While It was supposed to be the meeting for anyone who qualified as a leader, all that apparently meant was that everyone who considered them selves in charge sat at a table while everyone else who felt like staying spread out throughout the room.

So, either a lot of people wanted to show a interest, or they were just that bored. I know where I would place my money.

The meeting table was the same folding plastic one that had been set to lay out food up on the dais in the large basement room. A pair of teens that had volunteered for kitchen work had managed to hastily clear off the serving dishes and wiped down the table.

I had grabbed two folding chairs to set at the table while others had grabed a few more for themselves.

Sitting down with me was, Chloe, Tok, Mini karen, Abb Olta, another verco, and a angry looking Mrs. Patel.

Looking around I noticed Vern was here, but hanging back with Mr. Patel who was keeping what I assume was his son occupied. I also spotted Miss Teixerira who I waved over to take a seat. Then I yelled into the open door of the kitchen. "Shom, you're the food guy. Get out here."

The Hazk look out the door to see me pointing at a seat. "You're up first. How are we doing on food."

He looked around nervously, "Let me get my notes."

A moment later he was out, taking a set as he opened up a wire bound notebook, flipped a few pages, then began talking. All the while keeping his eyes firmly locked on the pages in front of him.

"What I have been told is junk food will last us about two weeks with rationing. Spices, flour, and most everything else will last us two months, again with rationing."

"Between the blue frogs, and what I have been told are edible forest horrors, we are good for meat indefinitely."

He glanced up at Abb then looked around. "The surrounding tree have plenty of fruit and edible seeds, and samples of plants from under the water include a edible plant that can be dried and baked. I am uncertain about the taste."

Mrs. Patel stood up. "My family can't eat meat, and I'm not going to let anyone force them to eat alien food. I want all the food from the store set aside to ensure we humans have it in case the alien food make us sick."

Her eyes darted over for a moment to where her husband and Vern were standing.

Chloe stood up as well, "We already talked about that Siya, the Verco don't even like any of our stuff except the olive oil, and yuck, they have it. The only ones who do like out food are Tok and Shom, and feeding the two of them won't make any different, no to mention cutting off our chef is just shooting ourselves in the foot."

Mrs. Patel, or Siya if I could remember her name, looked down her nose at Chloe. "We did talk, but you are not in charge. In fact I'm not entirely clear just who is in charge?" She looked around the room for support.

Before anyone else could speak up, Tok rose to her feet and pointed at me. "He is. He was entrusted with the building by it's owner. It only has power, water, and waste deposal due to his class. Clearly he is needed to make this a place worth being in. He is in charge unless his commands become intolerable to anyone, at which point they may leave."

Tok sat down again and crossed her arms.

"Well, thanks Tok. Nice to have the support." She nodded at me.

I looked around the room. "I'm not opposed to someone else making most of the decisions, but I'm thinking it's a little early to have elections. Let's say after two week we try to organize something longer term. But right here, right now. I'll make the calls, after talking to the people at the table."

With a deep breath I turned to mini Karen. "How has over watch been working... blond woman whose name I never got...

She gave me a displeased look. "Sandra Rocha. I cut down the watch group to three people at a time. That's enough to keep each other awake and leave me with enough people for four, six hour shifts. I still need at least three more people to cover all the shifts, but everyone I asked shot me down."

Huh I guess she is taking this seriously. "Who did you ask that isn't already assigned somewhere.?"

She pointed at two boys. "Brody and Scott."

One, the larger, sneered. "I ain't doing anything until my father's people get here." The smaller kid looked up. "She wants me to work the two to eight in the morning shift, and it would be me with two other guys. I said I would do if she put me on a shift with some of the girls."

That got him some dirty looks from the various teenie girls, which made him look down at his feet.

Karen, no, Sandra stood up. "The girls volunteered first and choose the day shifts, and I'm not putting a girl by her self at night with two guys up alone in the tower. Just stop being creepy Scott."

Scott shuffled his feet while Bruno, no that wasn't it.. something bro... Brody laughed at him.

"Do you have another job you would rather be doing? Yes, you Scott."

He looked off to the side. "No, not really." I slapped my hand down on the table loudly enough to make him look up. "Then it's settled, cover the late night shifts on watch until you're needed to do something else. You, Brody, meanwhile can go guard your bus, because we aren't going to feed or house anyone who doesn't want to contribute. You can wander back this way if you change your mind."

The kid threw out his elbows to show off how much weight in his arms he had in muscle, then took a few steps towards me. Not noticing Rill stepping out behind him and following along step by step. He pointed at me. "Do you know who my father is?"

I shrugged. "Somebody from Brazil, who is either back there, or just another refugee somewhere out there." I swept my hand out toward the windows." The question is who are you. Someone working for the greater good, or a mouth that want to be fed without doing jack... " I glanced over to the Patel's adolescent boy. "...squat."

Jerking my thumb over my shoulder I announced my residency reequipment. "Pay your way, or the highway. You choice kid."

The kid started heating up, until he felt the sharp tip up against the front of his throat made with a Vecro sharpened hook wrapped around most of his neck.

Rill leaned in close. "Return to your seat and take some time to think. Or bleed out on the floor." Brody went a little pale then slowly took a few steps back before sitting down.

Oh look, it can learn and recognize immediate threats to it's life. He might even be useful one day if he lives pass eighteen.

Right, were was I. "Chloe, how secure is the store?"

She glanced up, "Ah? Rill kind took charge of that, I just keep a eye on anyone going shopping inside."

I looked over at Rill. She had walked up to stand in front of the table, not quite on the dais. "I am Keeping one of my own at the store at all times, but I think it best if we move anything valuable from the store to one of the rooms down here so their is one less place to guard."

I nodded, then saw Vern nearly staring a hole at Mrs. Patel before he rolled his eyes and spoke up himself. "Why the hell do we have a lizard lady telling us what to do with our stuff.

He stepped forward and pointed at me, while keeping a eye on Rill. "You don't own that store, everything in it should be available to anyone from the world it came from. Free access and free stuff. It should be up to us what we take and what we do with it."

He folded his arms. "It ain't your church choirboy. And don't think I didn't notice you only disarmed the humans."

Chloe leaned back in her chair, "Oh, shut the hell Vernon. You're the only one who got disarmed, and that's because you pointed your gun at Sean. So stop with your bullshit and let us get on with this."

Rill started for him, and I had to yell to get her to stop." Rill. Rill? Rill!" before she glanced over at me. "Everyone gets to talk, until they actually try to attack me. Please no more putting sharp metal around people's necks, even if they aren't being polite."

She gave me a long hard look, glanced at the Abb who nodded at her, then gave Vern a short glare before turning around to lean against the wall behind me. Right in the exact spot where I couldn't tell if she was making faces at me, or sneaking up with her hook.

"Was there anything salvageable from the bus? Anyone with any ideas speak up."

Scott raised his hands. "The gas tank is nearly full, and there are some heavy duty tools for roadside repairs. Flares, padded benches, and the tires themselves. Plus scrap metal if we want to tear panels off."

I pointed at him and gave him a nod. "You got tonight off from watch duty, get a notebook, ask for a escort from Rill and go take a full inventory of the bus. Get the keys and see if it still runs and figure out if we could drive it closer to the Church."

The teen looked a little overwhelmed for a moment, but nodded eagerly by the end.

Who next? "Abb, you got anything?"

He grinned and nodded, waving at the Verco in the lavender wrap next to him. "She leaned her weight on the table. "I am Char, the Context has given the ability to heal those under my care at a rate ten times as fast as normal as long as they are in a area of three and a third strides from me. Most of the wounded we have fit into that area."

She glanced over at Miss Teixerira. "The human named Buckley is still gravely injured by as far as I can determine, he will live as long as no infection set's in." Bowing to me she continued. "If that is all Keeper, I will returned to my patients."

Ah? I bowed back since she seemed to intend to keep her head bowed until I did something in return. My own bow seemed to do the trick. "Yes, ah, thank you... Char? I really appreciate your efforts."

Should probably try to say their names like I wasn't questioning if I had them right. Not quite a confidence builder in my leadership there.

"I glanced around the table, then the room. "Anyone got anything else before I talk about the ship?"

No one spoke up at first, other then some murmur's about what ship from those not in the loop. The Abb did sort of raise his hand a bit from the table, but only said. "After the meeting, we will talk."

Great. Something to look forward to, it's not like the Abb would be planning on messing with me.

I filled in everyone in the room. "Short version, there's a cruise liner from earth out there on the water somewhere. They got zombies being directed from a demon." There were some concerned sounds.

I held my hand up, palms flat, to calm them down. "So it's not a danger to us. It took me a few hours to get out there on a sea serpent, and even if they got here, the demon can get closer then a good fifty feet from the church, or control any walking dead inside that radius. And I swear, they go down pretty easy."

"There are also a bunch of survivors on board who I would like to get off the ship to safety, if we can get at least fifty more people inside the safe zone overnight. The sanctity level will go up and the safe zone will got out to a thousand feet radius. Which I'm hoping will cover the boat, if we can get it close enough."

Vern spoke up, "Even if that's safe, how can you get it here. Get on board and fire it up."

I shook my head. "Bridge crew said they had no control of the boat, my plan is to have the sea serpents push it up close. Close enough for anyone jumping over board to swim to shore."

Vern pondered this. "Sounds dangerous as hell. But it's to save people I'm in." He leaned forward and locked eyes with me. "Shotgun would work pretty well in a narrow hallway, give me mine back and I'll even go in first."

Hell yeah. "Deal." I headed over to him to shake hands. then glanced around the room. "We could use a few more volunteers."

A few of the teens, mostly from the ones who had worked with Vern that day, and surprisingly Brody, stepped up. Now so much out of velour, but for the idea of getting to sleep on a real bed in one of the boat's cabins. That got a lot of the girls stepping up as well.

Chloe started trying to organize the mess, as the Abb tugged on my shirt and tilted his head over for me to follow him off to the side.

"So the Context has recognized my talents as a teacher, and given me the class of Mentor. Anyone under my instruction learns ten times as fast."

He grinned, evilly, with too many teeth. "It may takes days for your serpentine friend to gather his kin and push the boat in. So we have time to at leash cover the basics."

The Abb patted me on the shoulder. "And we're in luck, this meeting went super fast. None of this "Could have been covered in a written note business." So we have plenty of times to start tonight."

He began poking me in the ribs with his stick. "We start with running, but take a bit of time to change clothes and let your meal settle in. Less vomiting that way."