Author's note: Before Each Chapter I roll a 100 sided die to see if contact is made since they put up the radio. This helps to keep my story somewhat unpredictable to me. As such, when I roll 10% or less contact is made. It changes the story for me in mid stride. For me it is an accurate depiction of how and when contact can be made, instead of just finding everyone at once or trying to force the issue.
Book 2 C 7 Albuquerque
That evening after dinner we had the town meeting. Everyone gathered and we broke them into groups. One group was who had professions and were fine with it. The next were those who had professions and wanted a new a second more useful one. And the last group was those with no profession.
Rick and Larry Benally took charge of those with the good professions and split them up even more, into two separate groups. 3 Lightning Mages, 1 Water Mage, 6 Barrier Specialist went with Rick. While the Taxidermist, Gardner, Butcher, Livestock Handler, 2 Electricians, Seamstress, 8 Builders, Hunter and Baker went with Larry. Each was to see and evaluate the professions for their potential and usefulness. Larry wanted the Taxidermist as he could work with skins of animals which could very useful down the road, as well as the seamstress for obvious reasons.
We had some who were happy with what they had and did not want another profession but were, in my eyes, useless, like the Accountant and Beauticians. 9 Beauticians total. I did not argue with them yet, but let it slide for now, as Cindy, Julie and even Ki'Diera argued on their behalf about their usefulness.
I sent the 4 Mechanics to Terry Williams for further instructions. The Elite Guard and Super Soldiers were exempt and doing rounds or patrols on the walls or within the 5 km zone while some had rest time.
I took the group who had professions, but wanted a second more useful one. While Cindy, Julie and Ki'Diera worked with those with no profession.
We wound up with 41 more people who wanted to help on the Walls but would venture no further than the safe zone edge, so we made them into Elite Guards. The original 11 who had been inspired by Cindy, took this opportunity to take on Fire Mage, while the 11 who had joined the Kingdom Army, became Super Soldiers as well. We also had a few male and females who were interested in Julie's capabilities of healing and then when they saw her barrier, really wanted to be like her, thus we had 18 more healers with area barriers.
Rick came to me and was impressed by his group, the Lightning Mages used up a lot of mana, but were devastating he said, while the Water Mage was a glorified Fireman, using streams of water as their weapon. We spoke on that one and agreed it could be very useful in many ways, even help with the irrigation of crops down the road in the coming dry season when the rivers run dangerously low.
The Barrier Specialist could create wall barriers in almost any location of their choosing within a certain range, that was how they fended off the creatures in the Farmington Mall. The desire and want of the barriers was so great that 6 people were able to grasp the profession. Sadly the Farmington people did not discover the party system, so they could level up with the Lightning Mages and Robo Cops.
We found out tho, without weapons the Robo Cops were durable as hell. They could take a beating, and when done they put their damaged and torn armor into their Inventory and with a full 8 hours of rest, the armor was fully repaired. You could call them walking tanks, if not for the ammo issue. Several times they had to stand in place while the Barrier Specialist needed rest to regain mana. Health and mana potions were rare for them and saved just for the Robo Cops as everyone's lives depended on them in case of an emergency, which happened frequently towards the end.
We decided to hold off on the Robo Cops and see if we could find a way to upgrade their weapons or fix the ammo issue, as it was a special caliber, Rick suggested I simply make some, but after listening to the ammo's capabilities, I felt it would be difficult to mass produce them at my current skill level.
36 people volunteered for the Farmer jobs, after we explained the need for fresh produce and vegetables and what the future food situation looked like. Another 7 went for Lightning Mage after witnessing their abilities at the Mall. Four more became Cooks to help in the Kitchen. We also gained 8 more Water Mages, while 5 more became Barriers Specialists. Linda Roberts 2 assistants and the 3 other educators all became scholars, and 4 more stepped forward to become Scholar and teachers for the new school.
Our Builders demonstrated their abilities. They could not transmute like the original builders, but they could build and enhance with mana, structures quickly and proficiently not needing power tools. Boards were cut, bricks were lay'ed and mortar'ed, Frames were built and erected in quick succession by the 8 working together. In all, if allowed to they could probably erect an entire house in under 6 hours. Right now they were learning from the original Builders how to dig out holes for basements.
88 people stepped forward to become a Builders, seeing the need to construct and upgrade.
The final 43 men and women, were undecided. And we were nearing 9 pm. Tired and a little frustrated, I decided to give a speech just for them, and recruit them to Super Soldiers. The 43 were all originally young adults, all under the age of 30, mostly 25 and under before being initiated. I gave a strong emotional speech, outlining some of the heroics the Super Soldiers have done so far and their capabilities when working as a team. Several had witnessed this fact in Farmington, while others knew that we only had to use 2 of them for the Were-Beast portal area. It Seemed, convincing them did not take much and all finally agreed. With that we gained 43 more Super Soldiers. And I was happy and tired then.
In the end we had
10 Lightning Mages
9 Water Mages
11 Barrier Specialist
1 Taxidermist
1 Gardener
1 Live Stock Handler
2 Electricians
1 Seamstress
96 Builders
1 Hunter
1 Baker
1 Accountant
9 Beauticians
41 Elite Guards added
11 Fire Mages
18 Healers with Area Barriers
4 Robo Cops
36 Farmers
4 Cooks
9 Scholars
and 43 new Super Soldiers
All were reset back to level 1 with the new Professions, with the exception of those who already had the Profession they desired.
Once completed we all retired to bed, some stayed and played with their new found Professions, and Sergeant First Class Montgomery and Staff Sergeant Halloway took charge of the new Super Soldier recruits quickly instructing an advising on the use of armor and weapons.
I was not able to bestow TA Advanced Marine as my weapons relied on Reality Manipulation to create the ammo and no one possessed that skill, thus I remained the only one.
This was my first night with all three of my wives since the Were-Beast incident and we all snuggled and slept soundly in the big bed.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
I wake up and see the sun is bright outside and realize I slept in, glancing at my watch it was already 7:15 am. Quickly and quietly I get out of bed as to not disturb my wives and head for the Showers. After a brief shower and shave, I head for breakfast. Many there are talking excitedly about their professions. I see Alexander who as usual is already up.
“We have 41 new Elite Guard Alexander, you can put them to good use on the walls.” I am telling him while sipping some coffee.
“I will do so your majesty, I also see you have some new Super Soldiers” He remarks.
“Yes I am going to let Sergeants Montgomery and Halloway have a few days with them before we take them into the field, that will give me ample time to make more bracelets and maybe a few more rings as well.” I reply.
Montgomery at that time joined us, and we discussed putting the Super Soldiers on the Rotation for the Portal site first. We estimated it would get them each to level 19 in one rotation, The set up was two Super Soldiers and 4 recruits, two teams per rotation for now to get them to practice shooting, learning to use their mana barriers and get used to their new stats and abilities. With 41 people it would take 10 rotations to get them to 19, so basically 5 days.
I sigh “you know that is a huge delay” I say to Montgomery.
“It can not be helped, if we do not do this, they will be more than just green in the field, it will be a 5 day boot camp for them to get them somewhat familiar with their gear.” Montgomery says.
“You are right, we have no choice in the matter right now. Then we need to do the same for the Elite, but we can go back to one team and leave 4 Supers here to train them on rotations at the site and let the other Elites take care of day to day training.” I say slowly thinking how best to utilize our experienced people and not slow down the needed progress. I felt an urgency on me like never before, and time was running out.
It has now been 35 days since the start of this all, 28 since the mass kill off of the Uninitiated.
"I know this is inconvenient, but I am going to take 4 Supers, 20 of the Elites and 30 of the Ny'Har'en with me and we are going to Fort Carson today. Plus we will check the Drow cave and hit Colorado Springs. We need to get that done fast, something in my gut tells me time is running out for the other survivors.
At this time Foster comes running into the Cafeteria,” Master Gunnery Sergeant we just made contact with Albuquerque!” She yells as she hurries to us.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Really? That is great, how many do they have?” I say to Foster.
Foster then gives me her report.” They are holed up in the Hospital there. A lot are Police, some Kirtland Air Force Base people, Several Doctors and Nurses, and many civilians, all in total over 800 people, but there were over 3000 in the beginning, till the seventh day hit and most vanished. They have been gathering survivors also, from around the city much like us, plus food weapons and ammo.. A few have discovered professions, but many are still unable to decide or comprehend them.”
“So what are their plans now?” I ask
“Right now they are running on generators gathering fuel from the area to keep them running, but are uncertain how long that can last. Sergeant Raymond gave them the information on our set up here, and they have a strong interest to move all their people to here, but moving over 800 is problematic, as they are barely keeping the creatures out at this time.” Foster says with a grim expression.
“Albuquerque is large and had a population just shy of 600k mostly spread out, on par with Colorado Springs both in size and population.” I begin to ponder. “ A drive there would probably take about 4-5 hours, if the roads were clear maybe 3 hours with a good vehicle”
“They do have access to a few Air Force Blackhawks” Foster continues” but even transporting by chopper it would take a round trip of 2 and half hours with refueling. Also the pilots say they could just barely make it here and back on a single fuel tank. They could move 33 people at a time max between the 3 Blackhawks they have. So in a days time they estimate they could make 6 trips moving 216 people, taking 4 days to move everyone.” Foster finally says."they also say they could push them selves more if needed, but going without rest for the pilots would not be a good idea."
“800 more people in four days.” I mutter to myself. I then look at the time, it is almost time to start the rush job to the Towers.
“How much room do we have on the East side for housing?” I ask
“90 homes at best in that area.” Says Rick walking up to us overhearing the conversation.” With the basements, they can hold 4 bedrooms each. I just got done talking to the Builders about that.”
“So you heard?” I ask him.
“Yeah 800 possible new arrivals, word is spreading fast at the news.” He replies.
“Those houses would go to the Ny'Har'en first anyways.” I say then think some on it.” We have 96 builders who could put a house up in 6 hours in groups of 8, means we can get 12 houses up in 6 hours. If we can get the original Builders to assist maybe even double that?” I say then.
“It is no use we do not have the room to get everyone a house inside the walls. We will have to use the houses on the West and North side closest to the walls to accommodate everyone. Set up security patrols of those areas and post guards around there. We are talking at least 150 to 200 homes we will have to secure out there as some of our people will venture out too once we open the gates. Also keep in mind there is no power to those units out there.” Rick says.
“Let's keep it nice and tight, let's find an area where we have 200 homes packed tightly together and set up a perimeter around it. Use the entire Elite Guard to guard it all for now. We need a heavy presence out there. I will ask the Builders if we can tie those units into our power system somehow.” I say deciding, then continue.
“Having them come by air seems safer in the long run and gives us time to get ready and coordinate. Plus we can let them know in advance the plan so they are not taken by surprise with housing outside the gates.” I say and then see Christina Mayer walking towards me, her mood seems heavy and her face shows signs of lack of sleep, standing at 5'7', she has short dark brown hair, wearing a pink blouse and blue knee length suit skirt. Her black high heels strike the marble floor with a click each time.
I still do not see how that can be her profession uniform and run in those things if needed.
She is holding a clipboard looking device in her right hand and has a pen which glows lightly in her left hand. She also has a pair of earnings of blue azure crystal looking adorning her ears. A simple looking necklace about her throat with a red gem in it. Her figure is very slim with long looking legs for her size, that are clothed in dark pantyhose. Her bust draws the eyes quickly, as they stick out like two melons, under her pink blouse. She is also wearing red rimmed glasses that give of a slight glow right now which highlight her big blue eyes. If one had to say, she was gorgeous by any mans standards, with her small faced features and her 18 year old looks.
“Mr Smith” She starts.
“It's Scott please, Everyone here calls me Scott” I say to her once again. We had met yesterday after the meeting. After we met I asked her to look in on the female victims from the two malls, it seems she was just finishing up her evaluation.
“Ah yes Scott, my apologise. I have looked over the females in question. This is going to be vey hard since it is so many of them. If they were fewer in number, I could help them probably over time, but so many at once.” She says and has a look of uncertainty on her.
“What of I were to assign Psychologist to other people to assist you?” I ask.
“Mr..... Scott, that will not do, it takes years and years of study of the human mind to just try to understand it. You can give out the profession, but the person who has it, will still not understand the human mind. In fact it can cause more harm than good by doing so. The Skills I obtained as a Psycologist are useful tools to help me understand the person better I am dealing with. I have hypnotic voice, that can place them under hypnotism. Feel emotions which allows me to feel anger, fear or anxiety and more, also I have Suggestion, which can help lead ones to achieve a different action by a simple suggestion over time, a lot of time mind you, and the last one is Personality Wipe."
“Personality wipe?” I ask now curious.
“Yes it is a skill, that allows me to wipe a persons personality, turning them into a clean slate, a new person, if that makes sense to you. Wiping out the old person from existence. Once done it can not be undone. I hesitate to even imagine using something like that, as it in effect is killing that person to create a new one, basically a new person appears with total amnesia of their past, but maintains motor function skills, everything they learned thru training of schooling, just their personality is wiped away.” She says then sighs.
“I now what you are thinking, that it would be best and easiest to simply wipe those girls memories and let them start over, but that is cruel in itself. We would be killing them, I hope you understand that. We have to at least try to save them and let them make their own choice if they want to die with a rational mind in place. We can not make that choice for them and for you to bestow this Profession on others is more than just dangerous to everyone here.” She finishes.
“Doc after what you just told me I trust you wholeheartedly, Those are some powerful skills you could have kept secret.” I say to her.
“Yes but I can not read their minds, so I do not know what is going on in their heads yet.” she says grimly.
“Doc I think I can help you there,” I say with a smile and focus on the Bracelet Rick is wearing. After a short moment one appears in my hands and I hand it to her.
“What is this....how did you...?” She asks and looks shocked, then she reads the information on it and her face goes pale.”This is intrusive and unimaginable, to be able to read others thoughts, there is no privacy anymore.”
“That is why I am giving them out to everyone, it also blocks people from reading your mind, bu it is our secret weapon against those who would wish to cause us harm too. I am sorry for having read you mind, but I am certain you are truthful and only have what is best in mind for us all”. I say to her with a smile as she quickly puts on the bracelet.
“So everyone here can do this?” She asks looking around suspiciously.
“Well almost everyone, I still have more I need to hand out, but most everyone is aware of the fact their minds can be read by those with the bracelets, We have not told the people from Farmington yet, as to weed out any trouble makers before handing them out. But they all will get one soon.” I reply
"That is good to hear Mr.......Scott” She says looking at the Bracelet” This will be of great help with those poor women.”
“If you will excuse me, I will leave their care to you and if you need anything, simply ask and we will get it for you, anything understand?” I say to her and she nods with relief on her face.
“Thank you for giving me the chance to save them and not ordering me to wipe their minds” She says quietly, then walks off.
"Lets head to the Radio tent and talk to Albuquerque about the plans then." I say to Rick and Alexander.
“What about Colorado Springs and Fort Carson?” Asks Rick.
“It will have to wait, I want to send 60 people to Albuquerque with the Buses and Hum-Vee's by Chopper, we can then shuttle at least half and be back, so it will take two trips to get everyone there, we can spend a day in Albuquerque while the choppers ferry half of the people and then we take the remaining half with us by vehicle, that will give us time to hit the surrounding area for supplies.” I say to Rick. "I need to ask Terry to fix something to the front of a tank so it can clear a path for us quickly."
With that we all head towards the Radio tent.