Chapter 13

I was coffeed up by the time the rest of the guys got to the dining room and my wives and children started arriving at the same time. Bartalto even came in bringing Sheleata, Beelita, and Kalienta with him and ushering them into seats. I guess I'd lost my claim on Beelita and Kalienta too, but it didn't matter; I intended to make sure he had plenty of pussy to help him through the troubling teenaged years anyway and it wasn't like I was short of cooter.

Be that as it may the dining room was getting full and a little noisy for military planning. I asked Shealta to send plenty of coffee and cups up to my office and we headed that way. Of course I gave everyone of my women a serious kissing and fondling before I left and damned if the coffee didn't beat me there, along with platters of pastries. Now I was starting to get some idea of the advantages of being a King.

"All right guys," I said, while they were still stuffing pastries into their mouths, "We've got a fresh delivery that came to the place they first put us and our other stuff down. We need to choose up sides and go see about getting it here," I said.

"What the hell, we can all go with no problem," Statler said.

"Are you sure we can trust things here to someone we've captured?"

"I know damned well we can trust Chungi, Shara, and Cabalta to ride herd on things here. Chungi and Shara are old soldiers by now and Cabalta is catching on fast. Hell, we've even got some of those lazy assed garrison troops we first captured at Quancho whipped into line by now," Frankston said.

"He's right, and Shara has every woman in sight toeing the line and marching to her call. Those camp followers are making better soldiers than the damned soldiers they were following," Jorgenson said.

"If it's the way it is lets go see if we can find some horses," I said, and we left.

At the King's main stable it didn't take two shakes to get the hostlers moving. We were all furnished a saddled warhorse in a flash. I didn't think we really needed horses this good to take a ride out in the country, but it wouldn't hurt a thing. We headed out and were at Quasterson's field headquarters wagon in less than an hour.

"Damn, I'm glad you're here so fast," Quasterson said.

"What's the hurry, it looks like you have things moving right along," I said.

"We need to get the hell out of here before more stuff comes. We've already had two M2 Bradleys and four humvees come this morning," he said.

"Hell, it won't hurt us, but how did they arrive?" I asked.

"By poof express," Quasterson said.

"What in the hell is poof express?" Big'un asked, and then I could see he wished he hadn't.

"We just hear a loud poof and when we look in the direction - poof - there the motherfucker is," Quasterson said, and everyone in hearing laughed at Big'un.

"What? You mean our Pave Low IIIs haven't showed up yet?" I asked.

"Not yet, but they won't surprise me one bit. In fact we could use them once we get the lowboys unloaded. They'd be a big help putting the fuel bladders on the trailers," Quasterson said.

"Can't you load them with the boom on that 7A1?" I asked.

"Earth to Jake. It's a six thousand pound crane. Two thousand gallons of diesel weighs nearly sixteen thousand pounds," Quasterson said.

"Damn, how are we going to get them loaded," I asked.

"Very carefully."

"That's fine smartass, you can just figure it out for yourself," I said.

"I already have. I've got a few dozen men cutting us some trees for a double A-frame with a big cross piece right now. We'll make it big enough so the trucks can pull under it and then that DEUCE dozer, a few snatch blocks, and all the cable in the world can do the job from there," Quasterson said.

"You'd better leave the dozer and the motor grader working on the road they're trying to cut and let one of the Bradleys lift the fuel," I said, trying to make it sound like I knew what I was doing, but I was afraid it was too late for that already.

"See there, you are some help after all," Quasterson said.

I got off the damned giant horse then, dropping the reins in place. Someone else could take care of it, or not. I'd already spied my ride back to Kahtal. It was a humvee with a covered bed, making it look like a pickup with a camper shell. It had a coax fifty mount in the roof for stand up use from the bed.

You look like you've got things covered here Quasty, I'm going back to make sure I'm not late for lunch," I said, getting in the hummer and leaving.

Back at the castle I pulled up right to the front steps and since they were so wide I debated driving up them to the door, but then I thought it would just look too tacky. Kinda like a Coupe de Ville up on blocks in front of a trailer house or something. Hell, the hummer didn't look so good where it was now. Maybe Katon could tell me about a different entrance with more parking spaces.

Speaking of Katon he was the first one I saw when I got in the door. I asked him if he'd made his choices yet and he said he had made tentative selections, but he wanted me to approve them. I said I would right after lunch, and then headed to meet my family in the dining room.

"See, I knew you'd make it on time," Jareeta said, as I entered.

"Of course I did. What could be more important than having a meal with my family?" I asked, but got no replies.

The meal with my family might have top billing, but Katon was there again right afterwards to drag me off to view his selections. We were heading to his house first and I was surprised when he passed the largest one. I was even more surprised when we passed the next largest. I stopped and asked him about it.

"Katon, you have skipped over the nicest two houses and I have a suspicion that you are headed for the smallest. Say it ain't so Snuffleupagus," I said.

"What? Who is...

"Never mind. Why does it seem to me you are leading me to the smallest residence I offered you?" I asked.

"That is where I'm heading. It is more than large enough for me," he said.

"Sorry, it'll never happen. I can't have my most trusted adviser in Kahtal living in such a small home when there are many others which are much more suitable. I'm going to have to insist you take the largest," I said.

"If you are sure, of course I'd be delighted with it," he said, and looked happy in spite of himself.

"Good, now we've got that part settled I'm sure you need to take at least several more girls and women to take care of the big thing," I said.

"I'm afraid you're right," he said, and at least had the decency to look abashed.

"Let's do this, to save walking all over the city, have Greggory send carriages to the houses and gather the women, all the women and any children, then send them to the biggest room in the castle. You and I can look them over there, and we can leave the ones you don't choose and I can do without for my squad members to go over when they get back," I said.

"As you wish, Jake. I should go ahead and admit I didn't select any of the women from the largest three houses," he said.

"I was leaving them in case you wanted them. And, some of them seemed a little too accustomed to belonging to more noble personages," he said.

"What do I have to do to convince you that you are a noble personage in my eyes," I said.

"I believe you have me convinced Jake, so I'll admit I just didn't like some of the women, not because of their beauty, but because of their attitude. It seems several of them think they are too good for anyone," he said.

"Don't worry about it. You choose the women you want and I'll put the others in their places," I said, thinking I'd put something in their places, but it probably was going to be more in the nature of dick than attitude.

I went back to my castle and then up to my office. Katon had assured me he'd come and get me when he had all the women gathered up in one room. Damned if Big'un didn't come strolling in a few minutes later.

"I noticed you didn't waste any time getting away from Quasterson and that big mess," he said, as he came in.

"Of course I didn't. I could see some work was about to get started and I didn't want any part of it," I said.

"It wasn't so bad. He hadn't brought enough men with him, but he was getting the best out of the men he had, and he'd already sent one of his top helpers back for a much bigger crew," Big'un said.

"What kind of progress did he have going when you left?"

"It's Quasterson. He had 'em stepping and fetching. I came back with the first trip for the trucks and trailers. We brought the mobile operating room, the medical evac buggy, and three loads of four bladders," he said.

"So his rigged up frame didn't have any trouble loading that much weight?" I asked.

"Hell no. You should have seen the uprights and the crosspiece. The uprights were twenty-four inch diameter trees, nice and neatly trimmed of course and the crosspiece was thirty-six inches in diameter. It was all that 7A1's hoist could do to get that fucker in place.

"I guess he's got a handle on it then."

"If he don't he will have when the thousand guys we met coming back get there. Frankston and some of the others are ramrodding the unloading now and they're coming back for me when they get done with it," he said.

"How in the hell will they unload those bladders?" I asked.

"Quasty said there was a lift here somewhere like the one he built this morning and the men here knew how to use it. He claimed it could be shifted around for each bladder and we could leave them where they sat after they were off. It's somewhere out in the open section of the city out back," he said.

"I guess it will do until he can get back with everything else."

"It should, but he ain't gonna be through until tomorrow. Will you make it here by yourself without us to hold your hand until then?" Big'un asked, and then grinned.

"I can bear up under the strain I guess. Besides, I've got the important job of sorting through the dead adviser's women this afternoon. I've already had to get on Katon's ass about trying to take the smallest of their houses and the least possible amount of the women. I'm pretty sure he was going to fob all the extras off on us," I said.

"Well you're gonna have to take any you had earmarked for me. My little family group is just like I want it now, and I know a lot of the others feel the same way," he said.

"Where in the hell is Chungi? He'll have to help take up some of the slack. I was too easy on him when I took Ceelicee off his hands and today or tomorrow is gonna be payday for his skinny ass."

"He's a young guy, he's probably got his women whipped into shape and chomping at the bit for more by now," he said.

"He'd better be. We've all got to carry some of the weight. How about those guys we trained up, some of the locals? Can't we put a few women off on them?" I asked.

"That's a damned good idea. I'll get Frankston started on a little list. He works with them more than anybody. I know he can shove a few down Cabalta's throat and surely there are a few others who qualify by now," Big'un said.

"There'd better be. With those two Bradley's and the 25mm auto cannons we can take Pentah anytime we want to now. They'll probably shit their pants and throw down their spears and bows after we chew the front door off the city in seconds," I said.

"I'd been trying to forget about that. What are you gonna do about Christina's father?" he asked.

"Kill him and take his wife unless Christina just raises hell. You know how I like to have mothers and daughters in the same bed if I can get 'em," I said, and Big'un just howled laughing and then left before he could even quit.

I don't know what he was laughing at. Even the older women around this place stayed in their prime for a long time. Hell, you could hardly tell the difference between one that was twenty-five and one that was forty-five. It was something about this world I guess, but you'd have to look for months to find an ugly woman. Of course that part wasn't so bad.

To top the day off Chungi came into my office looking for me. I asked him where he'd been hiding lately and he claimed he'd been getting the city scouted out.

"Well have you got it sorted out yet?"

"It's a problem. There are so many guards it's difficult to move around without being noticed," he said.

"Chungi, the guards work for you. If they won't obey you, call for help and have them hung. Better yet, just stab them yourself," I said.

"I hadn't thought of it, but often it would be inconvenient. Many times I don't want to be noticed," he said.

"Who is the Captain of the city's guard?"

"Noblat, and he has not been very cooperative, now that you mention it," Chungi said, just as Katon walked in.

"Something has come up to delay us a few minutes Katon. The guards have not been giving Chungi the cooperation he needs. Do you know Noblat?" I asked.

"Yes I do, and I can understand. Noblat is used to running the city as he sees fit," he said.

"Very well, I think I can straighten this out right away. Is he good at his job otherwise or should I just have him executed?" I asked Katon, and it was plain he didn't want to make the decision.

"Just send for him, I'll make up my own mind," I told him and decided it wouldn't take much backtalk out of Noblat to get him made a little shorter, a head shorter in fact.