They all took a minute to look over the options.   Allistor favored Reinforced Gates, which said it provided strong, lockable gates with a set amount of defense points, which could be increased at will by upgrading with system points.   There was also an option called Proximity Alert that he suspected were sensors that would warn them if beasties approached.

After it seemed everyone had made their choices, he reviewed the boxes that were checked.  Everyone had selected Reinforced Gates.  Proximity Alert was third most popular after one called Escape Hatch that he had skipped over when he was reading.  He quickly found and read the description.  It provided a ‘back door’ with a secret exit in case the Stronghold was overrun.    After that, fourth place went to Traps, which allowed the installation of traps inside and outside the gate.

“Okay, has everybody finished choosing?”  He looked around the table and got a chorus of yeses.  “Right.  Then in order of popularity, the first three cost ten thousand, ten thousand, and twelve thousand.  Traps is five thousand.   There are some other votes, but only singles and doubles.  So if we go with all of those, that’s thirty-seven thousand, plus the thirty-seven thousand we already assigned, for a total of seventy-four of the hundred thousand we have available.  Not bad.” He grinned at the group.

Sandy, the park ranger, asked, “Is electricity an option?”  Immediately, they all began searching.

“Yes!” Meg shouted.  Then her shoulders sagged.  “But damn, it’s expensive.  Twenty thousand.”

“It might be worth it,” Amanda argued.  “I mean, think of all the things we could salvage that run on electricity.  Refrigerators, lights, battery chargers for radios and lanterns, sewing machines, power tools, and I could maybe salvage some medical equipment like an x-ray machine or ultrasound eventually.”

By the time she was done, everyone seemed in agreement.  But Allistor wasn’t ready to pull that trigger yet.

“Let’s assume that’s our top choice for now.  But I want to do more research.  Like, how quickly we can earn more points.  And what else we might not be thinking of right now.” He looked around the table before his gaze rested on Meg.  “For example, has anyone looked to see if the sleeping quarters include bathrooms or showers?”

“Oh, shit.  No, I didn’t.  Anyone else?” Meg looked around, then her gaze went blank as she started her own research.