The first thing David noticed when the transition ended between the first step of the update and the second was his ears hurt. Like they just popped from going from low elevation to high. The next is he was naked. Then right next to him was Rick and his bare muscly ass. Privately David had to admit he wished he had himself. Then the dry desert landscape.

The longest of them to get dressed was Jake, as he only put on some pants quickly before helping his daughter out. With that done, they looked around to find people yelling with their danglings out because they did not have clothing. It took a very tense fifteen minutes before someone took a megaphone and announced that everyone needed to either go into their storage to equip their soulbound or pre-purchased items or buy some clothing in the now marked up store. David noticed that fact when he glanced at it when getting his own clothing from storage.

It took a good hour before the various groups sorted themselves out. The main faction, the national guard, had most of their people in basic BDU, with dog tags and emblems of their rank and the American flag on their left arms. The smaller groups then made their presence known.

Charles Roughnecks, the Jedi Order (now another order of knights), and the adventurer guild were the big ones. Strangely, it was the adventurer guild that had grown the largest. Full of younger people who looked like they had no real combat experience.

Then there are the Free Wardens, the smallest of the groups, but obviously the most prepared. They took over a section of the safe zone and set up a three-story house with power and plumbing to act as their HQ. In addition, there was a workshop attached to it where a lone man was working on a minigun. In the back of the shop, on the rack was a set of power armor. Like from Fallout Four. Except it had a resemblance to a halo design. All this within an hour.

It did not take long for Marry to recruit the first people to the order. Ironically, it was the family that ran a pizzeria. They and a few others arranged a soup line where hungry people could get something to eat and a bottle of water. Explaining to almost a thousand people how to do basic search functions with the shop and explain how to use the storage, was not how David pictured how he would spend his first day. Especially, when it was to some of the ill-equipped soldiers.

On the second day, David cut off the charity soup line. Already a quarter of his reserve stock he was hoping to save for bartering was gone because of it. This time the soup kitchen had a sign saying they had to pay two thousand credits for a bowl of stew, which they had to provide the bowl anyways, and a bottle of water. In addition to that people could pay more for more custom meals provided. Such as a pizza or burgers and chips.

David arranged it so the customer paid food costs and to compensate for the work the cooks and other workers do. Other than that, David really did not do much else except helping out Rick in the shop. Even though he was not an engineer or mechanic, he helped build the M-134 and at least knew what tool to give Rick when he asked for it.

The third day, that day gave David headaches. Marry, in her infinite wisdom, spread the word of the {grunt starter kit} and exactly how many they had around. Not only that she told people how much food and water and everything else he had in reserve and just about blew David’s entire plan for the month.

This caused an impromptu meeting of the other nongovernment organizations to confront him, after a rather annoying meeting with a certain General who has a younger brother of a certain Captain who drinks a lot.

The Roughnecks say they were insulted for not being included in ‘their’ strategy, while the Jedi called it dishonorable. The leaders of the guild on the other hand were one hundred percent pissed that they had to share the loot with the NG now. Which was what everyone was really mad about.

Especially, when he had already handed over the majority of the kits for credits or equal scavenge value in the future as well as the first to have scavenging rights in general. It was not hard to then arrange a few ten-man groups. Five freelance soldiers to act as guards with a free kit for scavenging rights and five more people to actually pick over the surrounding ruins.

The half-day of scavenging netted four teams a total of about fifty stone and wood resource cards as well as some miscellaneous items. Ranging from a hand radio to a pen with a glowing gem at the base to hold the ink.

Day four had David doing paperwork surprisingly. One part to keep a record of everything he, and the order, has and will do but so he would not bite Rick’s head off for Marry’s gift of gab. He was also mildly surprised when Marry told him that there has been talking about annexing his building, and all assets with it, from the order. Of course, it was shot down as a full-blown riot would likely break out if they threatened the only kitchen. Hell, the only free-to-use shower in the entire safe zone.

On day five, David felt cooled off enough to visit Rick in the shop again. After a few words acknowledging how his wife fucked up, they got to work on the power armor. As Rick easily got the M134 fixed up. However, the squeal from it was not something he could fix with limited facilities or by himself. Which meant that David had to live with it.

Day six was much like day five. Mapping out the changes made by the update to the armor and doing touch-up repairs. That is when the older brother of the Captain that he spoke to at the convention appeared. And asked David to scavenge a building with his power armor.

Day seven found David in the back of an APC. Probably one of the few vehicles that could carry his half-ton suit.