18 - Suds

There was a lot of shouting going on among the Chicago representatives. Maya noted the Mayor there in a well fitting suit, along with some younger man, a bit of silver in his close cropped hair, but fit and wearing a simple military BDU. He stood with the Mayor and several other men who didn’t look military, but were well armed.

Facing off against them was a bigger old guy with a uniform that was a tad too small and with so many medals on his chest that Maya figured he’d stop railgun slug. Beside him stood several military people, soldiers and a couple of lower ranked officers.

The yelling was loud and the people were tense. Maya walked up to George who had been talking with them.

“I hear we have a civil war going on?” Maya said. The old guy was ready to pop, his face red and sweating profusely. While his opponents were cool and collected, a look of disdain on the Mayor’s face.

“Just a disagreement about the chain of command,” George said.

“Yosi says its civil war.”

“Yosi over exaggerates. The Chicago delegation has divided upon hearing the news that San Diego and Los Angeles are actively repelling manna mutations,” George said. “I guess there has been a lot of tension in the group.”

“Better ease it up or fruit salad over there’s gonna blow his top,” Maya said.

“I’ve been told to ‘butt-out’, I believe that was the term used,” George said.

“And you acquiesced to their dickish demands? George, George, George, this Cage is your home and you can’t be dissed so inside your own home.”

George snorted.

“You gotta learn to stand up for yourself, my friend. You just can’t let a guy in a flashy suit verbally dismiss you like your a waiter, not when you’re the guy who’s looking at all their secrets from space,” Maya shook her head and patted his shoulder.

“You should have disarmed them,” Yosi said appearing at her side. “If they start fighting, we don’t know what kind of violence they will commit.”

“We’re all pretty much living weapons nowadays,” Maya said. ‘What’s a little gun gonna do?”

“We are literally selling the guns they are using,” Yosi said. “We know what they can do.”

“Oh, right.” Maya chuckled. “So what’s the argument about?”

“The old man, Darren Remure, he’s a retired Colonel who came out of retirement to help. He’s a stickler for command and since Integration that other guy, Colonel Gary Canton, has been running the show. He’s also been a tad loose in the way the military has been used in the last weeks, more a force to back up the Mayor’s policies.”

“So dropping the San Diego bomb’s only got Remure over there hot and heavy about the rest of the US military that still exists?” Maya asked.

“Yeah. He’s been trying to get Canton and the Mayor to contact them and get orders, but Canton’s been leery about it. His claims are that they don’t know if they’re their legitimate leaders or not.”

“These are your boys, George. Shouldn’t you be knee deep in this discussion? You’re an astronaut, former military.”

“I seem to be having a slight crisis of loyalty,” George said. “You’ve made me and employee of your corporation, a Chosen Representative, with the SSS branded to my backside. If they have the skill, anyone can look at me and determine who I work for and it’s not the USofA.”

Maya sighed. “Ugh, this argument again. Do you think if you worked for Ford and had to live in Mexico to churn out cheap cars, that you’re betraying America and aren’t American? This is the same thing, foreign company hiring a skilled employee to watch over a factory in space, but I’m totally not claiming you as my pet Astronaut. That’s Hanna.”

“Hey, I resemble that remark,” Hanna said. “George flip flopping on the idea of what it means to work for an interdimensional corporation that’s rebuilding the world in it’s image?” Hanna checked a non-existent watch. “Must be 10 AM.”

A trio of soldiers walked up to them, they seemed to be in the middle of their own animated discussion and they kept looking at Maya and the others. Finally a soldier walked up, clearing his throat.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to be Yosi Sullivan?” he asked Yosi. He was tall lean and appeared Asian-American. Maya immediately recognized the armor he wore and the weapons he carried. His face tickled the back of her mind, something about a prize being won for the first Sullivan Box customer…

Yosi blinked her large eyes at the man and looked him up and down.

“Yes,” she said.

The three men all burst out in fits of giggling and grinning. “Oh, shit. You’re really real,” one of the men said. The large African-American soldier pulled out a Yosi plushie from under his body armor. “Can I get an autograph?”

Maya and Hanna exchanged looks and glanced to Yosi. The woman seemed hesitant and she looked at everyone.

‘They want you to write your name on the plushie,” Hanna said.

“Why?”

“It’s a weird human thing,” Maya said.

“In what language?” Yosi asked.

“Are you really from space?” the third soldier asked, a skinny man with a shaven head. He held out his own plushie to be signed too.

“No. I am from a planet,” Yosi said, pulling out a Marker from her dimensional bag. She wrote her name with the system device and handed it back to the man.

He grinned at her with the widest smile Maya had ever seen.

“Hey, you all know where we can get some grub? I hear they got cheeseburgers and beer,” the first soldier asked, after he had gotten his own plushie signed.

“Aren’t you all about to go fisticuffs over there?” Maya asked.

“Oh, them? Nah, they’re gonna shout and scream for a bit more. Remure’s a dumbass, but loves America. Canton’s a pragmatist and is probably trying to become warlord of the wasteland,” the man said. The two the soldiers behind him nodded, sharing a chuckle.

“What’s your name, soldier,” George asked, his face stoney.

“Corporal Daniel Chu, bossman,” Chu gave a lazy salute to George. “You’re astronaut George Hazel, right? I saw that crazy dance you did.”

George reddened.

“What are your thoughts on this?” Hanna asked.

The corporal shrugged. “Looks like we’re gonna get some new bosses from the West Coast. Probably reign in the Mayor’s attempt to become God Emperor of the Great Lakes. I tell you, all the journalists and news outlets go dark; and every little bureaucrat goes crazy with thoughts of becoming the guy who’ll rebuild America. The Mayor’s a joke, all he wants to do is bang strippers and do coke, while Canton’s been running things mostly. Efficient, organized, and a damn good leader.”

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“So you’re Canton’s man?” Maya asked.

The soldier snorted. “Oh, hell no. I vowed to defend the Constitution, not a pair of dicks with a hanging fetish. But the Mayor was legally elected and Canton’s the only high ranking officer that survived.” Chu shrugged. “So, about those burgers?”

“Hey, lemme treat y’all,” Maya said, smiling. “You can tell me about the politics of post apocalyptic America. Have you tried Sullivan coffee?”

“Yeah, it tastes like shit and I’m in the Army.”

***

“And there we were, reeling from a massive hangover and the world’s gone to shit. I could barely find my shoes, let alone get out of the hotel we were staying in.”

“Washington shit himself too,” the third man, Private Carmichael, said.

“There’s no damn need to tell ‘em that,” Washington growled. The other two laughed as they dug into their burgers.

Maya picked at her meal, enjoying the easy camaraderie the three men shared. Hanna had joined them and ordered Pad Thai with white wine. The wine was a new addition, along with the new Thai menu that had been created by one of the people Maria sent over. The young woman had asked to open a shop in the Cage, creating a medium sized place to get Thai and American cuisine.

Some of the food was being imported from Ko Sumai, but most of it was still being created by Nan and the food processors. Although the industrial creation of food ration bars was located on Ko Sumai, there were still enough to create ‘real’ food for their guests and workers. A lot of people had been subsisting on mana mutations for their food. If you were starving, why waste a ton of mutated gerbil that had been terrorizing your neighborhood.

Experimentation with mana mutated food was still ongoing, but there were a lot of people who just wanted something that reminded them of a time before. A burger, fries, and beer for most Americans. It brought back a bit of nostalgia for Maya, her family’s business had been running a food truck in the Dallas area. Those were days she had bemoaned the heat and long hours, but now as she sat in the Thai diner, she felt the usual upwelling of emotions from Before.

“There was this dog sized pigeon that attacked us, smashed right through the window and starting going to town on Carmichael. We barely managed take it down when half a dozen of its buddies showed up to kick our asses.” Chu drained his beer, laughing at the memory.

“I can’t stand to look at chicken anymore,” Carmichael added.

“We managed to survive two days, gather up some folk, and then found out that there were some soldiers in the city and were fighting back. That’s where we found Remure, old dude had come out of retirement and began organizing within a day or so. You should have seen him then, he’s lost a lot of weight and gained levels, that uniform he’s wearing he couldn’t even fit in,” Chu smiled. “Then Canton rolled up with a platoon and took over. We found the Mayor a day later and organized with the PD to clear streets and make safe areas.”

“Been making our beer money patrolling and keeping the muties at bay,” Washington said. “We figure about one in five survived Integration, whole blocks were decimated by those creatures that come out of the renders.”

There was a moment of silence after that statement.

The owner of the diner came up with four more beers and another glass of wine.

“Thanks, Chariya,” Maya said smiling at the woman. She grinned back, ducked her head, and practically ran off.

“What’s her deal?” Carmichael asked.

“A couple of beers and he’s Don Juan,” Washington muttered.

“Chariya, she’s the first owner of a business in the Cage,” Maya said. “It’s something no one really considered until she brought it up. Didn’t want to work with system tech, her family owned a whole chain of shops and she was setting one up on Ko Sumai when Integration hit.”

“You know a lot about her,” Chu replied.

“I try to keep abreast on the people who are living here now,” Maya said. “Its hard sometimes, we’re becoming a sort of gateway between settlements, it’s gonna get even more crazier when this settlement head meeting is over with.”

“How’s that?” Chu asked.

“Well, all these settlement leaders are here to discuss logistics and trade. There’s a new market forming for the materials that they’ve been collecting and finding, or were gained by the System. A lot of alchemists and crafters are starting up.”

“So you’re one of the suds?” Chu asked.

“Suds?” Maya asked, Hanna nearly choked on her wine.

“Yeah, it’s what people are calling those that dress like you,” Chu said gesturing to Maya’s ship suit. “They’re a part of that Advanced Placement thingie.”

“Sullivan Occupational Accelleration Program,” Maya clarified.

“Yeah, that. SOAP.”

“The ship suits are high fashion now,” Hanna grinned.

“They’re cheap and easy to make, plus they rarely stain, rip, and are waterproof,” Maya said.

“Oh, shit. Where can we get ours?” Washington asked. “It rains like a bitch in Chicago.”

“Just ask a vendor and they’ll set you up. The only cost is the material cost,” Maya said.

“You one of the bosses around here? Like the astronauts?” Chu asked. “That Chariya seems to know who you are. Hasn’t charged you a dime for all that we’ve eaten and drank. Plus everyone here’s kinda hanging on your every word.”

Maya looked toward Chariya. She smiled and waved back at Maya. Maya looked around the packed diner, they had occupied a table away from the crowds and were somewhat secluded, but she did note people glancing her way.

“Huh, I didn’t even noticed,” Maya remarked.

“Can you put a good word in for me with Yosi?” Carmichael asked. “When I’m done with the army, I was hoping to get into business school. A real life trader, like in those video games. How fucking awesome is that? Plus, she’s a real looker.”

“Jesus, Carmichael,” Washington said. “She’s not even human and is like four feet tall.”

“Plus Veskari will probably tear you apart,” Hanna remarked. “That’s her beau.”

“Oh, she’s taken?” Carmichael looked crestfallen.

“Waited on her for twenty thousand years,” Maya said, chuckling.

There was a murmur from the dining crowd as Bell walked down the diner. It was still a sight to see the blue skinned four armed man around, even if most of the SOAP folks had learned from him at one time or another. The bulk of the temporary residents of the Cage were from the entourages of the settlement leaders and seeing anything non-human and talking was still a treat.

“Yo, Bell, join us for a beer?” Maya asked, waving him over.

“Yosi has been looking for you,” Bell replied.

“I thought you were my errand boy, not her’s.” Maya grinned.

“You have spent days putting together this meeting and you’re not even attending it?” Bell looked to Hanna. “I thought you were supposed to watch her?”

“Wait, what?” Maya demanded, glaring at Hanna.

“Sorry, someone said booze, plus a lady likes to be admired by young strapping menfolk,” Hanna winked at Washington.

“I like admiring hot women,” Washington said, nodding back at her.

“What about the man from Cuba?” Maya asked in mock shock.

“YOLO,” Hanna replied.

“No one says that anymore,” Maya replied. She looked to Bell. “I’m not needed, this is a government issue. I’m just facilitating its commencement, I’m like those convention centers people rent out to have their little gatherings. SettlementCon or the Sullivan Survival Society Settlement Sovereignty Summit Con… 6SCon. Plus I’ve already met all those folks when we first opened the doorway to them.”

“Your presence is needed to give weight to these meetings,” Bell said.

“That’s what I’m avoiding. I ain’t the Pope, here to place the crown on Charlemagne’s head. All those dudes and dudettes need to learn to work together and figure it out. We’ll provide the support, they work out the kinks.”

“You still need to be there. I hear the Chicago representatives are making decisions,” Bell said.

“They’re not even apart of the 3S,” Maya growled. “They’re just here as observers.”

“That Mayor is a slick sonvabitch,” Carmichael said. “Could sell water to a drowning man.”

“Who are you?” Chu asked Maya.

“Oh, I’m Maya,” she said. “Nice to meet you.”

“Maya of Maya’s Emporium?” Chu asked. “Maya Sullivan of the Sullivan Box?”

The three men stared at her.

“Oh, how do you know that part? I thought everyone would think it was Yosi that was the one behind that?”

“We read the flavor text,” Carmichael said. “It has your name all over it.”

“Oh, damn. Guess I’m fixing that,” Maya got up and sighed. ‘Well, it’s been a blast, soldiers. I’ll handle the tab.” She waved at them and then followed Bell out of the diner. Hanna drained her glass of wine and also followed.

“Maya! Maya a moment please!” people shouted as she left. Maya shuddered and hurried out of Sanctuary Nexus.

***

“He’s cute,” Hanna said as they walked down an empty metal corridor.

“Who? Bell? HR’s gonna have a bitch fit if we get into a relationship,” Maya replied, slapping Bell on the back. He gave her an arch look.

“No, the Chu guy, Daniel.”

“Boys, boys, boys,” Maya said. “Where is that level headed Doctor of Biology and Chemistry that I met? That brave astronaut that nearly died in a tin can in space?”

“One cannot survive on bread alone,” Hanna intoned.

“Ouch, my blasphemy sense is going off,” Maya replied. “Plus I have no idea how that relates in context to what we were talking about.”

“She’s found the files on the old VR gear,” Bell said.

Maya began laughing. “Oh, dang. I totally forgot we still had that old VR gear.” Hanna turned a deep shade of red.

“Yosi told us how you used to use it to build things, since you’ve been stingy with the Engineering VR gear. We decided to rebuild it and use it…”

Maya continued laughing as they walked down the hall. Bell opened a door and May staggered in, barely breathing.

“It’s not that funny,” Hanna replied.

Maya looked up and saw several dozen faces staring at her. She looked around and felt the tension in the room, along with the smell of something burning. One of the settlement delegates had a pulse rifle out and was aiming it at another delegate who had a pair of swords out. Several other delegates carried pistols and other weapons.

“Oh, I guess the summit is off to a good start,” Maya said.