I appeared in the basement of the museum building adjacent to the Ascension headquarters. I was back in the apocalyptic world. The entire business I was building didn’t just depend on trade in a single world, but trading in two different worlds. From my world, I could bring clean food, water, and amenities that were no longer produced, and in exchange, I could bring to my world gold, art, and commodities that would go for top dollar in that world.

However, the apocalypse had something else that my world did not. It was a world that had been at war far longer than my war, and through the war was an innovation. Although the world had officially ended in the 90s due to the spread of a mutating virus, they were a lot farther technologically in many ways. They had power weapons, robots,

This place was off-limits to anyone else, and it was generally assumed that when I went down here, I took off down some kind of sewer pathway that eventually led me to someplace out of town where I would then rendezvous with my contacts and bring back goods. The fact that I appeared with more goods than I could carry was suspicious, but the existence of my Perco and digitizer already lead most to assume just that.

At least, these were the rumors that were supposed to be spread around. The only ones who knew the truth were Katarina and Kiera, and Kiera was still in my old world. I knew that I should start transferring things between the warehouse and this place. The dinosaur bones would need to be left in the warehouse for later collection, while the advanced technology needed to be removed before someone stumbled upon it.

I wasn’t too worried, because I did program one of the droids to protect the warehouse. He wasn’t set to kill anyone, but he would send out a warning, flashing red and blue lights and declaring himself the police if someone did persist in trying to break in. If they continued to persist, he’d shoot in their direction, deliberately missing. It’d be enough to send them running, and with a lock, they’ll never realize it was a robot. When we returned, Cecelia would instantly be notified if any funny business occurred.

That said, I could only return to the last place I had been in. Projecting exact coordinates in space and time was an extremely complex equation, and the Perco could only manage to hold one at a time. Specifically, it could remember the last one immediately before the transfer. This was why I couldn’t use the Perco to teleport or travel to any place I wanted. Since my last place was the apartment complex I had just rented, then I’d be back in that place once I left here.

There was one cheat that Cecelia had been able to work out. If I had a second Perco and brought someone else with me to another world, then I could copy their coordinates, and thus be able to transfer from where I last was to where they last were when they came to my world. That was ultimately why Kiera ended up seemingly trapped in my world. I could have taken her back any time, but that would only create more questions for Gabriella, and she was already a pain in my butt most of the time.

Deciding I’d make my way to the warehouse and do that stuff later, I was more concerned about ensuring things were moving forward properly on this side. I had only been able to touch base with Raven and the Ascension home base briefly while I was under house arrest. I knew that the attacks had stopped, but little else.

I began heading up the stairway from the museum basement, and as soon as I reached the ground floor I was surprised to see a punk kid waiting there. As soon as he saw me, he jumped up like he had been goosed. I was just about to say something, but he spun around and then fled, his boots creating a thumping sound on the tile floors as he left. I frowned slightly, instantly growing more cautious. I hadn’t brought any weapons with me, but there was one thing I had that was better than any weapons.

“Cecelia?”

“The base is safe.” She responded. “The turrets are still in place, and there is no immediate threat.”

I let out a breath of relief and then continued through the museum, coming out onto a makeshift walkway that lead into the Ascension base from the 2^nd floor. That’s when I saw several people that made me let out a sigh of relief. Raven, Katarina, and Red were all standing there waiting for me, along with the rest of Raven’s gang, the Fire Ravens.

“A scout?” I asked as I finished balancing myself across the walkway, wondering if I should make it a more permanent and safer pathway.

Raven had told me the entire point was that it was loose and unstable. Anyone who thought to use it to invade the base could be kicked out and fall to the lower story. After that, the only way into the building was through the garage and a single elevator that required an access code. Every other way up the building had collapsed, which was exactly why it was such a defensible building despite having several floors blown out. Of course, the headquarters were up on the floors that were still in one piece.

“We didn’t know when you’d be returning,” Katarina responded. “It seemed useful to use the kids as scouts.”

“I wasn’t aware we had any kids.” I frowned.

“When you accepted the Dragon’s Claw under your care, specifically the women and homemakers, did you think we didn’t have any children?”

“I noticed food was being used up quicker than expected. I decided an inspection was in order while you were gone and discovered them.” Raven declared. “They were hiding them from us.”

“I didn’t include them in our original number as they aren’t for sale as slaves or servants,” Red responded tightly. “As for supplies, as I explained to her, it wasn’t the children. The adults all split a portion of theirs for the children.”

“Well, someone has been taking food at a greater rate than expected.” Raven shot her a dark look.

Red ignored her and instead focused on me. After a second, Raven also looked at me, and I realized they were waiting for me to weigh in on this. I guess being gone for a week and a half, there would be a few pressing matters to resolve. Red had a slightly anxious look on her face, and I realized she was worried I might do something to retaliate her hiding their existence.

“In the future, I don’t want any other liabilities being hidden from me,” I stated in as dominant of a voice as I could manage.

Red shook her head. “They won’t, I swear it. As you see, I’ve even put them to work!”

“Also…” I clicked my tongue. “Allocate portions for the children as well.”

“The foods not going to last forever.” Raven protested.

“It will as long as I’m around…” I shot back.

“The existence of the raider children isn’t that important.” Katarina cut in before Raven said anything more. “We need to do something about them.”

She nodded out over the ledge and down into the courtyard created by several buildings sitting around a central area made of broken concrete and brown grass. This was the location of my bazaar, but at the moment it looked more like it had when this had been a raider gathering. The former Ascension had tried to use power armor and Cecelia to unite the raider clan and take over the wasteland. When I took over, the raiders fled the place, few choosing to stay behind under my rule. It was up to them. I offered security and food. If they didn’t want it, that was on them.

During the time of the raider gathering, the courtyard had been filled with raiders who weren’t attached to any particular faction. They were the smaller groups like the Fire Ravens, who had come hoping for an opportunity in this new world order that Ascension was offering them. Countless tents had been set up all over the place, and it looked a bit like a derelict homeless camp. The courtyard had been picked up and cleaned. The bones, spray paint, banners, and grotesque displays had all been removed upon my request, but a seeming new camp of vagabonds had appeared in the square.

“Who are these people?”

“After the Syndicate attacked the mall, many people were displaced. The slavers were all but wiped out, and when we began our return to the city, many chose to follow us, since we had the protection of the slaver’s former security detail that we… acquired.” She gestured to the distance, and I could see several of those robots currently making rounds in front of the only open space into the courtyard. “Not all of them left once we entered the city. These are the ones that decided to stay.”

“These are the slavers?”

“And families, and colonies, and merchants who lost most of their caravans. Those that had a home to return to did. The rest just decided to follow and see what this was all about.” Katarina explained.

“And you let them make camp here?”

“Raven wanted to send them on their way.” Katarina shot me a side glance while Raven sniffed. “I thought it’d be best if you made the ultimate decision on what happens to them.”

I thought about it for a moment and then slowly nodded. “You made the right call.”

Raven gave an indignant and surprised look, while Katarina didn’t show any change in expression. After staring at them for another moment, I spun around and headed for the elevator.

“Where are you going?” Katarina asked.

“To give them my offer, and see what they can give me in return.”