"...if we had the numbers to police it, we
could take the whole planet, but we do not
have those numbers." Katya Kerensky was fighting a critical battle here-not with the natives of this version of Terra's past. She had already accepted that the chance of ever encountering anyone or anything familiar is gone. Astrogation charts, monitoring the EM, everything was correct for being directly over the birthplace of the human race.
and there was no getting around the fact. An experimental jump by the Clan's warship had shown the nearest colonized world to Sol was there, just no sign it had ever been colonized.
the coordinates were right, the conditions were right, except...this was not the Earth she had been sent as vanguard to liberate. This one was, in many ways, in far worse shape.
Disunited, primitive nations, she could dominate any of them easily with her forces, but there is only so far you can distribute even a full galaxy of troops.
even elite troops.
and there's the supply issue. Ammunition would run out long before the need for it.
the Wolf Clan needed a home, here was a home...it just needed to be bent to understand who was the alpha-and that wasn't proving easy.
she could take the planet, but without numbers, without millions of people committed to the Clan, there was no way she could hold it in the long term.
and they were disunited. outright
tribal.
and they had champions.
"If we had the numbers, we could take this whole planet...but we do not." she reiterated to her staff. "WE need things. Things they can not provide us without assistance, things we will need to have replenished."
Russia, home of The Great Father, had already rejected the Clan vociferously, Baba Yaga, whatever that was, had repelled the initial assaults with enough casualties that, to establish a foothold
anywhere with the
chance of an industrial base, they had to retreat.
Puget sound was
second choice...but they did not have such a defense. The Americans had tried to fight, and they had tried
bravely, but even they had been forced to accept a cease-fire in the face of superiority of Clan weapons, Clan Tactics...
Clan Orbital Bombardment.
"We have supporters here." she continued. "People who will help us, as their ancestors were aided by indigenous peoples in North America."
she gestured at the state's elected Governor, who capitulated in seconds after the destruction of Fort Lewis and McChord AFB.
a few conversations, and a brief outline of how Clan Society was structured had been enough to turn sullen surrender and rank fear to eager compliance and open cooperation. Governor Gregory
liked the society structure outlined by Nicholas Kerensky, and it turned out, had been working with others in her party to slowly force implementations of things like central economic planning, environmentally conscious utilities, and centralizing populations for easier control.
"This area was, and will be, the heart of the Star League, we are, for all intents and purposes, the IlClan in this time, and as the natives submit, we shall elevate them."
They'd have to. without industrial support, the Clan would eventually have to devolve their technologies just to survive, not enough of the Lower Castes had come, and they brought no factory equipment. It was here, where there is safe atmosphere and safe water and tilled fields, or trying to teach warriors to be dirt farmers somewhere else.
"There will be resistance, there will be opportunities for glory,
This is our destiny, to lead humanity into a golden age!"
assuming her warriors did not go native. This had already proven a problem with the ones who survived in Aberdeen. the Battleroms recovered from that mixed star showed that, but more, the reaction of the now-former warriors themselves. They had been beaten on a level that left no room for having morale rebuilt. Quentin had not just
beaten them, she
crushed them. this was something even the ferocious and hard to reconcile entity in Russia had not done-mostly because Baba Yaga's power had been so impersonal as to feel like a natural force, while Lisa Quentin's fight, and her presence in the recordings, was intensely
personal for the warriors she defeated so easily.
Katya finished her speech to her impromptu clan council, comprised of the senior bloodnamed within Beta Galaxy, plus the senior lower-caste brought along with. "It is our
manifest destiny to save this world from the brink, and lead humanity into that golden age."
She braced her hands on the podium, "Our first steps, begin here, in
Washington State, now the Domain of Clan
Wolf!!"
"Seyla!!"
she sighed, "but, we can not be like the Smoke Jaguars, or the Jade Falcons. we are Clan Wolf, which means...We are going to have to persuade the united states to refrain from spending their sons and their blood trying to push us out...which means, while our warriors are securing our new landhold, We are going to need to work with the remains of the local government. some of that government is committed to refusing to cooperate...and there are at least six unaccounted for 'superhumans' still loose, which will need to be either defeated and captured, or defeated and killed, before our hold here is secure."
Screens behind her lit.
"We know this one. Lisa Quentin, Age 24, former United States Marine, last encountered in Aberdeen Washington, she is believed to be with a young man who generates plasma beams from his hands...we do not know how, and that will necessarily be something for the scientist caste to discover once he is captured. Quentin has proven to be resistant to battlemech scale weaponry, and to have some indications of superhuman strength and endurance. She is also, according to records recovered from where she was...quartered is perhaps too kind a word...mentally ill, suffering from severe bipolar depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."
"I do not have images for the next ones. There is a sort of 'super technician' in the area near Mount Pilchuk, the unofficlal name being 'The tinsmith', a violent vigilante who may be worth recruiting into the Clan. The Tinsmith has two others who work with him or her, one is reputed to be some form of stealth ability and the other..." a blurry image appeared, showing a partial view of a male in a trench-coat and broad brimmed hat, "...is publicly dubbed 'Mister Wizard', and uses primitive applications of technology in significantly unusual ways, as well as using traps and prepared ambushes. these three have been quiet since our arrival, but captured police resources suggest they could be a threat to pacification of the region. they are officially classified as
Vigilantes, a sort of bandit that hunts other bandits exclusively. We hold three Superhumans under guard on our temporary base on Luna-the only three registered Superheroes in the State, but according to the local research into the phenomena, with eleven million residents, that leaves three or potentially more native superhumans unaccounted for. Presumably, those three are allied with one of the small groups still on the loose."
"Have the Scientists begun research into this? is there a possibility of gaining these abilities for our Clan?"
Katya frowned, "Our scientists have found no common link indicating superhuman potential, and the United States, which has the ability to instill it, is not willing to share that with the Clan...and I doubt a Trial would gain us any better chance of securing the data. We will have to find it for ourselves, or find something we can trade for the secret...and to find it for ourselves, we will need a sample size larger than the three in custody."
The Clan will need that capability, too. she knew it in her bones.
once we find it, we will refine it beyond their crude methods."For the time being, your clusters are to continue to secure our territory and engage in civil affairs missions to smooth over and build good will with the population. we will not be able to begin full conversion of the local society into the Clan Model quickly, we simply do not have the manpower for that, and warriors will be needed to prepare to repel the next counter-attack. Watch officers are to continue to work on locating and securing the superhumans we
know about, so enhanced patrols in the Snohomish County area and continued investigations to run down Lisa Quentin and her accomplice."
***
Unnoticed by the Clan officers in the former King County Court building, Petra Cheron recorded the meeting. Like nearly the entire human race, the Clanners weren't accustomed to looking
up...and The Farm had conditioned her to holding uncomfortable poses and waiting patiently.
The full recording of the meeting would show up later on Youtube-the Clanners hadn't bothered to cut off Internet access yet, and with the power back on, she could get it out faster to more people, possibly even to this 'Lisa Quentin' person if she's got any kind of social media skill at all.
Or at least, to someone friendly to her.
we need to find this person and link up. Petra mused. The clanners filed out of the chambers, and she crawled out of her hiding place, stopping at the still lit displays, she took out a Sharpie.
She's called 'Countermeasure', dipstick. Your plan sucks, Your Clan Sucks, USA!!!she wrote on the screen, over 'unknown' before leaving.
Petra knew she'd have to hurry-once the doors went on automatic again, she'd be stuck inside until someone came through them. the last time she got stuck in a building that way, she had to light it on fire to get the doors to open...and she failed to bring any gasoline or matches this time.
