Page 45 of Resolution
Resigning himself to the title and inherent responsibilities, Jeff had taken him up on the offer and had made requests for all kinds of military supplies and equipment. There’d been a number of massive supply drops in the far pasture of the ranch. While the Sectors was still grateful and before some other, new crisis could take the attention of the authorities he was dealing with through Ironside Jeff had requisitioned an entire field hospital module for Melly, complete with a fully stocked pharmacy, operating theaters, scanners, treatment bays, patient wards, and the most up to date medical AI available. Jeff had had that delivered to a field outside Millersville and he and Melly had spent a week there setting it all up. He and his wife made twice a month visits to the town now, for Melly to see patients and to teach. She was determined not to allow her medical knowledge to die with her and had a medical apprenticeship program going. Over the course of the year they’d located a few other people with varying degrees of medical knowledge and training and had a few eager-to-learn volunteers.
When she wasn’t in residence there was a core group of her assistants and trainees who ran the hospital with the AI’s help. And of course she was on call for emergencies. Jeff flew her down there twice in one of the flyers he’d been sent.
He’d designated the mayor of Millersville as his civilian counterpart and Derek Wyler became the governor of Randal Four. Jeff and the mayor had always worked well together and had a similar vision for the future of the planet. Jax Driscoll at Glastine had proven himself to be a capable administrator and ally but Jeff felt Wyler having been elected prior to the apocalypse made him the person most likely to be accepted by all the planet’s residents. The original democratic selection process which resulted in Wyler becoming mayor, even of a relatively small population area lent veracity to his new, more encompassing title given him by Jeff under his military authority.
The allies issued a regular news broadcast once a week, on a com network Cody had designed, which had the ability to reach the entire planet via various relays. Through this Jeff had identified more small communities and even individual families in need of help or relocation and the population in the north was growing slowly.
Of course the infected took note of this in their fashion. Cody’s drones monitored the cities and the southern border of what Jeff considered his territory. Yes he had authority over the entire planet but he could only effectively ‘chew one bite at a time’ and the north was his starting point for the reclamation of Randal Four. There had been three sorties by the allies, including Norwood and his agri robos to destroy large swarms heading north.
Jeff had an advisory council which included Melly, Tamsyn, Governor Wyler, Driscoll and Norwood’s eldest son. Jeff suspected there was a transition of authority taking place at the ranch these days, which suited him. The son was much less of an isolationist than his father and inclined to go along with what Jeff deemed necessary.
They were working up to trying to reclaim parts of New Damarkal next, including the military base, which Jeff believed held much he and his forces could use. Clearing a city was vastly different than eliminating a swarm out in the open and at the new military training facility he’d established in Millersville, teams were working on devising the best ways to handle the urban infestation. It would be their critical next phase of the battle.
Cody and Tamsyn had relocated to the Double Comets ranch and hired a team of experienced hands from among the refugees at Glastine and Millersville. Cody was still on active duty of course—they all were, in perpetuity, Jeff thought—but the long range arrangement worked out fine with Cody’s capabilities. The Double Comets was rapidly becoming a major supplier of meat for the two settlements.
Devora and Les had moved to Millersville because she was adamant about Jenny growing up among other children. Les was in command of the military training facility and Devora had taken on the chief administrator duties for the Mayor-now-Governor.
Ryan and Trent remained at the ranch for now but Jeff could imagine a future where both took assignments for him elsewhere, especially if either man found his romantic partner. Zach was undoubtedly going to become the operating manager of the ranch. It was his first love and Jeff enjoyed teasingly reminding him the ranch had only been cover for their true mission at the time, not a life’s avocation. Zach would grin obligingly each time and continue with whatever ranch related chore he was carrying out. He was on active duty too and deployed for assignments with no complaint but every other spare moment was spent on the ranch.
With the exception of some trips to the Norwood ranch. Zach and Fleur, Norwood’s AGcycle riding daughter were an acknowledged couple now and Jeff figured it was only a matter of time before Zach popped the question and there’d be a wedding to celebrate. He and Zach had had discussions about enlarging the house to create a bedroom suite for the couple, or possibly even building another, smaller house.
Mike Jericho couldn’t decide between ranching and the military right now so they were giving him equal exposure to both worlds in judicious amounts. A boy had to grow up fast in this world but Jeff counted himself fortunate he could provide Mike with a safe place to do his growing and exploring and still have time off from studies to be a kid with a dog and an open range to explore. Mike took vidcom classes appropriate to his age from the Millersville school and when Jeff and Melly flew down for visits he accompanied them and went to the actual school with his classmates.
“Plotting world domination?” Melly asked, breaking Jeff’s train of thought. She came up beside him to watch the calves.
He put his arm around her and drew her close. “How are you doing, doc?”
Melly patted her rounded stomach. “The baby’s kicking a lot today. I’d better accelerate my obstetrical training for Tamsyn and Trent and the apprentices. Good thing the AI at the hospital has an OB/GYN module. We’ll be fine.”
“I’ll worry until I see the baby and hear him crying,” Jeff said honestly. “You promised to give me plenty of warning before we need to take residence in Millersville for the delivery.”
“I will. I don’t want to have the baby here at the ranch with only you, Mike and Zach to help.” She softened her remark by adding, “Not that I don’t love you and the guys, and I know you’d do your best but it will be comforting to be in the hospital environment just in case. Did I tell you the governor’s wife is having a baby shower for us next time we fly down?”
He rolled his eyes, trying to imagine himself at such an event. His life had certainly changed once his boots hit the ground on Randal Four. “Nice of her. Do I have to be there?”
Laughing, Melly said, “For a few minutes anyway. Then you and the governor can escape if you want. Do more of your endless planning and plotting how to get more of Randal Four cleared and functioning.”
“We’ve made a lot of progress,” Jeff said stubbornly. “The day we all landed at the spaceport and got attacked by the infected I for one never thought we’d achieve so much in a relatively short time. I was trying to figure out what the seven hells was going on, keep you safe, and get all of us here to the ranch.”
“Where you anticipated we’d have to hole up forever and fight off swarms of infected,” Melly said. “Right?”
“Something like that,” he admitted. “I’m glad events played out the way they have and we’re building a future now, not merely surviving day to day.”
“You know, I almost missed ever meeting you,” Melly said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
“What do you mean?” This was news to Jeff.
“I stayed in the MidSectors for a few weeks after I was done with my residency and had gotten Board certified. I was a bridesmaid in the wedding of two of my medical school friends and I knew it was probably the last time I’d ever see any of them again, interstellar distances being what they are, so I delayed coming home. If I’d skipped the wedding I’d have arrived in the middle of the outbreak and probably gone straight to the hospital to help.”
“Well we know you wouldn’t have been infected but you’d have been in terrible danger and I wouldn’t have been here to help.” The idea gave Jeff a flash of anxiety and he tightened his arm around her waist. “And I’d never have known what I was missing—the love of my life, the best partner a man could ever have, apocalypse or otherwise. I would have come here and holed up like a hermit.”
“I’m sure, knowing you, you’d have helped people whether I was here or not,” Melly said.
“You could have seen your parents.”
She was silent for a moment and he wished he’d held his tongue, but then Melly sighed, resting her hand on her stomach again. “Mom and Dad would be happy for me with the way things turned out for us and ecstatic about their grandchild. Since I can’t change the past and you, the baby and my parents can’t exist in one reality together, I can’t regret delaying to be in the wedding since it meant I did meet you and together we’re making a difference for the entire planet. I mean, there are literally thousands of people we helped to keep alive between Millersville and Glastine.”
“Not to mention getting rid of the aliens who caused all of this. We did good, wife.”
