JOIN MY P@TREON FOR JUST $5!!! (Info in author's notes)
NEW SIVER MEMBERS:-RavenSystem, Ace, Grabbott, Zexi0n, Theo Cens, Scorix11, Aaron Brooks
NEW GOLD MEMBERS: DarkApocalypse, Christian Taylor
Happy reading
--XXXX--
"A... a drop ship?" Lexa's voice was a bare thread, her warrior's mind failing to compute the streak of fire that was now a burning scar across the sky.
Mike, with his hand on her arm, explained. "It's what it sounds like, Lexi."
"Humans. In space. All this time."
He was omitting, of course. He knew what it was. But he focused on the practical. "Or it's just a dead satellite, a piece of junk."
Lexa's head snapped to his. The Heda was gone, her face white with a new, sudden terror. "Anya," she breathed. "It's heading for Trikru. For home." She was already turning, her mind in chaos. "I have to go. I have to get my horse. I need to be-"
"Heda!"
A voice, sharp and unwelcome, cut through her panic. Titus stood in the doorway of the balcony, his face pale, but his eyes firm. He had, of course, been summoned by the commotion.
"Titus, you saw it!" Lexa raged, rounding on him. "That... thing... it is falling on my home! On my Chief! I will not-"
"You will," Titus said, his voice unwavering. "You are the HEDA. You are not just Lexa kom Trikru anymore. You are the Commander of all clans. And a thing just fell from the sky."
He walked into the room, his voice a hammer of logic. "The city is in a panic. The ambassadors are already at the tower doors, demanding answers. Your people... all your people... need to see their leader. They need to see you, on that throne, in control. If you run to Trikru to solve a Trikru problem... you will lose the Coalition."
Lexa's jaw snapped shut. He was right.
He was right, and she hated him for it. She looked from Titus's stubborn, logical face to the trail of smoke in the sky, her heart tearing in two. The duty she had just won, and the home she had always loved, were pulling her apart.
She then felt a hand on her cheek. Large, scarred, warm. She leaned into the touch, her eyes closing. Mike.
"He's right, Lexi," Mike said in her ear. He had, she noted, already put his mask on. The cold, electronic voice was a strange comfort. "You have to stay. You're the HEDA. They need you."
"But Anya..." she whispered, her voice breaking. "Mike, if it hits..."
"It won't," he said, with a certainty that was absolute. "I know its trajectory. It'll land west of Tonas, near the river."
He leaned in, his helmet's visor resting against her forehead. "I will go. I will take care of Trikru. I will handle this with Anya. I'll be her Blade. You... you be their Heda."
She let out a shuddering breath. He was taking the burden. He was, as always, her shield. "Okay," she whispered. "Okay." She whispered again, but to herself.
"Take your time. Be the Commander. I'll see you at home."
And with that, he was gone.
A blur of orange and grey armor, his coat flaring as he disappeared from the chamber.
Lexa watched him go, then took a deep breath, her face turning back into the impassive and cold face of the Heda. She turned to Titus. "Summon the ambassadors. Now."
**********
Mike moved through Polis quickly. Guards, ambassadors, and citizens scrambled to get out of his way.
He reached the stables, his horse, a massive, black warhorse as mean as he was, already saddled, ready to go. He mounted in one fluid motion.
As he rode through the main gates, he saw the chaos. The people of Polis were in the streets, pointing, wailing, praying to the spirits of the Commanders. They saw the fiery trail in the sky, an omen of the end.
Then... they saw him.
They saw the Blad-de-Trikru, in his full armor, his mask a black, reflective void, his warhorse kicking up dust. He was not panicking. He was riding toward the omen.
The wailing... stopped. A new sound began. A murmur, then a shout.
"It is the Blade!"
"He rides! He rides to meet it!"
A new feeling, one stronger than fear, rippled through the crowd: faith.
They had seen this man, this ghost, become their Heda's right hand. They had heard the stories of the "pacified" Azgeda. He was their boogeyman, their protector.
A small boy, no older than eight, scrambled onto a rain barrel, his small face streaked with tears and dirt. He cupped his hands and yelled, his voice high and piping, "WE BELIEVE IN YOU, BLAD-DE-TRIKRU!"
Mike stopped. The horse huffed, sensing the tension.
That one, tiny voice hit him harder than any bullet. He'd been called a monster. A killer. An asset. A weapon. A husband. But this... this felt like what he received back at Trikru. He looked at the sea of hopeful, trusting faces.
His people. Just like Trikru.
An intense possessive rage filled his chest. He, Mike Anderson, had died in a soft, weak, pathetic world that talked of feelings while it rotted from the inside. He'd been reborn in a hard, real world. These people, with their brutal laws and their fierce hearts, were his.
And the fuckers from that old, dead world, the "civilized" ones, the Skaikru, were coming down from the sky to ruin it all over again.
He swore, in that moment, a new, silent vow. He would protect this. He would protect Anya. He would protect Lexa. He would protect the Trikru, and he would protect Polis. These were his people. And he would, if he had to, wipe every last man, woman, and child from that falling star off the face of the planet to keep them safe.
He didn't speak. He just raised his gauntleted left fist, a silent, powerful acknowledgment.
I see you. I will protect you.
The crowd exploded. A roar of hopeful sound. They cheered him, their voices a roaring wave.
Mike turned his horse, dug in his heels, and rode into the green, his newly formed resolve a cold, hard thing in his heart.
From the high balcony of the tower, Titus watched the armored figure disappear, a black speck against the green. He heard the roar of the crowd, the chants of "Blad-de-Trikru!"
He turned to Lexa, who was watching, her expression unreadable.
"You really did choose the best man, Heda," Titus said, his voice surprisingly soft. "He is... a monster. But he is your monster. And... I think... theirs."
Lexa just smiled, a small, proud smile, as she watched the trail of smoke in the distance. "He's not a monster, Titus," she said, almost to herself.
"He's a beacon." She thought of the "contract killer" she had met, the man who had been a weapon for hire, and now... a whole city was putting its faith in his hands.
MOUNT WEATHER
The air in Mount Weather was sterile, the temperature was 72 degrees, and it smelled faintly of lemon polish.
In the President's office, Dante Wallace sipped a cup of tea, a real, pre-war porcelain cup. He looked at his son. "The harvest reports are excellent, Cage. The Grounder patrols... they seem to be... less."
"They're... distracted, Father," Cage said, swirling a glass of brandy. "Their new Heda is cleaning house. It's all going... smoothly."
Dante smiled with a gentle, scholarly expression. "Good. Good. Peace. That is all I have ever wanted. For things to just... continue. Smoothly."
Cage agreed, but just then, a knock came from the door.
"Enter," Cage called, annoyed at the interruption.
Lieutenant Reilly, the head of their internal security, walked in, his face pale. He leaned down and whispered, fast, in Cage's ear.
Dante didn't hear the words, but he saw his son's hand. The grip around the brandy snifter tightened.
"Son?" Dante asked, his smile fading. "Is... is everything alright?"
Cage's face, for a split second, was full of fury. Then... it was gone. He smiled, a smooth, political smile.
"Yes, Father. Of course. Just... a minor issue with the filtration system. I need to take care of it." He downed the brandy in one gulp.
"Excuse me."
Cage didn't walk. He strode. He moved through the halls and entered the main control room. The tech guy, a pale, nervous man named Lovejoy, was sweating.
"Show me," Cage commanded.
"Sir, we found the missing team. This... this just came in from the forward patrol camera near the Trikru border. The one we thought was a glitch."
The tech guy pulled up an image on the main screen. It wasn't a glitch. It was a grainy, high-resolution. And what they saw shook all of them to their core.
Cage slammed his fist on the console, rattling the monitors.
"NOT AGAIN!" he roared.
His voice was a mix of fear and rage.
He began to think, his mind racing. It was all going so well. The Grounders were supposed to be inferior in any way. They were their blood banks, their cattle, their test subjects.
But then... it all changed five months ago. When 'HE' came. It all changed.
You see, the first three months after Mike's arrival were not all jolly and happy. He was not given the title Bla-D-Trikru for simply being stronger than Lexa and Anya.
There was a reason why all twelve clans feared his name.
And the one how faced all these horrors where The Mountain Men.
---XXXX---
How was it?
GREAT!!
or
MEH(If this, then tell why. Helps improve the fanfic)