Chapter 23
"I'll need paper and charcoal. I can draw you a detailed map of the inside. What I plan would cost the least amount of lives, but it would put myself and a few others in danger. I am not sure that you are willing to risk who I ask for, but I will still tell you my plan. As it is, I will execute it with or without your help. The Mountain will fall in the next week if I can manage it. However it would be easier to know that those we release would see a familiar and friendly face as they leave," Clarke stated.
"What is your proposition, Clarke?" Lexa pushed.
"I know about your hemorrhagic fever that the Trikru uses as a way to thin out your foes. I want to use that against the Mountain. I know that they have never been exposed to it, so they should have no immunity to it. Among my group, Octavia has a natural immunity. She doesn't get sick, but she is a carrier. Raven and I are slow to show any symptoms. Which means that we would make it inside and through their quarantine periods before we would be symptomatic. This will mean that the entire Mountain will be infected quickly. This will make it easier for us to do what it is that we need to do."
"Which is?"
"I know that those that have been exposed and infected don't tend to get it again," Clarke said.
"That tends to be the case, most of the time. However there are times that others get it again, but they don't suffer as badly. They usually get over it in a day or two," Lexa explained. "Why?"
"I would like to expose the team I have with me to it, soon."
Lexa cocked an eyebrow at that. She wasn't sure where Clarke was going with this, but she was surprised at the fact that Clarke wanted to purposefully expose her people to the infection. She cocked her head and studied the blonde. She was unlike anyone she'd ever met, emotional but ruthless, calm but chaotic. She was willing to do whatever it was that needed to be done to save people, but she was including Lexa's people, people that didn't know her, her ways, or her people, in that grouping. Clarke was willing to suffer to save people she'd never met.
"Anya," Lexa said as she looked into Anya's copper eyes. "Get with the wochas and find a child who is sick."
"You're already agreeing?" Clarke questioned.
"It isn't a matter of agreeing with you, Clarke. I need to know what villages are exposed, but it does sound like a good thing to do. This immunity you speak of for your people. I am not sure that I like the idea of sending you into the Mountain exposed and possibly ill. But, I understand the point behind doing such a thing. As for exposing your team now, it will help delay any symptoms you might have once you are inside, yes?" Lexa inquired.
"It would."
"Then, this is just a step in your plan. Please continue," Lexa stated. "Anya, will be back momentarily. She will send Tris with a scroll. I doubt she will have to go far."
"She won't," Clarke answered.
"You know of a village?"
"TonDC should have a child or children that are exposed."
"How?" Lexa asked as Anya paused at the door.
"You used it against us. Well, Anya did. We banished one of our own before, but not this time. He was captured and tortured to get information. He was beaten, exposed and sent back with a message that Anya and her army were coming to kill us all. We had failed in our talks and you wished for us all to be dead. We were still small in numbers, maybe around ninety at the time, but you still wanted to see what this would do to us. For three days we suffered and on the fourth, Tristan, not Anya led the attack. She was there, but because of the failed talks and other incidents, you relieved her of her command."
"This is why she wanted to bring you to me after your escape in that lifetime?" Lexa posed.
"Yes, it was. She saw me as a worthy opponent and knew that her bringing me to you would elevate her status again. I'm sorry to say that she was the only one to survive that fight. We killed the three hundred warriors that you sent, including Tristan. Although, he didn't die in the battle. He was killed after bringing you Bellamy as a war prize by those in the Mountain. Lincoln saved Bellamy and killed the Mountain men. Because of Lincoln helping him and warning us of what was to come, he was labeled a traitor, so he came with us. Eventually..." Clarke stopped there, pausing and Octavia reached over to touch her this time. Lexa wasn't sure it meant, but she knew that it was something between them.
Instead of Clarke continuing, Octavia did. "Lincoln and I became niron. He was trying to save me. He knew that I had the Gonakeyron (Warrior Spirit) and that he should be able to keep me, sort of as a war prize. He knew that he would need appeal to you, after he went to Indra. Unfortunately, things didn't happen that way. He took me to my people, those still in stars, after they landed. It took me a lot and Bellamy to convince them that he wasn't going to kill them all in their sleep. By the time, we knew that Clarke and Anya had survived. Raven was injured but working. Finn lost his mind, and Indra had been watching me because of all the reports that Lincoln had sent to her."
"So, you wish to use Lincoln again?" Lexa questioned looking more at Octavia than Clarke.
"We know that he'll be selected to become a reaper. I would like to leave him out of it, but he has already started to fall in love with Octavia. I would not keep them from each other. Besides, I know that the first person that she'll free would be him."
"Who else would you take?"
"Anya, if she agreed."
"Why my general?"
"Because I know that she can sustain at least two treatments and still be able to fight. And, I also know that the people in the cages would be more prone to believe her because she is your general rather than myself, Lincoln or Octavia. I can get her to look the part, act the part, and be Trikru, but I can't make your people believe her words without someone else to back them up," Clarke stated.
"Ai laik Skairipa," Octavia added. "I can make them listen, but I will not have a token from you or anyone else to make them believe me. They will strip us all down to nothing. We will not even have clothes for the first few hours. I have nothing to prove that I am who I say I am except my word. If you don't believe me, why would they? And, being a night blood, I can't expose myself to them without causing a disturbance afterwards. Being from the Wanhedakru will protect us from the wrath of some, but we also understand that those like Nia, who crave power, will come for us to control us, so that she would be able to control the next conclave. She already has Ontari in her pocket. What do you think that she would do with three more from the sky?"
"That is if she doesn't kill you first," Lexa quipped.
"At least in two lifetimes, she hasn't," Octavia replied. "Nia decided to keep us close to her, to do her biding and to protect her. In exchange, she didn't kill all of Skaikru. We didn't attack her. We didn't speak out against her. We followed her lead and Skaikru would be spared. All we had to do was support her and Ontari. It wasn't an easy life and we tried to use Raven to save us, but Nia doesn't believe in science and that another Praimfaya is coming. In each of those lives, it became Nia that caused the fall of Man. We all died because of her."
"Your blood didn't help?"
"It doesn't matter if the blood will save us, if there is nothing on Earth to sustain us," Clarke told her in Trig. "This is the fight we have. We can save some with the blood, like Becca, yes. But, it will not save us all. And, those that are saved won't be able to survive on the surface without help in the bunkers. First we take Mount Weather and we let Raven make it better. Then we work on the temple and the bunker there in Polis. We start filling them and we prepare to survive the coming Praimfaya. We cannot stop it, but we can survive it. But, we will need every clans help. To do that the Mountain must fall."
"And, Wanheda must be born to my people. They will follow you to safety because you command death. They will follow me because you will it that I should live. We will be supporting each other and we will save the people," Lexa reasoned out.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. That is exactly what I want. The fall of the Mountain will cause me to bear the title of Wanheda, as it does in every life, but without you supporting us, we all fail. We need the Mountain to survive. I know that it isn't what you want, but we need it."
"Continue, we will discuss that later," Lexa replied.
"Once they start being symptomatic, Octavia will break out and get into their air system. She is uniquely qualified for this. While doing this, she will get Raven parts to a radio and get Bellamy free. Bellamy will get to the harvest chamber and free two people in there, Anya and a warrior spy for Nia named Echo. Don't worry about her loyalty, she'll defect to me. She will help Anya free the rest of the prisoners. Bellamy will head for the acid fog machine to destroy it. Raven will be working her way with me to the control room to dismantle the Mountain from the inside. Once there, Raven will be able to direct us into fighting those that aren't too sick. Octavia will be heading to the harvest area to free Lincoln and get us the information on what the 'Red' is some that we can start to detox once we've taken the Mountain. Once the tunnels are secure, we've taken the harvest chamber and control run over, I plan on opening the door and allowing your armies to enter. They will be able to kill a few guards and help us secure the Mountain. The bulk of the people will be on level five hiding in their mess hall," Clarke told her.
"Why there?"
"It is the deepest and most inner communal room they have. It will house most of their people and they'll be able to defend it against everything but the outside air. It has its own air scrubbers. They would stay in there for days with no issues. It is attached to their farm and kitchens. That is their fallback position, but I'm going to take it from them," Clarke stated.
"How?"
"I'm going to reverse their air flow causing our air, which is toxic to them, to circulate in there. However before I do that, I am going to cull them. Those that will be helpful, the children, and the those chose to fight back will be moved to a secured airlock on level three. It is near the tunnels and harvest chamber but they don't know that anyone but Cage Wallace, their leader's psycho son; Dr. Tsing, their crazy healer; and a few guards including one named Emerson know about it. I plan on using it against them. I want those three there. I want them to have the cure."
"Why?" Anya asked as she heard the anger seeping into Clarke's voice.
"Because they will die by a thousand cuts as it written in kongeda law for the lives that they took. They will suffer in public for Heda to show that the Mountain has fallen. I want them to live so that you can have your justice, so your people can have their justice, and so all will know that Wanheda felled the Mountain and delivered their leaders to Heda at Heda's request," Clarke explained to them.
Lexa didn't answer her. She knew that she had a lot to think about. What Clarke was proposing put mostly her people in the fray, while allowing Lexa's warriors to reap the benefits of Clarke's deception. She heard stories of this before. Defeat the enemy from within. It wasn't considered cowardly in most situations. And, it wouldn't in this one considering that she would have a weakened army already inside the Mountain that would need to be armed.
"Would you arm those that are inside to help you?"
"If they could fight, yes, I would. It would give you more men inside to fight for the kogeda. It would also let the stories of what happened to spread faster because they would not only just be witnesses to the Mountain's fall, they would have helped in it. This would lead more testimony that this was your idea, Heda. No one would question it, but it would also require some sacrifices from you."
"In the form of my best scout and my best general," Lexa mused.
"Yes."
"I'll do it for you, Heda. I am not afraid of the Mountain," Anya stated. "If the Skaigada got me out once, I believe she will do it again."
"Chof, Onya," Clarke replied.
Anya dipped her head and then turned to Lexa, "Listen to her, Heda. She means to keep you in power and support you. I'll send Indra to TonDC to find the sick child. We both know that it will be more proof that she is Wanheda."
"You've given me information to bring down Nia as well," Lexa stated.
"I have."
"You have no love for her?" Lexa questioned.
"No, I don't."
"Why?"
Octavia answered instead, "Because we've both fought in her ice pits just for the right to live. No matter how many times we gave up, we still fought. She used us against each other, but she would never let us fight each other. She needed leverage. Without the other, we wouldn't fight. She is smart, but sometimes she over thinks. In the end, it was Ontari that freed us. I wouldn't mind seeing her dead, but I know that you need proof of her lies and treatary, since Costia's death can't be avenged per kongeda law."
"And, what do you have as such?"
"I know that you keep Roan in Polis, hidden and use him for...let's say special missions that can't be seen to be sanctioned by Heda. She would not hesitate to kill him if she thought it would make her look better in the eyes of the people. You hide him to protect him, but also to punish her for Costia. It is a double-edged sword. He is not his mother. He isn't out for power or bloodthirsty, but he is Azgedian," Clarke added.
"And, you would have me use him against his mother?" Lexa questioned.
"No, I would have you have him confirm that his mother broke the law by keeping Ontari. He won't be able to lie to the ambassadors. His word would be seen as subjective being that you banished him, but Azgeda would have to chose who to support in that matter, their queen or their Heda. It would be an impossible task for them. They don't support you, but if the ambassador doesn't step up, all of Azgeda would forfeit their place in the Kongeda. You could name Roan king in her place and Azgeda would split," Clarke explained. "Not all of Azgeda supports their queen, but they are afraid of her. Give them a reason and someone to stand behind and they'll fight for you. It would cause a bloody civil war, but it would also bring Azgeda into the fold completely."
"And, Ontari?" Anya inquired.
"Would have to be taught the truth," Octavia stated. "She would still want Lexa dead. That wouldn't change, but she is still young. Barely, what, sixteen, seventeen summers? We could take her and break her down until she saw reason. We wouldn't hurt her or torture her, but she would believe it was. She needs to see beyond the walls of Troi and the Kingdom of Ice. She needs to see the world and what she could help be prosperous. Once she knows about the rest of the world and how it functions, truly and not by what the Azplana taught her, she will come into the fold and foreswear her birthright in the conclave."
"You can make this happen?" Lexa asked them as she stood up.
"You give us what we need and we will make it happen," Clarke assured them.
Lexa looked to Raven. She'd been quiet. She hadn't spoken up about any of this. Instead, she'd been working on her tek. It intrigued her immensely. She saw that Raven had a big personality and she didn't seem to back down, but she only spoke when it was necessary. It puzzled Lexa. She saw that Octavia spoke up when she felt it was appropriate and even when it wasn't. She heard more snark from the "Little Bird" in their first meeting. This time she was subdued and reserved more. She wondered what happened in that time.
"When Indra returns, we will finalize your plans. I will need to see the child first. Also, we will need maps or drawings of the Mountain. You said that you could produce those. Will you?" Lexa asked her.
"Yes."
"I want to move your people here to Belle, to begin learning more and assimilating to our ways. It is a small village, so it would be overburdened by your presence. Is this acceptable?"
"Yes," Clarke answered.
"Then, I will send Anya with you or some of your people to start bring the others here. I know that Lincoln will help them prepare. I will send wagons and horses to help bring all your supplies with you. I know that you have worked hard in these few days, and you will continue to work hard. The housing and such will have to come apart and be rebuilt here. We should start moving now, before the Mountain knows."
"I need to send Raven with them. I don't trust anyone else to protect our radio during the move. I will also send Monroe and Harper. They are Octavia's captains. The people will listen to them. I will need to send a note as well."
"I understand. Anya will take you to my tent and get you situated with whatever you need for your note and the maps. Octavia and I will speak with Denea. She is the wocha of this village," Lexa told her. "I would like to speak with Raven before she leaves for your 'drop ship'."
Clarke turned and looked at Raven, but nodded in her assent. Raven nodded as well. They all stood and moved towards the tent's entrance. Clarke moved closer to Raven's side. She spoke softly to her as they exited. Lexa overheard some minor directions and orders for her to give those who were left behind.
"Clarke, if you will," Lexa stated as she headed for away for one of the houses.
Clarke nodded and followed. Gustus hot on their heels. Anya turned to the other two. "This way," she said as she led them through the village to the horses and where the rest of their team was with Tris.