Up until yesterday, I had absolutely zero stats for the last ten days. I've got most of them back so thank you for coninuing to read my stories. Each and every one of you is appreciated by me. Thank you. Samdagger.
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Chapter 12
Clarke and the others made it back to the warehouse. Indra and Octavia were amazed at what they'd accomplished in only a few months.
"Wow, Clarke! This is amazing!" Octavia said, still looking around.
"We've not finished yet. That building to the right will eventually be the actual embassy, but right now, it still needs to be repaired. We use the warehouse for that at the moment. Wait 'til you see what we did inside there!" Clarke almost giggled at the looks on Indra's and Octavia's faces. Clarke led them inside and Octavia was hugged by a lot of the hundred.
"Octavia! We missed you!" Guy said.
"Hey, Guy, I've missed you too." Octavia pulled back and looked around.
"You have been busy!" she said, looking at the two floors of the building and all the goods she could see. She knew they would have lots more than this.
"So this is the Skaikru Embassy and you are setting up as traders," Indra said, also looking around.
"Sha," Clarke replied.
"What about the Nomads?" Indra asked.
"We only trade in old world goods right now so they don't mind. Cooper traded some water containers for a wagon."
"Yes, Bellamy told us when they were going to Arkadia," Octavia said absently. She looked around. "Where is my brother?"
"Playing guard for an Azgeda spy who told us what was going to happen. Without her info, we'd have been caught flat-footed." Octavia nodded.
"So, how the hell did Cooper become the Azgeda Queen?" Octavia said, even though she already knew.
"SHE WHAT!?" yelled Raven.
"Yeah, okay everyone, gather around," Clarke said. It took several minutes to get everyone inside the warehouse.
"Okay, everyone, quiet down! Apparently when Cooper was with Tesla station, the Azgeda attacked and she was captured. We don't know yet what happened but suddenly Queen Nia and some Azgeda warriors turned up here with Cooper as their prisoner. According to the Commander, Cooper challenged the Queen to combat and she won. By Azgeda laws, that made Cooper their new queen."
"Fuck!" Raven said.
"Yeah," Clarke replied. "She doesn't like it but will do whatever she needs to before she finds someone to take over and probably keep to her plans for that Nation."
"Would they?"
"Don't know. Nia had been queen for over thirty years. Most of her people don't know any other ruler nor any other way of ruling."
"Does she want some of us to go with her?" asked another of the rescued skybox prisoners.
"No, Cooper needs to find people among the Azgeda she trusts. Taking people from here would be seen as the Commander or me trying to control them. We stay out of it unless Cooper asks."
"Will she?"
"No, probably not. She knows what she needs to do and she needs to start off alone apart from her own personal bodyguards. She has ten Azgeda warriors with her right now. Those will be her first line of defense until she can get others to see her way of doing things. Cooper knows she has a mental battle on her hands to turn people away from fighting and to surviving and then to peaceful communities."
"How do you know?"
"Cooper and I have had a lot of time to talk while going to the various stations and back again. We talked about a lot of things and how we would like the world to be was one of them. We both want peace. We both want people to just stop fighting for fighting's sake. With the death of the Ice Queen, maybe now we have a chance at that. I have a fight with my own mother to see them as people and not savages. I have a fight with my mother about us being able to make our own minds up."
"Well, you are the Skai Heda, leader of our clan, Octavia is Indra's seken and therefore high up in the chain of command in Trikru as well as Tondc and with Cooper now the Queen of the Azgeda, maybe we can show them that we are more than what they think we are," Raven said.
"True, we didn't need their permission to set this up, nor to go find our lost stations and we certainly didn't need their permission to set up as traders. We did that because everything is traded one way or another here. It was a natural progression of Cooper's trading abilities."
"Is she going to come back?"
"I don't know. I do know that she told the Commander that Polis was her home, so it may take a few months, but I think she will return. Whether it's to us or Trikru, I don't know."
"So what do we do now?"
"We carry on as normal. Raven, I need you to step up and be my second in anything Bellamy isn't. I need you to fill Cooper's shoes. Liz, you need to be my other bodyguard. Guy, you're backup to both Miller and Liz. Bellamy and Miller can choose more people to become guards for me, but I need everyone to step up and help out in all the places Cooper did."
"Cooper did a lot around here, she went off to find lost stations, she kept the peace, she was one of your guards and on top of that, she is a trusted advisor to you that the Commander also trusts. How are we supposed to take on all that?" Raven said.
"I know. The temporary loss of Cooper is going to hit us hard. I never realised how much she did around here until she and Bellamy went off to find Orchid Station."
"Tell me about it, the number or arguments I needed to referee just about tripled when they were gone!" Raven said.
"Okay, we have Liz becoming my bodyguard, Raven becoming my second and hopefully my advisor. Play nice with the Commander whenever you meet her, please. Cooper was respectful at all times and the Commander trusted her. I need her to trust you too." Raven nodded, sobered by the fact that she never realised just how much one person did.
"What about the stations?"
"For now, Murphy and Sterling can take the lead until Monroe and Harper return. With Jasper in Farm Station Village and Sterling now known to Tesla, I need the others to step up for the rest."
"Actually," Octavia began. "Jasper's now the leader of Farm Station Village."
"What? How?" Monty yelled from the back.
"Pike stopped them from helping us when we were fighting Azgeda. When I called him out on it, he more or less admitted that he was hoping the two sides would wipe each other out. I think he'd finish off whoever was left. He was a xenophobe, Clarke. He also had Jasper locked up before we got there. I never noticed because we were watching for Azgeda, not farm station personnel. It was only after the fight and while I was confronting him that Jasper's mom finally had enough and she shot and killed him. She then let Jasper out of prison. We left him in charge. He told them that they had better join in in the next fight with Azgeda or there would be trouble."
"So we now have a fourth person in a place of authority?"
"Apparently."
"Shit!"
"Wait, if Sterling and Jasper are off doing other things, then who's going to drive the wagon?" someone called out.
"Someone's going to have to learn. Bellamy knows how so he'll teach a couple of others. Rose knows about horses so if she tells you something, listen to her." They nodded in agreement.
"Now that's over, I'll give our Trikru allies a tour of the compound before going to bed. I'll be meeting Queen Cooper in the morning. Miller, you'll be with me for that and then Liz can take over." Both of them nodded.
"Come on, General Indra, Seken Octavia, let me show you around."
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
The next day, Cooper was escorted to the tower by Ryder and three other Trikru warriors. Cooper took Koby as her sole bodyguard and they had to leave their weapons behind. One of the female Trikru warriors was let into her personal rooms by Cooper and she was allowed to check the clothing for weapons. Cooper got dressed and the warrior patted her down once more and then let her leave the room, knowing she was weapons free.
Koby had taken three knives and his sword from about his person and then let Ryder search him for any more. With none being found, they were escorted to the tower.
They were escorted into the throne room and told to wait for the Commander. Cooper walked over to the window. She looked out of the same window each time she could. It was a favourite view of hers. She could see the market and people going about their daily lives. She called Koby over to look out of the window.
"What do you see?" she asked him. He looked out the window and saw what Cooper saw.
"They are just going to the market and back to wherever they came from," he said.
"They are just normal people, Koby. No-one down there has an ulterior motive towards our people. They're just living their own lives, bartering in the market, doing their jobs, looking after their children and spouses before doing the same things again tomorrow and the next day and the day after that."
"That is not what Queen Nia told us," he said. "She said that even the children were taught to hate us and when they wanted to, even the children would happily slit the throats of our children. She said that the Trikru wanted to wipe us out just for being the bigger clan, just because they wanted our lands even though they wouldn't use most of it, they wanted it all."
"That's what SHE wanted, Koby. She wanted to be the Commander and rule over all the clan lands."
"She said it was because she knew if anyone else became the Commander, the Azgeda would be expelled and then wiped out. It was the only way to guarantee our safety." Koby was troubled by the apparent double-edged claims form his former queen.
"They do not want to wipe us out, Koby, they want to live without the fear of the Queen declaring war on them and wiping THEM out. With Nia now dead, we have the chance of real peace. Our people come first, Koby, they always will. We have a lot to rectify when we get home and we'll have to bash a lot of heads together to do it. I know there will be resistance to my plans, especially from those thugs the Queen recruited. There will be war within our own border, Koby, and you need to decide whose side you are on, mine or the traditions of Azgeda." Koby looked thoughtful and once more looked out of the window.
"You will be allowed to leave in peace if you want to fight us," the Commander said, entering the room with two guards by her side. Koby turned to her. He had never seen her close up before and never realised just how young she looked. This was the woman who five summers ago brought all the clans including his own into the Kongeda, stabilising the entire region. If she was young now, she must have been in her teens when she did that.
"Commander," Koby said, bowing to the young woman. The Commander nodded her head once he looked at her.
"You are welcome here as Cooper's guard, but do not try to usurp her position or try to influence her to your ways if she does not want it."
"She is my queen and therefore whatever she wants will be done," he replied. "My job is to keep her safe, not to tell her want to do." The Commander nodded once more.
"Then, welcome, Kobi kom Azgeda, primary guard to Kwin Kupa kom Azgeda." He nodded in return, glad she didn't want to separate his head from his body.
Clarke was announced and she came into the room and hugged Cooper.
"Hey, Cooper, glad you're safe," she said.
"Me too, Clarke, me too." They separated and Clarke and Cooper became the nations they represented.
"Queen Cooper, I hope this war is over officially?" asked Clarke.
"Heda Clarke kom Skaikru, this war was not my idea. I have recalled all Azgeda troops to return to Azgeda."
"Thank you."
"I will need to go to Azgeda soon to be crowned Queen of Azgeda. I will formally withdraw the declaration of war against all clans. I want peace for my people, Skai Heda, Commander, but I know I'll have a lot of opposition to that. The old queen let her handpicked thugs terrorise her own people. That stops now! I will think of what to give you in restitution for the unprovoked declaration of war."
"Restitution?" Clarke asked.
"Yes, Heda. This war was declared because the old queen believed she would be a better Commander. She believed that she was the only person who could guide the other clans into a proper army and invasion force. I believe her plan was not just to take over the kongeda, but to invade the lands to the west, all the way to the western shoreline." Both Clarke and the Commander were dumbfounded.
"You know this?"
"I have read letters - or rather had them read to me as I don't yet know Azgedasleng - and they are the plans between the Azgeda Ambassador and the Ice Queen. It was never written down, but thoughts and ideas were exchanged that included a protectorate of theirs on the western side of the old country. They even mentioned Seattle, Commander. That's a large city on the western coast of America, just below the border with Canada."
"What will you do if you find her plans?"
"I'll send you a copy of them, Commander, but they are only for you to know the extent of her machinations, and not our plan for world domination."
"Understood."
"What else?" asked Clarke
"With the Skaikru?"
"Yes," Clarke replied.
"Nothing yet. I must figure out how to make this right. I do not think any of the Skaikru died in the fighting, but several Trikru warriors did. Those too would need restitution."
"What is 'restitution'?" asked the Commander.
"It is the compensation for loss or injury, or in this case, death of others." Lexa nodded, understanding what Cooper was trying to do.
"Nia would never do that and the other clans don't do it either."
"No, Commander, but we are starting over - if I can get them to behave. I will have to order the deaths of many of her own warriors, Commander. I will try not to let it spill over into other lands." Cooper looked at Clarke.
"Do you have paper and something to write with?" Clarke nodded and handed them over. Cooper wrote a note to Clarke and to Echo and another to the Commander. She handed everything back to Clarke.
"Read them after I've gone back to the Embassy, please," Cooper asked. Both of them nodded.
"So what now?"
"The Azgeda Ambassador is to be arrested for treason against his own people. I will talk to the others with Koby at my side. They may not believe me, but they should believe one of their own."
"All Azgeda are already under arrest and are in our prison," the Commander told her.
"Good. Can you hold them there until we are finished in Polis, please? I will be taking them home when I leave."
"Certainly."
"Thank you, Commander. I will return to swear fealty to you and then I will go back to Azgeda and begin cleaning it up and looking for my replacement."
"You still want to return here?" the Commander asked.
"Yes, Commander. This is my home, not Azgeda. I will do my duty there, but this will always be home." The Commander smiled.
"Anything I can do while you are in Azgeda?"
"I need the Embassy completely gutted and redone. I have started making plans with my people. Right now, I wil leave Lori behind as provisional Ambassador. She will have four of the warriors stay with her for guards. She will have your people come in to refurbish the Embassy. I would like to ask Heda Clarke of Skaikru if I may borrow Murphy for a few days before I go?"
"Why?" asked Clarke
"He's very good at finding hidden places," Cooper said. Clarke smirked. Cooper meant that she hoped that Murphy would find the places the queen and ambassador didn't want found.
"I will send him over this afternoon. Is that okay, Queen Cooper?"
"That will be fine," she said. Clarke nodded and stepped back.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Commander, Heda Clarke," Cooper said, "But with your permission, I still have a lot to tidy up at the embassy."
"Permission granted," the Commander said. Cooper smiled and left the room with Koby on her heels.
"I hope she survives her trip to Azgeda long enough to be crowned," Lexa said.
"What do you mean?"
"Until she's crowned, she isn't officially their queen."
"So they will try to assassinate her if they don't want her as their queen?"
"Possibly, but most of them will not know who she is until she actually gets there."
"Good, but right now, there's nothing I can do officially, can I?" Clarke said, with a sigh.
"No, there is nothing either of us can do, officially, but unofficially, we can help her to figure things out. If you need something from her, go through Murphy until she leaves. I will do the same with Ryder. Maybe one of us can come up with an idea of what she can give us in restitution that wouldn't destroy her new identity."
Clarke sighed again.
"With your permission, Commander?" she said, bowing to her. The Commander nodded once and Clarke and Miller left the throne room and went back to the warehouse.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
A messenger sent from Polis reached farm station a few days later. He handed over the scrolls from both the Commander and Clarke and left without explaining anything. Jasper watched him leave with a frown on his face.
He opened the first scroll from Clarke and read it.
"Fuck!" he said. Hannah Green looked at him. She had once been Pike's second in command, but she was now Jasper's and she seemed to be coming around to the idea that not all grounders were going to kill them.
"What's up?" she asked.
"It seems that Cooper has somehow become the new Queen of Azgeda and has recalled all the troops back to their homeland," he said, handing over Clarke's message. She reached over and took it with a look of awe on her face. While she read it, Jasper opened the Commander's letter. This time, she had written it out in order of what happened and why Cooper was now Azgeda. Jasper grunted. Once he was finished, he handed that over as well. Hannah read them both.
"What does this mean?"
"No idea, but for now, the war is over - or it will be when Cooper's officially crowned and voids the declaration."
"So we can stand down?"
"Yes. Now we concentrate on getting this village ready for spring."
"Are we staying here?"
"Probably not, it depends where Clarke and the Commander can find for us to move to. Wherever it is, it will probably be a better place to farm than here." Hannah nodded. They were only around ten miles further north east of where the skybox rested. The ground was still too soft and waterlogged in winter to plant in.
"You'd better go tell the troops that we can relax," Hannah said. Jasper nodded, took back the scrolls and left to inform his village.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Cooper sat at the desk in the Ambassador's office. She was going over the maps of Azgeda, trying to learn what each area was called, and what they produced. There were six large provinces and each one was split up into another six areas. The Ice Queen had one province producing crops like wheat and barley, another province was to produce crops of fruits and vegetables, a third had some old mines in it and they were still being used to get iron ore from. That was the one for metal working. A fourth was for carpentry and joinery. The last two provinces seemed to do everything else, from tanneries and clothmakers, to weapons makers and healers. Cooper shook her head at the idiocy of dividing the provinces up like she had. Once she was crowned as the queen, she'd set about figuring out what each area could actually grow or produce. Each one would do whatever they could and not try to make things they had no resources for.
Next she turned her thoughts to the problem of restitution for the war with the Skaikru. She had the idea of moving the Skaikru villages up near the Azgeda border near Michigan, but now with that state not being used by Azgeda, she wondered if she should give that to them as their new homeland. That way, they would not be taking land from another clan. No Azgeda were supposed to be living there so they couldn't say they would be losing revenue or people from it. Yes, giving Michigan to the Skaikru as their clan lands would be a good thing - especially if she returned to them once more.
Cooper spent the next hour checking out where they could put the villages. She hunted out freshwater sites and found that the state was covered in small ponds and lakes so freshwater would not be a problem. She looked for places near towns or cities but with places where they used to farm. From her own school studies of the area, she knew Michigan produced a lot of food for the old country. She hoped it was just as fertile.
She marked out eight potential sites and two alternate sites. It would be up to Clarke to decide where the villages were placed, but the ones Cooper had placed there were a good thirty miles apart. It would give the villages room to grow and expand without encroaching on another's territory.
It would have to wait until she was crowned, just like everything else would, but with some tentative plans, she felt she had a good start.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Murphy turned up just after lunch and was respectful and deferential to her new position. Clarke must have told him to behave.
"Welcome, Murphy kom Skaikru," Cooper said.
"Queen Cooper," he said, bowing again. "You sent for me? What can I do for you?" Cooper looked at Koby who returned the look with a blank expression.
"I need your skills, Murphy," she said with a sigh. "I think there's some hidden places in this compound and I need you to find them. I have no idea what we'll find, but this place needs to be gutted and rebuilt. I want to find the secrets first." Murphy nodded. He was apprehensive when Clarke said the Azgeda Queen wanted to see him, but this could be fun!
"Where do you want me to start?"
"Here. This was the office of the Ambassador. If there are secret places, they would be here." Murphy nodded and looked around.
"How much can I do? Can I take down walls if needed?"
"Only if you can guarantee that the ceiling won't fall down, Murphy. This place will be gutted, not demolished, got that?"
"Got it," he said, looking around again. "First thing, the floor," he said. He walked over to the mats on the floor and started lifting them. After the third one, he found a small hatch on the floor and smiled. "Found one." Cooper and Koby both went over to him and looked at it. One part of it was recessed to accomodate the large lock. Cooper went to the desk and started going through the draws for the key but she couldn't find it. Murphy went over and subtly moved her to the side. He searched for the hidden switches most people used for secret compartments. He found one and pressed it and another small slim draw popped out of the right side of the desk above the normal drawer. It had been hidden among the detailed decorative panels. Inside were three keys. Cooper and Murphy looked at each other and picked them all up. They went to see which one fit the lock and then opened it and pulled up the hatch. Inside were several scrolls and several small bags. Murphy pulled them all out and handed them to Koby.
Koby went to the desk and deposited them on it. Cooper started with the bags and opened the first one. In it was a ring. Cooper looked at it and then put it to one side while she checked the other bags. They all held jewellery of one kind or another, bracelets, torques, rings and armbands. Cooper recognised clan symbols on some of them. Koby sighed.
"That one," he said, pointing to an armband of gold, "once belonged to the Heda of Trishanakru. He died around ten winters ago, I think."
"Are these keepsakes from battles?"
"Maybe, but I think they are more like tokens taken from those they tortured," Koby admitted.
"Shit!" Murphy said.
"What about the others?" Cooper asked, ignoring Murphy.
"This is the clan symbol of Podakru and this one is Yujleda. The other symbols, I do not recognise."
"I do, or at least this one," Murphy said, pointing to a ring with an insignia in the middle. "This diamond shape with the four stars was once the flag of Arkansas."
"Whose land is that now?"
"I don't know," Murphy said. "Maybe Yujleda, maybe Plains Rider, maybe it's across the Commander's borders. I just don't know." Cooper pulled up the maps she'd been looking at of the Commander's lands.
"Murphy point it out please." Murphy studied the map and put his finger on where he thought Arkandas was.
"It's about here."
"Koby?" Koby looked at the map.
"Part Plains RIder, part Yujleda and part warlord," he replied.
"Great!" Cooper said with a sigh. "Another thing to worry about."
"We can check them later," Cooper said, "let's see what the scrolls say. Murphy, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to sit over there while we read these. There may be state secrets in them." Murphy nodded.
"Mind if I check out the other side of the room instead?" he said, pointing to the bookcase and seat in the corner.
"Go ahead," Cooper said and Murphy moved off while Cooper and Koby looked over the scrolls.
Cooper unrolled the first one and saw a map. There was something familiar about it but she didn't know what. She put it aside and unrolled another one. This one was a list of people, some had their names crossed out.
"Shit!" muttered Cooper. "This looks like a hitlist," she whispered.
"What's one of them?" Koby asked, also in a whisper.
"A list of people you want dead," Cooper replied. Koby looked at it again.
"And those with the names crossed out?"
"The ones you've killed." Koby nodded and reread the list. He pointed to two names he knew.
"Floukru and Boudalan people," he muttered. Cooper nodded and put it aside. The third scroll was also a map, but this time it was a map of Trikru territory with places marked on it that did not match any known villages. Cooper was at a loss as to what they'd found. She would take the lot to the Commander and get her to help her figure it out.
"Found another one!" Murphy called out. "Need another key." Cooper took the remaining keys over to him. He took them and tried them and opened another door. They pushed it open and it led to a secret room. Koby went to get one of the oil lamps and they went inside. There were shackles on the walls along with reddish brown stains that they all knew was dried blood.
"Shit!" Murphy said. He moved towards the other side of the small room and picked up a shirt with blood on it. "This is dried, but it's not that old," he looked around again. In the corner was a small chest and Koby opened it.
"Torturer's tools," he said in disgust before he slammed the chest shut.
"This is off the ambassador's office, Koby, there can be no doubt that he did this."
"No, ai kwin, there isn't."
"You'll need to tell me what the Azgeda funeral rites are because we're going to need them before we go home." Murphy looked at her when she said home.
"Sha, ai kwin. I see now that what we were told was lies! I follow you." Cooper bent her head, looking at the ground, humbled by his simple declaration of loyalty.
"Mochof, Kobi." she said, using the Azgeda form of his name. Murphy walked around the walls.
"You know, this is completely inside the building," he said. "Anyone screaming in here, wouldn't be heard outside."
"Probably why they built it here," Cooper said, morosely. "I want this whole complex turned upside down, Murphy. Check every single room. You can start with my rooms next." Murphy nodded.
"Jerome can go with him," Koby said. Cooper nodded and Koby went to call him in.
"Check everywhere here and anything you find, put it in this room, no matter what it is - other than bodies." Murphy looked startled but nodded.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'm checking Azgeda for places where we can grow more food. Nia had them producing goods in the wrong places. I'm going to be moving most of the food production south towards Trikru territory and move some of the other things further north like the metal working and carpentry. There are some large trees up north that we can use and there's a few old iron mines around there too."
"You've got your hands full," Murphy said.
"You don't know the half of it!" Cooper said. "I can't wait until I find my successor and can come back here."
"You're not staying there?"
"Not if I can help it! I don't belong there any more than I belong at Arkadia!" Murphy nodded. Koby came back with Jerome and Cooper got him and Murphy going over every inch of the building. Cooper gave Murphy permission to break into locked rooms and boxes. Any weapons were to be taken straight to the office and not to be moved off site. She gave Murphy paper and pens she'd gotten from the Commander so he could list everything he found.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Two days later, Sterling and Julia and the escorting warriors arrived in Polis. They went straight to the Skaikru warehouse where the wagon was unloaded by those inside before being returned to the Trikru warriors. They left with it and Sterling took Julia inside.
"Where's Clarke?" Sterling asked Raven.
"Upstairs in her new office," Raven replied. Sterling nodded. The office had been planned before he and Cooper had left for Tesla station but he thought it wouldn't be completed for another few months yet. He led Julia upstairs and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Clarke called out. Sterling opened the door and both of them entered.
"Heda Clarke, this is Julia, Cooper's mom."
"Yeah, we've met," Clarke said with a smile. She held out her hand to Julia who shook it.
"Where's my daughter?" she asked.
"Do you know what happened?"
"Yeah, she's somehow become queen to those who were attacking us."
"Yes, she did. She's currently at the Azgeda Embassy."
"May I go and see her?"
"Not right now. She's borrowed Murphy and he's going through the place with a fine toothed comb." Sterling understood what she meant. There could be things there that Julia should not see.
"But-" Clarke held up her hand.
"I'll send a message to her and she'll contact us when we can see her. She's very busy trying to get things done and some things undone. She will be going to the Ice Nation to be crowned as their queen soon and then she'll be back to swear fealty to the Commander. She has so much to do before spring." Julia nodded.
"I want to stay here instead of going back to Tesla. I was originally from Factory, but I don't feel like I belong there either."
"You can stay here until we move and then you can choose where you want to live," Clarke said. "What job did you do on the Ark and what jobs can you do on the ground?"
"I worked on the template machines in factory,'' she said. "And on the ground, I cooked for the others. I find it enjoyable."
"Good, if you want the job, you can help with the meals for the rest of us. We all take turns in the kitchens, but if you want to be there full time, we can still help you out."
"I'd like that. Where do I sleep?"
"We have dorm houses in the back. You can bunk in there. I will say that the rest of us are under twenty. There are a couple of single rooms if you'd prefer one of those." Julia nodded.
"Okay, Sterling can show you around. There are places we don't allow others and some places where we trade. You'll be shown what we do and you can sit in on some of the trades. It's how we make our place in this city. We will assign you some clothing and other things, but the rest we use for trading."
"Thank you," Julia said. Sterling led her out and to her new life.