Henry enjoyed lunch with Annie at Café Lyon even more than he expected. She was good company, and the relaxing context made it easy for him to enjoy his synthesised trout with a nice glass of wine. Annie seemed to enjoy herself too. She ate synthesised salmon with something resembling fresh asparagus. It wasn't real of course, but when she closed her eyes and chewed slowly, she said some of it was really quite nice.
Lunch lasted much longer than either of them had intended, and it was mid-afternoon by the time they headed for the Great Hall in the middle of the Old Quarter. They took a detour along the way, talking about this and that. Luckily the meeting had been pushed back a couple of times while Guildmaster Gumptor resolved some issues with the stone guild near the towers.
It was late afternoon when the meeting finally transpired and by then Henry's knee was throbbing badly. He was more than relieved to finally have the chance to sit down for a while. He didn't want to trouble Annie with his ailments so he told her he was okay despite her frequent enquiries about his pained expression.
The Guild Hall had been damaged, like many other buildings in the city, but it was structurally sound and easily large enough to hold everyone involved in the meeting. They sat in one of the rooms at the back of the hall, a simple place with a large round table surrounded by two dozen chairs. Guildmaster Gumptor was already in place with his spade-like hands spread wide across the surface of the round wooden table in front of him. A dozen other guildsmen sat around him, and many more stood behind them, chatting quietly as they waited for Henry to arrive.
'You're late!' Gumptor said in a loud voice.
Henry frowned. 'Am I?' He was under the impression that he was almost on time.
'By one minute!' Gumptor's mock anger softened into a smile.
Henry shook his head. 'Then we had better make haste if we ever hope to have that minute back.'
Gumptor gestured for Henry to take a seat in a large chair at the head of the table. All the other seats were already taken.
'I'll find another chair,' Henry said, turning to apologise to Annie.
'Nonsense,' she said. 'You carry on. I'll stand and watch with the others.'
Henry wasn't so sure but Annie waved him off and went to stand with a group of guildswomen who welcomed her by offering some berries from a bowl. Henry guessed they would take good care of her, so he walked to the head of the table and took his seat as he had been told.
'Ladies and gentlemen,' Gumptor said in a loud clear voice. 'I declare this meeting of the Council of Cinnamon City open. All those present will have a voice, none more so than myself.'
Henry wasn't sure whether Gumptor was joking or not, but he let him continue - now that he had the attention of the room.
'We have many matters to discuss,' Gumptor said. 'I expect every one of you to give our new Chancellor your full cooperation.'
Murmurs rumbled among the junior guildsmen at that back of the hall.
'Especially you four,' Gumptor added.
The murmurers fell silent.
'Chancellor,' Gumptor said with a final formal flourish of his hands, 'the meeting is yours.'
'Thank you, Guildmaster Gumptor,' Henry said, folding his hands in front of him. 'I'd like to start by reminding everyone here that the time for complaining is over. In the past we have raised issues with Central Command and then sat back, waiting for them to be solved for us. Those days are over. This Council places that power in our hands now. It's time for us to address our own problems head on.'
The murmuring started again at the back of the hall until Gumptor glanced over his shoulder, his eyes bulging silencing any signs of decent before it could take hold.
'Rachel has given us great power,' Henry said, 'and with that power comes responsibility. We should all bear that in mind.'
'Are you saying we will receive no help from the Security Forces?' Guildmaster Jenny Sanworth said, a deep frown forming on her brow.
'They will help where they can,' Henry said, 'but they have much on their shoulders right now. We need to let them focus on rebuilding the defences of this great city while we put our considerable experience to good use solving our own problems. We have the power to change things for the better, to the build a society that we want to live in, rather than one that is dictated to us by the absent lords.'
'But the lords still govern us,' Sanworth said.
Henry nodded. 'They do, but Lord Hades is dead. Rachel is the only lord who rules us now. She's the one who empowers us also. We will be forever in her debt.'
More squabbling broke out at the mention of Rachel's name.
'Please,' Gumptor said. 'Let Henry speak his piece. We can judge the truth of his words by the result of these meetings, and the solutions that they provide. Let us not judge now before we even begin.'
Henry turned, gazing at the gathered people. So many faces stared back at him. Some were full of hope while others obviously wanted more proof before they would offer their faith. Among them all, Annie gazed back at him with big brown eyes and an open smile. Henry almost blushed, forgetting his words while his mind took a wrong direction and had to be called back into line.
'Logistics,' Gumptor prompted in a quiet voice.
Henry nodded, taking a deep breath to recover himself. 'The security forces have too much to deal with right now,' he said, breaking eye contact with Annie so he could concentrate on what he was saying. 'We can help them by providing logistics support.'
'What do you mean,' a young man said at the back of the hall. 'Do we have to carry weapons now?'
'Not weapons, no. We'll carry food and water, and other supplies from the tech factories.'
'I can't carry heavy machines,' the young man said. 'I have a bad back.'
'The droids will carry the heaviest loads, and the roaches will help out too, but as the tech factories work around the clock to replenish our depleted supplies there won't be enough roaches and droids to transport it all to where it is needed. We need to help by carrying the lighter loads throughout the city. We may even build a few carts and drag them behind us.'
'Why can't they just make more droids?' a woman in a red robe said from the back of the meeting room.
'They will,' Annie said in Henry's defence. 'But it'll take time. Right now there aren't enough of them to go around. That's what Henry is saying.'
The woman folded her arms and pouted before falling silent. Henry raised his eyebrows and Annie smiled in return.
'We need to help with food production and distribution too,' he said. 'We need to increase the pace of our reconstruction efforts. The more technical of you will be expected to help Central Command in lieu of their reduced numbers, filling in for technicians and engineering staff that have been killed in the Kamari war. You'll need to help until they can build up their numbers again. There will be apprenticeships starting in the towers for those who are interested in taking on more permanent technical roles.'
'It sounds like a lot of work,' an old man said in a grey clothe robe, 'I'll do my bit. I'll help you all I can.'
'That's all I can ask,' Henry said with a solemn smile. 'I'll be speaking to people in the Business District too. They might not have strong hands for carrying but they can use their credits and connections to help get things moving along.'
Many nodded in the hall.
'They can do that much,' Gumptor said. 'It's the least they can do after Central Command protected their businesses and livelihoods.'
'There have been a lot of rumours about fresh food disappearing into black markets, sold at inflated prices,' Henry said.
Everyone avoided eye contact as he looked around the room once more. Some things had become widespread. Many were complicit in their silence, even if they weren't directly involved.
'I expect any merchants who are involved in such practices to cease at once.'
Someone shouted a curse near the entrance. 'That's a lot of credits,' you're talking about. It's easy for you to make such pronouncements. It's not your family's livelihood that's on the line.'
'You make good money, Merchant Jones,' Gumptor said, 'even without resorting to such practices. Your family won't starve. We'll see to that. This is about fair distribution of available resources at affordable prices. In good times we might turn a blind eye to such practices, but we can't afford to do that now.'
Jones looked as though he might protest again but Gumptor held eye contact until the fight went out of him.
'We must all come together,' Henry said, 'with the common goal of rebuilding our great city. It's not just about rebuilding walls and homes. It's about rebuilding the fabric of our society, from the ground up.'
'Here! Here!' Gumptor said.
Several other voices sprang up, reinforcing Henry's words.
'I want to help too,' Annie said, clapping loudly as she approached the table.
Henry nodded with a smile. 'We can all help. We'll work together until we turn this situation around.'