Meeting the Rector

Maybe it has been an hour or maybe even longer since it is hard to tell time since the cavern is completely dark and the glowing lights from the giant mushrooms and fungi in the cavern do not help the matter at all. But at the very least, you and the other captives are safe now since the Undercity is no longer in sights of anyone.

"So... where are we going?" You asked your female rescuer.

"To our fortress." Your female rescuer said nonchalantly.

"Okay... and who are you guys really? I believed you guys are more than just what the ENN said you folks are for sure." You said, hoping she will satisfy your curiosity about this matter.

"They declared us as terrorists because we waged war against the current President's tyrannical regime that is being backed by his robber baron allies, of course." The hooded woman said without taking her eyes off of the road.

"Tyrannical regime? Listen, I know that things have not been good even before the current President and I know that this political dynasty of them has been around for even longer. But I doubted waging war against the government will be a good idea." You said as you turned to look at her.

"Our leaders within the Senate and the Congress attempted to defeat them politically before on many occasions. But they never succeeded. At best, they simply allowed some reforms our leaders pushed for to be passed as the good PR moves to prevent the public from revolting. Plus, didn't you and your four other comrades just get to see and experience how corrupt and heinous the current administration really is not long ago?" Your female rescuer said as she's driving.

And upon hearing that, you decided to shut your mouth, knowing that she is actually correct that the current presidency and the others that came before in the last hundred years had been corrupted, exploitative, immoral and unethical, and that the reforms they passed for the perceived better days in the future are only allowed to be passed to satisfy certain aspects of the the society in the Enclave much enough to the point that supports for the revolutionary movements such as the Dark Horses will be so small that it will never become big enough to pose as a threat to the government. To the current regimes in the past hundred years, the expansion of the Enclave and progresses are all that mattered. There are no rooms for empathy, ethics or morals at all.

Eventually, your party reached an underground lake that is so massive that the entirety of the Undercity itself can be placed on top of the lake perfectly! And since everyone is riding on the anti-gravity vehicles, you and the others easily passed on the lake without even touching the waters.

After ten to twenty minutes or so, your party reached the shores of an island located in the middle of the underground lake. On that island, there is a fortress on it. You assumed that this is the fortress where the members of the Dark Horses themselves resided and planning their campaigns and operations against the Enclave's government.

Once inside and all anti-gravity vehicles are parked for being refueled with electricity, you and everyone get to leave and explore the fortress.

You take a look and see that the fortress is very spacious. It is surrounded on all sides by walls and ramparts and it also has a small hill overlooking it, which contained a bastion equipped with some pieces of artillery that is clearly designed to assist the fortress in case it was under siege and to serve as the last stronghold in case of emergency. Near the hill, there are three pillars purely made of rocks that were clearly shaped by millions of years of having waters falling down on them.

Inside the fortress itself, there existed multiple inflatable tents, indicating that the members of the Dark Horses are not that well-funded since they cannot make permanent households to live in. Either that or they spent most of the money in the budget on arming themselves and their stronghold here. However, there appeared to be one tent, or a yurt to be exact, that appeared to one of the permanent structures and it is also a lot larger than other inflatable tents, suggesting that it is a meeting place and possibly even a war room of sort.

And when it comes to the kitchens, they appeared to be using the fireplaces that have pots or teapots or metal sticks with roasted meats stuck in said metals hanging over them with some stones and logs are being used as stools around the fireplaces. There are also other permanent structures such as the bathhouses built in with toilets to use and the yurt-shaped store that is slightly smaller than the largest one that you just saw a moment ago and this one also has a workshop and a warehouse where foods and other items are most likely being stored extended out of it as well.

So overall, this is a good place to live and the best part is that it has no Enclave's influences anywhere at all.

"Hey!" Your female rescuer said as she's approaching you on your left with his comrades and the humanoid female bat behind her.

"If you are done looking around, I would like you and your friends to come with me to meet the Rector and the Mugwumps. He has some questions that you guys might be able to answer." Your female rescuer said urgently as she's looking to the large yurt that you saw earlier.

"Okay..." You said as you followed her reluctantly. And after walking for not even a moment, you remembered something!

"So... what's your name? You promised to tell me your name if we made it back here. And here we are now!" You said as you attempted to lighten up the mood and to dispel the nervousness within yourself.

"... Ursula..." The hooded woman now known as Ursula replied to you as she's leading you and your friends toward the large yurt.

"Ursula? Nice name! My name is Ulysses! Ulysses Cleveland!" You said as you smiled back at her. However, she does not even remove her gas mask and just keep on walking.

"Wow! Real smooth, Doctor Cleveland!" Cynthia said with a snicker as she followed you and her into the large yurt with the others.

Once inside, you are greeted with the sight of the muscular African-American man who appeared to be in his mid 50's in green shirt, green pants and dark green cape sitting behind the desk who you assumed to be the one Ursula called as the Rector earlier and the spacious room that confirmed it that this place functioned as both the office and the bedroom for the Rector.

"Rector Lockwood. These are the ones you requested to meet, sir." Ursula said as she's removing her hood and then her gas mask, revealing that she is a beautiful young Turkish German American woman who appeared to be in her mid 20's with blue eyes and dark blonde hair tied into a bun behind her head.

"Huh! So she is like a few years younger than me." - You think to yourself as you remembered that you are in your late 20's at the moment.

"Thank you for bringing them here. Now, you are dismissed, Miss Hancock." The Rector said and she simply bowed and leave the Rector's office.

"So... you are the ones they liberated from the dungeons under that lab in the Undercity!" Mr. Lockwood gets up from his chair and walk toward them with a welcoming smile.

"Now, tell me. What is it that they are doing within that lab?" The Rector asked you and your comrades.

"They are experimenting on my people!" The female humanoid bat said with venom and disgust in her voice as she's appeared to be almost crying at the thought about it.

"Your people?" The Rector asked again.

"Many of my people and I were taken captives and brought down here while these fives have been thrown into cells with us to make sure they will say nothing. The one in charge of that place, known as Rowland, he has many of my people subjected to cruelty and tortures!" The female humanoid bat said as she's on the verge of tears for thinking about what happened back then.

"Rowland?! As in Doctor Wilson Rowland? The nephew of the current President?" Mr. Lockwood said as his eyes go wide in shock.

"You know my ex-boss?" You asked the Rector back.

"Yes, I met him and his family on some occasions before when I was serving as one of the generals in the Enclave's military back then. Quite a spoiled brat, he is since his mother is the younger sister of the current Enclave's President." The Rector said as he's narrowing his eyes while thinking back of those moments when he was there to meet with the Rowland and the Goodway families along with the other high-ranking military officers and high-ranking government officials.

"And if I know anything about that young man, he will not given up on you and your people so easily! He will have his way somehow! So Miss... um..." Mr. Lockwood said but then he remembered that the female humanoid bat has yet to told him his name.

"My name is Barbara and I am the eldest daughter of the Chief of the Sun Valley Tribe." The female humanoid bat with long auburn hair in white garment now known as Barbara introduced herself.

"But if you are the Chief's daughter, why do you looked like a bat?" You asked her back since you remembered that the Chief is large muscular male human who can easily rivaled the Rector in size.

"Because I took more after my mother." Barbara said as she turned to look at you with a smirk despite some tears in her eyes, thus indicating that her mother is in fact a mutant bat with human-like appearance just like her.