A call to Arms
It was the day before the weekend. The fan buzzed above me, barely taking away the heat under my suit shirt. But I had worked in this job as a bank clerk for a year now so I was used to it. I looked at the time piece, 2 minutes until work is over and I can get pissed with my mates at the tap. I dipped my fountain pen in to the ink and continued filling out the paperwork. It was a boring job but it paid. If I did it long enough I might get promoted to something that got paid a bit more. The bell rang signalling it was time to go, I stood up from my desk and walked with my colleagues to the pigeon holes. As usual our pay waited in envelopes. I slid mine into my shirt pocket. Then I walked through the bank and stepped out of the waiting room into the sun and sand of the planet Arala.
"Where you going Bruce?" Sebastian asked, he was a fellow clerk at the bank, and a mate of mine, but we were all mates here.
"To the tap mate, where else?" I could tell he wasn't coming, he was going the opposite direction.
"Sorry mate, my miss's doesn't want me getting pissed. Seeing there's a little ankle biter crawling around. See you later." I nodded to him and waved, then we went our separate ways. He was now a hard working father and chief clerk of the bank. I walked along the red sandy roads, seeing as my suburb is in the outskirts of Mooro. We didn't have the concrete roads like the inner city. Horse carts moved on the road with the very occasional car. The sun was setting, giving the whole place a blueish hue on the red sky, and it felt a bit cooler but sill very humid. I finally reached the tap, it was a well known corner pub. Like always I was the first one in. And thus I had to buy the first shout.
The place smelt of alcohol and durry, with shouting, laughing and various sounds from the radio on the counter. Round wooden tables stained with sauce and pastry, with a dash of grog scattered about. But we each had a spot, me and my mates near the till.
"What will it be today Bruce?" Eli asked, he was a local celebrity, as he ran the place. He lifted up 5 glasses, revealing his poor quality cybernetic arm. Something he received during his service in the guard. He was out of the few to retire as an imperial guardsman, but he gladly accepted it when it came up.
"Only four glasses mate, Sebastian can't make it." Eli nodded and took one glass off the bar, he then readied for my choice. It was either swan gold or swan lager, since lager was stronger I first went for that, but Ross might need to drive home. Fuck it, I want something strong.
"Shout of Lager mate." He then quickly went to work with the left tap, filling them all up within under a minute. I took them to the table, and waited. It wasn't long before a group of factory workers walked in, one of them being my mate Lance. He worked in the train and car factories. His tanned skin had splotches of black, and his hands where still stained with grease.
"How's it sleeping under cars Lance?" We both smiled, and he sat down, he then took a long sip of the piss then placed it right off the coster. Lance was like the most of us lean and skinny, he had brown hair and eyes and was clean shaven.
"How's stealing money and doodling by yourself wanker?" We then continued to talk about our day in the planet of the Aralaian workforce. I asked him about the custom made car he working on in his back shed with his dad.
"Hey mates. Got something for you lot?" A hand was placed on our shoulders, with the smell of promethium and coal on it. The hand belonged to Bolin, he was descended from an off world family and worked with his brother at the East Mooro power station. I could see his twin brother brother Zhixen at another table with some of the power station workers. They were both lanky with exotic skin and black hair.
"What is it mate?" Louis asked as he took another sip of his lager, Bolin took a gulp of his then went to speak.
"Now who's ready for the weekend mates." Before he could answer Ross put his ass in the seat, with his apron still covered in blood. Ross worked in the abattoir's, he isn't that smart but fucking hell he could mark. We're all in the same footy club. We come here every time we get a chance, and I met most of these mates in school. We even go swimming in the river occasionally. Ross was the tallest, short hair and scrappy beard with the speed of a roo, and could jump just as high.
"Well as I was saying, at the factory some of the diggers came in. They told us about how the 2nd AIF was calling for men to sign up. Here they handed out some leaflets." He took three leaflets out of his backpack, and scattered them on the table. The Aralian Imperial force, or shortened to the AIF, as they are known, was only formed in times of need. The front cover showed an AIF member in a heroic pose. He was holding the planetary flag in one hand, a las-rifle in the other and was standing on a dead xenos. Backed up by a few more diggers. All of them had massive muscles and clean skin. It then had in big words 'The Emperor Calls. Fight for the Imperium.'
"What, are we supposed to look like we bench press cattle…is that part of the requirements?" Bolin joked, it got a chuckle out of us all. We where skinny and lean, all the days of sport made us reasonably fit. Especially compared to the upper class poms. But the men on the cover looked like they had muscles on their muscles.
"Well it says here 'Travel to exotic worlds. Fight for the god emperor. Glory of service awaits.' Ha, I don't know if it's lying or it's telling the bloody truth." Ross read out on the next page, we continued mocking flier and talking about the various quotes. One thing that our planet was proud of was the Aralian Imperial Force. The story is of the men and woman of the planet who rushed to the imperium's help when enemies started to get really aggressive. Eli, my mum and dad where some of those legends, not to mention some of my friends family members. I was happy to follow in their footsteps.
"Mates…I'm not that drunk and I am not mad… I think, but I feel we should join." Lance then showed the page of recruitment stations, and planted it on the table, they stopped. I couldn't help agree with him. Maybe it was the patriotism, or the fact my dad and mum were diggers…or maybe just the piss.
"Lance, You're not even old enough, the only reason Eli let's us drink here is because he doesn't give a shit." I questioned, but I could tell he was being fucking serious, I wasn't old enough either.
"You know, he's fucking right…We should all join together. Go off into the galaxy, see something different for once. Lance if you're going, I'm going with you. Wait, I will ask Zhixen if he wants to come as well." Bolin then left the table and wandered over to his brother.
"If you're going then I'm coming too." Ross said, he then decided to stand up quickly almost knocking the table over, and spilling our drinks.
"You bloody dumb ass…Wait, what about Sebastion?" That was a good point, he had a wife and child now, should we ask him? But seeing that he hasn't been out for the last few weeks, it may be putting him on the spot. It didn't help that his dad was also a digger, but he didn't come home.
"Hey how about we ask Eli and see what he thinks?" I then raised my hand and waved Eli to come to us, he weaved between the patrons and then stopped at our table.
"What? You already downed your bloody grog?" Lance showed him the flier, the barman adjusted his glasses, he then smiled slightly.
"You know, this happened to me 23 years ago. Just like you lot, young and ready to rush off with my mates when the call came…your parents were some of them. I served in the 11th regiment, line infantry with lasrifle and bayonet. We where in a campaign involving the assault of a planet from heretics. We were in bloody trenches going nearly metres from the enemy, I lost some good mates. But they died for a reason. Bruce, your dad was a legend, yours too Ross, and Sebastian's dad was one of the ballsiest men ever. I'm not going to stop you, the imperium needs men like you lot, and I say you may go out kill for the lord, but you may die for him…Now is that all you need." He had the voice of a veteran, and the missing arm to show for it but he lightened up at the end, well now we have a second opinion. I didn't think it was a good idea to ask my parents.
"Yeah I'd like a top up please Eli." Like a fucking dumb ass, Ross just kills the mood like that, I think we should still do it and they all agree.
"Zhixen said he will join, and he will bring the mates. What did Eli say?" Bolin then sat down, he missed the story as Eli was already walking back to the bar with an empty glass.
"Eli basically said go at your own bloody risk so we're still going?" Lance said to the immigrant as he helped himself to another skull of piss and some nuts he just pulled out of nowhere.
"Mates if my mother finds out I am joining, she will hunt me down through the ranks, grab me by my ear and pull me ALL THE WAY back home." My mother was very protective of me, unlike my dad who would encourage me calling me 'brave' and 'manly'.
"Apart from Bruce being such a mummies boy, I say we meet at the Kaleep recruiting station at 2:00 tomorrow arvo, and we all sign up to go into the same group." Lance suggested I agreed with Lance. We then continued to hammer ourselves two hours into the afternoon. We dispersed and headed home for the day. As I had to go in the same direction as Ross, we supported each other. As we staggered up the road Ross slurred.
"Hey Bruce…What about Sebastian? We can't just leave him." I must have forgotten after the 5th shout, but what can we do about it. Can we?
