Sand, sand everywhere. Red sand, rocky sand, sugar sand, sand with metal shards, Xan had seen them all. An endless world of sand extended in all directions in front of him. But it was not all flatland. Dunes taller than two of him combined flowed like waves across the landscape. Occasionally you would see a pile of recognizable rubble. A tower with a needle at its peak lay in pieces like a broken child's toy. A broken obelisk stood a lonely watch off to the left. A mirage floated above all in a brain-boiling haze. Foolish men had wandered off to the mirage in search of water, only to die. Xan was not that man. He enjoyed the coolness of his suit and the ice-blue displays within his full-face helmet. Today, however, he was annoyed. Sand had worked its way into the little crevices of his standard issue combat boots and he was unable to empty them until his shift ended. He could finally take off his boots after going through the decontamination air lock. He had little concept as to when that was. This day seemed to drag on longer than any he remembered. 
He had stood guarding the same portion of metal fence that he had guarded the past ten watches. Why couldn't he draw a roving watch? Or get swapped in for kitchen duties? Within the fence betallions of soldiers idled near barracks in the courtyard or ran drills in formation. Beyond the ants stood the unyielding montrosity of Metropolis Six. Those black towers stood in fierce opposition to the elements, extending far above the clouds and into the horizon. It was a hive of activity at night from the 15th floor and above. 
Xan was bored. His gun had begun to weigh heavy in his arms hours ago. Like his pack and all his gear, his plasma incinerator was made by only one company these days: Gtek. He would count himself lucky if the damn thing worked. But Gtek ran everything - the government was riddled with employees sponsored by them, the towers were theirs, all maintenance was their maintenance, even food was grown in their labs. 
The food... he missed fresh fruit the most. Gtek had stomped out any other startup before it even got off the ground. As such, the prices they set for gourmet food and fruit were far above his paygrade. He could find dried fruit leather in his pack with his MREs, but he knew it was not made from real fruit anymore. 
The furious sun blazed down on him. At this time of day, not even the towers provided any futile shelter. He had to rely on his suit to cool him down and protect him from the rays. An hour of direct exposure meant a day in a regen tank. He made that mistake before after a night of debauchery. Apparently you could not venture out in the day for long without getting burned. Somehow the sun down here was more murderous. At least the night patrols did not have the sun to contend with. They did, however, get more surprise attacks from the Outlanders. They were getting smarter these days. Night vision and infared had draw backs when your enemies had the means to outsmart them. 
Far down the fence line his visor picked up another guard. Holo outlines flashed and brought the number blazoned on the front of the guard's uniform into focus. Good old 5651. He turned the dial on his in-ear radio from channel 6, Central's monitored channel, to channel 10, the guard channel. 
"Tom, check in."
"Hey Xan. Yeah, it's me."
"What's good man? Anything interesting happen in the past six hours?"
"Nothing interesting. It's still hotter than two rats screwing in a wool sock." 
Xan chuckled. He tapped a button on his temple to scan the line for eavesdroppers. 
"So hey, you still going to the Con later?"
"Yo, you really want to talk about that now? We're on watch. Central could be listening."
"I already scanned the line. I have to know. Are you going?"
Tom groaned over the channel. He shifted the weight of his gun. He was closer now and about to pass Xan by.
"I have to work tomorrow but I think I can get an encrypted line to listen in to some of the talks."
"Don't get caught with any of the video. Or any of the audio for that matter. Central finds that and you can bet on your one way ticket into a black bag. Personally, I'm going right after this shift ends. I wouldn't miss the Defcon talks for anything. Last year they there was a talk on how to reclaim anonymity."
"I missed that talk. Know of a place where I could view a back up?"
"Weren't you listening? No one keeps hardcopy anymore. It's an open invitation to get caught."
An abnormal static fuzzed over the line.
Tom passed by with a nod and continued walking along his patrol route down the fence. They both switched back over to channel 6.


"Did you get that round of coms on channel 10?" Said a man in a white lab coat stood in the center of a vast white control room. He spoke to a small group of technicians. Each monitored their own hologram panel.
"Yes Doctor, saved the data to Drive Zeta."
"How much longer do we have before the shift change? I have to prepare some updates."
"About another six hours, Doctor."
"When the changeover happens, call me. I'll be in my office."


Xan yawned and shifted his weight again. Tom had gone hours ago. Now the sun knelt low in the horizon and painted the desert a vivid crimson. The temperature had begun to drop in the gloaming and a cold moon danced in a growing night sky. There would have been more to look if they had never mined there. Once a silver orb, a jagged edge remained of what was once a perfect arc. Xan's suit switched over to night mode. Infared flashed in the visor before settling on the cold empty desert. 
He stretched his shoulders the best he could to remove the ache of standing all day. He daydreamed about that first drink after shift. Maybe he'd meet a girl. They could fight the system together. She picked locks and loved his terrible puns. Maybe she...
Xan saw movement and froze. No red bloomed over his visor and yet he was unsure of his lonliness. Did something move out there? He could not say. 
"Central, I'm seeing movement out here in quad A-5. Please advise."
"3418, we have eyes on your location."
There! He saw it again. The cloak of a humanoid shape moved from dune to dune. Xan had to strain to see the motion in the moonlight. Why didn't the visor pick them up?
A flashbang went off to his left, blinding him. His vision was a sea of white. Quickly, his suit took over and aimed his arm for him, softly chiming the location of his charging attackers. 
"Outlanders" It said. "The closest is a half klick away, encroaching on your location. Aiming... Aiming... Aiming... "
"Fire weapon." It said at last.
Xan pulled the trigger of his torch. The gun vaporized the attacker in fractions of a second. His sight was returning. Only human ash wafted into the air from the black glass burn where sand used to be. He aimed four more times before he contacted Central again. His gun worked. He felt relieved.
"Central, threat neutralized."
"Copy that 3418. Sending a relief to your location."
Relief? Was it that time already?
The smoke stopped billowing by the time the relief got there. Turnover was an unenthusiastic affair. A tap on the shoulder and a vocal pass of the logs. Xan signed out. 
"You've got the watch. I stand relieved." Xan breathed a sigh of relief. Not a moment too soon. 
He walked a long time back to the barracks. 
He approached the wide hydraulic metal gate that led into the decon airlock. It snicked open when it registered his presence. A lemon colored light illuminated a sickly green room. It was empty save for drains bolted into the floor. He was excited to be able to empty the sand from his boots. The door snicked down shut behind him. Xan shut down into darkness. 


A trim woman dressed in white contacted the doctor in his office. 
"Doctor, he's ready."
"Already? I was expecting another hour." He quickly typed a few last lines of code before torturing his compiler. 
"We had some activity on the eastern flank in the A-5 quadrant, but it's quiet now. We felt it was best just to relieve him early."
The doctor laughed. When would these Outlanders learn? They would never be allowed in. They were infected! They were never going to infiltrate the complex for water. Getting into Six was more impossible that finding clean water from anywhere that was not deep underground. 
"How's 3418?"
"We have him on standby ready for your update Doctor. He has an appointment with a gen tank afterwards."
"When are we getting 5651?"
"Not for a few hours yet."
"Prep him for the update too. I'll be down shortly."