people. A group of survivors—perhaps as many as three or four thousand—with Ralaimongo as their designated leader, had tried to make do by sharing the few food resources, while also hunting, foraging, and attempting to recultivate the scorched fields.
However, as if heaven-sent devastation was not enough of a trial, the struggling band of survivors had been set upon by a group of convicts who had escaped from a demolished jail. These criminals—some of whom had been serving time for committing piracy on the high seas—were banded together, ruthlessly attacking and robbing anyone unlucky enough’ to be in their path.
Ralaimongo and his followers were astonished to discover that the villains were led by a young woman, an American who knew their language—among others—and was called Queen Ranavolana, after dynastic rulers of old. Just how she had become a leader was unclear to the schoolteacher. He was impressed by her linguistic facility and her intelligence; but it was obvious that she had more of an affinity for the criminals and pirates than for the general population.
She played on the pirates’ fears and superstitions, encouraging them to believe that she was somehow connected to the conflagration, sent by the Creator to be their saviour. Ralaimongo also questioned her sanity. Was she crazed, unhinged by the holocaust? Or was she totally in control of her faculties, making decisions that only she could explain? Why did she choose to adopt the name of the notoriously wicked queen? And what was the meaning of the red sails, which apparently were colored with paint found in a warehouse, augmented, some of the people said, with blood? What kind of blood? Or worse,
The committee members were riveted by the man’s tale of horror, but he was not finished. Picard struggled to keep up and to keep his own emotions out of the translation.
“Iam certain that our escape, Jono’s and mine”—he pointed to the young sailor who had accompanied him on the voyage—“that our action will result in recriminations. Others will pay for our freedom. I regret this very much. However, it was necessary that someone attempt to get away to tell this story, to ask for help. We were told about the Queen’s encounter with your fishermen, which was described to us as if it were a grand military coup. Supposedly, she outwitted your people and took their fish without firing a shot, frightening them into submission.”
At this point, Harry McIntosh, who was included in the group selected to attend the special meeting, jumped up to protest. “She surprised us, yes. But she sure as hell didn’t scare us. I told you, Captain, sir—”
“Yes, Harry,” Nordstrom reassured him. “We know the truth. You do not need to be defensive. Our guest is merely reporting the propaganda as it was related to him. No criticism intended.” He turned to the older man. “Continue, please, sir.”
“Yes, well, she filled the people’s head with nonsense. We two, among many others, could see through her lies and perceive her evil intent. Yet we were frightened and did not know what to do. The Queen was not reluctant to execute any dissenters or so-called troublemakers, anyone who disagreed with her on the slightest matter. And she had the men—these criminals—to carry out her wishes.” Tears welled in the old man’s eyes, then fell down his leathery cheeks. “I have seen many people killed, many good people—without justification, with no trial. My family is gone, all of them annihilated in the disaster that destroyed our island home. I have nothing more to lose. But it hurts me to see innocent people treated in such a way.”
“Monsieur Ralaimongo,” Dr. Hardy interjected, speaking slowly so that Picard could translate, “will you please repeat what you told us earlier about this woman’s plans as they affect our community? All of us here would like to help you and your people as best we can. But it is vitally important that we understand just what we are confronting.”
“She—Queen Ranavolana the Terrible—plans to invade your settlement and strip you of every bit of food and equipment that her men can carry away. And eventually she will return with an army of occupation. She believes that she is destined to rule the entire world—that is, the part of the world that has survived the catastrophe.”
These words fell on incredulous ears, and several members of the Expanded Defense Committee started to speak at once. Jane Warner, who had been added to the committee because of her knowledge of the “safety zone” line as it might have affected Madagascar, asked Picard to repeat exactly what Ralaimongo had said. At the same time several of the committeemen from Ulundi, including Peter Mavimbela, started to speak animatedly among themselves in Zulu. Within moments, the entire meeting was in an uproar of shock and anger.
Pieter Kemm stood, shaking his fist. “Captain Nordstrom, we must mobilize our people immediately! Our Zulu comrades will agree, I’m sure, to an emergency conscription. The Ulundi leadership will act responsibly and quickly. Just tell us what we must do.”
“First thing,” Nordstrom said, raising his hands, “is to calm down. Everyone, please. Just calm down.”
The two refugees were alarmed by the response of the people present, and Ralaimongo looked to Captain Nordstrom and Dr. Hardy for guidance. Did they want him to continue to speak?
Dr. Hardy said, in an even tone intended to quell the upset, “The one thing we don’t want to do is panic and run around in circles. Of course, we must take measures to defend ourselves against this possible attack. I say ‘possible’ not because I do not believe what Mr. Ralaimongo has told us, but only because we do not know the size and strength of the forces that might be deployed against us.”
“That is true,” Nordstrom said. “However, our military leaders have already debriefed our new guests, and based upon their appraisal of the situation I believe that they have some preliminary ideas.” With this he turned to General Allen White of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
General White, along with Deck Officer Carl Gustafsson, had sat at the head table and listened to the proceedings, but to this point he had said nothing. Now he stood and walked around to the front of the table, where he could face his colleagues and fellow survivors directly.
He stood before them, erect and poised. Although his engineering specialty had led to a career that was not specifically combat-oriented, Allen White had seen active duty as a younger officer in the U.S. invasion of Grenada and in the Gulf War. His trim gray hair and mustache (which he kept meticulously neat and precise, even in these difficult living conditions) accented a firm, angular jawline. His blue eyes were capable of warmth or ice, depending on what the situation required. And his voice was crisp, just the right volume for the size of the gathering, exuding confidence.
“Thank you, Captain Nordstrom and Dr. Hardy. Ladies and gentlemen, friends, we have indeed heard some alarming news this morning. But, as Dr. Hardy has said, we don’t yet know how serious the threat is. I strongly recommend, however, that we assume a worst-case scenario and plan accordingly.
“Deck Officer Gustafsson and I have had preliminary discussions about this situation and believe that a simple and direct approach is best. In our earliest meetings—after our fishing boat’s encounter with the queen—a few members of our committee suggested that we take advantage of the special engineering talent in our midst and attempt to develop one or more ‘magic weapons.’ We decided against this course of action. I personally have seen too many high-tech weapons that didn’t perform as advertised, and I could not approve putting our faith in magic devices of any sort. We do have a certain number of rifles and pistols available, and using these judiciously, our group agreed that the tried and true methods of a modern infantry would serve us best. We find ourselves living in relatively primitive conditions, and the same situation must pertain to any potential opponents. As for the present danger, from what we understand, these so-called pirates, no matter how ferocious they may be, are in no position to overcome an armed, well-disciplined group of citizen-soldiers. They will have the disadvantage of having to cross two hundred and fifty miles of open sea, and their numbers cannot be large—I would guess, from what we have heard, two or three hundred at most.”
The general paced back and forth for a moment, as if on parade, and then continued, “We propose to recruit militia troops—like in the days of the American Revolution. We will seek out able-bodied volunteers, say five hundred from Engineering Village—the ship’s crew alone provides many likely prospects—and an equal number from Ulundi. There is no sense in making the troops more numerous since we probably won’t be able to round up more than a few hundred guns, and while some of our support forces may not need to carry weapons, in general we don’t want to send unarmed soldiers into battle. Incidentally, let me say for the record that I favor enlisting men only. On the other hand, we’re not going to make an issue of it if a few women insist on joining.”
The overall force, as envisioned by the general, would be a regiment comprised of two battalions of roughly the same size—one from Ulundi, the other from Engineering Village. Each battalion would be comprised of two companies, each company of ten platoons, following the standard military order. Each unit, from the smallest to the largest would have one commander and one second. For example, the regiment would be commanded by White, with Gustafsson as his second. He asked Kemm to give him a list of prospective officers to be interviewed and
