"Over a century ago, we paid for our future in blood. Every bullet fired, every bomb dropped, every tank, aircraft and warship which had unleashed its weapons and anger was a declaration to the universe. There is no power that can not be shattered by our collective will, no enemy that will deny us our destiny, no cause too great that human flesh and human steel will not rise to meet it." - High Marshal Natasha Fox
December 16, 2304. Military Calendar.
GTU Outer Rim, Rodina System, Novaya Moskva. 10:00
The hill was Darren Winford's favorite spot on the entire planet. Admittedly, he was only 14 so he hadn't seen very much of Rodina yet, but it was still his favorite. It overlooked the entire spaceport, and it was just covered in those flowers that made the big puffy floating seeds. The gas bags hardly ever came by it either, but Dad still insisted he carry his pellet pistol, just in case.
As the boy made his way along the winding path that led to his hill, he watched a wing-like aerodrone swoop lazily overhead. It looked like one of the drones Mom said the surveyors used to scout unexplored regions of the planet, but this one was a lot sleeker and nicer. The engines sounded different too. That didn't surprise Darren much: there had been a lot of new ships and shuttles coming to the spaceport in the past few weeks. Dad said it was because they have found an alien artifact, preparering the planet for a possible invasion so lots of other people arrived. Darren hoped they were nice.
It wasn't until he began the steep climb that led to the top of the hill that he realized something was different. Normally only kids came out here, grown ups were always too busy doing boring stuff to come play. But there was a grownup there today, already waiting for him. Not just any grownup, but a soldier!
Darren didn't like soldiers much. Mom and Dad promised the people at the Commissariat were actually really nice and that they were here to protect him, but Darren still didn't like them. The glowing red eyes and blank faces of their helmets were really scary! He had nightmares sometimes about accidentally wandering into an area that was off-limits and being shot by the red-eyed metal monsters just like the security signs said would happen to trespassers. But this soldier was different!
Instead of glowing eyes and a scary mask, they wore a huge suit of armor that made them look sort of like a knight from a fantasy book. The armor was painted in jagged green patterns that matched the long grass around it, and in their hands the soldier carried the biggest gun Darren had ever seen. He doubted he'd even be able to lift it, though he knew if he tried he'd be in for a spanking. Guns were responsibilities, not toys. Kids were only allowed to use pellet pistols. Recognition dawned as he stared at the soldier.
"Hey! I know you! My older brother has a hologram of you on his side of our room! Your armor is grey in the holo though..." Darren's voice faded as he realized what he'd done. You weren't supposed to bother soldiers when they were on duty, that would get you in trouble.
"Right gear, kid, but different girl," replied the figure, their distorted voice not sounding overly concerned about the breech of protocol. "You're cleared to go up if you want, but the peashooter has to stay here. Promise, you aren't gonna need that today."
He nodded and pulled out his pistol, handing it carefully to the armored soldier. The worst it could do was give someone a painful welt, of course, but Mom had always told him to treat every weapon as though it were loaded and lethal. She said it was a good habit. The towering sentinel accepted it silently, nodding as he slipped past to trot the rest of the way up the hill.
There was someone there too, a silver-haired man dressed in some kind of black uniform with red highlights and hard plates across the legs, chest, and arms. His face was pockmarked with small scars from something, and his thin body stood impossibly straight. His brown eyes flicked toward Darren only once as he approached, and the boy was struck with the strangest sensation that he'd seen the man somewhere before.
"Good afternoon," he said, surveying the settlement below with a critical gaze. "Don't you have chores to do?"
Darren sighed. Adults always asked that! But it would be rude to show his annoyance, so he just bowed his head respectfully the way he was supposed to when talking to teachers or other important grownups.
"I finished them already, sir," the boy explained calmly. "My parents said I could go play when I was done."
"I see." The man's head turned to regard the child hawkishly. "You were born on this colony, correct?"
"Yes sir. Mom-I mean, my mother earned her Citizenship doing military service on Terra. After that, she and my father moved here to settle down."
"It's a big change, coming to a world like this from Terra."
"I've never been to Terra, sir. Is it really as wonderful as they say?"
"It's beautiful," said the man, turning his head back to the settlement below.
Darren wasn't sure how it could be beautiful than Rodina, but it would be rude to doubt the stranger. He decided to change the subject instead.
"My parents said new people were probably going to be coming soon. Are you moving here?"
The tall man chuckled and smiled, the first happy expression the boy had seen him make.
"Indeed I am. I suppose you could say I'm looking for a place to build my house."
"Oh! You know, you probably don't have to do that," Darren supplied helpfully. "Settlers I've talked to was assigned a living zone when they showed up. If you asked, I'm sure they could find you one too!"
This made the man laugh again, and Darren frowned in confusion. He hadn't said anything funny, had he?
"Do you come up here often?" asked the man once he'd finished chuckling. The boy brightened immediately: this was a topic he understood!
"Oh yes! This is my favorite place on the whole planet! I come up here whenever I can, and so do a lot of other kids. It's really fun, watch!" He brushed his hand across a nearby plant, sending fluffy seeds flying in all directions. "See? It's so cool!"
"Yes, it is," agreed the man in that strange tone grown-ups liked to use whenever Darren tried to show them something interesting. Adults were so weird. He resolved never to become one. "Very well, I think I've seen enough."
"You're leaving, sir?" asked Darren, trying to hide his relief. He'd have felt really weird about trying to play with the tall thin man just standing around watching.
"I'm afraid so. I have work to do." The armored soldier from before appeared a moment later, along with five others Darren hadn't even noticed. The man obviously knew them though, and he nodded in greeting. "This site is no good. I'd rather not give every hostile within 10 clicks a clear line of fire to base. We're moving on. We'll survey Site Gamma next."
"As you wish, Commissar General," said the soldier Darren had spoken to earlier with a nod, before turning to hand him his pellet pistol back. "This is well-maintained, kid. Keep up that kind of hard work, and you might just make Citizen some day."
Before Darren could reply, a blocky shuttle swooped down with a roar. The boy had never seen one quite like it: the normal shuttles were a lot bigger and nimble. As it touched down, its thrusters sending clouds of feathery seeds flying in all directions, the doors opened to reveal yet more of the metal giants. They slid aside to let the tall man through, and the other soldiers climbed in immediately afterward.
As the shuttle blasted back into the air with deafening rumble, Darren fought to keep his grin off his face. He still wasn't sure who those people were, but he was sure of one thing: his older brother was going to be so jealous!