The intercom of our family cell switched on with the brazen voice of a commander, "scout 306 present yourself in hanger four in ten."
My older brother Ivan who slept in the upper bunk bed awoke, "careful if they send you to Alpha or Bravo. The watchtowers there have reported rebel movement for the past three cycles." In a lazy voice he wished me good luck as I suited up.
It took me five minutes to wear the uniform, a simple worn-out suit barely disgtinguishable from the other scouts. Contrary to Ivan's outfit, it was pristine with the unique emblem of a spear etched on his right shoulder. The mark of valedictorian of his generation, a symbol of his potential future of either becoming a commander or going off world.
Another five minutes went as I made my way through the colony. The steel hallyways of the colony echoed with the hum of machines and murmurs of workers. Rust clung to every surface and dim lights gave off a sickly orange hue. As I passed, fellow colonists nodded in recognition. I've made a name for myself enough to be given the position of a rider through the support of the colony-especially after aiding a patrol unit in a skirmish.
I made it to hanger 3 on time and a docker was waiting for me. Dockers consist of either the very old and very young. The old timers handled vehicle maintenance and mineral transport. The children-normally below ten, help the soldiers don their power armor.
The docker was a little boy named Henry and with a serious face took my hand to guide me to his workshop. The yells of frustrated mechanics arguing with the dockers resonated through the hanger. One of the new soldiers complained of the lack of integrity in his suit. A common mistake done within the recruits, their squad leader assigned that suit specifically to him now until he was promoted. A lesson we all learn in the colony, survive with what your given or ask for worse. Fortunately after eight years of obeying commands I'm awarded with a power suit. By all means it was standard and barely passed for military grade yet one benefit separated it, energy shield. It could take on two or three hits before collapsing but in the snow desert of Herio, that could be the difference between life and death.
At the dockers workshop the armor was suspended and a opening on its back for the user to get in was being pryed open by two other dockers. The children were steadfast in their work and hurried further when seeing my arrival. Not due out of fear of getting yelled at but the implications that my mission for the day could be assisting their mother, father, siblings in a conflict.
"Rider 305, the suit is ready and shield is fully charged. Please step in, we'll have your weapon soon. Magi, Victor fetch it! I can suit him up myself."
Once in front of me I stepped inside the suit and guided my right hand in to balance myself. As soon as the implant in my left arm would enter the power suit, it would hum to life. The implant was basic and an obligation all inhabitants of the colonies weared to identify and use government property. Placing my left arm inside the hud of the helmet turned on revealing my scout number and a briefing on the mission. While I read it, Henry closed the back of the suit with drills.
Watchtower duty, thankfully it was at tower ember. The least amount of conflict happened within it's perimeter and I was being joined by four others. Henry was drilling the suit shut behind me. "Whats the mission Nico?" he asked, his voice tight.
"Nothing to worry about Henry just routine tower duty."
"Where at?"
"Ember."
He exhaled a breathe of relief, Henry's father normally mines in the Ember region. The fact I was stationed there meant I would be the first to arrive, in case his crew needed support and I had made a name for myself. I never backed out due to fear. In my eyes the colony was my family and we take care of our own. After reviewing the squad I was put in I asked Henry what he knew, "have any insights to were Victoria was assigned?"
"Aye, Bruno said his mother was part of her crew and they're headed to Bravo."
My stomach sank,"Bravo? Isn't that the region reporting rebel movement?"
Henry the ever the polite child tried to lift my mood, "there's five patrol units and three scout units backed by the riders at their tower. No one's going to slip past them. The empire wants to cut down on the rebels heists for minerals."
I nodded in confirmation, "alright then, I checked the suit's diagnostics its ready. Where did the kids run off to for my gun?"
Henry sighed, "sorry about that their new to the power suits and still get frighten when holding a drill, imagine what they'll feel when holding a rifle," he jumped of the ladder he used for drilling. "Wait here I'll get them before my supervisor rips me a new one."
He ran in the direction of the armory and I checked that my implant was working fine. Besides the identity chip it keeps my blood warm as it courses through the veins around my body. If a hole were to be made in the suit this implant would stop any possibility of getting a frostbite-although the discomfort of the cold would remain.
A miniute passed and Henry came back sprinting with the rifle, a Mac AK. Standard issue. Cheap and most importantly reliable in the endless winter storm of Herio. "Everything is ready Nico the mechanics have your hover cycle fully charged at bay five. Safe journey."
"Safe journey Henry."
With the power suit assisting my pace I jogged to bay five knowing how late I was. There a lonely hover cycle with a mechanic at the side remained. Margaret spoke with her usual cigarette in her mouth with a raspy voice, "eh finally, I got work to do. Your squad left go after them their going at a slow pace." She left to work on a beat up rover bothered by my lateness and her break ending.
The hover cycle was bulky-heavily armoured and built to double as cover when needed. Dark gray with hints of deep blue for camouflage. Being a rider in the colony was not a position to be envious of. But for me, the feeling of becoming one with the bike and the environment was enough to kill for. Few things kept me from leaving the colony and only one desire made me yearn for the barren wasteland. The hover cycle made for the colonies was slow and lacked the modern tech of the known universe but in my hands it was all I wanted to have in my possession.
I started its engine and heard it's energy filled engine hum throughout the bike. It hovered inches off the ground when on, perfect for any terrain. The display showed it's energy tank and speed. Other than that, it had connections to recharge the magazines for the Mac AK. Majority of weapons were energy based and the colony only allowed two magazines per soldier which each had 100-200 laser bullets. The amount one could shoot depended on the attachments a person had for their gun. However I only had two, a scope and a mod for stability.
Maneuvering the bike out of the hanger required little effort other then squirming my way through the vehicles and rovers that fought to enter or leave while on a deadline. Outside however was a different stroy, one would forget the confining spaces and rambling voices of the colony. Out here the gray clouded sky rained down its ash covered snow and the only sound was of cold winds ringing against the chassis of the hover cycle.
Going at 120 mph through the snow I caught up with the others. Three were younger then me, with the oldest being no older then sixteen. Our squad leader is Juno, a veteran in her thirties who answers with grunts when she can. For a leader she was calm and collected. When I got in formation she said nothing and raised her speed.
Mounts of snow hills passed us with the stone concrete watchtower appearing in the distance. As we closed the distance the squad stationed there awaited at the bottom of the tower.
"Juno you old hunk of stone what took you so long."
Unbothered by the other squad leader she grunted and made herself inside were she could relax. Their squad mumbled curses non of which they meant for we all knew that at the end of the day only the riders could support one another.
They left soon after, one of the members of my squad spoke, "who's guarding and who's patrolling."
All three of them looked towards me not due to being the oldest but for my reputation of taking care of the youth in the colony. "Brian takes first guard I'll patrol till Juno decides to replace me or send someone else."
Patrolling required two things, good eyes and decent understanding of the land. Knowing where could possible enemies be hidden or perched. Being able to see tracks before their covered up by the snow whilst taking notes on the few changes of the landscape. All skills I learned to survive on Heiro as a rider and soldier. Once I understood the basics I found myself enjoying the ride. Sometimes, the snow storm would ease for a moment, exposing the haunting beauty of the frozen wasteland. in those brief silences, the burden of surival faded, and with it, my fathers shadow. The pain of losing my mother and brothers becomes a distant memory. I miss my brothers cheers, they knew what father became when our beloved mama died.
The intercom in my helmet echoed Juno's voice, "Nico, report back at watchtower ember for relief." Just like that six hours passed on patrol. At the watchtower both Brian and a girl name Umi waited. I gave them the round down of what I saw and watched them go on patrol. It was normal for new riders to ride together as they lacked the experience to register what they saw on the ride.
I disconnected the rifle from my back and climbed the concrete stairs. At the top, the remaining recruit that joined the riders was overseeing the land the tower covered. He was using the sniper mounted within every tower, an easy job until a rocket would hit a tower. Having six months of being a rider only once did I hear of a tower being hit. Although it was due to the ineptitude of the squad stationed there from what I'm told. Juno was over the stove that the tower came equipped with. She cooked the standard powdered chicken broth and served me a bowl. The broth tasted of flavored water and I devoured it within a minute basking in its warmth. I washed the bowel and Juno signaled me to sleep while she took the sniper. Placing the rifle to my side I slept within seconds of placing my head on the mattress.
"Juno! Nico! We found tracks-an entire battalion!"
In a second, I was up on my feet, rifle in hand. Juno's calm voice chimed in, "your too inperienced to know the size of a battalion," she said dryly. "Nico, with me, the rest of you stay put-I'm not about to have your parents haunt me because you rolled over and died at the first sight of a Haqiy."
We descended down the tower in quick, practiced movements. Brian gave us the coordinates of the tracks and we sped toward them before the wind buried the trail under another snowfall. Despite the urgency of arriving at the site, Juno picked the rute with nautral cover-smart, in case of an ambush. The location near the broader edge of delta's sector.
"We're here. Position your bike in cover mode," she ordered. "I'll check on foot, don't want what's left of their trail to be blown away by the hover cycle. If I die to any stowaways, you have permission to leave. If I'm still breathing, provide cover fire." She parked her bike beside mine for extra shielding while she stepped out carefully into the snowstorm.
Juno's outline disappeared into the storm for eight minutes until she jogged back. My finger hand never straying from my trigger. From a distance she waved for me to follow her. It took five minutes of running for the tracks to come into view. Thankfully the trail they left behind was visible enough to paint a clear picture of what strolled by.
Juno pointed towards the more pronounced tracks, "it's not a battalion, just a platoon. Three of their rovers and about thirty foot soldiers that is." She motioned to me as she walked towards the center of trail where the rovers had passed.
"Here-see how deep this section is? About five feet." She moved another meter down. "Same pattern. They tried to hide it... but a tank passed through here."
I didn't doubt Juno, she was a veteran rider. But a tank this far from their territory never happened. "It's headed for Delta's sector, their isn't much to mine there anymore. Why waste a tank this far north?"
She signaled us to return back, "at the pace they were heading, they were trying to get somewhere fast. That's why the tank's tracks were easy to discover. I need to report this to the colony, I left my radio with my bike."
The radio is only issued to squad leaders or those respected enough to wield one. On Herio, we joked that they were the only advance tech we had. The empire wants to hear how well we prosper. It's range covered the whole planet and even passing spaceships. Being the best made device on Heiro the few traders that came laughed when they saw them, calling us relics of a forgotten era.
As we rode back, Juno called the colony commander They only whispered back-tight and cold. "We'll deal with it." However as Juno dozed off, and the three new recruits left on a joint patrol, I was stuck on sniper duty, watching the horizon while wondering why the Haqiy would send a tank this far north.
Time passed and nightfall arrived, soon Brian's squad was due to return soon. That's when Juno's radio came to life. "All runners and riders, send reinforcements to Alpha and Bravo immediately. The rebels have stolen allied rovers and a Haqiy tank. I repeat: the rebels have attacked Alpha and Bravo..."