Donovan O'Niel's Arc

Chapter 10 of 11

At first light the truck climbed to the tower. The structure rose off its concrete feet, a steel frame wrapped in cables of red and green. A painted panel near the base read New Reno Feed Tower. Donovan read the whole thing like a blueprint before he even stepped down. Logan swung out beside him, hat low. Kira followed with her pack, logging the approach without a word. A light orange cat in red camo stood at the ladder, waiting as if she'd known the exact minute they'd arrive. "Amy Gill," she said. "Brad's people. He vouched for you, so sit down and let's talk terms." She didn't waste a handshake. She set a metal board on a crate, marked with the Atomic Cats insignia and dense rows of type. "Our tower, our rules. Read before you nod." Donovan leaned over the contract. The terms were strict but fair. A connected network could run five nodes, no more. Hard technical limit, the board warned twice. He thought of the garage, the vault, the coffee hut relay. Five would reach them all, with room to spare. "This carries real traffic?" he asked. "It carries ball games to half the Wasteland," Amy said. "It'll carry your supply chatter fine. Five nodes. Push for six and the link drops." She tapped the board. "That's not me being stingy. That's the hardware." Donovan looked at Kira. She'd already pulled her folder. "Look," she said, "five nodes I can plan a supply map around. Fixed cap tells me everything about how to route it." She signed her name under the terms, clean and fast. Donovan signed below her. The deal was done. Amy produced a second thing then, a worn guidebook thick with notes. RobCo Feed Tower Operations Manual, the cover read. "This goes to your tech," she said, and handed it to Logan. "Channel map, the network limits, and the Wi-Fi link spec. The F95 V2. You'll need that part to tie your relays in." Logan flipped it open, scanned a wiring diagram, and gave a short nod. "Missing nothing," he said. "That's rare." Kira closed her folder and faced Amy. "One more thing. Medical supplies are already moving your way. A full crate off the field hospital, stimpaks and antirad, as goodwill from the Rangers." She said it plain, no pitch. "They'll reach Broken Hill inside the week." Amy's ears came forward. "Hah. Brad said you were the careful one." She almost smiled. "That buys you more than a signed board. Keep sending those and we stay friends." Donovan stood under the tower and felt the plan click into place. Access granted. Five nodes, a manual, a friendly command behind him. The backbone was his. But five was a wall, and he already counted four live sites in his head. His next node would cost him a choice about which link to cut.