The recent resignation of most of the bureaucrats in the Port Mpande administration brought endless frustration to the young man. Firstly, it was the Commando’s fault that this even happened in the first place. He was even considering resigning due to the audacity of the Commando to rig the election, unfortunately, Russell had to convince him otherwise.

Now he had to pick up the slack, training all these new illiterate farmers who couldn’t read or write. And because of that, he had to pick up the roles the old bureaucrats would have done. Luckily, thanks to the resolution of the cattle raid, he was able to rehire their old Zulu bureaucrats for like the third time. He swore that those elves would resign in the next month or so once another incident flared up. They’re untrustworthy, so he pre-emptively hired a larger number of Boer bureaucrats. This gave him more work to do, so he grinded his teeth in endless frustration.

Fortunately, the new Anglican and Dutch churches in town were able to effectively function as schools, so he dumped them there and left the burden to the priests. Sarel Cilliers headed back home, leaving the pastor that was with them during the referendum to manage the church. He was a decent fellow, and pleasant to work with. The same could be said about the Anglican pastor, although he might be biased because he is an Englishman.

That was right, he needed to introduce himself. The name is Calvin Day, the temporary Head of the Port Mpande Administration.

The most troubling of all was the woman he had to work with. Pietje’s wife, Janneke Pongers. On the first day of work, she almost destroyed their entire budget by buying up luxury goods such as tea and coffee for the residents to reward them for the good harvest they had. Luckily, the Commando, knowing how things could go very wrong, left the books in his stead, and so, a calamity was averted.

Now, that woman has called him to an inn to hold a meeting of some kind. He hoped he didn’t have to clean up her mess once more.

When he headed to the inn, his gut instinct already told him something was wrong. Firstly, the inn was new. Due to the improving relations between the Zulu and the Boers, trade restrictions have been loosened, and some Zulus have set up establishments on their side of town. Knowing the Boer propensity to revolt, there were strict-looking Zulu warriors outside. He had no doubt he was going to get manhandled if he misbehaved inside.

They asked if he had a reservation and his eyes popped out of his forehead. What is this? A luxury establishment? No one can afford something like this here! He grinded his teeth and told them the name of the detestable Janneke Pongers who had invited him over.

A Zulu went in, and he stood outside, while the others looked at him menacingly. Is there somewhere he could leave a review about how unwelcome he felt without getting killed by the owner and the elves they have?

The Zulu finally came out, and his expression softened, nodding his head. Gesturing at Calvin, the bureaucrat followed behind him. The moment he walked into the establishment, he realized why he wasn’t welcomed.

For some reason, the establishment was full of women.

Boer women were sitting together with Zulu elves on the other side, dining together in harmony. They had some difficulties communicating, and they had to use hand gestures to talk with one another, but it was a pleasant dining experience.

Calvin now felt extremely unwelcomed, and his first urge was to get out of there. However, once the first woman spotted him, the rest turned their gazes onto him. And now he wanted to dig a hole and hide there.

The scariest thing was that all of them had guns slung on their shoulders, and he could see a couple reaching for their guns. But the Zulu guard raised his hands, showing that the man behind them was a guest. And the women relaxed, pretending he did not exist, which was something he was rather glad about.

The guard brought him to the second floor, and he took some time to admire the Zulu décor of the first floor. Animal skins as a rug, animal heads mounted on the wall and a couple of wood carvings of agricultural produce such as maize and sorghum, likely produced by Zulu artists. Chairs were carved out of wood, with engravings of elves on the sides. Tables were covered with fabric, and it looked as if a bonafide restaurant was transported onto the frontier.

‘How?’ He could only think as he climbed up the stairs.

The second floor was even weirder. All the tables were empty except for one that had three seats. There, Janneke Pongers was reading a book with Zulu Chief Nokuthula. Janneke pointed at a certain point, and Nokuthula explained in Elfrikaans. It seems the Zulu was teaching her to read. Most strange indeed.

The two finally spotted the newcomer, and the two pointed at the seat reserved for him. Settling into the seat, the Zulu guard, the only other male on the floor went back downstairs, leaving the three awkwardly looking at each other.

Janneke seemed like a mild manner woman at first glance. Her blond hair was distinctive considering most had brown hair. The issue was when she opened her mouth, she became extremely boisterous, which was something, he supposed was a trait of the women on the trek. They were no pushovers. Somehow, she was able to organize all the women in town around her. And with most of the men going for the Commando’s expedition, that left them the most powerful political group in town.

Janneke closed the book she was ruffling through and exchanged glances with Nokuthula.

“Calvin, the reason why I have invited you today is to tell you the changes I will be making.”

“And you need my assistance in passing the changes?”

“Let me finish what I say,” Janneke cut the bureaucrat off before he went into his spiel complaining about everything and anything.

“You see, Chief Nokuthula and I had fruitful discussions, we even got all the women together and held this event to build our understanding of each other,” Janneke explained and Nokuthula nodded along, smirking.

“Inspired by the Zulu ways, we’ve decided to establish a matriarchy like the Zulu ways. It seems you men have no idea how to run things, always somehow causing so much trouble here and there. Name me the number of incidents the Zulu had caused for us in town. Nothing? Well, that is zero. But what have we done to them? Many, I tell you. It appears there is something to learn from the Zulu way of governance.”

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“No, no, no. We are not establishing a matriarchy. Why would I even support such a stupid motion? I’m sorry, Janneke, but you’ll have to let your Zulu dreams die.”

Nokuthula began shaking her head.

“But you see, whilst your Commando left you two to rule the town. As a Veldkornet of the Zulu side of town, wouldn’t I have some say in your governance? I support Janneke’s proposal to turn the Boer side of town into a matriarchy. Two votes for yay, one vote for nay. Motion passed! So as the bureaucrat managing the town affairs, please enact this motion immediately.”

Calvin banged his fist against the table, rattling some of the wooden plates on the table.

“Oh, hell no! If you insist on forcing this through, the other men and I will revolt! Once the men come back from their expedition, they will return things to normal. I suggest an end to a meddling in Boer affairs, Zulu.”

The two women started laughing at Calvin’s aggression. The man’s face turned red as he was unsure of what to say next.

“Heh, can’t take a joke can’t you, Calvin? Heh,” Janneke sputtered along with you Nokuthula.

“Heh, I suggest calming down with a drink or two, heh,” Nokuthula pointed to the cup before Calvin.

The bureaucrat picked up the drink and looked at the white substance inside it. Taking a sniff, it did not smell fishy. He gulped it down, and it was sour, dreadfully sour. Sour milk it was, amasi its name.

The two women regained their previous seriousness.

“Now of course I know you men will revolt. You’re not as cultured as the Zulu in their ways. So, I am satisfied with a compromise. Commando Jan was interested in a special matter called Women’s Suffrage. What other time than to force that through with most of the men gone?” Janneke smirked.

“There was a certain Boer woman who caught my eye in the Boer side of town, a woman called Cathelijn Buncke. I’ve done my investigations and found that she was the source of most of the posters calling for the improvement of rights of women whilst decrying the Commando’s name,” Nokuthula snapped her fingers.

A Zulu assistant brought over another seat, and went downstairs, bringing a certain well-dressed middle-class woman. Unlike the simple attire of Janneke, Cathelijn’s wear was colourful, showing the lavish use of dyes in her wear.

“Ahh, finally. So, it's time? Ain’t it,” Cathelijn remarked.

“Since this is in Commando Jan’s best interest, we expect your cooperation, Calvin Day.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

All three of them began cracking their knuckles.

“Then you’ll be locked here. We’ll see how long you’ll last before you start crying for help. We’ll be putting you in the secret basement, no one will be able to hear your cries for help.”

Calvin’s first thought was to immediately get out of there. And he looked towards the windows. He could run there, but could he outrun the Zulu Chief?

Realising he was trapped; he meekly nodded his head.

“I expect your cooperation in suppressing any unrest from the locals.”

It went just as well as he expected. Farmers, priests, landowners, shopkeepers, and all strata of society were protesting the fact that women now had equal rights to them.

They were holding their bibles.

“The bible never says this! Remove this sin from this town!”

They were parading in town with their bibles.

Calvin could only hold his head in frustration due to the trouble caused by the enactment of the latest suffrage laws.

He looked at his co-worker, who smiled sagely upon watching the chaos unfold.

“Janneke! All our bureaucrats are out there also protesting! You should not trust those Zulus! They’ll destroy the entire town!”

“Don’t worry, I have also organised the girls to put a stop to the unrest,” Janneke pointed at the other side of town.

And there, women dressed in men’s overalls, and khakis paired with a simple shirt held their muskets pointing at the men.

“Wait, wait. Don’t tell me you’re going to open fire on them!”

“Well, if they don’t listen to orders, then they ought to learn who runs this town.”

The women flanked out, slowly advancing with their muskets pointing at the men protesting.

“Can someone tell me how she got a sabre? Where did she get that from?” Calvin demanded, pointing at a woman who held a British Cavalry Sabre. She pointed the blade right at the men, whose jaws dropped upon seeing their wives’ pointing guns at them.

They tried to reach for their guns but one of the women hollered, “Anyone who tried to reach for their guns will be shot on sight! You will now disperse or be fired upon! I give you 10 seconds to evacuate the area! Starting from 10!”

The men exchanged glances and thought they wouldn’t dare.

One of the women raised their musket in the air and fired a shot the moment the number 10 was declared.

Bang!

9.

The sounds of horses galloping in the distance could be heard, and the first-ever Female Flight Commando was organized right before their eyes. In their hands were even more sabres!

Bang!

8.

Another shot rang out into the sky, as the horses began rearing up for a charge. The men grew nervous. Even if they didn’t dare to shoot, they’ll get hurt if the horses get into a charge.

Bang!

7.

The wiser among them realized if they didn’t move, they’ll get hurt. So, they started dispersing.

Bang!

6.

Diehard brave men stared at the women bearing their guns at them.

Bang!

5.

Now that diehard group was slowly dispersing as they see the horses charging from the distance.

Bang!

4.

There were around ten men left, who prayed to their holy books to protect them. Whether they were devout or stupid is questionable.

Bang!

3.

“Ahh, you know what. I shouldn’t be wasting gunpowder for this. Charge!” The woman holding a sabre bellowed, and the horses began charging. The women holding the guns dived out of the way into the numerous alleyways.

Like the traditional European Cavalry Charge, they charged headfirst into the column of men and brought down their sabres onto the men. Naturally, they didn’t wish to severely injure someone’s husband, so purposedly nicked them on the arms and legs.

The men, realizing that their holy book was useless against real injuries, screamed in pain as they fell onto the ground, with cuts on their arms and legs.

“Looks like the training has paid off,” Janneke remarked. The bureaucrat had a massive migraine as he watched the men sprawled on the ground, hollering that they were hurt by them.

He supposed Jan’s notion of women serving is possible after watching the sight before him. It took some extraordinary discipline to purposely not hack a man in two in a cavalry charge, which showed some intense training undergone by the women.

“Where did you even find the time to do something like this?”

“What do you mean? We’ll only have to spend some hours a day tending to the fields, tending to the kids. There are large chunks of time when we have nothing to do but get together. And since most of the men are gone, I thought it is good if we train ourselves into a capable fighting force. I have women that can fire artillery, flight commandoes as well as sharpshooters. We can, and ought to defend ourselves.”

At that moment, Calvin prayed for the men to come back to town and restore order before the women destroy the town any further. He was further afraid of any changes as women now made out the biggest political group in town, and there was nothing he could do. The matriarchy first proposed by her and Nokuthula was a joke, but he was starting to feel that there might be a tinge of seriousness in that proposal.

“So uhh, are you going to dispatch doctors to help them, or leave them wailing on the ground?”

Janneke checked the clock in the office, “Wait for around 15 minutes, let the pain sink in before we try to relieve it.”

The bureaucrat decided to leave the office and ran straight away home. He packed his bags, ensuring that he could flee the first thing anything went wrong.

The next day, half of the bureaucrats resigned in protest. Calvin began grumbling about the unreliability of Boer and Zulu bureaucrats. If he could give them a piece of his mind, he would scream for hours about the amount of effort he put to work training them, and this is how they repaid him.

“Do not worry about the stream of resignations. I have some literate women. Funnily enough, they picked up things faster than the men. I wonder why? It’s almost as if women outperform men in education,” Janneke patted Calvin’s shoulder and went to her office.

For a few seconds, he thought why he was even needed here. Janneke is running the town much better than him. Those women are way more loyal to her and are unlikely to resign in a time of crisis. He took a break for the day, went back home, and lay in bed.

Staring at the ceiling, he thought about the meaning of life.