The F.O.X. Project

Chapter 17: Pacifico

The large trawler manoeuvred clumsily through the jagged circle of mountain peaks marking the edge of the Eye. A mountain of scaffolding lay in a huge cove on the inner ring of mountains, shooting up out of an agitated sea.

The cove was calm and the boat carefully glided into port. Several boats were scattered about within the half-built warehouses and dry docks.

Stepping off the trawler Max, Trent and Crystal were blasted with cold, salty air. The newly built decks creaked and Herring Gulls flew in loops around the scaffolding covered buildings.
The old man climbed down from the bridge and stepped off onto the dock before them. Trent looked around, there were Anthros everywhere. Pacifico is the main  base for the Nova Corporation and a refuge for all
Anthros that have escaped from DCC. Ninety-seven per cent of Pacifico's population are Anthropomorphic.

They walked down a sweeping avenue from the dock and up a hill to a pristine iron gate held in place with two marble pillars. The road led along a cliff side to a huge white mansion on the side of the sheer rock face.
A red Chevy Impala drove up to the roundabout just through the gates and a black fennec Fox with red and orange hair, gloves and socks (not literal hair, gloves and socks but those sorts of areas) walked up to the gate and opened it to greet them.
'Ah, they told me you were coming.'
'Who's they?' Crystal asked.
'My name is Ash. What can I do for you?'
Max noticed a vague familiarity in his voice. Like he'd heard it before. Maybe someone he'd passed on the street.
'We're looking to join you, we are escapees from the Server.' Trent stated.
'Well we could use the help. Come with me.'
The four got into the Impala and Ash drove them down the winding cliff side driveway to the mansion.
'We need to first disconnect you all from DCCs hive mind and connect it to ours so that we can communicate with you. That's also how our security systems detect someone who isn't who they seem. Max, you can come with me and we can do some customs the old fashioned way.
'Whoopee...' Max replied with great sarcasm.
The car pulled to a stop in an underground car park and two guards escorted Crystal and Trent down one corridor and Max went with Ash down another.

♦️ ♦️ ♦️

Crystal and Trent were lead down a small white corridor to a door with a radiation warning, telling them not to go in if the machine is active. Trent wandered what machine it was talking about.
The room had a large machine which looked a bit like an MRI scanner. They scanned Trent and Crystal one at a time, Crystal went first.

'Huh,' the Fox Anthro operating the scanner remarked, 'looks like this Anthro is connected to a completely different hive mind.'
'What?' The director thought he had heard the wrong thing, 'there isn't any other hive mind. Only the NC's and DCC's.'
'Shall I reconnect this one anyway?'
'Well we have to.'
Crystal yelped as her brain was recalibrated to the NC's hive mind, connecting her to the Internet-like complex of the Nova Corporation's information matrix.

She got out of the machine and Trent got in.
'Anything different with this one?'
'Nope.'
'Reconnecting.'
Powerful waves of pain flowed through his body and flashing images entered and exited his mind like a slideshow;
A hospital.
The Server.
An abandoned factory complex.
A white box truck.
An indescribable shadow.
A humanoid with glowing markings in the dark.
A strange shape orbited by a shield of debris.

Getting up his mind swung back and forth, almost making him loose his balance. He shook his head and walked out of the room with Crystal to try and find Ash again.

                         ♦️  ♦️  ♦️

Max followed Ash through the gleaming, white corridors. Customs had just been done and Max was being lead to his room, which he would be sharing with Trent and Crystal.
'Here's the room,' Ash pointed to a pair of double doors. 'I need to go find Trent  and Crystal.'
Just then they turned the corner.
'Oh there you are.' Ash exclaimed, 'your room is here, meet us at the Board Room tomorrow, enjoy your stay at Pacifico.' With that he walks off.

'Shall we see what our room looks like?' Asked Max.
'Why not.' Answered Crystal as they pushed open the doors, revealing a large, modern but minimal apartment with a kitchen, a living room with a large three-person sofa opposite a large television and a bedroom with a small single bed for Max and a large bunk bed for Trent and Crystal.

'This is nice!' Trent said, exploring the open space and running around in circles.
'The ceiling is quite high up too,' mentioned Crystal, jumping up several meters and just barely scraping the ceiling with her paw.

'So what do you want to do?' Asks Max, watching Trent and Crystal jump and run around with boundless energy.
'Well, I did some research on Pacifico and the official website and it says it has a great Japanese cafe just a few miles from here.' Answers Trent.
'Miles!!??'
'Don't worry, one of us can carry you if you want.' Crystal says laughing.
'Are you serious? Yes!'
'Only half but if you want.'
Trent was barely able to hold himself upright he was laughing so hard.
'What's funny now?' Enquired Max.
'Ooh, nothing, I can already see the looks of confusion on peoples faces hehehehehe.'
'Well if we leave now it's five o'clock so we'll be there by dinner time.' Crystal says.
'Alright.' Trent agrees, 'who's carrying Max?'
'Eh, I'll do it.'
'Ok.'

They walk down to the front door from their room and exit the mansion.
'Ok, hop on and hold tight.' Crystal orders.
Max climbs onto Crystal's back and clings onto her fur. Trent resumes chuckling.
A few seconds later they are off, running at a brisk but careful thirty-five miles an hour down the drive and out onto the city streets, and they did get some strange looks from Anthros walking on the street.