Chapter 29
"How was the sniper from the Mountain able to survive outside?" Anya asked Taylor in an interested tone.
They had left TonDC a few hours ago now. The horses had fled from TonDC at the impact of the missile, so, all of them had to travel on foot now. Lexa had been quiet for most of the way as she could imagine the state of the rest of the army right now.
Taylor could see Lexa's attention being quipped by the general's question as well before she answered. "They are using bone marrow from the Skykru they still hold captative" she explained. She was slightly confused how neither of them had asked her this before.
Anya nodded "Clarke mentioned "marrow treatment", but what exactly is that?". The blonde Skykru leader had used this term just after they took out the sniper before.
"Well…" Taylor halted for a moment, trying to think of an explanation which Anya and Lexa actually would be able to understand. She of course could describe them in detail how a bone marrow transplant worked and why it did, but neither woman would be able to follow her explanation. "Bone marrow contains so-called stem cells; those cells build up our blood and they determine for example the ability to survive radiation. Skykru have grown up in space where radiation is several levels higher than here on earth, so, their bodies are even better able to filter radiation. There is a medical procedure where you can drill into the hip bone of a person and remove bone marrow to transplant or transfer it to another person. Their transplant strategy obviously work now that they do not need the hazmat suits anymore".
Anya still seemed rather confused, while Lexa nodded. The commander had read about the mere concept in a very old book. She knew of course that none of their healers were able to use this procedure any longer.
"So, with all of Skykru the Mountain Men would be able to survive outside as well?" Lexa asked and even just while she thought of the idea, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rising in slight horror.
Taylor nodded in agreement. She hoped that this would be another reason for Lexa to decline the deal the Mountain Men would offer to her. The commander may stop a war for now, but she would understand that fighting against the Mountain Men with their superior technical knowledge would be so much harder as soon as they could breathe the air outside.
In theory Taylor would assume that a few of the Mountain Men could very well be allowed to survive. The bone marrow treatment of course was not without risks and it did hurt as well, but it could be done a lot gentler and more cautious than what the Mountain Men were doing to the delinquents right now. She was relatively confident that there surely would be volunteers among Skykru who would agree to donate their bone marrow. None of them would have to suffer any lasting damage from the procedure either. Taylor made a mental note to speak with Clarke once she got the chance as she thought it could be helpful if they could propose this to the Mountain Men, maybe some of them would surrender without bloodshed then.
Taylor cast a glance around them. Relatively close to Lexa was her new guard. She had only learned a little while ago that his name was Ryder. The ones who walked closest then were Indra and Octavia, but the dark-skinned warrior seemed to be deep in a conversation with her new second. From the way in which Octavia nodded raptly, Taylor guessed that Indra was teaching something to her.
"If there was a way that not all of the Mountain Men have to be killed during the attack…" Taylor started in a hushed tone, looking over to Lexa expectedly "…would you agree to that?"
Anya pressed her jaw together and her hands balled to fists. The general's opinion on the matter was clear without any words needed.
Taylor vividly remembered how Bellamy encountered a group of children going to kindergarten or school in the show. The young man had tried to portray to Clarke that they needed to keep the death count as low as possible and she agreed with that. Especially the children had done nothing to deserve to be killed.
Lexa mulled over the question for a while, obviously not just wanting to answer in a rush "The Mountain Men cast a shadow on my people for generations now."
"I know" Taylor nodded "but there will be children as well, children way too young to actually deserve to die".
"They would have grown to commit the same horrors their ancestors have done to us" Anya interrupted in a bitter tone.
Taylor looked over at the general with sadness in her grey eyes. She could actually understand the general's point, but with the bone marrow treatment from Skykru no grounder would ever be captured to be turned into a reaper or to be harvested for their blood.
"I cannot make any decision now, Yssa" Lexa spoke up again after a brief silence "Plans often do not last long in battle. But if there is a way to spare the innocents and give them a chance, we shall".
A slightly hopeful smile settled onto Taylor's features. She would not have expected any clearer words from Lexa actually and the commander had not outright ruled out that some Mountain Men could survive, so, she would go with this for now.
They fell silent again and continued walking for a while longer until they encountered the first scout. Taylor breathed out deeply, although she had not been hurt badly her body still hurt and walking was getting more and more strenuous.
The scouts' relief at spotting the commander herself leading the group was palpable in the air. They spoke of unrest in the army's camp. All of them had seen the missile soaring through the night sky from the Mountain and obviously the Azgeda delegation had already joined up with the army spreading news of the commander's supposedly death. Chaos had taken root in the camp and the different clans had directly been at each other's throats.
The scout Lexa heard the report from, a young man barely older than fifteen winters, told her that the generals who had made it back to the army's camp were holding a meeting in the commander's tent to decide how to move on now.
The commander angrily gritted her teeth, she could almost imagine the disappointment of some of her generals at discovering her survival.
Lexa urged the group on faster, eager to end the meeting her generals were having without her attendance. She feared they might just decide to march on the Mountain like that or attack Trikru. Most of the Trikru army had been stationed nearer to TonDC and all generals of Trikru travelled with her in this group at the moment. Trikru had suffered the most losses through the missile, she knew that without exact numbers, but it would make those who had survived, fight all the harder to avenge those that had been lost to Mountain.
The warriors who saw them approaching immediately started chanting Lexa's title in reverent voices. From the tent intended for the commander, shouts flittered through the tent's material.
Lexa did not even wait a heartbeat and stormed into the tent with purposeful strides.
Taylor and Anya entered the tent slightly behind the commander and Taylor watched the commander's antics, being slightly surprised by how powerful the young brunette suddenly appeared and that without even saying a single word yet.
The faces of the generals as they whirled around to the intruder were almost comical in their obvious shock.
Lexa carefully let her eyes scan over all of the assembled generals noting who looked genuinely relieved to see her and who barely managed to hide their displeasure.
Only three generals stood out among the others, the Azgeda general was among them which did not surprise the commander at all.
Taylor did not like how the man's light eyes seemed to switch from the commander and landed on her. His eyes narrowed down on herself and she felt a shiver run down her frame. Unexpectedly, she felt Anya stepping in front of her with a warning snarl, while the commander also glared at the man.
Lexa glared at all of them for having the audacity to believe in her death without proof and trying to plan a war without a real commander. The general's squirmed under her icy glare and when one opened his mouth to say something, the commander silenced him with a simple wave of her hand, simultaneously dismissing all of them for now.
After the generals had slowly filed out of the tent, a handmaid immediately entered the tent with a tray of food and drinks. Taylor was pleased to note that there also had been a tea included to help with her increased discomfort.
"What happens now?" Taylor asked once they were alone in the tent again.
For a moment she wondered if her and Anya staying so obviously in the commander's tent was actually a good idea. The Ice Nation general had very clearly already special interest in herself, same as part of Skykru and Taylor knew she would be dumb to assume that those were the only ones. She remembered how distrustful Titus had been in the show of Clarke simply because the commander was obviously keeping her so close, spending so much time with the blonde leader privately. Was she placing all of them in danger simply because she personally wanted to spend time with Lexa and Anya, getting to know the women both of them were beside their political and military stations?
"We wait" Lexa answered simply.
They all needed more rest. The signal that Bellamy had succeeded in dismantling the acid fog could come any moment now.
Tomorrow morning, they would hold a last meeting with all the generals to speak through the finer details of the plan. Lexa doubted that the plan Clarke had taken such pains to come up with would hold long into the battle. Plans never lasted long into battle and Taylor had already said to them that Clarke's plan was obviously not going to work out just how the blonde leader wanted it to. Every battle had a dynamic of its own, it was completely impossible to accurately predict the way in which your opponent would react. And it was impossible to come up with enough small details and backup plans to cover all possible scenarios. They had already started to come up with other options without including Clarke in them for now.
"Do you think it would be wise to tell Clarke of my knowledge?" Taylor asked, getting out of the coat she had been wearing for their journey and grimacing as the movement pulled on her stomach.
"Let me help" Anya interjected immediately, standing up swiftly and taking the coat with a slightly worried expression.
Lexa and Anya bandied a gaze quickly and both of them shook their head almost simultaneously.
"You know in the future I know of, you would have trusted Clarke, not yet, but after the Mountain" Taylor prompted. From her opinion it would be easier to work out some solutions, especially regarding Praimfaya, if they included Clarke into their "little circle".
Anya looked rather doubtful at that "She is nothing but an immature girl" she commented with a frown.
Taylor chuckled slightly under her breath. Anya had of course not seen Clarke and Lexa together as a couple and she wondered if the general would even have approved of them being together. She let the matter rest though and asked something else instead "Should I actually even stay within your tent?"
Lexa looked over with a slight frown "Why should you not?" she countered the question.
"In the future I saw, Titus would especially be against Clarke because of her relationship to you" Taylor tried to explain in a cautious tone.
The look of slight shock on Anya's features was almost comical "You and the Sky girl?!" she spoke up with clear puzzlement in her tone.
Lexa rolled her eyes at her previous mentor's words. For a second she had been a tad bit surprised that Taylor knew of her flamekeeper in Polis obviously and she wondered just how far ahead the doctor's knowledge of the future actually reached. She would ask her another time though. She felt a little bit dejected that Taylor seemed to wish for a separate accommodation "If you want to have a separate tent, you can get one right now" she said in a slightly cold tone.
Taylor pressed her lips together and took a deep breath as she had not meant her question like this at all. She got her feet again and walked over to Lexa. The commander had turned her back on her, seemingly looking through a chest next to the foot of the bed. Gently, she looped her arms around the young leader's midsection "This is not what I meant, Lexa" she said quietly, letting her forehead rest against the commander's shoulder "I do not want to cause any problems, that is all" she added a few seconds later.
Lexa's body seemed to release the slight tension again. Her voice was strong though, when she said "It is no one's business with whom I share my tent".
Taylor nodded in mute acknowledgement. They remained in that position just for a few moments longer, before she let go and sat back down, intent on eating something as well.
Anya had merely watched the exchange from the table without any comment. She knew of course that Taylor had a point and Lexa was well aware of this as well. But she also remembered just how often and seemingly endless she had held such a discussion with her former second before once the thing between Lexa and Costia had started. All of them could only hope now that they would manage to keep Taylor protected and that the blonde doctor would not suffer the same fate as Lexa's previous love.
"You might need a bigger bed though" Anya spoke up a little moment later, looking over at the narrow bed with a slight frown. They would need to work out some kind of dynamic soon.
Taylor who had just taken a sip from her tea, burst out laughing at the gobsmacked look on Lexa's features and she promptly chocked on the tea, spewing some of it over the table while she started to cough.
While Lexa stood up quickly and gently clapped on the blonde doctor's back with a little worry in her green eyes, Anya just shrugged "Or not".
Lexa glared slightly at her general while she waited for Taylor to be able to breathe again normally.
"Charming" Taylor commented with a frown in Anya's direction, giving the commander a look of gratitude.
In the end, Lexa and Taylor slept together on the bed, while Anya laid down just next to the bed.
On the next morning right after sunrise, a messenger asked for entrance to the commander's tent, waking them up rather abruptly.
Taylor rubbed at her eyes with a slight frown. The position she had woken up in, had most definitely not been the one she had asleep in. She had lied on the edge of the bed, one hand dangling down from the mattress and somehow Anya had been holding on to that hand while Lexa had one arm lying over her midsection from behind as they lied close to each other.
Lexa had gotten up quickly, but she sent the messenger away for a little while, needing to get presentable first and as long as Bellamy's signal had not been seen yet, they still had some time for breakfast as well.
Anya got up as well, while Taylor let herself fall back onto the mattress with a sigh. Her body definitely felt bruised all over and what she really would have wanted now was a hot bath and several more hours of sleep, but she of course knew that it was not to be right now. So, she got up reluctantly as well.
Finally, the messenger was granted entry into the commander's tent after they had eaten a small breakfast.
The survivors who had remained in TonDC had mostly cleared the ruins of those who had died on the impact of the missile. They had counted eighty-six corpses and a few had been brought to the Skykru's camp to be treated for severe wounds.
Lexa nodded with an unreadable expression and dismissed the messenger again, grinding her teeth together.
She knew that the death count would have been even higher if not for Taylor having started the fires. But losing so many without a real battle was still a heavy blow and the area would surely need aid from Polis in the upcoming winter to bring the survivors through the harsher months of winter without stocked supplies.
Taylor had gotten pale at the high number. She could not remember if the show actually ever specified just how high the losses after the missile attack had been. Had she even saved anyone?