Life in the industrial park was beginning to settle into a routine.
During this time, more survivors continued to arrive seeking refuge, and another fish trade was carried out with the River Guerrillas.
At Blackberry Ranch, the people who had relocated from the Prison gradually began finding their own places.
Maggie, Glenn, Andrea, and Carol drew on their combat experience, passed their evaluations, and joined the Rock Fortress Defense Force, where they were assigned to different squads.
Maggie and Glenn joined the reconnaissance squad.
Andrea's excellent marksmanship earned her a sniper position in one of the watchtowers.
Carol, meanwhile, showed unexpected resilience and attention to detail. In addition to her regular patrols, she began taking part in search missions outside the Base.
Hershel, Otis, and Jimmy, the three people with the most farming experience, naturally joined the farming team.
Beth was meticulous and organized, with neat handwriting, so she became a staff member in the supply management office, helping track daily consumption and register incoming supplies.
Patricia joined the logistics team, where she handled clothing repairs and basic food preparation. She was constantly busy, but somehow gave those around her a reassuring sense of stability.
Dale didn't choose an easier job. Instead, he sought out the library staff and volunteered to help sort through the books and technical manuals recovered from various places that hadn't been completely ruined.
Everything was moving in a better direction.
Several of the severely wounded survivors from the clearing operation were recovering, and the industrial park's defenses were being reinforced.
For people who had endured so much chaos and spent so long running for their lives, that sense of order was reassuring in itself.
...
Rock Fortress Communications Room.
It wasn't a scheduled reporting day, but the Prison had requested an unscheduled transmission.
Calista knew why.
The Prison becoming an outpost, the industrial park operation, and the series of major changes that followed meant the relationship between Rock Fortress and the Prison needed to be discussed clearly and directly.
Especially now that the Prison had effectively accepted Rock Fortress's leadership in providing support and management, this first conversation carried a certain awkwardness.
Calista put on her headset, adjusted the microphone, and nodded to the communications officer beside her.
The communications officer expertly turned the frequency dial. After a brief burst of static, Rick's voice came through the headset.
"Rock Fortress Command Center, this is Prison Outpost. Rick speaking. Come in."
Calista pressed the transmit button.
"Rick, this is Calista. Signal's clear. Go ahead."
There was a second or two of silence on the other end, as though he were carefully choosing his words. When Rick spoke again, he was slower than usual, sounding almost as if he were delivering a formal report.
"Calista, on behalf of everyone at the Prison, congratulations on securing the entire industrial park. I heard you've already started producing more supplies."
Calista paused, then went straight to the point.
"Rick, you sound a little... stiff. Did something happen, or is it just because this is the Outpost's first official transmission?"
A quiet laugh came through the headset, sounding equal parts relieved and resigned.
"...Is it that obvious?"
Rick relaxed slightly, though some of that deliberate formality remained.
"Maybe it's both. Things are different now.
"The Prison... needs to understand where it stands and how it's supposed to operate."
Calista leaned slightly toward the microphone.
"Rick, the Prison is still the Prison, and you're still the person in charge there. We're not in the kind of relationship where you need to weigh every word before saying it. You know what I'm like."
She paused before adding, "Relax. Talk to me like you used to. Tell me what's really going on over there, what you need, and what you're worried about."
Another few seconds passed in silence.
When Rick spoke again, the deliberate formality was finally gone, replaced by the voice Calista was more familiar with.
"...All right. Calista, thanks."
"No need. Let's get to business. The communications officer told me you had quite a haul recently. More than twenty new people?"
"Twenty-seven." Rick sounded noticeably more upbeat. "Tyreese and Sasha found a young couple in town, Ana and Sam. They studied agriculture in college, particularly fruit and vegetable cultivation and greenhouse management."
"Ana and Sam..." Calista repeated the names. They weren't familiar to her. "Agriculture? So they actually studied growing crops?"
"More than just studied it," Rick said, clearly growing more enthusiastic. "They even managed to grow fruit near the house where they'd been hiding!
"Tyreese and the others harvested it and brought it back. It tasted pretty good. We still have the seeds Hershel left behind, so Ana and Sam are handling our fruit crops now."
"Wow!" Calista said approvingly as a vague memory surfaced.
There really had been a young couple like that in the original storyline.
The woman seemed to have been eaten by walkers.
The man had escaped by sheer luck, only to eventually fall into the hands of the people at Terminus. The cannibals had slit his throat right in front of Rick and the others, turning him into meat for the chopping block.
Calista couldn't remember the details very clearly, but she did remember feeling sorry for them.
She hadn't expected Tyreese and the others to actually find the couple.
Rick continued, "With the two of them here, and since this is something we've wanted to do for a while, we've decided to officially launch the South Zone Greenhouse Project. We've finished surveying the site. It'll be built on an open area inside the Prison grounds. But..."
"But you're short on materials," Calista finished for him. "Light-transmitting material, structural components, and sealing materials."
"Exactly," Rick admitted. "Even if we piece together everything we have, it's barely enough for a tiny test greenhouse.
"Most of the transparent plastic sheeting has deteriorated. Glass is too heavy and breaks too easily.
"We can salvage steel for the frame from wrecked vehicles, but the pieces aren't uniform, and we're short on connectors."
Calista tapped her fingers lightly against the table.
"During the chemical plant operation, we recovered a batch of specialty polymer panels.
"They're semi-translucent and fairly strong. They were originally meant for cleanroom partitions. We have about two hundred square meters of them.
"There are also matching angle steel, steel pipes, and standard connectors. They weren't designed for greenhouses, but with some modification, they should work."
She heard Rick let out a clear breath on the other end.
Calista smiled to herself.
Rock Fortress had originally been a winery, with large greenhouses for growing grapes, and they also had Blackberry Ranch.
They had little use for those materials themselves. Leaving them sitting around until they deteriorated would only be a waste.
Rick sounded genuinely grateful.
"Calista, that's... that's exactly what we need!"
"Supplies are meant to be used," Calista replied evenly. "Better to put them where they're needed most."
"That's great!" Rick's voice relaxed completely. "We'll start clearing the site immediately and prepare an area to receive and store everything. As for transportation..."
"In three days, a rotating Defense Force unit will head to the Prison. They'll escort the construction materials there and bring Lily back at the same time," Calista decided.
"No problem. We'll be ready to receive them," Rick replied, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, right. Two of the new people are doctors. Caleb and Bob.
"Once they pass the screening process, we can transfer one of them to Rock Fortress. You have more people than we do, so you need another doctor more than we do."
"Sure. We'll decide that when the time comes." Calista paused. "Rick, I trust you to handle things."
The words came naturally, but they carried weight.
"I'm leaving the Prison in your hands not just because we need that outpost, but because I trust you to lead the people there properly. Go ahead with the Greenhouse Project. If you run into trouble, contact us immediately."
"Understood. You take care too, Calista," Rick said solemnly. "We'll do everything we can to establish ourselves here and take care of what needs to be done."
"Stay in touch, Rick."
"Stay in touch."
Calista removed the headset, leaned back in her chair, and slowly exhaled.
The conversation had gone more smoothly than she'd expected.
Rick's initial restraint had been genuine, but by deliberately reassuring him and easing the atmosphere, she had broken through that lingering awkwardness.
Relationships had to be maintained, especially after power and responsibilities had been redistributed.
Everything Calista was providing to the Prison right now was an investment.
She believed that sooner or later, the Prison would repay that investment with what she needed.
On her side, they already had so many agronomy teachers, students, and experienced farmers that they were practically tripping over one another.
It was better to leave the fruit growers at the Prison. That would help the Prison develop steadily on its own.
As for the doctors, they really could transfer one over.
At the moment, Harry was responsible for the industrial park, Dr. Evans handled Rock Fortress, and Lily had originally been assigned to Blackberry Ranch. She had gone to the Prison to treat Rick's gunshot wound, so this rotation was the perfect chance to bring her back.
Caleb and Bob... Calista vaguely remembered both of them.
Caleb had been a responsible and dedicated doctor. During the outbreak at the Prison, he had continued preparing medicine and treating patients even after falling ill himself, only to be the first one who couldn't hold out and turned into a walker.
Bob had been a military medic and ultimately helped bring the Prison outbreak under control. If Calista remembered correctly, he and Sasha had also been a couple.
But he was an alcoholic, and his drinking could interfere with important matters.
Hmm...
She'd decide which one to bring over when the time came.
...
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