A Discussion about new recruits with the Lieutenant

Michael's POV

As you stepped outside into the cold air, you spotted Lieutenant Mills, her eyes alert as she patrolled the perimeter. She waved as she saw you. “Evening, sir,” she called, her voice echoing in the quiet night.

You approached her, the crunch of gravel underfoot echoing in the silence. “Evening, Lieutenant,” you replied. "Everything in order so far, or are there any signs of trouble?" you asked, settling into a low crouch next to her as she scanned the dark streets with a pair of military-grade night vision goggles.

Mills shook her head. "Quiet as a tomb. A few undead stragglers shuffling around, but nothing we can't handle. We've got a solid perimeter set up, and while there is always room for improvement, the improvised barricades we set up during the day are holding strong."

You raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at her choice of words as you started to look around more carefully. "We, you say?

She lowered the goggles, her dark eyes reflecting the faint light from the windows of the building behind you. "Ah, yes, we didn't have much time to report until now, but Allen Jones and Emily Karlsson are also patrolling the rest of the perimeter with me at the moment after they volunteered to stand watch while most of the others in the building are busy doing something else.

You nodded slowly at that. Allen was very tall, and his work in the construction sector has made him built like a truck, so, yeah, as far as the non-soldier volunteers from within his group go, he is probably one of the better choices should danger approach. And while you hadn't spoken much with Emily since she moved to the apartment a few months prior to the beginning of the madness, the Swedish former exchange student was certainly athletic and quick on her feet in her own right, from what you remembered of seeing her dominate the field in soccer matchups back on the university campus. Take that, and add in the fact that she was almost as tall as Allen at 6 feet in height in her own right, and she was another pick for patrolling while most of the squad was busy or resting off-duty.

And that was without counting the revelation that Staff Sergeant Foreman had mentioned to him before they had first gone to check up on the sleeping Vanders.

"A fine duo of companions for watch duty," you ended up saying. "But that actually brings me to the point I wanted to talk to you about, Lieutenant. As effective and skilled as your squad may be, until Vanders is back on her feet, there are only 4 of you with us right now. And you will all still need a decent amount of sleep to recover from all the important missions and duties we will need you to take care of during the day. So, I was planning to announce in the feast that, for the protection of the group, I will be opening positions for new recruits for you to train when you can and to gain experience on the field while working and fighting alongside you."

"However," you went on before your right-hand woman could respond, "I thought it might be best to leave the specifics to you since you have more experience in what it would be best to look for in potential candidates for better-than-average recruits within our group than I do. All that said, for my personal suggestions, I would say that Allen and Emily are good options for reasons of physical strength and speed, and in Karlsson's case, due to her past experience as a Private Second Class reservist with actual military training before she moved here from Sweden. And while the newcomer to our group, Kira Preto, does have experience as a security guard, which would transfer better than most in this building for military training/recruitment, the more I think about it, the more I think it would be best if she focuses on the physical exercise of everyone else that is not currently in the best shape to be considered as prime candidates for training for our group's militia compared to some others. In other words, I think there may be merit in letting her focus on shoring up our weaker flank among the more average "civilians" in our group, for lack of a better term. And finally, Amelia has expressed interest to me in joining the guard after she joined our last mission to the classified supply depot, and since she has a lot of experience in self-defense and handling guns due to her father being a local police officer who wanted to be sure she could take care of herself if needed, I think she has a fairly high potential for a new recruit too. At least from what we have to work with from our manpower pool right now."

Then you shrugged. "All the same, I would like to know your input before I make a final decision on the matter, Lieutenant, and make the announcement at the feast. What do you think?"

Mills considered your words, her brow furrowing slightly as she mulled over the implications. "It makes sense," she finally said, her voice low. "We need more bodies we can trust, and training civilians as backup is a smart move. Given their backgrounds, Allen, Emily, and Amelia are all good choices, as you say. Kira has the physical prowess and security experience, so she can definitely help with training. And she showed herself to be reliable and disciplined while we fought that gang earlier today, which is good."

She paused, looking out into the darkness. "Still, we can't just throw them into the deep end. We'll need to start with the basics, like hand-to-hand combat, urban survival tactics, firearms handling, and most importantly, discipline and teamwork, so we have a better picture of where we are standing with the new recruits before we have a better idea of the threat level they could plausibly handle. After all, we can't afford any brash decisions or lone wolf actions out there. And we’ll need to keep their training in line with our overall mission of securing and maintaining this fortress. They need to understand that, at least until they build up enough field experience to be trusted with their own missions, their primary role will be to support and reinforce our already experienced core units, not to go off on solo missions or get themselves killed."

She looked back at you, her expression serious. "Recruits need to be able to take orders, follow the chain of command, and trust their teammates. So, we'll have to be patient, thorough, and consistent in their training. And we'll need to integrate them gradually, maybe start with patrols around the building, then scouting missions in the nearby areas, and finally, if they prove themselves, full combat operations alongside our squad," Mills continued, her voice steady and confident. "I'll draft a training regimen and start working on it tomorrow. In the meantime, we should start gathering essential equipment for their training when we have enough time to spare. Protective gear, enough ammo to spare for target practice, that sort of thing. Thankfully, we already took plenty of that from the disaster supply depot so we should be set on that front for the coming months, but we should be on the look out for more if the opportunity presents itself."

"Excellent, Lieutenant," you finally said in response, nodding in approval. "I'll make sure to delegate resources and manpower to help you with your new responsibilities. We'll need to reorganize some of the current living spaces and recreational areas into temporary training facilities. I'm sure the others in the group will be more than willing to help out in any way they can, given how important this will turn out to be for their own protection too. And don't you worry about them getting too irresponsible in a lone wolf sort of way; I will be sure to have a talk with them and let them know that sort of behavior won't be acceptable." You added, realizing that the partial mind control influence you had over your people due to the marker's influence could actually be very effective for this sort of thing as well.

In the end, you stood up from your crouch, dusting off your jeans. "Looks like we're going to be busy for a while, Lieutenant. But I have no doubt that under your leadership, we'll have a formidable militia to protect our home."

Mills nodded, a sense of purpose radiating from her. "I won't let you down. We'll build something great here, sir. A community that can protect itself, thrive, and maybe even help others do the same." She offered him a smile, genuine and warm.

"I believe in you, Lieutenant. Now go. We've got a lot to do, and not much time to do it in if we want to keep the initiative and fortify our position well enough in the face of larger zombie hordes, or perhaps worse, other intelligent, living, and **** raiders. Also, we will send food for you from the feast so you can take a break behind the locked doors of the lobby when the time comes. But do be sure to notify your guard duty companions of their new orders and to finish organizing the rest of the night watch for tonight. You will also need to sleep before too long. You have earned it after everything today."

Mills saluted crisply, turning to walk towards where Allen and Emily were guarding the perimeter right around the right-side corner of the building.

You watched her go, then let out a slow breath.

"One step at a time," you murmured to yourself almost like a mantra. "Build the foundation, strengthen the walls, secure the roof. Shore up the defenses, stock the larder, and light the path forward."

The weight of the marker in your pocket suddenly felt heavier, a reminder of the responsibility you'd taken on. It wasn't just about claiming people for your own wants and needs anymore; it was about creating a community, a haven. A place where people could live, work, and survive together, regardless of the fact that you will end up being their undisputed leader.

And so, you nodded to yourself almost imperceptibly before turning around and stepping back into the lobby, the soft glow of the LED light in the hall enveloping you.