by Lee Thomas
“Alright, that’s really all I wanted for now. Let me know if we can connect to the satellites and start getting some pictures. I would like something tangible and more accurate than a road map.” I concluded. They nodded at me and stood to leave so they could go start the projects. Since they were the computer guys and girls I would let them decide how it was to be done. I re-arranged the maps on the table, and then went in search of the nearest bathroom.
On my way back, I nodded to and spoke with several people who stopped me with various questions, or just to chit chat. The sailors were still trying to figure me out and my leadership style. I decided to head up to the flight deck for a bit for some fresh air, but went through the bridge to see how the ship was doing. Even though we were not a functioning naval vessel anymore, the bridge still was the hub for communications, ship status, and any weather reports we could come up with. Main Engineering sent status updates on repairs to be done, if anything was not functioning properly, etc. to the bridge. If anything broke down, wore out, anything, the bridge should know shortly. Since all was good according to the OOD, I stepped out onto the flight deck.
It was a beautiful, sunny day today, and even though it was a little after four it wasn’t really that hot. The sun reflecting off the steel deck made heat waves shimmer in the air, and definitely made it feel hotter, but a decent breeze helped it stay tolerable. There were a few others who had also decided to come hang out topside for a few, but I just strolled across the deck top the port side and looked out over the water. There were boats that had either been cast loose or broke loose that were just drifting in the small waves of the bay. The cries of sea birds sounded through the air, and the occasional slap of water against the hull made for a peaceful scene if you could ignore the reason we were here.
Finally I turned and headed back towards the tower. Since I had called a meeting at 5, grabbing something to eat beforehand sounded good. Michelle may not be used to cooking for large groups like this, but her cooking never disappointed. I stepped into the galley and got in line for my tray. Whatever she made smelled like garlic, which probably meant she made her spaghetti and garlic bread. As I stepped up to the line, I was scooped spaghetti and meatballs, as well as given a couple of slices of garlic bread. It smelled amazing, and soon I found out why as Michelle and Angie both walked out of the kitchen with fresh pans of spaghetti and bread. Knowing Angie had a big hand in making the spaghetti, I knew it would be good. Smiling, I waved at them and headed for an open table. I dug in as everyone around me also ate in relative silence.
Finishing my food, I placed my tray in the dirty bucket to be washed and headed for the conference room. It didn’t appear Michelle would be joining us as she was still busy with dinner.
Heading back to the conference room, I went over in my head what I wanted to say. With a full 24 hours under them now, I hoped my people were starting to have a reasonable understanding of their new responsibilities. Stepping into the conference room, I saw Jeff there already, as well as Shayne and Christy, David, Dawn and finally Tony. Christian came in a few minutes after me, along with Chiefs Brandon Smith and Aaron Carter.
“Hi guys, how we all doing?” I asked as I went to the end of the table. Everyone was talking together and most of them answered me with a nod, wave, or thumbs up. The maps were all laid out on the table where everyone could see one, and I hoped that maybe I could get some fresh ideas for the wall.
“Shayne, how’s it going learning to keep this place running?”
“Settling in. It’s amazing how complicated the ship systems are. Keeping the engines running is going to be difficult, but with all the sailors I have I’m learning the ropes.” Shayne informed me.
“Good. Tony, how about security, any problems with watch schedules or anything?” I then asked.
“No, Chief Smith had it pretty well organized to start with, so all we really had to do was add the extra people in and extend the rotation.” He replied.
“Awesome. Christy, any problems with the kids?”
“No, it’s going amazing. We have plenty of rooms, even though most of them are upset they don’t really have a place to go play outside. There are a couple of rooms where we set all the game systems up at, and the older kids really love that. People brought plenty of board games and such too, and with the amount of helpers and parents we have, the kids are well taken care of.”
“Great. I will work on getting a safe place set up on the flight deck so that they can get some sunshine without the risk of falling off. I think we could arrange a ladder or something as well so that they can swim and get back onboard easily. Eventually we will have the base itself secure so they can have a proper playground.” I answered her. I then looked to David with a questioning look.
“Maintenance is going ok. The sailors already had a list of things to be looked into, and it was already being done. It was a little unorganized as none of them wanted the responsibility of being in charge, so no one took it, but they know what they’re doing, and they do it well.” He informed me.
“Excellent. As you all can see, I have maps of the surrounding area laid out. I have marked on that one where I want to build our wall. No route is going to be super easy, but I think this will be our best bet. With the ship as a safety net, it doesn’t matter if the infected get on base right now, and they probably are. I want to hash over the route, see if anyone has any suggestions, ideas for a better route, anything.” I said, pointing out the map I was referring to.
“We are going to need a way to get new materials for repairing equipment and such, like water pumps, hoses, pipes, oil for machinery, stuff like that. How do you propose we get that kind of stuff?” David asked me.
“We scavenge and search for it. We can strip the other ships of supplies and if we can get raw materials, we do have a machine shop to manufacture our own parts, to a point. I’m sure Aaron can attest to the ability of the shop to produce parts. For now I want to focus on the wall. I was thinking of using the shipping containers down at the south end of the pier. I know there are some flatbed trucks we can load them on with the portable crane, take them where they will go, and put them in place. I know it’s going to be loud, so security teams will be important. Suggestions?” I said.
“It will be risky, for sure. We will definitely need plenty of sharpshooters for defense, and some with swords wouldn’t hurt. It's going to be a large undertaking to say the least, and very dangerous.” Brandon chimed in.
“Are you sure you want to do something like this instead of just building privacy fence sections and set them up?” Aaron asked.
“That is also an option I am thinking about, Aaron. That’s why I wanted to talk about it. I would gladly listen to suggestions as I want this wall secure to protect everyone inside it, but I don’t want to lose half those people building it either.” I explained.
“The way I see it, we have really only three options to build a fence. We can use wood, chain link, or this container idea. Hold that thought for a minute.” Christian said. He then got up from the table and went out the door. We all just looked at each other and made small talk and further suggestions, just brainstorming, waiting for his return. He returned a few minutes later with another sailor as they rolled in a good sized dry erase board. Once they set it up at the end of the room, Christian got a marker and made two lines top to bottom. He labeled each column wood, chain link, and containers.
“Ok, pros of each. Wood; easy to find, easy to build sections here in safety and then go place. Fairly quiet setup for the most part. It would keep us out of sight, and we could cut holes where ever we wanted to see through, and shoot if we had to. It would also be easy to install gates.
“Next, chain link. Also easy to find, depending on height wanted. Gates are also easy to install, and you wouldn’t have to worry about only having certain places to shoot from. Not so many pros, I’ll give you that. Finally though we move on to the shipping containers. What pros do we have with them?” Christian asked us.<
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“Protection from view.” Jeff answered.
“Stronger.” Brandon said.
“Taller, and they can’t climb over it.” Shayne put in.
“Protection from the weather for the guards. They can be inside them watching, would prevent the things from smelling them as well, and give them shelter from rain and such.” I chipped in.
“The ends with the doors already have hinges, we could place gates fairly easy for access.” David informed us.
“Excellent. All very good points. Now, let’s review these real quick, see if we missed anything. Anyone think of anything to add?” Christian said, stepping back from the board. We all looked, and thought, racking our brains for any other benefits of any of them.
“Ok, moving on then. Cons of each type.” Christian said, erasing the pros.
“The wood can be blown over with a strong wind, and weather will eventually create the need for repairs.”
“Chain link is climbable, and doesn’t protect from view at all.”
“Wood or chain link can lose one post and lose multiple sections of fence.”
“The containers are going to be very loud and time consuming to set up.”
“The chain link can’t be set up in sections and would have to be secured to the posts after being unrolled.”
“The containers will be difficult to move, and repair if need be.”
Everyone just started spouting answers and ideas out as Christian wrote, trying to keep up. It sounded chaotic, but ideas were flowing, and they were involved. We kept going until all ideas were written, and no one could think of anything else. Christian then sat and we discussed the pros and cons of each for quite a while. While the cons for the containers were large, so was its pros.
“Ok people, quiet. I am going to review all this, take everything into consideration, and make my decision by morning on what we will do. It’s getting late and I’m sure you all would like some down time before crashing. I know I would like a shower. I would like to meet again in the morning, say at nine. Christian, please have everyone here present, as well as the ones taking care of the hydroponics. Everyone have a good night, let me know if anything happens.” I stood and said, effectively dismissing the meeting. They all stood and started filing out one by one. After they all left, I gathered all the maps back up and took them back to my quarters. It was almost eight by the time we had finished the meeting, so after putting the maps up on the shelf, I headed to the shower and then hit the bed.
Chapter 11
May 11th, 2018
Awakening around seven, I got up and dressed and then headed down to get some coffee. I knew breakfast would be handled by someone else since Michelle was not a morning person, but coffee could be brewed by anyone. I passed several people along the way, most of which called me ‘captain’. I nodded at everyone and greeted them, determined to get the sailors out of the habit of calling me sir and captain. The smell of coffee hit me as I entered the hallway from the hangar bay, followed by the unmistakable smell of every sailors’ favorite breakfast, ‘S.O.S.’. Called ‘Shit On a Shingle’ by every sailor since, well, ever, it was simply sausage gravy over a slice of toast. Simple, easy to make in bulk, but it was by far one of the best breakfast foods I have ever had.
Pouring a cup of coffee and adding sugar, I decided it smelled too good and I couldn’t resist grabbing a tray. Resisting the attempts of several people to let me skip, I waited my turn in line and took my portion. Sitting in the mess hall with everyone else, I dug in. It was hot, crunchy toast, and nice thick gravy with small chunks of sausage. While breakfast was not usually a priority with me, I had to admit that it was amazing. Once finished, I put my tray up, got one last refill of coffee, and then headed upstairs towards the conference room. I stepped in to find Cristian already there reviewing the maps.
“Morning Christian, how are you today?” I asked as I sat my cup down at my seat.
“Good, sir. I was planning on sending two or three teams out today to search for supplies. Do you want me to cancel them or go ahead and send them out?” he asked.
“By all means, let them go. I have been meaning to ask you anyways, how far have you managed to scrounge so far?”
“I believe we have scoured the base, and about five blocks around it.”
“Good. I hate letting anyone get too far away from safety, but we do need to look for supplies. How many people go to a team?”
“Usually four to six. Enough to search fairly quickly, but small enough to hide if needed. Also, we are limited by the space of the vehicles.” He explained to me.
“That’s a good number, I think. We also usually only let about four people go out at a time, but we were more limited on resources. Any fresh ideas on the fence line?” I asked, inclining my chin towards the stacks of maps he was looks at.
“No, not really. It really does seem that following this road is the best solution for a wall. Any other line we try to follow gets cut off by houses, businesses, or main highways. It would just be too difficult, and cut off too much line of sight, to try anywhere else. I’m guessing you have decided to go with the shipping containers?” he replied.
“Yes, I have, actually. What makes you think that?” I inquired, attempting to see where his mind was.
“I thought about the options as well last night, and it just seems that the containers would be the most secure option. Any guards we post would be out of sight, have shelter from the elements if needed, and they are strong. We can use wooden fencing for the base proper later, just for an additional level of security.”
“I like that idea actually. Yes, we can definitely add internal layers of fencing after we get the main wall built. That will help in case we ever do have a breach in the wall, the entire base wouldn’t be at risk.” I answered. We chatted for a few minutes more about different things, like our experiences on the road, things we saw, how we dealt with problems. He told me a little bit more about how they got settled in the carrier, decisions that were made, how they handled themselves when it all went to shit. I was glad he was forthcoming with it, because I really did want and need a good understanding of the sailors’ mindsets so I could properly utilize everyone’s skills without stressing anyone out too bad.
Christian and I wrapped up our talk as the others started filing in. As they came in we greeted each other and made small talk until everyone showed up. Two sailors finally showed up with a container of coffee, complete with a tray of mugs, sugar, and creamer. I had them place it on the small side table and then they both left, leaving the rest of us to our discussion.
“Good morning all, I hope everyone slept well last night. I just want to take this time for a quick status update all around, and then we can get to whatever work we have on the plate for today. First, does anyone have anything they need to report on their sections?” I started off with. Since the sailors had a lot to do with how things were run, I decided to try to keep these meetings formal, to a point. They all shook their heads, looking at each other around the table. I looked over at Brandon, David, and Tony who had went to retrieve coffee. With everyone giving me a negative answer, I continued on.
“Ok then, let’s finish the talk about the wall. I took all your feedback, reviewed our pros and cons list, and the maps, and determined that our best bet for long term safety is using the shipping containers along this route here. It is pretty much a straight shot to the ocean, it ends here with water, and we would have a decent line of sight for the majority of it of anything or anyone coming up to us. I’m not going to go over every bonus about them again, we did that yesterday. I will need a demolition team to set charges along this bridge here to take it out, that way we don’t have to worry about fortifying it or posting guards in another location. Any questions or comments so far?” I paused and looked around at everyone, just to make sure we were all on the same page. They all shook their heads, so I continued.
“Ok. Next, once we finish the wall, which I would love to have completed in n
o longer than a week, we also have this bridge and tunnel to the north we will need to either fortify heavily or blow the bridge. I would prefer to gate it off, but that’s another meeting. Now, I have an idea to help the security of the wall team. These things are drawn by sound, right? So why don’t we give them some sound to draw to.” I paused here for reactions. Getting mostly confused or interested looks, I continued on once more.
“We have plenty of JP-5, and trained pilots for the choppers, according to Christian here. Why don’t we rig some sort of solar power to a radio, put in a very loud cd, and hook up as large a speaker as we can get. We can then place it somewhere the infected can’t get to it, but can still hear it. That way they will be drawn away from the base, and the installation team can work in relative safety. We can also use the chopper to draw them away, as well as get a birds’ eye view of any stragglers. What do you think?” I asked.
“There are several buildings downtown that we could place it on top of. By sealing the roof access doors, nothing would be able to get to it to stop it, and with solar batteries it would just keep going.” Aaron informed me.
“Excellent. Now, I want four teams for the wall. Two security teams, two installation teams. That way we can constantly have containers on the move. Each installation team will have a crane operator, flatbed driver, and at least two rope grabbers to maneuver them into place. Each security team will have from four to six guards who can help with the containers if necessary. I want them all to be volunteers, but if we don’t get volunteers with the necessary skills, I will assign people. Christian, please make sure that announcement gets made, and I want a list of men going by noon. I plan on starting on the wall tomorrow morning. The rest of today will be spent on getting our noise maker prepared and tested. That’s all for now I guess, unless anyone has anything else they would like addressed.” I finished with. No one spoke up, so I dismissed the meeting and started gathering up my notes and maps. Everyone else left in ones and twos, hopefully to get things prepared for tomorrow.