Early morning sunlight slanted through the reinforced glass windows into Rock Fortress Command Center, casting warm patches of light across the long wooden table.
Calista was marking the map with a sharpened charcoal pencil, her expression focused.
A rhythmic knock suddenly sounded from outside.
"Come in," Calista said without looking up, the tip of her pencil circling the location of an abandoned fire station.
Not far from that fire station was the East Knoxville Industrial Park she had been thinking about day and night.
Leah pushed the door open and walked in.
Her fitted combat uniform outlined her tall, athletic figure. Her long golden hair was neatly tied low behind her head, and her face was cool and composed, though her eyes softened unconsciously whenever she looked at her younger sister.
"Calista, the Defense Force registration numbers and preliminary screening results are out." Leah placed a handwritten report on the table.
Only then did Calista put down the charcoal pencil and rub her slightly aching temples.
She picked up the herbal tea beside her, which had already gone a little cool, and took a sip. Ming had specially prepared it for her, saying it could help with fatigue.
As for the taste... it really was not great, but she appreciated the thought.
"How did the screening go?" Calista opened the report and quickly scanned the numbers and names on it.
"The numbers exceeded expectations." Leah walked to the window, habitually observing the team doing morning drills on the training ground not far away. "We originally planned to recruit twenty people, but sixty-seven signed up.
After initial background questions and basic eligibility checks, we removed the ones who were clearly unsuitable or too physically weak. That left forty-two people for yesterday's physical test."
Calista raised an eyebrow slightly. "Sixty-seven? Looks like once people's lives get a little more stable, they start thinking about picking up weapons."
Her tone made it hard to tell whether she approved or not.
"Not entirely." Leah turned around and leaned back against the window frame. "A lot of them genuinely want to contribute to Rock Fortress.
Brenda, the woman who helps in the kitchen, whose husband and son died during the virus outbreak, signed up too.
And Clifford, the one who came with us from the Norris community. He pushed himself to the limit during the test and didn't make a sound even when the skin on his hands was rubbed raw."
Calista listened in silence, her fingertips lightly tapping the number "thirty qualified" on the report.
Thirty new recruits meant thirty sets of equipment to issue and thirty green rookies to train. But it also meant thirty potential sources of strength.
"Thirty people... Leah, do you think we can handle that?" She raised her head and looked at her sister, seeking not an answer, but a kind of agreement.
When it came to matters that touched the foundation of the base, Calista never acted alone.
Leah walked to the table, braced both hands on the edge, and leaned forward slightly. "There are risks, and it'll take time to train them. We'll need to put more resources into them, and trust will take time to build.
But the benefits are obvious too. With this fresh blood, we can double our routine patrol range and extend our watch hours.
The main combat squads can also be freed from tedious daily guard duty and focus on more important missions. For example,"
her gaze moved to the fire station circled on the map, "the operation to clear Knoxville."
Calista considered it for a moment, then finally pressed her finger firmly onto the list of thirty names. "Approve the expansion. Establish the reserves, with the roster temporarily capped at thirty. Mike is in overall charge of basic training, right?
Tell Mike not to copy his SEAL Team Six methods wholesale, but within one month, make sure every single one of them can at least use a rifle properly, understand the basics of squad coordination, and know how not to let walkers sneak up behind them without making a sound."
"Understood." Leah nodded, the corners of her mouth seeming to lift ever so slightly. She knew her sister had made the right decision.
"Also," Calista added, her gaze falling on the two names at the end of the report, "what do you think about Wagner and Jason?"
Leah smiled. "Hard to say. Come on, Cal. Let's take a look."
...
Dust hung over the training ground.
Mike stood in the middle of the field, his voice booming as he chewed out a recruit who had forgotten the safety out of nervousness.
"...Rookie! Until you've confirmed your target, you keep your damn finger outside the trigger guard! Are you trying to blow off your teammate's ass, or draw every walker within a kilometer?"
The recruit flinched and quickly corrected his stance.
Just then, Leah and Calista arrived at the edge of the training ground without drawing much attention.
Calista observed the scene out of habit. Looking at the nervous, excited, and confused expressions on those new faces, she felt as if she were seeing herself when she had first arrived in this world.
Leah signaled to Mike.
Mike shouted, "Keep practicing the basics!" Then he strode over.
"Calista. Leah." Mike wiped off his sweat and smiled at them.
"Those two." Leah pointed to a corner of the training ground. "Wagner and Jason."
Following her gaze, they saw Wagner training on his own. His movements were standard and precise, clearly shaped by extremely professional training.
Jason, meanwhile, was helping a veteran organize training equipment. His movements were quick too, carrying the alertness of someone who had clawed his way up from the bottom.
"They're both good prospects, especially Wagner. His individual combat ability is probably no worse than some of our old hands," Mike said honestly. "Jason is weaker, but he's sharp, and he knows the streets and alleys of Knoxville very well."
Calista watched quietly and did not comment right away.
She knew that making exceptions for two prisoners who had only just become official members would bring risks. It might also cause dissatisfaction among the other recruits, or even some of the veterans.
But Rock Fortress needed sharp blades. It needed people who knew the local terrain and could survive in complicated environments.
"Outstanding ability also means greater potential risk," Calista said softly, as if talking to herself.
"That's why we keep them right under our noses and sharpen them against the hardest whetstone." Leah picked up the thread, understanding her sister's concerns. "I suggest assigning both of them to Jonathan's squad for now.
Carver's a bit wild, but he's tough and ruthless. He can keep Wagner under control. As for Jason... give him to Merle."
Hearing that, Calista nearly laughed.
Handing a gangster over to Merle, a thug who was just as lawless?
That arrangement was practically perfect.
Merle might be rough, but his reckless style and his own street-thug background made him exactly the right person to test and suppress someone like Jason, who came from the same kind of world.
Besides, Merle's loyalty to Rock Fortress, and to her, had already been proven again and again in battle.
"Merle?" Calista confirmed, amusement glinting in her eyes.
"Merle Dixon." Leah nodded firmly. "He'll 'take good care' of the new recruit."
...
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