Chapter 41
Adara had everyone crowd into the conference room that Jill had discovered on entering the corridor.
"Okay, everyone. This will be our home for now. We will use this as our base, but don't forget, this is on Trikru lands. We are only here because we are not hostile towards them. We will continue to help them. Our number one priority is making sure that the mountain men don't get hold of us. That may mean that we have to fight them. Self-defence classes will continue, Weapons training will continue. Do not become complacent because we have found this place. We are still a target for those bastards in the mountain. We are not a sacrifice. We are stronger than that. We are stronger than the Ark thinks we are! We are the Skaikru and we will survive!" The room erupted in shouts and yells of agreement. Adara waved them to be quiet.
"We need to work to make this place a home for us. I want scouting parties sent out to explore each level, one level at a time. I want an inventory taken of each room and what is in it. I want places to be assigned for specific tasks. For example, places to sit and chat, places that can be used as a kitchen, or medbay, or training areas and quiet areas. I want every room to be checked."
"Murphy is in charge of security. Any weapons you find are to be reported to him and he will determine if they are working and who gets to use them. No arguments on this. Weapons are dangerous and not toys, got it?" There were nods and yeses all around.
"Raven and Monty are in charge of engineering and computers respectively. They will be picking their teams soon. Each person who is the head of their department, is on my council along with whoever else I need. If you have a specific talent, let Jill know, including those that got you sent to the skybox," she said, pointing to Jill. Jill nodded and held up a pad and pen, ready to take names and notes.
"We need kitchen crews, hunters and foragers, laundry crews, cleaners and other jobs that are not ones people want to do. All those jobs will be done in turn by EVERYONE including me. No-one likes those jobs but they need to be done." Adara looked around for anyone who disagreed. No-one did, but she saw some stubborn faces.
"Clarke is in charge of personnel - that means you lot. She will draw up a rota for everyone. If you're down for duty, do it. I will punish those who do not. Make no mistake about that. We need these things done and if no-one did it, we would be sick in no time. This is not the Ark. Down here there is bacteria and other things that can make us ill or kill us. We need to keep the place clean and tidy. Your parents aren't here to do this for you. You need to do it for yourself. Like I said, I will be taking my turn, in fact, Clarke, put me down for one of the first shifts." Clarke nodded. Adara spoke again. "There are no cushy jobs here. Everyone's the same. We all work."
Clarke looked around before she spoke.
"I will be drawing up the rotas and I want to know if anyone wants to volunteer for the first shift. Bear in mind that this facility has not been used for almost 100 years and there may be a build up in dirt. Everyone will be cleaning rooms out for our use at first. The kitchen rota will begin immediately, the others as we need them. So volunteers, move over to the back of the room, please. If there are not enough volunteers, I will assign people. If you are on the rota, I will be sending someone to find you. Anyone who hides or cannot be found to stand their shift, will be punished." Adara nodded in agreement.
"Give your names and abilities to Jill and those volunteering, thank you." With that, Adara nodded to Clarke and left the room. Clarke went to talk to those who had volunteered for work crews.
Adara, Murphy, Atom and Monroe were talking about the need to house a hundred people and what they would need. Adara decided that she needed someone to be in charge of the hunters and foragers. She was debating between Atom or Octavia. Both were accomplished hunters, both were good with managing others, and both had a sense of what was needed and when. The only difference was that Adara knew that Octavia would become Trikru at some point. If she put Octavia in charge, then she would have to find someone else when Octavia made the move. Atom was the logical choice, but her heart really wanted to give the job to Octavia. She decided she needed to talk to Octavia before Atom.
Monroe was looking out the window at the floor several levels below.
"How big do you think this complex is?" she asked.
"We have no idea until we search it, Monroe. I hope that we can find everything we need here. Clarke is getting her volunteers sorted into groups. The kitchen staff will need a place they can safely cook food. This place must have a kitchen area. We need to find it. How many search teams are out?"
"Four," said Murphy. Four people in each team. Two teams at each end of the corridor. We can see that the levels below us run right around the perimeter. Two teams on each side to check each door as they go. If they can't unlock it, they mark the door and will get one of the lock pickers to have a go later."
"Okay. I want another look at the store room and then a look at the dormitories. We need a roster of who sleeps where - no scratch that. We need two teams, day shift and night shift. With enough beds to sleep two shifts, we should be okay until we find more dormitories. This complex was made to hold a lot of people. We need to find out how many. There should also be a command centre. When we find it, I want Monty and Raven in there to check things out. I want any maps of the area or the complex, brought to me." Adara said, chewing the inside of her mouth as she thought. "I need to speak with Clarke."
"When?" asked Murphy.
"Now," said Adara. "We need to sort stuff out and we need to figure out what to do with people. This leadership shit is harder than I thought," she said with a sigh. "Murphy, I want to know where we are on trained personnel for sentry duty. Atom, check on the scouting teams. Monroe, check what food we have and what we need. I'll get with Clarke and find out what talents we have and in a few hours, I want us to meet in that conference room. Okay?" All three nodded their heads and moved out to do their jobs.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Several hours later, the Cabinet as Adara decided they would be called, met in the conference room.
"Okay, there is a lot to get through. Jill is here to take notes because I know I'll forget half the stuff we talk about." There were a few chuckles. Okay, here's what I've come up with so far. We need to organise our people and we need people to be leaders. So I've decided on the following people to lead the others. These are dependent on the people actually taking the job. So. Clarke is our ambassador to the Trikru. She has already taken the position. She will go to Polis and stand in for me there. This will happen after we deal with the mountain men." Clarke nodded.
"This is a position that I know I want, guys. Adara is your leader."
"Raven will be my TWIC," she went on.
"What's a twic?"
"Sorry, I read a book on the Ark where a young kid saw 2IC written down and pronounced it Two-ic. Twic. I like it so I've decided that's what we should call my second in command." A few laughs ensued.
"So, Raven is my twic. She and Clarke will both be in charge when I'm not until Clarke goes to Polis. Murphy is my third in command and my security Chief. That alright with you, Murphy? Head of Security?" Murphy grinned.
"Hell, yeah. I get to be Kane without having to deal with that traitor Jaha."
"Okay. Octavia will be my Chief of hunting and foraging. Atom, you'll be her twic. Octavia will be joining the Trikru after the mountain has fallen. When that happens, Atom, you'll be Chief, okay?" Octavia nodded, already knowing that. Atom looked shocked.
"Me? Chief after Octavia?"
"Yes, Atom. You've proved yourself. You've earned this." Atom's smile grew wider. Someone trusted him and respected him just for being himself and applying himself to the tasks needed. A warm feeling spread through him as he realised these delinquents, these criminals were more a family than the ones on the Ark ever were. He had a place to belong now and he was determined not to let his new family down.
"Monroe," said Adara, moving to look at Zoe Monroe. "You will be our quartermaster. You'll need several people working for you. You'll need to get with Clarke and figure out who you can get for your team." Monroe looked startled.
"Is Quartermaster my official title?"
"Yup. The quartermaster is probably one of the most important jobs a community can have. You are in charge of all items in the storeroom and if there is excess food, you will be in charge of that too." Monroe looked down at the table, humbled at the trust placed in her.
"Raven is also Head of Engineering. She's basically Jake Griffin," Adara said, grinning at Clarke who grinned back.
"Hey, Dad," Clarke said to Raven, with a laugh. Everyone else laughed too.
"Knock it off, I ain't that old!" said Raven, getting another laugh.
"Clarke is also our Chief Medic because she's the only one who knows that stuff." You both need to pick teams. I want everyone on a team. No-one is to be left out. This is important, guys, for morale and their own self worth. I know what it was like on the Ark when the adults wouldn't listen to me just because I wasn't an adult. At 17, they treated me like I was 10. It's not nice and I won't let that happen here. Everyone has a worth, let's figure out what that is and make sure they know they are worth more than they've been told they are."
"Yeah," said Murphy. "We need to cut that shit out. We're going to have to undo the crap that the Ark did to us. I know I've changed just because Adara trusted me. I mean, me, the perennial screw-up. My dad died because he saved my life. That taught me that if you do something right, you get punished for it. My mom didn't care about me, she cared more for her bottle of booze. Nothing was done about that. Adara changed that. She trusted me and she gave me a job to do and left me to do it. She trusted me completely. I have a family and a purpose now and I'm not going to let anyone screw that up!"
Adara stared at Murphy, not knowing that he felt like that. She looked around and saw them all nodding.
"You all feel like this?" Adara asked, surprised.
"Yes," they chorused.
"We all feel like that, even me who was raised on the privileged side of the Ark. I still felt like they were just patting me on the head and telling me to go play. This was only a week before I got myself arrested. 17 and treated like a child. Here, I'm trusted to help you lead, not just by you, but by everyone else. They come to me for help when you're not there. I find myself thinking that this is the way it should be - this feeling of being wanted and trusted. I feel like I'm worth something instead of being Dr Griffin or Jake Griffin's daughter. I get to be me."
Everyone was nodding, agreeing with the sentiment.
"I'm so glad you feel that way, I feel like that too. You've become my family. My brothers and sisters, who get on my nerves sometimes," she said looking at Raven, "but are there for me." Raven got up and hugged Adara.
"I feel like that too, Mom." Everyone snickered. Adara lightly slapped Raven on the arm.
"Like you said, knock it off, I ain't that old!" Adara said. They all laughed.
"Okay, back to the meeting," Adara said, settling down in her chair. "Murphy, you want Miller as your twic?"
"Yeah, he's good," said Murphy. Adara nodded. Jill was busy writing things down.
"Monty, when we find the central communication centre, I want you to run it. It'll probably have everything in there from the layout of this bunker to what's outside. There may even be camera's somewhere. I want you to find out anything you can." Monty nodded.
"What's my title?" Adara thought about it.
"How about Chief of Operations?" Monty grinned and nodded.
"Okay, what about Jasper?" asked Monty.
"Well, I was thinking that if we found a hydroponics lab, then maybe he would like to be head of that?" Monty thought about that.
"I don't know. He wasn't much interested in Farm station stuff. I think he might want to do something else. I just don't know what."
"Would he want to work for you?"
"Probably not, he was always trying to get me to goof off when I was experimenting with engineering. Don't get me wrong - he's my best friend, but sometimes I think he needs something to do that he likes to do."
"Yeah, well, pharmaceuticals are not going to be what he does. He needs a job to do that will give him a sense of purpose." said Raven.
"I'll talk with him. If he doesn't want to be his own boss, who do you suggest becomes head of hydroponics?"
"I don't know. Most of the kids from Farm are like Jasper. Not really into whatever their parents did."
"Okay, Clarke, figure out who could do it if we find a hydroponics lab."
"No problem."
"Alright, something else I thought of. We need a way of getting in touch with Tondc. With the mountain men moving through this area, we can't go overground. Atom, you were looking at a way to move through the transit tunnels of the Metro. I believe Foggy Bottom is the Metro station that's near Tondc. I want you to take a group and check to see if there is a station down here. This has got to be a bunker for the President of the USA. They must have a means of getting out of the bunker in an emergency. I need you to find it." Atom nodded. "If you find it, tell me and Murphy. We'll send you with an armed group towards Tondc. You may need to fight your way through mountain men if there are any gaps or collapsed tunnels and you need to go to the surface." Again, Atom nodded.
"I got it," he said. "I'll get with Murphy first thing in the morning to sort it out."
"Good. one more thing. I think it would be an idea to go with two shifts, day shift and night shift. It would keep people busy and not in each other's way. Also it would let the people sleep and not be kept awake by people talking all night or day, depending on the shift."
"Not sure we need that just yet," said Clarke. "I think we need to make sure that everyone has a job and that everyone has something to do."
"I know, but at the moment, we don't have enough beds for everyone to sleep at the same time. As it is, some people will be sleeping in their sleeping bags on the floor. It's not really fair for the first sixty people to claim a bed and the rest has to sleep on the floor all the time."
"I see," said Clarke, thinking that through. "Okay, what about if we check more levels tomorrow and see if we can find more beds?"
"I'm good with that," said Adara. "Meantime, I don't mind sleeping on the floor or on a couch, whichever is available."
"Okay. That everything?" asked Clarke.
"For now. We'll meet in a couple of days when we get stuff organised and teams decided." Adara began to move her chair back. "I want to say one thing, though. I don't think I could have picked a better group to be stranded with. Each of you has stepped up and taken on the responsibility of leading your fellow delinquents. I'm proud of each and everyone of you." Adara smiled at everyone. "Okay, enough mushy stuff, Get to work!" she said with a laugh. Everyone got up with a smile and left the room, chatting.