Aberrant: Dead Rising - This was a good as any other.

[Wesson]

Having had bathed in the fresh river, and dried off, he looked at his hands and still he saw blood. He knew it all too well. He was hollow with no real inner goal. He felt alive only when he had something to build, or someone to Save. Still he knew he wasn't saving Min. He didn't know how he could, or if anyone could. He let her side this far, and all he could do was watch. Even with his new body was still weak where it really maters.Never mind that. He got dressed, strapping his tools up. Despite what was in his he saw something worth building here.

He went about the area testing the ground to see what type of earth he had to work with. Checking how much clay, stone, looking for the hints of metal, the small details of what type of plant life grew around here. He looked around as the land scape to see how, a city would be set up here. How the traffic would move. The water system and power. He saw the future, and it was a pale compare to the past but it was a burning star compared to what there was now.The world would be rebuilt.

[Mr Fox]

It was late morning before Morgan got free of duties enough to contact that fellow from the meeting the night before. He pulled the walkie off his belt and keyed it to the channel and spoke, "This is Fox. You there?" He waited for the other man to click on the channel and respond.

"Good, I'm free now if you have the time. You can meet me in the refuge to discuss whatever information you had."

[Wesson]

"I hear you five by five. I will be there shortly."

He rolled his shoulders forward, taking a deep breath.He was off.Running at a dead sprint. The issues at hand were to big to ignore. He was going to make his deal, and see what this man had to say. Fox was a military man. That was clear, Wesson had dealt those types in the past. It was unclear if Fox had ever meat a man like Wesson.Finding Fox was not a hard issue. Fox would not have a easy time hiding in a crowd.

"Fox, or is there a title you prefer? Still, we have a lot to work with. People, land and time.Given the right leadership.That is what I think we should start with. Have you eve lead a civilian project?"

Around this time, Wesson's new found youth was clear.It wasn't that he was a spry 20 something it was that he was younger..His hair was fuller and skin smother then again that could have just the light.

[Mr Fox]

Fox looked up from his plate and away from the folks sitting with him to the newcomer. "Fox is fine. Or Captain if you prefer. Many folk prefer Captain, it gives them a sense that some kind of order and safety still exists in the world. Illusion, but still a comforting one." He gestured at an open seat at the table across from him.

"So you mentioned yesterday that you had some information for me? You also mentioned you are an engineer I believe, or someone told me that. I'd like to know what you think of the site here."

[Wesson]

"Fox, I prefer that for Captain. As for the area. You have a lot of resources, you most likely are over looking a lot of them. The Trees are wonderful tools. You could use it to be build, well buildings, an walls.Both are things you need. The earth well, adobe, clay and mortar good things as well. "

Pausing as watch fox's reaction, an letting depth of he meant sink in.

"Still the best thing is that river you have. It looks like a good way to make power, even if it just low out puts.But the better news is not what you have here, rather was is near by. There is a town next to a hydro-power plant that still works. If can convince the people who are using it to let us set up power lines, we would have a real good starting point for the rest of what we need."

[Mr Fox]

Fox nodded, "Suit yourself, Fox is fine by me." He listened carefully to the rest of what this man Wesson said. "Yeah, adobe is good stuff, but we get a lot more rain here than the get in the southwest. Not sure how long they would last. The trees are mostly for fuel at the moment. Right now we are building steel buildings because they are so easy to construct. Pour a cement foundation and put up the steel frame of the building and cover it with sheets of metal. Easiest and fastest there is. With a full crew working we can have a new building up every fifteen days or so once we get enough folk trained and we can have different crews doing different tasks so we can be putting up several at once."

He paused in thought before finishing, "We are already planning a refinery and hydro plant right here, your help with that would be appreciated. But tell me more about this settlement with a working power station. I know there isn't one anywhere near by, where is it and are they good folk?"

[Wesson]

"I have a refinery, probably as good if not better than anything you are thinking of now. It is a bit small for all these people. Given time I could make a bigger one. But I will look at what you have."

Sighing, this was not going anywhere good. The worry about good, bad, was just not worth his time. Not now at least. Times were hard and there was not enough people to chose who to help. Still he had to laugh a bit.

"Good people? You really care who is good and who is bad.Do you think we have that leasure?There are a lot of people in that town that if we don't help they will die. They are about I would say 300 od miles away, but if you think the range is a bad thing. You should think of all the people between here and there. Still we can."

[Mr Fox]

"Wesson, I don't know how much you've traveled around, but there aren't that many people between here and there. And yes, it does matter whether they are good or bad people. Right now we are planning a military campaign against a group in New Mexico right now because they are slavers and capturing innocent survivors and caging them as sex slaves. Yesterday we flew up to Kansas to kill an insane doomsday cult leader who was sending out people to intentionally infect other survivors with the zombie plague. Last week an entire compound of survivors who were researching the Zombie plague was wiped out and intentionally killed leaving only three survivors. There is a lot of bad out there. So yes, Good or Bad does very definitely makes a difference to me. Maybe you've been sheltered for the last six months and haven't seen the ugly things going on in the world right now, but I have and I won't expose my people here to that kind of danger without knowing what kind of people I'll be dealing with."

Fox wasn't too impressed with this Wesson fellow so far, he seemed to be very naive for someone that had survived the last six months, but maybe the man was testing him to see what kind of person he really was... it wouldn't be the first time.

"About the refinery, we just started preparing the site yesterday. You are welcome to look over what we've got and talk to our engineer and offer your help. Sounds like you have some decent engineering knowledge and we could use the help."

[Wesson]

"There are about 2000 people at that damn, who are being lea by a xenophobic leader, who would seemingly rather see them die than take help, and by set up this power station, I will set him up as a rather powerful figure in the long run. This man doesn't have the right to lead his people, but he does it. Is he a bad person, yes. Does that mean walking away from them is a good thing?No. Oh I have seen more bad things is my life than you want to hear about. I have done bad things. That is not the point. You really think that there are enough humans left on this earth to fight petty wars over differences in morals? I understand your anger but do you have the man power or fire power to fight a clean war?As from what I have seen, you don't really have the power to keep your own people safe."

Pausing a bit.

"Sorry about the last bit. I don't like having my grand daughter shot at or having to run out of burning buildings. You have a lot of resources here. A lot of them, but you need more of a lot of things.One of them is people. you have what 200 odd people. That not a totally small number but what do you think will happen if you reached out rebuild a power grid? You see a lot of work maintaining the power lines, and that is true. It is a lot of work, but the way I see it is a lot of training.We are going to have to rebuild the world sooner or later, and wile your 200 people may find maintaining 400 miles power lines, I am sure there is has to be more people between here and that 2,000 people. If we could work together, well those people in New Mexico would have a lot more to worry about. Even if you don't want to go for the maintaining the power lines, we have to fix that damn."

Seeing the anger in Fox's face, he smiled good.This man had a back bone.

"Wait before you say anything I have something to show you. Come with me."

He lead Fox to Something Blue and showed him, his biggest toy so far, going over the technical specs, of how much resources it took, and what it put out in retunr.How much this unit could make, and how he could macroize the prosses.

"I am not as blind as you think. I just see the world in a different way than you. If you think a war is what will make people safe, you may at least want to have the supplies and resources to fight a war that you will truly win."

[Mr Fox]

Fox laughed. "I have no desire to fight any war. I will deal with the thing in New Mexico because, I have to because as you say, there are too few of us left and we can't afford to let some tyrant enslave and kill off the remaining survivors."

Gesturing toward the rig Wesson had in the back of his vehicle, "That's a pretty little piece of technology you've got there. Very handy. We could use a larger one. Perhaps you and our other engineer could even work together in combining your refinery with the one that's being planned here. See what you can do to make them both more efficient."

"As for the settlement at the dam, that is something that will have to be considered after the immediate threats and crisis are dealt with. Can't have a crazy leader getting people killed after all."

[Wesson]

"back, to war. I know you mean well, but do you have the resources to reach out to New Mexico in a Military action? What are you going to do with those you don't kill? What about those that simply bought the slaves? But before we get to that. You know the just the Powell Doctrine? Cause you have to ask yourself in this. If you can say no to any of these questions. You should call it off."

Pausing a bit. He lifted his machine up. Moving it Carefully he wanted to let Fox think.

"I say these things not because I don't think you are right, but because it is not always about doing the right thing.Sometimes it is how you do it. When you kill someone you have a good cause. When you try to save someone you need make sure you are just not changing the paint in their jail cells. I mean I am from what I gather nearly immune to small arms fire, I can run threw brick walls. But what if they have tanks?Are you more powerful than that?"

[Mr Fox]

"We don't have good intel on their defenses yet. We are going to scout before taking action. About the Powell Doctrine, the last two questions don't really apply any more. Whether or not people support a thing doesn't make a difference, neither does foreign powers since there are no foreign powers any more. Even so, the Powell Doctrine left out one important criteria and that was it's biggest flaw. Sometimes action has to be taken because if you don't the consequences for inaction would be worse than acting." He paused to look the man in the eye before saying, "I don't even have a problem with slavery itself as a form of punishment, because as you say, life is too precious now to waste, but what is being done out there, according to an eye witness is completely barbaric and no person should ever have to live like that. And that's not me speaking as leader of the Refuge. That's Morgan Fox talking. If I had to go alone with no one backing me, I'd still go because it has to be done."

[Wesson]

"By all means I would come with you, but that is not the point. The point is you don't want to rush in, as for the thoughts of others, yes it maters. Slavery only can happen when others are willing to buy slaves. Slavery is a rather big resource hog. So you blow that bunch of people. If there is still a demand, how long before someone else take up where they left off? What are you going to do with those you save?"

He set his machine Down on the ground with a loud thud.

"You are brave, I understand and respect that, but you can't help anyone if you are dead. As for going to New Mexico. I will go largely as humanitarian action. I can offer a lot people a ride home, or bring them here if you will take them. But there is aslo something I heard about a trip to Dallas."

[Mr Fox]

"Well, it's not about bravery and we won't be rushing in. I intend to gather some intel before we do anything. But the thing about these bastards is that they aren't into slavery for profit, but for kicks. As far as I've heard they aren't selling people, they are abusing sexually and just keeping them captive. It started as a women's prison and the guards saw the end of the world as an opportunity to do things no civilized person should even consider, and do it on a large scale."

"Dallas. We'll be going this next week. It's a combination trip. We'll be looking for Jasmine's parents, that's the easy part. We are also going to evaluate a compound there that has requested protection and assistance. And last but not least we'll be going for the scavenging. There are a lot of things we could use that can only be found in the big city."

[Wesson]

He listened, nodding at the right times. He was talking to a solid man that was for sure. He looked him in the eyes, an spoke to this man as an equal.

"I know you mean well, and you are doing some good things. So here is what I am willing to do. I will go to New Mexico with you as well as Dallas. I am also going to work up some simple city lay outs for this valley. I will set it up for say 4,000 people. I say 4,000 as by the time we get that many we will have enough time to come with better plans to expand."

Pausing a bit.

"If that is good enough for you, I really have to make sure my Min is no breaking any little boys' hearts or body.She is a rough woman.Really good with gun."

Truthfully he knew he had to wake her up from last night's drinking, but Fox didn't need to know that.

[Mr Fox]

Fox chuckled. "Sounds good Wesson. We could use some organization and a plan, but keep in mind that everything needs to be inside walls, and there is a possibility that the zombies are getting smarter and more deadly. So we may need better defenses than just towers with guns and guards patrolling the walls. But that's all for the future. Go check on your girl and pitch in where you can around here. My priorities for building are walls, refinery, school, library and housing in that order."