Sorry this is late in the day, but I've only just managed to kick out my visitors! Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Samdagger.
Chapter 20
Over the next six weeks, the document naming Clarke as heda of the Sky People and giving her the authority to name a seken, her second in command who would lead her people in her stead when she was in Polis, was written and passed into law. They could not be overthrown and the only way to become the next seken was through death or her own choice. The name of the valley was also written into law on the document. Sunken Valley would be its name and even if the Arkers decided to change it, the new name would not be recognised by the clans. It was the only way to keep Clarke and the valley's new name. If the document was rejected by the Arkers, they would be exiled to one of the Caribbean Islands. Clarke, Raven and Sol had already chosen Barbados as that island. They just had to ask Floukru for permission to use one of their boats to go check it out. Raven had already vetoed using the hovercraft. It was not steady enough to use on rough water. Raven was still looking for a bigger craft that would be used over the sea. She remembered the US military had a huge one, but she couldn't remember where they kept it.
Sol took the same four people back to the Sunken Valley and checked it from the ground. They entered the valley and checked the flow of water and if it was drinkable. They checked the soil, the trees and looked for signs of animal tracks. This time they were fully armed with guns from the survival store in Arlington. Sol had to promise the Commander that once they'd checked the valley, the guns would be taken back and hidden. Sol agreed. Murphy and Monroe took point, because they remembered and knew what to look for, Atom took up the rear and Erin walked with Sol. Both of them were quiet as they looked around them. Murphy had spotted a small family of boar and they went around them and carried on. About six miles into the valley, they came across a very bushy area within the trees. They saw some panthers moving around the area so they knew predators were now in the valley. They watched as a mother brought two cubs out from one clump of bushes. They were definately living there. As it was on the Broadleaf side of the river, they were fairly safe. The river at that point was a good twelve feet across and it seemed quite deep. They stayed on the Trikru side of the river and continued on. Farmland, woods, and prey animals were all on the Triku side. They decided to use the Ilana to check the Broadleaf side. The panther den was quite near the river and Sol wondered if they ever got flooded out.
Later that night, they had completed the run up the Trikru side and found enough farmland for the Arkers to farm on that side first. They hadn't found any predators on the Trikru side and only deer, rabbits and squirrels on that side. If they wanted different foods, they'd have to find a way across the river to get boar and panther. They had found no signs of bears at all in the valley and would check the other side the next day. Murphy and Monroe had caught several rabbits and found some spring greens for their last meal of the day before they bedded down in the Ilana. There would be two guards on duty at all times and they'd change shifts often.
The next day they moved across the river and checked that side. At the waterfall end, there was a large herd of deer that seemed to be doing very well. Sol would have to make sure they didn't kill them all off. The Arkers would have to learn to share the valley with their food animals and with the predators at the other end of the valley. Sol suspected that a fair few trees would be felled just to provide a fence around their settlement. Sol had some interesting converations with Josalie about woodland management and the perils of chopping all the trees down. She had told Sol that it had happened once and there was nothing left to hold the soil together and it had been blown away on the wind and fallen into the rivers and ponds. In the end, there was nothing left but bare rock. Nothing could grow there anymore because of poor land management. It had been a sobering lesson for those early survivors - a lesson passed down to each generation afterwards.
They found three pockets of predators, two sets of panthers and a pack of cougars. Sol and Monroe marked them on a map and carried on. The land on that side was more forested than the Trikru side with quite a few berry bushes as well. There was one huge patch of blackberries near the middle of the valley and the bushes seemed to be almost bursting with unripened small berries. Hopefully by the time the Arkers had settled into the valley, the blackberries would be ripe enough to pick.
All in all, the valley would be a good place for the Arkers to live. Sol had no trouble recommending the valley to the Commander - with the caveat of building a barrier to stop the Arkers, but to allow the animals to move freely in and out of the valley, if they could. They made it back to Tondc later that night and settled down in the Ilana to sleep again. With the weather being quite nice for mid spring, it was fine to sleep out in the open.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Clarke and Sol sat by the radio and called up to the Ark. The Commander was there, sitting beside them, listening in to the conversation.
"Come in Ark, come in Ark," Sol said.
"Ark here," Sinclair said. "Please hold for the Chancellor." Sol and Clarke exchanged looks.
"That name's got to go," Sol said. "Everytime I hear it, I expect Jaha."
"Me too," Clarke admitted.
"Clarke? Sol?" came Kane's voice.
"We're here, Kane," Sol said. "We've spoken with the Commander and we've found a place for you to live on the mainland." They could hear a buzz in the command centre.
"Where is it?"
It's right on the South Carolina border. The River was once called Savannah RIver," Sol told them.
"Okay, we're searching for it now," Kane said. There was a few minutes of silence as the technician pulled up the right area. "So where exactly is it?"
"Okay, look for Mt Carmel, that's to the north of the river."
"Got it," Kane said after a few minutes.
"The river should be to the left of Mt Carmel, follow the river up until you come to a man made dam."
"Yes, we've got that."
"Okay, two years after the war, that area fell into an undiscovered cavern. The river now flows over the remains of the dam and down a 70 foot wall to the valley below. The river runs right down the middle of the valley. We've checked it out and there's plenty of land to farm, build on and for any animals we can find that you can ranch. There are deer, boar, rabbits and squirrels in the valley on your side, but there are more deer on the other side. Bear in mind no-one lives there so predators have moved in on one side of the valley. Most of the farmland is on the other side so I'd advise you l to live on that side until you've got yourselves established," Sol told them.
"How big is the valley?"
"Roughly 36 miles long by six miles wide. It's roughly 200 square miles, Kane, plenty large enough for those from the Ark."
"Where does it end?"
"Look for a place roughly 36 miles from the dam along the river to a place called Clarks Hill." Sol grinned at Clarke, she'd never told Clarke about places with her name. She'd found quite a few.
"Yes, we've found it. What else can you tell us about it?"
"The valley is called Sunken Valley and the cliffs tower roughly 70 feet above the valley floor on both sides, the waterfall is the same height at the north west end. The valley runs down until it meets the land of the Trikru and Broadleaf clans. That valley is on the border between the two. The Commander and Clarke have drawn up a document ceding the Valley to the Arkers."
"Arkers?" asked Kane.
"Yes, for now, that's what we call you. When you come down, Clarke may decide to call you something else." Clarke took over.
"Kane, I'm the leader down here. The Commander won't deal with people she doesn't know and doesn't trust." Kane knew that from the first time but pretended he didn't.
"What about us? We have a working government already."
"That's up there, Kane. Down here, we need to start doing things differently. We won't be able to go to the messhall for food, now we'll have to learn how to catch it, skin it, gut it, and cook it. There's no technology down here either, so people will have to learn new ways of doing new things. We need hunters, loggers, builders, carpenters, maybe plumbers if we can find a source of pipes, farmers and maybe ranchers. You'll be coming down just as summer hits so you will have plenty of food to start off with. You need to plant as soon as you are down to get more food over winter. You'll need to find a way to make the animal pelts into clothing for winter. Your dwellings will need a fireplace and chimney but make sure you don't burn the dwelling down by just building with wood. There's a lot to learn, Kane and most people may not want to."
"Well I'm the Chancellor and I can pass a law saying they have to learn or they don't eat," Kane said.
"Actually, Kane, you can't. I'm the leader even when you're down, so I'm in charge. Each clan has an ambassador in their capital city, Polis. The Commander has invited me to be your ambassador as I already have started to learn their ways. The clans will be more comfortable with someone who knows them. With that in mind, I will be appointing a deputy. Kane I want that person to be you. That means no elections. The only way to change that is by my choice."
"You can't, you're not old enough!" Kane said, pretending to be aggrieved.
"Kane, down here it's all about what you can do and what you can show them you can do. Age is just a number to define when you were born. Life experience doesn't start at 18. Most of the people here are considered an adult at around twelve, once they've completed their training. They care about ability, not age."
"Meaning?"
"I'm old enough to know what's best for my people and I've proven myself to the Commander by helping those who came down with me to integrate with Trikru ways."
"Why can't one of the others do it?"
"Sol will become Trikru eventually, Dad wants to be with mom in the valley, Rory will be staying in Tondc and probably becoming Trikru as well and Raven still doesn't know where she wants to live." There was silence on the other end.
"So we have no say in where we're put?"
"Not really. You can either go live peacefully in the Sunken Valley or you can be exiled to one of the Caribbean Islands. The lands around the valley and across all of the Eastern side of the old USA are the Commander's clan lands. Twelve clans spread out and no other areas to live in. Remember, the Commander has kindly ceded Sunken Valley to us because no-one lives there."
"Okay, I understand," Kane eventually said.
"Kane, this is non-negotiable. I'm the leader, Sunken Valley will be our new home and I'll appoint you to lead in my stead as my second in command. That doesn't mean you get to take over if something happens to me and it doesn't mean someone else can just step in if something happens to you. That's not how the clans work. This is the best thing we could hope for, Kane. This way, the clans will leave us alone so we can live as we want. Our territory will end where the valley ends. The narrowest point of the valley is at the lower end, that's our limits. We don't step one foot across the territorial line without permission. We need to prove we can be trusted to work the land and not abuse it."
"I get it, I'll make sure everything gets done. I'll have several people reading all the books we have. Finn Collins is already reading survival books so I'll have others reading more books, on animals, hunting, foraging, farming, gardening, building, cloth making and anything else I can think of. We do need to start thinking about living on the ground instead of waiting until we go down."
"Good, Kane. Now, how are you coming on those drop ships and exodus ships?"
"They are almost completed. We need co-ordinates to aim for though."
"How many ships? We need an area big enough for you to land in without damaging too big of an area."
"We've got three ships all ready to go."
"Good, remember to bring down everything you need. You can't go back for it."
"We will."
"Good, I'll contact you later to finalise the details and the co-ordinates," Clarke said.
"Thank you Clarke," Kane said, signing off. Clarke put the mike down and sighed.
"Was that okay?" she said, looking at Sol.
"Yes, definitely. You need to assert your authority as heda of your clan."
"Sol is correct. You did the right thing, the right way. Do not waver in your authority." Clarke sighed again.
"I can't wait for them to come down, just so I can hand off to Kane and join you in Polis," Clarke said to the Commander.
"Me too," Lexa said.
"Me three," Sol said, grinning as she got up and left them to it.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Later that night, Sol and Clarke contacted the radio in Raven's den. They called at 6pm their time so someone should be in the radio room.
"Hey, Clarke, Hunter here," the voice said.
"Hey Hunter, can you get Kane for me please and then call us back? We need to talk to him about what we need to do."
"No problem," Hunter said before leaving to get Kane.
When Kane arrived, Hunter sat beside him and listened in on what was going on.
"Kane, you need to make sure everyone knows the land isn't theirs," Clarke said.
"I will, but if any of Jaha's people or anyone who doesn't want to put in the hard work to set up the settlement give me a hard time and won't listen, what can I do?"
"Simple, once down everyone has to play by clan rules, that means I have the right to order their executions," Clarke told him in no uncertain terms.
"But the Exodus Charter…"
"Isn't valid down here. It was a fairy story made up to appease the masses. Do you really think that Sydney or Jaha would have stood by it? I know they wouldn't and with what we found out about them, that Charter isn't worth the data it takes up!"
"I know, but I can't tell them that!"
"No, but you can tell them that you'll sort everything out on the ground. By then it will be too late for them to do anything about it. Commander Lexa is waiting for Luna to get in touch with her so we can borrow a ship and crew to search the islands. I'm thinking of one of the smaller ones, preferably out of sight of any other islands."
"Like where?"
"Somewhere like San Salvador Island. It's got some lakes on it so there's plenty of fresh water. We just need to see if there are any prey animals on it or if we need to import some."
"How big is it?"
"Roughly 10 to 12 miles long and around 5 or 6 miles across."
"Ir should be big enough for any dissidents to live on," Kane mused.
"Clarke?" asked Hunter.
"Yes, Hunter?"
"Are you going to pardon people up here, or does your authority only start once they are on the ground?"
"I'm afraid right now, it's only down here, but the rest of the Ark don't need to know that. Why?"
"We've been hiding the prisoners who turned 18. I'm just thinking about when they get pardoned."
"I'll do it down here. Kane, are any of Jaha's people still in prison?"
"No, I floated them all."
"Alright, then do you trust all the remaining guards?"
"I don't know them all. Colonel Byrne does though and she vouches for them."
"Would they keep their mouths shut?"
"Can't guarantee that, it depends on the gossip or what we tell them."
"You're going to need a stable force to keep people from leaving the valley."
"I know. I've got Colonel Byrne on it. She's been brought into all this and I've told her everything up to the previous life. She's definitely on our side."
"Good. So, I'll call next week with the co-ordinates to land at. So far we think there's a piece of Trikru land near the valley you can use. Once in that valley and everything taken from the ships, the Trikru will help those of us still outside the valley to dismantle them. The metal can be melted down. It'll be a 50/50 split for the metal and other components left."
"Why?"
"Because the Trikru will be helping to dismantle them, Kane. They get to reap the rewards of their hard work in getting those ships off their lands."
"Okay got it. I won't mention that to them though. Anything else?"
"Not right now," Clarke said and Kane signed off.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
"Now I checked with Anya and no-one lives near the valley so it should be okay. A few trees will be knocked down but they can be used as well," Clarke said. "What are you going to do?"
"Check on the morning sun. Josalie and I will be journeying there every day to figure it out. It's only about a mile from Tondc and I still don't want any of the others knowing about it."
"Harper, Octavia, Monroe?"
"No, they already know. It's more those who came down and don't remember. We can't take the risk of word getting back to the Arkers once they're down, Clarke. They'd insist they live in the bunker - just to make sure everything's working," Sol said facetiously.
"Oh, I know how they'll twist it! It's what Pike and mom did when she let people live in Mount Weather the last time!"
"Once it's opened, we need to check it out." Sol looked around at who was listening and no-one was around. Sol still lowered her voice to a whisper.
"If this bunker is as big as my ancestors claimed, then the tunnels could run under Mount Weather. Maybe you can get inside from there," Sol said, still looking around. Clarke's eyes widened at the prospect of a hidden way into Mount Weather.
"You really think so?"
"I have no idea, but it would be better to check it out before someone else figures it out."
"How?"
"Once it's opened, it'll need to be explored. Why don't you, Octavia, Raven, Monroe and Harper go check out the western part while I send other teams north, south and east, depending on how far east it goes. Don't forget there are other entrances to the bunker and my ancestors were military personnel. Maybe great, great grandpa added a tunnel to it. I haven't found anything in his journals that specifically mentions the place, but then again, I wasn't looking for it. Tonight, I'll reread the journals again. I'll be here in Tondc for the next week at least. Then I can be out and about for another two weeks before I need to be back to check out the placement of the sun for the summer solstice."
"I want to be there when you open it," Clarke said.
"So does the Commander, but didn't she say Indra would be her stand-in?"
"Yeah. Does Indra know all this?"
"Not about Mount Weather, I've only just thought of it, but all the rest? Yeah."
"Then we'll have to check it out. Raven and Monty can check on the electrical and mechanical components."
"Yeah, we'll have to assign some of the guys elsewhere. I know a couple of them will want to go with you for security. I'll tell them that Octavia and Harper should be enough security for you."
"That's good. If we do find a way into Mount Weather, then I think we'll have to deal with it, and by that I mean those of us who remember. No offence, Sol, but this is our fight, not yours, not dad's, not even those who were there but don't remember." Sol was quiet for a while and then nodded.
"I get it, you want to make sure that it's done properly. You don't want anyone else getting hurt or killed." Clarke nodded, glad the Sol understood.
"Thank you," Clarke whispered. "I just don't want anyone who wasn't there the first time to be there. We all know what happened and what we need to do."
"Wasn't Miller there and doesn't he remember?"
"Yes and yes," Clarke said.
"Maybe I should assign him to you for security. It's up to you if you want him, though."
"I'll think about it." Sol nodded and got up and left. Clarke sighed. She knew Sol wanted to help her take down the mountain, but it wasn't her fight. Clarke sighed again and then got up to go talk to Anya about maps of the area.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
On the Ark
Hunter made her way to the Chancellors' office, only this time through the corridors. She knocked on his door and waited for him to call her in.
"You wanted to see me, Chancellor?" Hunter asked, seeing Colonel Byrne sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"Yes, come in, Hunter." She made her way in and closed the door. "Have a seat," Kane said, gesturing to the other seat.
"Now," Kane said when she sat down. "The exodus is almost ready. The timing has to be right. So I've come up with a plan. Once Clarke gives us the co-ordinates to land on, that dropship will be sent down with all the prisoners in it. At the moment, we have 82 prisoners and 102 available places, so there's plenty of room. After they go down, I want all the cargo we are taking, stored in the prison until we can get the ships rigged for all the cargo. I'm telling you both because we need to make sure that everything is done correctly. Hunter, you'll go down with the prisoners and anyone else we can put aboard. Your job on the ground is to help Clarke with whatever she's doing, and helping to corral those kids until we come down. If they are going to live in the valley with us, then they can start to sort out where we should be living, farming and figuring out our food sources.
"Colonel, you'll help load the prisoners aboard and then you can supervise the cargo to go down. We need to make sure there's enough room for everyone to go down and Sinclair and Wick are doing everything they can to make that happen. I'd like you to check the passenger lists of each ship and make sure that everyone is accounted for. I understand that things change and people are arrested and floated still, and the lists will have to be adjusted accordingly, but if you can make sure that there's enough places for the people first and then cargo second, I'd appreciate it, Colonel." Byrne nodded and so did Hunter. Kane opened his mouth to speak when Byrne's radio came to life about a thief running through Orchid and trying to hide. Byrne was quite close to where Orchid met Alpha so she said she'd handle it. She got permission from Kane to leave.
"Hunter, once Byrne has those kids loaded aboard and has left, sneak the other kids on board and get them strapped in, then strap yourself in. I'll have Miller accompany you and he'll be the one who gives the signal that everyone is on board. After that, you'll be launched, got that?"
"Yeah, got it. Are we taking any cargo down with us?"
"We weren't planning on it, why?"
"Because you're sending them down with nothing. Give them something they could use down there, Kane. I know Sol and the others have found some stuff and some clothing for us, but you could send something with us and then there'll be a little bit more room for other cargo on the other ships." Kane sat back and thought about it.
"What would we send?"
"Anything they could use. Tools, shovels, blankets, I don't know, but send them with something they'll be able to use."
"Okay, I'll see what we have, but with a hundred of you going, there's not a lot of room." Hunter nodded.
"Anything else?"
"Not right now, Hunter, just be on standby. I don't know when Clarke will tell us to come down. I know she was planning it for sometime in mid July, but other than that, it's up to her." Again Hunter nodded and left.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
On the ground
It was now three weeks later and Sol and Josalie went off to start checking the morning sun. They'd do that every morning until the Summer Solstice started. With the Solstice lasting roughly three days, it could be any one of them that opened the door. Octavia had asked to join them and Sol had said yes. Clarke had told Octavia what Sol intended to do and Octavia had breathed a huge sigh of relief and immediately wanted in on it.
They got to the underground entrance and they waited. Josalie had shown them the most likely place the sun would creep over the landscape on that day and they all waited.
They watched as the day got infinitely lighter until the sun peeked over the trees and onto the entrance. Sol hurriedly set up the spotlight and Josalie would hold it into position until Octavia and Sol came back out. She knew it was very important - important enough for the Commander herself to tell Josalie to help them with whatever it was they needed.
"There! Josalie, hold this right here," Sol said, having positioned the spotlight on a rock at the same angle as the sun. She nodded and held it in place.
"How long will this last?" she asked.
"This first time could take hours I'm afraid," Sol said. "We need to align the mirrors. After today, I'm hoping that we only have to move them a tiny bit and that shouldn't take as long." Josalie nodded and sat behind the spotlight, holding it in place. Sol and Octavia entered the doorway, switched on their flashlights and Sol led Octavia to where they needed to be.
"See these mirrors?" Sol asked. Octavia looked towards Sol's flashlight and nodded. "There are around 20 of them spread throughout. We need to align each one of them." Octavia nodded again. Sol moved the mirror until it shone on the next one on the opposite wall and further down. They carried on moving the mirrors so the light shone on each mirror.
It took three hours just to move them all and another hour and a half to make sure they were all bouncing off the next one right down the line. The last mirror couldn't quite light up the small box and Sol surmised that it would on the correct day. They just had to move the mirrors slightly each time.
When they finally left the underground, Josalie was getting fidgety.
"It's okay Josalie, we won't be that long tomorrow," Sol told her. Josalie didn't say anything but Sol and Octavia both saw the sigh of relief she silently let out.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
The following day, the Commander arrived at Tondc. Clarke and Lexa had a short reunion and then it was down to business.
Clarke, Sol and Octavia were at the meeting with the Commander, Chief Anya and Indra.
"Commander," Sol started off. "We've found a place we can put the Arkers, with your permission of course. We also want your permission to allow the ships to land in your territory." She pulled out a map and showed an area devoid of trees and just about a mile away from the valley entrance. "Here, this place is around a mile or mile and a half from the valley. I'd like your permission for them to land there. Once everything has been taken out of it, they are dismantled and half goes to them for whatever they want to make and half to your people for letting them land there. Call it a landing fee, they'll understand that. It lets them know that nothing is free and a price must be paid for taking your lands."
"I agree," the Commander said without hesitation. Sol had made a convincing argument. The materials from the ships were unexpected, but welcomed.
"Mochof, Heda," Sol said.
"How is the bunker coming along?" the Commander asked.
"We aligned the mirrors yesterday which took us half the morning, and this morning it only took us a few minutes. Now we only have to move them a little bit each morning. In six weeks, we'll hopefully be inside the bunker, exploring it. Raven and Monty will check out the electronic and mechanical parts of it and I'll have other teams out exploring it. We still need to find those other entrances, Commander."
"I agree with that as well. Once our festival is over, I'll return to see what you've uncovered."
"Thank you, again, Commander."
"Having somewhere to go if things happen the same way again, will be needed. I don't want to have to tell the clans that they aren't allowed to live because there won't be enough space."
"We agree, Commander," Clarke said. "Once those entrances are found and mapped, we may have to go and physically locate them. If they are buried, we may have to dig them out so it can be used, otherwise there may be some clans who can't get to the bunker in time if they have to use another entrance."
"But if we do that, won't the other clans object to us on their lands, never mind digging into it?" Octavia asked.
"I know, but right now, I can't think of a better way. If those entrances are buried, they need to be dug out before the second praimfyre happens. I know that anyone who knows about it, may just enter and take over everything, but I'm at a loss as to what to do about it."
"How about finding the entrances and just waiting until it happens and then tell them about the entrance. Pretend you know the rough area and the clans will probably and literally move the earth to find it," Sol said. "Didn't you say that it took two months for it to happen before?"
"One month, It was only around 35 days later that it happened."
"So we have a month for the clans to dig out those entrances. I think you need warriors at those entrances to make sure they don't destroy what they don't know and to make sure they don't try to kill anyone else in there and take it over for themselves." The Commander, Anya and Indra all agreed.
"When are you telling your people to come down?" asked Lexa.
"Once we've opened the bunker and checked it out, so probably in about two months. That'll take it to the end of July, three months before they did last time," Clarke said.
"Good. I will make sure I'm down here when you do. I think I need to talk to those who come down to make sure they understand the rules," the Commander said.
"Thank you. I'm actually looking forward to it. Once they are settled in Sunken Valley, I can come and be the Ambassador in Polis!" Clarke was quite excited by the prospect.
"Alright," Sol said. "I've got to get to Orchard Park. I'm on duty there tonight. With your permission, Commander, I'll leave to organise it." The Commander nodded and Sol smiled before she left.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
It was June 20th and Octavia, Sol and Josalie were aligning the mirrors once more. The final mirror was just missing the centre of the ringpad and they thought it would happen the following day. They left to inform Indra. The next day, Clarke, Octavia, Raven, Sol and Indra were waiting for the sun to rise. Josalie was standing by with the spotlight, just in case. The day before, Octavia and Sol had polished the mirrors as best they could, hoping it would help.
The sun crept over the tops of the trees and they all walked into the underground and walked to the ringpad. They kept out of the way of the sunlight bouncing around the rooms of the mirrors. Sol jumped down onto the old railway lines and waited until the sun was fully on the ringpad. She held the ring and placed it into the ringpad and they all heard a click. The ring started to spin on its own and Sol watched as it seemed to melt into the wall. A rumble was heard and then a crack appeared in the wall which grew bigger to reveal the entrance to a door. Sol reached out and pushed on the door and it opened.
She flashed her torch around and then stepped through. She was in an antechamber with two doors to the left and right of her. Raven pushed her way in as well.
"Left," Raven said, putting her hand on the door handle and opening it. She stepped through with Sol right behind her. They flashed their torches around and stared in wonder at the corridor that stretched out before them. They looked at each other and backed out to check the other side. It was the same on that side as well. Sol and Raven smiled and called everyone in.
"Octavia, Raven, check the other door and only go down that corridor. Don't wander or you could get lost," Sol said. They nodded and set off. "Clarke, let's go down this one. Indra, do you want to come with us or stay here?"
"I'll stay here for now. I'm not comfortable being underground again." Sol nodded and she and Clarke set off, looking for a schematic of the bunker, a central operations room, engineering, food places, sleeping quarters and anything else they could think of.
The first door led to a small room with a monitoring station. Looking around, they realised it was for the door. Sol had never seen a camera so it must have been very well hidden. They'd need either Raven or Monty checking it out. Sol's ancestors must have meant for it to be manned twenty four seven. They could see who wanted entry and either grant it or close the doors and deny them. They'd have to talk about it, but Sol thought it would be a good idea to have someone in there 24/7 to stop people going in and finding it.
The second door led to another corridor. They closed that door and moved on. They decided to go down the right side first and come back up checking the left. The next door led to a small control room. There were monitors for engineering, water, hydroponics and farm areas. Another control console had labels for vehicle park and elevators. Sol and Clarke looked at each other.
"I didn't realise there was more than one floor," Sol said.
"Me neither," Clarke replied.
Sol pushed some buttons but nothing happened. She moved over to a large console and checked it out, then pressed another button. A whirring noise sounded and they felt the air start to circulate. Another press of another button had the consoles coming to life.
"What did you press?" asked Clarke.
"The button marked backup generator," Sol said. "Alright, let's see if there's a schematic in there somewhere," she said, rubbing her hands together before sitting down.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Clarke and Sol stayed there for an hour before printing off a schematic and then going to find the other two. They found them studying some sort of vehicle. Raven was wanting to take one a part to see how it worked.
"Leave them alone, Raven. Right now we need to leave. We've come across a problem though. This bunker needs someone here to open the door. Today was the only day we could open it from the outside. Now, we need to have someone here to open it."
"So what do we do?"
"I'll stay," Sol said. "Someone will have to bring me some food and we'll either need a roster of trusted people to be here, or one of us will have to stay here full-time."
"Can you stay?" Raven asked. "All four of us who came here first, will be missed if we're missing more than a couple of days."
"I know and I prefer to be above ground now, but right now, the most important thing is to keep this place out of the hands of the Arkers, out of the hands of any grounders wanting to take it over and make sure this place is fit for habitation and survival in case those reactors blow again," Sol said, sighing.
"I think we may need a roster of trusted people to do a one day stint in here. Maybe two at a time, that way one can be on duty and another can be sleeping or eating or other things. Maybe we all take a turn one day a week. With us moving between Tondc and Orchard Park, it won't be so noticeable if we're missing for a day, you can just say we're at the other place or Sunken Valley," Clarke mused.
"Okay, so who? We'd need 14 people minimum for two a day for one week," Octavia said.
"Let's see, Us four, dad, Monroe, Harper, Miller, Murphy, Monty. That's ten. What about Drew, Atom, Jones and Brenda?"
"Brenda doesn't remember," Raven said.
"We don't need them to remember, we just tell them that we found this place and we want to keep it out of the hands of the Arkers and use it for a place of safety in case of storms. This bunker is one giant bunker, but can be closed off in sections. We only tell them of this section which can hold five thousand people. Brenda knows how bad it was on the Ark, and doesn't have any parents. I think she'd help us on the basis that it keeps them out."
"We'll ask the first ten and then think about the others. Is there anyone who doesn't like being above ground?" Sol asked.
"No, I think all of them love being on the ground. They've found a sense of freedom. I've noticed them doing something I didn't even know we did as well. When they first came down, their shoulders were rounded. I thought it was because they were prisoners, but I can see now that it was because we used to live in corridors and small rooms. Down here, it's wide open spaces so they don't need to hunch their shoulders anymore." Both Raven and Octavia thought about last time and realised they'd done the same thing once they were on the ground. Part of that was the realisation they could run around as much as they wanted.
"So, I'll stay here, you go find someone to help me and bring us some food and water and then you can figure out who does what and when. Don't forget, the Commander will be here in a few days to look at this place. I don't want a whole lot of people down here at one time just yet. That exploration thing I told you about, Clarke, will have to wait a few days."
Clarke nodded.
"I'll send Monroe. She'll keep her mouth shut about this place," Clarke said.
"Actually, I'll go get her and take her 'hunting' and tell everyone else that we'll be spending the night at Tondc. That should stop people wondering what's going on," Octavia said.
"Good idea. Let's get out of here. I'll talk to Indra about everything and we'll be back tomorrow morning to relieve you." Sol nodded and the others left and Sol went back to the monitoring station and closed the door.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Monroe showed up an hour later in Octavia's company. Raven had used the Ilana to get them there.
"Hey, Sol, this is Monroe. I don't know if you've met her yet."
"I think I've seen you around, but I wasn't able to put a name to a face. Hi," Sol said.
"Hi," Monroe replied. "So what do you want me to do?"
"At the moment, not a lot. I'm going over the schematic of this section. We need to figure out where the farms, hydro and engineering are for starters."
"Okay, I can help with that."
"Monroe remembers," Octavia said. Sol nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Oh, here's a bag of food and a couple of water bottles each. Jake sent them."
"Good," Sol said before letting Octavia back out.
"So have you explored this place yet?" Monroe asked.
"No. We found this place only this morning. We don't want the Arkers knowing about it, they'd want to move in here and then they'd deny access to the clans in their time of need," Sol said.
"Yeah, Clarke and Raven told me enough about it to know this place will be needed again if those reactors blow. I wasn't alive then, so I have no idea what they went through, only what they told me."
"Me too, I'm from Factory Station." Monroe winced. "Yeah, I get that reaction from those who remember," she said.
"Did they tell you what happened or do you remember some of it?"
"No, I don't remember and I don't want to. I don't want to remember my death. It's bad enough knowing I died without remembering it. Raven told us everything. All of it, nothing was left out and I'll tell you now, most of it scared the shit out of me! This time around, with the Commander, Anya, Indra and Lincoln remembering, we can cut out most of the aggro between the grounders and the Skaikru, it's just those on the Ark right now who's attitude is still one of being superior because they know tek."
"Yeah, hopefully we can deal with the things that were fucked up last time. The mountain still needs to fall and those chips need to be stopped!" Monroe said.
"Well, Jaha's been floated so he's not going to get them."
"Who else was floated?" Monroe asked.
"Most of those who Kane locked up, Sydney, Shumway, Pike and all their lackeys."
"Thank goodness! Pike was bad enough but Shumway was a nasty piece of work!"
"I know, but hopefully, those left on the Ark will all work together for a new start."
"Doubt it, there will always be someone who acts like a dickhead!" Monroe said, morosely.
"Okay, so to get back to what we need, how are you with monitors and reading reports?"
"Not too bad, I'm no Monty or Raven, but I can give it a go," Monroe replied.
"Alright, let's go look and see what we've got to work with." Monroe nodded and they set off for the monitoring station to start working through what they could.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Several hours later they stopped for food and a drink.
"What have you found?" asked Sol.
"I've been looking through the farming part of this complex and it's massive!"
"Anything interesting?"
"There are small farms and fields in each section that can be closed. Each section has at least one farm area and three field areas. The field areas are split into three parts, Crops such as wheat and barley, but also fruit trees. A vegetable area and a nuts and berries area. I don't know why they separated the areas, because some of the bushes are in among the crops to help with fertilization as they use bees for that and the berry bushes are there for the bees to gather the nectar."
"Alright, it seems that if we need to close off a section, they can at least feed themselves," Sol pondered.
"Each section also has it's own water supply - sort of. The main hydro station is in the next section over. The pump brings up water and empties it into a tank which then distributes it through pipes to each section. There are several other underground lakes they've found for fresh water as well, so if one becomes contaminated, there are others we can use."
"Good."
"There's also a command centre in each section as well, but the main one is here, in this section. This was the capital and the President lived here so this was where most of the decision making was done."
"We need more help," Sol said, sighing.
"Yeah, we do," admitted Monroe.
"You remember the last time, who do you know who can keep their mouths shut about this, especially to the Arkers, knows tek and doesn't mind living down here for weeks at a time?"
"Are they all still alive? I mean the delinquents?"
"Yes."
"Then I think Atom, Randy, Monty, Raven and maybe… Colette, I think she was from Mecha," Monroe said, thoughtfully.
"So that's five. What about those that were floated in the year before you came down? Was there anyone of them that would fit that bill?"
"One or two, but they're dead, they were floated and will be floated before the others come down.
"Not this time. You need to keep this a secret Monroe, but Kane and Hunter have been secretly moving those due to be floated for turning 18 to another location and hiding them." Monroe's eyes widened.
"They have!? Why?"
"Because we were sent down a year earlier than last time and those who remember decided to save as many of the kids as they could. Hunter Kenney and Kane have found a place on the Ark to stash them."
"How many?"
"Not sure, but roughly 18ish?" Monroe was amazed.
"18 more kids saved. Maybe some of them can do this work for us. We may have to separate them off from the others, though."
"I know. I think when the prisoners come down, we'll have to ask who wants to live with the Arkers and who doesn't. Those who don't can live either at Orchard Park, or, if they can keep their mouths shut, inside here. We just have to figure out what their mentality is. I don't want people who will be like the Arkers were last time, I don't want those who hate those already living on the ground or who think they are superior to them," Sol said, fervantly.
"Too damn right!" Monroe said. "Anyway, what did you find?"
"I've got the location and co-ordinates for the entrance up in the Chicago area. If we can find that above ground, we can lead the grounders to it if it all goes to shit."
"That's good, what about the others?"
"I've got locations, but no co-ordinates. It's going to be harder to find the other entrances. I did find a map of the entire bunker system, but it doesn't show the entrances. There are sections already named but those can be changed."
"How many sections?"
"37."
"So if each has a farm and field system for food, we can grow enough food for everyone and have some left over," Monroe said, thinking through one problem they could encounter. "If we plant more than we need in all the sections, then if we have crop failures in some sections, we should, in theory, have enough for everyone." Sol nodded.
"So that's food and water. What about life support?"
"I haven't found that bit yet," Monroe said.
"Me neither."
"If the main command centre is in this section, then maybe we should find it. There may be information in there. We need to find out how to power this place as well. That back-up generator won't be enough for everyone and won't last long with all that we'll be doing," Monroe stated. Again, Sol nodded.
"I think we'll keep reading what we've found and tomorrow, Raven said she'd take over. She can look for that. Whoever she's on duty with, can stay in here while she goes and explores."