Broken Worlds: Age of Ruin

“What the bloody hell happened here?” I asked as I peered into the computer room through a jagged hole in the wall. Apparently, someone had the balls to throw a grenade in an enclosed space in order to bust out.

“Drayke Blackwood; that is what happened,” a voice said behind me. I turned and recognized the white-haired man who had recruited me the previous day. “He and some of his followers broke in here and stole valuable blueprints for an upgraded version of our exoskeletons, and then nearly tore the place down escaping,” he explained, almost sounding impressed by all this.

I narrowed my eyes. “You sound as if you admire this Blackwood guy,” I said slowly. “Why exactly do you have me hunting him if his skill makes you so happy?”

The man shook his head apologetically. “Do not mistake my impressed mannerism for affection; I want Drayke dead just about as much as I want this war to end in humanity’s favor. You have to give a worthy opponent the amount of respect he deserves, though; am I wrong?” he asked with a questioning glance.

I nodded. “I can see where you're coming from, but I can’t relate to it very well; I’ve only ever had one worthy opponent,” I said, clenching my fists slightly.

My employer smiled slightly. “Marcus Ripley, I assume?” he asked rhetorically.

I glared at him. “Marcus is the yin to my yang,” I said darkly. “When I was discharged, he went on to become the perfect soldier. He was honored and respected, and I became an errand boy,” I added regretfully.

The man shushed me gently. “Now, now,” he said reassuringly, “where Marcus has all his military training and awards, you have two qualities he does not: resolve, and a willingness to listen to your gut. Marcus does as he is told and only kills when absolutely necessary, while you follow your own rules and kill anyone who stands in your path. Do you really want to live his life when your own is so free?” he asked with a comforting smile.

I raised an eyebrow. “Normally I would punch somebody for acting so gay,” I said slowly, “but you’re right; I am better than Marcus, and you were right to ask me to do this job instead of him.”

Just then, the sound of footsteps and deep laughter sounded behind me. “Is that really what they told you?” a condescending baritone voice said mockingly. I turned, glaring, at a tall, dark-skinned man in a decorated soldier’s uniform as he strode toward me with confidence in his step. “Clearly our employers are keeping secrets from you,” he added with a smirk.

“Marcus,” I growled through gritted teeth, “what is he doing here?” I asked, quickly turning to face the white-haired man.

The man held up his hands calmingly. “Just a bit of an extra measure,” he said slowly. “My employers figured that it would be best to have the both of you hunting Drayke at once; it would only increase the odds of him being taken out if two hunters were after him,” he explained.

I turned back to my rival. “So, the great Marcus Ripley is reduced to being a gun-for-hire?” I asked teasingly, “What happened to your squadron?”

Marcus stared, unblinkingly. “They were crushed under the rubble of a fallen Equestrian strongpoint nearly three years ago,” he said flatly. “I was the only one strong enough to dig myself out, and I was honorably discharged afterwards.”

I smirked. “So, you’ve taken a contract as an odd job out of boredom?” I inquired, “I thought bounty hunting was ‘beneath you’.”

Marcus shrugged. “Just doing my part for humanity,” he said dismissively. “If Blackwood is a major obstacle for BlackTech, then I’ll do all I can to remove him.”

I frowned and moved in inches from his face. “Drayke Blackwood is my mark. You stay out of this hunt, and let me handle the grown-up work,” I hissed.

Marcus didn’t blink. “I’m more trained than you are,” he shot back coolly. “If you’re the ‘grown up’ in this scenario, then I should have no trouble whatsoever.”

I narrowed my eyes and stared Marcus down for several seconds, before giving him a dismissive wave as I turned to leave. “First one to find him wins,” I called behind me.

“Bonus points if we take him alive?” Marcus inquired with a slight laugh.

I turned back and smirked viciously. “I was thinking the opposite, actually,” I said slowly.

~-~-~-~-~

I stared at the security monitor as I reviewed the footage from Drayke’s attack on the base. They had tried to sneak in using a BlackTech delivery shuttle, but ended up tripping an alarm when they hacked into one of the computer terminals.

“Damn computers,” I mumbled, irritated. Too many people relied on them these days, and BlackTech was the biggest offender. I kept my gaze on the screen, and saw a teenage boy toss a live grenade, blowing the hole in the wall I had commented on earlier.

“That kid is either an idiot,” I said, impressed, “or a genius, and I’d like to see firsthand which one.”

As for Drayke, I got a pretty good assessment of his fighting preference; he liked to lead the charge, acting as a sort of combat cheerleader as he encouraged his allies to keep pushing forward with him. “Alright, so he fights with a team,” I said slowly, “So I’ll have to get him alone.”

After him was another young boy, who seemed to hang back with a sniper rifle. “That’ll cause some trouble,” I noted, “I’ll have to make sure I know where he is at all times.” Right next to him was a girl, a couple of years younger than the sniping boy. She seemed to have a more erratic style of fighting, making it hard to predict her next move. “I always love a good challenge,” I chuckled.

There were three ponies with them, but they wouldn’t be any trouble; with proper preparation, I could set up a trap that would make their magic useless. On top of this, it looked like only one of them even had the capability to use magic, and it was an alicorn! A pony of royalty was hanging out with a rag-tag group of misfits rather than sipping tea in Canterlot.

“I had better get paid extra for her,” I muttered as I shut down the monitor. “I’ve never fought one myself, but I know they aren’t the easiest things to beat.”

I exited the security booth, where my white-haired employer was waiting for me. “Did you find the information you needed?” he inquired kindly.

I nodded. “It will do,” I replied gruffly. “At least I have a good idea of who I’m up against.”

The man nodded, a pleased smile stretching across his face. “Excellent. My superiors will be very pleased to hear this. Speaking of whom,” he added, motioning for me to follow him down the hall, “They wanted me to remind you that if there is anything you may need to assist you in your mission, you only need to ask.”

I nodded. “That’s not necessary at the moment,” I said slowly, “But I will keep your superiors’ offer in mind.”

The man stopped at a sealed door with a keypad, which he quickly tapped at for several moments before it slid open, revealing a darkened room with a table in the center, draped with a white plastic sheet. There was something underneath it, but I couldn’t quite tell what it was.

“Tell me, Victor,” the man asked slowly, “what do you know about androids?”

I shrugged. “Outside of being illegal, not much,” I admitted.

My guide’s creepy smile widened. “Not anymore,” he purred, sliding a finger delicately over the plastic covering. “A bill was recently passed that would allow BlackTech to use autonomous weapons on the condition that they only be activated on Equestrian soil. And now,” he declared, removing the sheet, “We are nearly ready to use them.”

Laying on the table was a horrific thing; it was humanoid in shape, with two arms, legs, and a head, but that was where the similarities ended. It was plated and wired, and shined a glossy black. On it’s head, it wore a large, toothy grin, like a perpetually mocking smile, and had one narrow, eye-like slit on the left side of its face; on the right, a trio of different-sized telescopic lenses. I shuddered at the thing’s unnatural appearance.

“What is this thing?” I asked, my gaze sweeping the table.

The man stared at the android as if he were admiring a piece of art. “A masterpiece, is what this is,” he said softly. “Say hello to Headshot, the first-ever BlackTech android. Of course, we have used this fellow before, keeping its operations tightly under wraps, but he was badly damaged in the last run,” he explained, sounding heartbroken by the android’s current condition. “Soon, however, he will be operational, and can be used to hunt down targets without the need for risking human life.”

I gave the man a suspicious look. “If BlackTech has assassin-androids that they’ve been using under the radar, why are they bothering to hire bounty hunters?” I asked slowly. “Isn’t that just a waste of money?”

The man shrugged. “I do not question my superiors’ wishes,” he replied flatly, “I simply do as I am told. However, if I had to hazard a guess, I would say they want Drayke taken out so badly, they don’t want to wait for Headshot to become operational again; or, more likely, the fact that they already know that Headshot cannot overcome Drayke,” he added ominously.

I raised an eyebrow as the man went on: “Oh, yes, Drayke and Headshot have met before,” he said cleverly, “and it did not go well for either party. Headshot was put out of commission, and Drayke lost many close friends, human and pony alike.”

I clenched my fists. “Why would anyone be willing to work with those… disgusting animals?” I asked, suppressing my anger as best as I could.

“You’ve got me and my superiors on that one,” the man chuckled softly. “Perhaps they are remnants of that ‘brony’ group, as these creatures are remarkably similar to that show, ‘My Little Pony’. Or, maybe they are enemies of prosperity, and would betray their own species to a group of aliens!” he suddenly snapped, but quickly smiled apologetically and recomposed himself. “My apologies,” he said slowly, “I’ve been under quite a bit of stress lately.”

I nodded slowly, slightly more disturbed by this man than before. “Yeah,” I replied uncertainly, “I’m just going to head on out and continue my hunt. Good luck with your… creepy fucking robot,” I added under my breath as I exited the room. Looks like I’ll have to step up my game, I thought certainly, because now I’ve got Marcus hunting for the same mark as me, and every day that passes, that android gets closer to putting me out of the job.