Chapter 14
Cooper made it to her embassy and was welcomed back by Lori.
"Ai kwin, welcome back," Lori said, smiling.
"Thank you, Ambassador," Cooper said. Lori nodded and led Cooper into the embassy. She looked around and saw the changes. She couldn't find a single inch of red. Cooper sighed in relief.
She'd made sure that the Azgeda still had their blue colours, she just got rid of the red. She had the main reception room redone in white ceilings, and blue walls. She'd had the Azgeda hand symbol painted on the floor which was also white. The black handprint against it was very contrasting and drew the eye to it. She wanted others to know that Azgeda still stood and was still proud. Her own quarters were supposed to be done in light grey with mid blue accents. She'd see what they'd done in there later.
She went to her office and sat down, looking over the scrolls that awaited her. She'd kept up her Azgeda lessons and could now read it as well. Sometimes she still needed help with a word or two, but generally, she could read it. A lot of the scrolls were deals that Lori had made and all Cooper had to do was ratify them. She only denied one trade and that was because the people who she was trading with were the outcasts. While Cooper had no problem trading with them, the Commander did. To keep on her good side, she would not trade with them either. There were plenty of people who would.
There were also scrolls of cautious congratulations from the other clans. She'd meet them in two days when she took the oath of fealty. She'd also be introduced to the Ambassadors as well. Lori had done a good job as the stand-in ambassador and Cooper wondered if she wanted the job full-time. She still hadn't found anyone she could trust enough to do the job from within Azgeda, so she hoped Lori would continue for her.
Next, she pulled her pack closer and took out the maps and papers she'd brought with her. She knew what to give the Skaikru as restitution but she still didn't know what to do for the Trikru - or the Podakru.
"Koby, can you find someone who can tell me about the clans? I need to find out about Podakru. I already know of the Trikru, but Podakru is along our border too."
"Sha, ai kwin. Delfikru also had a small border with us." Cooper nodded. No doubt Koby would be able to find someone to tell her about them. She'd also ask Gaia about them but she would bet she'd get very different information from Gaia than from someone else. She'd just have to wait to begin her plans for those people.
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Two days passed. Cooper woke up with a sense of both renewed vigour and foreboding. To finally swear fealty to the Commander on behalf of Azgeda was a scary thing, but it needed to be done so the Azgeda weren't wiped out. Once done, she would meet with the Commander and Heda Clarke of the Skaikru to make restitution to the Skaikru. She'd have to ask the Commander what she could do for the Trikru and Podakru for invading their lands and killing their people.
A knock on the door sent her thoughts to the ceremony.
"Enter," she called out. Lina entered with her official robes. Lina was one of the Azgeda who had come with her to work in the embassy.
"Ai kwin, these are your ceremonial robes. I'll help you on with them when the time comes but for now, a bath has been drawn in your antechamber. You have two candlemarks before you need to change for the ceremony," Lina said. Cooper nodded.
"Mochof, Lina." Lina bowed and withdrew. Cooper sighed as she shed her nightwear and headed for the steaming hot bath. She loved having baths - until the water went cold, that was - but she actually missed having showers. They were quicker and she wasn't standing around in her own dead, floating skin cells. She sighed again as she got into the tub and slowly sank down, letting the hot water work on her muscles.
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Kwin Cooper kom Azgeda was dressed in her ceremonial robes and accompanied by two bodyguards as per regulations at these ceremonies. They were, of course, unarmed. She was standing outside the throne room while the first part of the ceremony took place. The Commander had gathered the leaders and Ambassadors of each clan and they would be asked if they objected to Azgeda taking the oath of fealty. It was a formality, but with the problems Nia had caused, they may not want them in the Kongeda now. It was an anxious time. Cooper blew out an audible breath as she centred herself for what was to come. Either she would take the oath, or they would be banished altogether, never to return. Their lives and the clan's life depended on the outcome of the vote inside.
The door opened and four guards walked out and escorted her inside. She looked only at the Commander. She was scared that if she looked around, she'd see disapproving looks and outright hostility. The vote had taken longer than the mere formality Gaia said it would. Cooper didn't know if that was good or bad, but she hedged on the side of pessimism just in case.
"Kwin Cooper of Azgeda, the vote has been cast and you are now hereby ordered to take the oath of fealty," the Commander said. Cooper silently sighed with relief. A small half smile appeared on the Commander's lips for a split second.
"Sha, ai Heda," Cooper replied, bowing her head. She was led to a cushion and she knelt as the Commander spoke to the rest of the assembled people.
"Cooper kom Skaikru defeated Queen Nia in single combat. By Azgeda rules, that makes her their queen. She has already been crowned and now she is here to swear fealty to me and to the Kongeda. You have all voted for her to be included in our kongeda. Remember, she is NOT Nia. She was never one of our people, but she is now. We have modified the ceremony because Queen Cooper has stated that she will not be their queen for long. She is looking for her replacement and when she does, she wants to return to Polis where she feels most at home. Once her heir is crowned as the new monarch of Azgeda, she will automatically revert to Cooper kom Skaikru. For that reason, she will not be tattooed as leader of the Azgeda, nor will she take the brand either. Ambassador Lori will take that brand in her stead and whoever reigns after Kwin Cooper will be tattooed with the leader's mark." There were a few whispers about that, but saw the prudence in keeping all permanent marks off her until she knew where she would end up.
"Flamekeeper Titus," the Commander called. Titus went up to Cooper and began reciting the oath which Cooper recited back. Soon the ceremony was over and Azgeda had their place once again in the kongeda and this time, Cooper was determined they would behave and co-operate with the other clans.
There was a feast to mark the occasion and Cooper found herself talking to the Leader and Ambassador of Yujleda, the Ambassador of Podakru and the Ambassador to the Plains Riders.
She gave a small head bow to each of them as a mark of respect, but not a full bow as a queen was technically higher in rank than even a leader of the clans.
"You have not yet been on the ground for a year and yet you are now a leader yourself," said Uzac, the Yujleda Ambassador.
"Yes, Ambassador, though I did not know at the time I issued the challenge that I would become their queen. I was a prisoner and I knew she was going to kill me in front of the Commander. I told Nia my name was Clarke Griffin, Wanheda. She'd issued orders to have Clarke captured so she could kill her just like she did to Costia."
"But Costia was the Commander's lover?" said the Podakru leader.
"Yes she was, but Queen Nia had decided that because Heda Clarke of the Skaikru resided in Polis, it meant they were lovers as well. I gave her name to Nia and she believed me. When I told her to fight me, I had nothing to lose. My life was already hers to take. I was tied up and could not fight back. The challenge was the only thing I could do. Fortunately for me, she agreed."
"Why would she do that?"
"Maybe because it was issued in front of her own troops or because it was issued in front of the Commander and Nia didn't want the Commander to think she was weak and couldn't fight her own battles." Cooper shrugged.
"I heard from some of the Trikru warriors who saw it about what happened. They said you waited her out and only took defensive action. Why?"
"Because I had not learned enough about swordplay to attack her when she was at her strongest. I had to wait until she had begun to tire and had fallen into a routine. When she lifted her sword to strike at me, she left her body undefended. I didn't wait for her to strike that time, and lunged forward, thrusting my sword into her body."
"Wise decision," said Ambassador Heligon of the Plains Riders.
"I may be from the sky and know next to nothing about your ways, but I have a right to live as well. I didn't want to die," Cooper said with another shrug.
"So what now?"
"I will go back to Azgeda and clean house. I've got loyal people going out and rounding up - or killing, if they don't lay down their arms and surrender - Queen Nia's hand-picked warriors. I need to check what we produce or make and in what quantities. There are reports of Nia keeping anything she traded with the clans for. I need to find them and distribute them to the rest of the clan. I will be making wholesale changes, and it won't be pretty. I'll try to keep them out of your territories, but some may run for the borders. I give you permission, right now, that if they don't return to Azgeda lands immediately, you can kill them without reprisals from me. Those thugs need to go before Azgeda can become the clan they should have been all along!"
"Well said!" Heligon said. The others were looking at a skai goufa and realising they were more than the uneducated children they thought they were.
"Anything else?"
"Yes, I need to make restitution to Podakru and Trikru as well. I already have a plan for Skaikru, but I need to know what Podakru and Triku need and what we have we can give them.
"I will have a talk with my leader and find out what we would like," the Podakru Ambassador said with a bow.
"Mochof, but it may take a while for me to figure out what we have that we can spare. Make no mistake, gentlemen, I will protect my people. I want their needs to be seen to first. I will not be giving anyone our food, clothing and supplies until my own people are cared for." They saw the seriousness on her face and knew she meant it.
"Sha, Heda," the Ambassadors said, bowing to her. The leader of Yujleda looked at her and finally gave a small head bow. He'd heard from his people that one of the stations was partly on his lands and what Cooper kom Skaikru had done to improve relations with them. From all reports, those from the skai station were getting along with the Yujleda quite well. They'd stopped shooting at anything moving and were actually listening and learning from his scouts and others who went to help them survive winter. Now that spring was here, he'd not only come to see the new Azgeda queen swear fealty, but to find out what Heda Clarke and the Commander intended to do with those people. The other station further south had asked to join his clan if it was possible. Only a handful of people wanted to go to Skaikru and they were people who had children among those who came first.
Cooper moved on to Luna, Heda of the boat people, also known as Floukru.
"Heda, Luna," Cooper said, giving her another head bow.
"Kwin Cooper," Luna replied, bowing to her fully.
"How goes the fishing?" Cooper asked.
"It is good. Once the weather warms up some more, we'll be going south to find tuna." Cooper nodded. "How did the canvas for the wagon do?" Cooper smiled.
"Once we had it fitted, it worked beautifully. Thank you so much!"
"I must admit when our Ambassador came to me with your request, I was surprised, but the trade was a good one. We are now pulling up seawater and turning it into drinking water. We can eke out our water supply this way." Cooper smiled.
"If you need more, see Raven," Cooper said. "Actually, you'd better make the deal with Clarke. I keep forgetting I'm no longer Skaikru so I cannot speak on their behalf anymore." Cooper was saddened by that.
"Well, from what Lexa tells me, you are only their queen until you can find a suitable replacement."
"Yes, but that may take a couple of years, Heda Luna. I'll find myself sadly behind when I return."
"Not that far back, surely?"
"I'll have been replaced, Heda Luna. They cannot keep my position open until I return. They need someone to trade with others, drive the wagons and find items to trade with."
"You did a lot more than that, Cooper. My people have told me how much you did for them. They said that if Clarke could no longer rule her people, you would be the perfect replacement as you already knew the way they were heading."
"That's probably because Clarke and I set off to find our lost people. We did that to atone for what we did in the mountain and for the hundreds of Trikru warriors we killed in the ring of fire."
"Yes, I understand atonement," Luna said quietly. Cooper looked at her and saw that she did indeed understand it. Cooper didn't know what she was atoning for, but she knew it was a burden Luna was still carrying.
"I think my being Queen of Azgeda is also penance for my part in those deaths. I hope that by helping Azgeda get back on its feet and being productive, it will help assuage my guilt."
"I understand," Luna said. She looked around. "I think your former people want to talk to you," she said, pointing to Clarke and Bellamy heading her way with Miller in tow. Cooper turned to them and smiled. She turned back to Luna.
"I hope we can have trade between us at some point, Heda Luna. I'll leave instructions with Lori about what we need and what we've got to trade with."
"That would be good, Kwin Cooper. Now I'll leave you with your friends." Luna smiled, bowed and walked away.
"God, Cooper!" Clarke said as she hugged her. Cooper returned the hug, not realising how much she missed it. As the Azgeda queen, no-one touched her without her express permission and it saddened her to think she couldn't get a hug from someone because they wanted to give her a hug. Clarke was a touchy-feely person in that regard and Cooper found she wanted more of them.
"Queen Cooper," Bellamy said, formally and bowed. Cooper grinned, cuffed him on the back of his head gently and drew him into a hug.
"I'm still your friend, Bellamy."
"I know, but this is a formal setting for your swearing in ceremony."
"Yeah, and as the guest of honour, I get to say whether you can hug me or not!" she said teasingly. They laughed.
"How are you otherwise?" Clarke asked.
"It's a big job, but it needs done, Clarke. There are things I cannot tell you because they are no-one's business but Azgeda's, but I do have people helping to round up Nia's thugs. Our prisons are filling up quite fast apparently."
"Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Not at the moment, but in the meeting after this feast, we need to have a long chat about some stuff. I'd like Bellamy there as well, please." Clarke looked at her and nodded.
"Alright, we'll wait until the meeting.
"So tell me, did you get the gates and guardpost built?"
"We're in the process. We still have to wait another couple of weeks for the ground to thaw out enough so we can dig through it, but once we can, permanent gates will be erected and the guardpost built," Bellamy said after looking at Clarke for permission.
"That's good. Anything else you can tell me?"
"Raven's going to get piping laid to bring water to the stable yard. That should be happening in about a month and carry on during summer. Monroe and Harper have returned from Hydro. Monroe and Rose are looking to buy some horses for us to use. The stable block's almost finished and once it is, they'll buy three horses. Two for wagon pulling and one for riding. We'll get more later when we get more wagons and people who can ride."
"Will six stables be enough?"
"No. We'll have to figure out where else we can put them."
"What about converting one of the unused buildings into another stable block and wagon store?" Clarke and Bellamy looked at each other. Cooper was technically from another clan now and they didn't want the extent of their operations known just yet. Clarke felt bad as the entire premise for them being in Polis in the first place had been hers. Cooper was the one who suggested they go find their lost stations and she was the one to suggest finding a building in Polis they could use. All they had built was basically on Cooper's ideas. Both Bellamy and Clarke felt torn about it, they still saw her as one of them, but she wasn't. She was now the Azgeda Queen and as such had no say in what they did next.
Cooper saw their expressions and was both hurt and saddened that she was no longer part of them.
"I'm coming back guys, but I don't know how long it will take. I know you cannot tell me Skaikru things now, but I hope we can maintain our friendship. I miss you guys like you wouldn't believe." Clarke hugged her again.
"I know, but just like you, we can't divulge information unless you are Skaikru." Cooper sighed and nodded her understanding. Cooper's mother came over and hugged her daughter.
"Hey, mom, it's so good to see you! I'm sorry I didn't come and see you at the Skaikru Embassy the last time I was here, but I never got Clarke's message that you'd come to Polis."
"I understand, Cooper. Clarke - sorry, Heda Clarke told me what must have happened. I know that those were hectic days for you and your new clan."
"Yeah, they were! I swear, the next time someone wants to kill me, I'll make sure I know the rules before I challenge them!" Cooper was smiling as she said it and both Bellamy and her mother laughed.
"Just promise me that you are safe, okay? I can't lose you, I just found you again."
"I know mom." Cooper turned to Koby. "Mom, this is Koby, my personal bodyguard. He's responsible for keeping me alive. I have nine others as well, but Koby is the one I count on the most. He's by my side every waking moment." Julia looked him up and down.
"As Cooper's mother, thank you for looking after my little girl. She's the only family I have left, please take care of her." Koby bowed to her.
"You have my word, Kwin nomon, I will protect her with my life!" Julia nodded. Just then a bell rang to signal the end of the feast. People started leaving and once they had, only Clarke, Bellamy, Miller, Cooper, Koby, Jardin and the Commander were left.
"Come, we have a meeting to attend," the Commander said, walking ahead of them out of the feasting hall.
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When everyone was seated around a table, the Commander started the meeting.
"Queen Cooper requested this meeting immediately after the feasting. Why have you asked for it?"
"I have a plan for restitution to the Skaikru. I have not yet figured out what to give to Trikru and Podakru for invading your lands and killing your people, but I will find something." The Commander nodded.
"For now, I have a tentative plan which needs careful handling by all of us."
"How?" asked Clarke. Cooper turned to her.
"What's the one thing the Skaikru needs above all?" Clarke looked at her.
"A place of our own. Skaikru territory where we can bring our people to live in peace. A place to call home." Cooper nodded and pulled a map out of her pocket and unfolded it. They all looked at it.
"This is a part of Azgeda territory where no-one lives. This is Michigan." The Commander's eyes widened as she grasped what Cooper intended to do. Clarke and Bellamy were slower.
"Yeah, so?" asked Bellamy.
"Azgeda owes Skaikru restitution for the unprovoked attacks on its people and stations or villages. As no Azgeda live here, I intend to give it to the Skaikru for their new homeland." Clarke and Bellamy's eyes flew wide open as they both looked up at Cooper.
"You can't! Clarke said. "This is huge!"
"It's not quite that big, but it is big enough for the Skaikru to live peacefully and to grow as a clan."
"What are the places marked on the map?" asked Bellamy.
"Potential sites for Skaikru villages." Cooper held her and up to forestall Clarke and Bellamy from interrupting her. "I started this plan when I was still Skaikru. Remember when I asked the Commander about it?" Clarke nodded.
"The land was unused so I decided to exercise my brain and planned out where the villages should be. Now, I have no idea if they were bombed during the war or if they were more or less left alone. I do know that subsequent wars and skirmishes have damaged some of it and nature and time will have done more damage. There are eight settlements plotted here and two alternatives. I based them near either rivers or the lakes or freshwater ponds. Each had farming land around them except for these two," she said pointing to two of the settlements.
"Villages 7 and 2," Bellamy said.
"Yes, they are in the old city of Detriot. Detroit is on the border with Azgeda so if you put people there, they can repel any Azgeda trying to cross.
"Your people," Bellamy said, dubiously.
"Yes. I'm trying to clean house up there and that means capturing and executing Nia's handpicked thugs. Some of them may try to cross the border into other territories. I've already given permission to Podakru and Plains Riders to either send them back or kill them if they won't return."
"Is that wise?" asked Clarke.
"I need to be seen to be proactive in dealing with them and if they do cross the borders, those territories can deal with them as they see fit. I need to make deals with them and this is one of them." Cooper shrugged. She had no idea if it would work, but she had to start somewhere.
"How big is the territory?" asked the Commander.
"Roughly 250 miles long and about 200 miles across at its widest point," Cooper replied.
"How did you figure that out so quickly?" Bellamy asked.
"School." She turned to Clarke. "Remember that class we did in American history? We were 13 at the time? We were each given a state to research. I got Michigan. Murphy got Arkansas."
"Oh, yeah, I had to do Maine," Clarke said.
"Mine was Ohio," said Bellamy.
"So you remember bits of it from school?"
"Yeah. Michigan was good for growing crops and stuff. Around 80 percent of blueberries consumed by Americans came from there along with crops like wheat and potatoes. I know it's good growing there, you just have to find out where. Farm station should be good for that." She looked at Bellamy, Clarke and over to Miller.
"I know I'm no longer Skaikru and can't tell you what to do, but I'd suggest breaking up the stations and having people from each station in each village. Farmers, blacksmiths and carpenters will be needed in each village at the very least along with people who can make clothes, turn pelts into workable material for clothing and bedding and such like." Clarke nodded, getting her meaning.
"We'll take that on board, Cooper," she said, warily. Cooper sighed again.
"I hate this! I hate not being part of you, I hate that I cannot see my friends whenever I want and I really hate that I'm seen as different now."
"Once you return to us, it'll be better," Clarke said.
"No it won't Clarke. I'll be at least two years behind you all. You'll have done things that I wasn't part of." Bellamy nodded.
"Like when we came back from Orchid station after being gone for almost two months," he said.
"Yeah, but this time when I come back, I won't have a job to come back to. I can't influence the direction you're taking and I won't fit in there anymore. I'll be a stranger again." Clarke opened her mouth to refute that, but Miller beat her to it.
"She's right, Clarke. She may return to us, but she won't be the same person anymore and neither will we. She may be one of us, as in Skaikru, but she won't be one of US as in the people living here in Polis. She'll be like one of the Skaikru from another station. One of us but not at the same time."
"She'll always be one of us. She was in the mountain with us, she survived it, like we did, she's one of us!" Clarke was livid that Miller thought of Cooper and no-one other than another Skai person from another station.
"He's right, Clarke," Cooper said. "When I return, I won't be the me you remember. I'll have changed from my time in Azgeda. There will be things I cannot talk about because they are Azgeda private stuff. I will not break my oath to them even when someone else is on the throne."
They sat there and thought about what it would mean for them.
"So when do you want to announce this change in ownership of the land?" the Commander asked.
"Do you approve and give your consent, Heda?" asked Cooper.
"Sha," Commander Lexa said, finally.
"Good, because we'll have a fight on our hands. Some already suspect I'm a spy or an agent of either Skaikru or Trikru, intent on taking their lands because of the lies Nia's been spreading about us - about you," Cooper said.
"What lies?" asked Clarke. Cooper looked at her seriously.
"According to Nia, we were sent down as an invasion force intent on invading Azgeda because it's the largest clan. She spread stories about us that we were monsters who ate babies in the mountain and killed them with our superior weaponry - which we were sent down with, by the way - and would turn that weaponry on Azgeda. She told them that Trikru children were taught to hate Azgeda from their first breath and that any Trikru child that came across an Azgeda one would happily slit their throats as that was their duty to their Commander who approved of it all."
"She what!" Clarke was on her feet, while Bellamy and the Commander were both stunned.
"You can prove that?" asked the Commander. Cooper nodded and pulled another document from her pocket and laid it in front of the Commander.
"I am not your enemy, Commander," Cooper said quietly as she sat there, reminding the Commander that she was not the Azgeda Queen who plotted it all.
Lexa picked it up and read it.
"You are not my enemy," the Commander repeated as she put the document into her own pocket to deal with later.
"Is there anything else, Queen Cooper?" asked the Commander.
"Only that we need to discuss when we tell the others of the change in ownership of Michigan. It's spring right now and an ideal time to start planting up there. I'd rather do this as soon as possible so Heda Clarke can start her people heading north to their new homeland and start planting."
"I will consult with several of my people and we will meet again in two days at noon to discuss it and how we will do this," the Commander said. Cooper nodded as did Clarke and Bellamy.
"We'll discuss it with my people as well, Commander."
"Heda Clarke, if you're sending people to Orchid, could you send Jeff Treblinski? His parents are there and he wanted to return to help guide them to wherever the new Skaikru home territory was." Bellamy was nodding.
"I remember that," he said. Cooper nodded back.
"Well then, if that's everything, I need to go to the embassy and start issuing orders and find some stuff to trade with before I return home to begin the mass exodus of people across Azgeda." The Commander frowned. "Queen Nia had people farming in the wrong places and had divided the territory up and placed each one with the wrong trades. She had miners mining where there were no mines and loggers along the border with Podakru instead of to the north where there are some big trees we could use instead of the smaller ones growing near our southern border. I have to sort it out and make sure people are working in the correct areas. With spring here, they need to move and plant as soon as possible."
"Understood," the Commander said. Cooper stood and bowed to the Commander and then to Clarke and Bellamy. As she passed Miller, she stopped for a word with him.
"I will not send anyone against her or Skaikru. Any Azgeda who says I did, you can kill as liars and assassins." She left the room before he could say anything in return.
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Cooper went to the healers tent to see Echo. She was still being held there until they knew what to do with her.
"Echo," she said.
"Ai kwin," Echo returned.
"Did you read my letter?"
"Sha."
"Do you want to come home or stay here?" Echo took some time to think about it.
"I need to return home to know I can, but I don't feel like that it is my home anymore."
"Where will you go?"
"I want to stay here with Skaikru if possible." Cooper looked at her.
"Bellamy?" she asked. Echo nodded.
"I find myself attracted to him though I have not done anything about it and neither has he." Cooper nodded and sat on the bed beside her.
"Echo, if you wish, you can be my personal bodyguard along with Koby. The others are backups. I want people I can trust with my life. You are one of them. I will not be the Azgeda Queen for long, but I need to make changes up there before I hand it over to someone else." Echo looked at her.
"Who will become the next king or queen?"
"I don't know, but if you accept, I have a job for you first." Echo thought about it. She would go home and see her people once more but she could return with the queen once she was no longer the queen. Azgeda policy is to kill those who came before you on the throne, but Cooper was changing things even now. Echo made up her mind.
"I will protect you and when you are no longer queen, I will protect you from those who would kill you for existing. Once back here, we decide what to do then."
"Agreed," Cooper said, and held out her arm for Echo to shake. Koby watched as two former prisoners made a deal to keep their heads intact once Cooper no longer ruled Azgeda. He hoped that wherever Cooper went, he would be allowed to follow. Even though Azgeda was his home and Cooper was making changes for the better, it was Cooper herself that held his oath, not Azgeda. He was her man, not Azgeda's.
"What is the job you want me to do?"
"Are you healed enough to leave?" Echo was about to say yes when Cooper interrupted her. "And I don't mean your definition of healed. Have the healers said you are fit enough to leave and continue your work?" Echo slowly nodded her head.
"Yes, I'm still here because the Commander and Clarke do not know what to do with me."
"Okay, I'm meeting with the Commander in two days. I'll ask for you to be released into my custody. Once you are, you come home. I need you to find Prince Roan and bring him to me at the palace. Keep him alive, Echo, I need him alive." She nodded.
"Good, get some rest because you won't have much after tomorrow."
"Sha, ai kwin," Echo said as Cooper stood and left the room.
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At the meeting with the Commander, Cooper brought up Echo.
"I want to know what you intend to do with Echo," she stated.
"I have not decided yet," the Commander said.
"I want her to be returned to me. She is Azgeda."
"Can you guarantee she won't cause any trouble?"
"Only for my enemies or idiots who get in my way," Cooper replied.
"In what way?" Clarke asked.
"I intend to make her one of my personal bodyguards. She has said that she wants to go back to Azgeda to prove she can but she doesn't feel like that is where she belongs anymore. "
"So what happens if she wants to leave?" Clarke asked.
"She has agreed to stay with me, including when I come back here. We'll decide then where we belong, though Echo is interested in Bellamy."
"She is?" Clarke asked in surprise.
"Sha, and with Bellamy volunteering to watch over her when she told us of the Azgeda invasion, I think he returns it." Clarke nodded and smirked.
"Maybe that's a good thing. With Echo becoming one of us, she can keep him in line." Cooper laughed.
"I will allow that on the condition that she does no harm to any of the clan people who are not attacking you," the Commander said.
"Good, now, how are we with Michigan?"
"I will ask you to give that land up to the Skaikru for the attacks on them. If you just gave them the land, Azgeda would indeed be suspicious, but with my demanding the land in recompense for the attacks and invading my lands, they cannot be suspicious of you." Cooper thought about it and reluctantly agreed.
"Okay, I'd prefer to hand it over myself, but I understand the need for this little diplomatic subterfuge." Clarke nodded.
"When are we doing this?"
"I'll make the announcement this evening. I will gather the leaders and Ambassadors together once more and announce what I want you to do. This meeting will be the excuse of making sure you understand that it will happen."
"Understood," Cooper said.
"Good. Once the Commander makes the announcement, I'll spend the evening writing letters to our stations. If Tesla and Farm can get up there and search for the best areas in the locations you've suggested, they can make a start in growing the crops while most of Tesla can begin finding places to live. If there are towns or villages with housing still standing, they can be cleaned out for our use."
"I did those locations with no more than around four five hundred in mind at first. I'm not sure you can grow enough at first to feed any more than that. With no-one living there, the animals should be thriving and in large groups."
"Good thinking. I think if we send some of our people up there as well, they can start the first village and then we can send people up there. I think your idea of mixing the stations so there's people of all jobs in each village is a good one, however, with them living together for more than six months, they may want to stay together - or at least near each other."
"True, but they need to make sure they can actually do the jobs needed. I'd think at first, the Commander may need to send some people to show your people how to make things like clothing and woodworking, metalsmithing, logging, farming and the problems of the ground like animals eating the crops and stuff." Clarke nodded.
"We'll figure it out, Cooper. With that land now belonging to us, we have the land we need to expand and live without fighting for it."
"Done," the Commander said. "I will make the announcement this evening. Cooper, you need to be here as does Clarke."
"Sha, Heda," Cooper said while Clarke just nodded.
"Meet me here just after dusk." Cooper nodded, bowed and then bade then goodbye until that evening and went back to the embassy to make a start on transferring the land to the Skaikru.
ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Thank you to all who have followed and favourited my stories. I very much appreciate your support. Samdagger.