Sometimes people are unaware that they are making history, and sometimes people wonder what the history books will say about them years after they are gone. The term itself is quite interesting; to complete an act today that will change what the world looks like tomorrow. Although, in the event of war, the saying goes that history is written by the victors. In a hundred years from now the first official council held by July Mundane and his associates will either be remembered as the first steps taken towards a better and kinder world, or as the birth of a terrorist plot to eradicate the peace, long established by the Royalists, or perhaps it will not be remembered at all, and July and Haven and everyone else will simply be written out of history.
July began the council by assigning new roles to each of the eight members sitting at his table. Thomas was July’s right-hand man and Alister would be the General of their army. Alice was put in charge of all sources of media, including propaganda coming in and out of Haven and any surrounding territories that would soon be under their control. Jodie was well organised and proved to be good with numbers, and so with Granny’s help she would oversee the management of Haven’s wealth, including trade and stockpiling of assets and resources. Charlie became the captain of their new search unit, which would be tasked with either finding and obtaining resources out in the wasteland, or with eradicating enemy propaganda and assassinating high priority targets such as commanders, diplomats and merchants. Wade, being a former Raider, was put in charge of integrating potential deserters from Raider or other enemy settlements, or pilgrims from independent settlements, into Haven’s community. The two remaining members at the table were Granny and Leonard. Granny was probably wiser than all of them but she insisted that was getting too old for this kind of thing, which is why July named her his head advisor. Leonard, on the other hand, was not entirely trusted. July wanted to keep him close, and named him head of agriculture, entrusting Granny would ensure he did his job properly.
When this was finished July placed a large roll of paper on the table. “Now that we all know what part we have to play we can discuss to what end we’re actually playing.”
He unrolled the paper and revealed a new detailed map of The Valley, once again marked with major and minor settlements, and colour-coded to show the extent of each faction’s territory – with everything north of Red-Rock Pass now belonging to Haven.
“The first thing we need to discuss is sustainability, once we have that sorted, the second matter will be expansion. The only way we can win this war is to subdue Oliver Mason and his associates, either through forcing them to surrender or, more likely, elimination, and then we have to take Sanctum, the Royalist capital. Make no mistake, I intend to move our forces towards the capture of Sanctum, but the only reasonable way across the mountains to the east is this road here, the most heavily defended point in the entire valley. First, we’ll need to…”
“Stop!” Leonard slammed his fists on the table and stood up, his features strained with appalment. “What is this? We’re supposed to be making peace with the Royalists. We did all this to become their allies. We’re I still in charge I’d build as high a wall around Haven as I could, then I’d give the Royalists whatever they needed, and wait quietly for the war to end. I never would have allowed this if I knew these were your real intentions.”
To everyone’s surprise Alister stood up and lashed out in return. “I thought you had more guts than that, boy. It’s a bloody good thing you’re not in charge or we’d all still be grovelling at the Royalist’s boots.”
With a little less force Alice spoke up. “Leonard does have a point though. I know none of this was going to be easy but we’re in no position to take on the Royalists. It’ll be hard enough to sustain ourselves with the resources we have let alone try for expanding our territory. Maybe relying on the Royalists is the best thing for us.”
“You didn’t let me finish,” said July. “Yes, I lied to you, for reasons that Leonard was kind enough to point out. But I didn’t say we’d attack the Royalists right now.” He returned his attention to the map, indicating the spread of Royalist forces all throughout the south. “Right now, the only real threat to the Royalists are the Nazis down here. All their attention is in the south, however the Royalist encampments outside our territory still suffer attacks by Raider groups from time to time, which means if we push for the eastbound road through the mountains we’ll just get caught between Raiders on one side and Royalists on the other. That’s why I intend to head west. The Raiders are an easier target, they’re less organised and less cunning, and they won’t suspect us. Once we take them out we’ll have the land and resources required to fight back against the Royalists. Any objections?”
No one spoke against July. Once their intentions were clear they moved on to discussing how they would sustain Haven now that they had obtained it, especially considering that they’d be going to war with the Raiders. It was vital to kept track of what resources they possessed and distributed them appropriately; food, water, weapons and ammunition, vehicles and fuel, and most importantly, money. One by one July gave the council their orders and dismissed them, except for one.
“Leonard,” said July.
Leonard stopped on the way out, and try as he might to supress the bitterness inside, it only seeped out of his falsified smile. “Yes, sir?” his reply was polite enough, but contrasted with the demanding tone of July’s voice.
July stared at him. “Don’t ever question my authority again.”
Bowing his head, Leonard bit back whatever response he intended to use and quickly left the room.
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