Broken Worlds: A Sea Of Tears

“What the bloody hell happened here?” I demanded as I leaped from the helicopter that had transported me, which was still hovering a good twenty-five feet above the ground before I exited the craft. There was an assault-class BlackTech attack helicopter crashed nearby, and some of the debris had knocked yet another hole in the already-damaged labor factory.

“Damn horses must love attacking this particular outpost,” I museed as I pushed passed a squad of guards that were rushing out of the base. I grabbed one of them by the shoulder of his exo-suit’s framework and held him back. “What happened here?” I repeated, glaring at the young soldier impatiently. I had been saying this quite a lot lately.

“I’m not sure; I just got here!” he quickly explained. “All I know is that there was a huge blackout and a lot of prisoners escaped. They must have rigged up some kind of EMP that took out all the security systems and exos,” he explained. “We don’t have any security feed that captured anything that happened here over the past four hours.”

I nodded and released the guard. “Back to your squad, soldier,” I ordered, nodding toward his comrades, and he happily obliged.

As I entered the base to search for clues, I couldn’t help but think back to my meeting with the BlackTech CEO earlier that morning. It was such an unnerving experience; if I had ever thought that I thought I could give off a cold vibe, this man was the arctic tundra.

~-~-~-~-~

“Ah, Mister Lars, such a pleasure to finally meet you!”

I squinted to adjust my eyes to the darkness of the CEO’s office; other than a faint light near the doorway, you couldn’t see anything in the deeper areas of the office. “Uh, it’s good to meet you as well, Mister…?” I took a hesitant step forward.

There was a low chuckle. “You can just stay right there, Mister Lars, and you can just call me ‘Boss’; anonymity is one of my greatest assets these days. Nobody in this company, or the city, form that matter, has seen my face or heard my real name, and I would prefer it be kept that way. I can freely walk the streets of this city without fear of being mobbed by paparazzi or captured by Equestrian spies, because nobody recognizes me as the CEO of the most powerful company in the world,” he explained. “Excellent job taking out Drayke Blackwood, by the way; such a masterful execution. I’m excited to see what else you can do for us in the near future.”

I nodded, still trying to scan the darkness for any signs of life or movement. “Thank you, Boss,” I said with uneasy gratitude. “I’m always happy to hear that my employers are pleased by my work.”

My new boss chuckled again. “Don’t bother trying to see anything; my office is outfitted with special gadgets that work via a hybrid of human technology and Equestrian magic. You are currently looking at what I like to call a ‘light shield’,” he said cleverly. “It prevents light from passing through it on one side, making it appear as if there is absolutely nothing there at all. You cannot see me, but I can see you clear as day, Mister Lars.”

I cleared my throat; few people could make me nervous, but something about this guy was way off. There was an icy chill in the room that matched his voice. I knew that he was the only one in the room with me, but I could feel like I was being watched by something else. “Just ‘Victor’ is fine, Boss,” I suggested quietly. What the hell? I thought suddenly, Why am I acting so meek?

The Boss let out another blood-freezing laugh. “I must apologise, for I am a very formal person. I shall indeed refer to you as ‘Victor’ from this point forward. Tell me, have you ever considered being outfitted with one of our Mark-VII exoskeletons?” he inquired, suddenly changing the subject. “I know you don’t need one, what with your already superhuman strength, but it’s just something I would like you to consider; I’m hoping to start production on the latest model soon, once our soldiers get the blueprints back from those filthy equines that stole them,” he added, spitting the word “equine” like it was a sip of spoiled milk.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse your generous offer, sir,” I replied respectfully. “I understand that they provide increased strength, but I find armor to be a bit cumbersome.”

“Ah, I understand,” the Boss said simply. “So be it. You are dismissed, Mister Lars. I have just received word that the BlackTech facility near which you executed your target has been attacked once again; we’ve lost communication, and an attack helicopter was sent to investigate, but it has not reported what the situation is. I want you to supervise the investigation,” he explained stiffly. “Do you have any other questions or concerns?”

I shook my head. “No, sir,” I said dutifully. “I will be off.”

As I left, I lingered in the doorway for just a moment more, as something caught my attention; it could have just been my imagination, or maybe the CEO talking to himself, but I could have sworn I heard… whispering. I shook my head and closed the door, practically sprinting down the halls; I wanted to get as far the hell away from that office as I could.

~-~-~-~-~

I stared grimly at the site that lay before me. “You expect me to believe that a child and a horse butchered an entire squad of BlackTech soldiers?” I said aloud to no one in particular. This couldn’t be possible; they had just broken out of prison, and the soldiers had been equipped with standard issue BlackTech exoskeletons and rifles. How could they have stood any chance?

I scanned the gory scene scrutinizingly, when I found a spark of hope for this mystery: an intact helmet lay at the base of a nearby tree, and I could clearly see the camera mounted on top of it. I pulled out my tablet and plugged it into the helmet cam, fast forwarding the footage to the previous night.

I watched the events that had transpired before the squad had been torn to shreds, and saw the briefest glimpses of their killer; it was just like one of the crystal creatures that had first appeared on Earth little over a year before the Disaster occurred. “I knew the Equestrians were somehow responsible for those, too,” I growled angrily. “Damn horses must use them like guard dogs or something. So why haven’t we seen any of them until now?”

I watched and rewatched the footage again and again, studying every detail I could about the creature. I wasn't planning on picking a fight with it, but I knew it would be a good idea to learn its maneuvers in case I needed to defend myself. I could tell it was angry, the way it slashed wildly with no pattern or strategy. It also seemed to possess some level of camouflage, as it would shimmer in and out of view like a ghost to confuse the soldiers.

After the others had been slain came the part that confused me the most; the creature turned its sights on the escaped prisoner. I heard its deadly, whispering voice utter “die, human,” and then it gave chase. I heard the sound of retreating footsteps, and everything went quiet and still until the camera’s battery ran out, and the video file ended.

“This makes no sense,” I muttered. In annoyance. I didn't like it when things didn't line up. “The creatures work with the horses, and the Resistance fighters work with the horses, but the creatures are attacking the Resistance fighters?”

I stared ahead for a long time. Well, I thought passively, I had better start making good use of those “special privileges”, I thought, reaching for my radio. I may not like working with other people, but then again, this isn't exactly a “person", is it? This is Victor Lars to BlackTech Manufacturing Plant Number Zero-Zero-Nine-Eight. Come in, Zero-Zero-Nine-Eight,” I barked into the communicator. There was some static on the other line, and a human voice spoke.

“Sorry, Mister Lars, we just got the radios back on, so there's probably going to be some interference for a while. Whattya need?”

“Firstly, call me Victor,” I began politely. “Second, there is something in that factory that I need worked on. High-priority, understand?”

There was a pause on the other end. “Uh, if you're talking about what I think you're talking about, then I'm afraid I can't comply,” he said apologetically. “I don't have the necessary clearance to authorize repairs on the Headshot unit.”

I sighed. “Well, I'm giving you the clearance right now,” I replied. “Anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me. Now, get your best technicians on that droid. I don't care what else you engineers are fixing over there; I want the Headshot unit ready for combat in one week!”

I hung up the walkie without another word.