I left Flagstaff the same day Captain Devers took his company south with the upgrades I had promised them. I won’t lie when I say I was kinda geeked up over the alien tank. I definitely wanted to buy a couple divisions of those when I had the chance, though Veep crushed my enthusiasm by informing me that those were considered rather low tier as far as armored vehicles go. Gregor also informed me that after studying the M1’s his people could put together something similar with the right materials for far less than buying it off the kiosk.

Gregor left me halfway back to Winslow to direct his people where he wanted the mining camp he proposed earlier in the week. I was currently riding through the Dwarf camp and receiving smiles and greetings from his people. They had settled on the hillside by Leupp which put them in a convenient spot to watch the arid plains between them and Flagstaff. Junipher of course was humming contentedly in front of me as we rode.

After dropping the baby bomb on me we had spent the night talking about what that entailed and how it was even possible. It seemed that there are many variations on the ‘Human’ template within the Universe. No one is entirely certain why that is, though apparently Sirens are a subspecies of human and her being part Siren makes babies possible. I finally asked about when Aurdon Ef’i came down and referred to her as Princess. Turns out her father is the King of the Treants and Dryads. After the communications relay was installed she made contact with her father and had the unfortunate task of informing him she was the only member of her scouting team that survived. He of course was interested in meeting me, however it seemed they had partnered with the Payson City Council. She conveniently left out the fact of her pregnancy for a later conversation. That was going to be awkward no matter the pairing.

Junipher indicated that the birth cycle of our children would be different, they would need to be planted in the communal grove so that they could be cared for by the matrons of her people. When they had grown enough, they would eventually uproot themselves and venture out into the world. She insisted we should visit the grove and her father within a month. Which gave me plenty of time to handle some issues on the Eastern Flank of Winslow. Phil had made contact a couple days ago and informed me that Holbrook had survivors though no one had attempted to clear any dungeons for a core. Which was moderately troubling because if I was going to scoop them up and integrate them into my village they would need to show much more motivation than they had thus far.

The Holbrook issue seemed pretty simple compared to the big issue he had thrown my way. Fucking crazy ass cultist Mormons. Gotta be running around snatching all the hot chicks and making them wives or some shit. Seems they had organized a decent sized militia, about 500 total fighters with another 100 or so support. Everyone else worked to support the community and the thirteen most important people to the cult, I mean religion. The Prophet and his twelve apostles. So fucking pretentious!

The big problem was that they apparently had snatched up his youngest daughter, Kayley, and were prepping her for marriage to the current Prophet, one Jeff Flake. Used to be a Senator or some shit, then got beat by someone else that was equally useless and batshit crazy. Seems the girls they offered sanctuary to were being brainwashed and then purified for Mr. Flake’s personal harem. All of which Phil and his oldest, Carly, weren’t having anything to do with. They were chomping at the bit to barge in there and get Kayley back. So I asked him to continue watching the compound while I brought the reinforcements. According to Eli and Alyssa I now had two options for very efficient quick reaction forces.

The Valkyr could fly at a decent speed for up to an hour and then we had mounted cavalry on coyotes and mountain lions. The Armsmaster was currently attempting to find and capture more exotic animals to find out which ones he could bring into his fantasy cavalry. Meanwhile, Freya, the Queen of the Valkyr, was antsy to face a decent battle. Apparently the Navajo Nation didn’t put up much of a fight when they showed up and had ran off with their tails tucked.

Which brought me to the newest development, the Beastkin as Alyssa had referred to them. They had been incredibly grateful for the timely save as it seemed the Navajo were attempting to enslave as many of them as they could. It turned out that despite them being largely shaped as predatory animals they were an agrarian society. Alyssa brought their leader, a young cat girl named Anna back to Johnny who contracted them in my name and positioned them to the North near the Little Colorado River where they promptly went to work cultivating many acres of farmland. Audron Ef’i was right, they were very useful as they solved our food supply concerns pretty much overnight.

As we entered Winslow I noticed that most of the previously wrecked and burnt buildings were largely removed or in the process. Reports from Colleen and Johnny told me that the former Walmart had been converted into a large warehouse for the material goods that the Dwarves and Daemon were providing. Guard posts had gone up throughout the city with small rotating garrisons that would be able to respond to any threat. Gregor’s people were clearing the foundation for the defensive fortifications and I could see where adventurers had claimed plots of land and contracted construction of their own living arrangements. The closer to the primary settlement we approached the multitude of races we had given sanctuary to could be seen intermingling with each other as they walked the newly renovated streets.

Nods of acknowledgement and gratitude were abundant as my team and I marched through the streets. Michelle rode Kaia’s packmate and Stephen and Courtney rode a motorcycle they had liberated from the wreckage of Flagstaff so we made good time back to the administrative building. The central bonfire still burned and waiting around it were Johnny, Alyssa, Queen Freya with her attendant, Hilga, Eli and a petite woman I hadn’t met before. Junipher slid from my lap and greeted Johnny with a hug before she was practically tackled by Alyssa.

“So it’s true, Samantha went with her dad?” Alyssa asked a bit crestfallen.

“It is, I’m sorry your friend has left, Alyssa, but we should be seeing her again soon, all things considered.”

“I guess, I just wish I could have said goodbye. It’s good she was reunited with her father.”

I tuned out their conversation as it quickly and quietly turned to the subject of babies. I slid off Kaia and greeted the Queen first, “Queen Freya, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I hear you are headed to battle, I want to come.” She said getting straight to it.

“Well, I don’t know how much battle there’s really going to be, but you’re welcome to come along. I fear if there’s a real battle to be had it will be in the south, at Phoenix.”

“Yes, I heard you bought some Army types a new tank?” Eli interjected, a bit of envy shown in his eyes.

I took the man’s hand and shook it, “Ah, yes, that. They provided security for the last week and a half while I got Flagstaff on its feet. It was good for the people to see something familiar patrolling their streets. Payment was upgrades, it so happened we used the Captains tank as a test target. So I bought him a new tank, I’ll send you the link, but I think we’re going to want something else.”

“Ah, ok, I’m interested in what you have in mind.”

Before he could pin me down on matters military I turned to the new arrival that stood patiently by the fire pit alone. She was about five feet tall, thin and wearing a simple white sundress. Her skin was a nice shade of tan and she had an appealing amount of cleavage but was clearly on the smaller side there, too. Where her appearance really stood out was the orange haired ears shaped like a cat, and the long swishing tail that extended below her dress to curl around her calves. Her eyes were giant, bright green saucers with vertical slits for pupils.

“I’m going to assume you are Mistress Anna?” I asked as I approached her.

She bent in a stiff bow and spoke quickly, “I am honored to make your acquaintance, Master Karl. I wanted to be here to personally thank you for saving my people and providing Sanctuary.”

With the angle of the bow she gave me I could see down her dress and realized she wasn’t wearing any underwear and I stifled a blush, “Uh, stand up, you don’t need to do that to me. And, you’re welcome, honestly, you’re people were just what my village needed.”

“Oh, oh thank you. We are happy to be of service.” She released a coy smile and blushed a bit herself.

“Did we liberate all of the people that were taken?” I asked her and Eli both.

“There are still some of my people in servitude to the bad men to the North. We haven’t found them all.” She responded with a scowl.

“We have several scout patrols out now. They’re mapping the Navajo territory and noting troop dispositions now. We’ll find them. For now it seems they are licking their wounds and consolidating power on the reservation. Seems not all the people out there are in line with the current status quo.”

“Hmmm, maybe something to exploit later.” I chewed my lip in thought, “Queen Freya, how many people can you place in defense of our northern flank?”

“I think a mere thousand warriors is all that’s needed. Do you not plan to attack?” She asked the question everyone was wondering themselves.

“I’m being pulled in too many directions. The threat to the north doesn’t sound like much of one if your reports are accurate. They are mostly acting like lawless raiders. I think we treat them like they did in the ‘Old West’.” I cracked a vicious smile.

Eli was the first to catch on to the reference, “You want to put a bounty on them. Start collecting scalps!?” His look was almost incredulous. It was a period of history that was rarely talked about in this region of the United States. The trail of tears and the Indian Wars and such. And some of the things people did to each other during that time were absolutely atrocious.

“The world changed back to a more primal version of itself over a month ago. You don’t get anything anymore without displaying your strength, your power. And you don’t keep what’s yours without exercising that strength and power. So yes, I’m talking about putting bounty on the fuckers. If scalps is what you want as proof of the deed being done, so be it, though I’m sure the System is perfectly capable of tracking kills and allegiances.”

He looked slightly admonished by my impromptu speech and no one spoke for a long moment. Then Johnny broke the silence with some words of wisdom. “SooHoo is our tribe now. It is my home, and the people here will defend it.”

Administrator Johnny of the SooHoo Village has set a bounty on all Navajo Nation Raiders, 1000 UMC for the capture or death of any confirmed Navajo Nation Raider payable through the System registrar.

I nodded to the old man as I read the notification, “With that settled, here’s my plan. I sent a scout to provide information on what’s shaking down in Phoenix. He hasn’t quite made it there yet, and if he fails me, I still have Captain Devers’ and Samantha headed the same direction. Within a week we should have intel on the capital.”

I looked around to see if anyone had any questions. No one interjected yet so I continued, “Phil and Carly called for help a couple days ago. Seems Snowflake has turned into a religious compound. They have a small force of ‘Templars’ backed by ‘priestesses’ and are running amok across the area saving young women and then grooming them to join the harem of their leaders.”

“Christ, what about Holbrook?” Eli asked.

“Minor issues there, no ones willing to face a dungeon to set up their own town, so I think we send a group to escort them back here, that’s another two thousand or so people to add to our number. We’ll weed out the slackers, that should easily push us to our next advancement tier.”

I looked to Johnny who nodded, “That would allow us to fully transition into a Military Base, at which point we can start establishing outposts and Forward Operating Bases.”

“Which then gives us access to discounts on military grade hardware, allows us to form a single Brigade with five Battalions underneath it. Each Battalion will consist of four companies of four platoons each. I’ll let you sort out the composition, and I’ll give you some insight into what I want later.”

“Of course, Sir. I look forward to it!” He responded quickly.

“I think we have enough housing to cover the expansion.” Johnny said thoughtfully. “A lot of the adventurers are purchasing their own plots, the apartments are emptying out slowly.”

“Queen Freya, I assume your people are ready for a fight, I plan to move on Phoenix within a week. I’m assuming I’ll need an eager fighting force as well. We will head down the 87 and through Payson. Gain their allegiance, hopefully with the help of Junipher’s father who is a King. I’m not sure how long that meeting will go, I uh, kinda knocked up his daughter. So once -”

“WHAT!?!?” The group exclaimed in unison.

I was really hoping they would miss that last part. “Are you serious!?!?” Eli asked with a wide eyed look on his face.

“This is great news, Master Karl! We must have a celebration!” Queen Freya announced and I cringed even more. Alyssa came around the fire leading Junipher with an excited smile, “Have you heard! Junipher’s pregnant!”

I groaned, cradling my face in my hands, I was absolutely losing control of this. Junipher came around and wrapped an arm around me and planted herself in my lap with a smile. I could only smile back at her.

“Alright, alright! Let’s get back to business.” I faked a stern look that lasted a few seconds before a shit eating grin spread across my face.

Freya leaned in to congratulate Junipher and whispered in her ear, “Well played, girl, well played. Congratulations.”

Guess there was a silent rivalry there? Wonder if Junipher has let Freya know she’s willing to share? I shook the lecherous thoughts from my mind and continued with my briefing.

“Anyway, I have a friend and his daughter to save, so I want to be back on the road in the next two hours. I want a hundred of your people, Freya, and a couple hundred of our own, Eli. I want a group of escorts for the Holbrook people and the rest are going directly to Snowflake.”

Everyone broke to make their individual preparations and Junipher and I made for my apartment. On the way we ran into Colleen harangueing a pair of assistants. She looked up as we entered the building and paused to greet us, “Karl, Junipher.”

“Colleen. How are you doing?”

She straightened her blouse a bit and answered, “I’m fine. Better actually. The work keeps my mind off…” her voice hitched a bit, then she continued, “I’ve zoned out several residential blocks with the market and crafting areas in the center. Johnny tells me when we advance we can place another Kiosk, I plan on putting that down either in the old parking lot of the Safeway, or the Walmart. That gives adventurers another point of access, the current market layout is a bit crowded.”

I looked at the holographic map table and where she indicated. Looking at the map I had some thoughts myself based on what was available to us in Flagstaff so I left her a few suggestions. “Here’s an idea, let’s connect the 87 through town to Berry. Then the I-40 and the 87 become a neat little travel junction. Place our second market around that and leave some space for access to vehicle garages. We’ll gain those soon enough too.”

She looked at the map and furrowed her brow in thought. “Alright, Johnny told me to expect more people, I’ll zone some residential areas around the expected new market.”

“Sounds good, Colleen.” I headed up the stairs and noticed that Junipher stayed behind to talk with the woman. Probably picked up on some emotions she wants to try and help iron out. Junipher returned while I was in the shower but didn’t join me. It turns out she liked water at room temperature and my showers were too hot for her. By the time I finished cleaning and changing, and answered some messages from various peoples, it was time to head to Snowflake.

I came out to find almost a hundred mounted men and women on coyotes and mountain lions spread out in formation across the muster grounds. Behind them were another two hundred unmounted men and women, likely the Holbrook escort force. Several repurposed Army National Guard deuce and a half trucks were idling just outside the gates. Beside Eli’s people stood a hundred women of the Valkyr, ready to take flight, Queen Freya stood in front of her people just as proudly as Eli did his, and I would be lying if I said the sight didn’t fill me with a small amount of pride myself.

A trio of banners caught my attention. Each carried by an individual in one of the formations. A long streamer of medium blue. A grey circle with the stylized profile of a coyote in the center. It seemed SooHoo Village had its own coat of arms. And I wasn’t displeased by that at all.