Please note: This story includes multiple changes to the plotline of A New Frontier. Many are minor changes, the main plotline is mostly unaltered, but several character fates have been changed for the sake of this story.
"We're losing an outpost every few weeks! This can't go on-"
"-Nine frontiersmen dead in the last fortnight, and those that actually lived have the medics running on fumes..!"
"-They're finding new soldiers every day, Lord knows where the heck from, and if we don't even things out soon we ain't gonna be able to hold out for long."
"So, what are we gonna do about it?"
The church fell into an uncomfortable silence as all eyes turned in the direction of Javier García. How he had managed to get himself into this situation, he had no idea. Three years back he had simply been a man trying to survive with his family and now he was at the head of a council meeting, on the top rung of the New Frontier, planning a god damned war.
He tried to avoid the others' gaze without making it obvious. Eyes locked on the double doors at the far end of the room and the flag bearing his group's symbol above it - he still had no idea what the fuck it was supposed to be (someone had told him it was an alchemical symbol?) - he racked his brain for any sign of a plan to deal with the community's enemies, but the cartoonish lightbulb in his head never seemed to flare with inspiration.
How had he got himself into this mess? And more importantly, why was everyone putting their faith in a disgraced baseball player who had bashed a frontiersman's head in with a metal baseball bat hours after first joining the community, then shot their previous leader in the face but a few days after that?
It seemed the New Frontier must have been desperate if they'd decided to cast him in the role of council member.
"Javi."
Javier's eyes flitted from the banner above the door to his right - to the face of his brother, David, who had sternly called him out on daydreaming. Oh, he was surely in his element; a soldier from before the dead started climbing out of their graves, now the leader of the New Frontier's militia. He had been since the start of the group, split up from his family at the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse, but things were different now they were at war. David's resolve had been knocked many times since Javier had reunited with him, but he was a tough bastard who didn't roll over for anyone.
"Javi," the elder brother asked again, exasperation clear in his voice, "We need your input here. Stop looking like you'd rather be somewhere else."
"Y'know, I really kind of would-"
"Javi." This time it wasn't a request - it was a warning.
David pressed his palms down flat against the surface of the crate they were using as a makeshift council table and leaned forward, brow furrowed. Javi couldn't help but notice how much his brother had aged in such a short time - once pure brown hair now dusted with white, a now thick beard making him appear even more ancient - but David had been through a lot and hadn't coped well thanks to his ever-present lack of emotional stability. Javi felt that a bit of grey was more than justified.
"Gimme a second, David, I'm trying to… mull it over." He responded. This prompted his elder brother to lean back, but only so that he could clench his forefinger and thumb to the bridge of his nose in frustration. Then a third voice joined the conversation.
"Just wanna remind you that every second we mull over this we're losin' folks to the Delta. Time's of the essence, Javi."
Javi's eyes were drawn to Tripp - the tall, broad man to his left. He was a soft-hearted sort of fellow, gentle in a sense, but had previously managed a settlement named Prescott before he joined the council of New Richmond.
The Delta that had been mentioned were the opposition; the group they were warring with. It had been three long years and at this point it was uncertain who had fired the first shot, not to mention why, but whatever had occurred on that fateful day had cemented a war. Following that, the Delta had started relentlessly raiding New Frontier settlements, capturing those they didn't kill. The New Frontier was damned if they were going to take it lying down - especially David - and so the frontiersmen rallied themselves and began to strike back.
"Okay," Javi murmured, raising a pensive forefinger and thumb to his chin, "Let's puzzle this out. Where do we go from here?"
A fourth councilman reached forth and tapped the area to the southwest with a skinny finger. "Drive to retake McCarroll is still on schedule," he murmured through a thick texan accent. "No doubt they'll try and seize it back as soon as we regain control."
"So we'll flush them out again," David retorted, resting his hands on his hips. "It's not a risk we can take. We need to keep pushing west or they'll have us backed up against the coast with nowhere to go." He looked the man dead in the eye, "Unless you're hiding a cruise ship up your ass, Os."
"There are more important places to keep a firm grip on," Os grunted, "take the munitions, for example." He tapped a point on the map further south of McCarroll. David was silenced, though the look on his face suggested he wasn't happy about it.
"Yeah, that's not gonna work." Javi scratched his forehead absentmindedly. "We need to bring ammo production here into Richmond."
"We got the manpower to move all those machines?" Tripp asked, then added "-Not that we're lacking in that department." As he caught David's glare. The latter had been incredibly paranoid about where the Delta were acquiring more soldiers; it often felt as if two more sprung up every time one died.
"We can do it." Javi confirmed. "If we don't, and the Delta capture the place we're done for...No more guns for us."
"The Delta's coming from the North-west," a woman who had lingered in the background pointed out, pausing momentarily to clear her throat. "To get to the munitions they'd have to bypass several other New Frontier outposts."
David shook his head. "If they found out where it was they'd loop round and head straight there. Losing our guns is a blow we can't afford to take."
"I'm with David." Javi announced. "It's not a risk we can take. We need to get those guys right here in Richmond before the Delta catch wind of their location. Might not be for months, might be tomorrow, but they're gonna find out one way or another."
David patted his brother's shoulder appreciatively, but didn't make eye contact. The two had their differences, and agreeing on something was a rare occurrence.
Tripp leaned back from the makeshift desk they were gathered around and slightly raised an open palm. "I'm on it." he drawled, "I'll send word down there asap. Make sure the guys know we're coming for 'em."
"You don't wanna know the rest of the plan?" Javi asked, but Tripp had already turned his back and was breaking into a jog.
"Can't waste a second!" the burly blonde-haired man responded. "I'll see if I can link up with Conrad on the way down. Roads should take a party right down to Harlow anyhow."
"Tell Eleanor you're going, or she'll kill you."
Javi thought it was worth warning Tripp. God knows how long it had taken the guy to break his feelings to his now-girlfriend, and now they were an item they never spent any time together. Tripp was practically choking on council meetings, Eleanor was the head of the infirmary at Richmond, and between them they had a two and a half year old to contend with as well. It hadn't been the wisest choice, but it could hardly be prevented.
Smirking and shaking his head, Javi turned back to David, Os and the other remaining council member, Blanche. Her appearance was demure, but her voice gave away how fierce she truly was. Blunt and to the point, her honesty was much appreciated on the council.
"So… we withdraw munitions from the southwest, but keep the outpost manned so they can't just claim it with no retaliation." David confirmed, palms once again flat against the tabletop as he hunched over the map. "How do we want to proceed with pushing back?"
That was the real question on everyone's minds, and it wasn't an easy one. They had to push against the Delta's advances or their enemies would just take over. Stonewalling them would only buy time for so long; they had to attack back.
"Well," Javi shrugged, "Where can we start? Scouts located any outposts?"
"They've withdrawn for now," David explained. "By now we know that means they're on a recruitment drive."
"But that means they'll be sending some of their men to recruit." Blanche surmised. "If we catch the right place, we might be dealing with a skeleton crew and then we're one more outpost up."
Os scoffed. "Just gotta find out where a damn outpost is and hope that's the one that's unmanned, then."
David stayed silent. Javi observed him; his brother's eyes flitting across the map as if hoping they'd provide some sort of clue or answer. The soldier stayed quiet for a precious few minutes, then exhaled deeply and reached for a pen.
"Richmond." He said, circling their location with a scratchy red circle.
"That is where we are, yeah-" Javi began.
"Harlow. Marion. Faulkner." David continued circling - this time he was listing off the New Frontier's outposts. "Winchester… Monroe… Fairfield…"
Once he was finished drawing on one of the few maps they had left, David drew a line around the outside of the New Frontier's territory.
"That narrows it down," he murmured. "Now, if I was Delta, where would I be..?"
"Wherever we're not." Blanche stated.
"Wherever we're very not if they wanna hold out for long." Javier added.
David tapped the side of his head, perhaps trying to trigger his brain to work faster, then traced his finger from the space between two of the furthest apart frontier settlements and pushed west.
"Jackson." He decided. "They're gonna have an outpost in Jackson."
Javier stared at him, both shocked that David was so confident and yet somehow completely unsurprised by it. "And you know that how…?"
The soldier drew himself up to his full height, unwilling to give any sort of impression he was uncertain. "I just have a feeling."
"We're gon' need more than a feeling." Os pointed out. "This is war, David. Can't just be goin' on a hunch."
"It's an advantageous position." David told him. "We scavenged there once in the early days. Jackson his on high ground, easy to defend - so it'll be easy to leave a small crew during a recruitment drive. We almost set up the New Frontier there, but… we thought it was best to make it all the way to Richmond."
Javi crossed his arms and breathed out, tired. "You seem sure." He admitted. "I hope you're right."
"If we're gonna do it, it's best to send out a scout party first." announced Blanche. "We don't wanna find out there's nothing there."
"There will be." David stated, as if his heart was already set on it. "I know it. And the sooner we push west, the sooner we can put a knife in the heart of whoever's running these Delta fucks."
