It was night when they pulled off the Crust onto the outer roads of Greenway. A clear area around the settlement itself existed just like with the ziggurat. A natural response to the need for additional space as the population expanded and the colony ships meant that a profitable settlement would always be expanding. Elias found his eye naturally drawn to the central tower and protective dome that shimmered as the lights from within caught in its structure. Inside the dome was relatively safe, it could only be attacked by a direct assault and only entered by foot. This meant the garages for the vehicles were outside the dome, along with the mechanic shops and the barracks for the new recruits. By its nature the dock for spacecraft was also outside.

He followed the majority of the recruits and the rest of his team from the garage to the Xanon Corps barracks that were located on the outer edge of the dome. He resisted the urge to walk through the barrier to the more relaxing area within to turn and place his equipment in his room and wait for the post mission debrief and confirm his payments. He sighed as he glanced inside at the differences the dome's protection meant. Turning instead to the practical building in front of him.

All the land inside the dome was at a premium, its protection meant that the buildings were unlikely to be destroyed or need rebuilding in the event of an attack. The nature of the Crystal once attuned to humans meant that the air inside was maintained at a better quality and the climate moderated to be comfortable year round. It was literally a breath of fresh air to walk into the protection of the dome. All the buildings outside were made of simple concrete block and metal sheets. Functional and practical, while having a look of impermanence to them. Those inside had developed more impractical features that spoke of their need to impress and decorate the space. A column to the front of one building and more ornate shuttering around some windows. They also climbed towards the centre. Not in the uniform manner of the ziggurat, but more chaotic as certain owners pushed up to the boundary of the dome quicker than others. The ramshackle building pattern more human in its design.

The more lavish owners even left clear spaces or courtyards to grow plants, the clearing of the Crust and atmospheric protection under the Crystal meaning most trees and plants from Earth could grow in time. Elias had heard that there were whole parks in the larger cities, not on this world as it was not old enough, but elsewhere. He had seen pictures where a company that owned a segment within the dome had built up to the third floor and then left a large roof garden rather than continue to use all the space for functional purposes. Compared to the land outside the dome where farmers would clear back the Crust to plant in suboptimal conditions or use hydroponic buildings to feed the settlement the use of growing space for decorative plants seemed too extravagant to truly comprehend.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

His musings had brought Elias to the mess hall where he turned in a food chit and waited for the Captian Murdock to finish with the new recruits before he would be called to his office. The others in his squad didn't get the pleasure of checking the contract was fulfilled and had agreed to meet him at Central bar in a couple of hours, so he was eating alone. He didn't need to be told of the dangers out in the night but listened to the captain schooling the recruits as he ate.

Living outside the dome meant being wary of constant attacks. Bats would often be drawn to the increased energy of the settlements at night. They were named for their ugly appearance; ability to fly and nocturnal tendancies. The main companies with assets in a settlement would send patrols to help guard against these but it was really everyone for themselves. Setting up automated defences was expensive and the more batteries and power located in one spot, the more it would draw the attacks. On the ground, other than the Swarm themselves were the Larvae to watch out for. They were the first manifestation of the Swarm. Cloud releases from larger Hives would spread their eggs throughout the area where they would hatch and then feed on the Crust for a couple of days before growing larger and more aggressive - drawn to any nearby energy sources. Again the power and lights at night would draw them, although they could and would come in the day too.

The more Swarm in the area, the more likely they would find a Crystal and gather into a Hive. Hives would then send out patrols and gather materials from the surrounding area growing slowly bigger with time and expanding their territory. This had prompted their trip out today, more aggressive patrols were coming from the nearby ziggurat that had only recently been raised to level 2. More Swarm risked more mutations and they had been lucky to attack so soon given the Spitter variants that had mutated within the ziggurat. The only reason to wait was that the Swarm were better than humans at finding and gathering Shards. These smaller energy sources than a Crystal were more than a currency; they powered the energy weapons and armour that had been developed as well as being a power source to upgrade and maintain the Crystal's ability to provide a protective dome.

Elias knew the next part of the speech, the reason the recruits were being told about the Shards. Each kill on patrol the recruits needed to call in. Their contract meant anything of value belonged to the company. They could salvage the parts and get the standard company rate for them or leave it for a salvage team and split the proceeds. If they failed to declare any kills, the company would assume they found something and fine them the market rate, which Elias knew was much greater. Patrol duties were currently every third shift for the new recruits. Four hours on, eight off and relief from duty if they were on an active mission. Mission board was outside the captain's office and positions filled first come first served as long as you had the requisite skills.

He zoned out as the captain handed over to the barracks company manager who started to tell them about the details of the contract; daily rent for barracks and equipment prices. It wasn't the first time he had seen the recruits reaction as they realised that everything came at a price and the lucrative job of defending and expanding the colonies was really just another way to line the pockets of the large companies. Instead he nodded to Murdock who waved him over as he walked off down the corridor to his office.