Planning and Food

"And you are sure about this?" I ask Ontari seriously, standing over the rough map that she had drawn of Queen Nia's palace. Ontari's map showed more than a handful of secret passages and entrances. If the map was accurate, it would be of tremendous help in infiltration.

The Azgedian nightblood has been trying to prove herself and her loyalty to the Heda since she had spoken to Lexa in her throne room almost a week ago. She drew multiple maps since then: two of the areas surrounding the capital, one of the capital itself, and one map of the palace. If they were all reliable, weeks to months could be taken from the campaign. The sooner they take out Queen Nia and hold the city, the sooner our warriors could come home.

"I'm positive," She says confidently, a smirk on her face. "No one uses these tunnels anymore except the servants, and that's only so they stay out of sight. This tunnel here," Ontari points to one of the highlighted areas on the map. "Is the least used passage out of all of them. And on top of that, this passage can be entered via the Pre-Praimfaya underground system of tunnels that cover the entirety of the city." 

Stroking my chin in thought, I ran my eyes over the passage she pointed out. The underground system she was referring to, were old sewer tunnels. Polis had some as well, but a majority of them were caved in when the bombs fell. Survivors of Praimfaya had rushed to those tunnels the moment they saw mushroom clouds, or so the stories say.

Not everyone was privileged enough to be sent to the Ark in the sky, nor were they able to take shelter in complex bunkers like the mountain men had. So, people made do with what was available to them.

Though Ontari wasn't able to map out the entirety of the sewer system under Troit, she had been able to map up to where the entrance to the palace is, to where the tunnel leads out of the main city. I could probably make use of these tunnels by sending a small infiltration unit in with the goal of assassinating Nia. 

Nodding my head as I formulated a plan, I gave Ontari a look that said 'Thank you.' In return, she positively beamed at me. She really has been trying to prove herself to us, which we all appreciate. Putting the duties of Heda above one's clan is important when making decisions as acting Heda. The fact she was showing such loyalty was to be expected of the nightbloods. Titus would be proud, if he were present.

After going over a quick few finalizations with her, gaining insight by asking a couple more questions, I rolled up the maps and dismissed her from my office.

I didn't get to use my office as much as I'd like. Being Shield gon Hedas took up most of my time, as I had to follow the Heda everywhere she went. However, with John present, I am able to do a little delegation and perform my other duties as the General of Polis. I didn't like leaving Lexa without my protection, especially considering we just had an assassination attempt not too long ago, but this was a direct order from her.

Occasionally, Lexa would join me in my duties, even though she could be quite distracting at times…

Taking out some bits of parchment and a couple envelopes, I began to write some letters for my fellow generals of the clans. Most of the clans have already deployed their armies, some even already having skirmishes with Azgeda along their borders. We haven't engaged Azgeda's army in a large conflict yet, though; not since the last war.

Finishing up the three letters I had written, I stamp the seal of Polis on the front, grab them up, and head out the door in search of messengers.

In times of war, you had to be extremely careful with who you give important information to, that's why I handle all military correspondence personally. Each letter I write is coded a different way just in case they do happen to get intercepted by Azgeda spies; which happens quite often.

Some clans use specially trained birds to deliver letters, such as owls, for example. However, they were far and in between. It takes years to be able to train a bird to fly dozens, and in some cases, hundreds, of miles to simply deliver a message. That being said, the birds are also very expensive. Polis has a couple, but I trust my riders over owls. At least my riders can fight back if they are intercepted.

It doesn't take me long to find the riders that I am looking for, they often hang out around the stables near Polis' gates. Saluting each of them with a fist to my chest, I handed out the three letters I had written for their leaders. The letters I had written were for Trishanakru, Yujledakru, and Sangedakru, respectively. 

The riders I had chosen to deliver my messages were some of the fastest and most skilled in the coalition. Though they were only deliverers, they were put through some of the most difficult training to make sure that they could handle themselves if attacked. 

"Na swift." I told them sternly before they rode off. Correspondence should reach Trishanakru and Sangedakru in a day or two, the rider heading for Yujledakru should take about a day longer. 

While all eleven clans agreed to help in the fight against Azgeda, Trishanakru, Sangedakru, and Yujledakru have all been stout allies of Polis and have a long history of conflict with Azgeda. Disregarding Podakru, all three of my most recent letters have been sent to clans that border Azgeda territory. All of the other clans that will be helping in the war effort will mostly just send some of their troops to those three clans in support.

In my letters, I had devised a plan to push into Azgeda territory in a three point attack. With Azgeda's large size, stretching over a thousand miles, they will be unable to protect all of their border at once. 

If they put together a large army to defend one point, there'd still be two more armies coming in at two different points in the opposite direction. 

Azgeda has always acted too big for their britches, demanding a large territory even though they don't have the manpower to effectively control it. They bit off more than they could chew, and they will come to realize it very soon.

Trikru's gathered army and allies will meet at the point where the three clans Azgeda, Trikru, and Trishanakru connect. That launching point of the attack will probably have the largest gathering of warriors, and so will capture the most attention of Azgeda's forces. Yujleda's forces, with help from Podakru and Delfikru, will attack along the western side of Azgeda's northern territory. This will be the second largest attack point, they should be able to claim a large amount of land before Azgeda gathers a large enough force to stall their progress.

The third and final point of attack, will have the smallest of the three gathered armies. Sangedakru will have the smallest army, because they will be marching through the dead zone. There are explosives in the dead zone that would absolutely ravage a large land force. Lexa tried to talk to Luna, which I only recently found out was the head of Floukru, to see if we could move a naval force through their waters. She denied, citing that they didn't want war in their territory. 

Lexa seemed a little peeved at Luna's short reply, but she understood. Floukru was the pacifist clan in the coalition, and she wouldn't force them to change their philosophy.

Finished with the maps I had gone over with Ontari and the letters I had sent off, I made my way to the large stay house that some of the refugees from Skaikru's dropship still stayed in. While a majority of them found seconds, there were a few special cases that wouldn't be getting a first due to their unique skills. Monty and Raven were two such examples, and they were who I was going to visit.

I heard some news about Monty's friend, Jasper, that I'm sure he'd like to hear. He had left the stay house a few days earlier, so I doubt Monty had heard from him yet. On the way to the stay house, I ran across someone who I haven't seen in years.

"Kieran, still beautiful as ever." I said to the middle-aged red haired woman as I approached, my lips stretched in a bright smile. I had foregone my mask today, hoping it will make conversing with the two former Skaikru members easier.

The woman looked up from the slab of meat she was slicing, with a questioning look on her face. When she recognized who I was, her eyes widened and her smile matched the one on my face. Rushing out from behind her stall, she quickly wrapped her arms around me in a crushing hug.

"James!" She stepped back an arm's length, looking me up and down. "I almost didn't recognize you. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, Kieran. Are you still serving the best venison in the entire coalition?" I asked teasingly, looking over her impressive display of delicious meat. 

Since the first day I had arrived in Polis, I had visited Kieran's stall only a handful of times. But every time I was here, I made sure to praise her food. She was the first grounder I had actually met other than Matthew. Not only that, but her meat was the first real meat that I had ever tasted.

On the Ark, we were only served nasty slop packed with a bunch of vitamins and nutrients. The rations up there weren't the best when it came to flavor.

Blushing at my reply, she slapped me on the chest. "Oh stop, you," Kieran smiled bashfully. "How's the Heda doing?" The last time I had seen Kieran was several years ago with Lexa when she and I were roaming the city. 

"Heda is doing well, she's dragging around my second at the moment, though." I joked, thinking about Lexa going from place to place with John in tow.

Shaking her head with a smile, she returned back to her spot behind the stand. "Can I get you anything? It's on the house." I could try and refuse, insisting on paying, but we both knew that she wouldn't budge. Every time I've returned to her stall after meeting her for the first time with Matthew, she insisted on giving me a free meal. 

"Sure, I'll take three sticks of Venison, beja." I chose, my lips curving in a small smirk.

Kieran looked at me with a narrowed gaze. "You know, kid, you're lucky I like you." She expressed with a touch of friendly exasperation. Watching her prepare the sticks for me, I just shot her my trademark smile. I knew she wasn't really upset with my request.

Handing me the delicious sticks of venison, I thanked her and continued on my way towards the stay house. I bought three sticks because I wanted to make a good impression with Monty and Raven.

With two sticks in one hand and one in the other, I feasted on my meal as I walked. Kieran's venison tasted just as delectable as I remembered. I was surprised she hasn't expanded her stand into a small shop by now. Though I guess I could understand why. Kieran has always liked to keep things simple. One time, she mentioned that she liked working the stand because it was more personal with customers. She just liked people, I presumed.

Entering the large stay house on the other side of Polis, I nodded to the grumpy old woman at the counter and made my way upstairs to the refugee's suite. That old woman was only ever reasonable whenever Lexa was present. The two faced hag…

Stopping at their door upstairs, I knocked thrice with my now free hand. The venison was succulent and I was hungry—it didn't last long.

"Coming!" A muffled voice yelled from the otherside. I heard something fall followed by the same voice cursing before the door was eventually thrown open by an embarrassed Raven. I took in her appearance, she was wearing a dark gray tank top, jeans, and a thin jacket wrapped around her waist.

"Did I come at a bad time?" I asked with a chuckle, looking over her shoulder and spotting a knocked over chair with a pair of scattered shoes around it.

Raven looked even more embarrassed when she saw what I was looking at. "N-no, of course not. Please, come in." She conveyed, her cheeks heating up. Stepping into the large room, I took in how empty it looked since last time I was here.

With most of the refugees being integrated into our humble society, there had to be only a handful of the teens left.

"So what can I do ya for?" Raven questioned a little chirpy, not looking nearly as embarrassed as before. Closing the door behind me, she turned to face me with her arms crossed over her chest and cocking her hip to one side.

"I came to talk with you and Monty," I said in a friendly voice. I wanted to have them like me, that would make getting their help so much easier. "Hungry?" I held out one of the sticks of venison to her, having noticed her glancing at them. 

She eyed it suspiciously as if I had poisoned it, but she took it after a few seconds of internal debate. "Thank you," Raven said pleasantly, taking her first bite of the best venison in the coalition. Her eyes lit up as the meat hit her tongue. "This is amazing!" She exclaimed before taking another bite.

I watched her quickly devour the meat that had only just been given to her with a dazed expression. Soon enough she was licking the juices of the stick with her pink tongue. Everything reminds me of her… I think before shaking those thoughts away.

Noticing that I was watching her with an extremely judgmental raised eyebrow, Raven took on a bashful expression before having the audacity to ask if I was going to eat the venison I was still holding. "This one is for Monty." I replied a little indignantly, holding the meat closer to my chest.

Rolling her eyes at me, she promptly called out Monty's name. We didn't have to wait long before the raven-haired boy walked into the room.

As he walked into the room, he eyed Raven and I with a confused look on his face. Upon noticing the protective way I was still holding my meat from the hungry girl in front me, his confusion only grew. "Am I interrupting… something?" Monty asked, his eyes shifting between us.

Once more, Raven rolled her eyes.

"Not at all," I said a little too cheerfully, holding out the stick of venison to him. "I come bearing gifts. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, sure, I could eat." He replied, not at all eyeing the offered food like Raven had. However, just like Raven's had, his eyes lit up as the flavors of thick, juicy meat hit his mouth. "This is amazing." Monty moaned, enjoying his stick of perfectly spiced venison.

Though he didn't eat it as fast the raven-ous girl did beside him, the meat soon disappeared down his throat. I wondered if I had devoured the venison that Matthew bought me the same way.

"Thanks, for the meal, Mr. …Shield gon Hedas, right?" He posed hesitantly, not entirely sure if he was remembering correctly.

"Yes, that is the correct and formal title of mine, but when we're in private," Gesturing between both of them. "You can call me James. Between you guys and I, I don't really care much for titles." I stated, giving them my given name as a sign of trust.

Now faced with my name and face, and not my title and mask, they subconsciously would be more trusting and open with me.

"Ok, James, what is it exactly you wanted to talk to Monty and I about?" Raven asked straight and to the point. She didn't beat around the bush, I liked that. Too many people would often dance around questions and avoid certain words or topics nowadays. Having someone like Raven around was refreshing.

"The Mountain," I announced calmly. Pointedly ignoring Raven's hand gesture to get on with it, I continued. "The Mountain has technology that neither I nor any of my people know how to use. We have no idea how to keep it running, let alone how to take control of its systems and change stuff."

"So you need our help because we are familiar with that technology?" Monty asked for confirmation. He got the point much quicker than I figured he would, nice. That is a good sign.

"Exactly," I pointed at him. "We need your help. The skills you two possess are extremely valuable. That is the reason why we haven't found anyone for you two to be seconds under. Your task is much more important."

Monty nodded his head along as I was talking, thinking it over. Raven, she looked a little skeptical, and so I knew what she was going to ask before she even said it. "And what if we refuse?"

"If you are to refuse my request, I cannot force you. You two are of my people, now. You both have free will." I answered, keeping my voice calm and light. I didn't want to force them, neither did Lexa. Even if we wanted to, it would be a stupid thing to do. They'd probably lock themselves inside the bunker and we wouldn't be able to do anything about it. They could use the gas fog, missiles, whatever they wanted.

If they were to help us, it needed to be because they wanted to.

They shared a look at my words, I couldn't decipher what it meant. It was like they were speaking telepathically. Seemingly coming to a decision, Raven nods to Monty and looks back towards me. "We'll help, but what's in it for us?"

Hearing the confirmation that I was waiting for, I smiled at them. "If you help, because of the importance of your skills and what you will be doing, you shall be given pivotal positions within the Trikru clan, you will have my counsel when available, you will be able to take on seconds to teach your skills to, and you both shall take up residence within the bunker if you so wish." 

Raven smirked at my response "I like the sound of pivotal position."

"If you abuse any authority granted upon you, your powers will be stripped. A leader should promote respect through their honorable actions and words." I was completely unimpressed, giving her the flattest look that I could manage.

"She's just joking," Monty quickly spoke up, effectively cutting Raven off from whatever she was going to say. Raven just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in response. "We'll do it, whatever you guys need, you have our support." He said honestly, feeling obligated to by how I have treated him and his people so far. 

The 'meeting' went well. They agreed without much incentive on my part and by the end of it, the duo was treating me like I was one of them. Giving them some time to pack up everything they owned, which wasn't much, they followed me out of the stay house.

Their eyes were wide as I showed them around Polis for a bit before heading towards the stables. When they first entered the stay house, they hadn't really gotten the chance to see Polis. Trying to score more brownie points with Raven, I lead them towards Kieran's stall. Surprisingly, Raven and Kieran hit it off rather quickly. Kieran had even given Raven a free stick of venison when it was time to go, much to the young engineer's delight.

Monty was most interested in our rain water collection and water treatment setups. He had even given a couple of the workers some tips on how to improve them, which the workers were very thankful for.

I was happy to see that they treated my people, their new people, with respect and weren't judgmental of them in any apparent way. They treated them the same as they treated each other. I even taught them a couple words in Trigedasleng to better converse with a few of the citizens they met. Granted, I still had to do a lot of translating for them.

It was several hours later that we finally arrived at the stables.

They had never rode a horse before, so it was amusing to watch them sit on the horses and try to control them. Sadly, the horses were very well trained, so there wasn't a problem on their end.

The ride to the bunker wasn't in silence, much to my surprise. We spent a lot of time sharing stories about each of our experiences. I shared with them what I do and told them stories about what I've done, as well as myths and legends that are told by my people. In return, they shared stories about their times on the Ark and what they were sent to lockup for, they even shared amusing stories about their time at the dropship.

When Monty told me about the hundred's experience with bad Jobi Nuts, I actually laughed out loud. An especially amusing part of the story was when he got around to talking about his friend Jasper's anti-grounder stick.

As he brought up Jasper, I remembered that I wanted to inform Monty on his situation. "Monty, have you heard from Jasper recently?" I asked, looking over at him from atop my horse.

Hearing my question, he frowned a little. "No, I haven't talked to him since he was picked as a second."

"Well, I feel obligated to tell you that he is doing well. He was taken as a second by Polis' most prestigious brewer," Matching the young man's smile when he heard that, I continued. "Apparently, Feron, the brew master, has taken a liking to young Jasper. From what I've heard, together they came up with a new brew using fermented Jobi Nuts." I smirked at him, recalling his experience with the nuts.

His eyes got wide and I saw a little bit of excitement followed up by awe in them. "No way…" He uttered quietly, his mouth hanging open, his mind thinking about how 'amazing' that must be.

Monty was proud of his childhood friend, that is a good character quality. I told him how once everyone gets comfortable and settled into their new lives, they will have all the freedoms a clansmen has, including the freedom to travel. The next time he visits Polis, I promised him that I would personally show him where the brewery was so he could reconnect with his friend.

The next hour of the ride was spent listening to Monty talk about Jasper. Apparently, his friend was the one that was speared when he crossed the Mountain's boundary shortly after the dropship fell. I remember Lexa getting that exact report after that had happened.

After connecting with Monty so well, it didn't take long before Raven started to open up to me as well. She began to tell me about her ex-boyfriend, Finn. When Raven risked everything to come to the ground just to see if he was alive, the pathetic joka had already moved onto his next conquest—Clarke.

I shook my head in disgust. "He sounds pathetic, Raven. I do not like cheaters, I believe in loyalty and trust beyond all else in a relationship. From what it sounds like, your relationship had neither."

Raven frowned at that, but she didn't bother trying to dispute it, either. She knew I was right. After a few minutes of silence, she eventually spoke again. "You're right, our relationship was hardly even a relationship. After he got locked up, it was like he completely forgot about me." She said with a frown marring her face.

I felt bad for her. Raven was strong, beautiful, loyal, and very intelligent. "You deserve better, Raven," I attempted to give her an uplifting smile. "You will find love again, and you will be happy." I told her honestly, knowing she needed to hear that. 

If she kept in her head about the whole situation, I knew that she would eventually start to question whether or not it was her fault. Overthinkers tend to do stupid stuff like that; no matter how smart they are.

"Thank you, James." Raven replies with a smile that just doesn't quite meet her eyes. She was hurting, but it would eventually pass. Pain is temporary.

It was just getting dark when we began to see torchlight lighting up the entrance of the bunker. I knew we were being watched by archers in the trees, and so, I smiled.

"We're here." 

***

Na swift = Be swift

Beja = Please

Joka = Fucker