Eden & Echo - A Gritty Cyberpunk Noir Thriller

I was shaken from my reverie as the helicopter landed. The walls were still showing projected images of the world outside.

"Welcome back." GG said, pointing to the gray SUV waiting on the tarmac. A familiar black and brown furred hund leaned against it, his eyes hidden behind a pair of designer sunglasses. "Simon was kind enough to meet us."

I looked over and waved automatically without really thinking about it. He waved back and gestured for me to come over. I dismounted from the helicopter and walked towards him.

"Well hello!" He called out, walking over to meet me halfway. "It seems your aunt has roped me into teaching you how to shoot. She said you were very excited to see the range."

I let out a sigh of annoyance. "She told me it was your idea. Also, I'm a cop now. I know how to shoot."

"I'll be the judge of that." GG cut in, giving Simon a hug. "We've made a little wager."

"How fun. What was the bet?" Simon asked as we got into the back of the gray SUV. André was behind the wheel and Simon took the passenger seat. We took off towards a group of nondescript gray buildings on the far side of the runway.

"If I win GG can't give me any more grief about joining the police and if I lose I owe her a hundred pushups." I explained.

"Sounds interesting. Do you mind if I get in on the action?" Simon asked.

"By all means." GG replied, putting on her best poker face. "Loser does a hundred pushups. What does the winner get?"

"An ice cream cone." Simon answered with an easy smile.

"Why an ice cream cone?" GG asked.

"Because I like ice cream." Simon replied, extending his hand for her to shake on it.

I watched as GG reluctantly shook his hand. She looked unhappy about it for some reason. Simon just kept smiling. The two of them were always trying to one up each other so I was used to seeing them shake on random bets. But this one felt more serious somehow.

I opened my mind and sent a communication request to Simon. Our wetware was different but still compatible enough to run encrypted communications protocols. Neither of us looked augmented but we both had a few tricks up our sleeves.

He accepted and I heard his voice a moment later in my head. He turned to look out the window, his lips not moving as he spoke. He said through the link.

I filled him in on the conversation in the garden and the one from the flight over. I concluded as we pulled into the garage. There were a pair of armed hund security guards with carbines and body armor waiting for us.

I recognized my cousin Vika instantly from her thick brown and white double coat and the almost comical ring of dark fur around each eye that made it look like she was wearing goggles. She also wore the bare minimum when it came to clothing. Most hunds were pretty lax when it came to nudity, but there were limits.

Vika had come down from the Winterlands earlier in the year and did not enjoy the heat. After much arguing they had persuaded her to wear at least a sports bra and shorts when she was on site. When she went out on patrol Vika wore a special coverall with an integrated cooling unit.

Simon explained silently as we got out of the vehicle.

GG looked at us with disgust. "Are you two done talking about me behind my back? Or are we going to get some trigger time?"

Vika ran over and gave me a hug that only came up to my chest. Her thick fur robbed her muscles of any visible definition but she was deceptively fit underneath all that fluff. Eight years in the Sühi Defense Forces had taken natural talent and sharpened it to a fine edge. Usually that much time and experience would have gone to waste as age crept in. But Vika's wetware kept her young.

"Little Cousin!" She shouted happily in Sühi as she lifted me up off the ground and spun in a circle. "It is so good to see you! I am going crazy with nobody to talk to but these juntti!" She let me down and pointed an accusing finger towards her partner, a hund of mixed race with short light tan fur and a docked tail. "Can you believe he has never even seen snow? It is ridiculous!"

He barked with irritation. "Speak hund-katzen, you psychotic dust mop! You're in Espa! Learn the fucking language!"

Vika was unimpressed. "He's stupid too." She said in Sühi. "He still hasn't figured out that I speak hund-katzen better than he can."

"So he's a real juntti after all." I said with a laugh, happy to be around family. Vika’s mother Laura was Grandfather Braverhund's middle daughter. Growing up mixed race in Sühi hadn't been easy. The Sühi were a xenophobic bunch and while Vika could pass for pure blood her sister Aurora came out looking distinctly more Döbian.

Vika had spent her youth kicking the teeth in of anyone stupid enough to say one bad word about her sister. We were the same age but hunds grew up much faster, reaching adulthood at just ten years old. That was why she called me her little cousin. When I was still a child she had been signing up to join the SDF.

Legally I had been considered an adult at ten since hund law wasn't written with human lifespans and development in mind. Which made sense. Before Haven fell, human children had been incredibly rare on Homeworld. From what I was able to gather, Haven severely punished anyone who dared to reproduce without prior permission. Having an unpermitted child was grounds for exile.

I was probably one of those unpermitted children, left on Homeworld to prevent my mother from losing everything. A part of me used to hope that we would be reunited some day, but now all I felt was anger.

Haven had fallen when I was two years old. If their policies on reproduction were my mother's reason for staying away, she should have come for me then. But she didn't. Luckily I had plenty of family here on Homeworld, even if they were covered in fur.

I brushed a few loose bits of Vika's hair off my jacket. "It is good to see you."

Simon tapped me on the shoulder and handed over a black duffle bag made out of some kind of reinforced synthetic fabric. "I was going to wait until tomorrow to give you this but we might as well see how it fits."

I unzipped the bag to see a pair of neatly folded blue police uniforms. Simon smiled. "We couldn't have you going to work on your first day looking anything less than your best. Getting accepted into the police force is a huge achievement and I'm incredibly happy for you."

"Thanks Dad." I said as I hugged him tightly. "I'll make you proud."

He hugged me back, holding on just as tight. "I know you will, my little Hase." He said as he looked at me with a bittersweet expression I couldn't quite place. His face seemed to be torn between the pride of watching me spread my wings to fly and the sorrow of seeing me finally leave the nest.

I fought back tears, finally realizing how much my life was about to change. This was a milestone, a point of no return. Becoming a police officer had been a dream of mine for as long as I could remember. Now that it was finally happening the full weight was hitting me. It wasn't some summer job serving ice cream in the factory cafeteria. This was real adult responsibility, life and death.

"You will always be my little pup, even if you are a big tough police officer now." Simon said, regaining his composure. "So go and get suited up. Vika will show you the locker rooms and armory. I'll meet you on the range."

I hugged him again then took the bag and followed Vika. She looked back and let out a low vocal rumble outside the range of normal human hearing. I didn't quite catch the meaning but it seemed to be a question directed at Simon. He gave the slightest of nods.

***

If you see this story somewhere besides my royal road or Patreon, this story has been stolen. -TheDeliciousMeats Alex Karne