Chapter 64: Consolidation – II

The sun slowly rose to its peak, then started its descent.

Hans had toiled on his desk the entire time, leaving many matters for his soldiers and people to deal with.

Coby, for one, received the three sets of generators gathered near the small industrial area of the fish processing center and fish port.

Though the stench of the hive’s flesh remained, the insides were untouched, much to his happiness.

“Bring it over there,” Coby pointed for the soldiers to follow.

The soldiers grunted, lifting the generator and pulling it to where Coby wanted.

At that moment, the two maintenance crew members, Caleb and Evans, approached.

Hans’s Engineers jogged in the background, their feet loudly thumping on the ground while carrying their large yellow cases.

“Timely arrival,” Coby pulled out his notebook, a map drawn at the center. “Prep the wires. We’ll connect the battery over here, with the generators planted on these spots.”

“Solar’s too far away,” Caleb remarked. “You sure no one’s going to trip it up?”

“The soldiers will build a barricade around it,” Coby replied. “Shelters will follow. The Commander’s Engineers will help us with this.”

“Aight.”

Everyone got to work, connecting the wires, installing it to the transformers one by one.

The generators were lined up in a staggered row, their exhausts facing outward, while the transformers sat closer to the inner walls—shielded, grounded, and bolted into concrete.

Thick cables ran from generator to transformer, then split again, feeding into a reinforced distribution box that Caleb and Evans personally checked.

Evans crouched beside the battery rack, tightening the final clamps. “Storage is good,” he said. “If the generators are cut off, we still get hours of playtime.”

Coby nodded, “Enough to keep everyone happy. That’s all we need for a while.”

He stepped back as the last breaker was seated. The soldiers finished dragging scrap metal and overturned carts into place, forming a crude barricade around the humming machines.

“Stand clear,” Caleb called out.

Coby raised a hand, “Start it.”

The generator coughed once, then roared to life. The transformers answered with a low, steady hum, vibrations traveling through the floor.

Gauges climbed, before stabilizing, and held on.

When night finally fell, the light bulbs that had long dimmed flashed brightly after a long time.

It had shone a ray of hope to the new survivors and old residents alike, knowing that the coming days were going to be better than yesterday’s despair.

Hans stood silently on the open window.

The colony’s sparkling light reflected on his eyes, showing the mild appreciation of Coby and everyone else’s efforts.

“Too bad Arthur didn’t see this.”

Images of a soft-spoken, middle-aged man flashed. In the distance, he could see Arthur’s silhouette, his back facing Hans.

The slouched body.

The rugged face.

Hans’s thoughts wandered into the sky, void of the usual moonlight. Clouds silently streaked across the horizon, blocking an ominous premonition.

A cold breeze jolted his body awake from the stupor, reminding him of the reality he was in.

He pulled the covers and returned to his desk, letting the bulb flash brightly until dawn.

This should be enough, he thought as his body drifted into the couch.

…

The meeting was called before noon.

The lights remained on when Hans and Dmitri arrived—an unfamiliar sight in a room that had grown used to half-darkness and the presence of candle smoke.

A long table has been arranged at the center, mismatched chairs surrounding it with little regard for rank or seniority.

Faces turned as he entered. Some young, some slightly older.

No one spoke as Hans sat.

The tension in the room rose, filling the air with countless unspoken words all reflected through everyone’s expression.

“I thank the Commander for blessing us with his presence today,” spoke Coby after a while. “Before anything else, we need answers about the river. And the hive.”

Hans nodded once, “The hive is gone. The water remains contaminated, but the threat has been contained. Those infected were already treated. But I won’t pretend that we didn’t have oversight. My soldiers have already scavenged water sources far north, and northeast. The results aren’t to worry, but it will not last long.”

The room turned silent.

Nobody expected that the hive was present upstream. If someone was to really blame, it would be Roger’s untimely remark at the last council meeting.

But they knew that the blaming game wouldn’t change what happened.

All they wanted was some answers—something to fill in the fear emerging from their heads, and the void in their hearts.

“If Yunera hadn’t stepped in,” someone broke the silence. “we’d be having this meeting any later than now.”

“The response was deliberate,” Hans glanced briefly at Yunera. “Let’s take the results as it is.”

“And what if it happens the second time?” Another council member said. “We’re not just here because of the incident. We’re here because of what that hive has shown us.”

Hans internally smirked.

In another world, he would have lost them already. Here, he still had the table.

To regain one’s trust, you must give them something to hope for.

He straightened slightly.

“If we’re talking about what the hive has shown us,” he said, “then we should also talk about what we’re missing.”

A few brows furrowed.

“Our supplies are finite. Our perimeter is reactive. And every time we wait, the city, or rather, the zombies and the hives doesn’t.”

He paused.

“Pandora District is not a risk I’m proposing.”

His gaze moved across the table.

“It’s a solution we cannot afford to delay.”

“What will the rich district offer us?” Roger, the industrial worker, interjected. “Is it money? Land? Power?”

“Whatever this colony needs.”

Hans leaned on the table, replying briefly.

“That doesn’t say anything, Mr. Hans,” Roger shook his head in objection. “It is better if we focus on the malls and gardens instead.”

Hans didn’t argue immediately.

“These structures are too deep in the city. I will not risk my soldiers into a meat grinder. Those near us have been drained empty. Worse—contaminated. My soldiers have already checked.”

Roger backed down, and so did the rest, giving Hans ample time to continue.

“Pandora District still has sealed infrastructure. Private storage. Backup generators. Medical stockpiles that were never meant to be public.”

Murmurs filled the meeting room.

“It’s dangerous, indeed,” he acknowledged. “But it’s a calculated risk. I have scattered units on the way. And if we encounter, we will deal with it as we have done with the other. The council, nor the people, need not to worry.”

He tapped the table once.

“Waiting spares that danger encroaching us everywhere else. So, what will it be?”

“And if the soldiers don’t come back?” Coby asked, worried about the loss of strategic army personnel.

“Then at least we’ll know what we’re up against.”

Hans closed his eyes as he replied. Dmitri remained silent, arms folded, his gaze never leaving the table.

This made the Council members uncomfortable.

No answer came from their mouths, yet their eyes exchanged countless glances.

Finally, Coby exhaled.

“We won’t stop you, Mr. Commander. May this affair bring a positive feedback to your efforts.”

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