Harvested

Several hours later, Vert was jostled awake as he felt the truck lurch to a stop. On top of him, Hunter stirred, the pain in his tail having dulled to a numbness that resurged with Vert shifting beneath him.

“We’re here?” Hunter asked. “What time is it?”

“A little past one in the morning,” Vert answered, checking his phone. “Cell service isn’t too good here, wherever this is.”

They snapped to silence as they heard the cargo door to the truck shuffle open, followed by the sound of footsteps outside the crate.

“You see, this is why we need these security checks,” a male voice said. Hunter’s eyes widened as he suddenly felt a strong grip on the tip of his tail.

“We’re screwed, Vert,” the cheetah hissed in a whisper. The crate door clicked as it was unlatched, the panel sliding aside, where the blinding white beam of a flashlight burned itself into Hunter’s retina. His eyes snapped closed as he thrust his foot out, striking the one holding the light in the chin. The inspector, a brown bear, staggered back, the flashlight falling to the floor along with him.

Hunter and Vert wasted no time fleeing the cargo truck, stepping out into the night. They were stopped on a narrow gravel road surrounded by dense deciduous forest. In front of the truck towards the edge of the road was a tiny wooden guard tower, a wire mesh gate stretching across the path to block any vehicles from going further. The air was crisp and fireflies glinted along the tree line.

Hunter and Vert faced the two who had loaded the crates—a cougar and an opossum. The opossum had a radio in his claws, ready to activate it.

“You’re not gonna wanna do that,” Vert warned, holding his paw up defensively. But with the click of the radio dial he was soon sprawled out on the ground unconscious, Vert having delivered a powerful kangaroo kick to his torso. The radio clattered out of his grip as Hunter rounded on the cougar, who snarled at the cheetah. With unexpected speed, the cougar swiped at the air in front of Hunter, causing him to step back just in time for his attacker’s claws to slice a clean gash through his golden suit.

“Hey this was expensive!” Hunter protested, but the cat came at him again, forcing Hunter to duck and weave to avoid getting a similar slash across his face. Keeping his footing light, the cougar shuffled closer with a flurry of hooks and crosses. But as another swipe grazed Hunter’s whiskers, the cheetah slid forwards, clipping his arm up under the cougar’s shoulder and dragging him backwards, applying more and more pressure to his throat as the cougar slumped to the ground.

“Well that’s great,” Hunter said, wringing out the soreness in his tail. “We’re out in the middle of the forest, with three unconscious Harvest employees. I suppose we could take the truck back to the city and dump it somewhere—”

“No!” Vert exclaimed. “We’re so close this time, Hunter. The key to stopping Brighton and his drones could be just down this road.”

“Or we can wander these woods for an hour before we find anything. We can think of a plan for all this later when we know what we’re getting into.”

Suddenly, they heard the rev of an engine as headlights rolled up the road behind them. Shielding their eyes, they could make out the silhouette of a sedan that was more angles than anything else. The passenger window rolled down, and a friendly pink paw waved at them before Rosa Amaranth opened the door and stepped out. Vert’s ears went back in relief as he rushed over to embrace his girlfriend, his snout snuggling the top of her head.

“You found us,” he said, his eyes closed.

“It wasn’t too hard,” the leopard responded. Behind them, the engine sound died as Lavender shut off the car, stepping out along with Cerulean, who was clutching a pile of clothes. The others had since changed into their standard armor, and Hunter graciously took his leather jacket and gray sweatpants.

“Get dressed,” Lavender said to Vert, who took his forest green tunic. A minute later, the two were freshly changed, Vert strapping his machete to his hip and slinging his quiver over his shoulder, his bow snapping over it. Meanwhile, Hunter had strapped on the sheath of his golden sword, and before long the team were fully armed and refreshed.

“You have no idea how frustrating it was getting the car back from the valet when it’s reserved in your name,” Lavender chided to Hunter.

“According to satellite imagery,” Rosa explained, looking down at her phone, “there’s a massive facility in the valley just down this road. It may be Harvest’s drone storage complex.”

“I knew it,” Vert said. “We have to see what’s inside.”

“Better make it quick before these fine gentlemen wake up,” Lavender said, gesturing towards the Harvest employees sprawled on the ground. Hunter examined them, collecting their security clearance cards from their ID badges.

“We’ll need these,” he said before scaling the wire mesh fence. A minute later he was up and over, dropping lightly down to the other side. The team, finally reunited, got to work preparing to infiltrate the facility, with Lavender hiding the rental sedan further down the street they had come. Meanwhile, Vert smashed the radios of the Harvest employees to ensure they wouldn’t be able to contact help. To top it off, Cerulean disconnected a spark plug from the cargo truck’s engine and Rosa cut off power to the guard tower, erasing the security camera footage. And after each scaling the fence, the five rushed down the gravel road towards the facility.

---

A half hour later, the team reached the crest of a hill on the forest’s edge, overlooking a massive quarry. At the bottom of the valley was a lake, divided by a wide dam that connected to a series of steel buildings and towers. Giant spotlights illuminated the area, and they read a large billboard on the entrance structure that glowed with the hexagonal design of Harvest’s logo.

“It appears to be a carbon mining operation,” Hunter noted. “The drone that we saw at the gala was mostly titanium and carbon fiber.”

“This must be where they make them then,” Vert said. “We’ve found their hive. Come on, let’s get in there and put a stop to this.” As the roo prepared to head down the hill, Lavender’s paw shot out and grabbed his arm.

“Hold on,” she said cautiously. “There’s something off about this place.”

“How so?” Rosa asked.

“I’m not sure, it’s like a static in the air. I don’t trust it.”

“I can’t feel anything,” Hunter said.

“Maybe it’s just nerves,” Vert dismissed, shrugging her off him. “I’m not waiting.” And with that he bounded down the hill, heading towards the entrance. Not wanting him to get into trouble, Hunter and Rosa soon followed, but Cerulean was hesitant. As he passed by Lavender, their eyes met, and something in the fox’s gaze told her he believed her.

The bottom of the hill led to the facility’s main entrance, and being so early in the morning meant staffing was sparse, making it easier for them to get inside with no resistance. Using the security cards they’d looted from the truck crew, they were safely inside. The front lobby was a small space with white tiles and an empty welcome desk, and several hallways branched off leading to other departments. According to the facility layout on the wall, the industrial sector was across the quarry beyond the dam, with the carbon harvesting operations being handled deep under the earth at the structure’s base.

“Hunter and I will worry about shutting off the mining,” Vert explained. “Rosa, you, Ceru, and Lavender will find their database where all their invention blueprints will be stored. We need to find these things’ weakness.” Together they headed down the main corridor, a long passageway lined with dim lights and glass windows that overlooked the entire quarry. Moonlight glinted off the water far below them as they made their way in silence to a lift at the opposite end where more hallways branched off. The lift slid open, Vert and Hunter stepping inside. But before the doors could close, Hunter offered one of the security cards to Lavender.

“Please be safe,” he said to the trio staying behind. “We won’t separate again after this.” Lavender smirked back at him.

“I’ve taken pretty good care of these two so far I think,” she said, slipping the card into her pocket. “Don’t let him get you killed.” She flicked her nose towards Vert. He was about to protest when the lift doors closed, cutting him off as Hunter pushed the button to bring them all the way to Level Zero. With no windows inside the lift, Vert and Hunter were left with only each other, anxiety spiking in the roo as he was once again relying on a dangerous criminal to care for his best friends.

“You really think they’re alright with her?” he asked, raising an eyebrow towards Hunter

“I’ll admit I’ve only known Lavender about as long as I’ve known you,” Hunter explained. “But she’s got just as much reason to hate the Empire as I have.”

“That still doesn’t mean she won’t cut a deal with them as soon as things go south for us.”

“You think things won’t work out?”

Vert shrugged his shoulders in frustration. “I just, can’t stand not being able to see how things are going for them. Not knowing if they messed up or need my help. Maron made me the leader of our Spectrum Squadron for a reason. They’re my responsibility. Even more so now that he’s dead.” Hunter placed a paw on the kangaroo’s shoulder.

“Being a leader also means trusting your team to follow through on their end of the plan without you sometimes. If you spend all your time controlling them, that doesn’t make you a leader, it makes you a boss.”

“Oh and you know all about being a leader is that it?” Vert shot back. “You spent your whole life worrying about yourself and not getting involved in anything.”

“True, but I also lived under the Empire’s control firsthand. You’re a spoiled kid whose parents couldn’t handle his attitude, so they shipped you off to the most prestigious school in the country to teach you discipline. And I know you haven’t seen a fraction of what I’ve seen. We’re risking a lot by just playing it by ear all the time. You can’t expect everyone to just go along with your orders just because you’re the leader if you’re putting everyone in needless risk. And that’s exactly where we’re at right now.”

They felt the lift slow to a stop, and with a hiss the doors slid open. They were met with a small prep room, with gas masks and protective neon yellow coats hanging on racks. Examining the supplies, Hunter slipped a mask over his face.

“I can’t imagine having a job wearing one of these,” he said, his breath fogging up the plastic screen. As Vert slung his own mask on, it barely being able to accommodate his long snout, he began to wonder exactly what he was getting them into. And as the automatic doors in front of them slid open, they were suddenly blasted with an intense, heavy heat and steam that engulfed their vision. A second later, a piercing alarm cut through the hiss and clang of the machinery.

---

Back on the surface, Rosa, Lavender, and Cerulean pounded up a flight of concrete stairs, the deafening alarm seeming louder and louder as they climbed. After splitting off with the others, they had run into a night patrol, and though they’d managed to fend them off, one of the Harvest employees had activated the facility’s alert system. And now it was a race to reach the command tower where Rosa had learned all their most important information was kept.

From a side door on one of the platforms emerged a Harvest security guard, a large moose dressed in the white, green, and orange jumpsuit that matched his company’s logo. Igniting his electrobaton, he rushed up the flight after the trio. Lavender, who had taken up the rear to cover their flank, stopped to face him, whipping out her twin sais just as the baton came down heavily towards her. And though her blades were able to absorb some of the impact, the moose’s heavy attack broke her stance, staggering her.

The security guard took another swing at the skunk, this time aiming for her head, but she ducked just in time. Shifting her weight forwards, Lavender hopped down two steps, getting herself level with the moose and wrapping her large tail around his waist, surprising him. As she ensnared him, he lashed out with his baton once more. Too close to duck, Lavender threw her all her weight into him, the force knocking him backwards and causing the two to tumble down the stairs until collapsing on the landing.

Dazed, Lavender shook the stars out of her vision and sat up, wasting no time pulling herself to her feet to continue the climb to the command tower. But as she took the first step up the stairs, a strong hoof clamped down on her tail, yanking her back, causing her to bite her tongue. Looking over her shoulder, she growled at the moose before unclipping a potion bottle from the leather strap across her chest. Taking a deep breath, she slammed the bottle to the floor with all her strength, the volatile concoction igniting in an enormous lime green cloud that engulfed the landing. The moose gasped for air, the shock allowing Lavender to slip her tail free and flee up the stairs.

At the top, Rosa and Cerulean had reached the doorway to the command tower, but were unable to enter without a security clearance.

“Lavender has the pass card,” Rosa said, anxiety in her voice.

“I’m here,” the skunk said, rushing up the stairs behind them. From below, telltale green fumes from her potion wafted upwards, causing their noses to wrinkle.

“Oh man that smells nasty,” Cerulean commented, pulling his blue cloak up to his snout.

“That’s the idea,” Lavender said flatly, taking out the security card and holding it to the scanner. With a beep and the flash of a green LED, the door clicked open, allowing the three to access the tower. Inside was a long control panel in front of a wide panoramic window overlooking the quarry. Towards the horizon the river narrowed before being engulfed in the dense forest beyond. Wasting no time, Rosa rushed over to the control panel and activated its holographic screen.

“Find the files on the Complacency Drone,” Cerulean said.

“I know,” Rosa answered flicking him a raised eyebrow. Turning her attention back to the screen, her eyes narrowed. “Apparently the drones were designed within the past year and are being rushed to production.”

“I know,” Rosa answered flicking him a raised eyebrow. Turning her attention back to the screen, her eyes narrowed. “Apparently the drones were designed within the past year and are being rushed to production.”

“This computer’s organizing system is a mess,” Rosa complained, scowling. “Zip files are just thrown all over the home screen, but I should be able to send myself a copy of everything they have on the drone.”

Suddenly, the blaring alarm ceased, the entire facility going quiet. Nervously, Cerulean looked around while Lavender made her way towards the window.

“Something’s not right,” she said, narrowing her eyes. A second later, every light in the command tower went out, the computer going blank, as if all the power had been cut.

“No!” Rosa exclaimed. “I wasn’t finished transferring everything.” A static energy soon filled the room, causing the trio’s fur to stand on end.

“What’s that from?” Cerulean asked, his voice more nervous than ever. Backing away from the window, Lavender’s heart dropped as she heard a tinny whine, like something charging up. Her eyes widened as realization hit her, her ears flattening.

“We have to leave right now!” But she wasn’t quick enough, and an intense, electrified pulse surged through the floor, lightning flowing up through their feet in a brief, excruciating jolt that instantly dropped them to the floor with a hard thud.

As they lay disoriented and groaning, Harvest security flooded the command tower, led by a dhole with glistening red and gold fur, dressed in a white technical jumpsuit, orange and green stripes adorning the sleeves. A bar code badge printed on his left lapel denoted his rank as the commander. Graciously, he stepped over to the intruders, their breaths labored with exhaustion. When he spoke he was gentle but firm, a wispiness in his deep voice.

“As you have undoubtedly learned we have an extensive array of defensive measures all across this facility, and the electro-floors are some of our most proud developments. Harvest is a security technology firm after all. I am Security Director Rust Burrows, and you three are now in my custody.” The dhole made his way to the window, his claws clasped behind his back while the other Harvest security pulled Rosa, Cerulean, and Lavender to their feet. One genet guard retrieved the pass card from Lavender and handed it to Director Burrows.

“Ah yes, we shall need to reevaluate our card clearances with more secure details going forwards,” he commented. “It is an unfortunate oversight that you three were able to gain access to the facility with such ease. It is my understanding there were three stolen passes, were there not?”

“This is the only one we could find, sir,” the genet said. Director Burrows’ eyes squinted, contemplating. Turning around to face the three prisoners, he raised his eyebrow, curious.

“The reports detailed the assailants were two stowaways from the gala. A yellow cheetah and a green marsupial if I recall. Where are they, I wonder?” Rust turned back to the control panel and rebooted the system, eventually pulling up a three-dimensional layout of the Harvest facility.

“Fortunately, our pass cards are equipped with a homing microchip and can be located in the event an employee misplaces them. Let’s find our missing cards, shall we?” Initiating the scan, represented in a red beam of light that swept down the map in a square plane, pass cards began indicating their presence through yellow dots all across the facility. Eventually, the beam reached the bottom, a room deep underground, where two more dots illuminated.

“How peculiar,” Rust said. “Personnel are only to access the carbon extraction chamber in specially requested operations.” Shutting off the map, Rust turned back to stare directly at Lavender, his gaze burning directly into her. “I believe we’ve found them.”

---

“I can see why nobody is down here,” Hunter commented through his mask, carefully making his way across the catwalks that zigzagged in a grid pattern across the vast chamber. They were suspended over a magma chamber far below, golden light from the flowing material distorted by the searing heat. Further along, Vert had reached a maintenance platform for one of the hydraulic pillars, an intimidating iron pump that collected and purified the carbon from the molten rock.

“Ugh!” Vert threw up his arms in frustration. “I can’t figure out what all these switches are for.”

“That’s what happens when you don’t know what you’re getting into,” Hunter retorted. “And I’m not going back up there to find a manual.”

“I really don’t need this from you right now.” As they bickered, the alarm, mostly drowned out by the steam, suddenly cut off, Hunter looking up towards the dark ceiling far above them.

“Do you hear that?” he asked.

“Hard to hear anything with the machines going.” The roo wouldn’t look at him. A moment later, the entire carbon mining processes shut off in an instant, the machines going silent, with only the occasional hiss as pockets of steam escaped.

“What did you do?” Hunter asked.

“What? Nothing! Everything’s just off for some reason.” From the silence the whirring of machines started up, and soon the hydraulic pumps began again as if nothing had happened. Hunter and Vert stood still, unsure of what had happened.

They were snapped out of their stupor when the metal catwalks suspended over the molten pools of carbon started folding away from each other, the two scrambling to grab hold of the railings as the platforms rotated.

“Why would you need this?” Hunter exclaimed. They clung with all their strength as the catwalks stopped on their axis, where there was once a walkway was a ninety degree drop straight down. The heat and steam made it difficult to keep their paw pads from losing their grip, but fortunately they were able to use the lower railings as footholds.

“The hall where we came in is just down that way,” Vert pointed. “We can make it!” But as he hopped up onto the railing, the catwalks jolted, followed by a new mechanical noise, not dissimilar to the hydraulics of the pumps, but not completely identical. Slowly, the catwalks began to descend, getting ever closer to the lava at the base of the facility.

“Better make it quick,” Hunter urged, grasping Vert’s paw as he hauled him up to the railing.

“It’s not too far,” Vert said, eyeing the platform where the entrance was. Shuffling his feet and swaying his tail to maintain his balance, the kangaroo inched towards their escape. But while Vert had experiences with ledges, Hunter was not as stable and slipped, landing on the railing with his chest, his arms and legs gripping it with all his strength as he shimmied forwards.

By the time Vert finally reached the edge, the catwalk had sunk below the platform, and he was forced to take a flying leap just as the tip of the railing passed by. Turning back to look, Hunter was too far below to reach.

“Hunter, you need to stand up, you’re gonna be too far down!” Vert called. The cheetah’s fur frizzed as the steam grew thicker around him, his mask completely fogged. Ignoring the urge to continue clinging to the railing with his eyes tightly shut, he forced himself to his feet. Above him, Vert had laid on his stomach and held his arms down.

“Jump now! I’ll catch you!” he called.

“Uh huh, right,” Hunter said, shaking in his voice.

“Do it! Jump as high as you can!”

Swallowing phlegm building in his throat, the cheetah locked his gaze on Vert’s outstretched paws. A second later, his feet left the railing, slipping slightly as he launched himself forwards. And while he fell just short, the roo clamped his grip down into the paw he was able to grasp at the last second, the cheetah dangling precariously as the catwalk was now fully out of reach, the bottom of it nearing the pools of lava.

“Hunter, you’re slipping!” Vert cried through his gas mask. With his free paw, Hunter clawed into Vert’s arm, the kangaroo wincing in pain as his friend pulled himself upwards. When he was far enough, Vert threw himself backwards, where both of them collapsed onto the platform.

Dragging themselves to their feet, Vert used his pass card on the door, glad they had survived. But awaiting on the other side was a squad of Harvest security, and in no time they were captured. It was a long, silent trip back to the surface.

---

It was late the next morning when Vert awoke in a small roomed lined with carbon fiber walls. A few dim orange lights dotted the ceiling. He vaguely remembered being led there after being taken in by Harvest staff, but he’d been so exhausted he hadn’t had time to focus. His bow and machete were gone, along with the gas mask he had taken from the carbon harvesting chamber. A single glass of water rested on a pullout tray in the wall. Not long later, the door to his cell slid open with a brisk whoosh, a single familiar figure stepping in, his pristine silver antlers reflecting golden in the light.

“I’m surprised to see you of all people here, Mr. Vert Greene,” Brighton Shade II said. “I give you an invitation to an extremely prestigious gala, and this is how you repay me? By breaking into a federally protected secret facility? Guess no good deed does go unpunished.”

“Your Complacency Drones have killed people,” Vert spat, refusing to stand to face him. Brighton placed a hoof to his chin quizzically.

“I have not heard of any supposed deaths due to my drones, they’re still in the testing phases after all.”

“We found a piece of your drone next to a dead body in the Powder District.”

“We do have special classified authorization to test in various environments. Now I could be persuaded to ignore this, what will surely be recognized as a felony charge if it were made public, if you help me just a bit more with our testing.” Vert’s eyes narrowed into a scowl.

“What kind of test?”

“A simple training exercise. You and your team are quite impressive, much more competent than those undesirables I paid to raid the Five Diamonds National Bank last week.”

“You hired them to rob the bank!?” Vert blurted. “They almost killed you.”

“They wouldn’t have, but they sure were convincing weren’t they?”

“A security guard ended up in the hospital because of that!”

Brighton clasped his hooves together. “All the more reason we should replace security personnel with my drones. A machine is much easier to let into danger than a person. That’s all I want, a nation where nobody has to fear. My drones will make us all safer.”

“And I’m supposed to believe this is all from the good of your heart? You certainly won’t use the drones to make your own judgement calls on who gets to be seen as a criminal or not.”

“Criminals are the only ones who have to fear them. Question is, are you a criminal?” Brighton looked around the room. “You seem to be on your way, but you still have a choice. Better not waste it, most criminals don’t get the choice.” Vert looked right into the stag’s eyes, savoring every second in defying him, before taking a deep sigh.

“What’s the test?”