Arrival in Mars
The journey had been going smoothly since departing. There were no debris, space creatures, nor plunderers that interrupted the flight.
Femi was given snacks and had a small screen on the headrest of the seat opposite him to entertain himself. It was to be expected; unlike other classes that had full-course meals, showers, and other luxuries, Femi was in the average people class, hence the average people treatment.
They had been on the journey for 17 hours and 50 minutes. The steward had just announced that they'd be entering Mars' atmosphere soon.
A few moments later, the steward's voice echoed again.
"We've just entered Mars' atmosphere. Brace for landing."
"And everyone, welcome to Mars, the twin of Earth and a planet under Tonic." The warmth of the steward's voice was reassuring.It didn't work on Femi though.
Out of idleness, Femi finally gave in and decided to read the history of Mars.
After the chain reaction, Earth's environment gradually became uninhabitable. A scientist named Tonic created a group of researchers, which began researching ways to move part of the Earth's population to Mars, which, in contrast to Earth, had become one of the new inhabitable planets after the chain reaction occurred.
Over time, 60% of the planet became dangerous for humans to live, and around 40% of the population died. But with the help of new minerals and other resources, the research group was successful in creating blueprints and plans for the migration.
Tonic was also one of the first persons across the galaxy to develop the blueprints for the first spacecraft.
The first batches of humans to move to Mars built advanced infrastructures for people to move in. After a few batches went on a to-and-fro journey, Mars began to grow, creating a new civilization.
The citizens and foreign species that came to the two planets unanimously started calling the union of the two planets or more precisely, that particular solar system "Tonic." After failed attempts to change the name and reduce the fame of Dr. Tonic, the executives of Earth and Mars officially announced it, making Earth and Mars planets under Tonic. Tonic also became an organisation that dealt with technology development.
Tonic's base solar system eventually became one the most flourishing and most populated solar systems.
Femi concluded his short reading session. Through the windows, he could already see Mars' Star-port landing zone. Looking again from the top, he couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the different spaceships parked in the landing zone.
"The SOJE-0801 has successfully landed. All passengers may alight."
Already tired of staying in one place, Femi immediately collected his bag and headed straight to the stairs that led down.
The time zones of every planet and region were different from each other. Femi had left Earth in the morning 23 hours ago; here on Mars, it was also not so far from the morning.
Once again, he was shocked by the infrastructures he saw. Looking at the main building confirmed the popular statement that said: Mars is 100% more advanced and technical than Earth. That was to be expected since Mars was safer than earth, leaving Mars to be the more investable planet.
Mars was also the planet with the most continent and also the most populated.
The main building of the port had an irregular hexagon shape. The way the building was built was captivating. Unlike Earth, the main building was connected to every building that was adjacent to it.
Femi walked through a corridor near the main building that led straight to the car park. The cars parked there were more advanced and cooler than the average ones on Earth.
Femi couldn't afford the crazy prices of the star-port hotel, so he and his old man had already scouted beforehand, finding a nice cost-friendly hotel. After hours of research, they found one at Tonic's Statue Park which satisfied Femi's internal being.
Femi went to a taxi stop, and when he saw the taxi, he had assumed it was a government official who had pulled up for some reason. The body of the car was well-framed, the glasses were tinted black, the thrusters were more fitted than the previous taxi, and while hovering, there were glowing lights that helped signify it was floating.
"Please, your destination, sir," the driver said.
Femi was surprised by the beautifully colored dashboard that he forgot to talk.
"Tonic's Statue Park."
Tonic Statue Park was a big car park that had a metal sculpture of Dr. Tonic, the main cause of the migration, mounted in the middle. It was built by the government.
"Alright, please use your seatbelt."
The car seemed to be faster than the previous taxi, but because of the number of people who used hover cars on Mars, the ride took a while.
Nevertheless, Femi found the short ride interesting. He saw different advanced and irregularly shaped buildings and the latest models of hovers. He didn't know much about technology, but he was still amazed by how much there was to see. His interest in exploration was beyond normal.
Before reaching his destination, Femi could have sworn that the statue park would be populated, but it wasn't, probably because it was near a government-reserved area (GRA). Only food stands that served snacks to very few interested workers of the building complexes around the area were arranged in a straight line at one corner of the park.
Even those food stands were not so attractive. Most food stands nowadays sell snacks that existed before the chain reaction. A lot more ingredients had been discovered over the years, and the food made with newly discovered ingredients and creature meats were not something to laugh about.
After alighting in Tonic's Statue car park, Femi's mouth salivated from the multiple food stands that were in the park, and he decided to get a bite before lodging in the hotel. Unlike most, Femi had a soft spot for food from the old civilization.
Tonic's Statue Park was rectangular in shape. At the longer two sides were the entrances of the park, and at the shorter sides were the irregular-shaped buildings stretched into the distance. Those buildings were part of a commercial complex.
Oblivious to Femi, who was approaching the stands, there was a commotion happening at the opposite side of the park.
"Don't lose him," a man's voice sounded from the complex at the left of the statue.
"At the end of the day, you'll always lose me."
A figure wearing a hood, hiding his facial appearance, with a one-armed backpack in his hand, appeared from the complex with five men dressed in uniforms, seemingly the city's police chasing him.
"He's going towards the park, sir," one of the men closest to the hooded figure yelled.
"Noted. Rush him! We must not lose him in an open space!" another man responded.
"Too late, I'm already close to my bi-" the figure said as he glanced back at his chasers. Turning to look forward, he saw his path was obstructed by someone.
"Shit, what the?" The figure couldn't control his body and dodge. Closing in on Femi, he hit Femi, who was crossing the park and moving towards the food stand.
"Pay attention godamnit!" the figure yelled at Femi.
"Heyy! Watch it!" Femi said as he looked down at what hit him. Although the figure hit Femi, it was Femi who stood while the figure fell.
~Huff Huff~
The figure's breathing was so loud, Femi heard, signifying how the figure's stamina was drained.
"Tsk. You were the one walking slowly in the middle of a damn park!" The figure's stressed and annoyed voice traveled through the park.
"He fell!" The pursuers had already caught up, approached the figure, and pinned him down.
"Don't let him escape again," the pursuers' boss was the last to reach the figure, and he was already sweating buckets before he got there. His stamina was disgustingly bad compared to his juniors.
"Huh, my bad?" Femi tilted his head a little, unsure of the situation that had just unfolded.
"I don't need your apology, you androgynous-looking bast-" The officers cuffed the figure, leaving him to realize that he had actually been caught.
"Young master, you've caused us enough trouble this week," the boss said before instructing the other officers to bring the figure along.
"Androgynous, save me, get me out of here, help me get away from these fuckers! You caused this y'know!" The figure struggled as he was about to be carried away from the park, his fate unknown.
As the figure struggled, Femi saw the beautiful blue eyes of the figure and once again, tilted his head to the opposite side.
"Young master, please mind your speech," the boss was clearly tired. The chase seemed to have lasted at least 20 minutes.
"Uh, you bald fatty. What'd you mean I should mind my speech?"
The officer carrying the figure called for support, so holding the figure down and shutting him up would be easier.
"Ah, sorry for the troubles, kid." The fatty said to Femi as he left the park.
After looking at the hooded figure with a tilted head for a while, Femi walked from his position towards one of the food stands and decided to get sugar-coated fruits.
"Oi Old woman, do you understand what just happened? You don't look shocked," Femi asked the owner of the stand. His curiosity was piqued.
"Hehe, that young boy seems to cause a lot of trouble. He usually runs here once in a while to get his hover bike that is usually parked somewhere here."
As she saw Femi looking through the park, she chuckled, then added:
"Hoho, you won't find it that easily. He hides the bike well and parks it at random spots. Hehe. What a sinister kid he is. Truly amusing…"
The old woman explained how common the situation was, how everyone around Tonic's Statue Park area and some people in the GRA were used to the commotion the hooded figure usually caused.
Throughout the explanation, Femi thought, 'for someone living such a carefree life, why was his eyes more hollow than mine. Anyways, I guess he is one…'
His holographic screen had changed its text to: [Associate with that person.] His next decision has been made based on that text.
"Heh heh, I'll help him then. He's interesting," Femi said as he gobbled the last of the fruit and headed towards the direction they took the hooded fellow.
"Ah ah. Youths nowadays are having loads of fun."
That was the only response the old woman could say after Femi's weird comment.