing you to her. It’s a high risk, but I believe the reward will be worth it.” Silence filled the air for a minute before Razka finally broke it. “Before my father died, he told me, ‘I would have loved to change the world, but I didn’t know what to do. So I decided to give you all the tools you need to do just that.’ My father believed that I was destined for greatness. He spent his life working for a weapons company called Barrett. In his later years as VP of the company, he started thinking: What if a weapons company became something more than just a company? What if it evolved into an army? What if it had the power to overthrow an entire government?” A wicked grin formed on Razka’s lips. “I’ve spent most of my life working towards overthrowing the United States Government. I have the largest private army in the world, not mention the most advanced weapons at our disposal.”
“Why would you want to overthrow a government? Are they evil?”
“Throughout history every kingdom, nation and empire, no matter how prosperous, falls in time. The era of democracy will come to an end. People are too stupid to know what’s right and wrong nowadays. What this world needs is someone who is willing to bring order to all this chaos. That’s where I come in.”
Luna’s face was one of clear worry. Razka was simply providing her an excuse to what was a dangerous lust for power. “Chris, be careful when pursuing power. Like jealousy, it can lead you down a dark path of which there is little hope of return. Trust me, I know.”
Chris waved his hand dismissively. “Jealousy is fueled by misplaced emotions. Anyone who let’s something as stupid as jealousy cloud their judgment deserves to fail. Hell, I wouldn’t mind seeing them die because of it.”
Luna winced at the harshness of his words, but quickly shook it off. “I’d like to be able to call you my friend before I return home.” Chris snorted, signaling his defiance towards the idea. “You agreed to let me help you. I’m trying to help you now, but you’re too stubborn to see your mistakes.”
“I haven’t made a single friend since I was just a child. I do admire your persistence, but there are some people who just don’t want the help of others.”
“You’re afraid, aren’t you?”
“Afraid of what?”
“Making friends. You’re afraid to show anyone what’s underneath your mask, including me.”
Razka stood up and turned his back to the night princess. “We’ll talk in the morning. So if you don’t mind, I’d like you out of my head.”
“Janet, something’s come up and I need you to come to my personal residence as soon as you can.”
“Lucky for you, I have no pressing engagements until later in the week. What is it that’s so damn important anyway?”
Chris let out a small sigh. “You’d only believe me if I showed you. When can you be here?”
“Give me six hours.”
Razka hung up his phone and put it in his pocket. He entered the kitchen where Luna was waiting for him to finish making the pancakes. Luna immediately noticed the troubled look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” the night princess asked, her tone reflecting her concern.
“Janet Stahl will be here in the next six hours.”
“To meet me, correct?”
“Yes.” He placed the finished pancakes on the kitchen table, where Luna sat hungrily awaiting breakfast. Using her magic, Luna grabbed four pancakes, leaving Razka with the remaining two.
“So what’s troubling you?” she asked as he took a seat at the table.
Razka looked Luna dead in the eyes, a serious look on his face. “Last night. I’ve told you more than I’ve told any other soul on this planet. What’s your story? I’ve told you mine and where I’m going, so tell me. This is what ‘friends’ do, isn’t it?”
Luna gave a small smile, glad to hear that Razka was making an attempt at being friends. “It’s a long story.”
“Well we have quite some time, so I’m all ears.”
Author's Note
After making you all wait a ridiculous amount of time, chapter 3 is finally here! I'll try to have the next chapter up quicker, but I can't be sure. I'm anticipating a significant work load for college, but I will be writing every chance I get. As always, thanks for reading!
Razka opened his front door and Janet Stahl walked in. He led her to his living room and motioned for her to take a seat on the sofa, while he sat down across from her.
“So what is it you needed to show me?” she asked.
“Before I do, you need to swear you will speak to no one about this.”
Janet gave Razka a questioning look before slowly nodding her head in agreement.
“I am currently housing an alien that is trying to return to her world,” Razka said, his tone deathly serious. “I need your help getting her home.”
“Bullshit.”
“If you don’t believe me, take a look for yourself.” facing the door, he said,” Luna, you can come in.”
The night princess cautiously entered the room and stood next to Razka. “H-hello,” Luna nervously greeted.
Janet was at a complete loss for words. She knew that there was bound to be life somewhere else in the galaxy, but she never thought she’d be staring right at it.
Razka grinned. “So, shall we begin?”
One Week Later
“Gentlemen, the twenty of you represent the best scientists in the world that can assist with Project: MARS,” Razka began.
They were in the basement of the chairman’s house, which was about the size of an aircraft hangar. Most of the hangar was empty except for some stockpiles of weapons and ammo. Razka held a belief of being prepared for the very worst. The fact that he would be committing treason in the near future was only a bigger incentive for him to be prepared.
“You have all sworn to keep everything regarding this project secret from everyone not involved,” Razka stated. “We are here to assist the alien, known as Luna, return to her home world as quickly as possible. I know that many of you wish to know more about her, but in the interest of her safety and privacy, all information about her will be kept on a need-to-know basis. I want a concept design in two weeks. Until I say otherwise, you will live here. I’ll have cots brought down tonight and I’ll be sure you have everything you want to eat and drink.”
One of the scientists, a man in fifties, raised his hand. “We’ve all read your base requirements for the portal, chairman. From what we’ve read, it appears that the aliens already have a portal waiting to be linked by our own.”
“What’s your question?” Razka impatiently requested.
“If we do build this portal, it will act as a door between both our worlds. There is the serious risk that they could send in soldiers to conquer us.” The man’s concerns received agreeing nods from the other nineteen scientists.
“Which is why the portal will be destroyed immediately after we send Luna through it. The last thing we need is having war between two worlds. Based on what I’ve been told about Luna’s planet, I’d say we would be the ones doing the conquering anyway. Now unless you have any more questions, we have a lot of work to do, so let’s get started.”
3 months later.
It had been weeks since Razka was at CHECKMATE’s headquarters. Most of his days were spent managing Project: MARS. After a week of their incessant complaining, Razka had moved the scientists into the closest hotel he could find. As he entered his office, his secretary followed him in.
“Sir,” the young brunette started. “General Shepard is on line one, he says it’s urgent.”
Razka sighed. “Of course it is.” After his secretary left, Razka picked up his desk phone. “What do want, Shepard?”
“I know you well enough to know that you loathe being in your house for long periods of time,” Shepard confidently stated. “What are you up to?”
The CEO silently cursed. If Shepard found out what he was doing, he’d find out about Luna. That would also result in Shepard digging through everything on Razka’s computers, and finding out about his plans to overthrow the US. “My personal life is none of your business. The company has a lot on its plate right now and I find that I’m more productive during times like this in my workshop instead of a desk.”
Shepard remained quiet for a few moments, as if contemplating whether or not to believe Razka. “And where do the twenty scientists come in?” he challenged.
“I have some shiny new toys I’m making, Joseph. Christmas is only two months away and I still have a few more of them to wrap, including yours. The real question is if you’ve been naughty or nice.”
“Enough with the bullshit. I’m only going to ask this once. What are you not telling me?”
“Are you threatening me?” Razka demanded, his voice rising.
“We are not equals, Razka. I’m the secretary of defense and you’re-”
“The CEO and chairman of the largest weapons company and private army in the world,” Razka interrupted. “You’re right about us not being equal. I have more power than you’ll ever have.”
“The President knows about the scientists. You don’t bring the greatest minds the world has to offer without planning to use them. We’re treating this as a very serious threat. You either hand over the information on this project you’re working on or we will do it ourselves!”
Seeing no way out, Razka gave up for his sake and Luna’s. “You’ll have what you want in twenty-four hours.”
“If you’re so much as a second late, I’m busting down your door,” Shepard warned before hanging up.
“NO!” Razka yelled, slamming the phone against his desk. The receiver flew off the phone from the sheer force. “I have not come this fucking far for it all to be thwarted by that son of a bitch!” Razka couldn’t believe what was happening. If Shepard found out everything about MARS, it would raise more questions than it would answer. That meant Shepard would search through every file on every computer Razka owned. He would find Operation: Defiance, and discover Razka’s end goal. All because of some fucking horse.
Christopher Razka stumbled into his house. Hard liquor tended to have that effect on him. Looking at his watch he saw it was almost midnight. As he made his way to the living room to sit down, Razka kicked off his shoes, followed by his suit jacket, and tie. The chairman fell back into his couch and laid his head back.
“Christopher!” Luna hollered as she trotted into the room. “I was getting worried. You’re never out this late.”
“Tell your sister we might be fucked,” Razka said with a slight slur.
This struck Luna completely off guard. “What, why? And why do you smell like alcohol?”
“Shepard’s going to find everything! All my hard work is going to be down the drain. Sorry, thanks for playing. Game fucking over!”
“Christopher, you’re not making any sense.” Luna was a bit uncomfortable seeing her friend so out of it for the first time.
“And he’s going to find you too,” the drunken Razka added, pointing a wobbly finger at the night princess. “And you’ll be stuck on this cesspool for the rest of eternity. I’ll be executed for treason and you’ll be a lab rat.”
Luna sighed, deciding it would be better to dismiss his drunken ramblings. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
Using her magic, Luna lifted Razka up off the couch. Razka put an arm around Luna’s neck for support. Once she guided him to his room, Razka collapsed onto the bed, much too tired to get beneath the covers. Within seconds he fast asleep.
“Sleep well, Christopher. Hopefully you can explain this all in the morning.”
Author's Note
Forgive me for any general errors, this chapter has not yet been edited or proofread. Once it is, I will be uploading this chapter again. Hope you like it!
Edit: Chapter is now edited! I should have chapter five up soon.
The first thing Christopher Razka felt when he woke up, was a throbbing pain in his head, an inevitable repercussion to having so much to drink the night before. The pain would be manageable, but the situation with Shepard would not be. Not even the throbbing pain in his head stopped him from trying to find a way to fix his situation.
“I’m glad to see you’re finally up,” Luna said as Razka slowly walked into the kitchen. “How are you feeling?”
“Some Advil and I’ll be fine,” Christopher grunted. He took the cup of coffee that Luna seemed to have prepared for him. As he took a seat at the counter, he noticed Luna staring intently at him, as if she expected him to say something else. “What?”
“Last night when you came home drunk, you said something about that man named Shepard finding out about everything. What did you mean?”
Razka dropped his head, unable to make eye contact with the night princess. “Shepard’s suspicious of what I’ve been doing lately. He’s going to find out about MARS, and more importantly, you. I’m sorry.”
“How do you know this is bad, maybe he’ll help us? Maybe he’s not as bad as you think he is.”
“When they find you, they will have no intentions of letting you escape this planet. You will be the first living alien to have made contact with the human race. There will be nothing they won’t do to you.”
Luna was now mortified. All of her worst fears were more than likely going to become reality in a short amount of time. “What about the portal? Isn’t it almost ready?”
“We’ve been stuck trying to find the portal to link with on your world. It’s like trying to hit a bullet with a smaller bullet while wearing a blindfold, riding a horse. I have no idea how much longer it’s going to take. We could only need a few more hours or we may need a few more months.”
A single tear fell from Luna’s muzzle. “So that’s it… I’m never going to be able to see my sister again, except for in the dream world.”
Razka got up and put a hand on her back, trying to comfort her. Suddenly, an idea struck the chairman. “There might be a way to protect you if we can’t get MARS online. Follow me.”
Razka led the princess to the computer in his bedroom. It was his personal desktop that had files specifically for his eyes only on it. Files that if discovered by the wrong people, could get him killed at best. He pulled up a file titled “Operation: Defiance” on the giant 25 inch monitor.
“The solution is quite simple; we attack our enemy before they attack us. My forces will launch an all-out blitzkrieg on D.C. and annihilate as much of their military as possible,” Razka explained.
Hearing Razka’s plan to overthrow a nation was one thing, but actually seeing every little detail to the plan was overwhelming for the princess. “Christopher… this… you’ll be slaughtering millions of people. Decimating entire cities, you’ll kill countless innocent civilians. This is evil.”
“Acceptable losses in the changing of the guard,” the chairman dismissed. “More importantly though, this will keep you safe. The U.S. will be too occupied trying to put out all my fires to launch a direct attack on me. This is the only way you get home.”
“Christopher, I know you want to change the world, but not like this. Don’t do this,” Luna pleaded with the man. “I know what you’re thinking, I’ve been there. You think this will bring you peace but it won’t. It will only leave you wanting more. You’ll still be the empty shell of a person you were before it all.” Luna was practically begging with Razka now. She saw that he could be a good man if he wanted to be, and she wanted to nothing more than to show him that. But Razka’s eyes never left the monitor. Razka wanted this. He needed it. He had been planning for this his whole life and nothing was going to stop him now. Not Luna, not the president, and not that son of a bitch Shepard. “Come with me to Equestria!”
“What?”
“No one deserves a fresh start more than you. Come with me to Equestria and you can have a clean slate. You can have a chance to enjoy life. None of this plotting and planning. You can do what you really want to do.”
Razka ran a hand through his thick graying hair, deeply contemplating the offer. “Perhaps in another life I would have taken you up on that offer, but not now. I’ve come too far to just throw it all away. All my life, I’ve waited for the day I would conquer America and now it’s nearly here. All those sleepless nights, covert ops, countless lies and people I’ve killed to get here. I can’t stop now.”
“Yes you can!”
Before Razka could continue the argument, his cell phone started ringing. Glancing at who it was, he cursed upon seeing Shepard’s number. “What the fuck do you want now, Shepard?”
“Good to hear your voice too,” Shepard calmly said, ignoring Razka’s tone. “I’m sending over a team to collect the data I want. They should be there in half an hour, so make sure it’s ready. If I so much as think you’re hiding something else, I’ll have you serving life.” Without bothering to hear a response from Razka, Shepard hung up.
Razka didn’t even give Luna so much a glance as he dialed Janet Stahl’s number. “Stahl, it’s time. Begin Operation: Defiance immediately. I need a task force sent to my residence too. Shepard is sending in some clowns now that I should be able to deal with alone, but there will be more.”
“I’ll send in the 516 right away,” Janet replied, a grin on her red lips.
“We’re going to change the world, Janet.”
“And destroy all those who stand in our way. My dad really underplayed how ruthless you are. I wish we had met sooner.”
Hanging up the phone, Razka finally glanced over at Luna. She simply gave a disapproving shake of her head and trotted up to her room. Silently cursing for actually giving a damn, Razka followed the night princess upstairs. He knocked on the open door to signify his presence to the alicorn currently staring out the window.
“Everyone has their addiction. For some it’s alcohol, drugs, sports, or whatever. For me, it’s this. This is the war I always wanted and now I have it. I’ll be the one that leads the march into the White House, tear down the flag and raise my own. I’ll be the one who kills the countless men with a grin on my face.” He sighed, looking down at the ground. “I am evil.”
Luna whipped her around and locked eyes with Razka. “You’re not evil, Christopher.”
“Then what am I!?” the chairman shouted, slamming his clenched fist into a hanging picture frame. Razka dropped to the ground, holding his head in his hands as he leaned against the wall. Blood from his cut hand dripped onto his face, but he didn’t even notice.
“Broken,” Luna whispered as she sat down next to Razka. She placed her wing on Razka’s back. “There is nothing in life that makes you happy. You’ve spent all your life looking for something to make you happy, and this is the closest thing you could find. But it will never be enough.”
“Tell me something I don’t fucking know,” Razka choked, a single tear falling from his eye. “Everything you said is true. Nothing makes me happy; it only keeps me occupied. The truth is I have no Goddamn clue what I’m going to do when this is over.”
“Then let me help you. Come with me to Equestria, I can help you get away from all of this; a fresh start.”
Christopher looked up, staring into Luna’s eyes, as if searching for something in those deep blue pools. Before he could speak, the doorbell rang, and Christopher’s eyes went wide in shock.
“Stay here and don’t make a sound,” Razka ordered as he got up.
He went into his room and pulled out a Desert Eagle loaded with .50 AE ammunition. He hid it behind his back and went to go answer the door.
“Mr. Razka, I’m Director Marks,” a tall man introduced. He, along with his two companions were dressed in similar black suits. Based on the bulges in their suits, Razka guessed they were carrying Uzi’s or a close equivalent. “I’m here to collect the information the Sec Def wanted.”
“Gee, thanks for spelling it out for me,” Razka replied condescendingly. “You see, I thought the DCIA was at my door to go golfing. Why the hell did Shepard send you here anyway?”
“To make sure you didn’t try to hide anything else,” he answered as they walked into Razka’s house.
Razka led the three men into the dining room, his laptop sitting on the counter. “Password is Defiance,” he said, motioning for Marks to open the laptop. The director gave Razka a questioning look, trying to figure out what game he was playing. “What, is opening a laptop and pushing some buttons too hard for you? You want the files, then you fucking open it up.”
Marks opened the laptop and entered the password. On the main screen was a single file titled, “Operation: Defiance.” As the director scanned through it, the other two men glanced over to see what he was looking at.
“You are going to burn for this, Razka,” Marks muttered just loud enough for the chairman to hear.
“Not before you do,” Razka replied as he pulled out his Desert Eagle. As Marks turned around, Razka blasted his guards’ brains out, leaving only the director.
"Razka, don't do this," Marks pleaded.
"To be honest I was going to kill you no matter what. You coming here just made it that much easier for me." Before Marks could say another word, the chairman pulled the trigger.
Author's Note
We're getting close to the end. As always, I do appreciate when you leave a like, favorite or a comment. I'd also like to thank all the people who have done just that!
“Marks, do you have the files?” Shepard asked, sitting in his office inside the Pentagon.
“You know, I feel insulted,” Razka laughed. “Either you actually believed I would give you the data or you thought two goons and the DCIA would be enough to kill me.”
“Razka, what the fuck did you do?” Shepard demanded.
“You have no idea what I have planned, Shepard. Come and get me.” Razka ended the call and tossed Marks’ phone. “Luna, it’s all clear!” he shouted.
Luna cautiously trotted down the stairs and entered the dining room but froze upon seeing the three dead bodies lying on the ground, creating pools of blood. In all of Luna’s years, she had never seen such a disgusting sight. There were sizable holes in all three of the heads and a few chunks of flesh and brain were scattered on the counter.
“Christopher… w-what have you done?” Luna questioned, her voice barely louder than a whisper. Her eyes never deviated from the horrific sight.
“We need to get downstairs to the portal and pray that it’s online now,” Razka said, ignoring the princess’s question. When he noticed Luna wasn’t going anywhere, he sighed. “I told you I wouldn’t let anything or anyone stop me. Shepard’s going to be sending in a lot of soldiers to take me down, so we need to move now.”
Razka heard knocking at the door and approached it cautiously, gripping his pistol tightly. “Wait here,” he quietly hissed at Luna. Looking through the peep hole, he breathed a sigh of relief seeing that it was the members of Task Force 516. Numerous helicopters circled around the house and most of the ground soldiers were setting up to defend their leader.
“That’s one hell of a response time,” Razka complimented as he opened the door.
“We’re at your disposal sir,” the leader of the task force, Captain Allen, said. They were clad in jet black military grade armor, each with the insignia of CHECKMATE Arms on their chest and their last name below it. “We’ll protect you and the HVI for as long as we can.”
“Knowing Shepard, special forces should be here inside half an hour.” Razka motioned for the captain to follow him into the dining room.
“Quite the mess you made,” Allen chuckled, looking at the three dead bodies, but stopping when he saw the DCIA. “Is that the Director of the CIA?”
“Shepard tasked him with retrieving my data.” Razka looked around the room and noticed that Luna was missing. “Luna, get back in here!”
Luna cautiously complied, eyeing Allen as she walked next to the chairman. “Who is this, Christopher?”
“Captain Allen of Task Force 516,” Razka answered, quickly turning his attention back to Allen. “The fate of CHECKMATE is at stake here, captain. Remember your orders. They do not get into the lab and once Luna is through, the portal is destroyed; no exceptions. We can’t afford to let anyone acquire this kind of technology.”
“Yes sir,” Allen saluted after handing him a headset. The captain then jogged outside to get the soldiers in position to defend the house.
Razka led Luna down to the lab, where the scientists were still working vigorously to get the portal online. A week earlier, Razka moved all the weapons apart of the Striker Project to his makeshift lab. Opening one of the crates up, Razka pulled out one of the new CHK-75 prototypes. Its design was similar to that of an AR-15, but lighter and sleeker. On the upper rails was a thermal imaging scope. Loaded in the thirty round magazines were .50 caliber hollow points.
“Sir,” one of the scientists said as he ran up to the chairman. “The portal is almost ready. We’ve found a signal on the planet we believe is Equis. Give us fifteen more minutes and we should have it online.”
Razka gave a heavy sigh of relief. “Attention all units, the portal will be online in fifteen mikes. Keep the hostiles at bay until the HVI is through.”
“Chairman, I see US V-22’s inbound,” Captain Allen informed. “Launching SAM’s now!”
The SAM’s, mounted on trucks set up around Razka’s house, fired numerous missiles at least a dozen V-22’s flying towards the house. The V-22’s launched their countermeasures, but not all of them misdirected the missiles. Several of the VTOL’s burst into flames and crashed into the ground. The remaining Ospreys opened their cargo doors and countless troops filled the sky.
Within a minute it was an all-out warzone around Razka’s house. Task Force 516 did their best to prevent the American spec ops soldiers from breaching the perimeter, but the Americans were not fucking around. From Razka’s point of view, any defensive battle was doomed to failure eventually. But Razka didn’t need to win this battle, he just needed to hold them off long enough to get Luna through the portal.
“Sir, multiple hostiles have breached the house!” Allen shouted over the chaos outside. “I’m sending in a squad to try and stop them before they reach you.”
“Understood, Allen. I’ll be waiting for the fuckers.”
Razka had set up barricades throughout the hangar sized lab with metal supply crates for cover. He kept his CHK-75 aimed straight at the only entrance to the lab. “Luna, we’ve got hostiles coming for us. Just do what I say and you’ll be fine.”
Luna nodded and crouched behind the chairman. Under Razka’s explicit orders, the scientists were franticly trying to get the portal online. By nothing short of a miracle and a little bit of luck, the portal roared to life. A deep blue liquid-like sheet covered the circular doorway to another world.
“Chairman Razka, we’ve done it!” one of the scientists exclaimed.
As Razka turned his head around the main door to the lab flew off its hinges from a planted explosive. At least a dozen soldiers charged into the hangar sized laboratory, opening fire on anything that moved. In only a few seconds most of the scientists were shot dead, pools of blood forming around their lifeless bodies.
Razka leaned to the side of his cover and began shooting at the intruders. As soon as he did though, the soldiers unleashed a relentless volley at him. “Allen where the fuck is that backup?”
“We can’t get to you sir!” Allen yelled. “I’m sorry sir, but the squad I sent was just obliterated by an RPG!”
“Fuck!” Razka pulled the pin on a grenade and hurled it at his attackers. The exchange of gunfire continued and Razka had only managed to kill half of the American forces.
“Christopher there’s too many of them, if you stay here you’ll die!” Luna shouted over the gunfire.
“Luna, get in the portal right fucking now!” Razka angrily roared as he continued to fight off the enemy soldiers. As he got up to take another shot, a bullet hit Razka in his right shoulder. In just another second, a grenade was tossed right behind where the two were taking cover. “Grenade!” Razka pushed Luna away but was only able to get a few steps away before it went off. The chairman was jolted forward and crumbled to the ground, still managing to hold onto his gun. Having taken the brunt of the blast and shrapnel, Razka was dazed and on the verge of passing out.
Luna quickly used her magic to create a shield in front of them and used her hooves to drag Christopher to the portal. As a seemingly endless stream of bullets impacted the shield, Luna could see two of the soldiers attempting to flank them. They were almost there, just a few more feet. “Come on, come on!”
The last thing Razka remembered before passing out was pulling the pin on a grenade at letting it roll out of his hand just before passing through the portal.
Razka slowly opened his eyes only to be blinded by light. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any pain, even though he distinctly remembered being shot and having taking a beating from a grenade. Once his eyes adjusted to the light he found himself lying on a midnight blue bed. Looking around the room he saw a closet, nightstand and a glass door leading out to a balcony. He was relieved to see the CHK-75 resting against the nightstand. He noticed his suit and shirt were hanging on a nearby chair. Razka was puzzled by the medieval look the room had, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted when he saw one Princess of the Night enter.
“Luna?” Christopher groaned.
Luna galloped to the side of her bed. “Christopher, I’m so glad you’re finally awake,” she said with a genuine smile.
“Where am I?” he asked, hoping to God that he wasn’t where he thought he was.
“You’re in Equestria, my world. You passed out when we went through the portal. Luckily, the doctors were able to fix up most of your wounds.”
Razka stopped listening the moment he heard “Equestria.” He felt his blood begin to boil and his hands start to shake.
Noticing his shaking, Luna leaned in closer to Razka. “Christopher, are you all right?”
The chairman leaped forward and wrapped his hands around Luna’s neck. “WHAT! HAVE! YOU! DONE!?” he shouted in pure rage as he strangled the princess.
Two guards clad in gold armor rushed in after having heard Razka shout. The stallions used their magic to rip Razka away from the princess. Razka tried to struggle, but was unable to break free their magical grip.
“This is not over,” Razka hissed, glaring daggers at Luna.
Luna’s horn lit up and she cast a spell putting Christopher to sleep. “You can leave now,” she said to the guards. After looking over the human for a moment, Luna turned to leave. As Luna quietly shut the door behind her, Celestia was waiting for her.
“I take it from the yelling he didn’t take it well,” the older sister said.
“We just need to give him time,” Luna replied softly. “He’ll come around eventually. Though he would never admit it to anyone, there is goodness in his heart. I think he might even like it here.”
“I hope so, it would be nice if we could keep in touch with an alien race on a frequent basis.”
“We can learn a lot from each other. Perhaps one day he’ll even learn of the magic of friendship.”
“With your help, Luna, I’m sure he will.”
Author's Note
Note: This chapter has not yet been edited, so there might be some errors.
