Veidas (Invaders)

Almost

As expected, we didn't get back to the dropship until the sun was slowly descending beneath the trees. We were greeted with calls of excitement and eager bodies to relieve us of our burdens. We'd found enough blankets that everyone would have two and enough bedrolls to provide cushioning. We had brought back chemlights, lanterns, canteens, and fifty assault rifles and the crate of ammunition. Dax, Miller, and I quickly secured the guns in the dropship, and Raven took control of the ammunition to store in her tent. I spoke with Dax and Murphy to set up a guard rotation to make sure the rifles were never unattended.

I came out of the dropship in time to listen to Clarke explain Finn's disappearance. To say the camp was upset over the incident would have been an understatement. They wanted blood. Not just for endangering those who had gone on the trip, but because it was an attempt to kidnap Clarke. Their leader. I held back a smile seeing their reaction, but it was heartening seeing their loyalty towards the blonde. After the speech, the blankets, bedrolls, and lanterns were handed out. The rest were stored in the dropship.

Like every night since I woke up from my injury, our small group gathered in my hut for dinner. I sat back and listened as everyone went over their day. I didn't perk up until Clarke started talking about Bellamy.

"What about Bellamy," I asked, rejoining the conversation.

Clarke sighed, giving me a trepidatious look, "I was just saying that he's well on his way to being recovered. Bellamy's head and shoulder seem to be healing well, but as I thought, his shoulder is going to need major work to get full range of motion back."

"Then he's well enough to be banished," I succinctly replied.

"Harlee," Clarke began, but I shook my head.

"No, Clarke," I interrupted. "If Bellamy realizes that the only reason he's still in camp is because of his injuries, he's smart enough to stay injured. And the longer he's here, the greater chance he has of either raising people to free him or wearing you down to free him. You're already hesitating."

"Harlee's right," Octavia spoke up, looking seriously at Clarke. "As much as I love my brother, what he's done has to have consequences. You said he'd be banished, and you need to follow through."

"Alright," Clarke said, sighing as she looked at everyone. "Tomorrow. After I do one last check-up on him, we'll banish him."

"Thank you," I told her. "Clarke, you may not like this, but it's necessary to keep order. It's not like you're executing him, which already makes you better than the Council and the laws we left behind."

Clarke sighed again but looked more resolute, "You're right. Speaking of the Council, any word on when Exodus will be ready to launch, Wells?"

"We have some good news on that," Wells said, looking at everyone. "Well, maybe. The Council finally has a date when the ship will be ready. They anticipate a couple of days after Unity Day, which is in two months."

"Who are they sending down," Raven asked, leaning into me, so I wrapped my arm around her waist.

Wells grimaced, "That's where it gets a little tricky. They want to send a contingent of guards down along with people from Medical, Farm, and Engineering. The Council is still figuring out who they want to send, but it'll be from those four groups."

"What are they hoping to accomplish by bringing those groups down," I asked, frowning in thought. "Medical makes sense, and maybe Engineering. That is if they know how to build adequate shelter and run irrigation or water lines. Farming can't do much, except to ready land for planting in the Spring. I'm not happy about the guards."

Wells sighed, "I'm not happy with the guards either. I mean, it would be good to have people who are better equipped to protect."

"But," Raven interjected, staring pointedly at the boy, "we know that's not why they're sending them down. They're being sent down to make sure that we comply and do all the heavy lifting. The guards have no idea how to do much besides patrol a hallway and beat people into submission. If something attacked us, they wouldn't know what to do."