A gloved hand pushed open the secret door in the tunnels. It was found during a search of the tunnel system, but there had been no time to investigate it. No one knew about it. Not even Aleigha, who knew about most of the secret tunnels inside the tunnel system. Somehow, she had missed this particular tunnel. That was good; she wouldn't be implicated if what was going to happen in that room was found out.

This particular room had been found by accident when the tunnel city was first being filled to hide humans from the militia. You tend to get bored and feel the need to explore. Especially when you're looking for a place no one knows about so you can implement your plan. During one of those explorations, the room was discovered. It was a good find and would be used shortly. Most likely for an extended amount of time.

Entering the hidden room, where there was a raised panel with knobs and levers in its center. The old yellow lighting that glowed down on the panel told what the labels said, revealing what the levers and knobs were meant to do. It was a well-organized panel, clearly labeled, easy to read, and it identified the purpose of the levers and knobs. That alone would be helpful when it was time to act.

Moving one gloved hand to a lever marked with a picture of a lightning bolt, the dark figure wrapped one gloved hand around it and pulled. The lever snapped loudly when it went into place, then the old yellow lights flickered off.

Quickly pushing the lever back on, the glow of the yellow lights returned. It made the lights in the tunnel system appear to flicker briefly when the lever was snapped down, then up, rapidly.

A white-toothed grin smiled widely. They had found the power room. This was going to come in handy. It was only a matter of time before the fun would begin. Electrical power would play a huge role in what was to come. With electricity, there were a lot of creative ways that it could be used. The figure had intended to experiment and find all the ways that were possible in using it. The figure chuckled in anticipation. 'This is going to be fun.'

Scanning the room further, there was another room. A steel door was left partially open. The figure peeked in and scanned the small space. Last time, there was no time to check it out. Now there was plenty of time. There was a hand railing along the wall, or at least it looked like one. It was a long bar attached to the stone wall. At first glance, one would think of it as a ballet bar, but it was clearly not one. There couldn't be one in this particular environment.

The figure stepped closer. At closer inspection of the long bar, it wasn't a handrail. There were hooks all along it that slid from one end of the bar to the other. On one of the hooks was a reel of wiring. The hooks appeared to be used to hold reels of wiring, hoses, and other items needed in the tunnels. The grin grew wider. This was going to come in handy, too. The hooks might play a part as well. Ideas were forming in the figure's head, causing them to grin. The setup of the room was perfect for the intended purpose; it just needed to be cleared out and adjusted to fit the soon-to-be user's needs.

Pulling all of the hooks to one side, the dark figure pulled the wiring off the hook that held it and scanned the others, making sure there was nothing left in the room. It was the only hook that held something. All the rest of the hooks had been empty. Inspecting the room for other items, there was nothing left. The room needed to be completely empty. If it wasn't attached, it needed to be removed from the room.

Looking around the room one last time, with satisfaction, the figure closed the door and tested the lock. It sealed the room. The lock only opened from the outside. The grin grew. Once the door was shut, there would be no escape, unless, of course, they had a key. The inside of the room required a key to be placed in the keyhole, then turned before you could push the door open. It was a safeguard if the door was ever closed while working inside the room. Leaving the hidden room, one last glance at the inside, knowing the stage was set, the figure left, closing the secret door in their wake.

**** ***

Jada walked through the halls, passing the small makeshift prison cell. Shadick and Zack were sitting in the chairs watching Medic Kaul sleep. He had been kept sedated, unaware that he was even bound and guarded. When he was finally allowed to wake up, he would be disoriented, not knowing what was happening.

She kept going, heading for the tunnel city entrance. In front of her, Aleigha was heading in the same direction. Jada watched as Aleigha stopped suddenly and looked around her, not seeing anything.

Jada realized that she was still cloaked. That's why Aleigha couldn't see her. She suddenly heard the snap of her bladed staff echo down the hall. She stopped. Aleigha felt her. She knew someone was there, but didn't know it was her. Something in her didn't want to reveal that she was there. She didn't want her to think that she had been spying on her. She wasn't. She just forgot to uncloak herself. Staying quiet, Jada waited for Aleigha to enter the tunnel city.

When she did, Jada watched as Aleigha's head peeked out of the door, looking down the corridor of the tunnels on both sides, then disappeared back into the city. Clearly, feeling someone there makes her nervous. She didn't blame Aleigha; she would feel nervous, too. Especially with everything going on. She needed to let her know that it was her and that she forgot to click off the cloaking device.

Jada waited for a few minutes before she clicked off her cloaking shield and stepped inside herself.

Jada scanned the room. She saw Niki sitting on the bed with Finn. Immediately, she went to Niki.

"Where's Aleigha?" Jada asked, scanning the group assembled in the large makeshift city.

Niki looked up at her friend. "She went to shower. Her, Vorik, and Guard Commander Drevick took out the rest of the Militia. I guess the only one left is Kaul," Niki told her.

Jada stiffened. "Are you sure they got all of them?" She didn't want to take chances if there were more. She had to get confirmation.

Niki pulled the bottle from Finn's mouth and wiped the dribble of milk that was slowly making its way down his chin before giving the bottle back. "They believe they got them all. They're going to keep searching for a few days, I think, before they send us back out of the tunnels and back into the dome. I don't know, though. For all I know, they could show up any moment and tell us it's safe to go home now," Niki said quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear.

"Any moment?" Jada asked, wanting to confirm Niki's words.

"Yep," Niki nodded, her focus primarily on feeding baby Finn.

Jada smiled. "Thanks," she said and quickly left.

Niki took the empty bottle from Finn and placed him in his carrier. She got up and went to get a plate of food out of the replicator for her sister, preparing it for when she returned from her shower. She would need to eat something.

Moments later, Aleigha left the washroom, and Niki whispered to her, handing her a plate of food she had gotten for her. Aleigha sat on the bed beside her sister and ate. Both of the sisters had their staffs open as they scanned the room. Nothing seemed out of place.

Once Aleigha finished her food, she lay down on the bed to take a nap. Jada noticed that her sister Niki kept watch while she slept. Jada wondered why they were acting like that, not wanting to ask.

As soon as Aleigha fell asleep, Jada stood up and went to make sure Kaul was still safely bound and sedated. She needed to confirm that he was still there. She waited patiently for the day she could collect her debt for his killing her unborn child.

She smiled when she stood at the doorway of his makeshift prison cell. She knew the time was nearly there. She waited in anticipation. She wanted his head. She couldn't do anything until all the militia were confirmed dead. "Almost time to die," she whispered.

Shadick and Zack, hearing her, looked up.

Jada shrugged. "I guess the militia might be disbanded in a dead sort of way. If that's true, he gets to finally die for what he's done."

Both men nodded in agreement as Jada turned and left the room. She had seen what she needed.

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