Chapter 12:

[Ethan Talon]

December 25, 1998
16:00
9 months post change
New Hope, Kingdom of Galena
Formerly Fremont County, Colorado

The great hall of the newly finished keep still had the smell of fresh lumber and concrete. Tables were lined in neat rows, and Ethan had insisted that they didn't give him a table of honor, but they did place his table closet to the fireplace.

The tables were lined with roast duck, wild turkeys, and slabs of beef, bowls of beans, canned and rehydrated vegetables, and piles of dinner rolls, sweet cornbread, and french bread. Candles and alchohol lanterns light up the great hall brighter than anything had been since the change.

The hall was decorated for the holiday with trees lining the walls decorated with ornaments salvaged from abandoned homes. Wreaths and garlands made from pine boughs, decorated with bright red bows, lined the walls and the edge of the upper balcony.

A great many influential people of the town of New Hope were sitting around the tables laughing and talking amongst themselves with tankards of beer, eggnog, and even wine that they had tranded with the Abby for.

New Hope had become the name of the town that grew at the foot of Castle Galena, and named after the Church and Cemetery a few miles to the south. A fitting name, as most of the now 1,200 residents would say. Ethan couldn't argue the logic. This place was a new hope for so many. If anything that was something he could be proud of. Something he was certain he couldn't have done without Trinity, or the dozens of others that had come to lend their talents.

Ethan stood and held up a tankard of beer made from one of the village's breweries. "My friends," he began. "We survived the dying time. When only one in a hundred lived you are the survivors and we came together to build this kingdom. Merry Christmas!"

[Ethan Talon]

There was an echoing of cheers and pounding on the tables, and they all down their individual drinks, and turned their attention on the feast.

After all these months of just enough to keep you going though back breaking labor this was a welcomed change. Ethan grinned at Trinity before using a fork to spear a bite of salvaged canned cranberrie sauce. Something they wouldn't likely ever have again.

Mrs. Ackers had outdone herself with the roast fowl. Ethan savored every bite of the wild turky. "Mrs. Ackers this meal deserves a barony," he teased, and made a mental note to do just that. Mrs. Ackers to her credit raised her wine glass and gave him one of her rare smiles.

Then the hall fell silent as the doors swung open and crashed against the concrete walls with a loud crash thatwas enhanced by the size of the room. One of the guards ran to the head table and leaned in close. "Milord, riders approach. They aren't flying banners."

"How many?" Ethan asked setting his fork down.

"I counted twenty, possibly a few more. Hard to tell at that range and the twilight."

Ethan dabbed his mout and tossed the linen napkin on the table next to his plate and pulled his sword off his seatback and cinched it around his waist. "They can't hope to scale the walls with twenty, but I better see what they want."

A line of fifteen archers stood along the crenellations with arrows to the strings of their undrawn bows watching the riders approach. Ethan took up a position at the center of the gate house with his left hand on the pommel of his sword and right on his hip.

The riders were well disciplined maintaining two columns of ten. They were lightly armored with rows of two inch plate steel rivited to leather brigantines. They wore open face sallet helms with chain aventails.

For weapons they had standard twelve foot lances that just about every horse soldier carried, as werw the short recurve bows strung over their backs. What was odd were the sheathed cutlasses strapped to their saddles and the square Roman scutum type shields painted a navy blue with a gold ram and accents.

"Hello stranges," Ethan greeted. "Halt and identify yourselves.

One of the soldiers held up a right fist and the entire company came to a disciplined halt. It was then Ethan noticed the colonel's insignia on his steel capped shoulders.

"I am Colonel Patrick Murphy of the Republic of Galveston Marine Corps. We were told a man named Ethan Talon lived here."

"You found him," Ethan said as he scanned the faces before him, and then a brow shot up in surprise, "Nicholas Ryder?"

[Jack Ryder]

"OI! And no love for another Ryder child?" Jack said as he removed his helmet. "All about the old man... I may just keep your Christmas gift for m'self."

"Jack... be nice." Nick said as he put his hand out. "That's Uncle Nick to you Ethan." he said with a warm smile and more than a little extra facial hair. "You going to open the gate or do you want me to test how decent your gates are. Because we entirely could. You should see the booty we liberated from the Smithsonian."

"I got nothin' from visitin' mum in Australia. That was a bloody slow boat." Jack muttered. "So... hey... we've been riding a long time I have to piss like a bloody race horse."

[Ethan Talon]

"There's a stable down the street Jack. I'm sure there's a pile a straw you can use to take care of buisness," Ethan teased. "And Uncle Nick... I'd like to see you try to bust down this gate. If the governor's troops couldn't do it you can't."

[Nick Ryder]

"Ohhh I've got ways." Nick said with a twinkle in his eye. "Only nine months into this new hellscape of a planet... and your mom and I managed to scrape together a Navy and Marine Corps of sorts. May not have electricity or nuclear power or even combustion, but good old fashioned engineering, managed to rig up a sort of perpetual motion turbine engine of my own design. Well mostly." he said as he got off his horse. "Docked one of our larger ships in the Gulf of Mexico made our way across Texas, raided NASA, which was useless for tech, but useful for low friction alloys and titanium and ceramic tiles. Built a boat that could go through Rio Grande and followed that all the way up here. Record time, boat was basically made from an old rocket we repurposed. Got it water worthy in about two months, which was a feat considering we couldn't weld or use electric tools."

[Ethan Talon]

Ethan chuckled, "Two row boats and a sling shot doesn't constitute a Navy. Though, to be honest we're just as pretentious around here as you sir. Welcome to the Kingdom of Galena!" He shouted back in a self-deprecating tone.

Ethan met them moments later as the the portcullis was finally raised out of the way and the steel gates pushed aside. "Davie get these horses into the stables and fed," Ethan ordered.

"Yes your majesty."

"Knock that shit off," Ethan grumbled. "Your daughter and her friends sure have been useful, but they brought with them some hair brained ideas." Ethan explained to Nick and extended a hand. "Come let's get indoors. It's colder than a Witch's tit."

[Nick Ryder]

"Oh? you've felt my ex wife's tits?" he chuckled "This was Angel's idea?" Nick said and shook his head. "Jack should feel right at home then. Limey expat..." he teased.

"Hey, I got that offer at Oxford you wanted me to turn it down? That gorgeous cottage... the Scottish lassie that they made my assistant?" Jack said and groaned. "Kinsey Calhoun... should have taken her with me to Brissy but noooo... mum wanted it to be just the three of us, me, her and Shelly. Probably never see her again."

"I've been listening to him piss and moan like a Scot since we hooked up a couple months ago." Nick whispered to Ethan. "So KIngdom huh? Always knew you'd be good for my granddaughter. Besides the fact that you're like a son to me. Which is weird, but eh... my daughter and my son both dated the same girl. I'm used to confusing."

[Ethan Talon]

"You know sir, I really didn't need that mental image. Is dad with you guys?"

[Nick Ryder]

"Not in this group... not sure where the hell he is." Nick said with a shrug of his shoulders and cracked his neck. "I gotta get out of this gear. Oh and... I may have figured something out with the world. Still need to experiment a bit more. In any case... I hope you got room for me for a little while."

[Ethan Talon]

"Nicholas, I have a whole damn castle. Of course I have room for you, and there's always the dungeon if you get on my nerves," he teased. If some of your men are looking for a little entertainment worthy of a soldier there's the Prancing Pony Tavern at the end of the street. Booze, decent food, and ladies of the night."

"Mister Talon," Colonel Murphy interjected, "The Admiral wanted me to give this to you." The Marine officer handed him a crumpled letter with a blue wax seal with the US Navy coat of arms pressed into the hardening wax.

Ethan gave the man an automatic salute learned from his years in the Green Barretts, He stuffed the letter inside his tunic and wrapped an arm around Nick's shoulders, "Come let's get those bellies full. We were just sitting down for Christmas dinner when you showed up, then we can get you all situated for the night. We don't have twenty rooms, but I bet we can get you all settled down in the great hall. Truth be told it's probably warmer in there than anywhere else."

Ethan led them inside the keep and a pair of guards swung open the double wooden doors to reveal the great hall with a flood of amber light and heat. The dull rumble of voices fell to silence as Ethan entered flanked by the new comers. He approached the head table and kneeled before Trinity in a theatrical gesture that sent ripples of laughter around the room. "My lady, I have brought your Grandfather home."