Chapter 15
"I Don't believe it!" Greg exclaimed angrily.
After all the trouble the 'Protectorate' had given them, the administrators who were now in place, would retain their position, at least for the foreseeable future. Greg was stretched thin, and did not have anyone available to run that place.
Frowning, he read the agreement that had been faxed to him, including a presidential pardon for past crimes for the three Protectorate leaders. It also covered any who may have acted under their authority.
Sighing, he went to the window and looked out. Snow was falling at a furious rate. He had left the lodge and went to the ranch. The forecast was for between 15 to 20 inches of snow. He could not afford to be caught up in the mountains in a snow storm He felt bad leaving his daughter behind, but she was safe warm and well cared for up there.
Although supplies had been stretched thin, a furious time had been spent in shifting supplies to make sure everyone had enough to ride out the storm. More people had shown up looking for food and a place to sleep that was warm. With the fresh influx of people, he now had almost 150 persons at the ranch, including 6 children under 10.
The training farm was well stocked and was doing winter training. The Special Forces were split between the ranch and the training farm at this time. Most of the wounded had been moved out of the field hospital and into one of the buildings with modern utilities. He had to give Myron, credit. He had not torn down any of the previous houses his family built, but kept them as reminders of his past. He had also constructed a couple bunk houses which were able to handle the majority of people at the ranch. It was crowded, but everyone had a place to sleep.
On the other side of the world, Europe was getting the worst snow storm of it's history. The weather patterns had changed slightly, and it was probably due to the strike and new island that had been created in the Atlantic Ocean. The people who had survived the impact and subsequent almost month of rain now faced not only starvation, but freezing to death. The few places that retained utilities were turning away people. It was sad, but had to be done. Supplies only stretched so far.
On the South American continent, snow was falling from the most southern tip of it to several hundred miles north. Snow was falling in places that had not seen snow in recorded history. This too was caused by the changing weather pattern. The world's weather engine was still unsettled and was giving vent to furious storms.
All the world's oceans were spawning storms that generated winds and waves that were incredible to behold. The Space Station was gathering information as fast as it's sensors and computers could gather and process them. The information was then correlated and sent to Cheyenne Mountain for further study.
The deserts of the Middle East were positively blooming. The water and weather change was sufficient to cause wonders in that parched land. Water tables long depleted were once again filled or at least partially filled. Rivers ran full once again. With the desert growing again, the winds no longer blew sand as it once did. The water level of the Dead Sea was at least a foot higher than it had been prior to the catastrophe, and looked to still be rising.
Another side effect which was positive, was the rivers were no longer being polluted by people in most parts of the world. The furious rains of a few months ago had started a flushing of the worlds rivers. Nature was slowly repairing itself, and it was fascinating to watch and observe as the people in the Space Station were doing.
At Cheyenne Mountain, the president was getting a course in military units. Previously, he had relied on advisers, as he was non military, but he had decided he HAD to know what units were and what they did.
As more and more units reported in, the list grew longer of the assets the US still had remaining. Satellite surveillance continued of France, China, Russia, and North Korea. These countries worried the US the most.
Israel found itself in good shape after the disaster. With it's announcement of having nuclear weapons, and with the destruction of a massed armored division, the rest of what was left of the Middle East was leaving it alone.
China and Russia found that they were having trouble with record breaking cold. Again people were dying from the lack of warmth and shelter. Houses that had relied upon services provided by cities found that they had no heat or water. People fled to the surrounding country side in search of basic drinking water. This was true in the case of those very few cities that had survived, and not just in China or Russia. This was true of all cities that remained in the world.
People were also dying of hunger. A lot of the world's nations had stored food close to water souses for transportation reasons. These went in the floods, washed away. A little was found by scavengers, but not much compared to what had been stored in the warehouses.
Greg had earlier ordered scavenger parties out. Some returned with food, others returned empty handed. One group did find a surviving warehouse that was relatively untouched, and Greg sent a small contingent to guard it until that food could be loaded and shipped to the ranch and the newly joined town to the south. Initial inventory reports said it was full of canned goods and had a large refrigeration system with foods that had to be kept cold stored there.
While the power had failed, the failure was not as catastrophic as it could have been as it failed during cold months. Greg was pleased, and had trucks readied for the trip to this warehouse as soon as the roads were passable.
Still more time went by. The weather started to turn warm. Snow and ice melted. The river was no longer frozen which had forced Greg and his people to find another route across so he could get to the lodge when he wanted. There was a smaller bridge found north of town just short of the remount station. So the short trip to and from his lodge turned into an extra 30 minutes travel north, 30 minutes south after crossing the bridge, then turning onto the Hoodoo Pass road. Greg elected to stay at the ranch as much as possible.
As the weather grew warmer, Greg started thinking of planting, and worse, the dead. He had ordered sweeps of the surrounding country and the city to have the bodies removed and brought to a central location. Those bodies found had been buried in a mass grave. It had disturbed him to do it that way, but with the warm weather approaching, they would have started to decompose, and he worried about disease.
Greg and his staff were brainstorming one day when it was suggested that they should have an organized grab ass day. It was one of the few times he was at the lodge and his daughter looked up at the suggestion.
"Whats an organized grab ass day?" Jess asked.
"Thats where everyone relaxes, plays games, competitions go on, a big BBQ takes place, just general relaxation and fun. I think it's a great idea. Pass the word. Lets see, I think since this is the beginning of the week, we should have it for this Saturday, weather permitting." Greg said enthusiastically.
That is preciously what happened. It was a huge success. The people really needed it and as Saturday dawned a nice day with temperatures in the high 60's, Greg's people got underway with the task of the all day party. Greg had had some of the beef taken out and processed even further and he had several hundred pounds of hamburger meat ready. Ribs were prepared for the BBQ. Pork was brought in from the local pig farmer at a slightly elevated price, but the pig farmer was invited too.
Beer by the case was taken out of storage and while Greg told his people he didn't want anyone falling down drunk, he did tell them to enjoy. He privately doubted that once on hand supplies were exhausted, there would be anymore beer with the exception of what was found already boxed and ready for shipment.
Greg was relaxing and had a beer in one hand and a hamburger in the other when Richard Ellis, who had commanded the Protectorates army, approached and started a conversation.
"I think this is just what the people needed. I am glad to see you included our town in this fun day too, General." Commander Ellis said.
"Not at all. We are all one people. One group. Our mission is to get this country back on it's feet as quickly as possible." Greg replied.
He studied the man standing next to him. He liked what he saw. He was still a little disturbed that the man had even involved himself with the protectorate, but this had been the result of a never before in anyone's lifetime situation.
Greg warmed to the man as they continued to talk. Damn it, he liked him. Richard Ellis had been a military man and had achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel fairly quickly, then had resigned to pursue a civilian career. He said he was tired of the politics that had gone along with being an officer.
"I understand that totally! Politics is a subject that can cause laughter, tears, rage. Some people had done really well in politics though." Greg paused for a sip of beer.
"Take a case back around 30 years ago. A young mayor of a dying mining town on the east coast had a bridge condemned. Now his remaining people needed this bridge to get to work across their river. The state said it would cost too much to replace as his remaining population did not justify the expenditure of a multi million dollar bridge.
"He appealed to the Federal Government. They too turned him down. They cited the existence of a standing bridge just 10 miles north of his town that his constituents could use to get to and from work. The mayor pointed out the vast commuting distance this forced his people to go. Also, the main grocery and all other stores, the closest anywhere, were across that condemned bridge. No luck. So for about two months his citizens found themselves on a 10 mile drive north, cross a bridge up that way, 10 miles back south, then head west to work or the store.
"He finally got fed up, and in a move that was pure political genius, he applied to the then Soviet Union for foreign aid. Absolutely brilliant! When the Soviets applied to the US government for Visa's for engineers to travel to this town, the reason cited caused apoplexy within the US government.
"In that one move, it caused the government to have a bridge built for the town it had originally refused. That mayor went on to be elected for another term, then he just quit. I often wondered what ever became of him. But that, is pure politics at it's finest. This young mayor bearded the US government, and had a bridge built for the good of his community."
There was a murmur and some laughter as Greg finished the story. Blinking, he looked around. He had drawn a crowd and never noticed. Several grinning faces greeted him as he took them in. One face while thoughtful, had no grin.
The messenger handed Greg a message then stepped back. Greg quickly read the message and sighed.
"Well, I hope everyone enjoys this party. It seems we're about to be
deployed of all things." Greg finished sadly.