Shadow Enforcers

-Scales of Justice-

-The year is 2025. The world powers have fallen into political anarchy, and private militaries of the world powers fighting for control over certain territories all over the Earth. A super-weapon created by the North Korean government was deployed to gain the upper hand in a long, protracted battle against the United States. But as they prepared to fire, the power core ruptured, destroying the upper half of North Korea. But the destruction of the weapon also enabled a side effect. The fabric of space was weakened and allowed for tears to occur across the world. The world powers ceased their fighting and signed a treaty of peace, albeit, a very tenuous peace in order to study these tears. Upon the researching of these tears, it was learned that they led to varying "dimensions" or worlds that branched of via these tears or "conduits". A small science team made up of seven different countries all agreed that another war was inevitable and that something had to be done to maintain a balance in protecting the sanctity of the other worlds that may be on the other side. Together, they created the armor of men and women that would act as police, soldiers, and defenders, a group who could not be corrupted by the political machinations of the world powers. They would be a beacon in the night, a light to shine the way for the innocents, and defender who would strike at an enemy that sought to bring chaos to a balance of order and justice from the shadows. They are…The Shadow Enforcers.-

Shadow Enforcer-1 stood on a balcony overlooking a class of new recruits that had just come in. Next to him was one of the scientists that had work on the weapons and power systems of the Shadow Enforcer armor. The class had about twenty people in it, everyone in it from different countries. The scientist in question standing next to Shadow Enforcer-1 was a man that went by the name of Dr. Stephen Petrovski from Romania. He was proud of the work that the Shadow Enforcers had thus far accomplished.

Dr. Petrovski looked down at the instructor of the new recruits. "I never thought he would do so well as a classroom instructor, comrade. I pegged him as a front line warrior."

Shadow Enforcer-1 smiled under his helmet. "Shadow Tachyon-1 is probably the best person to explain the dangers of what we face. Sometimes, we have to make very tough choices in situations where ethics play a role. That is what separates us from the warring powers." Shadow Enforcer-1 knew about this all do well. As did his friend, Tachyon-1. Both Dr. Petrovski and Shadow Enforcer-1 listened in on the lesson.

"As Shadow Enforcers, we are bound by strict code. This code came into being after the tears were determined to have led to other worlds." Tachyon walked over to a window overlooking a training ground. "This code is both the laws we enforce, and the ethics that guide us. We are the last hope of justice and defense in a world where money and power are crushing the powerless." His eyeslat flashed red as it scanned the area. "And we are the defense of the other worlds to prevent the war of our world from spilling over into theirs."

The recruits were listening intently, taking in every word that this seasoned veteran of the Shadow Enforcers was saying.

"But you didn't come here to hear me spout our code. I'll leave that boring stuff to Gamma-3." The smart remark was not lost on the recruits. They all laughed as he moved towards the table where a set of armor was laying out as an example. He placed his hand on the armor. "This is the armor of the Shadow Enforcers." He picked up the helmet. "Infrared scanning, ultraviolet detection and other varying vision modes that we are still upgrading to this day. You will learn to read data with one eye and vision signatures with the other. Secondary on-board computer virtual interface also occupies this part of the armor." Tachyon-1 picked up the chestplate. "Power core placement is set in the center of the chestplate, protected by several shielding units to prevent damage to and from the neutron core housed within. Believe me when I tell you it would take more than a howitzer to the chest to rupture the power core. Also housed within is the main processor for the onboard computer." He put the chestplate down and picked up the gauntlet. "The gauntlet houses a small "torpedo" launcher for those of you who remember Star Trek. And yes, that technology came true. We were even able to create the ammunition called Tri-Cobalt, highly destructive and used as a last resort." He put the gauntlet down and moved around to the front of the desk. "All of this you see is very high profile and top secret. And I have only scratched the surface. But what I can tell you is this." He walked back over to the window, looking outside. "Make no mistake and have no illusions. There is going to come a time in your life as a Shadow Enforcer where you will be left with no choice. When your enemy will give you no other option to save those you're protecting. The only other option to protect people and eliminate the threat is to engage what we call the Critical Mass." He heard the silence from the students and saw their expressions. They knew this was serious. "The Critical Mass unlocks the safeties of the neutron core and sets it for overload. It unleashes a massive energy discharge that shorts out our armor and erases the memory of the computer in the armor. The blast radius is often only two miles. At the same time, it shorts out our cybernetic connections we have to our armor." He stops to let the students take in the information before he speaks again. "Only two Shadow Enforcers have ever had to use the Critical Mass. They didn't survive; regardless of the odds the scientists tell you and how good they are you'll survive. And now those two are two of our most honored of the Shadow Enforcers." He turned to look at the students. "This is what we are. And, at times, it's what we have to do. Class dismissed."

The students quietly stood and headed for their next class.

Shadow Enforcer-1 slammed his fist into the upper left of his chestplate. He teleported down, standing next to his old student. "Do you really believe everything you told them, Tachyon?" He asked.

Tachyon-1 continued to look outside. "Why hide the truth, sir? We live a dangerous life. It doesn't always end in happy endings."

Shadow Enforcer-1 took off his helmet. The pressure locks disengaging and a soft hiss escaping the seal. "Sean, you can't keep blaming yourself for Angela's death. It wasn't your fault. I know you loved her."

Tachyon looked over at his commanding officer, his eyes narrowing beneath his helmet. "It's every bit my fault, commander. I should not have left her behind to disarm that bomb. I knew it was a trap but I had to follow her orders like a good little soldier." He looked away. "Her death wasn't worth the cost."

Shadow Enforcer-1 had tried many times to convince Tachyon-1 that Angel-1 wouldn't have wanted Derringer to be captured despite her own life. A decision that he hoped no one else would have to go through again. He shook his head slowly. Maybe someday Tachyon-1 would be able to put her memory to rest, if nothing else, for his own sake. "You're up for patrol. Take your time and try to do some scans of any more tears you find."

Tachyon-1 nodded. "Yessir."

-Later that night in Sector Zeta-Niner-Alpha-

The patrol had been a rather quiet one. But in this part of the city, the anarchists seemed to avoid, mostly because the Shadow Enforcer presence was heavier here because of a few of the embassies. There was, in fact, a new tear that had appeared down an alleyway. Tachyon-1 was scanning the tear, trying to determine where it led to. The scans always took a few minutes. He leaned against a wall as the computer compiled the readings it obtained. Tachyon-1 looked behind him as his sensors detected a faint energy signature. It was there, and then it was gone again. It happened two other times during the five minutes. Something felt wrong. He readied his gauntlet's torpedo launcher but was taken off guard by a powerful pulse blast that originated from a garbage can not far away. The blast threw Tachyon-1 through the tear which sealed itself behind him. His sensors shorted out and caused a feedback on his secondary armor systems. He was now blind to what was happening and only realized he had stopped when he landed hard on the ground. The impact from the fall rendered him unconscious.

Several hours had passed as Tachyon-1 came to. He groaned as his eyes opened. The display in his helmet was reading 'System Rebooting'. 'Great.' He thought to himself. He waited, somewhat patiently, for the system diagnostic to finish. The readouts came back: 'Power core: nominal. Sensors: nominal. Weapon system: nominal. Unit: online.' As the vision display activated and the visor focused, Tachyon-1 was finally able to see where he was. He stood up and looked around at his surroundings. "Jesus Christ…" he said in awe at what he saw. He was standing on the outskirts of what looked like a titanium city. He hid behind a large rock when he saw what looked like a male and female walking towards his direction. As he zoomed in with his helmet, he noticed that they were metallic. Like robots. No, not robots. They were talking and laughing, holding hands. These were sentient machines, very close to AI. But by the looks of it, very far beyond it. They were acting human. He didn't know how to classify them. Their entire form was metal. The female type much cleaner than the male type. Possibly the females of this place were cared for much differently than the males. From what he surmised, the males looked to be like a labor type being. The females were held in a higher regard. Tachyon-1 looked down at himself. Well…he was as close as he was going to get to looking like them. But he would have to be careful. He came out from behind the rock and slowly moved towards the city. He kept his hands at his side and approached the two. He would have to let them make the first moves. As he got closer, the female looked at him and seemed to stop and take a step behind the male, as if hiding behind him. The male though made no attempts to back down.

The male stopped him. "You are a ways away from the battle line, warrior."

Tachyon-1 noticed they used dual encryption to "speak". It sounded almost empty if not heard and seen together. He adjusted to compensate the computer. "I was…damaged in the fighting. I've lost the use of my geographical positioning system."

The female seemed to be less worried now as she seemed to recognize him as a defender of their people. "Then, it's a good thing your return protocols brought you back for repairs. You had best hurry back. There are threats that the Machnars are going to make a push on the city firewalls."

This was not good. Tachyon-1 landed in the middle of a war between two peoples. He would have to contact Shadow Enforcer-1 about this if he could. "Perhaps you can give me directions to the repair stations."

The male nodded. "Follow the lights to Sector 2. From there, go to subsector 2c. That will lead you to the repair stations."

Tachyon-1 nodded slowly. "Thank you. Have a good day."

The city was a sight to behold. Such innovation was beautiful. The more Tachyon-1 saw the sights of the city, the more he saw, the more the whole thing looked like a painting, something out of George Orwell's novels. As he neared what he thought was Sector 2, he noticed a massive structure, something that looked like a palace. He was caught off guard as a feminine voice spoke.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The hooded woman spoke.

Tachyon-1 turned to find one of the female robot-type people standing next to him. She kept under a fabric cloak but her form was distinguishable. She was beautiful. "It is." He had to think quickly. "I just wish I could access my data files to tell me if I had been here before."

"You're one of the warriors, aren't you?" She asked, almost nervously.

"I suppose I am. But why does everyone seem nervous to ask me that?" He was sure any one of these warriors who were damaged would ask that.

"Damaged warriors are always a risk. But you seem to be in order." She seemed to know a lot about warrior units of this world. She turned her head as she heard a 'There she is!' coming up behind her. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

He noticed the change in her behavior and heard the words coming from the alley. "Get behind me." He grabbed her arm. As he did, her hood fell off her head. He noticed she was different from the other females. She had crystals like a tiara on her head and some gold parts to her skin. Mostly around the eyeliner area on her lips.

The warrior units running up the alley drew their weapons. "Get away from the Princess, rogue unit!"

'Oh shit…' Tachyon-1 thought. He slammed his fist into the upper right of his chestplate, charging his gauntlet. "I had no idea who this was." He tried to tell them.

"Please, listen to him, I started talking to him!" The princess shouted back.

"Princess, get behind us so we can take you back home." The leader of these units commanded.

"How dare you…" The Princess was actually getting indignant with these warriors. As the warrior grabbed her, she tried to pull away. "Let me go!"

Tachyon-1 watched what was happening. He was facing a very tough choice. He closed his eyes as he made his decision. 'Fuck it…' He decided. He grabbed the arm of the warrior and twisted it, forcing him to release the Princess. He spun around and slammed his charged fist into the face of another warrior, sparks flying everywhere. He returned his focus to the first warrior and slammed his fist into his chestplate, sending him flying. But soon, four more warriors showed up and jammed some kind of electro-staff into his sides. He shuddered violently and collapsed to the ground. The last thing he heard was the Princess screaming for the warriors to stop and acted as a barrier between them. Soon after, the armor's systems began shutting down to prevent critical failure of the power core and processors. The world soon went black as he passed out.