It took a few days to decide to publish this chapter. I'm English and as such, it is a hard task right now to think of anything else other than our lost monarch. Queen Elizabeth II was the foundation of our national identity and we are struggling to come to terms with her death. With a new Prime Miister and a new King, we have to adjust to a world we never thought we'd have to. Next week will be harder because the following Monday will be her state funeral. I have a heavy heart right now. Samdagger.
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Chapter 10
Murphy went back to the Skaikru Embassy and wrote out letters for all the stations, warning of attack from Azgeda. For those to the south it was a cautionary warning only but for those nearer like Tesla, Farm, Arkadia and Factory Stations, it was a call to arms to defend their villages. He also told those four that warriors were on their way to protect them and any act of aggression towards them would be seen as treason. Murphy was in no doubt that some of them would look upon their hosts as beneath them because of their lack of technology. Murphy wondered what they were thinking because they didn't have technology anymore either! He took the letters back to the healer tents to wait for Clarke's approval to send the letters. Raven was put in charge of the Embassy and warehouse until one of them could return. Murphy also made the decision to tell them what was happening.
Raven and Monty had been modifying the walkie talkies into radios they could use. Right now, they could only be used for up to five or six miles from Polis, but they had talked about building radio antennas or trying to resurrect any they could find still standing. With the ability to radio each village, they could co-ordinate their responses better. Raven sent Murphy back with five of the radios. One for Cooper, Miller, Murphy, the Commander and one spare for anyone who needed it.
Clarke and the healer had to cut away a significant portion of dead and damaged skin. For most of it, they could close the skin together, but for others they had to leave parts of it open to heal on its own. Because of that, Echo would be kept sedated for several days at least. The slightest movement could rip open the healing wounds and if infection set in, it could kill her.
Clarke and the healer left the room, both of them exhausted from performing fiddly surgery.
"How is she?" the Commander asked.
"It's touch and go whether her back heals enough for her to pass as fully fit. If she doesn't heal correctly, she may never have full use of it again and she would be prone to pain and suffer from a bent back and probably arthritis in later years. Right now, this is the best thing for her and she needs to be kept sedated for her own good and healing," Clarke said. Murphy silently passed her a cup of cold water which she took and gulped down and passed it back with a nod of thanks.
"We need to organise," Murphy said. "The Commander has offered warriors for those places near Azgeda. She's also sending messengers to Podakru. They'll keep an eye on Hydro. Tesla and Farm will both be assigned three hundred warriors to protect them. Indra and Octavia will be in charge at Farm and another of the Commander's generals - Chester - will lead those at Tesla. Sterling's agreed to go to Tesla with them to make sure they play nice and organise to fit in with the warriors. One of you needs to tell him exactly where Tesla station is, you're the only ones who have been there." Cooper thought it through.
"I'll go," she said. "Miller, you are Clarke's primary guard and you've got Liz and Guy to back you up along with anyone else from the Embassy and warehouse."
"Cooper, you can't go!" Clarke said.
"I have to. I know where it's at AND my mom's there, Clarke. I have to go, I can't stay here and worry about my mom. I can do more good there. You have Bellamy and Murphy backing you up to make the decisions." Clarke opened her mouth to object again.
"If it was your mother, would you just abandon her to her fate or would you try to make sure she was safe?"
"My mother is in danger if they are coming for us!" Clarke hissed.
"And warriors are on their way to them, but they are a good 300 miles from the border. Tesla's around half that." Clarke sighed loudly and nodded her acceptance.
"I'll warn Harribur as well, Commander," Cooper said, turning to her.
"Stay safe, Cooper," the Commander said. "General Chester will be here tomorrow with his warriors and will be able to move straight away. Be ready at dawn and then join them when they get here."
"Yes Commander."
"You may borrow one of the horses from my stables."
"Mochof, Commander," Cooper said again.
"Bellamy will watch over Echo, Commander," Clarke said, "and I'll be here several times a day to keep an eye on her medical needs."
"Bellamy will not be the only one. Several guards will also be on duty day and night." Clarke nodded at that caveat. Murphy handed over the letters he wanted to send by messenger. She approved all of them and the Commander took them and left to organise messengers to go to each station to warn them. Any messenger going to farm and Tesla would stay there and help with the defense. The one going to Arkadia would tell them he had other messages to pass on to warriors coming to join the defense so that he would be allowed to leave going south. He would pass on the message to Factory and it would be up to them if they wanted to contact Arkadia about mutual defense. The Commander had also written a letter to Factory explaining that they had autonomy within their village and that only Clarke as their leader was allowed to interfere with it. Those in Arkadia could not try to take over Factory station village or vice versa. Hopefully, that would help them make their decisions and to repel Arkadia if they tried to take over.
The following day, Cooper and Sterling had their horses ready and bags packed. The Commander had allowed them to use guns to protect their people from Azgeda and Sterling and Cooper both had rifles and boxes of ammunition they'd gotten from the army/navy store. The Commander's edict on no modern weapons was suspended for this one war and that was only beause the Skaikru had not had time to learn their weapons. To defend themselves, they would be using their own. With the fall of the mountain, they were safe from retaliation. Cooper and Sterling had raided the Army/navy stores for enough ammo for their rifles and handguns to last several battles. They'd also taken a box of grenades and hidden them from the others. They only told Raven so she could check to see if they were usable.
All ammo, handguns and grenades were in backpacks that they carried and their clothing and other supplies were in saddlebags on their horses.
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They left just before mid-morning when the general came into Polis while his army stayed outside. Ten minutes later he was back out and climbing onto his horse. Cooper and Sterling joined him and rode just behind him so Cooper could direct him to the station. They would head up to Harribur first and warn them and then turn west and head for Tesla station. They couldn't go on a diagonal straight from Polis because of a wide ravine with no way across it. The bridges from before the war were gone and now it was a good twenty miles to get around it and they would not gain any time doing it that way.
Cooper guided them to Harribur and went into the town to warn them of Azgeda's intentions and that the Commander believed that Harribur would be razed to the ground on their way south as would any Triku village the Azgeda came across. The Chief immediately started to organise his people. Cooper left and joined back up with the army who had continued a slow march west.
They arrived two days later and immediately surrounded the station. Cries of alarm were heard as people came out armed and ready to shoot if necessary.
"Don't shoot!" Cooper called out. She rode to the front of the army and dismounted. William went over to her and asked what was going on.
"The Azgeda Nation to the north have declared war on Skaikru and vowed to kill all Skaikru and destroy their villages," Cooper told them. "These warriors have been assigned by the Commander to protect you. We have no idea of the timetable, but she is massing her army right now. You are around 200 miles from her borders, but she intends to destroy all of us, no matter how far away we are."
"So what do we do?"
"We defend this place. We start making this place as defendable as possible. If there are any open places, we block them up. I want no more than three other ways in or out of the station to be used and the others locked from the inside. If there are fewer ways to get in, we can hold them off." William turned to his second in command.
"Start with the lower levels and check each area one by one and find those gaps and plug them!" he barked. His second nodded and ran off to gather people to help him. "Anything else?"
"Yes, we are allowed to use our guns, but the Trikru don't use them so be careful when you do. We don't want an accidental injury or death because we didn't check where we were firing or at whom." William nodded.
"Any children, elderly or infirm needs to be protected in one of the inner rooms," Cooper said. William nodded and sent another person off to sort that out.
"For now, some of the Trikru will go hunting. We have no idea if any of their scouts are around and guns will alert them to our position. Only use the guns for the coming battle and nothing else, not even target practice. We don't have enough ammo to waste on training."
"I know, we don't have that much. We have been trying to snare the small animals but we haven't been as successful as you were so we are shooting them if we can," William explained.
"Well, for now, the warriors will do the hunting while they are scouting the area for any Azgeda scouts or spies."
Sterling was up on the roof, looking for sniper places that were protected from any ground fire. Cooper would check the trees as well as a couple of Trikru warriors to find more sniper positions to keep the Azgeda out of the trees.
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It took another three days for scouts to report a large party of Azgeda heading their way. Cooper had William have guards up on the roof for sniper shooting only. The Trikru warriors were more experienced in hand to hand combat and they would take the brunt of the battle. The snipers were ordered not to fire until the battle had begun. If they shot early, then the Azgeda could retreat and General Chester didn't want that, he wanted to wipe them out. He was born for war but with the Commander bringing all the clans together in the kongeda, battles were few and far between and he wanted to destroy the Azgeda. His wife and son had been killed in an Azgeda raid when they lived in one of the villages near the Azgeda border and he wanted vengeance!
Cooper and Sterling were on the roof as well. They both had binoculars and had given some to the Trikru scouts and showed them how to use them. With them, they spotted the Azgeda warriors before they were seen themselves and so had the time to get everyone where they needed to be.
Soon the Azgeda had seen them and started running towards the station, unaware of the Trikru warriors waiting for them. As soon as the Azgeda started attacking the station, General Chester gave the warcry and 300 battle-hardened Trikru warriors descended on the 200 Azgeda warriors and battle was joined. Cooper was ordering the snipers to pick their targets carefully and they began sniping the enemy warriors, each one targeting a specific area. Sterling was shooting Azgeda who were trying to climb trees near him while two other guards did the same on two other sides. Cooper was on the side facing north and was doing the same for her side. She was also watching where the Azgeda were coming from and saw they were pouring through a narrow part of the upper valley the station was in. Cooper took several grenades from her pack and pulled the pin on the first one and threw it towards the oncoming horde.
The explosion scattered a large group of them and after that, Cooper was picking her targets carefully. Each grenade was lobbed towards a large group of the enemy at the back, not near their own people or their Trikru friends.
Cooper watched as a small group of them broke off from the main pack and tried to move around to the west of the station. The guard on that side either hadn't seen them or was targeting others. Cooper moved beside him and started shooting towards the small group, but knew she'd missed most of them. They moved out of view and Cooper tried to follow them but was impeded by the arrows fired by the Azgeda archers on the south side.
Cooper was so focused on finding the small group that she didn't see the guard who was hit with an arrow as he fell towards her. She was hit in the back and fell over the side of the station. Several Azgeda grabbed her and retreated. Once they were back a little way, they sounded a retreat and the Azgeda who were left, began to withdraw.
Once they had, William, General Chester and Sterling took stock and noticed that Cooper was missing.
"We have cameras up in the trees," Willam said and rushed off to check on them. He watched as Cooper was accidentally knocked over the side and saw Azgeda knock her out and carry her off. He rushed back and told them what had happened. Chester immediately sent six of his best scouts to follow their trail. He left two hundred of his warriors behind under command of his second while he, Sterling and the rest of the Trikru warriors pursued Cooper and her kidnappers.
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The messenger sent by the Commander to Arkadia and Factory Station, reached Arkadia two days later.
"I have an urgent message from the Skai Heda to the leader here!" he said. Kane went to him and was handed the scroll. Kane read it and swore.
"Is this true?" he asked.
"Sha, Azgeda are on the way. The Commander is massing her own armies and has sent three hundred warriors each to Farm and Tesla stations to protect them, they are much nearer the Azgeda border and will be attacked first. There are two hundred warriors coming up from the south once I send the message. I am on my way there now, expect them to come here in groups within the next two days." Kane nodded.
"Anything else?"
"Only that Heda Clarke and her people are organising the battle along with the Commander." Kane nodded again.
"Go deliver your other messages," he told the messenger. He nodded and remounted his horse and galloped off to the south.
"Byrne, Miller!" he yelled. They went running over to them and he showed them the scroll from Murphy with Clarke's signature on it.
"I want the perimeter guards doubled. All of them armed and none of them to shoot at anything that moves. We need to conserve the ammo for our new enemies." Both nodded and ran off.
"Sinclair, Abby!" Both of them went to him.
"The Ice Nation has declared war upon the Skaikru and vowed to wipe us out. Three hundred warriors each have been sent to the two stations nearest to their borders. Two hundred more warriors are on the way here from the south. We need to organise our defense. Sinclair, anything to help us would be appreciated. Cameras, super bright lights to blind them, strengthen the electric fence, anything." Sinclair nodded and went to round up his people for a brainstorming session on what they could do within a few days. Abby looked shocked.
"What do we do?"
"We defend this place. Clarke and the others are safe in Polis. That place is the most defended place throughout the Commander's lands. There are warriors from all the clans there and right now, they'll be rounding up the Azgeda ones and holding them for interrogation."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Prepare the medbay, Abby, I think we're going to get injured, no matter what happens." She nodded and set off to find Jackson and get the medbay prepped for the injured.
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The messenger reached Factory Station.
"I have a message from Clarke kom Skaikru, the leader of those from the Ark," he said in case they didn't know the correct terms for their leader and their clan.
"I'm Ariel, leader of this village," Ariel said. He handed the scrolls over to her and she read it before passing them on to another.
"We will defend our village. If two hundred warriors are being sent to Arkadia, they do not need us to be there. We will stay here and prepare." The messenger nodded before carrying on to the next destination and starting for the warriors to go defend Trikru lands.
Ariel turned to one of the guards from the Ark.
"Well?"
"We will prepare our places and get those who can't fight into the secure area."
"How are we on food?"
"We have enough to feed everyone once a day for the next five days. Water too." Ariel nodded.
"Then go prepare for a battle we have no idea how to fight." He nodded and set off to prepare his own warriors. Ariel sighed. Just once she would like it if they could live without someone's ego fucking things up! She turned to carry out her own preparations.
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Indra and Octavia reached Farm Station within three days by pushing their horses as hard as they dared. Pike was there to greet them. The messenger had reached them two days before and he had immediately began preparing his people.
"Are you General Indra?" he asked. She nodded. Octavia got off her horse and went over to him.
"If you have any ideas of killing these people, then you and I are going to have to fight!" she said. He narrowed his eyes.
"Do I know you?" Octavia looked around at everyone watching them.
"Yes, you do. I'm the girl who lived under the floor," she said. "I was one of the prisoners who you taught Earth Skills to. I was in the classroom when you started beating up Murphy for no reason! You got away with the crime of assaulting a minor, Pike, but I'm here to tell you that I will not let you destroy others because of your ego or agenda!"
"Go away, little girl!" he snarled at her. "You have nothing to say that I want to hear. Let the grown ups fight this war!"
"Those grown ups are battlehardened warriors, Pike and they'll gut you the minute they suspect you of treachery. You see those youngsters among them?" Pike looked around and nodded.
"Also battle-hardened warriors. Age is just a number down here, it's what you can do that counts, not how old you are or who your parents are - or were."
"And as for not being battle-hardened, I am. We were fighting battles and wars down here before you left the Ark. We know what they are capable of, you don't. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because they have swords and bows instead of guns, that they are inferior to you. They can still kill you with their 'primitive weapons'." Pike didn't know what to say.
"You are not in charge here!" he said finally.
"No, but neither are you. You may be in charge of Farm station, but the defence of it is down to us. You will be sniping from trees and from some of the buildings you've been living in. Right now, you need to listen to us. They know how vicious the Azgeda are. They will not leave you alone, they are intent on wiping every single sky person out, no matter what you have to offer. The Azgeda Queen has no need to explain herself nor any need to leave you alive. She's a psychopath, Pike. She thinks her way is the right way, the only way and anyone who gets in her way is soon run over and ploughed under."
"So what do we do?" asked a woman.
"We plan, we make sure the vulnerable are in a secure place, we wait for them to come to us and then we wipe them out!" Yells and cheers from the Trikru warriors followed Octavia's statement. Indra walked over to them.
"They will not stop, they have been trained to do her bidding and nothing else. She chooses her army based on who likes to torture and kill. She takes in the thugs and murderers and moulds them into her own elite fighting force. These are the ones she sends out to do her dirty work." Pike looked scared but tried not to show it.
"Is the ground always like this? Are you all savages who enjoy fighting?"
"No, we want peace, but when others do not, what are we supposed to do other than fight to save our people and lands?" Indra wondered if the person before her was one of those people Octavia had warned her about. Those who were always right, no matter what happened. A person who would place the blame for their own mistakes onto someone else because in their own minds, they are never wrong and any plans that go wrong are because someone else fucked up, not them.
"You defend your own territory and we'll defend the village!" he said to them.
"Not going to happen, Pike. We are going to defend all of it. Your village is still on Trikru lands and you are only on this patch on a temporary basis. Once spring is here, the Commander and Clarke will be searching for a place we can all live."
"In one big happy town?" he asked, incredulously.
"No, in several small villages with no more than maybe five or six hundred. The land around cannot support large communities of villages, so any land we move to will have villages every twenty miles or so. The villages need to be separate but close enough to reach within a day."
"So what now?"
"We plan and Indra sends scouts out to find the Azgeda army," Octavia told him. He nodded and Indra turned to send scouts out and then turned back to Pike and Octavia to start planning the defence of the village.
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A week later in Polis, Echo was still under sedation and Bellamy watched over her in the morning and evening, and in the afternoon, he was in the warehouse helping to organise the battles to come. The Commander had asked that they stay within their compound until she'd rounded up all the Azgeda within Polis over the first two days. Clarke and the others had reluctantly agreed and for those two days, they planned what was needed to do. With Cooper and Sterling off to Tesla, and Octavia and Indra going to Farm, they wondered if they should send anyone to Arkadia. Miller asked what they could actually do at Arkadia. One more gun wouldn't make any difference. Clarke agreed and said that the message and the two hundred warriors would be enough for Arkadia.
Raven was on duty with the radios. She'd shown the Commander them and the Commander asked if she could show several warriors how to use them. She wanted advanced warning of any Azgeda force heading their way. Raven had agreed and three radios were now with lookouts.
She was sitting making more radios from the parts they found in the army/navy store when the radio sounded with one of the lookouts.
"They are here!" he said.
"Where exactly?" Raven asked.
"They are coming from the northeast. They are heading straight here and will be here within a few hours. You need to warn the Commander."
"On it," Raven said before closing the transmission and running down the stairs and into the warehouse.
"Clarke, lookout says they are heading here from the northeast and will be here in a few hours!" Clarke and Miller ran out the doors towards the tower to inform the Commander. She immediately had the gates closed and the guard doubled. All clan personnel within the city were told and helped in its defence. Clarke sent Miller, Murphy and Bellamy to help plan with the Commander on where they could help while Clarke stayed in the warehouse with Liz and Guy as her guards until further notice.
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The first Hydro station knew of the plans was when they spotted a small army of Azgeda crossing the border into Podakru territory. They had already given a radio to the nearest village to contact each other if there was anything the other needed. Hydro station had come down on one of the islands within Lake Michigan. They'd landed on Beaver Island and were well placed to spot the movements near the Azgeda border.
Harper was on the radio immediately to warn the Podakru of the incursion of Azgeda onto their territory. The response was immediate with messengers sent out to other villages for warriors to stop the invasion. Another messenger was sent to the nearest large village where a small squad of fifty warriors was stationed and more messengers sent out from there. Within a day, over a thousand warriors were making their way towards the Azgeda border. It would still take time to mass them all but with more and more arriving before Azgeda could do more than form a camp near the shoreline, it should be enough time to avoid Azgeda getting to the island and slaughtering them. Harper and Monroe organised the defense of the station and had all non-fighters inside at all times. All fighters were clothed in any warm or extra clothing they had and waited for the first boats to cross the lake. Harper had ordered for the boats to be shot instead of the people. If the boats sank or took on water before they reached the island, they would either have to turn back or start swimming. It would still save on ammo.
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Cooper woke up to a blindfold over her eyes and her hands tied behind her back and her feet tied together. She had no idea where she was except for inside a building or tent. There was more light coming in for a normal building, but if it was one of the partially destroyed ones and had lots of holes in it, then that would account for the light. The blindfold was not a good one and if she looked down, she could see her legs. She was sitting on a chair and tied to it. She silently sighed and tested her restraints. Whoever had tied her up, had not tied them tight enough and there was enough play for her to try to get out of them. She may scrape off some skin, but it would be worth it if she could get out.
For several minutes she strained against the rope and finally she was able to squirm out of one of the ropes. She immediately leaned over and took off the other restraint. She pulled down the blindfold and then untied her feet. She stopped to listen and heard nothing. She looked around without moving from the chair. She was taking no chances that they could hear her. She saw a broken wall and ceiling. She had been placed into the corner of the room and when she looked past the wall, she saw the melting snow that was happening near Tesla station. She had been told that the further north they went, the longer it took for the snow to recede until there was snow all year round.
She guessed that she could not be more than a few miles from where she was taken but she could be wrong. She looked around again and saw some broken chairs. She went over to one and picked up a chair leg and tested it for strength of how rotten it was. It would do. Next was to find a way out of there. The open wall was too much of an invitation and would be a trap. Instead she checked the door to the right of her chair. There was no door handle and Cooper shook her head. How did they think she'd be held if she could get loose? She listened for any sounds beyond the door and heard none. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open and was through it before it had fully opened. She ran out into another room and looked around. No-one was there. Cooper was puzzled. Why was she taken if no-one was watching over her? She moved to the next door and listened again. This time, she heard the sounds of a fight. She tried the handle and it turned. She slowly opened a gap and looked out to see one man fighting the Azgeda. When the man turned her way during his fighting, she saw he was one of them. He had the raised scars of the Azgeda and yet he was fighting his own people! Did she help him? Did she run? Did she pretend she was still tied up? Without knowing why they were fighting, she could not count on his help. She backed away to look for another way out of the other side of the building.
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General Chester and Sterling were following the remaining Azgeda warriors, harrying them from behind, slowing them down. They seemed more intent to get back to their own lands than fight and Chester took advantage of that to kill more of them. So far, they'd reduced the retreating army by a third. They'd already killed over a hundred of them around Tesla and now they'd reduced the rest by at least 35.
"Are we going to follow them all the way to the border?" Sterling asked.
"No, we need to find Cooper," Chester said with a sigh. He wanted to do both, but Cooper was more important. He'd send most of them to follow the Azgeda back and make sure they went back to their own lands.
"We'll follow them for another mile and then you and I and twenty of my warriors will search for Cooper." Sterling nodded and followed Chester through the receding snow.
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Fifty warriors had reached Arkadia and were shown where they could camp. They decided to bring them into the camp and both told them and gave a demonstration of the electric fence. Sinclair and Wick had resurrected some of the broken solar panels from Alpha station and had managed to integrate them into the fence to strengthen it. Several more panels were giving power to the medbay in preparation for incoming casualties. Wick had also created some molotov cocktails from some of the chemicals found in Alpha. Metal screens had been erected around three sides of the guard posts and plexiglass placed at the front. They were able to be opened for the guard to fire out of but with the sides and back protected, the guards felt safer. More and more warriors arrived each day and soon, there were more than 150 warriors ready to defend the village.
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Cooper watched the back of the building through a small hole in the wall. She couldn't see anyone or anything moving. The fighting was still happening at the front of the building and she had to take the chance and get out and away. She opened the door and slipped out and ran for the treeline before anyone could see her. She climbed the nearest tree and moved limb to limb through the trees to hide her footprints in the snow. She waited and watched the fight. Whoever the lone fighter was, he was good! He'd already taken out six of his own people and there were two left. She watched as he finished off the last two and then he went into the building. He came out and looked absolutely pissed that she was missing. He looked around and followed the footprints he found moving away from the back of the broken building. He came to a stop at the tree she'd climbed and he looked around and followed the faint trace of fallen snow from tree to tree until it had stopped - right underneath Cooper.
"I am not your enemy," he said. Cooper knew he knew where she was and there was no running from him.
"You could have fooled me. You have Azgeda scars, they have Azgeda scars. How do I know you want to help me? For all I know you want to haul me off to your queen."
"That Queen is my mother and she banished me for being too weak to be her heir," he replied.
"Well, shit! I suppose you could be looking for a reason to go back and a skai prisoner would be a good start."
"It could be, but with my mother on the march into Trikru lands to wipe your people out, she has no use for me. She wishes to be the next Commander and will kill the current one to do it," he explained. Cooper made a decision and climbed down. Once she was on the ground, she looked at him.
"What now?"
"We need to get you back to your people."
"Why are you helping me?"
"Because my mother is leading our people into their own destruction. Most of my people just want to live in peace but mother is a warmonger and thinks she is always right." Cooper grunted. She could name a few others like that from her own people in the sky.
"How far from Polis are we?" she asked.
"Quite far, I'm afraid. This is the part of Trikru that is uninhabited. It is halfway to where I have been living since my banishment."
"This is halfway to Michigan?" Cooper asked, looking around.
"I do not know that name."
"From before the bombs," she replied. He nodded as he moved off with Cooper keeping up with him.
"Where are we?"
"Directly northwest of that place you were at," he said.
"One of our lost stations," Cooper told him. He nodded and they continued on. The Azgeda Prince was in violation of Trikru law and the Commander's own edict of his banishment from Kongeda lands. She knew he lived on Azgeda lands and as long as he stayed there, she didn't push it, but now all bets were off and if he was caught, he could be executed.
Three hours later the Prince pushed Cooper into a small stand of bushes and hid behind them. They both watched as the vanguard of retreating Azgeda warriors appeared out of the trees and walked towards the border. They stayed there as more and more warriors retreated back towards their own lands. The Prince was counting warriors and was surprised that only half of them returned and then saw Trikru warriors harassing them from behind, cutting down the stragglers. He grunted in surprise and satisfaction. His mother had the better warriors attacking both of the stations near them and had sent a small contingent towards Podakru lands. Cooper thought the reason for hiding was because if the Azgeda saw them, they'd turn and fight and they could be caught between the warring clans, so they stayed hidden.
They waited while the Azgeda warriors moved past them and waited until the Trikru followed them, too focused on killing as many as possible to check the surrounding area. Once they had all passed out of sight and sound, they moved off and continued south.
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Scouts reported a large army approaching farm station village. Indra and Octavia had the warriors ready and soon the battle was raging. Only two hundred Azgeda warriors had been sent. The queen thought they didn't know of the plans so she only sent 200 thinking it would be enough to kill everyone and raze it to the ground. They were to join her before they reached Polis, her final destination. She'd already sent others out for the other known Skai places and soon she would have all of it, Skaikru would be no more, the Commander would be dead at her feet and she would declare herself as the true Commander of the clans. With that done, she could order anyone she wanted to do anything she wanted. The queen was truly mad with power.
Indra and Octavia led the fighting, slashing and stabbing at the Azgeda that swarmed them. Three hundred Trikru warriors against two hundred Azgeda warriors. Pike watched from the safety of the village as they defended a village that didn't even belong to them! He watched as the girl from under the floor led seasoned, hardened warriors in battle, slashing and hacking her enemies down while simultaneously directing the battle around her. Pike couldn't believe that within such a short time, the young scared girl he saw in his class had become the confident warrior she was now. He'd already made the mistake of dismissing her because of her age, and now looking at her, he realised she was a much more deadly opponent than any of the guards from the Ark. She was the one to watch out for, not Indra or even the Commander. This was the real warrior of Skaikru.
The fighting was soon over with Indra's warriors hunting down any that they'd missed or were still alive. Indra took no prisoners, killing them all instead. They were at war with the Azgeda and now had the right to invade Azgeda and wipe them out! With the help of the other clans, they would have enough fighters to achieve that.
Octavia approached Pike and the others who had kept out of the fighting.
"Thanks for the help!" she said sarcastically. A few of them looked ashamed that they hadn't fought in the war that was directed against them and had instead let the Trikru fight them. Pike though wasn't bothered by that.
"Didn't look like you needed any help," he said, shrugging his shoulders as if it didn't really matter.
"In that case, we'll leave and let you deal with the next lot," Octavia said, shrugging her shoulders to indicate that it was no skin off her nose if they lived or died. She did care because most of them were just ordinary people who wanted peace. It was just idiots like Pike who thought he had the right to anything he wanted - just because he wanted it!
"We need help to survive if they send more!" another woman called out.
"Yes, you do, but your leader seems to think that we should do all the fighting! This is not our fight, it's yours. Step up and help out next time!" Octavia yelled at them.
"They do as I tell them!" Pike roared back.
"So you're admitting you told them to stay out of it?" Octavia asked at a more normal level. Pike knew he'd been caught.
"You savages need to know your place! We are superior to you, we have technology while you keep yourselves grubbing in the ground like animals!" Octavia was livid, but as a member of the Trikru now, she couldn't do anything.
"Do any of you agree with him? Do you think we are savages? The reason they stayed with the weapons they use is because Mount Weather would wipe out entire villages if they found tek in it! They stayed this way to survive!" Octavia told the others. They looked at each other and then one woman spoke up.
"Charles Pike was not elected as our leader, he just took over."
"So he became a dictator?"
"Yes," the woman said. Pike spun around.
"Shut your mouth, you stupid bitch!" he yelled at her. She was sick and tired of bullies rising to the top and taking over. She did the only thing she had wished to do since they came down. She pulled her gun from its holster and shot him several times, killing him.
Octavia was shocked, and then she smiled.
"Nice!" she said. "What's your name?"
"Mary Jordan," she said. Octavia narrowed her eyes.
"Jasper's mom?" She nodded and turned and left. Octavia looked around her.
"Where is Jasper?" she asked. A guard spoke up.
"Pike had him arrested just before you got here," he said. Octavia was beyond pissed.
"Release him immediately!" she roared. The Guard looked towards the retreating back of Jasper's mom.
"She's on her way to do that right now," he said. Octavia nodded.
"Who was his second in command?"
"Hannah Green, but that was only because Pike threatened to kill her husband who was also arrested, if she didn't help him." Octavia turned her head to the skies and closed her eyes at the stupidity of these so-called adults. So far, she hadn't found one adult actually behaving like one while all the kids sent down in the dropship had grown up and learned.
"Go find her," Octavia said when she looked back at him. He nodded and ran off. Indra came over, wiping her sword clean on a cloth as she did.
"Well?" Indra asked.
"Pike threatened them with punishment if they attempted to help us. Jasper's mom shot and killed him," Octavia said, pointing to his body. Indra nodded and smiled. It was good that the coward was gone, he was a liability and a barrier to lasting peace with the Skaikru.
"We need to return to Polis. We'll leave most of the warriors here just in case," Indra said. Octavia nodded. Jasper and his mom came back with Monty's dad in tow. Octavia and Jasper hugged.
"Glad you're okay," Octavia whispered in his ear.
"Me too," Jasper said. He looked at her. "They need help, Octavia but I want to go back home to Polis."
"Since when was Polis your home?" asked Octavia.
"Since Cooper and Clarke settled there and set us up as traders. Our embassy is there."
"Embassy? I knew about the warehouse, but an embassy?"
"The Commander wants to make us the thirteenth clan," he told her. Both Octavia and Indra raised their eyebrows in surprise.
"So soon?" Jasper nodded and shrugged. "Jasper, I need you to stay here and take over until this war is over." Jasper took a long look at her and reluctantly nodded.
"Okay," he sighed, "but finish this so I can go home," he said.
"We will. This time that bitch will get what's coming to her!" Octavia said. Indra smiled, her seken was becoming more and more Trikru with each battle. Jasper turned to the others.
"Alright, until Clarke says otherwise, I'm in charge! Anyone got a problem with that?" he asked, his hands on his hips. No-one spoke.
"Good. Next time they attack, I expect you to fight them as well. We'll be using guns so pick your targets carefully. Those with scars on their faces, shoot them. Those without them are most likely our allies, leave them alone. The warriors will know who is theirs and who isn't. If you don't know if they are friend or foe, leave them be and let the warriors deal with them. Those you identify as Azgeda, shoot to kill. They will not leave us alone. Their Queen is a psychopath who thinks she has the right to kill anyone she thinks should die, her own people included. Do not fuck around with them!" Nods greeted him in return.
"Nicely done, Jasper," Octavia said admiringly. He shrugged.
"I learned in the mountain," he said. Octavia nodded, her smile dropping at the mention of the place they were held prisoner and some of them died.
"Then pretend they are the maunon and figure out how to use their stuff against them, like you did in the mountain." Jasper nodded but frowned.
"The Azgeda queen is not just a psychopath, but she believes everyone else is not as clever as her or not as intelligent or whatever," Octavia said, waving her hand around to dismiss her ramblings. "They'll think you have no idea how to fight. Show them you can and will!" Jasper nodded, took a deep breath to centre himself and turned to his new people, ready to take charge and get them to believe in themselves once more.
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"Grief is the price we pay for love" - Queen Elizabeth II.
