TWD - Chapter 557: Post-War Reorganization (Patreon)

A week after the campaign against the Reapers ended, Rock Fortress began planning its next steps.

Benson stood on the roof of the dormitory building, holding a nearly empty pack of Marlboros. The crumpled pack had only two cigarettes left.

His gaze drifted down over the bustling crowd below, paying particular attention to his newly joined Reaper comrades.

For the time being, they were all under Benson’s command and had not yet been formally incorporated into the Defense Force.

In fact, even Benson himself hadn’t officially joined the Defense Force, though he had unwittingly been treated as a member and drafted into doing a great deal of work.

Although the Reapers had yet to be formally incorporated into the organization, they were already leaning toward joining it. Calista and Leah had put most of them to work on missions outside the base in exchange for points.

Except for Victor and Cyrus.

Because of their previous mission, Victor and Cyrus had earned a substantial number of points ahead of schedule, and besides, Victor’s broken bone still required proper rest.

Not far away, Dubin and Zike were bickering as usual. The two argued until their faces turned red, neither willing to back down. They were like an old married couple, if both halves were bald and built like thugs.

“Benson!” Josephine poked her head out from the stairwell and called softly, “The meeting’s started. The commander called you.”

Benson paused briefly, then slowly stubbed out the cigarette in his hand. “Let’s go.”

The conference room was located in the command center of the industrial park, its walls covered with maps.

Calista sat at the head of the table, wearing a dark gray shirt with the sleeves casually rolled up to her elbows, fiddling with a communicator in front of her.

Maya was reporting to her via the communicator about the latest outpost they’d captured.

The outposts under her and Lieutenant Wells’ control were penetrating deeper and deeper, like nails driven into the ground, starting from the Knoxville Industrial Park where they were based and moving toward the city center. The first few were all in East Knoxville, and the most recent one had already been established on the outskirts of downtown Knoxville.

When Benson pushed open the door, a circle of people was already seated around the room.

Leah sat to Calista’s right, and Rickson sat to Calista’s left.

Deanna sat across from them, a thick stack of documents spread out before her. She had clearly pulled another all-nighter. Faint shadows ringed her eyes, but she still looked as determined as ever.

Reg sat beside her, clutching a rolled-up blueprint tightly in his hand.

Carver sat by the window, arms crossed over his chest, sitting upright. When he saw Benson enter, he gave a slight nod as a greeting.

Mike stood next to Carver, his face expressionless, seemingly lost in thought.

Benson found a spot among the group and sat down. Calista looked up, her gaze sweeping across the room. “Let’s begin.”

Deanna was the first to stand up, pushing the thick stack of documents in front of her toward Calista. Her tone was weary, but more than anything, it was confident. “Calista, this is the Draft Administrative Optimization Plan for Rock Fortress. I spent an entire week writing it.”

Calista raised an eyebrow slightly, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes. She reached out, picked up the stack of documents, and slowly flipped through a few pages.

Seeing this, Deanna continued, “Based on my observations over the past few days, Rock Fortress’s current management style is far too chaotic.

“Military affairs, civil administration, logistics, construction. Everything is tangled together.

“On a day-to-day basis, we can manage minor issues, but whenever a major issue arises, you’re the only one who can make the final call.

“Right now, with our small team, you can still handle it, but if our numbers keep growing, you simply won’t be able to keep up.”

She held up a finger and earnestly pointed to several key points in the document. “So I suggest establishing several specialized internal affairs departments.

“A Department of Civil Affairs to handle resident registration, housing assignments, and dispute mediation, keeping residents’ daily lives organized.

“A Department of Logistics to oversee inventory, warehouses, and rationing, ensuring supplies are used and distributed properly.

“A Department of Construction to manage engineering, repairs, and new projects, supporting the base’s long-term development.

“A Department of Agriculture to handle crops, livestock, and food processing, so everyone has enough to eat.

“A Department of Industry to oversee the production lines at the industrial park.

“A Department of Health to handle medical care, disease prevention, and medicine supplies.

“As for Research and Development, we could place it under Health or establish it as an independent department.

“The heads of these departments would report directly to you. You would only need to manage a handful of people instead of thousands.”

After spending some time helping Rickson administer the base, Deanna had discovered just how capable Rock Fortress’s research teams were.

The walker research team was led by Dr. Jenner from the CDC, with Milton and Professor Martin Sorensen.

The biochemical materials team was headed by UTK’s Professor Martin Sorensen and Dr. Caitlin, alongside UTK biochemistry students.

The agricultural research team was led by Professor Howard, assisted by UTK teaching assistant Rodriguez, farmers including Hershel, and UTK agronomy students.

There was also the hydroelectric engineering team led by Elena, with several of her students, UTK lecturer Benjamin, and Anna’s group from Norris Dam.

Not only did they develop Walker Attractants and Walker Disruptors, but they also produced chemical products such as rubber goods and hygiene supplies, and even devised a geothermal hot spring system.

The more she learned, the more determined she became to help Calista make Rock Fortress thrive.

She had not yet been granted access to the highly classified material on the Wildfire virus and the Black Fire Project, but her political experience told her these research teams needed more specialized management and resources.

Calista carefully reviewed a few more pages of the documents, then looked up, her gaze resting on Deanna. “What about the candidates? Do you have any ideas?”

Deanna was well prepared and spoke methodically:

“As for the Department of Civil Affairs, I can take that on alongside my other duties for now. After all, I have some experience in this area. Gwendolyn, Oak, and Marcus will continue to handle the relevant work.

“The Logistics Department will remain under Rickson’s leadership, with Ellie assisting him.

“For the Construction Department, either Elena or Ancheta would be suitable. Additionally, Reg would make a good support person. He’s very knowledgeable about construction projects.

“For the Agriculture Department, Professor Howard is already a leader in the field, with both extensive experience and deep expertise. He’s the perfect choice to head it.

“For the Industry Department, I’ve been here too short a time to have identified a suitable candidate yet.

“For the Health Department, Dr. Jenner has a solid foundation of professional knowledge, so having him in charge will certainly be fine.

“If we need to establish a separate Research Department, Dr. Evans can take charge of the Health Department, and Dr. Jenner can head the Research Department.”

Deanna paused, then added, “As for military matters, that’s your decision. I won’t interfere.”

Experience certainly counted. Deanna’s choices were sensible and included several veterans of the organization.

Calista nodded, approving her suggestions.

“Leah will head the Ministry of Defense.

“Elena will head the Construction Department, with Reg assisting her.

“Ancheta is more skilled in military industry, so the Industrial Department will be his responsibility.

“The Health Department will be led by Dr. Evans.

“The Research and Development Department will be established separately under Dr. Jenner. It will handle technological improvements as well as biochemical research.”

This way, the division of labor would be much clearer, and she, Leah, and Rickson wouldn’t have to make every decision themselves.

Calista then turned her attention to Reg and asked, “Reg, what about those blueprints you drew with Ancheta earlier? Show them to everyone!”

Reg quickly stood up and carefully unfolded the blueprints in his hands on the table.

The drawings showed planned defensive fortifications in meticulous detail. Bunker locations, firing angles, and trench layouts were all clearly marked. They had obviously put a great deal of thought into them.

“Ancheta and I drew these. Since he’s been busy with the defensive fortifications at the Knoxville city outpost lately, I’ll be presenting them.

“Currently, the perimeter of our industrial park is protected only by a barbed-wire fence and a few watchtowers. Compared to Rock Fortress and Blackberry Ranch, our defenses are relatively weak.”

As Reg spoke, his finger moved quickly across the blueprints, pointing to several key locations. “I plan to add bunkers here, here, and here.

“We’ll build them from reinforced concrete, sturdy enough to withstand even a rocket strike.

“Each bunker will be equipped with a machine gun, and through strategic placement, we’ll create crossfire to ensure all blind spots are covered.”

He pointed to several more spots. “We need searchlights here, here, and here. And over here...”

As he spoke, he pulled out another blueprint. “Over in Knoxville, if we plan to maintain a long-term presence, we’ll need to build defensive fortifications there as well.

“I suggest starting by erecting a ring of makeshift fortifications around the UTK campus using shipping containers and sandbags. This method is quick and will allow us to rapidly establish a certain level of defensive capability.

“Once the situation stabilizes, we can gradually reinforce them.”