Chapter 234: Civilian Matters

By the time Hans returned to Main Base that afternoon, the council representatives were already waiting inside the Command Center.

Dianne had placed them in one of the smaller briefing rooms instead of the Master Command Room.

Three people sat around the table.

Hans recognized Billy Turner immediately. The other two matched the names already attached to civilian reports he had read many times—Maya Ross and Milana Porter.

Dianne remained near the end of the table.

"Commander. Councilors Ross, Turner and Porter."

Turner looked toward Hans.

"Commander."

"Councilor. I hope the trip went well?"

"It was a fantastic ride, Commander. Your... helicopters, they’re amazing."

"Then I’m reassured."

Hans took the empty seat. "You wanted to know who’s running Grefort City."

The three councilors tensed up. Maya carefully placed several papers on the table.

"The council was organized around the Colony. We handled the people living there because somebody had to. That’s becoming more complicated now."

"I heard people were leaving every day?"

Residents had already returned to Westgate, Highcross and several other cleared districts. More would follow as Engineering reopened roads and restored basic utilities.

Maya tapped one of the reports.

"They still come back to us for missing-person records, housing problems, family registration and everything else they don’t know where to bring."

Turner added, "Supplies too."

Milana followed.

"And businesses. Property claims. Recovered goods. Trade between the districts is already starting again."

Hans looked between them.

"You’re already handling most of it."

"For the Colony," Maya said.

"So expand. Is that not obvious?"

The three councilors went quiet. Indeed, it was that obvious. But saying it wasn’t the same as handling the political weight that such words carried.

"That’s very easy to say from your side of the table, Commander."

"What part isn’t?"

"The part where the three of us suddenly decide we’re running an entire city. Some will agree, and others won’t follow us easily."

"Not a problem. If people in a district can handle their own local problems, let them. If they need someone representing them, they can choose somebody."

"What about us then?"

"Keep expanding your scope. We can’t just stay on the Colony in the future now, can we?"

Maya understood where he was going.

Turner sighed.

"You really don’t want the job."

"Do I look like I spent the last several months building an army so I could argue about garbage collection?"

Turner almost smiled.

"Some people actually want you to."

"Why?"

"Many reasons, with one being you cleared the city. And your army, as well."

"And some people are worried for exactly the same reason." Milana added.

Maya rested her hands on the table.

"Golden Eagle controls most of the armed force inside Grefort. Whether you want to govern the city or not, people will still ask what that means."

"Then tell them."

Hans pointed toward the map.

"The Core stays under military restriction. My bases, strategic facilities and major military routes stay under Golden Eagle."

He moved farther across the cleared districts.

"Everything else goes back to civilian use as Engineering clears it."

Turner looked toward the same map.

"And the checkpoints? Some groups and enclaves have been asking about them for days now."

"There are posts sitting between cleared districts with nothing left to fight. Those will come down as the roads are reopened for civilian use."

Maya looked at him.

"Will your soldiers stay in the city?"

"Yes."

Grefort was clear of major concentrations, not magically isolated from everything outside it.

The Core still had unresolved underground structures, Saicine remained only partly secured, and the surrounding regions had already produced enough strange things to make withdrawing the army ridiculous.

Hans continued.

"They’re staying for security, not because I am imposing martial law."

Milana nodded slowly.

"That’s probably the distinction people need to hear."

"Then make sure they not only hear it, but understand it very clearly."

Maya moved to another problem.

"What about local security?"

Hans’s soldiers could protect the city without standing on every residential corner.

"I requested the current militia roster from the Colony this morning."

Turner looked at him.

"The trainees?"

"Yes. Let them do the patrolling and establish their own police force if they want. They will not, however, be considered a replacement for my soldiers in restricted areas."

Turner looked through one of his papers.

"That still leaves the rest of the infrastructure."

"My Engineering teams will handle that."

"They cannot rebuild the entire city at once. And what about the critical areas? And who decides which district gets water first?"

Hans looked at him.

"Nobody gets ignored, but that doesn’t mean every district gets water back at the same time."

Dianne spoke from the end of the table.

"I can consolidate requests from the councils and route them to the appropriate sections. Conflicting priorities can be returned for decision."

"That won’t be necessary. I will have a few Engineer squads stationed around key areas. Routine requests goes to you. Local hazards? My Engineers will handle that. Just don’t take their services for granted."

"We won’t, Commander. You’ve already done enough for us. This... this is already charity."

"I also received concerns about house registry and businesses. As Engineering clears the government offices, whatever registry records survived will be handed over to you. I’ll leave all those property conflicts in your capable hands."

Milana frowned. "Some records will be gone."

"Then you’ll have to work with whatever survived."

"And when two people claim the same property?"

Hans looked at her.

"Do you want my soldiers to decide who owns someone’s apartment?"

"No."

"Then there you go."

Milana sighed and wrote something down.

Maya looked through the remaining papers.

"Businesses are another matter. Some owners returned weeks ago, but others are dead, missing or somewhere outside Grefort."

"Let the ones with clear ownership reopen once the area is safe."

"And the rest?"

"Don’t rush it."

Hans had no reason to create another problem by handing abandoned businesses to whoever reached the door first.

"Record the claims first. Figure out the disputes later."

Milana nodded.

Turner moved to the next page.

"Trade routes?"

"What about them?"

"People are already moving goods between Westgate, Highcross and the Colony. Once more roads open, that’s going to spread across the city."

"Then let the trades flourish."

Turner looked up.

"Just like that?"

"Why would I stop them?"

"No, I—I was wrong."

"Outside the restricted areas, people can trade however they want. If you want to impose some restrictions, so be it."

Milana leaned forward.

"The Commander won’t control the market?"

Hans frowned.

"What would I even do with it?"

Turner looked amused.

"Taxes, Commander. Black market illegal stuff. All those contrabands?"

"My forces can temporarily handle the security. You can define what’s legal and illegal yourselves. And the costs as well."

The discussion had become considerably easier once everyone stopped treating the absence of a mayor as if Grefort would collapse without one.

All that remained was connecting those pieces without making Golden Eagle responsible for every argument that happened inside the city.

Maya turned another page.

"One more issue. Public notice."

"What about it?"

"People need to know what we agreed on before everyone invents their own version."

Turner added, "Especially the part about your soldiers staying."

"And the militia," Milana said. "If we’re going to use them for local security, people need to understand who they answer to."

Hans thought about it. "They’ll answer to you, not me. Record the military boundaries we agreed on."

"Commander," Turner faced him. "What happens when people eventually decide they want an actual city government again?"

Hans shrugged.

"I won’t entertain political questions like this again. And I’ll answer it one last time. You can hold your own elections and civil stuff all you want. Just don’t drag me into it."

Maya exchanged glances with the other two councilors, then she stood up. Milana and Turner followed.

"We’ve heard enough for now, Commander. Thank you for taking the time to meet us."

"My pleasure. Enjoy ruling over Grefort City."

The three choked as they reached for the door. They quickly rushed out of the room, leaving Hans and Dianne alone.

"Will you really let them do as they wish, Commander?"

Hans chuckled.

"Dianne, you know the answer to that better than me."