I smiled, handing the plate to the woman across from me. Her little boy beamed at me while I added more mashed potatoes onto their plates. "There you go, there's plenty for everyone."
"Thank you, mister soldier." The young boy said with a beaming smile, shuffling down the line with his mother.
An older man passed before me, his face darkening as he passed, holding his plate close as he waited to continue down the line. I smiled anyway, nodding as he shuffled away.
A young girl was next holding her plate out. A steak still sizzling sat there as the girl looked at me with tepid eyes. I took my ladle and scooped a faint portion, plopping it on her plate. "Enjoy the meal."
One of my wife's sister sidles next to me, dropping a tray of gravy and grabbing a ladle. "So, why'd you join us today?"
"Wanted to see some people smile instead of the moody faces of the command center." I quipped.
"The soldiers… they smile though?" She said creating a little volcano out of a pile of mashed potatoes.
"The command teams and staff work, day in and day out. As much as I try to give them breaks there is always more work… they almost look like zombies. Trudging around the headquarters till the coffee kicks in" I remarked as I swapped out the trays for new ones, continuing to serve food like nothing happened.
"You think we stand a chance? This new nation I mean?" She asked after a while.
I didn't reply for a while, instead watching the people pass by. The hundreds of people getting a hot meal, then going on with their day. I glanced to the side, watching my wife pass out bottled water, her mother and aunts were cooking on several old grills in a makeshift kitchen.
"Last night Trevor's forces entered Arlington…" I said. My brother and I had kept relatively frequent communication, though this was information I hadn't shared with even my command teams yet.
"They weren't finding a lot of survivors. There's a lot of mutants, specters, berserkers, tanks, and harpies. DC looks even worse…" I said quietly while we continued serving food.
"See those kids there? Playing on the monkey bars? And those teens playing tag?" I asked. She nodded and so I continued.
"These kids would have been hiding in basements with their families, hiding, praying that it'll get better. Parents struggling to scrape enough food to get by without drawing the undead's attention… I like to think I've already done a lot of good. That the Union has done a lot of good…"
"A lot of people don't believe it." She replied.
"I know, but more come every day, seeking the safety and security we provide. Dozens come seeking a better life than scraping by. At least in the Union you can get a little taste of the old world… even if it wasn't the same one we want back." I said, a bit of heaviness to my voice.
"You think they want security more than freedom?" She asked.
"At the moment yes… maybe try reading the laws though, there are very few changes to them…" I replied with a wry smile as I served the last person coming through the line.
I helped clean everything, putting away the left over food, of which there was a lot. Veria cheerfully nudged my shoulder, "thanks for helping out."
"I just do a bit." I replied with a smile. My wife took my hand and started dragging me through the crowd, sitting with a random couple.
"Alice, Frank, this is my husband Andrew." She introduced me to the two of them.
I offered a hand, which Frank shook, a neutral expression on his face. "Pleasure to meet you."
"You're the Soviet commander aren't you?" Alice asked with a bit of excitement, seeing the stars on the epaulets of my uniform.
"I am." I replied.
"Thank you, really thank you, everyone is so grateful that you're protecting everyone, offering jobs and getting us homes." She gushed.
"We are doing what we can…"
"The shelling picked up last night…" Frank said calmly while looking at me.
"It did." I answered, trying not to let a frown show through.
"What are you commies up to?" Frank said, his voice low enough to almost be a growl.
"You weren't at the town hall yesterday? It is Operation iron curtain. We're clearing the gangs and raiders that are settling down in Long Beach." I replied.
"Sounds like you're trying to cover up that you're killing dissidents to me." He accused me, glowering at me as he did.
"You were given a briefing when you arrived? Briefed of the laws, rights, and protections every citizen enjoys, yes?" He nodded begrudgingly.
"Then you are aware of the consequences of the crimes, ranging from community service to expulsion from the union… so far we've expelled nine people for murder… all other crimes have been small, they are working their service to the community…"
"Why would I waste artillery munitions on nine murders when I could have shot nine bullets? No, that shelling is to kill thieves and murderers, so that good men and women don't have to die to protect us." I replied to his accusation.
"Even if that is the case these jobs you waving in front of us. It's not worth the pay…you steal all our money back with your taxes anyway."
I bristled a bit at that, my blood boiling. "Maybe you should do some research. The civilian government publishes its budget… maybe you should vote for your representatives…"
"What? men all picked by you to stuff a fake democracy down our throats?" He said sarcastically.
"Do you know how many soldiers agreed to defer their pay? Do you? Those soldiers out there, fighting gangs, raiders, zombies, mutants…" I looked at him, my gaze drilling into Frank.
"If I lined up twenty soldier, how many do you think are getting paid right now?" I asked.
"All of them." He replied sharply.
"One…"
"One in twenty of my soldiers are being paid. Nineteen of every twenty of my soldiers have deferred their pay, so that ungrateful assholes like you can get an actual job, so that you can feel like something is returning to normal." I replied, venom coating my words.
"Insult me as you wish, it is your right, but I will not tolerate such blatant stupidity and disregard the sacrifice my soldiers are making so that you can sit here on your ass and accuse me of lining my pockets… I'm not getting paid! No one on my command staff is either! I lead by example. I wouldn't give a damn order if I wasn't willing to do it myself."
Frank leaned back, a bit taken by the venom I was unleashing. I apologized for my tone and stood, leaving the three to continue their discussion. I wandered the edge of the park, walking in the shade, listening to birds chirping when someone fell into step beside me.
"Ah, representative Hailey…" I said while she smiled slightly, adjusting her suit's jacket.
"General Reichenbacher. I overheard your discussion with Frank there. He's a bit hard headed, stuck in the old view." I nodded, remembering when Hailey and I first met, way back in that grocery store… she'd come a long way since then, and no longer tried flirting with me.
"He struck a nerve is all." I replied blandly.
"Not many people trust the new government. They still have that pre apocalypse mindset that Colonel Ivanov spoke with us about." She said quietly.
I stopped under a large tree, watching some kids playing tag while their parents talked. "I think they'll come around, it will take time though…"
"Perhaps we could embed reporters with some of the units? Give them an inside perspective?" I thought about it for a minute, it sounded promising.
"If you can find some that speak Russian and are willing to go into battle with the troops I'll give my approval to the plan Representative."
"Oh, it was just a thought, but I did have this proposal from Representative Jake that we'd like you to look over." She handed me a dossier. I flipped through a few pages and handed it back.
"No, no statues glorifying communism. Just a memorial to the fallen. The siege was fought for survival, not the union." I said firmly. She nodded and wrote a few notes down before closing the dossier.
"Thank you for your time, General." She gave a small nod and walked away. I watched the representative go, remembering why I always hated politics. Times like these everyone should be on the same page, not arguing over what color ties to wear.
After a while my wife found me, still watching the children playing. In the distance a group of teens were playing soccer with a basketball. "I didn't think that would happen."
I chuckled. "It's okay, my temper got the better of me."
Glancing at Veria I could see the concern in her eyes. I squeezed her hand, giving it a gentle tug as I started walking again. She walked closely to me, brushing against my side as we went. "You're worried about something."
"Of course I am. There's almost fifty thousand people here, and almost as many soldiers, sailors, and aviators under my command… a few months ago I only had to worry about two or three people…" I said.
"I think my hair is falling out… too much stress…" I moaned.
"It'll be okay." Veria whispered, leaning her head on my shoulder as we sat on a park bench. Some birds flew overhead, creating a near picturesque as possible view as I was likely to get.
The sea glimmered under the sun's rays, containers and buildings repaired from their damages, flags and banners fluttered in the breeze as people flooded the park. Politicians and representatives took the opportunity to give speeches to the growing crowd, making grandiose promises. I chuckled, watching their circus…
I felt my wife's gaze and I began to explain, something I'd learned she just liked hearing my voice my thoughts, even if they made no sense to either of us.
"They're out there making these grand promises, if I get elected I'll do this, if I get elected I do that… but with the government as it is, it's mostly the order everything gets done in. Everyone wants jobs, food security, electricity. These politicians have no power to provide any of that, but they promise it anyway…"
"Is it a bad thing?" She asked, tracing the veins in my arm.
"Not inherently, as long as they don't over do it. They're mostly just banking that the military will do it and turn it over to the civilian administration. Which to be fair a large chunk of the restoration projects will be done like that, but personally I don't think they should promise stuff they can't deliver."
"Oh? In your mind, who's the best candidate then?" She asked.
"They are all politicians, scum… at the end of the day you just chose the least worst one. That'll probably be representative Merida, relatively socially conservative, economically forward thinking. Possibly representative Rodriquez… he's a bit of a firebrand though, heavily for regulating the military… though if you want a more moderate, realistic candidate… Maybe representative Hailey?"
"Who do you think will win the election?" Ceria asked.
"It's a pretty close race between the three of them… personally I'd go with Merida or Hailey… Rodriquez and I would be constantly bickering over things he's never going to be able to do…"
"Then which one would you prefer? Hailey or Merida?" She asked.
"Doesn't really matter, I'll work with whoever wins the election. A government for the people by the people. But also backed by the armed forces." I chuckled.
"We're like Prussia, a military with a state…" I sighed.
"For now it's a necessity, but hopefully we can restore some rule of law and return some of the world to normal." I said quietly.
"We'll know in a couple weeks. Hopefully everyone votes, then I'll know who I'll be working with for the next three years…" I said bitterly.
"You don't sound like you're looking forward to it?" Veria said, concerned evident in her voice.
"Whoever becomes Premier will have almost the same level of security clearance as me, basically what you have. I can only hope they'll be wise about it, and not squander the trust I'm putting in this civilian administration."
"A lot in the command staff are against it you know? All of this would be easier to manage under the military. But that's not the American way. We like to make it as difficult as possible for ourselves, then pull it together last minute to save the day."