All your base are belong to us. [WRC]

I sat on the veranda in the early spring morning, the birds chirping amongst the easy breeze. Remembering the poor translation of an old video game, I re-heard the words.....

"All your base are belong to us."

The chill made me shiver, but before I could recover, there was a knock at the screen door that startled me from my reverie. I sighed inwardly, if not externally, wondering what new catastrophe had occurred. I looked over, knowing my silent contemplations were now over.

The disturbing knock came from Stella, my personal War Counsel. From the grim look on her face I knew I'd have a few decisions upcoming. She briefed me on her report, and I told her to assemble the Counsel in 2 hours. She left in a hurry, as an emergency session was becoming a rare event, but her report dictated such was in order, and with the way things are, I know to trust the people close to me.

Alone again, I did sigh physically, and with the exhalation of my breath, I rose to prepare for the meeting.

The Counsel exists of twelve females, all experts from various fields of life, all with their own Consorts, both male and female, and the Counsel is appointed by me, some of my best friends, with their Consorts picked by them. I am the Ruler, so the Consorts call me Sir, and the Counsels calls me by my name. It's a crude hierarchy I never expected to occur, but it did, and it works. Each Counsel has her own area of expertise, and her own title. A visit from the War Counsel means an imminent skirmish, and human lives needlessly lost. It's the way it is now. Death happens, and we have become callous, killing others for our own survival.

The other Counsel were already seated by the time I arrived in the Chamber. They all rose, bowed, and sat back down. All twelve were there, and as I looked around the room, Consorts nervously shifted in their chairs while the Counsel members nodded and smiled briefly as I caught their gaze.

Knowing they had already been briefed on the situation, I simply had to speak.

"Stella, War Counsel, has informed me of an attack from the South. What does my Counsel say?"

Several heads bowed downward, as I quickly cast about the room, looking for an individual who would provide me with eye contact. I knew Stella would wait until another Counsel spoke.

Two met my gaze, Mariana and Julie. Mari is the Domestic Policy Counsel, and Jules is my Foreign Affairs Counsel.

"Jules first."

"Josh, the tribes to the South are running low on resources. They have plenty of food, but according Stella's report, they don't have enough fuel for their machinery. That want our reserves."

"They can't have them. You know that." The Counsel and Consorts nodded in unison, murmuring.

"Mari?"

"We've had trade, mostly without incident, with the Southern Tribes. There's still a possibility we could work out an agreement before bloodshed...." Her voice trailed off.

"Any additions?" I said, addressing the rest of the Counsel. One hand went up.

"Kelly? You have something to add?" It was unusual for the Medical Counsel to add anything to an emergency session, but as Counsel, she had the same equal voice as anyone else does. Her Consorts buzzed around her.

"Josh, if we do a preemptive strike you know there will be a loss of life. I ask you to reconsider your options. Is there any other way we can belay this, save more causalities?"

"Kelly, your concerns are noted, and you know as well as anyone else in this Chamber that I prefer life over death. We are not dealing with rational people, we are dealing with desperate people. We have known for a while this would inevitably occur. The safety of our Colony is my primary concern. Can you provide me with a solution that spares life?"

She bowed her head, nodding back and forth, and her sadness permeating my soul as well as the rest of the Counsels. It was silent in the Chamber.

I spoke.

"Stella will assemble Delta Teams 3 AND 5. They are both currently in camp. Full equipment. They will also utilize a C-130 out from reserves, and deploy 48 hours from now."

Gasps and shuffling occurred throughout the chamber. They knew it would be a major strike instantly, and that the defense didn't stand a chance. I intended to wipe the opposition out. I have to be strong.

"Any objections?", I asked, as was my custom. I waited for a response. There were none.

"I have spoken."

With those words, the Chamber became a bustle of activity, people leaving with an order to follow, and I exited out the door I had originally arrived in.

It's been 10 years since the collapse happened. The year is 2022, and I'm an old and respected man. I had to kill a lot of zombies during the original "bug-out", and somehow I survived it. I chalk it up to the fact that I was more prepared than most, having expected it for years, and I've taught a lot of people survival skills in the interim. I established a base colony, and people flocked, but I had the idea of an all female Counsel way before the collapse actually occurred. The original Counsel was 6, and together we made hard decisions.

We still survive, yet face tough moralistic judgments everyday. I just ordered a strike that will kill thousands of innocent people, but it's justified.

It's them, or the group that trust me to protect them.

As the Ruler, I can see no other way.

Your story really resonates with me -- how a regular person with skills and resources can get challenged and yet prevail, and the hard decisions that come with that victory. Were your story to continue, I suspect even those close to our protagonist will eventually turn against them. It's the way of things in the human condition, right?

reply to post by Druid42


Wow! I'm speechless (well, almost, anyway...lol). This story is so good, I want to know where the rest of the book is. I want to get to know these characters better, and watch them develop (or mutate) against a post-apocalyptic plot line.

If you have been, or ever do, get published, or have longer works out there, anywhere, please let me know. I've enjoyed both of your stories, immensely, so far, and look forward, in anticipation, of reading more. Thank you.

Obviously, F&S'ed. Good Luck!

reply to post by eatbliss


Thanks for the kind words. I actually have three stories entered in this month's contest, which two have you read so far?

Oh, to add, I'm working on a fourth, something gruesome yet tear jerking. I have to pull a few stops because the competition is so fierce.....