Chapter 9
The next morning Sol and Rory went on a hunt with some warriors. Rory was being taught to find food and medicinal plants, so she was going along to find some. Sol was being taught to hunt so this was a test for her. They went up towards the bridge they'd used to cross the river a few days ago.
"This is where a lot of deer and boar cross the river around here," said Torvan.
"Are we crossing the bridge?" asked Sol.
"No. We go slightly north of it. There is a good hunting place where we can get some deer, rabbits, squirrels and some birds. We get deer first and others later."
They stopped and watched as a large stag was walking by some trees. Suddenly the deer bolted and some warriors came into view.
"Azgeda!" hissed Torvan. "They should not be here!" They watched as the Azgeda made their way towards the bridge. Luckily for the Trikru warriors and Sol and Rory, they had moved off to the east to get to the hunting place. Now, they saw the Azgeda warriors standing by the bridge as if they were waiting for someone or something. After a few minutes, another person approached from the other side.
The Azgeda spoke to the other person and there were nods and an agreement seemed to be made. The Azgeda motioned to the trees they'd come from and two more warriors came into view with a line of prisoners, roped together with wooden yokes on their shoulders and around their necks.
"Slavers!" hissed Torvan. The other warriors nodded and a few low grumbles were heard.
"What do we do?" whispered Sol.
"We kill them and the one they are selling our people to," said Torvan, pulling his sword from its scabbard. "Stay here, Sol, Rory." With that the Trikru warriors melted into the woods. Sol and Rory watched as the prisoners were pushed towards the slaver and handed over. The slaver reached out for their ropes when he suddenly flew backwards from the impact of an arrow into his throat. That was the signal and the Trikru warriors fell upon the Azgeda, cutting them down with speed borne of surprise. Soon it was all over and the Trikru warriors were victorious. The prisoners were guided back to the bank and a few of the warriors crept over the bridge and moved down until they found the slaver's camp. They killed the two guards left there and freed the twelve prisoners found there, all Trikru.
Sol and Rory came out of their hiding place and walked over to the Trikru.
"Aarghh!" yelled Rory. Sol spun around and saw an arrow piercing Rory's leg through her calf. She looked up as an Azgeda warrior ran at her, she didn't even think, she raised her sword and ran him through. She pulled her sword out and watched as he fell to the ground, gurgling as he died.
"Sol!" said Rory. Sol turned around and saw Rory on the ground with the arrow tip protruding from her leg.
"Shit! Rory, are you okay?"
"Apart from the arrow in my leg, just peachy!" Rory said. Sol looked around.
"Anyone know about healing?" They shook their heads. "Dammit! We need to get you back to the village and get that arrow out. We may need to contact the Ark and get Abby to help."
"How? I can't even stand up!"
"I know, we'll have to carry you. Wish we were nearer that store we found, then maybe we could find a stretcher and more first aid supplies," Sol said, wistfully. Torvan came over.
"I can send you with Josalie. She can guide you to the place and help you bring back what you need." Sol looked at Rory and nodded.
"I'll be back as soon as I can, Rory and then we'll get you back to Tondc." Rory nodded.
"Don't be long," she said. Sol nodded and she and Josalie moved off. Torvan made Rory as comfortable as she could be and suggested she sleep. Rory agreed and lay down.
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Sol and Josalie reached the store an hour and a half later. Sol immediately went to the shelves with backpacks on it and began stuffing one with medical supplies. Josalie watched and waited. Sol then turned and picked up a scoop stretcher and a few blankets. She stuffed the blankets into another bag and passed it to Josalie, helping her to put it on and tightening the straps and fastening the waist strap. Sol then grabbed a large med bag and gave it to Josalie to carry as well. Sol picked up the stretcher and motioned for Josalie to start back. It took another two hours to get back. Sol dumped her packs and the stretcher and helped Josalie out of hers.
"Mochof, Josalie," Sol said. Josalie nodded and moved off to get water for them both. Sol took the medical bag and the backpack over to Rory who was still asleep. Sol opened the backpack and pulled out a thermometer. She placed it under Rory's tongue and waited for a minute and then pulled it out and looked at it. 100.6. Dammit.
"Does Azgeda poison their arrows?" Sol asked.
"Sometimes, why?" asked Torvan.
"Rory's running a temperature. It may be a sign of poisoning."
"So what do we do?"
"Get some water into her and then get her back to Tondc. We need Nyko's help." Torvan nodded and went off to get some cold water for Rory.
"Hey, Rory?" said Sol, gently shaking her.
"Ughh, stop," said Rory.
"Sorry, Rory, but you need to drink and then we'll take you back to Tondc, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Rory said. Torvan handed the cup of cold water to Rory who drank it all. Sol then placed the stretcher beside Rory and placed a blanket on it. She folded up another blanket for a pillow and placed that on the stretcher as well. Torvan and Sol helped Rory get onto the stretcher and lay down. Sol grabbed two of the splints she found in the medpack and tied them to Rory's leg as best she could. It would help stabilise her leg. She then gently and carefully bandaged all around the arrow and arrowhead, cushioning it for the ride back to Tondc. A third blanket was placed over Rory who had fallen back to sleep. Sol put her hand on Rory's forehead and felt the sweat dripping down her head. She had Torvan send someone ahead as they followed as quickly as they could without hurting Rory.
It took another two hours to get back to Tondc. She was met by Jake, Raven and Anya.
"We need Nyko," Sol said. Anya nodded and went off to get him.
The two warriors carrying Rory, placed her down gently. Sol thanked them and they moved off. Sol and Raven immediately felt her head and Sol pulled out the thermometer again. This time, her temperature was higher - 101.3.
"Raven, we may need Abby's help," Raven nodded and waited until Sol told her to fire up the radio. Nyko came over.
"Nyko, Rory was hit in the leg by an Azgeda arrow. The head has come out the front. She's running a temperature and the arrow may have been poisoned." Nyko nodded with each piece of information and got to work. He checked the arrow and tested it for poison. He found it was an arrow that had been dipped in poison, but it was fading so Rory did not get a full dose. If she could fight it off, she would pull through.
"How do we take the arrow out?" asked Jake.
"We cut off the back of the arrow and shove it through," said Sol, "it's the only way." Jake winced.
"Can we call Abby?"
"Only if we can't get the arrow out," said Sol. "This is Nyko's expertise, not Abby's. We have no hospital down here and no equipment. Nyko works under these conditions all the time and he's dealt with arrow wounds as well. He's in charge of Rory until he says he can't help her." Jake nodded. Abby would be wanting a hospital and full range of equipment to use and there wasn't any.
We need to reduce her fever," said Nyko, looking through his bundle of medicines. He brought out a small pouch of medicine and asked for a cup of hot water into which he carefully measured out the powdery medicine and dumped it in. He handed it to Jake and asked him to stir it until it had all dissolved. Meanwhile, he was unwrapping Rory's leg and checking it for excess bleeding.
"It looks like a clean wound," said Nyko. "We need to cut the arrow off and then pull the arrowhead out. When we do, it'll start bleeding again." Sol grabbed some gauze in sealed packets from the large medkit and tore the ripstrip at the top of the packet and then waited. She wouldn't take it out until it was needed. Indra and Anya came over and held Rory down while Nyko cut the arrow and pulled it out. Rory yelled and fainted, but Nyko got it all out. Sol immediately slapped the gauze onto the wound on both sides and pressed firmly. Nyko mixed some more medicine into a paste and put it on Rory's open wounds before wrapping her leg in another bandage. After that, they woke her up and gave her the fever reducer. Now it was just wait and see. They all agreed that if Rory's temperature rose above 102 degrees, they would contact Abby, otherwise they'd wait.
Rory was taken into the tent she shared with Raven. Each person would take a shift sitting with her. No matter how long it took, they would be there for her.
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The next morning Rory woke up. Sol was called and she took Rory's temperature again. 101.1. It was slowly going down. Nyko had said that it could be this way for a couple of days. They asked him if he would be okay if they radioed the Ark and got Abby's opinion. He'd been told that Abby was their head healer, so he didn't mind.
Raven fired up the radio and put the call through to the Ark. Harper answered and immediately called Abby to come talk to them.
Abby came to the radio room in Orchid and sat down.
"What's the problem?" she asked.
"Raven's calling. Rory got injured yesterday and they want your opinion. Nyko, the healer down there, has given her fever reducers and took the arrow out of her leg, but there's a small trace of poison on the arrow," Harper explained. Abby held out her hand for the mike.
"Raven?"
"I'm here, Abby."
"Harper's told me what happened. I want to know her temperature if you know it."
"Last night it spiked at 101.8, but it's coming down now and as of 34 minutes ago, it was 101.1. Nyko said it could take a couple of days for the poison to run its course. He's preparing another dose of fever reducer before he looks at the wound again."
"What happened for her to get an arrow in her leg?"
"Sol and Rory had gone out with a hunting party, but they came across Azgeda warriors selling slaves to a slave trader. Our warriors killed the Azgeda while Sol and Rory kept out of it. After it was over, they made their way over to our warriors, but a lone Azgeda had snuck up behind them and shot Rory through the leg. Sol had to kill him before he could kill Rory."
"Is Sol okay?"
"She's coming to terms with what she had to do, but she'll be alright," said Raven.
"Okay. I don't see that there's anything else I can suggest," said Abby.
"She went back to one of the stores we found and picked up some medical supplies, a first aid medkit, a stretcher and some blankets, so we've got a few supplies," said Raven.
"What do you have?"
"We've been using the thermometer, but most everything else is electrical. Pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuff, ear thermometer, it's all electrical. What can we use to sterilise the thermometer in between uses?"
"Clean it by washing it in a solution of lukewarm soapy water, then rinse in cool water before drying it with a clean towel or cloth."
I don't think we've got any soap here," explained Raven.
"Then you can use alcohol instead," said Abby.
"Okay."
"Good. Call if you need anything else. I'll tell the Blakes and you can expect them to call to see how she is."
"I know, but without visual proof, they're going to worry."
"It's family, Raven, you always worry."
"True. I'll sign off now and wait for them to contact me."
"Okay, bye."
"Bye, Abby." Raven shut the radio down and waited.
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On the Ark
Abby went in search of the Blakes. She checked in Factory with Bellamy's quarters first, but got no answer. She next went to Erin and Octavia's quarters. Both Blakes were there.
"Hey, Abby, come on in," said Erin when she opened the door.
"Thanks," said Abby entering.
"What can we do for you?" Erin asked.
"Actually I need to speak with the Blakes," she said as she sat down.
"What's up?" asked Octavia.
"Raven called about an hour ago. Your mom's been injured. She's fine. But she was shot with an arrow and wounded in the leg." Bellamy shot to his feet.
"Is she alright?" he asked, fearfully.
"Yes, Bellamy. The arrow was poisoned but the healer there, Nyko, took the arrow out and gave her a fever reducer and put some antibiotic paste onto the wounds. That's all they can do down there. Rory's asleep right now, but I told Raven to expect your call." Bellamy nodded as Octavia got up.
"We'll head over there right now," she said. Abby nodded and the Blakes left.
"How is she, really?" asked Erin.
"There's no cure for that poison, but Nyko says it was an old dose."
"Meaning?"
"The arrow was coated in poison several months ago and so it has lost most of its potency. She was lucky, Erin. She could be dead right now."
"Okay, no telling the Blakes that part," said Erin, more to herself than Abby. "Is there anything you can do?" she asked Abby.
"Not really. Without seeing the wound and examining it myself, I have no idea what it's like."
"Pity they haven't any cameras down there," said Erin.
"There's a thought," said Abby. "I wonder if they can find any. Raven's very good at mechanics and electrics according to Jake."
"Maybe. Maybe they can call the Ark instead and try to incorporate their radios and electronics," Erin mused.
"Well, I've got to get back to work. I'll see you, Erin." With that, she got up and left.
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Abby told both Clarke and Kane about Rory and Harper told Monty. Now they were waiting for the Blakes to report back. Meanwhile Kane was wondering how he could get them to radio the Ark instead and only use the secret radio for secret meetings to decide what to do. Those on the ground including the clans also had a say in what was going to happen. Kane knew they couldn't just land anywhere and claim it for their own like they tried to do last time. This time they needed to negotiate for a piece of land. He hoped the Commander was willing to do that. Maybe a small island along the coast or something.
The news was a little better when the Blakes finally returned an hour later. Rory's temperature had dropped again to 100.5. It was slowly going down and as long as it did, they would keep doing the same things - fever reducers and antibiotic paste. Nyko had said that they would attempt to close the wound when she was a little more stable, but probably later that day. The Blakes said they had wanted Abby to be by the radio listening in on what was being done. She agreed and wanted to know what else was in that large medpack and the backpack that Sol had brought back. If there were any suture kits in there, they could use them. They would probably be more sterile than anything the clans had, surely!
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On the ground
Raven was thinking of the same thing. They really needed to call the Ark itself and get people to realise the extent of Jaha's deception. If Kane announced that he's found evidence of Jaha sending people to the ground with an unusable radio, it would go a long way to people figuring it out for themselves. Once radio communication with the Ark was established, they could do things officially. Negotiating with the Commander was the first thing they needed to do, the second thing was to make sure that those child prisoners were looked after and not left to die in the skybox when the stations came down.
Raven also wondered if the Exodus ships could be made to return to the Ark. If they could then they could in theory, bring down everyone and leave the stations in space. That would be a better choice as they wouldn't be littering the Earth with space debris and fragments of space stations, plus everyone would survive, so that was a bonus. They wouldn't burn down a village by sending rockets up and 320 people would not have to die because the council pushed too fast on the culling.
Raven also knew that some of the people up there were just plain xenophobic - against anyone who wasn't just like themselves. No, some of them would deliberately go out with the intention of killing any they came across. The incident with Rory would prove to them that no grounder was to be trusted and all grounders wanted the space people to die. They would use any excuse to justify what they wanted to do. Shumway and Pike were two examples of that with Jaha a close third. Hopefully now that Kane remembered, he would negotiate and try to get them a piece of land they could live on. Raven would make sure that Kane knew not to try to claim it for themselves, but rather the land they lived on would still be Trikru land, the Skaikru were just being allowed to live there.
The Arkers needed to be told sooner rather than later about those already living on the ground. The sooner they got that into their heads, the better. The more time they had to get used to the idea that humanity survived on the planet. That those in space were not the last of humanity, but just another group that survived. Raven hoped a war would be avoided, but she was realistic to know that some of them were just plain troublemakers who enjoyed making other people miserable.
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Rory was awake and in pain. Nyko had given her the strongest painkiller he could, but with the fever reducer, he couldn't give her enough to stop the pain. When it was explained to her, she nodded and said she would get through it. Nyko nodded at the strong woman. He'd known warriors who practically cried out in agony when in pain, but this woman was being quietly stoic about it all. He admired her for that.
By the afternoon, her temperature had dropped further, down to 99.0. Nyko said it was time to close the wound. Raven had consulted with the other space born people on the ground and they'd decided to call the Command centre instead. Raven fired up the radio and dialled the frequency down until she found one mid range for the Ark.
"Come in Ark, Come in Ark, anyone there?" She waited and then repeated the message.
"This is the Ark, who's this?"
"Raven Reyes, I'm from Mecha. Please put whoever is in charge on."
"Raven, this is Chancellor Kane."
"CHANCELLOR Kane? What happened to Jaha?"
"He was arrested for treason. I'm now in charge."
"Okay, well the four people you… err, he sent down are alive." There was commotion in the Command centre. To be told that four people had been sent down was one thing, but to hear from them was another. It made it more real.
"Who are you?"
"Raven Reyes, Jake Griffin, Solange Armstrong and Aurora Blake, but she goes by Rory down here."
"And you are all okay?"
"Rory was injured. Look Kane, we're not alone down here. There are people living here. There's a whole culture down here already. We are not the last of humanity, it was already surviving down here."
"People survived the war? What about the radiation?"
"I think the scientists that came up with those figures overestimated that. After all they based those numbers on people coming up from the ground BEFORE the war started. No new ships or shuttles arrived afterwards, did they? So I think they used the normal human body to estimate. Those on the ground survived. Oh, whole loads of them died out but a few survived. Those that did made a new life for themselves and built a life and culture, one not using technology as that was what started the war in the first place. These people live on the land, they hunt and forage for their food, they live in towns and villages and they lead a mostly peaceful life. This is their land, Kane and if you want to come down, you are going to have to negotiate with the Commander of the 12 clans of the Kongeda."
"This will take some thought, Raven."
"I know, but right now I need to talk to Dr Abby Griffin. Rory was injured and we need to close the wound." Abby walked in, having been summoned to the Command centre by Sinclair - Jake's replacement.
"Abby, Jake's alive. He was sent to the ground by Jaha along with three others. One of them is injured."
"Jake's alive?" she said, pretending she didn't know.
"Yes, but right now they need you. One of the women is injured and Raven was talking about needing to close the wound."
"Raven?" said Abby.
"I'm here, Dr Griffin," said Raven. "Let me tell you what happened and then you can listen in on what Nyko's doing. If you think there should be something more or something else he should do too, let me know."
"Go ahead," said Abby, listening. Raven told her what she already knew with Abby asking the same questions and Raven giving the same answers.
"Okay," said Abby. "Hold the radio near to Nyko so I can hear what he's doing." Raven did so, only commenting occasionally when Nyko was quiet. Eventually it was finished and Rory's leg was stitched up. She was now on bed rest for a few days to give the wound time to heal a little before she was allowed to get up and try to walk. Abby had suggested she use crutches to get about, but not to put too much pressure on her leg until the wound was healed. Rory agreed and Sol said she'd take another trip to the survival store to see if there were any. If not, they'd have to try to make some for her. Abby agreed and then asked to speak to Jake. Raven handed the radio over and the two of them had a conversation that was not so private.
After that, Raven and Kane spoke about trying to get pictures as well as sound, but Raven pointed out that she had to build the radio from scratch and she didn't know how to incorporate pictures as well without a basic framework for it. Raven said she'd talk to Jake about it and Sinclair said he'd try to find a solution as well. They signed off and Kane stood there, thinking through all the problems this could cause and all the problems it would solve.
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On the Ark
Kane turned around.
"So, people, what do you think?"
"There are really people on the ground?" asked one of the technicians.
"Yes, you heard that healer, Nyko."
"No, I meant our people. I know you said that you'd sent people down, but I never really believed it. I never realised we could survive down there now."
"I'm going to have to investigate just what Jaha did. I want to know if anyone else has been sent down. So, let's figure out how we are going to get all of our people to the ground. We also need to negotiate with this Commander for a piece of land we can live on. How many can the exodus ships and dropships hold? Can we build some more of them? There are a lot of questions to ask and answer, people, let's get to it. Sinclair, Abby, and myself will go through what we've discovered so far and see if we can build more ships to get us to the ground. Find Commander Shumway too and get him here."
"What about showing this to the rest of the Ark, Sir?"
"We will, but I want to find out what Jaha did before that."
"Yes, Sir."
"Sinclair, check to see what we have that can be used to build another exodus ship. If we are going to the ground, which stations can we cannibalise to make that ship. What systems do we need, where do we get them from?" Sinclair nodded and got to work.
"Abby, are we okay with getting the medical stuff packed up for our trip to the ground?"
"We can get it done," she replied.
"Good," Kane said as Shumway came into the Commander Centre.
"You wanted to see me… Chancellor?" Shumway asked with only a slight hesitation on his title.
"Yes. We've been contacted by those Jaha sent to the ground." Shumway was surprised by that and it showed on his face.
"Chancellor Jaha sent people to the ground, Sir?"
"Yes he did. They've contacted us to tell us that there are people already living there and have been ever since the war ended. We are not the last hope for humanity." Kane watched Shumway for any little sign that he already knew that.
"I didn't know, Sir."
"I know, Commander, but I need you to find the saboteur who trashed their radio. It seems Jaha has an accomplice."
"And what do I do when I find them?"
"Put them in the skybox in solitary confinement. I want to talk to them." Shumway nodded and moved off to find them.
"We'll meet at 5pm tonight in the council chambers, okay, Abby, Sinclair?" Both nodded and left.
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At the meeting, Sinclair stated that if they emptied out one of the stations, they could use most of it to make another ship. It would only hold about 75 people, but it was better than nothing. Kane knew that it would be the dropship that they used last time to send the kids down to the ground. Kane nodded.
"Do it," he said to Sinclair. "I want at least one of those ships built, two would be better or one bigger ship if you can." Sinclair nodded and wrote something on his mini computer.
"Abby, do we have enough places to put people who are injured? I'm thinking about stretchers and stuff like that."
"Yes, we can do that, but a stretcher will take up at least two spaces, Kane. It would be better to have more space than we need, just in case." Kane pondered on it and agreed.
"Sinclair, you need to find more materials for a bigger ship. What if we empty out, say Farm station? It's one of the biggest and there would be plenty of metal and materials to make a bigger ship."
"Yes, Sir, but that's a lot of people to move."
"I know and we can't move them just yet, but other than factory, that's the biggest one. Alpha has the Command Centre, Orchid is mostly empty, but it's a small station. I'm not sure how to do this."
"What if we used some of the smaller stations to make one big ship?" asked Abby. "Like you said, Orchid is almost empty. What if we fill it up with anyone from say, Flint, Arrow and maybe the prison as well. If we pardon most of those kids, but keep the violent ones confined somehow, then we could use that station too. That's three stations to use to make one big ship. How many could a ship hold if it's built from those three?"
Sinclair took some time to work out how much materials he could use from them.
"I could probably build a ship to hold about 400."
"With the other ships, how many could we get to the ground?"
"Probably around a thousand, maybe 1200 if we cram people in," said Sinclair.
"Still not enough," said Kane, running his hand through his hair.
"Any chance we can get it to return to the Ark to pick up more people?"
"I'd have to look into that, Sir, but it's more a fuel restriction."
"Check into it anyway, please, Jacapo. I want to save everyone." Sinclair nodded, pleased that he was thinking of everyone.
"Abby, can you check on what supplies we need to take down? If we need to, we'll leave some stuff behind to fit everyone on those ships. Raven said she found a survival store and raided it. If there's one store, there may be others. We can get more on the ground, but we need everyone to survive." They agreed and the meeting was adjourned.
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On the ground
Sol was sitting in the tent with Rory who was currently asleep. Sol had pulled out her family chest and was looking through it, trying to solve the riddles her ancestor had used to keep the bunker a secret. There were maps with places circled - courtesy of her father, bits of paper her father used to try to work out the puzzles and the diaries of all the family line going back to her great-great grandfather who was one of those top military people who devised and helped to build the bunker. He had built dozens of bunkers according to the official records, but unknown to his bosses, he'd had the bunkers all interconnected to make one huge bunker. Now it was up to her to solve the riddles and find that bunker. If what the Commander, Anya and Indra said, this second deathwave would kill everyone. That bunker was a way for all of them to survive and with the help of the Skaikru - as the Trikru called them - they could maintain the bunkers once in use. Skaikru would earn their keep in the bunker while other clans would farm or raise animals and other things. Things that some of the Skaikru would want to learn. In a few years - or however long it took for the world to recover - they'd need to know this stuff if they wanted to survive afterwards.
Sol had the maps spread out and was looking at the first puzzle clue. Sic transit Gloria Mundi. She knew it was latin but she didn't know what it meant. Gloria could mean glorious and she knew mundi was 'world', but the first part, she didn't know. So she had 'glorious world'. Next clue was "Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the Newborn King." There was that word again, glory, what was it with that word? None of it made any sense. She put those clues aside and picked up one of the maps. She saw one place that was circled, Dupont Circle. She looked closer and saw that Dupont Circle was a huge circle for traffic. She looked closer and saw a road was running UNDER the circle! Maybe that was the way to one of the entrances. Now she just had to find it. She looked further and saw a place that was described as the entrance to an abandoned underground railway and was now an art installation. It was slightly to the east of north on Dupont Circle. According to the mini scale at the bottom of the map, it was only about 1 kilometre away, slightly north of northeast from Tondc! That would be the starting place.
She picked up her dad's diary and read what he'd written about the bunkers. According to her dad, the starting point for everything was the Lincoln memorial. She wondered why. If the way in was at Dupont Circle, then what was the importance of the Lincoln memorial? How had her dad come to that conclusion?
"Hey," said Rory. Sol turned her head towards Rory.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Like someone dropped a station on me!" Sol laughed.
"Well, nothing so dramatic as a station. Do you remember anything?"
"Yeah, I remember everything." she looked down, "You do that?" she asked, nodding towards the bandage on her leg.
"Nope, that was Nyko."
"Nyko? Oh, the medic?"
"Yeah, only down here they are called healers."
"He got it all out?"
"Yep. You thirsty?"
"Like you wouldn't believe!"
"I'll get you some water. Won't be long." Sol left the tent and went to the water barrel and dipped in a cup. She saw Jake.
"Hey, Jake, Rory's awake."
"Good. Can I visit her?"
"In a few minutes. I'm taking this water to her and then I may need help getting her up to go relieve herself." He nodded and waited.
Soon he was called upon to help Sol get her to her feet and over to the slit trench the people of Tondc used. Once there, he turned his back as Sol helped her with the necessary. Soon he was helping her back towards Tondc and they moved her past the tent towards the firepit. They sat her on a log and made sure her leg was elevated.
"Want some food?" asked Jake.
"God, yes please! I feel so weak!" Jake smiled and went to get some food. Raven came over and sat beside Rory.
"Hey, good to see you up."
"I'm glad too, Raven. So what's happened so far?"
"We've officially made contact with the Ark. We still use the higher frequencies for secret meetings, but we have officially contacted the Ark and turned out Kane is in charge. Jaha was arrested. They are trying to figure out what to do next. They know they need to negotiate with the Commander for somewhere to live, but also to try to find a way to build more ships to get everyone to the ground."
"Oh wow," Rory said.
"I know, right?"
"So what now?"
"We need to figure out a place that those on the Ark can negotiate for. Someplace that's not near any other village and has enough freshwater, hunting grounds and farmland for us to work. We'd need to see some maps, but the only maps we have are from before the war and the only maps the Trikru have are not as detailed. We may have to trek to some places to see if it's good enough for us to use."
"Think we'll find a place - or rather think they'll abide by the rules the Commander sets?"
"I think most of them will, but a few may see them as inferior because they don't use guns, which is a stupid idea. Those people out there could gut you and kill you just as fast as someone with a gun. Arrows can kill them without them even knowing it, whereas our guns make a lot of noise when they are fired."
"Well we'll have to deal with those when they come down," said Rory.
"Yeah," said Raven, sitting back and thinking about how to build a camera and receiver into the radio.