Chapter 71 - Preparations
"This is a beautiful area," Simon said as he looked around, "I can see why they agreed to it."
"This is where we always agree to," Roland said testily, "I still don’t know what the hell is going on with this."
"Still worried about the speed?" Simon asked him.
"Yes," Roland nodded, "I’m also worried that they haven’t heard from Paulus yet."
"Not to mention Massimaferro being sick," Simon said, "If they know about that then it might explain the speed."
"They’re hoping to get Insegniferro or Medoferro," Roland nodded, "I just hope it’s nothing worse than that."
"So what do we have to do today?" Simon asked him, changing the subject.
"We need to try to get everything lined up," Roland told him, "This area is technically under the Skolnik command, but Major Steele has been posted up here for a long time because of the increased traffic from the Siraq land trade."
"So he’s pretty much the local equivalent of the colonel," Roland nodded, "A big fish in a small pond."
"Essentially," Roland agreed, "Steele has been through this before, so should be rather amenable."
"I bet he’s pushing to have this made a district of its own," Simon said, "Sounds like it is beginning to get ripe for it."
"Steele isn’t a political animal," Roland said, "He wouldn’t be in the running for this area if it was turned into a district of his own. He is from Skolnik, too close."
"Steele…" Simon said thoughtfully, "I wonder if he’s related to Medo."
"What do you mean?" Roland asked him.
"Medo’s real name is Copeland Steele," Simon reminded him, "He’s also from Skolnik."
"I hadn’t thought about it," Roland said, shrugging, "It’s possible. Shouldn’t matter. Rules are looser when it comes to the lower ranks, allowing them to serve closer to home. Still can’t serve directly in the town in which you were born."
"A good rule," Simon agreed, "Isn’t that the house?"
Roland nodded and they pulled their bicycles over to the side. He motioned for the guards to stay back and went up to the door, knocking on it lightly. It took a couple minutes for a middle aged man to come to the door and look out. Major Travis Steele opened the door and looked closely at Roland and Simon.
"Long time no see, Roland," Steele said, stifling a yawn, "It’s that time again, huh?"
"Did you get the cable?" Roland asked him.
"Yeah," Steele nodded, "Come on in, let’s discuss what we have to discuss."
The house was one of the dirtier ones Simon had seen in some time. Roland expressed a little bit of surprise at this as well, though Travis Steele remained oblivious of it. Steele led them to the office, which was just about the cleanest room in the building.
"Cordelia left me a couple years ago," Travis explained, "I was always a horrid housekeeper."
"You’ve got about three days to learn," Roland told him, "The Siraqis pulled a surprise on us. They’ll be here in a week. Massimaferro and Medoferro will most likely be here after their trip to Polonion, maybe even sooner if Massimaferro doesn’t get better."
"He’s sick?" Steele asked.
"Nasty virus of some sort they think," Roland confirmed, "Medoferro has been handling sessions."
"Not to mention that mess you have going on down in Cirrus," Steele said, "What the hell is going on down there anyway?"
"That’s Paulus’s department right now," Roland told him, "Right now we’ve got enough to deal with up here."
"And not enough people to deal with it," Steele said, "That’s another reason the place looks like this. I’m down ten people and nobody has been listening to me. I’ve got six patrollers. I’ve been walking a route because I’m so badly understaffed."
"Why didn’t you let us know?" Roland asked him.
"I have been!" Steele exclaimed, "I’ve been letting command know for months that we needed some replacements. I’m about to grab some locals if nobody will listen to me."
"I’ll make sure that they bring replacements with them," Roland promised, "This is ridiculous."
"We still need to get the place ready," Simon said, "Think there are enough locals who can work it?"
"It’s the slow season," Steele said, "You can probably get a good number of locals."
"Are the cabins in reasonably good shape?" Roland asked Steele, "That’s going to be the important part."
"Peabody keeps them up fairly well," Steele said, "You’ll have to talk to him about usage though."
"You can do that, Simon," Roland told him, "I’ll get on the line and try to get some additional help sent up here."
"Anything you need me to do?" Steele asked him.
"Yeah," Roland said, "Get someone here to clean this place up."
The Mullinix Book 1: Ascension Page 74