I arrived in Pott’s a little over a day later, riding my motorcycle straight into the city, weaving it through the buildings and avoiding pedestrians as I made a beeline for Nico’s house. The streets were clear enough that I received mostly just stares rather than having any rocks or curses hurled at me. I stopped just in front of her front door, and knocked twice. I could smell that she was inside, but I didn’t feel any relief until she opened the door and I actually saw her. When I did I felt an enormous weight lift off my shoulders, and could feel a kind of tightness across my body begin to ease.

In spite of my rush to check on her, and the anxiety and worry I’d been feeling about her while I was gone, I found that I couldn’t think of anything to say when I saw her.

I stood there in the doorway silently, until she gestured her head for me to come inside.

“Come on in, have some coffee.”

I nodded, and walked into her house, leaving my cycle by the door and taking a seat on the couch.

Nico went to the kitchen, heated some water, and poured us each a cup of coffee before handing me one and taking a seat across from me.

I took a sip, sat for a few more seconds, and finally spoke. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

She nodded, with a slight smile on her face. “You too.”

“How did the mission go?” I asked.

She took another sip to clear her throat. “It was rough. We were pursued almost the entire time. Our exits were cut off, and we were forced to improvise. Mercy’s skills with explosives saved us maybe a dozen times. Eventually we reached Medina, where the Khan’s men luckily recognized me. Though from what I understand, they don’t fire on any deadmen as a rule.”

“Good rule.”

She nodded. “Mercy stayed there. She’s helping with the Khan’s armament and spending most of her time helping to fortify the city with mines. She’s dangerous… I like her.”

“Me too.”

“Good job getting Crow back here, the data too. I hear it’s already been a big help to Julian.”

“Crow?” I asked

“The Deadman you saved in the Black Woods? You never asked his name?”

I shrugged, feeling another weight lift from my shoulders. I had been fairly certain that the Khan had followed through on his word, particularly after monitoring things with Special Delivery, but it was good to hear. “How was he behaving?” I asked.

“Apparently he gave the Khan’s emissary, Shay, a hard time. Even escaped briefly and tried to make it back to the woods. She stopped him though. Managed to hand him off to some undertakers close by, but not after giving them a warning as to his behavior. Nix told me he’s doing better now that he’s back in Pott’s though.”

“Good. He was a pain in my ass… though he helped me at least once.”

“Really? Even in that state?”

“Well… I used him as bait. I’m still grateful though.”

Nico sighed. “Of course.”

We sat in silence for a short while, before I remembered something else I’d wanted to ask. “How are things here in Pott’s?”

“Stressful, with the primary.”

“Primary?” I asked.

“The Honored Dead are trying to determine who should be our nominee for president. They decided on a vote across all deadmen to pick who it should be.”

“Whose running?”

“Solomon and Mama.”

I sucked in some air through my teeth. President Solomon… not my personal choice by any means. “Whose in the lead?”

Nico shrugged. “Hard for me to say. I’m not much more of a talker than you are. Deux would probably have a better idea.”

“Where’d the rest of the Honored Dead fall?”

“Julian was everyone’s actual first choice, but he isn’t in the system. Only citizens can be president.”

That made sense, but was a damned shame. If there was any individual the rest of them would’ve supported, it would’ve been him.

Nico continued. “Kit has endorsed Mama, and Jim obviously endorsed Solomon.”

“Julian hasn’t endorsed either of them?”

She shook her head. “Not that I’ve heard. He hasn’t been leaving his lab much lately. I heard from Mama that he’s been sleeping in there. Solomon’s been angling aggressively for his endorsement, and implying he has it already. Mama is just giving him the space to make the decision himself.”

“Who are you voting for?”

“Probably Solomon.”

I stared at her.

“He’s a good leader Donovan. The only person that’s a true political animal among the deadmen. He’s also fair, and reasonable. Mama is great, but I don’t know that she’d be able to win against Matthews, and we aren’t sure if the Horde will support our candidate or their own. The Horde’s riders I talked to about it had heard of no plans from the Khan.”

I hadn’t heard the Khan speak much about his specific plans for it either, aside from the fact that he didn’t want the Remnants to have it. He seemed to be focused on the war above all else.

“Solomon hates me.”

She nodded. “True, but Pott’s isn’t made up of just you. Besides, you don’t think that some of his dislike of you is earned?”

I clenched my teeth. “Some of it.” I admitted. “But a lot of it came from nowhere.”

“Fair,” she said simply. “But we have to make compromises for Pott’s sometimes, and my voting for Solomon is mine.”

I placed my tea down, and stood up. “I’m going to go talk to Julian.”

“You don’t have to leave just because we have a difference of opinion.”

“It’s not because of that.” I lied, it was partially about that. “It’s because I have some backups of that data I sent back with Raven, that he might want.”

“Crow was the Undertaker’s name.”

“Considering the names he called me while I dragged him through the Black Woods, I think that my mistake is acceptable.”

“Fine,” said Nico, standing. “Come back and say bye if he gives you some job to do, or person to kill.”

I nodded, that was something I’d incidentally done in the past, left without saying goodbye. Nico and I stood there awkwardly for a moment. Still adjusting to the changes in our relationship. I found myself wishing Deux could be there to help smooth things over… though that always had the potential of having the opposite effect.

Nico stepped forward and wrapped me in an awkward hug, which I returned equally awkwardly. After we released each other, I tipped my hat at her, and walked out of the house.

I closed the door and saw a few people gathered around my bike where I’d left it leaning against the side of the house. They saw me, and all did their best to casually make their way elsewhere. I double-checked that everything was still on it, wheeled it into Nico’s house, then started back toward the mausoleum. I got the usual stares and comments, and saw far more deadmen and women with guns slung across their backs, and fresh scars than I had in the past. A few of them gave me a nod, others a kind of salute by bringing their fist to their chests, and a few even let out a ‘Sir’ in my direction as they did so. I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I just nodded and kept walking.

I eventually reached the black dome of the mausoleum. I took the side door I’d been shown the last time, and made my way down to Julian’s lab, startling a few white cloaks that hadn’t expected to see me as I went. When I entered the lab, I noticed the walls more heavily covered in cords, a half dozen suits of power armor painted black with various panels and sections opened up, and many devices I didn’t recognize scattered across various tables and desks in different states of assembly, repair, or modification.

Julian leaned over one of the suits of power armor with one of his white robes, gesturing to different areas of a circuit he was working at with a soldering gun. I approached them, pulling the backup data-squares from my pack as I did so. His robe was stained with black grease and burn marks, and I got the impression that he hadn’t bathed in some time. It was strange, I’d always known him to be meticulous in all things.

Julian turned just before I reached him, he looked tired, but there was also a kind of excitement in his eyes. “Donovan. Welcome back.”

I held out the datasquares.

Julian looked at them for a moment before taking them. “Backups?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“Perfect. Thorough as always. The data we retrieved is invaluable, though I’m more grateful you were able to retrieve one of our people of course.”

“I want you to endorse Mama as the Pott’s nominee for president.”

Julian coughed slightly and I saw the whiterobe he’d been working with stop his work, and not so subtly tilt his head to listen to us. Julian looked at him, then around at the others in the room, and sighed. “Follow me Donovan, I’ll have this conversation with you, but not here.”

I nodded and we walked out of the lab, with Julian lingering at the exit for just a moment, eyeing an open panel a white robe was working on and just barely keeping himself from approaching and working on it, then we walked upstairs through to the Honored Dead’s audience chamber, which was sitting empty at the moment.

“Okay. Now we can talk.” He said, once the door was closed.

“I want you to endorse Mama for president.”

“Did she put you up to this?” he asked.

“No.”

“Is this about Solomon’s dislike of you? I have no taste for his attitude myself, but I don’t think I should be involving myself in this. It’s more valuable for me to focus on work in the lab.”

I shook my head. “You’re the most respected person in Pott’s. You can’t hide from that.”

He chuckled. “Don’t underestimate the power of your endorsement Donovan. You could sway quite a few people if you campaigned for her yourself.”

I grimaced, Julian’s words causing me a distinctly uncomfortable weight in my stomach. “That would move just as many people more firmly into Solomon’s camp.” I paused, thinking it over. “Listen, I don’t pretend to understand politics, but I understand this. People here trust Mama, love her, and the average waster is going to like her a lot more than they’d like Solomon. If you actually want to win, you’ll need someone to contrast Masters, not seem like a different version of him.”

Julian frowned, and I could see gears turning. Julian’s tech-focused side giving way slowly to his political one. He took a moment to look down at the stains on his robe, seeming to notice them for the first time.

“I’ve said my piece. I’m going back to the front.”

Julian looked up. “Do you want the coordinates of a group to rally with?”

I shook my head. “They’ll just slow me down. I’m just going to head West, and kill Remnants until this war is over.”