The troops withdrew, first to Juniper base, to rest for a day, then to their respective bases, to inventory their new supplies and get them situated in storage rooms and armories.
John Corcoran sent a small truckload to the newly rebuilt Greenwood base; it was the second Chinese base they'd hit, over two years ago, renamed for the first man of theirs who had been killed in this war, Bob Greenwood.
They'd basically had to rebuild from the ground up, but it was now finished, with well over thirty buildings, a hanger full of choppers and planes, and a growing population of villagers who came in by ones and by fives from the surrounding countryside, all looking for a safe place to get away from the Chinese soldiers.
Most were put to work clearing and planting fields with all manner of vegetables and seed grain, while all of them spent at least an hour or two each day in a class room, learning to read, write, and the other basics they'd need.
Tony Mendoza fired up the big diesel generator, and lights came on all over the new town. Greenwood, once again, had electricity. Karl Greenwood, cousin of the town's namesake, would stick around to keep the equipment running, though it didn't need too much in the way of care; between the generator, the two acre field of solar panels, and the three massive windmills, and the room full of storage batteries, power was pretty much taken care of. He and his team would, eventually, set up half a dozen more of the big wind generators, leaving the big diesel engine to serve as a back up.
By the last day of June, all of the fields were off to a good start and guard patrols were established, and many of the newer refugees from the surrounding countryside were established in homes in the small community-slash-military base.
A small team of techs moved in, set up several drills, and soon hit ground water, which they routed through purifiers. Within another year, they would set up an overly large waste water treatment plant, capable of handling three times the five thousand houses that had been built, rebuilt, and repaired there and in the surrounding countryside.
They wanted plenty of room for expansion, as refugees from other areas around the state kept coming in, not large numbers, but enough to raise concerns.
Gar Davidson ran his current class around the track, building their endurance. He and Leeanne had taken up some of the training duties at the Cave, mostly symbolic now, considering how many of the newest villager-refugees were moving into the newer villages they were establishing; still, enough came through the Cave to keep them both busy.
Leeanne, of course, was busy enough as it was... she and Gar had twins; precocious little boys who were currently two years old. Still, she took her other jobs seriously, working with the young women who had been freed from the assorted Chinese bases and teaching school for the incoming refugees, often with her boys, Timmy and Tommy, playing in the corner behind her desk.
After three miles, Gar called a halt, and gave the class of farmers a chance to rest, although he knew he could probably have pushed most of them a bit further.
This group had been here a week, and hadn't really had enough time to overeat and build up a lot of fat; they'd mostly been working in fields and with animals all of their lives, and considering how much of the food they'd grown had been stolen by Chinese troops over the years, it was a miracle that so many had survived this long.
As he was writing the class time on his clipboard, one of the older people caught his attention.
"Sir, could we get some water? Runnin' in circles tends to dry us out."
A few others in the small group nodded in agreement.
He grinned. "You folks need to be more observant. Look behind you."
A silent golf cart had pulled up behind them, a hundred yards away, towing a small, refrigerated trailer... full of bottles of water and assorted fruit juices.
The entire group of sweaty, panting trainees got up as one and ran to the small cart.
Gar watched, mildly amused. They were running to the drink cart faster than they'd run on the track. 'Nothing like a little incentive' he thought.
George and Sherice were, once again, working the serving line for the young women who had come in from the Chinese base west of Juniper field.
Sherice's heart went out to them; she remembered all too well being in the same dark place most of these women were in, not so very long ago. She tried to offer a few words of encouragement to each one, and found herself, more than once, telling them of her own experiences with the little yellow men.
A few didn't believe her, at first, but the scars on her arms and legs from the whips some of the Chinese had favored convinced them. Her post-pregnancy weight was what threw some of them off; she still had an extra twenty pounds on her since she'd given birth to Julie Anne. Their child, in fact, often accompanied her parents to the serving lines, sleeping in her stroller behind them as they handed out food and drink.
George hadn't been wild about her trying to lose all the weight she'd gained during her pregnancy; he still thought she was a bit too skinny, to be honest, but he'd made a deal with her... he wouldn't say anything about her losing the weight so long as he went with her to the gym and tried to lose a bit himself.
The result was he had lost well over twenty pounds, and was back to the weight he'd maintained during the time he'd worked at the composting piles. He also felt better than he had in several years.
She stood in the kitchen, cooking a small buffalo roast for them, while he sat at the kitchen table, peeling potatoes and chopping onions and garlic.
"Honey?"
"Hmmm?"
"Are you really going into the field again?"
He turned in the swiveling kitchen chair, catching her by the waist. Pulling her into his lap, he kissed her lightly.
"No, dear... I'm just going to take my class out, run 'em through their paces in a natural setting. I want them to get some real-world experience before they start trying to fool the real thing. The forests near here are pretty safe, but still, I want to see how they do when they know that the possibility of running into Chinese is there. I can't have them getting cocky... humble and careful would be my preference."
"Well, still, you be careful out there. Baby girl needs her Daddy."
"Don't worry, dear... we're all going to be armed, me included. Julie Anne will grow up with a father."
She gave him an impish grin, replying "Who's talking about her? I meant Me!"
He smiled, kissing her again, this time licking along her lips til they opened, sliding his tongue in between and caressing her own while his hand reached up for her full breast.
She slapped his hand, playfully, reminding him that the baby was right behind them in her playpen.
He grinned and gave her a playful squeeze, reminding her that Julie was too young to remember anything at this point, anyway. Besides, she was fast asleep. Reaching up under her short skirt, he gave her hardening clit a quick rub.
