A New Threat

I couldn't believe it, The Ark. I hadn't thought of them for a long time. After a few months on the ground they damn near left my subconscious entirely. With both Lexa and Matthew, I already had more than I ever did on The Ark. The only thing I had up there was Markus Kane, and what did he do? He used me as a sacrificial lamb. Once Lexa and Matthew showed me what a real family was and what real love meant, I realized that Markus didn't love me like I thought he did. Since then I had pushed the Ark entirely out of my mind; Until today that is.

There was a large dropship falling from the sky, or at least that is what it looks to be. It looked like a larger version of the one that I came down in, a much larger version. Lexa and I stared at it as it fell, once it got low enough in altitude the parachutes deployed, slowing it down to a safe landing speed. When it vanished over the tree line Lexa turned towards me, a string of questions on the tip of her tongue.

"James, do you know what that was? Do you know where it came from? How far away do you think it landed? Do you think that whoever came down is hostile? Lexa asked, still in shock by what she had just seen. I had told her all about my life on The Ark before I came to the ground so it doesn't surprise me she would ask me all these questions.

"I believe it was a dropship of some kind, a rather large one. Which means that it's filled with much more than a single passenger from The Ark. Since they never followed me down when I was younger, I believe it is safe to assume that they still don't know that there are survivors on the ground. Meaning this, whoever came down this time is another last ditch effort experiment."

I tell her honestly, while we make our way to Anya.

Entering Anya's hut, I notice a little girl with her this time. Lexa sees my questioning gaze towards the little girl and informs me on who she is. "That is Tris, Anya's second." Nodding my head in understanding, I stood back a little and allowed Lexa and Anya to discuss what just happened outside.

"Tris, go find Lincoln and tell him to get here now." Anya says hurriedly, turning to the little girl by her side. Once Tris leaves the hut, Anya's face gets grave.

"Anya, these invaders have not landed far. We must be wary of them." Lexa tells Anya concerned. No one else besides Lexa knows that I am from The Ark and we plan to keep it that way. The people of the clans know me and trust me, that trust may diminish if they knew the truth.

Anya nodded her head in understanding at Lexa's words. "I plan to dispatch a scout to the landing site and have them report any and all information available." No sooner than when Anya had finished speaking, Lincoln, led by Tris, entered the tent.

"Well done, Tris." Anya praises her second, then looks to Lincoln. "Lincoln, you will be heading to the landing sight of whatever it was that fell from the sky. You will report any and all information you come across. Their weapons, supplies, activities, their numbers. Is that understood?" Anya demands, with a sense of urgency.

"Understood." Lincoln confirms, hurrying out of the hut to complete his mission.

"Anya, I give you full permission to handle the invaders any way that you see fit. Whether they are here to make peace, or to make war, I have faith that you will make the right decision." Lexa says honestly, then turns around to inform me of the next plan of action. "My Shield, we will return to Polis and inform the ambassadors of the new potential threat."

"Of course my Heda." I affirm, following Lexa out of the hut and to our horse. I decided that it would be best if we were out of Ton DC to discuss what I knew of The Ark. Once we retrieved our horse from Ton DC's stables and thanked the stableman, we started our journey back to Polis at a fast pace.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Well, I think this has been a very informative trip." I joked, finally breaking the silence after an hour. Ever since we left Ton DC I could tell that Lexa was lost in thought.

"Very." Lexa replies distractedly.

I sigh over exaggeratedly at her short reply.

"Alright Lexa, what's on your mind?" I ask her with concern. She was silent for a long moment before replying, as if she was debating whether to tell me what her thoughts were.

"I am worried that… you will choose your people over us… over me." Lexa replies, her voice a mix of fear, sadness, and acceptance. I looked back over my shoulder at her when I heard her words. She was laying her head against my back so I wasn't able to see her face, almost as if she was afraid to look at me.

Realizing I better ease her concerns, I stop the horse so I am able to talk to her easier. As if knowing what my plan was, she slowly climbed off the horse and then I joined her. Now that her face wasn't hidden from my view, I could see that her eyes were very teary and she was trying hard not to cry.

"Lexa, the people on The Ark are not mine. You are my people. You've done so much more for me than The Ark ever has." I say softly, grasping her hands on my own. "You were my first friend, my only friend. You were there for me when no one else was, and you're still here. No matter what, I will never leave you. You are the most important person in the whole world to me. Please don't ever forget that." I told her sincerely, a smile growing on her face the more I spoke.

Looking into her eyes, she started crying, but I could tell these weren't the same tears that were threatening to fall mere moments ago. These were tears of joy, and the kiss right then and there proved just how much joy she was feeling. I could literally feel the emotions that she willed into the kiss.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The rest of the trip back to Polis after that was much lighter, except for a certain woman's grip on my stomach. Lexa's grip seemed almost possessive, as if I would disappear right then and there off of the horse.

Arriving back in Polis, Lexa wasted no time. She had immediately headed for the throne room and proceeded to summon every clan ambassador. Taking my usual place next to her throne, we didn't have to wait long for every ambassador to arrive.

"I know you all are wondering why I have summoned you here for an emergency meeting." Lexa started, quieting down several of the ambassador's discussions. Hearing murmurs of agreement, she continued. "Just a few hours ago, invaders from the sky had landed in Trikru territory."

As soon as she said those words, a loud cacophony of noise erupted from the assembled. Already knowing she wasn't finished talking, I decided to quiet them down. "SILENCE!" I roared at the ambassadors. Almost immediately all of the unwanted noise ceased.

"Thank you, My Shield. As I was saying, an object carrying what I believe to be people, has fallen from the sky. I do not yet know what their intentions are and if they are hostile. Anya of Trikru has sent a scout to observe them. Anything she finds out, she will relay to myself. Are there any questions?" Lexa asks the ambassadors. In response to her question, most shook their heads. However, the Azgeda ambassador spoke his inquiry.

"What are we to do if similar invaders land in our respective clan's territories?" The ambassador asks, many of the assembled individuals wait for Heda's reply, they are also wanting to know the answer to that question.

"If Anya reports back that they are indeed hostile and want war, then do as you wish." Lexa answers firmly, many of the ambassadors grin at her words. With a wave of her hand, the throne room is soon cleared.

"That went better than expected." I say with a small laugh. Getting an annoyed look from Lexa.

With no purpose left for us being in the throne room, we head to the training grounds. We haven't visited the new nightblood in awhile and I'm rather curious to see how far Aden has come in our absence.

After Lexa ascended to the position of Commander, Titus, our resident Flame Kepa, set out for new nightblood. Aden was one of the new recruits that Titus brought to Polis, and he was one of the most promising. When he first arrived, he didn't stand out much. He was small and frail, but he used that to his advantage and eventually became the most talented of the bunch. Entering the training area, I see many of the nightblood sparring with each other while the occasional one is off training on their own.

Standing near the entrance, I watch Lexa interact with the nightblood, never spending too long with just one. It makes me sad in a way, watching them train and grow in many ways, only for them to die so young. Killed by the people you trained with no less. I can't even imagine how Lexa must feel, she was in their shoes once and is very knowledgeable on how it feels. Even though she is helping them with their training and other responsibilities as Heda, she never allows them to get close to her. She doesn't want to lose anyone else, and she isn't going to.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The next morning we received news from Anya. Apparently the invaders tried to make contact with The Mountain, and so one of the warriors on the river had to spear one, to ward them off from trying it again. A look of annoyance formed on Lexa's face as she read the message. After sending the messenger back with orders to keep her updated, she strode to the balcony to think.

"I don't know what to do with these… Skaikru if they continue to become a handful." Lexa said to me after a minute of silence, testing the name given to the invaders on her tongue.

"Do what you have to, Lexa. No matter what you decide, I will stand by your side and support you one hundred percent of the way." I responded firmly.

I think that I had always known that one day The Ark would make its way into my life again, but I chose what side I was on the day I was taken in by Matthew. The Skaikru are not my people anymore, if they ever were. No longer did I sit and read books in my "room" all day, just waiting for Kane to give me more gifts. There was no longer any hope in my heart that Marcus Kane would adopt me, so I no longer would be just James, and would instead be James Kane.

The reason that I did not wish for that anymore was quite simple. I have a purpose now, and a new name. I am James, The Shield of Heda... and I would have it no other way.