"Simpler times? I don't know how much simpler it was when you had to charge your car every hundred miles and couldn't get music streamed into your brain."
Airid laughed.
"Yeah, can't imagine living without the technology we've got now. I'd lose my mind."
We kept walking, passing a cafe with tables spilling out onto the sidewalk.
A group of people sat outside, sipping drinks and talking quietly.
Each time they took a sip they put their oxygen mask back on yet despite the Inconvienence they still seemed to be enjoying the sunny afternoon.
"Let's grab a drink,"
Paul suggested, nodding toward the cafe.
"I could go for something cold."
I agreed, leading the way inside. The interior was cool and dimly lit, with vintage decor and a relaxed atmosphere that matched the rest of the colony.
A human teenage barista most likely working part time to make extra cash during the school holidays greeted us from behind the counter, as she prepared drinks for the patrons.
Damm It brought back memories... g*d's what wouldn't I give to go back to my school days where I had no responsibilities and all the time In the world.
We ordered a round of cold drinks, local brews with a slight kick, and after grabbing our glasses, we settled down at a table near the window.
Darius took a long sip of his drink and leaned back in his chair, sighing in satisfaction. "Now, this is what I'm talking about. A little sun, some coffe, and no one's shooting at us. For once, things feel... peaceful."
"Peaceful"
Julian mused, swirling his glass.
"I already forgot what that felt like."
Airid nodded, staring out at the street.
"Think we'll ever get used to it? The downtime, I mean. After everything we've been through, it feels weird to just... sit here, you know?"
"Don't worry"
I said, sipping my drink.
"You'll get used to It sooner or later."
Robert, as usual, said nothing, but I could tell from the look on his face that he agreed. We'd all been through hell and back, but it was moments like this, sitting together, enjoying a rare moment of peace,that reminded us why we kept going.
"Still,"
Paul said, raising his glass.
"Here's to surviving again, to us, and to not dying... for a little while longer, anyway."
We all clinked our glasses together, the sound soft against the quiet hum of the city outside.
After we finished our drinks, we spent the rest of the day strolling through the capital. We visited a few shops, some selling high tech gear, others peddling hand crafted items that looked like they belonged in a pre-tech era.
It was a strange mix of the old and the new, but it gave the city a unique charm.
The day had been peaceful, almost too peaceful.
But as we wandered deeper into the capital, the strange, easygoing mood of Uyiescapus Prime took a darker turn.
We were passing through a stretch of streets that led into what looked like a field clinic. Large, white tents dotted the area, and a long queue of people stretched out from under the flaps, winding around the corner.
The colony's medical personnel, dressed in sterile white hazmat suits, moved with quick efficiency.
They were administering shots to each person in line, some with a brief explanation, others with no more than a nod.
Several armed police officers stood nearby, each wearing simple armored vests and holding nothing but pistols, hardly intimidating for us, but for the civilian crowd, it was probably enough to keep things orderly.
"What's going on here?"
Darius asked, eyeing the tents with suspicion.
Airid shrugged.
"Looks like a vaccination drive. Haven't seen one of these since the old days."
I stepped forward, overhearing some of the conversations between the people in line. They weren't exactly thrilled about being there.
"Governor's decided to 'neutralize' the effects of the hallucinogens,"
A grumbling man said to the woman next to him.
"Says we're getting too lazy. Productivity's down, and his bosses are breathing down his neck. So now we get stuck with this."
"Yeah, no more chill vibes,"
She replied bitterly.
"Back to the grind, huh? Can't believe they're forcing us into this, what about our rights?"
Paul shot me a glance, a smirk forming.
"Seems like their governor isn't too happy with his reviews. Guess people don't want to give up their permanent vacation."
"I don't blame them,"
I said, puffing out a cloud of smoke from my mouth.
"If I had that kind of life, I'd be pissed too."
Julian nodded but stayed quiet. There was something about the way the people in line moved, almost sluggish, their complaints tinged with an underlying anger that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Something wasn't right here, my instincts honed by ears of combat and near death experiences were ringing alarm bells Inside my mind
"Let's move on,"
I suggested.
"Don't want to stick around if this..."
Before I could finish, a deafening sound split the air.
The unmistakable rumble of a modified armored vehicle barreling through the street.
Tires screeched as a pickup truck, rigged with makeshift armor plates, roared into the area.
Mounted on the back was a .50 caliber machine gun, its barrel pointed at the crowd.
"Sh*t!"
I shouted, dropping my ciggarette and reaching for my sidearm out of reflex, only to remember we weren't armed.
The machine gun opened fire, tearing through the tents and mowing down civilians and medics alike.
Screams filled the air as blood sprayed across the white fabric.
Panic spread like wildfire as the queue dissolved into chaos.
More trucks skidded into view, their sides packed with armed militants.
They poured out, brandishing rifles, shotguns, and pistols, firing wildly into the air.
"We will not get vaccinated!"
"Down with dictatorship!"
"Long live free and Independent Uyiescapus Prime"
The militants screamed, rallying the others as they opened fire on the police and anyone still standing in the queue.
"F*cking hell!"
Paul yelled, ducking down as bullets sprayed around us.
"What the hell is going on?!"
But the bigger shock was the crowd itself. Instead of fleeing, many of them began cheering the militants on, as if some hidden switch had been flipped in their brains.
Civilians who had been in line moments ago were now rushing toward the police, throwing rocks, debris, anything they could get their hands on.
The air turned from panic to outright madness as the line of civilians became a mob, attacking with feral intensity.
As It did our psycho serial killer switches courtesy of the xeno serum flipped by themselves automatically.
Without thinking, I grabbed the nearest militant by the arm and slammed him against the wall with enough force to crack his skull.
His rifle clattered to the ground, and I seized it, the familiar weight of the weapon instantly grounding me.
Behind me, Darius was already snapping the neck of another militant, the man crumpling like paper as his spine broke.
Paul was quick to follow, disarming a civilian with ease and breaking his trachea with a brutal punch.
Julian, silent and efficient, had already taken out two militants, a handgun now in his grip.
"Cover, on me!"
I barked as I did we regrouped in the chaos, sprinting toward the nearest cover, a concrete barrier on the edge of the clinic.
"Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!"
Airid cursed, clutching a shotgun he'd ripped from another dead militant he killed.
"This is insane! These people have lost their g*ddamn minds!"
"Yeah, no f*cking kidding!"
Darius snapped, his face covered in blood from a gash on his forehead from a straight bullet.
"One minute, they're in line for a shot, the next they're out for blood!"