“You’ve got to be kidding me, there’s no one better qualified?” I looked at Clarissa pleadingly.

“Who’s this woman, Karl?” Gregor and John both asked.

“Show em.” I said to Clarissa with a disgusted look on my face. This isn’t happening, no fucking way.

She tapped into the console and brought up the memory of the day I nearly strangled the arrogant bitch. This time it was from her perspective and I found it strange to watch the version of me from over a month ago on display. I was heavier, my fat hadn’t completely been devoured by the Mana. I didn’t have the axes, and only sported the Canik and plasma pistol on my thighs. She was walking up and giving directions to all the staff gathered in that arrogant way she carried herself. While watching the event unfold I somehow remembered the details differently. From her perspective the directions she was giving weren’t wholly unwarranted or short sighted.

She saw an additional asset that presumably was there to help out, she just didn’t know that I had other intentions. She wasn’t entirely out of place to professionally tell me to pound sand. She was the ranking official on site at the time. It was her direction to give. If she’d known I had no intention to follow her directions, she probably would have had me escorted off the property. Especially if she’d known the mutiny I would orchestrate.

As I watched the exchange become increasingly heated a part of me wanted to shut the playback down. A tickle in the back of my brain forced me to keep watching. I watched as from her perspective I became increasingly belligerent and insubordinate. If anyone did that to me I’d probably kill them, these days. I thought to myself. As the climax of an event that clearly defined this woman's life after the System began to play out for everyone gathered, I found it increasingly hard not to watch myself abuse this woman through her own eyes. I noticed light wisps of steam drifting into my vision as I watched and realized in that moment, The Merciless Reaper of the Foolish may just be a double edged sword. It wanted me to face one of my worst moments with humility, and it wouldn’t take no for an answer.

On the display I snatched her up and the image expanded slightly, I realized this was her eyes opening in shock as I held her by her neck and then the scene shrank as I jerked her violently. She barely maintained consciousness and the things I did to the woman next came crashing back into me with overwhelming shame. It wasn’t that she was right, it was that I was wrong to behave the way I did. I could have just gone about executing my plan and there was fuck all she could do about it but throw a tantrum. Instead I was the one throwing the tantrum. I was the one who acted out of turn. I kinda fucked up. She was still an arrogant bitch, but in that instant I wasn’t much better. The pressure in my head faded. The Reaper apparently satisfied I had grasped the intended lesson.

Clarissa stopped the playback and I groaned with my face in my hand. The room was completely silent now. I looked at each person in the room and somehow they all refrained from letting their judgement show on their faces. Finally John broke the silence.

“Well, I don’t know if she deserved that kind of treatment, she certainly was going full mega-bitch, though.” He offered a weak smile.

“That she was, indeed.” Gregor added with a slight grin.

"Alright, so she wants to work for us. Why?”

Clarissa pulled Kristy’s ‘character’ sheet up, Level 16 Administrator.

“Ah fuck, not the best class choice all things considered.”

That has to be the worst fucking choice when the world is ending. Either she’s just the fucking idiot I always imagined her as, or she wasn’t taking her Virtual Assistant seriously and just picked whatever came up first.

“Yeah, she can’t really dungeon dive, she gets Intelligence, Wisdom, and Perception bonuses with her class skills. But she has no combat oriented spells. She can boost your productivity pretty well, though.”

“Ugh. VEEP, is there any chance she’ll get a combat oriented class when she advances. If she advances?”

“Eh, there’s always a chance, but you know, it’s about as high as you forgiving someone who’s wronged you.” Her developing snark was on full display.

“Sir, she wanted the opportunity to make her case why she would be good for this position.” Clarissa suddenly got super formal, “She’s here right now.”

I looked at the table and considered how badly I wanted to get out of here. I needed to see to my own house. I needed to go find out what was happening on Phil’s end. I needed to quickly gather intelligence on Phoenix and the surrounding areas. I had cannibal assholes in Kingman not too far away. I still hadn’t heard from Alyssa, who had been tasked with finding the refugees in the North. I needed Flagstaff on its feet and functioning on its own. Which means I needed a City Planner to facilitate that.

“Send her in.” I sighed.

“Should we leave, Karl?” John asked.

“Nah, I can use your unbiased opinions.”

Clarissa pressed a button and a moment later Kristy Herrerra stepped cautiously into the room. The first thing I could tell was that she had seen better days. Her blouse was serviceable but dirty. The cuffs of her slacks were frayed and she wore smart leather shoes that were scuffed and flecked with mud. She fidgeted nervously with her shirt cuffs before finally raising her head to look at me. She gulped and forced her hands behind her back. She cleared her throat before finally speaking, “Good afternoon, I was told the city needed a manager. I think, uh, I think I'm well qualified for that position. Y- you already know some of my previous qualifications…”

She was trying not to ramble. I realized this must be incredibly difficult for her. She knew I could end her if the thought tickled the back of my brain. Yet she was still here trying to make a case for why she should be chosen for this position.

“Did you offer your services to the previous Mayor?”

She startled at my voice and I thought she might run for the exit. “Uh, Mayor Blevins didn’t want my help. She.. she said I was too… white.” Despite her anxiety I caught a hint of irritation at that, Herrerra was her married name.

“Hmmm, why didn’t you head back to Show Low, why come here?”

“I tried, there was a horde of monsters in the way. It… was the first time I realized… you might be right.”

My animosity for the woman was starting to ease. I wasn’t willing to forgive her for the way she acted at the Prison, not yet. I wanted to know more. “You managed to drive all the way here?”

She looked off in the distance, “I couldn’t go East, I hoped to find someone in the old government in charge at Flagstaff, I only made it to Leupp before I had to abandon my car. I spent the next three days hiding and running from everything that snarled or hissed. If I could hear it, I ran. Actually got a skill for running now.” She chuckled wryly.

I suddenly felt incredibly responsible for what happened to the woman. “Don’t you want to get back to your husband?”

She looked at me with a haunting look and a single tear rolled down her cheek. “He... didn’t make it… found out when you built the Regional Communications Array. None of my family survived.”

There was a collective groan from the other three people in the room. I hadn’t quite stepped in it, but it layed out just how low she had hit. She was on rock bottom, and still looking to be useful. Still looking for a purpose. Which was something I could respect her for.

“I’m sorry.” I stated quietly.

Veep, get the employment contract drawn up and send it off.

Kristy looked away, crestfallen, assuming I was rejecting her application. She stood and bobbed her head, not sure what to say and turned to leave. “I.. I under- what?” She looked back at me confused.

Kristy Herrerra has accepted the position of City Planner of Flagstaff.

“Your office and apartment are on the third floor. I’ve released part of your first month’s salary so you can buy some clothes and supplies. Clarissa here knows exactly what I’m expecting to be done, get with her when you’re ready to get to work. I don’t set hours, I just expect results. You have a budget for several assistants.”

“U- Okay.” She straightened her defeated posture, “is that all?”

I looked out the window behind me before I spoke, “If you fail me, if you betray me, you know what will happen.”

Her eyes widened slightly, “Yes, sir.” And she left the room.

I spun back to the others, “Let’s talk to this soldier of yours that wants to become our Sheriff.”

John called the man up and we chatted amicably while we waited. I looked at the character sheet of the man that was making his way to us. Andrew Zurmillion, Level 2 Lawbringer of the Devastated Desert. He’s got the right class I suppose. The skinny black man entered the conference room with sharp precise movements and saluted his Commander then went to a textbook position of Parade Rest. Everyone asked him a few questions, while I was satisfied with his answers I left the decision in Clarissa’s hands. She didn’t know it yet but she would end up being the Governor when I left. It turned out she was satisfied with his answers and credentials and offered him the Sheriff’s position which he took with a simple nod. Captain Devers summarily released him from his service with a clause that if he came back around and needed him he would be required to return to active duty. The man agreed with a smile and left to begin the task of forming the city police force.

“Is that all we have?” I asked the gathered group.

“Aye, I think it’s time to grab some ale. What say ye, Captain Devers?” Gregor smiled as he hopped from his chair.

“Well, unfortunately I promised my daughter I would have dinner with her. I’ll have to pass.”

“Understandable, what about ye, Clarissa?” He flashed his most charming smile yet and the woman laughed.

“Sorry, I’m still sorting through candidates for the other positions we need staffed. Maybe next time?”

“Fine, fine, Karl?”

“Uh, got plans with Junipher, she wanted to visit the fields before the sun sets. I know where you terrorize the locals, we’ll come meet you after.” I compromised.

“Ah, alright, I guess that will have to do.”

The three of us, minus Clarissa, left the City Hall building and went our separate ways. I made a bee-line to where I knew Junipher would be. Next to a pond she found that was surrounded with tall firs and birch trees. She spent her time over the last week tending and landscaping the area into an incredibly beautiful garden. Every plant she tended was vibrant and healthy beyond the norm.

I found her as usual with her feet buried to the knee in the pond water, arms stretched wide, flowers and large leafs blooming across her petite figure. Her pheromones floated in the wind leaving a mixed scent of honey and maple syrup drifting under my nose. I smiled and creeped up behind her and snaked my arm around her waist. She gasped in surprise and pleasure and shook the blossoms from her body and reached up to grab the side of my head behind her. The flowerings drifted gently out across the pond where they landed and caused tiny ripples where they floated.

“How was your day, my spirited king?” She asked softly into my ear.

I breathed in her scent and sighed, “Interesting, stressful, unexpected.”

She turned and nuzzled against my beard and I brought her down to the soft grass to lie with me. “Oh? How so?”

“Remember the woman at the prison that claimed to be in charge?”

“Yes, the one you referred to as a Warden?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. She’s my new City Planner.”

She looked up in surprise. “I remember how she disrespected you and the others, what made you bring her on in such an important position?”

I proceeded to relay the story of how she ended up here and only recently found out her family was gone. How the Reaper made me watch the chain of events from her perspective. How I realized I may have been too harsh, how I felt like I had abused my new found strength. At some point the story telling stopped and we made love next to her pond.

Junipher stared at her pond for a while then smiled, “You don’t know how much this pleases me, Karl. You have grown, and you will need to grow more if you intend to seize a future where you can guide your own hand.”

“It’s like that, huh?”

“Yes, to the women of my people you would be what we call the total package.”

“Oh, please, do stroke my ego!” I teased.

She rolled over to face me, “In battle you are strong and ferocious. Unwavering and brutal. You fight to win and don’t hesitate to decimate your foes. Yet you’ve demonstrated a strategic and tactical mind rare in men with that kind of fire. You know when you’re outmatched, or when it would be better to talk if possible. You are just. You have integrity. And recently you have shown you know when to be compassionate.You are so many things, good and bad, but you have a tendency to…” She paused and smiled at me, waiting for me to finish her thought or her.

“Reach too far. Over commit?”

She giggled, “Essentially, yes. You have the bearing of a King, Karl. Though I’ll accept you as a Warlord.”

I thought about her comments for a bit as we sat peacefully against a large Fir. I haven't taken much time for self reflection these days. But she apparently thought a lot about me. I decided as long as she was happy I didn’t have much to worry about. “You still want to walk the fields?”

“Oh, yes, very much. It’s getting late, we should go now.” She said and sprung from my arms shaking her firm ass. I rolled onto my feet and took her hand in mine and we began walking to the South.

“I think it’s about time we go back to Winslow. I got some messages from Phil. It seems there is no City Core in Show Low, but the Mormons in Snowflake are doing some shiesty shit. And Holbrook is a shit show stemming from some tribal rivalry bullshit. It’s all too close to home for my comfort. I want it sorted before we move on Phoenix.”

“You also think Samantha will be leaving with her dad?”

“Maybe, I honestly think she should start her own team, and I can keep the kids with us and gather up Phil, Carly, and hopefully his other daughter. Then our team would be rounded out nicely. And since we would be an oversized team we could break it apart as needed to complete multiple tasks.”

“Mmmm, my people do a similar thing, five is the minimum, and seven is the max. Have to be careful of the dungeon limits.”

We reached the fields a few minutes before the sun was about to dip. As we walked she watched the light slowly fade and the sound of oversized cicadas began chirping nearby. Junipher smiled as the orange sky faded to pink, then purple as we walked hand in hand. The newly minted farmers nodded at us as they turned in for the night, already shoots of different crops were springing from the ground in many places. A squad of Captain Devers’ men patrolled past us and nodded in recognition. Junipher stopped suddenly and looked up at me with apprehension on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

She bit her lip then spoke softly, “We have something we need to discuss.”

Ah shit, I thought as anxiety spread in my chest. You never want to hear those words from your woman.

“Ok?”

“I’m not sure how you're going to take this, so, I uh, have seeds that I must plant.”

“What?” My mind just ran off the tracks. Seeds? The fuq is she talking about? “I’m sure we can find a nice plot around here if you have something else you wanna grow.” I pointed to one of the empty fields nearby.

A look of horror spread across her face then she started laughing. “No my silly man, not those kind of seeds. I think the proper phrase for your people would be… I’m pregnant.”