WCGW Chpt 184

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==Chapter 184 - What Could Go Wrong==
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Thazi (Former Outworlds System)
6th December, 3044
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"Welcome back sir." Brigadier General Herbert Horbaugh said shaking the hand of Major General David Mitchell, but he was also glancing over his shoulder and seeing thousands of civilians and not many uniformed personnel. "New residents?"
"Good to be back, but not entirely. Yes, and we have thousands more to bring back." Major General Mitchell replied
"Well, good thing we have been restoring some of the old apartment buildings for the locals. But that looks like a bunch of people. How many are we expecting?" Brigadier General Horbaugh asked
"Including these here, about 70,000 more." Major General Mitchell said
Brigadier Horbaugh frowned as he replied "How the heck are we going to house that many people?"
"It is not going to be easy, but I do not want to spend a year ferrying people back here. The next lift will be en-mass via a command circuit, as fast as I can get them hooked to a Jumpship and back here. This is nothing compared to the nightmare I am about to deliver us." Major General Mitchell spotted who he really wanted to see and waved him over. "Major Croyle, we need housing for all of these people as soon as possible and then you need to really step on the gas and prepare for the arrival of 70,000 more."
"Good to se........you need housing for how many?" Major Harold Croyle asked as his mind went into overdrive.
"All told 83,000 people incoming, figure two months tops." Major General Mitchell said
"Gee, just when I thought we were getting ahead of things and making progress. I can convert a ton of those warehouses to large barracks, install some temp walls to break them into sections for families. I will need to do some math to figure out if I can house that many people. But my main concern is waste management, I am sure that our current sewage setup is not going to handle that many people, even on a temporary basis and we have just started work on the larger main lines in the old city here." Major Harold Croyle replied
Major General Mitchell looked around until he spotted Staff Sergeant Adolfo and waved him over. "Sergeant Adolfo, we will be housing the new arrivals in temporary housing. Please explain that to the new people for me. Also, we are going to need help on getting this place ready to house all the rest. Think you can talk the new arrivals into giving us a hand?"
"Yes, Sir. I am sure they will be happy to help us. Where should I house my own people?" Staff Sergeant Adolfo replied
"Excellent. Oh, Brigadier General Horbaugh, this is Staff Sergeant Adolfo. We have gained two Battalions of semi-trained infantry for the garrison here. We will need to come up with a training format to bring them into a better condition. Staff Sergeant Adolfo will assist in bringing the new recruits along. For now, we will have to house the new recruits in warehouses, until such time as we get permanent housing up for them. If you could see to getting the new people settled in and tomorrow, we can form some work parties. Report to Major Croyle here and he will tell you what he needs." Major General Mitchell said
Staff Sergeant Adolfo saluted "Yes, Sir. I will work right away." He turned and jogged over to the gathering crowd of new people and started directing the mass of people.
"I will work up a training regime for the new people, any other surprises?" Brigadier General Horbaugh asked
"Yes. We also have roughly a Battalion of former pirates that will be joining us on a parole type basis." Major General Mitchell said
"Oh, even better. Your just full of good news today. Can I ask why?" Brigadier General Horbaugh asked
"None of the locals would press charges. Seems we killed the really bad ones a few years ago. Those we did not take care of got taken care of when we hit Onverwacht. I gave them several options and they chose to join us and earn their freedom. Staff Sergeant Adolfo and the other NCO's have convinced the new recruits, former captives themselves, to accept the former pirates. So, when it is all said and done, you will have a full Regiment of infantry for the garrison here." Major General Mitchell said
"Guess I will go back to sleeping with a pistol under my pillow. Mighty big risk your taking sir." Brigadier General Horbaugh replied
"We need people to fill slots. It is a waste to have fully trained veterans playing garrison if we can fill that out with new people. I noticed the convoy from Inner End is not back yet but should be back any day. They are also bringing in the dependents of the last batch of new people so we will need to house them also." Major General Mitchell said as he watched Major Croyle flinch slightly.
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