Chapter 5
The next morning, Adara checked D'bor's ribs one last time before she gave him the go-ahead to try to return home. Monroe and Atom helped D'bor pack his gifts and D'bor was surprised when Adara and Murphy brought out another huge bag full of items.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Well, we decided to give your world a few items too. Your craftsmen can replicate some of them. We've included board games, clothing, a cushion for Master Menolly, a list of music, more knives and pen knives and other stuff. You'll find out when you get home."
"Mount up rider, and we'll pass this stuff to you," said Murphy. D'bor nodded and fastened his jacket. He mounted his dragon and Murphy passed the bag up to him. The backpack was already full of gifts and was attached to the bag and they were both strapped down.
"Make sure your straps are fastened tightly, brown rider, don't want you to injure yourself again." D'bor blushed as he followed orders.
"I'm ready."
"Good. Just remember to have that garden in your mind and then Benden Weyr from the 'between' insertion point."
"The what?"
"The point you jump to when you go back to Benden Weyr," Adara explained.
"Oh, got it," said D'bor. He looked around him at all the people he'd met here - minus Harper's team - and realised they were just like people on Pern at the beginning. Trying to make the best of their dire situation.
"Commander Lexa, Heda Adara, thank you for your hospitality and your gracious gifts. I won't forget any of you." With that he pulled his goggles down. Everyone stood back to give Cralleth enough room to take off. Cralleth sprang into the air and flew higher and higher until he was just a speck in the sky and then they disappeared.
"I hope they're okay," said Monroe.
"Me, too," said Adara. "They deserve to get home." Monroe turned away as she went to start her sentry watch. Adara too turned away as she thought about the young man. Hope you get home D'bor, I really do, she thought, sending good thoughts out to him.
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D'bor popped out of between high above Benden Weyr. He let out a cowboy yell of happiness that Monroe had taught him. He'd made it! He'd found his way home.
"Cralleth, announce us to the watch dragon, please."
"Binsoth welcomes us back and is telling Mnementh and Ramoth."
D'bor and Cralleth spiralled down and landed in Benden's bowl. Lessa and F'lar along with most of the people there rushed to him.
"Where have you been?!" Lessa demanded, hands on her hips. D'bor took his goggles off and looked at her.
"Earth," he said, shortly. Lessa and F'lar rocked back on their heels.
"Earth? You were on Earth?" Lessa said.
"Well, an Earth." D'bor slid down Cralleth's side and to the ground. He unfastened his jacket and took off his flying helmet. "I have a lot to tell you, Weyrleaders and some presents to give out as well. I think you'd better get Masters Sebell and Menolly over here to hear this." F'lar said he'd personally go and get them.
"Anyone else you think should hear your story?" Lessa asked, acidly. D'bor took her mood in stride. "Maybe the other Weyrleaders and Jaxom too," he said to her. He took his packages off Cralleth and then his riding straps.
"Go on, Cralleth, go bathe. I'm sure the fire lizards would help you. We'll get you some food when I'm finished talking to the Weyrleaders." Cralleth bugled as he headed for the lake at the other end of the double crater.
"Let's go to the council chambers, D'bor," Lessa said as she walked towards the stairs. D'bor and F'nor picked up his packs and walked after her.
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When everyone had arrived, they all sat down around the large council table.
"Okay, D'bor, what happened?" asked F'lar.
"Cralleth and I were attempting to go 'between' to Southern Weyr. We got to the correct height, I gave Cralleth the image of Southern Weyr's insertion point but in my excitement, I guess I forgot to fasten the straps tight enough. Just as we went 'between', I slipped forward and banged my chest against Cralleth's neckridge. I blacked out and Cralleth lost the image. He told me he was trying to find the place to go to when he found a garden so he went to it."
"What do you mean? A garden? 'Between'?" said F'lar, sitting upright in his chair.
"I don't know, F'lar, I was unconscious. Cralleth said he saw a garden and went there. He then said that he heard a woman's voice and he followed it. He came out of 'between' high above a very densely forested area. He came down in a clearing and asked the woman to help me as I was injured. He and the woman - Adara - said that Cralleth knew I was injured but alive, so he didn't panic too much. Adara healed my cracked ribs but forbade me to try flying for at least three days."
"She forbade you!?" Lessa was livid.
"Weyrwoman," D'bor said as he looked at her. "Adara is not just the leader of the people there, she healed me just by putting her hand on my ribs and THINKING about healing them. She did it with her mind, and on top of that, she could hear Cralleth whenever he spoke - no matter who he spoke to. She hears dragons, Lessa." Lessa was shocked.
"But… but…"
"Weyrwoman, that woman is a leader and can heal with her mind. I've talked to one of her people, Monroe, who told me the entire story of how they came to be there. Adara and her people - who at the time were 100 children and two adults, planned and organised after they had discovered that their leader at the time was planning to send them to the ground and into the hands of people who live under the ground who would kill them for their bone marrow. Jaha - the then leader - knew this and he didn't care. His own son was sent down. He didn't care. All he needed in return for those kids was a bunker complex they could live in until they felt ready to live on the ground. They would then team up with the mountain men - the ones in the bunker - and wipe out anyone they wanted. The land didn't belong to them, but they were going to take it by force - just because they wanted to." D'bor stopped, breathing heavily. F'lar passed him a drink of water, which D'bor downed quickly.
"Adara is one of the most important people down there. She is only surpassed by Commander Lexa. Commander Lexa is in charge of twelve clans. Twelve clans that were at war with each other until Lexa became Commander. When she did, she immediately started negotiating for them to come together against their enemy - the mountain men. She did it, too. Twelve clans all united under the leadership of Commander Lexa."
"I think you have a lot to tell us about these people, D'bor, but for now, can you tell me what happened to you?" Lessa said, trying to absorb what she had just heard. D'bor nodded and put his cup back down. F'lar refilled it for him.
"I came to that evening. I was in a lot of pain and I was in a shelter. Adara was at my side and she had tied the shelter's flaps back so Cralleth and I could see each other. It was a relief to see him when I woke up. Adara told me about healing me and checked me over again. She then invited me outside for a meal with the rest of her people that were there. We were not in their territory, but they were exploring that part of it with permission of the Commander and Chief Anya of the nearest settlement. Some of the Trikru were there as well, though."
"Trikru?"
"Sorry. Adara is the leader of the Skaikru and they were in the territory of the Trikru. They are on friendly terms and help each other out." Lessa nodded.
"Go on," she encouraged.
"Well, I went out and sat down with my back against Cralleth. We were around a campfire with their shelters - tents - nearby. One of them handed me a meal and it was delicious. It was meat from an animal called a deer. The animal is about a hand smaller than one of our small runnerbeasts and has horns with branches - kind of like a tree in winter. Anyway, after that I was offered the tent to sleep in, but I declined as I could just sleep with Cralleth. Peter, the tent owner, handed me some blankets because he had his sleeping bag and Adara had me sleep lying down to ease my ribs. Peter and Drew shared his tent and everyone else went to their own."
"The next morning, Adara had arranged her people for the day and Monroe sat with me and told me all about them. F'lar, Lessa, Weyrleaders, their story is incredible. What those kids had to overcome and go through was nothing short of miraculous. I think when Menolly hears the whole story, she'll make a song out of it and it won't be short!" Menolly perked up at that.
"Really?" she said. D'bor nodded at her and she grinned.
"Over the next few days, I watched as her people all did what she asked of them and most of them volunteered for the jobs that needed to be done. I never once heard any arguments or disagreements about anything. You could see the trust they had in each other. Something that they all agreed about was the comradeship of all one hundred and one people who were sent down to die. They banded together and survived. Two died later and in honour of one of them, they renamed their town after him. Connor Town." D'bor's words were reverential for the fallen comrade of the hundred. He cleared his throat.
"I met the Commander and Ambassador Clarke of the Skaikru. Both women were women who were respected by everyone. Adara took me into the building they were excavating. It was a huge, gigantic place, Lessa. Easily twice the size of the old Healer hall. It was one of the trading buildings they called a mall. There were stalls in there called stores and each store was for different products. There were clothes stores, furniture stores, book stores, stationery stores, outdoor stores - those are things you use outdoors, not the store that was outside - and a sporting goods store. These were all in one corridor and there were three levels to the building, plus several other corridors." D'bor got up and went to the backpack.
"I've got some things here for you and Adara and Murphy have packed more stuff for us. F'nor, can you look in that big bag for a cushion, please. It's a present for Menolly." F'nor nodded and looked in the bag.
"This is filled with presents for some of you." He pulled out the satchel and decided to give it to Sebell. "This is called a satchel, Sebell. I'd like you to have it." He handed it over to Sebell.
"Thank you, D'bor," Sebel said as he looked it over, opening and closing the buckles. He noted the pockets and with the size of the satchel, he realised that his music could fit into it. He would cherish this satchel and he wondered if he could get more of them made by one of the craftmasters.
"F'lar, this is for you," D'bor said as he handed over the present. "It's called a Swiss Army knife. It has several blades and other things in it," he said as F'lar pulled out one of the blades and looked at the other knife attachments. He smiled and thanked him for the present.
"Lessa, this is a multitool. I think Fandarel will be envious of it, but I'm giving it to you. It has things on it like pliers which are a gripping tool, blades, a tiny saw - I even tried it out on a twig and it works - and tiny screwdrivers and such like."
"Thank you," she said, as she held the unusual tool.
"That's not all," D'bor said as he handed over the backpack as well. This is for you too. I overheard you complaining that you have to carry things and never seem to have enough pockets for them, so I brought you a backpack. It has many pockets of all sizes. It has shoulder straps and a waist strap that is adjustable for a snug fit." Lessa got up and uncharacteristically, flung her arms around his neck.
"Thank you, D'bor. This is amazing."
"Well, Adara and I thought to find you things that we didn't have so that you would know that I was on another world and not just lost in time."
"I admit that I did think you had timed it," said Lessa.
"I realised that and Adara and I talked about what would make you realise I hadn't. This is it," he replied, sweeping his hands over the gifts.
"Here, D'bor," said F'nor, handing over the cushion.
"Master Menolly, this is a present from Adara. I told her about you and she wanted to give you this." He handed over the cushion and Menolly read the message on it and laughed. She turned the cushion around so they could read it "When words fail, music succeeds". They laughed at that.
"She got that right," said K'van, the Weyrleader of Southern Weyr.
"She also sent along a list of music that should be in AIVAS's database that she recommends. She also sent along this." He handed her a writing pad with a difference. When Menolly opened it, she gasped along with Sebell. On each page was a series of green lines, five of them, one under another and then a gap and the lines were repeated all down the page. Menolly looked up.
"Is this…"
"It's called music sheets. They are used for songwriters and musicians to record their work on. I think that the MasterPrinter is going to be busy when you show him them. Now you don't need to keep several sandtables around. You can just write it on these and store them until you've finished them. Easier to move around too," said D'bor.
"Thank you, D'bor," said Sebell, admiring the papers. "Why didn't we think of this?" he asked no-one in particular. "We use sandtables though, so we can scrub out mistakes before writing them down on paper."
"I know, but they have sent along some pencils and erasers so that you can use the paper to write on with the pencil and if you make a mistake, you use the eraser to rub it out," replied D'bor, presenting the items to Sebell.
"Don't forget to search AIVAS for that music, Menolly."
"I won't,'' said Menolly, pulling a small writing pad from her pocket and a writing stylus from the other and writing it down. D'bor went to the bag and pulled out the globe.
"This is what their world looked like before the war 98 years previously. There is no production like there was before the war. This war killed almost everyone on the planet and only a handful survived around the world. Maybe a few million people survived out of over eleven billion." Gasps of surprise followed that statement.
"How?"
"Radiation poisoning and fighting. There was a computer program designed to better humanity, but there was a flaw in the coding - that's what the user enters into the computer to make it do what the user wants. The computer programme was called ALIE, short for something I didn't understand but they all call her ALIE."
"Her? But it's a computer program, right?"
"Yes, but the initials of her name spell out ALIE and she's sentient. She also had a hologram - and no, I don't know what that is - so she could be seen by the people who swallowed something called a chip. This programme was flawed and because it's basic function was to make life better for mankind, she thought the best way to do that was to reduce the population, so she started a nuclear war."
"It thought bettering mankind was to kill it?" asked Lessa, aghast.
"Like I said, it's flawed. Problem is, she's still active. They haven't had a chance to deal with her, they've only stopped part of it by taking away the weapons that she could use to destroy the rest of the world. They are trying to find a way to stop her for good, but they know it won't be easy." Everyone was shocked and no-one spoke for a few minutes while they digested that information.
"Anything else to report?" asked F'lar.
"Not really sir. I'll be telling this to harpers over and over, sir. I know I'll be remembering little bits and pieces as I do, but that's the basic outline of my time there."
"I'm glad you weren't lost 'between', D'bor. It's a miracle that you found your way back."
"Adara, Cralleth and I talked about it and we decided that it would be best to return to the garden and then come home. Adara speculated about it being a shortcut through time as Cralleth said that he was only between for the time it took to breathe twice before he found the garden and less than one breath to get to their Earth, and yet, their Earth is about 3,500 turns before our time." That really shocked everyone.
"Over 3,000 turns in the space of three breaths? Amazing!" said K'van.
"Dangerous," said T'gellan, leader of the Monaco Weyr.
"Yes sir, but it saved our lives."
"You should not attempt that again, young man," admonished Lessa.
"I didn't do it in the first place, Lessa! I was unconscious and Cralleth did what he had to to save me and himself! I will not let you denigrate my dragon, Weyerwoman. He did the right thing!" D'bor was angry that anyone would castigate a dragon for saving their lives.
The room was silent as D'bor and Lessa both refused to back down.
"Lessa, the lad's okay. His dragon had good sense to find a way to keep them both alive. Let it go." Lessa looked away from D'bor and looked at F'lar. She saw the look of concern on his face let out a big sigh and seemed to wilt back into her chair.
"Okay, now that's sorted," said Sebell, trying to diffuse the tension, "anything else in those bags to see?" One or two people chuckled and the tension was broken. D'bor smiled and went to his pack. He picked out three of the boxes there and took them to the table.
"These are called board games because you play the game on a board. This first one is a game of finance and rental properties called Monopoly. We'd need to adapt the game to Pern, but I think it'll catch on here. These are games that can be played in a hall or hold when thread is falling above them. This next one is called Clue. It's about solving a murder, but again it can be adapted for here. This final one though, is a children's game and is okay as it is, though the pictures may need altered. It's called chutes and ladders. Yes, I know you don't know what a chute is, but I think we can play this with minimum alteration. Monroe did say that in a place called Britain that the game is called `Snakes and Ladders'. As the snakes are the bad bits, maybe we could use tunnel snakes for that part." D'bor went back and pulled the last game out. This one was his favourite. He had watched as the Skaikru had demonstrated how it was played - to hilarious consequences.
"This is a game they showed me how to play. This game is called Twister. It has a large mat made from plastic with four rows of four different coloured dots. There are two spinners - one for hands and feet and one for colours. A person not involved with the game is the spinner and you take turns. The first spin is the colour and the next spin is the body part, left hand, right hand, left foot, right foot. This is a good friendly game to play as each turn you stay where you are and the others have to move around you. Putting your left foot on a blue circle is easy, but what if there are three other people already on the mat and you have to somehow reach past, around or sometimes through a pile of bodies to get to your circle? It's fun to watch! I think this game will catch on quickly."
"Games! You only brought games?" said J'ffrey, another weyrleader.
"No, they packed other things too," D'bor replied, going back to the big bag. He next brought out some clothing.
"These are called thermal underwear. They are designed to keep you warmer in cold weather and you wear them next to your skin under your clothes. They don't go 'between' there, so I don't know if they keep you truly warm 'between'. But I think they'll do for cold weather here on the planet." As there were several sizes available and several types of t-shirt, long sleeved top and long johns, they all looked at them.
"Now this could be useful," J'ffrey said. D'bor then dug through the rest of the bag and brought out more clothing and finally, the other mutlitools and Swiss Army knives and pen knives Murphy had packed. He placed them in front of F'lar for him to distribute as he saw fit. His own Swiss army knife was already hanging from his belt. The final item out of the bag was a wrapped up one. D'bor frowned and then saw a tag on the outside and read it. 'To our newest friend, D'bor and his big brown dragon, thank you for enriching our lives for a few brief days. Wear this when you feel cold in Benden. From Adara and everyone at White Oak.' D'bor teared up at reading it. He sniffed and wiped away a few tears before he opened the package.
Inside was a jacket made of soft leather with fur on the inside and collar.
"This is called a flying jacket!" D'bor said excitedly. "I saw these in one of the stores, but I didn't ask for one as they had already given me a lot to bring home. Adara or Monroe must have seen my face when I saw it. I love it!" he exclaimed. He pulled off his own jacket and put on the flying jacket. He marvelled at how soft and warm it was.
"You really did make new friends," said Menolly, reading the note for herself.
"Yes, I did, but I'm sad because I'll never see them again."
"Well, you can wear that jacket and remember them fondly," she said, softly.
"I'll always remember them, Master Menolly. They took care of me even when they were scared of the size of my dragon. They did the right thing and I'll always be grateful for knowing them. They have overcome things that we would be terrified of and we have thread to contend with! I only wish we could do something for them, but it would be madness to go back. Only Cralleth knows what the garden really looks like, we weren't there long enough to look around, so the only reference point is whatever I remember and whatever Cralleth remembers." D'bor sighed at the thought of his recently found and newly lost friends back on that alternative Earth. He hoped they survived and thrived there, rebuilding their lives and civilization.
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Adara and Commander Lexa discussed what to do with the building. The Commander said she would think about what to tell the clans. She knew that some of them were just barely kept in check and would cross into Trikru lands and take anything they found that they wanted. She didn't want greed and acquisition to be the main reasons for them breaching another clans territory. Adara, on her part, wanted the building to be checked for stability before anyone thought about using it for their homes. The top level would have to be excavated to make sure it wouldn't fall on anyone. The other doorways would be checked for anything that could be dangerous and unstable as those doors were currently blocked by rubble or fallen debris.
Clarke suggested that some Trikru and Skaikru stayed there to make sure no other clans raided it. All three women were unsure how to continue. They tabled the discussion until a later date. In the meantime, Murphy and Atom had teams checking for fallen debris in the corridors. They were not to touch it, but to just mark the area it was in. The teams had been issued with drawing pads and utilised them to get a better picture of where the damage was.
Two days later, Harper's team returned with a deer, boar and several rabbits. They had hunted on their way back from surveying the area to the west for farmland.
"Hey, welcome back," said Adara, smiling as she went to help them with the boar. Several others went and helped with the animals and grinned at the variety of meat on the menu for that night's meal.
"Come over here," Adara ushered the whole team towards the fire and when they were sat down, handed around cups of water and plates of the panther Fio had brought down the day before.
"Thank you, we needed that," said Roma, after they had eaten and drank everything.
"Now, report," said Adara. The Commander and Clarke also sat down to hear it.
"We went over to the location we saw on the map called Cherry Hill. It's got some weird homes on wheels there. Most of them are damaged by falling trees and trees actually growing through them. The land just by there shows signs of having been farmed. We saw rusting farm equipment and some of the trees were fruit trees in straight rows. A lot of bushes growing between them has stopped other trees from getting a hold in the soil around them. We've also seen flat land that we could use for farming when we remove the trees," reported Harper.
"We also went a bit further than that and just passed the farmland and what was probably one of those business and storage places… erm an industrial estate? I'm not sure about that label. Anyway, we broke into one of the big buildings there and it was a storage place. After Josh broke into one of the locked doors, we saw a lot of things that came from homes. It seems that people didn't throw things away when they were done with them, but rather stored them," said Roma.
"Could they be used for living in?" asked Clarke.
"Well, maybe, but there is nothing there for water or heat. Cooking would have to be done outside. To make it liveable would be a challenge, but with time and effort, it could happen."
"Nearest water is a small creek called Little Paint. Not sure where it goes because it goes underground," said Harper. If we can find a way to get water there, it would be a good place to farm, but at the moment, it's not ideal."
"Okay," said Adara, feeling subdued that farming in the area would be severely hampered until they found a water source they could get to. "Anything else?"
"Good hunting there. We saw boar, deer, rabbits, panthers, some wild horses and in the distance, a herd of wild cattle. All in all, it's a good hunting ground."
"Thanks, everyone for checking it out. Get some rest before the evening meal." Harper and Roma nodded and herded their team to set up their tents and get some sleep.
Adara reached for her map again and studied the area around White Oak.
"This area to the west of us is the most lightly built area - primarily because the stream runs through it - along with this patch to the east."
"Yeah, the east side is near that paint creek before it goes underground," said Harper, pointing to the small creek.
"Hmm. I think if we try the west side first as there seems to be a lot of trees here. I think if the people living here cut those trees down and farm near the creek, that would be the best option. It's not that far from here so the people wouldn't have a long trek to bring the crops in. See here," she said, as she showed the Commander and Clarke the map. "This is Burnt Mills. Look how much area that is. If you use the school and the houses below it, you would be near two points of the same creek. Plenty of water for crops then."
"It's the best place I can see, Lexa," said Clarke. "I don't know how to get more water to it unless you divert a river through it."
"We are not diverting a river, Clarke!" said the Commander.
"I know, I was being facetious."
"Oh. That is for another day, too."
"Good, I'm going to get a supply of drawing materials and then I'll take a couple of people with me for sentry duty while I draw the surrounding environment."
"Have fun," said Adara. "I'm going to see if Monroe got that book she was looking for."
"I will go watch Indra training Octavia and Artigas," said Lexa, getting up with Clarke before they headed off in different directions.
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Atom and his group had found an automotive and bicycle store that sold accesories and towed vehicles. The ones for the bicycles were small but lightweight. The ones for the vehicles were larger and heavier. They tried to find something in between that was lightweight, but had a larger capacity than the small bicycle trailers they had found. In the end, they decided to use the 90 litre trailers they had found. There were six of them and they would have to pull them by hand. Luckily these trailers had bars on them they could use. They loaded all the small things and medical supplies into them. Mac's chair would stay behind until they could borrow a horse and wagon from the Trikru to transport it. Adara hoped that they wouldn't find too many more things to take back home as they had almost filled the trailers already.
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A week later and Adara returned to Connor town with Murphy, Drew and Monroe. Atom's team had come with them to pull the trailers and then had gone off to do some more surveying. Harper's team would stay around White Oak and survey the land around it. They would use the building as a base and with permission from the Commander, they had cleared out one of the first level stores and put in beds and used closets as temporary walls. It wasn't quite home, but with real beds and bedding, places to put their clothing and packs and a table with chairs at the front of their store/living area, it was a small slice of home away from home.
Atom's team was to survey the area between White Oak and Tondc. They were looking for signs of wildlife - for hunting and for any large predators in the area. They were also looking for water sources, though they were sure that the only ones were the small creeks that ran through the area. If they found places to put villages with plenty of space to farm and near water, they would mark them out and tell Anya when they got to Tondc.
The Trikru made their way to Tondc with Adara's people, hunting on the way. When they had reached Tondc, Adara had told Anya everything that they had done and seen, then Adara and her people left for Connor Town.
Once they reached home, Adara told her people to have the rest of the day off. Adara herself, though, had gone to see Kane and Raven to see what had happened since she had been gone. Luckily, everything had gone smoothly and they'd had a message from Luna that she would like to visit the area and maybe build a quay or pier as close as they could to Connor Town for trading. Adara immediately said yes and would sort out any parties needed for exploration and building the next day.
Adara and Monroe took the medical supplies to Abby and Jackson to see what they could use. Abby was delighted with some of the surgical instruments and she now wished for a hospital with a sterile operating theatre to use them in. At the moment, one of the buildings had been built specifically as a hospital, but they couldn't make it really sterile as they had not yet learned how to build it like they used to. For now, all they could do was to keep the patient and all equipment as sterile as possible. Some of these would be very useful in treating small injuries like a broken leg.
Adara told Raven and Kane about D'bor and Cralleth. Kane was dumbfounded to hear about a dragon, whereas Raven was suspicious at first and then envious that Adara had met someone from Pern - not to mention meeting and talking to a dragon!
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Two months went by with everyone working to make sure their crops were growing, buildings were designed and raised, and the fence was made more permanent and moved ten feet further out. After that a second town would be built - with the permission of Anya and the Commander.
Bellamy had led a group of both Skaikru and Arkers along the river to find the best spot to put in a pier for Luna's people when trading and visiting. They had gone east to the nearest part of the river and then travelled the length of the river down to the bay at the end of the Occoquan river. They had come across several barriers, mostly fallen logs and debris, but also a couple of man made dams. After they had gone the length of it - and found a few small marinas - they came back along the river to check the docks and to see if there was any place nearer for Luna's people to land. They found a spot opposite a ruined building on the other bank, just below a huge pile of rocks and debris. At this point, the water still flowed through the rocks, but they would need to bring someone with experience to check on the depth of the water to be certain that the boats wouldn't run aground.
They decided to use the bigger of the two marinas as a base first and then get one of the Floukru to check the depth further up. Bellamy also checked on the surrounding area for places to pitch tents and such. As there was very little soil and dirt covering the ruins and buildings around there, Bellamy surmised that no bombs fell in the immediate area and any such soil and dirt was just fallout from the DC bombs and the ones in the surrounding areas.
All in all, things were going along nicely. Everyone got on and in a month's time, the Arkers would become Skaikru. Already some of the Arkers had proved themselves to be hard workers and better at taking direction and orders from the younger people. Two of those were Hannah Green, Monty's mom, and Frank Gibson, who used to live in Flint Station. Hannah had surprised everyone by getting on with the Trikru like they were long lost family. Monty was ecstatic about that - he still had nightmares about having to kill his mother to save Clarke. Harper had told Adara in confidence that after Hannah had accepted the local clan, Monty's nightmares had started to diminish. Adara was glad that Monty was starting to heal from that horrendous ordeal.
With the extra ten feet from pushing back the fences, Adara had said that on the outside, more personal family houses could be built. She had also decreed that no-one could have more than three children. When people started to ask if she was intending to go back to the old ways of the Ark, she told them that they did not have enough resources for everyone to have lots of children. She also told them that if they wanted more than three children, then they would be exiled and had to provide for themselves. She was not going to have people go out and decimate the area, just because people were being arrogant and uncooperative.
The family quarters would have three large bedrooms, one for the parents, and one each for the genders of their kids. Adara reminded them that this way, their kids could have siblings, and in future generations, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, as well as in-laws.
Once the people had accepted that, they all buckled down and now there were 11 couples expecting their second child - some nearly two decades after their first. Some of the Skaikru hundred were also pregnant. Tomika had begun dating Masayo Takada, another of the hundred and they were now expecting their first child. As Abby didn't have the equipment to tell the gender of the child, each child was a surprise and they had begun to have reveal parties. Each time a child was born, a flag was raised. A blue one for a boy and a green one for a girl. They hadn't liked a pink one, so had adopted green for a girl - after all, it was alliterative with the boys' side.
Yes, things were looking up for all of the sky people. It was amazing what a difference a year could make. From facing certain death at the hands of Jaha and the mountain men, to living life on the ground, free of the worry of those same people. Life was hard work, but oh so rewarding!
Adara and Raven were looking over the plans for the next gather. They had decided to use the Pernese word as it was descriptive. Adara had planned it for just after the summer solstice with another one planned for after the harvest was gathered in.
"We need to find some small prizes for the kids and adults," said Adara.
"I know, but what? The smaller kids are already forgetting about the Ark and are truly embracing the clan way of doing things, they don't need to own anything frivolous. We, who remember the Ark and the little we had, we are gathering small bits and pieces. The other day, Joseph Martin was picking up feathers - he's collecting them!"
"For what?" asked Adara, perplexed at the idea.
"For nothing. It turns out that we humans like to accumulate stuff. When I went to the bunker last month, I checked it out at the library. People used to collect things, just to collect them and look at them. There were people whose houses were full of things they'd collected. Most of these items were useless in their own right, but could be highly valuable if they were sold to another collector. I can't understand it myself, but there you are, human nature is weird."
"Well, you've got that collection of scrap metal and spare parts, Raven. Are you sure you're not a collector?" Adara said, grinning.
"I'm using those things when I find a use for them! I'm not hoarding them and not using them!"
"Okay, okay," Adara said, holding her hands up to appease Raven.
"Anyway, back to the prizes. I've been thinking about getting practical things made, like bowls and cups and small boxes for people to keep things in, maybe a few stuffed toys for the kids. Maybe we can go back to White Oak and get some of the smaller items from there," Raven said, stopping to think things through. "What about some of the bigger items too. Maybe a hunting knife, or crafting knives, sets of cutlery, or pans or something. I don't know really," she said.
"We could do that, but if we did, we'd have to take a large party with us to cart it all back. I think a lot of smaller items that can be easily carried, because I sure don't want to have to carry a bed back here!"
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about bringing it all back. I keep forgetting that we don't have any carts or wagons. We don't even have any horses yet, either. Maybe we can trade with the Trikru for some," Raven mused.
"What if we got some small hand carts made? If we can get maybe three or four, then we may be able to bring back some of the heavier stuff. Don't forget, there's still that chair we need to bring back for Mac." Raven groaned. The six carts they had brought back had quickly been used by the farmers to bring water to the crops or to transport the food or seeds or anything else they needed. If they took those back to White Oak, they would need to be washed down first, but the farmers and others would complain they had to carry everything again. Sometimes it wasn't worth the fight and both women had decided to leave them with the farmers.
"It's going to be a nightmare!"
"Well we'll make sure that we've got plenty of people there to help us"
"Like how many?"
"About thirty people, mostly Skaikru, but we'll take a few Arkers as well. I think we'll take most of our trusted people. You me, Murphy, and Kane. Who should we leave in charge of Connor town while we're gone? Bear in mind, we'll be gone for at least a week."
Raven thought about it.
"What about Abby?"
"You sure? I know she's getting on much better with everyone and she's even taking orders from us kids, but would she revert to the Abby she was before? Remember when she was Chancellor? How she changed? I know most of that was what happened to Jake and how Clarke hated her for it, but really?"
"Yes. I think that Abby was trying to hold on to the only family she had left - even if it was by force. All she saw was her child was putting herself into dangerous situations that she - Abby - couldn't help her with. She never saw that Clarke was trying to keep everyone alive. Abby was the adult and Clarke as a child should do exactly what the adults told her to do - that was the way of the Ark and Abby and the other adults didn't see that they were wrong. This time around, Jake is a stable influence on her and Clarke doesn't hate her. I think she'll be okay."
"I want to take Jake with us as well, do you think she'll still be okay this time around?"
"I think so, especially if we leave a few others here as her advisors. Del, Deeks and Tomika can all do it. Tim Bartlett has been helping to organise things, he's been sort of my unofficial right-hand man in getting things done. If we leave Abby in charge with Tim as her Skaikru second, with the other three as advisors, I think they can contain her for a couple of weeks. Especially if you impress on her the need for things to stay the same and that you'll be back in less than two weeks, I think she'll do fine."
"Okay, good," said Adara nodded to herself as she mentally thought about who to take on the trip. "We'll draw up a list of people we want to go with us and we'll ask Abby if she wants to be in charge until we come back. If not, we'll give the job to Tim."
"Tim survived until the end, you know, so he knows what she may do and counteract it," said Raven.
"Raven, he doesn't remember."
"Crap!" Raven pondered on it. "Can we wake him up?" After a few minutes of thinking about it, Adara nodded.
"Go get him, Raven." Raven nodded in return and left to find him. They returned a few minutes later.
"Hey, Tim, take a seat. We've been debating about going to White Oak for some small items for prizes at the next two gathers. We were thinking about who we want to leave in charge and we've decided to leave Abby in charge with you as her second. The thing is we need you to remember another life. That life was one played out before where everyone died." Tim was looking confused, so Raven took up the narrative.
"Tim, I remember dying in that rocket we were taking to the Go-Sci ring. Adara, here, was killed by Pike at the same time as Lincoln. We want you to remember, so you can control Abby if she decided to take over."
"What are you talking about? Another life and dying before?"
"I can wake you up, Tim, so you can remember that other life. Problem is that you'll remember your death. Do you think you can handle it?"
"You want me to remember a life I had before and my death in that other life?"
"Yes, Tim, we do. We need you to remember what Abby was like. We need you to remember how we all were then and to compare them to how we are now."
"Okay," said Tim, nervously. Adara looked at him.
"Gromyo," she said and watched as remembrance overcame him.
"I remember," he whispered. "I remember it all. I remember Bellamy being a dick, though at the time, I was one of his biggest allies. I remember Clarke trying to do the right thing and we all fought against her. God, we were so idiotic then! I remember being in the mountain and the people we lost there, I remember when you lot rescued us. When we fought the grounders, when Pike showed up." He said the last one with a look of disgust on his face. "I was not a fan of the grounders, but I was sick of killing, and Pike's policy of kill them all and take their land was a stupid one."
"He was xenophobic, Tim, he hated anyone who wasn't just like him. I think he hated himself most of all," said Adara, sadly. Tim nodded.
"I remember Abby too. She was such a martinet about things. It was like Jaha all over again. Do as I say or else! How the hell did she get to be Chancellor, anyway?"
"Kane gave her the pin when he went to make peace with the grounders. When he came back, she didn't give it back to him, but kept it for herself. She may have been clinging to the only thing she had left of the Ark - her power."
"And you want me to do what exactly? If she's in charge, don't I have to do what she tells me to?"
"No, you don't. Do I do that? Does Raven do that? Do we tell you exactly how to do things or do we tell you what has been decided and then ask people the best way to achieve it?" said Adara. Tim mulled it over.
"No, you're not like Jaha or Abby back then. You do let others have a say in things. Will Abby?"
"I hope so, but that's why we are leaving you as her second, with Del, Deeks and Tomika to help you. Remember, everything decided is by talking with my cabinet first. If Abby starts making decisions on her own, you have my permission to take over as the temporary leader until my return. I will be making sure that Abby gets the point that when I come back, she will automatically be returned to CMO. This is only temporary and not something she can take over and control. She has no power in that." Tim nodded.
"I'll do my best."
"Good. I will be talking to her. If she doesn't want the job, it's yours. However, if she does, then I will tell her everything I've told you about the position and that I will be announcing it to everyone, including telling them about none having absolute power. Abby will have a fight on her hands if she tries it and will be exiled if she does!" Adara was not going to let Abby try to manipulate the Arkers into taking over. She and the Clans would not allow it.