Free Coastal Event Memories by A. G. Kimbrough Page A

the convoy, where the threat was the greatest. The missile dropped into the canyon with a solid illuminator lock. The shower of sub-munitions covered the last third of the convoy, and disabled all of the vehicles.
     
    Walter quickly illuminated the forward portion of the convoy, and the last Tomahawk created a path of destruction for the forward third of the vehicles. The vehicles in the center were mostly undamaged, but unable to move either forward or backward.
     
    Walter flew low over the battle zone and was able to direct the ground forces to tighten the noose. He finally landed behind the Marine position, refueled, and took the wounded, including Tiny back to the temporary field hospital at Strawberry.
     
    The sniping went on throughout the afternoon, and anyone who ventured outside the armored vehicles was hit within seconds. By the time darkness fell, only a third of the DHS force troopers were unhurt. Without night vision, those troopers were able to escape into the wilderness south of Highway 50. They left almost all of their supplies and weapons, as well as their wounded.
     
    The next morning, the forces converged and there was no fight left at the convoy. The remaining DHS wounded were dispatched with a bullet in the head, just like the men in Reno. Kemp was not among those left behind on Highway 50.
     
    The bulldozers were used to clear the roadway and bury the DHS dead, and the remains of the convoy were stripped of anything salvageable. The women and children were taken down the hill and distributed among the communities. Tiny was taken back to the Best Buy Trading Post, where Rose McAllen started nursing him back to health.
     
    A mixed force of Marines and militia started a concerted effort to track down the scattered remains of the DHS force.  It took another six months, but eventually the last of the renegades were killed in a shootout at the little community of Griminger.
     
    The Chicago had arrived and was permanently berthed at a dock near the Community College buildings in El Dorado. Her nuclear power plant was used to provide electrical power for the area. Captain Moore agreed to stay on board with a volunteer crew and maintain the boat and power plant. Those crewmen who were not required for those tasks were transferred to reserve status, and left the boat to start a new career.
     
    By the time that Tiny had fully recovered, Rose had him wrapped around her finger. The difference, for the first time in her life, was that she felt the same way about him. They were married shortly thereafter, and made a great home for Lilly and two other orphans, Mark and Jerry.
     
    Walter and Rebecca had worked closely during the war, and a bond developed in those months. He had been asked to head up the Inland Sea Militia, and had accepted the responsibility. Although he traveled around the region, he stayed with Rebecca on the Goose, and they were married two months after Tiny and Rose.
     
    The mostly male crew of the Chicago and the women from the bunker quickly came together and most started making new lives.
     

Chapter 17
     
    The years that followed the war were filled with many events that shaped the character of the people of the Inland Sea. The Goose made several voyages to the islands of Southern California. Each time they picked up a load of refugees, who were barely surviving.
     
    The people of the Inland Sea, prospered, and the population increased steadily.
     
    Zeke responded to a call to help with the AM radio equipment and broadcasts.  He left Casa Jacoby to be run by Hector Mendoza, his son Roberto, and retired to run the Engineering Department at El Dorado University.
     
    Zeke and a group of engineering students put together a rudimentary wireless digital communication system, which provided the community with access to bulletin boards, and a crude, slow form of the Internet. The system was only up for three hours daily, since power was limited everywhere.
     
    The next generation of the