Clarke strapped her heavy armored jacket on before picking her pauldron off its stand. Lifting it, she set the familiar weight on her shoulder as it fell into place. Sitting on her throne she began to apply her war paint. "What is it? Just standing there and brooding doesn't suit you."
"This plan is suicidal. If you don't get the timing right and you can't block off the entrances in time, the mountain men will come out with their guns and their fog and slaughter your forces. At least let me join you with my men. That will give you a fighting chance if things go wrong." Roan cautioned her.
She flicked her eyes up from the small mirror she'd been using to shape her paint. "This is the only plan that has a chance of working. There has not been an opportunity like this to strike at the mountain in the history of our people. I will not waste it and let my people continue to be slaughtered."
"Clarke, you are entrusting this plan into the hands of two untested seconds. I know you have always favored risky plans but this is crazy even for you. If Lexa is discovered or Raven's devices fail, the element of surprise will be lost and your forces with it. Be more cautious, I beg you. The people trapped in the mountain have already been thought of as lost. Do not take unnecessary risks for their sakes. No one needs know that we could have saved them."
"I would know and what is more secrets like that always come out eventually. Besides, I trust Lexa and Raven, their efforts will pay off and the victory will be ours." She said while finishing her paint with practiced motions.
He made a grumbling sound. "You've always been too trusting. I hope your trust will not be returned with a knife in the back. What do we even know of these skia people who are so like the mountain?"
"What did I know of you when I trusted you in an alliance against your mother. Look at where that trust has gotten me. I trusted my instincts about you then and I will trust my instincts now. " Clarke voice became softer. "There is something about her that makes me want to trust her as I trusted you. She has yet to disappoint. Do you know she realized Costia was my spy after two days?"
Roan shifted walking forward and offering his hand. "I will perform my role, and hope that your new second is blessed by Wanheda as your guard seem to think."
"Good." She accepted his hand up from her throne. Her lips curled into a smile as she looked up at him. "You have the easy part of this plan after all."
"Hold the line. Protect your backs." His face tightened. "It may be the least dangerous, but staying out of the action and waiting is for the old and the weak, not kings."
Clarke hid her amusement at his complaining. She understood all too well how infuriating and terrifying waiting for news was. "Such is the burden of leadership. The king waits, the prince leads. You are not a prince any longer."
"If I had a sibling, I'd give the throne to them." He muttered. "The crown isn't worth it. Or, I could lead Azgeda as you lead the Coalition."
She shook her head fondly. "We both know I'm far more expendable than you. After all, I'm the avatar of the Flame, not the Flame itself." Squaring her shoulders, she strode out into the village. She headed for Tristan who was standing with several large bulky warriors who were wearing the suits for keeping the fog out.
"Heda!" He straightened at her approach.
"Your men are prepared for their role?"
Tristan nodded. "Sha, the carts are prepared and they are rotating through the suits in shifts. When the signal comes we will be prepared."
"Good, and the stretchers I asked for your men to make?" She checked.
"Sixty stretchers are with your team of warriors as you ordered. There are excess strips of cloth for tying any others unable to walk to the backs of warriors as well." He stated proudly.
She gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "Good, continue as you were."
It didn't take long till she was ducking into the small hut Raven had been formally gifted after the successful contact with Lexa. Clearly the woman was worth the honor. "Report."
Anya looked up from where she'd been bent over plans with Raven and Ontari. "Heda. Lexa last checked in from the armory. She has all the materials she needs and is headed to the food stores. Jod authorized her to set up another explosion in the armory. Ontari has a team ready to move for the dam as soon as the signal comes. Raven seems to think there will be another exit there that needs to be blocked."
"They have to be able to do maintenance on that thing. I would bet you anything that there is an entrance to the mountain nearby." Raven said with a steely gleam of purpose about her. Though the dark circles under her eyes showed she hadn't slept since this had started either.
Clarke felt her shoulders relax ever so slightly with that. Good. The three teams were ready. Jod had already sent word to her that her team was prepared to go on the signal. "Then there is nothing else you have for us?"
Raven shook her head but then paused. "You may want to take Monty with you on your team. If there's anything tech related he's your man."
"He and three others of your Skai fallen are in my group." Clarke said calmly. She had no interest in not being prepared. She looked over at Ontari. "The healers are prepared for any injured."
"Of course."
"Then, it is time for the mountain to fall and our people to be freed."
-TLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLG-
Lexa was curled up on some folded canvas bags. She hated the waiting before action, but the chance to get some rest was amazing. Being drugged and locked in a cage didn't count. An hour would come where she could collapse. Till then, she needed to just pull herself together and wait for the change to night shifts. Then give it an hour for the guards to relax after an initial sweep. After that, she'd memorized the route she needed to take to get to the armory and then to the big room she assumed was the mess hall. Once there finding out where they kept the food should be easy.
The radio crackled to life. "-Princess, it's go time.-"
Shifting she grabbed onto the shelves and pulled herself up to her feet. Picking up the radio she called in. "-Don't hail me till I give you the signal.-"
"-Your orders are my command Princess. Good luck, spirits be with you and all that crap.-"
Lexa snapped the walkie into her belt. She looked down at her hands wondered since when a proper guard uniform felt foreign to her. Shaking it off, she straightened the hat and opened the door. Walking out into the hallway she took a left and followed the route she'd memorized. The guard shoes clicked on the cement floors as she stepped.
She passed two service workers before getting to the lift. Swiping her card, she hit the next level up on the controls. As the lift rose, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her skin was tanner than she remembered. The lingering bruising from a black eye was easily visible around her face. The stitches on her forehead stood out starkly. She realized her lip was split and scabbed over. It struck her she hadn't even noticed that one. She didn't properly recognize herself. What made the starkest difference was how hard her eyes were.
The lift dinged and she walked out not giving her reflection a second glance. Now wasn't the time for self-reflection. She traveled two doors down and to the right and she was in the armory. It was amazing the similarities in a military base and a space station. Both were tight on space and both had armories filled with things that a guard was never going to use like explosives. Though, she couldn't believe the arrogance of the mountain that they hadn't even posted a guard. They must truly believe that they were safe behind their thick walls. Well, time to prove them wrong.
After entering the room, she grabbed a wrench and wedged it in the door keeping it shut. With the room fairly secured she unhooked the walkie. "Raven I'm in."
"-Do you see any explosives?-"
Lexa didn't even have to look around, having already checked on that. "Yeah, they have some grenades and C-4 in here. There should be plenty to destroy whatever food sources they have in here. I even found some timers."
"-This is going to be fun! Thank goodness for army surplus. Grab as many as you can and make sure to grab some extra wires. No reason not to go for overkill. You should be grateful you have my delightful self to back you up or you'd be liable to blow yourself up.-"
Spinning in the chair, she examined the equipment before picking up a military backpack to store it all in. So what if it made her look slightly suspicious, it wasn't like there was anyone around or that she would be sneaking around for much longer. She quickly got everything stuffed inside of the backpack. "I think I've got everything I need. Anything else you want to bring up before I head to the mess hall."
"-Well, as long as you're there and have some extra C-4 and timers you might as well set a few to go off near the bullets and grenades. Why not get some more bang for your buck?-" Lexa could hear the glee in Raven's voice even through the radio. There was a crackling sound through the radio before Jod's voice came through.
"-Do you think that these extra explosives have any chance of getting noticed? I won't approve of adding any risks that might derail the plan without Heda present.-"
"Give me a sec." Lexa replied before examining the positioning of the bullets and grenades and trying to hide some C-4 and timers there so they couldn't be seen by anyone entering the armory. After having hidden them to her satisfaction, she clicked the button on her radio again. "It can be done safely."
"-Then do it.-" Jod's voice came through, the command clear.
"Got it." Lexa responded. "Can you put Raven back on? I want to be sure I do this right."
"-Thanks Lexa. The big lug over here seemed to think I was being too hasty. As if I would endanger the plan." Lexa rolled her eyes when Raven's voice came through the radio. She knew damn well that you couldn't trust Raven's circumspection when it came to explosives.
"Come on Raven. I need you to guide me through how to set the timers."
-TLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLG-
She strode towards the mess hall with purpose. Having set the explosives in the armory she was definitely on a clock now. Just as she was getting close she saw someone come walking down the hall. She tried to duck her head and look uninteresting.
The man smiled as he walked closer bringing Lexa's eyes to the chocolate on his lips. He had obviously just come from a midnight snack. The man raised up his hand and said, "hello," in a cheerful voice.
Unable to avoid it anymore Lexa looked up and met the man's eyes. He gasped when he saw her black eye. Convinced this could lead nowhere good, Lexa made to shove past him but he grabbed onto her arm.
"Hey, what's going on? Where'd you get that black eye? I don't remember packs being standard gear for patrols. Did something happen? Aren't you…" Lexa drew her baton and slammed it into his temple. He dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. She quickly dropped next to him and covered his mouth with her hand in case he was still conscious enough to make any noise. With a quick glance to ensure they were alone, she gripped his head firmly, bracing herself with her knees and wrenched; snapping his neck. She couldn't afford loose ends, not on this mission.
Lexa got up quickly and began searching for some sort of closet to hide the body in. It wouldn't do for another person to come along looking for a midnight snack and find his body. It didn't take her long to find a supply closet and drag the man's body into it. The weight of it was not kind on her sore arms. She took in a deep breath trying to calm down. The air here in the mountain reminded her of the air on the ark. It was stale and recycled. Who knew how long these people had been breathing the same air, walking the same halls. It felt claustrophobic to her, her hands clammy from nerves. She didn't want to die here in these cold stale walls. She hadn't escaped a prison in space to die in a prison beneath the ground.
The grounder practice of burning rather than burying their dead made sense to her now. How could anyone who'd been free under the sky, with open ground all about ever accept being trapped under it? Pushing her musing aside, she focused back on her mission. From the map she'd studied, the mess hall should be through the door at the other end of the hall. She quickly entered the large room to find the attached kitchen. Now, she just had to find where the food came from. If it was anything like the ark, their food production would require a lot of space. It had taken up an entire station on the ark. If she had to guess, she would bet they had a whole floor dedicated to it. Glancing around the well-stocked kitchen, she almost cheered when she saw what she was looking for. There in one of the corners was a small elevator. Obviously used to bring the food directly up from wherever it was stored.
Lexa made her way over to the elevator and swiped her card through the card reader nearby. She gave out a huge breath of relief when the doors of the elevator opened without any trouble. Looking at the control panel for the elevator, she was glad to see that her suspicions were confirmed. This was a specialized elevator that only traveled between two floors. She pressed the button for the lower floor and watched as it lit up.
The elevator made the journey down in no time, opening its doors to reveal fields of green. There was a humongous cavern under the mountain lit by bright sun lamps that Lexa recognized from her occasional trips through farm station. If she hadn't spent time on the ground Lexa would have been amazed that such a vast amount of green life could thrive and grow. It was a beautiful sight and for a moment Lexa was reluctant to destroy it. She'd grown up on the ark where green things were sacred, more precious than gold. It was anathema to her former life to destroy something so precious.
Still, she reminded herself that she had a mission to accomplish and not much time to accomplish it in. Her people were counting on her, she couldn't falter now. She took out her radio and opened a channel to Raven.
"Uh, Raven, I'm not sure if I have enough explosives. This room is massive."
"-Trust me you have plenty, no matter how big the room is, if you do things right. Do you see any sprinklers? If the room is as big as you say, you're going to have to disable them. The biggest problem you have to deal with is how much water it takes to grow plants properly, trust me you don't want the sprinklers distributing any more.-" Raven said, her voice calm and collected. She was clearly in her element.
Lexa looked up and saw beams full of sprinkler heads spanning the room. "There are a ton of them on the ceiling. How am I supposed to disable them all?" Lexa asked, somewhat perplexed.
"-You're not going to have time to destroy every sprinkler head obviously. So, you're going to have to shut of the water valves feeding them. Didn't they teach you guards how to shut off the water flowing to certain sections of the station so as little as possible would be wasted if there was a sudden exposure to vacuum.-" Raven tone was patronizing as if talking to a small child. Lexa felt a bit chastened. Now that Raven explained it, she remembered those lessons from her training as a guard on the ark.
It took her more time than she would have liked but eventually Lexa found the water valve feeding the room. She gripped the wheel and tried to turn it into the off position but it struggled with her. With a final grunt and show of force she was able to unlock the wheel and turn it to the off position.
"Okay Raven, the waters off. Now what?" Lexa questioned.
"Now, you find the compost. In a room like that, there should be plenty of it in storage nearby. Once you've found it, start piling the compost and explosives around the room. The compost should give your explosion any extra oomph it needs and serve as kindling to start a fire besides.-" Raven explained briefly.
Lexa's muscles groaned in anticipation of all that heavy lifting but she quickly got to work. Once she was looking for it, there was compost everywhere. The first few bags took the longest to carry but after finding a wheelbarrow, her work went easier. Just as she was setting one of the last timers she heard heavy boots on the ground. Spinning on her heel, Lexa glanced around wildly. Not seeing anyone but knowing she had run out of time, she made a dash for where she could see a sign for stairs. She swiped her card again at the door and started running up the stairs. The stairs were her only option. She couldn't afford having the lift shut down on her.
All she could think about now was getting back to the tunnels and escaping with the rest of those captured by the mountain. Gasping for breath she got off the stairs at the first floor she could. As soon as she exited the stairwell, she ran full tilt headed for the nearest service tunnel. Not bothering to fix the grate back on after she pulled it off she ducked in and began to crawl till she got to the ladder up. Several floors up, recognizing the floor with the medical room, she dived into a tunnel head first.
Skidding along the metal tunnel she felt new bruises forming. She barely was aware of it though as she crawled. Every muscle in her body protested but her mind was clear, running on adrenaline and desperation. As soon as she hit the grate, she kicked with all her might, sending the grate skidding off the entrance with a great clatter.
Even as she was wiggling out she had a gun out and trained on the hallway she was entering as she took it in warily. It was empty. Setting her shoulders, she sprinted back to the medical room. Murmuring prayers under her breath, she swiped the access card. With some disbelief, she ripped the door open as soon as the lock disengaged. How they hadn't realized someone was using a stolen access card boggled her mind.
On the ark, the disappearance of the first guard she'd killed would have sent the whole station into lock down by now and any access codes he had would be switched immediately. Apparently, the mountain wasn't prepared for anyone to actually get inside their walls, careless. Nor were they prepared for rebellion within their own ranks. It was completely beyond her understanding how they'd survived this long.
Unfortunately, the medical bay was not as empty as the hall. "What are you doing here?" A man barked looking over at her from where he and a female doctor with long dark hair were standing. "Who the hell are you?"
Lexa didn't blink just bringing her gun to bear and firing. Her first round missed but her second and third hit, dropping them. Stuffing the gun back in her pants, she grabbed one of the cots and dragged it to the door bracing it against it in an effort to slow down any guards who might follow. It was a flimsy barricade but she didn't have time for more. Tilting her head, she considered… she'd always loved action movies on the ark. Drawing her gun again, she shot the electronic lock. Hopefully, that helped slow them down as well. It seemed to in films and every bit helped.
Jogging past the medical room she burst into the room filled with cages. Her heart was pounding in her chest but she'd made it to her last stop. Slamming the door shut, she shot out the electronic lock. Turning on her heel, she saw every grounder who was aware enough to be awake looking at her with wide eyes. They were clearly surprised by her entrance and the sound of the gun. "We've got to go now!"
Grabbing her walkie, she gasped into it quickly. "I got interrupted planting the rest of the charges and we're going to have to go a bit sooner than we planned. Is there a force ready for us in the tunnels?"
"-The tunnels are ours Princess. Get them out of there.-" Raven's voice came through.
Snapping the walkie back into her belt, she took out a crowbar she'd gotten at the armory earlier that day and jogged to the first line of cages. "Echo help me get them out. The mountain is going to know what's happening in minutes!"
"Why would you use a firearm?!" The woman asked in shock as she opened her cage door. Huh, seemed she'd already had her lock undone.
Lexa stuck the crowbar in the door of the first cage and threw her body into it, forcing it open. "I was Skaikru before Heda took my oath. Now I'm Kongeda, but Skaikru use firearms. It's why I'm the one in here."
"Skaikru?" The woman asked as she picked the lock of the cage below hers expertly.
Lexa forced another cage door open. "New clan, we didn't know the coalition was here. I'll explain more once we get out of this cursed mountain."
As she threw open another door the ground shook beneath her feet, dust and small pieces of rubble fell from the ceiling. After a couple of moments, it shook again in a second explosion. Wide eyed, she stared at the door in disbelief. Raven hadn't been kidding about the compost adding to her explosion. The C-4 shouldn't have made that large of an explosion. She hoped the mountain men focused all their attention on the explosions and not finding the saboteur but she knew it was a vain hope. "That's our signal to get the hell out of here."
She barely noticed the shocked looks the prisoners were giving her as they realized she'd caused the explosion. She was panting as she threw yet another door open. The snap of metal beside her alerted her that one of the grounders she'd freed had grabbed something to use as a lever and was helping. Snapping another lock, she caught the eyes of the grounder inside. He looked slightly healthier than average so she decided to put him to use. "Start getting the weaker ones out of the cages and find people to help carry them out."
Looking over her shoulder, she raised her voice to Echo. "Hand the scissors off to someone. We need to get the tech out of their arms. I don't know what defense systems they have on the way out and we don't want to set them off. The last thing we need right now is an alarm going off telling the mountain men they should be focusing on us"
There was sweat running down her back, the fabric under her arms felt wet as she threw her body into the crowbar again to open yet another door. Swiping her sleeve across her face, she wiped the sweat from her brow before it got into her eyes and moved to the next cage. Falling into a rhythm, she snapped cages open and then moved to the next. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest now rather than ached. She wasn't sure how many stitches she'd opened over the course of this mission but probably a few. The skin on her sides ached and undoubtedly her back was bleeding again.
None of that mattered though. Suddenly, over the sound of cages being opened, she heard banging on the door into the medical bay. "Shit." It wouldn't take them long to break through the door to the medical bay. She thrust her crowbar into the chest of a grounder who was standing to her side. "Forget about the tech in your arms but keep getting the cages open." Lexa announced to the room.
Jogging over to the door in, she looked around wildly for something to block the door with. "You, come help me move these cages. We have to keep them out!"
A dark skinned and gaunt looking man stumbled over to her. Together they drug the cages so they were covering the doorway. The metal made a horrible screeching sound as they moved it. Her head was pounding with rushing blood and exhaustion. Gasping for breath, she held her knees and breathed as soon as they got it in front of the door. She couldn't keep going without air. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pulled resolve from depths she didn't even know she had.
With a final breath, she straightened up and headed back into the fray. Seeing that almost all of the cages were open, she passed them. Taking out her radio, she hailed Raven. "Raven I need the forces in the tunnel to make some noise. I have a feeling there is an entrance to the tunnels nearby but I need to be sure."
"-You got it Princess. I'll get them started on your welcome home parade.-" Raven replied.
It didn't take long for Lexa to hear banging and shouting coming from behind a nearby door. Lexa glanced over at Echo, who was keeping the freed prisoners organized. "Echo, what to they do behind that door?" Lexa asked loudly, trying to be heard over the din.
"That's where they throw the bodies of the dead once they're through with them." Echo answered. With that final confirmation Lexa headed over to the door. Taking in the buttons, she hit one to open it. She grimaced as it closed again almost immediately after she let the button go. Turning, she shouted to Echo who was keeping most of the others organized. "Bring a cage over to hold this door open."
A cage was quickly dragged over to the door. Smashing the button again she kept the door open as some grounders shoved the cage in the opening. She released the button. This time when the door tried to close it was stopped by the cage. Jumping over the cage, Lexa entered the room and could hear the shouting more clearly through a hatch in the ground. Taking out her radio again she addressed Raven. "We have a quick way out of the mountain but it involves quite a drop and the prisoners here are just a bit too breakable to make it without aid. I need you to get the forces in the tunnel under us ready to catch us when we fall. Just tell them to look for the hole in the ceiling and a flashlight I'm dropping down. Message me when they're ready."
"-You don't ask for much huh Princess. I'll get them there. Just hold out a bit longer.-" She pulled a flashlight off of the guard belt she wore and turned it on. After forcing the hatch open, she dropped the flashlight down. Turning, she jumped back over the cage and wove her way through the prisoners towards where she'd last seen Echo's head. Stopping by the woman, she grabbed her shoulder to get her attention. "We need to get everyone organized to drop down the chute. There should be a welcoming party on the other side soon." She took off her pack and handed it to Echo. "Make sure this makes it down and to Heda. We'll send the weakest through first. I'm the only one armed so I'll stay at the top till we get everyone out. You know these people. Can you organize that while I hold the door?"
"Sha, Captain."
Lexa blinked at the term of rank. That wasn't… well it was better than Princess she supposed. She took aside some of the stronger looking grounders and got them started on moving more cages in front of the door. They didn't have long before the mountain men broke through into the medical bay and then they would be pounding on their door. They needed it as a secure as they could make it before then. Lexa was honestly surprised the mountain men hadn't come knocking already. Their distractions must have done some good. Her work was interrupted by Raven's voice coming through on the radio.
"-They're ready for you down there. Start sending people through and there will people there to catch you.-"
Lexa looked over her shoulder to Echo. "Get them down now!"
Echo nodded before grabbing a weak looking grounder and dropping them down the chute. The grounders were organized and were half dragging the weakest of their members to the chute. Lexa began to feel truly hopeful for the first time that she would make her way out of this. Her thoughts of escape were interrupted when she started to hear the sound of banging and hammering on the door to their prison. The mountain men were now only a door away.
Lexa panted as she prepared for the next round going down the chute. There was still hope. They'd managed to put up as good of a barricade of heavy cages as they could. That should be able to keep the mountain men out for quite a while.
A clatter of metal behind her had her spinning on her heel. She barely had time to take in the fallen vent and the grenade that followed it before a grounder close to the vent threw himself on top of it.
Lexa's eyes immediately went to the vent where a mountain man, wearing a gas mask had just dropped down. Without even thinking her stolen pistol was out and she was firing at the man. Her bullet hit his gas mask and he went down. Before Lexa could blink, another mountain man and a grenade replaced him on the ground. She quickly dropped this one with another gunshot but red smoke started to fill the room from the grenade and everything started getting a little hazy.
Lexa stumbled forward and was caught by one of the bigger grounders who had helped her move the cages earlier. She blinked at him, nodded in thanks while straightening herself.
She switched out the magazine in her gun. Glaring at the emerging mountain men she started firing. Everything was off balance, her world spinning as she tried not to breathe the noxious red fumes. The thing was sputtering, perhaps it had been jammed partially, but smoke was still coming from it. It would seem she wasn't escaping after all. Still, she was going to make them regret trapping her with them.
The recoil from her gun barely made her blink as she emptied the clip into the vent. Her vision was blurry, she wasn't even sure if the mountain men were still alive or if she was shooting corpses. Were more coming? Was that truly movement? She didn't know. Her finger started clicking uselessly against the trigger. Dropping the gun, she grabbed at her baton. Her fingers slipped as it fell clattering on the ground. It was odd, she realized, as she found herself staring at the ground. The floor was rushing closer to her.
Then there were hands grabbing her. She blinked up at a man covered in tattoos, face grim as he lifted her into his arms. He was bleeding she noticed absently. Suddenly, there were no longer arms underneath her. It took her a second but she realized she was being dropped. As she slid down the chute she saw the form of a bleeding grounder man smiling at her grimly as he blocked bullets with his body.
Her eyes widened as understanding hit. Reaching out, she tried to grab him and haul him down with her but her hands grasped at nothing but air. Her lungs burned as she breathed in fresh air as she dropped. Her world went dark as she slid down the chute.