It all started out as a perfect day.
TroyFest was the town's biggest celebration. Even after all these decades, it brought the town together. It didn't matter who you were, everyone was welcome at TroyFest.
Hell, even the Nomads are being welcomed.
That thought was significant to Julian Ramirez. As the one who spoke for the Aldecados, the Jodes and Blood Nation, it was his reputation (not to mention ass) on the line.
The Aldecados were especially on pins and needles, even after two years. With first Militech, and now Sikorski-Mitsubishi closing shop, there were some hard feelings all around. The fact that his Nation was the main one contracted for the demolition of the assembly plants didn't help.
Still, over the year-and-a-half that they've been in town, some healthy Eurobucks had exchanged hands, which led to some of those hands being shaken, and finally led to a fragile but definite acceptance.
We weren't the ones who decided to close the plants, after all, Julian thought. We're just here to do the demo.
It was a terrible pity, too. Troy was a nice place. The university was even opening the campus to some in the Nations. His niece, Rosalina, would have an actual bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering before they were finished.
Of course, Rosalina was also talking about marrying one of the Townies and settling down. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"Penny fer yer thoughts."
Julian looked to his left and found Mayor Reeves. The greying statesman had a churro in one hand and an easy smile on his face. The relationship between himself and Mayor Reeves was…complicated. He and Reeves have haggled, argued, negotiated and even played poker over beer and pretzels. They were both leaders, each responsible for their people.
Julian smirked. "I think I need a churro."
"Now you're just trying to distract from the question," he retorted. "Spill, ya crazy road warrior."
"Alright, alright," Julian relented. "I'm just thinking about my niece, and how I might have to find a way to come here regularly."
"Well, we're not exactly the boonies," Reeves said. "I'm pretty sure we'll be here for, oh…at least another 10 years or so."
"So I take it that your negotiations with Sikorsky-Mistubishi didn't pan out?"
"I tried," he shrugged. "I pointed out we still have the infrastructure, and that a minimum of retooling would be needed to go from building helicoptors to building drones. Hell, I even threw in the tax break."
"And they still said no," Julian was amazed. "Corporates…every time you give them something, it's never enough…unless of course you have bargaining power."
"You saying I should've been a Nomad?" Reeves chuckled. "I can barely drive, these days."
"Boys and their cars," said a sultry voice. "It's kind of sad."
The two men turned their heads to find a casually dressed woman. She was pale, but with ice blue eyes, with her face framed in long, inky black hair.
"Ms. Shapiro," Reeves beamed. "I wasn't expecting you out here."
"Yeah, well, I decided I needed to take a walk," she smiled mildly. "That, and Zack needed some help to set up the jewelry store's stall at the market."
"Well, I think it's great to see you out and about," Julian said. "I wasn't there for…you know…but I'm sorry for your loss."
Romonika Shapiro had turned into something of a recluse since her husband had died weeks ago. The fact she was out and about…maybe there was some hope.
"Thank you," she smiled sadly. "Ben would've harped at me for staying indoors for too long. Bad for my complexion, after all.
"So where are we headed, gentlemen?"
"Julian needs a churro," Reeves said.
"Sounds good," Romonika smiled. "Maybe we can pick up some horchata while we're at it. It's kind of warm out—"
There was a flash of light, brighter than the sun. It was so bright that everything, every detail of the town, the rides, the displays of TroyFest were all blotted out in the intense illumination all around him.
"Oh shit…"
Julian's voice. The light was like a nuke, or what nukes were supposedly like. If this was happening…
There was a rush of wind all around them, and suddenly, it was over. The light faded, and everything returned to normal.
Except that the power was out.
(Reposting the old stuff first. Then the new stuff between Scott & myself will come in)
