"Let's get back before it gets dark" said Kale as he looked at his brother Altair. "We don't want to be stuck out here again, remember what happened last time? We had to spend the night in a tree so the wolves wouldn't get us."
Altair let out a laugh and thought back on that harrowing night stuck in the branches watching the wolves prowl around looking for prey.
The wolves were native to the planet, but they were a lot more fierce than their namesakes were. Standing 5 foot at the withers, these monsters were massive and the apex predator here on the planet Rotan. The wolves had huge paws and were all black. Presumably an adaptation to hunt in the dark.
Rotan had no moon, so there was very little light on the planet after sun down when the wolves came out to hunt. Many inhabitants had perished under the claws and maws of these beasts. Enough for the village to erect 10 foot walls solely to keep those predators out. The wolves could probably hop over, but there was a constant watch on guard at all times with plasma rifles at the ready to discourage the predators from trying to get in.
That was the reason for the curfew, the gates were closed and locked at 21:00 and no amount of begging would get the doors open. The village cared about the inhabitants as every soul was precious in this fledgling world, but that's precisely why they wouldn't open the doors and put the village at risk for attack. The wolves were highly intelligent and lighting quick. The village didn't dare test their luck at night.
The two boys rushed back to the village before the gates closed and went to the communal housing where they stayed. Being orphans, the village set them up as well as the other orphaned in communal housing paid for by their hard work.
The two boys had never known their parents, growing up as orphans and doing whatever they could to make ends meet. When they were approached by a kind looking man and offered a place to stay in a brand new colony in exchange for work, they readily agreed, longing to leave their troubled life and worries behind. They had never had a home, and now one was being offered to them for free. They had no qualms about working the land, much preferring an honest days work instead of trying to steal food just to live another day.
The run down and barely operable orphanage they were assigned to were thrilled to see the two boys go. The kind man even brought a few of the other troubled children with them promising a better life than what they could ever hope to find within the dregs of society. This freed up space in the orphanage and took the troubled youth off their hands. The man promised to be back to collect more children that they took in, the agreement between the two entities began and continued on to this day.
The children were excited about their new homes. The kind man, they later knew as Orpen, told them stories of the colony and how they were trying to become self sufficient and create a better life for its inhabitants than one you could find in the federation worlds.
There was no currency here, people earned vouchers for food and essential supplies by what they contributed to the village, whether that be craft goods or hard labor. They had machines to work the fields, but not enough of them for their growing population, instead using labor as a means to pay for lodging, food and clothes.
The system was working fine as it was a fledgling village in the middle of nowhere. Every other month, the elders would take their small cargo ship and sell their leftover food or trade goods to buy essentials they needed to continue surviving. It was their hope that the village would become self sufficient soon, but they were still at the mercy of the galactic trade laws, having to pay high fees on any goods sold or traded.
That all changed when the raiders starting stealing their harvests. The raiders left barely enough for the village to survive, keeping them in a tight noose and throwing their voucher system into chaos. With barely enough food and supplies to survive, the village was living on borrowed time before their funds dried up and they were unable to trade with other nearby systems. Currency didn't matter to the village, but it was still the only thing that got them the things they needed from neighboring systems.
Altair and kale had just stepped inside the communal housing building when a village wide announcement played on the intercom system.
[All inhabitants please make your way to the bunkers, raid team incoming]
"That's the second one this month!" cried Kale as the two brothers quickly made their way to the bunker in the middle of town. The townspeople filed in and the doors were barred shut after they checked off all the villagers on the list.
The elders met the raid team at the gate and pleaded for more time, knowing that their food stores were abysmally low and would set their trade mission back another month. Without anything to sell or trade, their way of life would be ending soon and they would all be forced to beg the federation to let them back in as full citizens and take up jobs to make ends meet.
The raid team was having none of it and left the village with only enough supplies to last two more weeks. They left quietly, reminding the elders they would be back in another month to collect their dues.
Since the federation didn't acknowledge the village as protected, they were unwilling to send any help to drive the raiders off planet. They were on their own and had to come up with a solution or they would be forced to go back to the old way of life, grinding everyday barely making ends meet.
A mile outside the village, a single figure cloaked in shadow watched the proceedings with a calculated look on his face.