//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 Birth of a beast // Story: PMC's, War Economies, and Fillies? I didn't sign up for this! // by Bronycommander //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Birth of a beast Edward awoke with a groan. Oh, my head…What happened? He tried to remember. Noi, the shutdown…NOI! Getting up and looking around, he found himself in a field hospital. Instead of his Praying Mantis uniform, he wore green and olive drab cargo pants and tactical armor, green long sleeve tactical jackets under his vest as well as a baseball cap, knee pads, neck gaiters, a Com-Tac Ballistic headset and a MBITR transceiver radio. He also wore chest harnesses that contained military glow sticks. It was the uniform of the Pieuvre Armement PMC. It was based in France. Edward heard once that the Pieuvre Armement employed an armed force the size of Canada and Mexico's populations combined, and manufactured 51.5 million firearms per year. In English, Pieuvre Armement meant Octopus Armaments. “So, back from the dead?” a voice asked. Turing to the door, a soldier with the same uniform wearing sunglasses walked in. “How long was I out?” “One or two days…You’re the only one who survived,” The soldier explained. “Where am I?” Edward held his head in pain. “In South America. We are deployed here to fight a local guerrilla group. As you are the only survivor, we thought we made you one of us. A team of medics was deployed shortly after the System went offline. You were very lucky. For the others, the shock was so great that their heart stopped.” “My body…just seized up all the sudden. This isn’t normal. It’s not my joints or muscles.” “But you survived. As you are disconnected, you will be deployed behind the front. And I made a present for you.” The soldier pointed to Edward’s holster. He had two holsters. On the right side was the Makarov, on the left side a GSR. “It’s not ID locked, as the rebels use it too.” “Okay. Who are these rebels?” Edward picked his Mk.17 from the table. “Former soldiers. After a new South American regime was put into power by PMCs, a skirmish broke out with the remnants of the old one. The rebel army they formed is comprised of former soldiers of the national army, who had either been stripped of their ranks or left on their own accord. The vast majority possessed internal Nanomachines, having been in the army when the old regime implemented the SOP system. However, their IDs were expunged from the System following the regime change, forcing them to utilize ‘naked guns,’ although it also resulted in the regime being unable to control their actions as a result. They use PKMs, MAC-10s, G3A3s, sawn-off twin barrel shotguns, C4 explosives, grenades, and LAW rocket launchers. They also utilized GSR pistols as sidearms, similarly to us. In addition, some of them carry G18cs. As uniforms, they wear red berets, DPM and/or leaf camouflaged tactical pants and shirts, leather gloves, green scarves, balaclavas, boots, tactical vests with radios, and oftentimes harnessed with bullet/ammunition belts around their chests. Some of them wear balaclavas and a leg holster.” “Sound like they are better and more experienced then the militia we fought in the Middle East. Finally a challenge. My Name is Edward Smith. You?” “Just call me John. And before you ask, just because this PMC is based in France, doesn’t mean all PMC soldiers are French.” “Okay John, I always wanted to visit South America anyway.” Edward joked as it somehow reminded him when his father told him about his adventures with the Diamond Dogs. His task was to guard a power station that supplied the PMCs encampment. It It was guarded by snipers, mortars, and machine gun turrets. Still, his mind was racing, thinking about Noi. What happened to her? Is she safe? He thought worried. “This is a friend. If you want to see Noi again, find Snake.” His radio buzzed. “Hello? Who is this? Where did you get this frequency?” He asked but got no answer. Could be a trick but Snake could know where Noi is. While on guard, he noticed that some soldiers used M60E4 and M2HB machine guns, while wearing slightly different attire. Also, a few Powered suits were walking past him. They were combat enhancement protective gear developed by AT's Land Systems Department. Because the suits allowed for dynamic activity with only the slightest of movement by the user, these units were suited to carrying and operating heavy artillery and transporting supplies over long distances or through mountainous areas. They were also armed with multi-barrel guns and several missile launch tubes. Only the Pieuvre Armement used those so far. Edward wiped the sweat from his forehead. Phew, it’s hotter than in the Middle East. It made sense to him that Pieuvre Armement troops were the most lightly armored, compared to the other PMCs to reduce the overall weight soldiers must carry in the unforgiving climate of South America. When he was a child, he enjoyed wearing a baseball cap and enjoyed it now. He was wearing no other hat back then. He felt that the oxygen was low at the high-altitudes he was operating, exceeding the limits of his Nanomachines. Yet he wasn’t as aggressive as the other PMC Soldiers. “This is HQ. Patrol, please respond.” His radio buzzed. Edward putted his left hand to his Radio. “Patrol here.” “We need a scout for the Hills, are you available?” “Yes, HQ.” After that, Edward took position on a Hill where he could see everything perfectly. While hearing was not a problem, he had to use Binoculars. “Nothing, nothing, and more nothing. I really could need something exciting.” Edward was bored. “What have we here?” He spotted about 30 rebels on their way to the Power Station. “HQ, HQ.” “This is HQ.” “Scout here. Many rebels are advancing on the Power plant." “Understood. We send a Special Unit.” Special Unit? He wondered. 2 rebels forming the rear are sniped but their comrades don't notice it. Then two in front are killed with very loud sniper Shots. It sounded like a WA 2000. “Sniper!” a rebel yells as suddenly, something flies over them and drops Bombs, killing many. A small creature landed in front of the few survivors. “Let’s Play!” It yells smiling, rushing forward. They fired wildly trying to hit it but it has no effect or missed. Edward couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a Pony! The armor, the latex suit with Kevlar vest and flank protection, the black helmet…Just like in his nightmare. No…can’t be… The pony punched and bucked 2 rebels with great kinetic energy, sending them flying. Two rebels tried to flee in panic but suddenly, one got lifted up and killed his comrade with his rifle before getting crushed. A third rebel lost his nerves and tries to escape. “You can’t escape!” The pony vanished as if would use OctoCamo and reappeared in front of the rebel. He looks in fear at the Pony in grey armor before being killed by P90 bullets. “Who's next?” The Pony asked as it spotted the last rebel whose gun jammed. He cowers in fear as it comes close. “Are you afraid?” The Pony asked in Joy jumping up and down. “W-who are you?” The rebel asked scared. “I am Broken Pony!” She impales him with her tail through his chest, then his stomach. After some struggling he laid down in a puddle of Blood. “Funny, but I am alone again...” Broken Pony sobs as Octopus deactivates her OctoCamo. “No you’re not!” She tickles Broken Pony who broke out in laugher. “Snake will pay!” Broken Pony exclaims before asking in fear, “But we won’t hurt my old friend, right?” “Of course!” Raven says as she landed and places Broken Pony on her back and flies away. “Faster!” Broken Pony exclaims in Joy like a child. Edward stares in shock and disbelief. “N-Noi...no...” He realized that his nightmare had become true.