Chapter 42

Two Thousand Days after Praimfaya

She took a deep breath as she looked over at Miller. She was giving her a big smirk as he stayed in a ready stance. They were both in light armor as they sparred. They weren't really trying to hurt each other at this point. It was more an expulsion of built up energy and practice. As they went at each other, she was glad that they were using practice swords because of the number of times that Miller scored against her. She smiled and acknowledged each hit. She was using this as her work out for the day. There was nothing but a good fight to get her brain going and her heart pumping.

"You're distracted," he told her as he backed away to the far wall, waiting for her to admit it.

"I am."

"You know what happens when you fight distractedly," he said.

"I seem to be doing okay," she chided.

"Yeah, because this isn't real and I'm honestly not trying to kill you," Miller added.

Her smile fell. She knew that he was right. As much as she didn't want to admit, it was true. She knew that he wasn't going for the kill. She'd left him enough holes to take advantage of that he hadn't. He pressed her and then backed off. He never went for her head. She however had been taught to go for the kill. If she didn't kill them, she made sure that they wouldn't get back up for a long time. It was how she was trained. On the ground before everything was for survival and unfortunately, fighting was over resources and land. It was always a fight to the death. Incapacitation was a good thing, but death insured that no one had to worry about that warrior coming back for more.

"What is it?"

"Have we made any head way in the punishment tunnel?"

"Not more than we had yesterday," he replied.

She just nodded. She knew that it was futile, but she was still trying anyway. They needed to be prepared that they would never get out of the bunker. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it needed to be addressed. She needed to call a Council meeting. She needed to give them the truth and see what they said. She had lead them this long and they had endured. They would and could continue to endure. She was going to make sure of it. Eventually, they would get out. She couldn't let that go, but they needed to make sure that they could survive in the bunker. The other thought that she had was that they couldn't become the Maunon. They weren't the Maun-de, but she wasn't going to let them turn into them either.

"We can survive on the surface now. We just have to get there. How do we get there?"

"Are you asking me, or just thinking aloud?" Miller inquired.

"Call the Council."

"Sha, Osleya," he replied and left their practice room.

She stood there staring at the concrete that had become her home for the last five and half years. She still felt the claustrophobia that she had growing up, but it was different. She wasn't under the floor anymore. She was in the earth. It was almost as bad. She'd tasted the freedom that the ground gave her only to lose it again. She hated the walls and she wanted to feel the sun on her face again. She'd even welcome the radiation if it meant that she could get out of that bunker. She knew it was futile, but at least the walls weren't driving her batshit crazy...yet.

She walked across the room and dropped the sword in the barrel that held the rest of the training weapons. She grabbed her over shirt and pulled it on. She didn't bother removing her armor. She didn't care. She just needed to get to her office. She knew that the members of their Council would show up there as soon as they got word. She didn't have time to do much else but get to her office. And, oddly, she was actually okay with that, today.

She slowly and methodically moved through the bunker back up to her office. She knew that Timo and Wayne were behind her. Their stotic and shadowy presence was almost as comforting as Miller's. It was different because they were Grounders, but they still loved her in their own way as they protected her. She assumed it was just because they were chosen to protect the Osleya, and it would have been the same if she was a natblida and the heda. Their position was a position of honor among the warriors. She thought of them as her Praetorians, but unlike their Roman counterparts, she wasn't afraid that they would kill her and raise another in her place that they thought was more suited to rule over them all. Every guard was tested over and over again. Miller had left nothing to chance. Neither had Indra. One word against Octavia and they were removed, watched and given farm duty. Indra had told Octavia it was because if they were too tired to complain, they couldn't start another coup.

She nodded to her guards as she entered her office. She walked over to her desk and took off her over shirt. She walked over to the radio and checked it. The recording was waiting for her, and she'd listen to it later. For now, she turned down the volume completely and made sure that it would record again if another transmission came through. Then, she walked back to her desk as she shirked out of the light armor shirt that she was wearing. She picked up her over shirt and put it back on. She ran her hand around the waist of her pants and felt the dagger that was hidden there. She closed her eyes and sat down at her desk. She knew that the rest of the Council would just sit around her, but Indra and Miller would be on her sides, standing just behind her, one on the left and the other on the right. She took a few deep breaths, preparing herself for the meeting about to happen.

Kane and Abby made their way in and sat on the couch to the left of her desk. They always sat there, every meeting, together. It made Octavia smile. It wasn't just because they were there and mostly supported her with what they knew and how things were similar to being on the Ark, but because through all this craziness and being literally buried alive, they still found each other. Seeing them together gave Octavia more hope.

Indra was next. Cooper came in and took up a spot to her left. She watched as the other councilors came in and all took a seat. Miller came in after Niylah, who was last. The librarian/medic/confidant apologized. She had been in the bowels of the bunker checking on supplies. Octavia just dismissed her comments and just pointed at an empty seat. Niylah quickly sat down.

Octavia looked them all over and then stood up before addressing them, "I called this meeting today because we need to discuss some things."

They all waited for Octavia to say more. She moved from behind her desk. Miller and Indra moved with her. Cooper watched her move, but there was something about the cagey way that Octavia almost paced through the office that had everyone on edge. When Octavia finally stopped for a minute, she met Cooper's eyes. She saw the same fire that she saw during the coup. She quickly met Indra's eyes and had a nonverbal conversation. Indra's slight tilt of the head told Octavia all she needed to know.

"We've been in the bunker now for around five and half years. We've weathered many things while we've been here. The thing is that we can't say when we will be able to get out of here. We have been fighting death since before we got in here, and we've continued that fight. We are not giving up. We can't and we won't. But, now, we can't use five years as our goal. We have to look passed it, because we are already passed it. We have to look for the long term. We have to be prepared that it might be some more time before we get out."

"Are you saying we aren't getting out?" one the council members asked.

Octavia turned and realized that it was one of the workers that kept them all clothed.

"No, that is not what I'm saying. What I am saying is that we need to look beyond our timelines. We need to know that we can survive as long as we need to while we are in here."

"What are you proposing?" Kane questioned.

"We need to work together to make sure that we can make things last. The engineers and the service crews need to work together and get with Niylah. We need to know what we have and what we don't. We need to know what we will be able to use and what we will have to make or appropriate from somewhere else. We need to be able to survive. I need for all the crews to get with Skaikru and learn to keep things running. We can't stop now. We won't stop now. We are the last of man and we have to continue our fight. And, we will. We have to change our mindsets for the long run.

"Look, I know that this isn't going to be easy, but this is our reality now. We can't just keep running on the notion that we will get out of here any day. We don't know when that day will come. I still have to believe that we are getting out of here."

"Why?" Cooper asked, the fire in her eyes getting darker.

"Because I have to believe the Bellamy and the rest made it back to the Go-Sci ring. I've been keeping that hope alive since we realized that the door was covered over. Bellamy and the others had to have made it. If they haven't made it back to Earth, they are finding a way. And, I know that Bellamy and Raven won't stop for anything to get us out of here," Octavia told them.

"Neither will Clarke," Abby added.

Octavia turned and looked at Abby. She could see the desire and fire in Abby's eyes. She knew that Abby didn't know that Clarke was alive and on the surface. She knew that Abby was holding on to hope, too. Hers was different than Octavia, but it was the same. They were both waiting on news that their family was still alive and coming back for them.

"That's true. Between Clarke, Bellamy and Raven, they will find a way to get us out. That means that we have to find a way to continue to survive."

"What do you need from us?" Niylah asked and Octavia could see the changes that the bunker had caused in the young, beautiful, honey-blond Grounder.

"We need to make sure our counts are good. We need to do a full inventory. We need to know what we need to absolutely need to ration and what we can continue to use without any reservation. We need to know what we are working with and I need each of you as the heads of your areas to make sure the numbers are correct. Count, recount and triple count. This is about all of us and not just your stations and areas. This is about life and death."

"When do you want them?" Kane asked her.

"By the end of the week, and Kane, I want you and Niylah to do a full count based on everyone else's."

"What does that mean?" Fonta the head of the hydrostations inquired.

"It means I want you to turn your counts into Kane and then he'll recount himself with Niylah."

"You don't trust us?" Cooper questioned.

"Honestly, no, I don't. I can't and be in my position. I can't trust anyone because any of you turn on me and we fail, we die."

"Paranoia won't help you keep everyone in line," Kane stated.

"I know. Which is why Abby and I will count behind Niylah and your areas," Octavia told him. "We have to do this to survive. Falsifying reports will be a crime against Wonkru and will result in being sent to the Pits. We cannot fail at this. I can't stress that enough."

"I think it is a good idea," Abby added. "I have to do regular reports on medicine for us all. This is just on a grander scale. And, I understand why some of you would be worried, but this isn't a performance evaluation. This is a inventory of the bunker. We need to know what is working and what isn't. If it isn't working, we need to be able to figure out if we can get it to work with parts we have or we can take it apart and use it for parts. If we don't know what we have, we are destined to fail and all die. Knowing is half the battle, efficiency is the other. I'll have Jackson start a count tonight, ai Osleya."

"Pro, Abi kom Wonkru, ai fisaheda. Go and make your preparations. We will have another meeting at the end of the week," Octavia replied and dismissed them.

Everyone left the room but Indra and Miller. They both knew that they had to give Octavia their weekly reports, but there was more to it than that and they all knew it. There was something going on with Cooper, but they hadn't been able to prove it.

"Any news?"

"None to report, Osleya," Indra reported.

"Keep switching up the rotation to the farm. I don't want Cooper getting comfortable with a certain set of warriors in there. I can't tell if she is planning something or not. I would rather get ahead of anything than be behind it like last time," Octavia stated.

"I've been switching out her guards, too. I've assigned some of the personal guard to follow her. So far, all they tell me is that she's spending a lot of time in the lab, more so than actually on the farm. Abby visits her a lot there and then a pod gets a new plant. I wish that I had a guard that was good a tech stuff. Hell, I'd give you four of my best just to have Raven or Monty on my team for a few hours in her lab."

"I get that, Miller. I really do, but short of sending Jackson or Abby in there without Cooper, we aren't going to get anything. I think Abby doesn't trust her either. I know Abby has been slipping in reports of their experiments to me with her weekly medical updates and inventories. But, so far, there isn't anything that I can use against her. The reports don't mean anything to me and Abby knows that," Octavia said.

"Then perhaps we should speak with the fisaheda and get her to help us understand it," Indra suggested.

"You're right. I'll look through all the reports and get them pulled and ready. Indra, go see Abby and get a check up. Mention that I have some questions about what we are doing for population control or something. We might need to let start letting up on the restrictions. Make it so I need her medical knowledge and tell her that it will be a long discussion."

"When?"

"Two days from now. And, make sure that enough people in the Med-Bay hear you. I want them focused on something other than what we are doing. It will make Cooper start to make a move or something. She's been playing the long game and as much as I want to trust her, I can't. She has to know that."

"That is why she has gotten so close to you," Miller stated.

"I know. And, that is why I will start to cut her off slowly. Make it so I have appointments with each department, starting with Abby and ending with everyone by Cooper. I want Abby's first. The rest can be in order. Just make sure that Cooper knows that she hasn't been scheduled. I want her to come to me. I want to see what she wants me to see and then I'll have Abby and Kane and someone else from Farm Station do a full inventory while Cooper is with me," Octavia told them. "Miller, find me a guard that is feircely loyal to us and our survival. They will do the inventory with Kane and Abby. And, Indra make sure that gona are the ones working when it happens and not anyone that could possibly be loyal to Cooper. I don't care how you do it. Just make it happen."

"Sha, Blodreina," Indra replied with a salute and quirk of her lips.

Octavia knew that Indra didn't like Cooper. She thought that the woman was too agreeable and not smart enough to carry through with any plan. She wasn't a warrior. She was a farmer and while Indra respected farmers, she couldn't respect Cooper. They were like oil and water. Octavia rarely pitted them against each other, but Cooper was being shady and she needed to make sure that her head of the farm wasn't planning on poisoning them all or something.

"Anything else?" Miller asked her.

"Not tonight, Miller. I'll see in the training room just after breakfast. Send London in to see me tomorrow. I need to talk to her about Ethan. Other than that, make your plans for the guard rotation, set up for someone to start your inventories, and get some rest."

"Sha, Osleya," Miller stated.

"Oh, and Miller?"

"Yeah?"

"Conduct a quiet census, too. Names, ages, and former clans. I want to know who we need to watch as soon as we get back to the ground. Make sure that the rotations are still mixed."

"O, we haven't has any issues since you started the integration back in the first few months."

"I know, but I have a feeling that the ground will change everyone once we see it again."

"As you wish," he told her and left the office.

She sat back down at her desk and looked around the room. She knew that it was healthy to have a small amount of paranoia, but she was afraid that it was growing each day that they were still underground. She knew that it wasn't true, but the days seemed to be getting longer. She huffed and got up. She grabbed another knife and then went over to the radio. She turned it on and pulled out the recording from that morning.

"Hey, Bellamy. Hit another milestone today. Day two thousand and still no word. Madi and I seem to be the only surviving humans on the ground. I can't wait to see you. I hope you come home soon. I need... Just come home..."

"Please come home, Bellamy. We both need you. Come save me again, Big Brother," Octavia said as she leaned back in the chair.

She looked over at the wall. She cocked her arm back and threw the knife in it at the wall. It stuck into a painting that hung there. Octavia looked at the knife and then the painting. It was just dark colors on canvas, but the colors were running, like ink down a sheet of white paper.

"I miss you all so much," Octavia said and bowed her head, finally letting some of the emotion and grief that she'd been holding for years out.