The F.O.X. Project

Chapter 16: A lost friend

Max closed in on Macropolis. Flying over the shield wall and past the jumbles of mass housing in the outer districts.

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'So, what did you do before, well, this?' Crystal asked.
'I was...' Trent sighed, 'I was a super soldier in the first Light Wars. We were retreating, running, for the BiCopter and I was shot, in the leg.' He paused, 'and DCC left me to die.'
Trent decided that that was his backstory, leaving out a lot of the things that lead him to this point and the mistakes he had made.
Crystal had stopped talking and was staring at the floor, deciding whether she should regret asking the question. The background noise was drowned out by the thoughtful silence between them.

The tram travelled down into the sub-levels of Macropolis. Cables hung in tangled messes between mass housing blocks and the streets between the towers of concrete housing units were littered with damaged equipment, vehicles, litter and broken housing units that had fallen off of the main stacks. They then cleared the housing areas and were travelling across an open plain of endocryte. Stretching on and on, the skyline of Macropolis surrounded them, the bases of the tower blocks shrouded in low clouds.

The next station slid into view. As the doors opened Trent saw someone step onto it that he recognised but forgot the name of, or he had never known their name in the first place. The guy walked through the crowd and sat next to him. That's when it clicked. Trent felt a chill run down his spine. This was the bounty hunter out to kill them.

'I have to give you respect.' Max started, 'nobody has stayed away from me for this long and this easily.'
'Thanks?' Trent replied.
'I am only licensed to kill humans anyway so I can't kill you even if I wanted to. My name is Max and you seem to be cool. So I was wandering if you maybe... wanted to be allies.'
'I mean we could probably use the help.' Trent agreed.
Great. Now we have to drag a human along with us. Crystal thought.
Again there was silence as the Monoway ran down the levels of the city to the dockyards.

'You know... I used to be a furry once.' Max explained. 'Someone who loves people like you, before you were a thing. You know that's what people are calling humans turned into Anthros on the streets. There aren't many though, just a few hundred. DCC thought it was easier to take the reconstructed DNA from those few Furries like you Trent and use it to make the species from scratch. Creating life. I think it's really exciting that Furries are real but I've been so caught up in surviving I haven't actually talked to one.'
'So that's what DCC are doing.' Crystal contemplated.
'Yea. My best friend was a Furry too. But he was in France at the time of the Light Wars and I still don't know if he's even alive.'

Now Trent felt that they had a bit of responsibility.
'Well wherever he his, we can find him. To start with you could try searching his name up in the database. What was it?'
'Kris but I've tried searching that up.'
'Well we are heading to Pacifico, maybe the Nova Corp could help you.'

Max felt the tugging urge to get off the tram right there and then. Think. This could be the key to finding my friend again. That idea of reunion excited him.
The tram stopped in a tunnel with a small platform to the right of the vehicle. The doors opened and the three disembarked into the dimly lit platform, several levels from the busy streets and shop facades of the surface.

They walked alongside an under-level river, approaching a small fishing port.
The wooden jetties protruded from the concrete pathways at all sorts of angles with small fishing boats strung together in a manmade cove just off of the river. Onwards, the tunnel opened out with sunlight blazing in through the opening.
Trent, Crystal and Max approached an old man by the chandlers,
'Hi, we're looking for a passage to Pacifico.' Trent told him.
'I'm your guy.'
'How much?'
'Ash told us that passage for Anthros was free so no charge.'
'Great! When do we leave?' Crystal asked.
'Wait a second. He's not an Anthro.' The old man stated, pointing at Max.
'How much for him?' Trent asked.
'50. Fixed rates.'
'Fine.' Trent handed him the money and the old man led them to one of the larger fishing boats. 'Better than 150.'

They all climbed aboard and the old man headed up a tiny set of stairs to a raised steering cabin. The engines rumbled and the trawler drove out of the dock and down the tunnel to the open ocean.
The skyline of Macropolis stretched out behind them in greys and blacks, checkered with yellow and white lights.

Trent and Max sat down on the lower deck while Crystal stayed above deck to watch the scenery.
'Do you know what The FOX Project is?' Max asked.
'All I know about it is it's the reason that I am an Anthro.'
'You were meant to be the next generation of super soldiers. That backfired quite spectacularly.' Max explained.
'Now only the Nova Corporation uses Anthros as soldiers. The Nova Corporation is mostly made up of Anthros as a sort of rebellion. That's why Crystal and I are headed there.'
'Are you and Crystal... erm... you know,' Max asked.
'Since Anthros don't really experience love, no. We're friends.'
'Ok.'
Trent got up and walked up onto the main deck where he saw Crystal admiring the shrinking city, just a few spikes on the horizon.

'The Nova Corporation will help us fight against DCC.' Trent told Crystal
'I hope so.'
They stared at the horizon in thoughtful silence.
'Did you actually mean it when you said that you will help Max find is friend?' Crystal asked
'Yes. I think we can.'

Little did they know, they were being watched, and had been for some time. A winged shadow with bioluminescent markings watched them from the trawler's mast. It spread its wings and flew off in the direction of Pacifico, high enough in the sky to just look like a freighter on its long journey to a different country.

Max met Crystal and Trent on the top deck and the three stared at the growing mountain ranges in the distance. The Eye of Vanet.