Health Regen:1,000/m
Will Power: 20 (27)
Dexterity: 3
Mana Regen: 410/m
Chapter 11
Allistor gathered everyone together for the funeral service. He was getting very tired of presiding over these. There had been way too many over the last year. He reflected bitterly on the fact that he’d never been able to hold one for his parents.
As the bodies burned, a woman stepped forward and began to read the words from Invictus, the poem that he’d etched a verse of into the wall in New York. His people had adopted the words, and Nigel had been asked to add them to nearly every Stronghold and Outpost. They were becoming words to live by, words of inspiration for his people. And now they made a fitting close to the funeral.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years,
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
When the flames had died down, Allistor made an announcement about the mercenaries. He’d debated waiting, but if they were going to be there repairing their ship, the issue was going to come up sooner than later.
“I know you’re all angry about the attack, and the loss of our friends and loved ones. But I need you all to listen to me with an open mind.” He waited, studying some of the faces gathered around him.
“The aliens who attacked us are a mercenary force. They came under orders, with no more say in the matter than any soldier would have. It wasn’t personal, though I know it feels like it to you and I.” Again he paused. The faces staring back at him were definitely taking on some unfriendly miens.
“Because we defeated and captured them, I was able to bind them to serve me, and to help me protect all of you. So for the next few years, that is exactly what they’ll do. They’ve been bound by system oaths to protect you with their very lives.” There was a considerable amount of grumbling from the crowd, and a few angry shouts.
Allistor held up his hands until they were quiet. “I know that’s a hard pill to swallow. And some of you will be angry with me for not executing them here and now. That’s fine, be angry with me. But I want two things to be very clear. As I said, they are oathbound not to harm any of you. And any violence committed against them will be dealt with as harshly as if you attacked me. And second, I decided that rather than waste their lives by executing them, I could use a hundred and forty high level, absolutely loyal, trained combat veterans to help us survive more attacks like this one. And it seems more attacks will likely be coming. So, I have made my decision, and I believe it is the best decision for all of us.”
He waited, and watched. There was a prolonged silence, then a period of whispering and mumbling. Finally someone near the front spoke.
“I can’t say I like it, but I trust you, Allistor.”
Heads began to nod, and others began to voice their support. It wasn’t enthusiastic, but it was honest. And it lightened Allistor’s heart to hear it. He wasn’t deluding himself that everyone was just going to accept his decision, there would be at least a few who would continue to resent it. Especially among the friends of the dead. But he could live with a few hard feelings.
“The mercenaries will be residing here while they repair their ship. Please do your best to accept their presence. Treat them as politely as you can. You may find that your life is in their hands before long. Thank you all for listening, and for coming to the aid of the Bastion when we called.”
Allistor patted a few shoulders and shook a few hands as he passed through the crowd. He noted several angry looks, but for the most part people were friendly enough. With Fuzzy, Helen, Harmon, and Amanda behind him, he made his way to the teleport and back to Invictus City.
That night, Allistor sat alone on a sofa in his personal suite’s sitting room. Amanda had already gone to bed, and the sisters were long asleep in their rooms. He tried to think back to the apocalypse and remember everyone he’d lost since. It saddened him that he couldn’t do it. For some, he remembered a name, but not a face. For others it was the opposite. And the more recent losses seemed to slide right past him. He found he didn’t know the name of the sister’s father, despite having recently presided over his funeral.
“Too many funerals, too many lost.” he whispered to himself.
And now he had a new dilemma. He had the mercenaries to use. He could load them on a ship with him, and a thousand droids, and go attack the goblin clan that had targeted him. But was risking their lives rather than the lives of his own people any more ethical or moral? Would their families mourn them less than the sisters asleep a few feet away mourn their father?
“I didn’t ask for this. Any of this. I never wanted to lead people, or be responsible for them.”
“No… you didn’t.” Amanda’s hands fell gently on his shoulders and she leaned in behind him. Speaking softly into his ear, said, “I was there from the start, right next to you. You never asked to lead. In fact you offered to let others lead. But your knowledge, your heart, your concern for all of us, made us follow you in those early days. Then I think you naturally grew into being a leader people want to follow. Some of those people out there this evening were angry with you. But they’ll get over it. Or they won’t.” She came around the sofa and took a seat in his lap, giving him a soft kiss on the forehead.
“But you can’t please everyone. You shouldn’t even try. You made the right decision today, taking advantage of a resource that’ll help you keep your one promise to all of us – that you’d do your best to protect us. And you have, my love.” She kissed him on the lips this time, softly and slowly. “You’re my hero.”
“Pfft! And your guinea pig. And… what was it? Fancypants?” He tickled her, causing her to squirm while pressing her lips together and trying not to squeal and wake the girls.
“Forget I said anything.” She mock-pouted. “No hero would take advantage of a defenseless princess in such a situation.” Grabbing his hand, she pulled him up and into the bedroom. “Come take advantage of me some more.
*****
Morning brought more administrative work. Allistor sat with Chris for an hour or more, listening to reports regarding loans for structures, mostly for Juanita’s people. Nearly all of them had chosen to claim land near Strongholds across the country. About a hundred had asked to be released from their oaths. Some to strike out on their own, and others to join allied Strongholds in locations that they liked. Allistor accommodated all of them, making sure they had a week’s supplies, and a viable weapon to defend themselves with. To prevent any of them from harming his people, he released them from their oaths only after they’d gone through the teleporter, or walked out his gates. It made him sad each time he saw green dots turn neutral blue or even red as people walked away, but he was learning to accept that he couldn’t save everyone.
About five hundred of them had requested loans to start their Outposts or Strongholds. A quarter of those were far enough away from his properties that they’d need to depend on themselves for defense. The loans were mostly to pay for defense systems. He worked out a discount for them if they wished to purchase a few battle droids, construction droids, or similar equipment from Harmon.
Ramon and Nancy brought Chloe to visit, and they asked Allistor to meet them on the roof of the high rise to talk. Ramon started things off, clearing his throat and looking a little uncomfortable.
“We’ve been discussing your offer over the last few days, and we think we’d like to take you up on your offer of a park. Nancy and I spent a little time with Helen, and we’ve picked a spot. She told us nobody has claimed it yet…” He drifted off.
“I sense a ‘but’ coming. What’s wrong, buddy?”
“It’s kind of a big ask. I’m talking about Governors Island, here in New Y
ork. Just south of Battery Park.” Ramon got up and walked to the edge of the roof, pointing toward the river. Allistor took one look and nodded.
“There’s no such thing as too big of an ask for you three. You’re my MVPs. You deserve whatever reward I can give you.”
Nancy smiled, but it was a hesitant smile. “He’s not done yet, Allistor.”
Ramon cleared his throat again. “Let me say first that we’re each willing to claim our ten acres near one of the Strongholds and give it to you as farmland, or whatever. The thing is, we’d like you to give us the entire island… and instead of building us a Stronghold, we’d like it to be a Citadel.” Ramon blew out a breath after speaking the words, looking down at his feet.
Allistor opened his mouth to say yes, but Chloe interrupted. “There’s a cool old fort that mom said we can make into our house! And a big old garden, and beehives! Plus there’s room for me to have more chickens and bunnies, and even the murder chickens!” She pouted slightly, a wild swing from her enthusiasm of just seconds earlier. “But mom says I can’t have those until I get bigger.”
Nancy rolled her eyes and put a hand over her child’s mouth. “Yes, it has all those things. And a ferry dock where we could run boats back and forth from Battery Park. There are a few sports fields, which would be great places for cookouts. Tons of buildings for housing. I was thinking of using it as a training ground for both gardeners and alchemists. And of course the food we grow would be used to feed everyone.”
Ramon added, “It’s close enough that you might be able to defend us from the City, here. At least for incoming ships.”
Allistor pretended to think it over, tapping his chin and trying to look contemplative. After ten seconds of watching his friends twitch, he said, “I have one condition.”
Ramon actually flinched. He’d expected a ‘no’ and didn’t know what to do when he didn’t hear one. “Sure. What is it?” Nancy put her arm around him, equally surprised.
Allistor looked at Chloe. “I’m going to need you to name one of the murder chickens Lady Amanda. Can you do that for me?”
All three of them took a few seconds to process what he’d said, then burst into laughter. Chloe held up her arms, demanding that Allistor pick her up. When he did, she whispered in his ear.
“That might make her mad, you know.” Her very serious and concerned face made Allistor laugh out loud.
“Ha! I’m pretty sure it will!” He tickled her for a moment before putting her down. Adopting a serious face of his own, he held a hand out to Chloe. “So, do we have a deal?”
She gave him a great big nod and made a show of shaking his hand once. “Deal!”
He grinned at Ramon and Nancy. “I can’t believe you thought I’d refuse you. I could see it written all over your faces. You just don’t understand how important you three are to me. You’re my family. You’ve saved the lives of thousands of us, my own more than once. And where would I be without Chloe reminding me not to let stuff bite me?” Chloe covered her mouth and giggled.
“The island is yours. And I’ll build you your Citadel. In fact, Nigel, give them whatever they need in the way of walls, structures, defenses, all of it. That’s an open order, until I say otherwise.”
“It will be my pleasure, Sire.”
Allistor could see Ramon fidgeting, and guessed he had spoken too soon. “There’s something else you want, as well.” He grinned at his friends. “Come on, hit me!”
Nancy spoke for Ramon. “My fiancé is shy about asking for things for himself. We want to be hooked up to the teleport network. I know you already have a couple pads here in the City…”
“Of course! You think I’d have a Citadel not connected? How would we get all your tasty veggies and potions? I just assumed you’d want a pad. I guess I shouldn’t have done that. Okay, here’s my formal declaration as Prince Allistor of Earth.” He paused, giving them both a narrow-eyed look.
“Hold on, is there anything else? It’s gonna look foolish if I do this, then you add more stuff.”
Ramon finally relaxed and laughed. “No, that is all.”
“Then I, Prince Allistor of Earth, lord of Invictus and apparently a big ol’ Fancypants,” He winked at Chloe, who giggled again. “Do hereby declare that my friends, my advisors, my Chief Scribe and Librarian, my Minister of Agriculture, and Chief Bunny and Chicken Wrangler, are hereby granted Governors Island, New York in its entirety. I shall construct for them a Citadel, the design of which shall be determined by them. The property shall be theirs, to be passed down to their heirs, in perpetuity.”
To end it properly, he bowed at the waist and made a fancy flourish with his arms. Chloe instantly mimicked him, then Nancy did too. Ramon just blushed and make a quick half-bow.
A blue light swirled around all four of them, and Allistor realized he’d probably struck some sort of bargain by either promising the Citadel, or giving them perpetual rights to the land. Either way, he didn’t care. He fully intended to live up to the bargain.
Chloe jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Let’s go see the bees! And have a picnic!”
“That sounds like an excellent idea!” Allistor crouched down in front of her. “Would it be okay if we brought along some friends? Sam and Meg, Helen and Fuzzy, and Lady Amanda? Maybe a few more?”
“YES!” Chloe stepped forward and hugged him. “Let’s bring the whole family!”
And so it went. Allistor sent the word out to all the original Warren survivors, as well as George, Lars, Logan, Chris, Dean and Sarah, Andrea and her guys, the sisters, Kira and her family, and several other advisors and leaders. At the last minute, he invited Harmon, Prime, and Gralen as well. He figured it would be a good way to introduce everyone.
Meg and Sam arranged food and refreshments while George rounded up a bunch of seedlings and seeds from his greenhouse. Everyone grabbed something that would make good housewarming gifts. While preparations were being made across Allistor’s lands, he took Ramon, Nancy, Chloe, Amanda, Helen, and Fuzzy down to Battery Park. From there they grabbed a boat and cruised the short distance across the water to the ferry dock on the north side of the island. As soon as they were tied up and on solid land, he looked at Ramon.
“Go ahead, my friend. Build your Citadel.”
Ramon’s eyes unfocused for a moment, then refocused. “The system won’t let me.”
“Ah, crap. Must be a title thing. I had to be a noble before it let me build Cheyenne. One sec.” Allistor’s own eyes unfocused, then he grinned. “Which one of you wants to be a Baron? Or Baroness?”
“Me!” Chloe shouted, raising her hand and jumping up and down. “Me me me!”
Nancy pushed her daughter behind her legs and said, “That would be Ramon.”
“Good enough.” He made a mental selection, then approved it. “Baron Ramon of Governor’s Island, build your Citadel!”
The others clapped as Ramon’s eyes unfocused again. This time, everything went golden as the usual process began. The ground under their feet went invisible, but nobody staggered. By this time they were all used to it.
Ramon spent about five minutes making choices and alterations. When he finished, they were all surprised to feel the land rising under them. It got higher, and higher, and Ramon laughed at the looks on their faces. Eventually, they stopped rising with a lurch, and he explained.
“It seemed a shame to put a high wall around this entire place, to block the breeze and the views. So I just raised the whole island up thirty feet. Now the sea walls are the defensive walls!” he walked them over to the nearest edge, and they all looked down to see thirty feet of perfectly smooth stone wall ending at the water below.
“Ha! That was good thinkin’!” Helen hugged him.
“You’ll have to create a ramp up from the dock, and figure out some kind of gate there, but I like it!”
Ramon shook his head. “I took your lead from Pelican Bay. There’s a heavy door at the dock level, leading to a big warehouse area. From there, there�
�s a freight elevator big enough to fit a truck that will bring folks up to ground level.” He paused, seeing Allistor open his mouth. “There are both mines in the floor and cannons placed on the walls down there. Nothing is getting in.”
Allistor closed his mouth and just clapped his friend on the back. “Just one more thing…” He looked around. “Having a Citadel entitles you to an AI. You’re welcome to add Nigel if you like, or you can choose to use your own. I’m sure they’ll interface just fine.”
“Nigel!” Chloe shouted. “I love Nigel!”
Nancy rolled her eyes, then looked at Ramon, who just nodded. “Nigel it is.”
“Thank you, Baron Ramon. It shall be my pleasure to serve you.” Chloe looked up and waved, used to having Nigel’s voice come from above.
They planted the teleport pad, and almost immediately people began drifting in. Folks handed gifts to Nancy and Ramon, and a few for Chloe, as they entered. Meg and Sam showed up with a serving staff, and organized lunch on a wide open lawn near the old fort. White tents and tables were set up for serving, and several round tables with chairs for eating.
Someone brought along a CD player, which they plugged in, then used Nigel to broadcast the music. Addy and Sydney sang along to several of the songs, and Sam convinced each of them to dance with him briefly. Chloe joined in, as did Cody. Max romped around happily, barking at everyone and mooching food. He and Fuzzy conspired to steal an entire tray of burgers from one of the tables and wolf them down.
At one point, Allistor caught sight of Max noticing Gralen, approaching the mercenary with his ears flat and tail down, nose going a mile a minute. When Gralen offered a hot dog to the mutt, Max quickly sold his soul and approached, letting the wolverinekin scratch his ears after gulping down the hot dog in seemingly one piece.
“Well, at least one citizen has accepted him.” Allistor muttered, smiling.
They played, and ate, and socialized for the rest of the day. Someone broke out fishing poles, and the kids hauled up a couple of oversized fish that even Helen couldn’t identify without using her Examine ability. The kids, Max, and Fuzzy wore themselves out, napped, then got up and started again. Allistor did a little bit of snoozing in the sunshine himself.
Shadow Sun Rebellion Page 20