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To say that there was an air of tension, thick and cloying, about the group as they made their way back into the relative safety of Coalition territory would be an understatement of impressive proportions. As pleased as everyone was with the results of their collective missions, everyone was -to a greater or lesser degree- reeling with the knowledge that the world had shifted significantly. Questions filled minds, doubt and worries tainted hearts, and everyone was wondering when the next proverbial shoe would drop.
Ironically, perhaps, it was Raven and Octavia that were the calmest of them all. They probably shouldn't have been, after the whirlwind of events that had been their last couple of days, and perhaps quite a bit of it came down to shock and being overwhelmed, but calm they were as they were carried safely in front of Lexa and Clarke, respectively, encircled by their arms. Calm, and happy, because Clarke was alive, and well, and had by all appearances saved them from something unpleasant. Better still, Clarke had apparently made herself some very powerful allies, ones that seemed entirely willing to listen to her in regards to things that certainly seemed quite serious, but the most important part was that they were all alive and well and together again, and then went a long way to soothing any sort of nerves the girl might have.
Though if Octavia had to continue feeling Clarke pressed against her back, large breasts and firm body rubbing against her in time with the horse's gait , while wrapped in her arms, she was going to be considerably less calm. This was the sort of circumstance -barring a few differing details, but only a few- that she had always dreamed of, ever since Clarke had saved her for the first time. Hell, it had almost been as dramatic as those same dreams, the only real difference being that she hadn't been getting dragged to her doom when Clarke had intervened. Which was kind of embarrassing, since she'd apparently been scampering to it of her own volition, despite the -seemingly well-founded regardless of their wholly-instinctual nature- misgivings that she'd had.
Ugh.
She couldn't wait for Clarke to give her and Raven a briefing on everything that they needed to know about Earth, because if there was one thing Octavia had learned that she hated, it was trying to operate in ignorance, and God knew that was what she was currently doing. All she really knew, and tentatively at that, was 'people in hazmat suits bad' and 'people not in hazmat suits good', which was entirely down to the fact that Clarke was at the very least friendly with the later as opposed to the former. She was tempted to ask questions, find out what she could and distract herself in the same moment, but she could feel the tension in Clarke's body, see that same tension and tightness in the expressions of the other women riding closest to them, and kept quiet. Whatever was going on, it was more than just the fighting that had recently taken place, more than the losses that half of the 'warriors' had stayed behind to collect and return to their families for burial. It was something that she had no foundation of knowledge to predict or understand, and while a younger Octavia might have bulled ahead anyway, the Octavia that had spent years learning from Clarke knew better.
When the air was thick with tension and you had no idea what was going on, you didn't jump onto the proverbial landmine with both feet. She'd leave well enough alone until the conversation Clarke and Lexa had said needed to happen, had happened, before she started sticking her nose into things. Until then, she'd listen quietly, observe silently, and support Clarke however she could.
They broke through the trees a few minutes later, revealing a surprisingly well-maintained expanse of grass and shrubbery that had to be a good square mile or so in size, if not more. And all across that expanse, varying in size and shape but more or less evenly distributed were an utterly uncountable number of small white stones. And at the far end, a large edifice, a complex, that they recognized all too well from their textbooks.
"Arlington…" Octavia breathed the word, eyes wide as she looked around at what could only be the still-marked graves of nearly three centuries of the United States' best and brightest soldiers. Eyeing the complex at the far side, she made a suggestion that was more a statement. "And the Tomb of the Unknown?"
"Yeah. Kassandra's…well, around here they call them a clan. But Kassandra's clan, the Sentinels, seems to be made up almost entirely of the descendants of American soldiers that survived the Final War. I haven't really had time to get all the details yet, but I guess they've been living in and around the Tomb and maintaining the cemetery ever since." Clarke confirmed, and Octavia frowned even as she gave a thoughtful hum of acknowledgement. It seemed strange to her that in a post-apocalyptic world, an entire group of people would dedicate themselves to taking care of an old burial ground, but if they were descended from Old World soldiers, she guessed it could make a little bit of sense.
Before she could ask anything further, the column of riders turned left and started down a long, winding and tree-lined road towards the complex's upper reaches, the massive trees and accompanying shrub-growth blocking out much of their view of the main cemetery. It was beautiful, she had to admit, in a different way than the more wild and unmanicured forest, with a tunnelling effect that made it feel as if it was stretched on forever.
It wasn't, of course, and it didn't take more than five minutes for them to reach the far end, breaking back out into open air directly in front of the staircases that lead up to the Tomb itself. Staircases that held the better part of a dozen people waiting for them, several carrying rifles in addition to swords, and of those dozen several descended to meet them.
"Mentor, the mat-trans is ready to send you all back to Polis. There is no further sign of encroachment or pursuit by the Mountain." one of them reported with a respectful bow to Kassandra, even as she swung off of her mount.
"Very good, but remain vigilant. They lost a lot of men today, and they know that people are coming down from the Ark and being found peacefully by the clans. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw them trying to hit back soon. In fact, it might be a good idea to keep everyone close to the Tomb, in case they launch rockets or missiles and you need to take shelter." the older brunette responded, handing over the reins to her horse to another subordinate and glancing back at Clarke and Octavia. "I want a squad gathered to bring Clarke's mount to Polis, and get Heda's mounts back to their home stables as well. And make sure they keep their silence. As far as anyone needs to know, Heda returned to Polis sight unseen and the horse is a gift for a guest of hers. Clear?"
"Yes, Mentor." The Sentinel bowed again and darted away to relay the orders, a gesture that was almost comical for how quickly the larger man disappeared once the word was given. The rest of the riders slid from their saddles, and Octavia tried to keep herself from feeling too terribly smug about slipping into Clarke's arms as her princess helped her down in turn. Though what smugness she did feel was promptly quashed as she heard Raven swear and saw her friend, her lover, half-collapse in Lexa's arms as her leg -still injured, and now sore and weak from her first time riding a horse- buckled beneath her.
"Niylah, help Lexa with Raven, please. As soon as we get back to the palace, I want you and Octavia to help her to the infirmary." Clarke ordered briskly, eyes darkening a bit with worry, and the flaxen-haired grounder nodded obediently, even as she moved over to take much of Raven's weight onto her own shoulders.
"I'm fine, princess, don't worry about me." the injured mechanical genius grunted, though the way she couldn't even keep her bad leg straight -never mind put any weight on it- made it pretty obvious that she was anything but fine. There was a soft susurration at the nickname, just like what had happened back at the airport, and Octavia could see her own confusion reflected on Raven's face as she looked around at the grounders. Obviously it meant something, but what? Did they think Clarke was actually royalty or something, were they taking the nickname seriously?
Clarke just smiled, and for all that it looked a little tired, a little forced, it was also genuine in its fondness and warmth. "Don't make a fuss, Raven, I'm allowed to worry about you. You'll just have to get over it." she said, and Raven relented with a grimace and a nod, falling quiet as she and her new helper began the slow limp up the steps together.
A gesture from Clarke had Octavia following as the rest of what she had mentally labeled as the 'important people' -Kassandra, Lexa, the tanned dirty-blonde, the pale brunette, the redhead- arrayed around them, and when the reached to top, Octavia couldn't resist pausing to let her hand brush over the crack-riddled, but still-standing, monument itself. Feeling unusually poetic for a moment, she wondered if the monument didn't reflect the state of humanity: damaged, brutalized, tarnished and worn thin by time, but still standing. Still moving forward, still unbroken.
She turned to see Clarke regarding her, as if the older girl could read her mind, which she probably could given how close they were to one another. Clarke's gaze flicked briefly to the stone, then to Octavia's hand, and something in Clarke's bearing softened, her composure unbending just a fraction.
"We're still here, and here we will stay." Clarke said, barely more than a whisper. "No matter what else happens." Her fingers brushed Octavia's, the touch as electric as it was brief, before turning away and moving forward again. "Come on, we'll come back once everything is settled and you can explore the place to your heart's content. For now, we need to get everyone safely back to Polis."
Octavia obeyed, of course, promptly if reluctantly, following with one last pat to the battered stone face of the monument, very much looking forward to that promised opportunity. Following as Clarke fell back slightly, letting Kassandra lead them down into the depths of the building through a small entrance corridor. The interior was well-lit, modern fixtures still working after nearly a century despite the wear and tear that was visible despite equally obvious care, and many of the doors that they passed led into what were obviously living spaces, leisure spaces, or even workshops. Most of which, it seemed, were empty of people at the moment. Was everyone busy watching for a counter-attack, like Kassandra and Clarke were worried might happen? Or were Octavia and Raven being hidden from people for some reason?
God, she hated having questions again. She'd gotten used to knowing everything that was going on on the Ark, both in and out of the Skybox. Ignorance was not bliss, dammit, especially not since she would be helpless to support Clarke the way that she was meant to if she didn't have sufficient information. And, yes, that would apparently be getting solved sooner rather than later, but that fact didn't make it any less galling to deal with here and now.
Then they reached what had to be their destination, and she couldn't restrain the awed breath that fell from her lips at the sight of the…well, it had to be a machine, that much was obvious, but it was just as obviously far more advanced than anything that she'd ever seen before, for all the apparent simplicity of it's appearance. Consisting mostly of a large, circular platform that shone lightly from within with a handful of terminals around it, it was made with what seemed almost like stone, rimmed and trimmed with an oddly sleek and gleaming bronze-looking metal.
"Alright, here's the short version. This is a matter transportation node. It sends things, or people, from one place to another. Think of it like teleportation." Kassandra spoke briskly, gesturing towards it almost absently as she made her way over to one of the terminals. "Clarke and Lexa will go first, then the two new girls. I'll go last. The rest of you can go in whatever order you see fit, it doesn't matter to me."
"Wait wait, seriously? Are you saying this thing is a transporter? Like Star Trek? 'Beam me up, Scotty?'" Raven blurted, the pain momentarily forgotten as she gawked at the dais and started shifting her weight forward, only for Niylah and Lexa, both at her side, to grab her by the arms and keep her steady as she almost immediately fell over.
"Better than Star Trek, and that's a misquote, by the way." Kassandra said dryly, shaking her head as her fingers flew over a keypad with the matter-of-fact dexterity of someone who possessed millennia of experience with all manner of technology. "Anyway, much better than Star Trek. The Isu didn't half-ass much and their technology was beyond anything that you've ever seen, and probably beyond what you've imagined. There's a reason our ancestors thought they were gods, you know."
"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. Safer than taking the long way back, and a hell of a lot faster." Clarke reassured them as she stepped onto the platform, mouth twitching into a small, somewhat wry smile that none-the-less was genuine and warm. Glancing at Lexa, she continued, eyes glinting slightly as she beckoned for the other girl to join her. "Which is good, because I expect the people are wondering where their Heda and her Chosen are."
"My people are blind drunk, deeply intoxicated on their narcotic of choice, or so thoroughly distracted by…other circumstances, that they're probably not entirely sure of their own names, never mind able to make note of my presence. Those that do see I'm not around will assume that Kostia, Ontari, and I are all very, very busy getting acquainted with our new Sister." Lexa drawled in response as she obeyed, lips quirking ever-so-slightly in an answering smile, though hers was far more fragile in a way that couldn't quite be quantified. "That said, you're right that we'll need to make a public appearance soon, all of us. Including Raven and Octavia, their arrival will have been noticed. Was noticed, as a matter of fact, and while we could tell the people it was nothing more than a random piece of sky-metal…"
"It would be pretty hard to believe, I agree. Two random girls, both of whom are quite clearly out of their depth with everything, suddenly appearing with all of us a couple of days after something fell out of the sky?" Clarke sighed in acknowledgement, as Kassandra finished tapping away at the terminal and gestured for everyone else to back away from the platform. "The smarter ones would realize it was like my own arrival and…"
She and Lexa vanished mid-sentence, getting a loud whine from the throats of both wolves -how the hell had they even fit down the corridor, they were huge!- and a sharp inhale from Raven. Idly, as the next pair carefully made their way onto the now-empty platform, Octavia wondered if there was a way to get one of these to the Ark. It would be a hell of a lot safer than literally anything else that The Council could think of, and maybe it would help those idiots finally realize that Clarke was beyond them, and always had been.
She wouldn't bet on it though.
People could be stubborn about clinging to their power and narrative, no matter what.
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"Well, whatever the interference was, it doesn't seem to have been too bad. The girls are on the right side of the river and only a couple of miles from where they were supposed to be. With any luck, they've already reached the Tomb and are secure until Clarke arrives." Marcus sighed, rubbing his face tiredly, bags under his eyes and body language radiating exhaustion. The Council murmured wordlessly in acknowledgement, none of them looking any better, and why would they? The Ark had been tense, to say the very least, ever since Octavia and Raven had left, with barely contained emotional turmoil simmering roughly beneath the surface of many a man and woman's skin. Hope and fear made a dangerous combination, and keeping it balanced was a hell of a thing.
And it certainly didn't help that two of the people they'd previously relied on to help keep everything below a boil were the two people that were now gone.
"Did we get enough data to placate the people, at least?" Jaha grunted, and the entire table in unison turned their attention to Jacapo Sinclair, who shrugged a bit and nodded a bit more.
"Some. A lot of it was corrupted by that strange interference, but we have pretty convincing data on some things. Atmosphere is still breathable, for one thing. Oxygen is actually a bit richer than it was before the war, thanks to the reforestation, but it won't be dangerously different. Ambient radiation is lower than up here on the Ark, much lower, so not only will we not die, we shouldn't even experience any sort of negative side effects. At least from what Abby has told me." he responded, tilting his head towards the chief of medical, who made a gesture of agreement.
"Unless there are problems I can't predict inside of that data we lost, or something we don't even have the ability to monitor for, Earth should be survivable." she agreed, and every pair of lips parted in relieved smiles and soft sounds of pleasure as a weight that every shoulder had been carrying was suddenly and severely lightened. "Basically, all the assumption-based bullshit that we spun before we sent Raven and Octavia is confirmed, to one degree or another."
"Thank God for that…" Fuji breathed, leaning back in his seat with a broadening smile, quickly finding himself grinning outright. "Ha! Alright! So, all that's left is figuring out how to get the rest of the population down to the homeworld alive, and getting in touch with the girls so they can find us a good landing spot! That was Clarke's idea, wasn't it? To stick everyone in one end of the Ark and use the rest of it as a giant heatshield?"
"Easier said than done. The Ark isn't exactly made for reentry, even with General Griffin's foresight and Clarke's idea. At least, not without causing a whole lot of damage to the surrounding area when we hit the ground, which would probably making gathering the resources we need to stay alive quite a bit harder." Sinclair sighed, drumming his fingers lightly on the table. "It will take a lot of scouting work to find a good spot, probably more than the girls can do by themselves. I think our first priority should be getting as many people on the ground as we can using the remaining dropships. Not least because we'll need people down there able to help us when we land. No matter what we figure out, people are going to get hurt if we try to land in the Ark."
"Well, the space shuttles can hold ten people each, but we'll have a hell of a time landing them anywhere near where the girls are. I think the closest place that has the runway required is Naval Air Station Oceana, down in Virginia. That's well over a hundred miles as the crow flies from D.C. Probably close to 200 when you factor in that they'll have to go around the water to get there, so we might as well not count them at all." Kaplan added, looking over a map thoughtfully. "Then there's the hundred or so seats on the ship we were pulling together for the Skybox kids, and the Exodus ships, we can get another eight-hundred down there. So we're looking at being able to get a third of the population down fairly reliably and safely. Not bad, all things considered."
"It's a good idea, it ensures at least some of humanity survives no matter what, but it could start riots if it isn't done carefully. If the people get the idea that we're abandoning them up here to die while the 'one percent'," Abby's tone could only be described as 'withering' as she said the words. "Gets to go back to the homeworld and live in paradise, none of us are going to make it down in one piece. And it's going to be all-hands-on-deck to fulfill whatever plan we come up with, too."
"As long as every one of those hands understands that they're absolutely essential to the Exodus," Kane said, "then they're less likely to burn the Ark down around us before we make it off the ground. In a manner of speaking." He stared at the map, eyes moving across the century-old image and lingering on the two red pins indicating the approximate locations of the trio's landing sites, as if hoping some revelation would surface from the paper itself. "We need to make it clear that if someone sabotages this, everyone dies. Not just themselves. Not just their 'enemies'. Everyone."
"Which means strategic transparency," Muir spoke up, leaning forward and tapping the table thrice with his index finger, sharp and loud. "We broadcast the plan every step of the way. We show the people all the information we can, even let them listen in on conversations with the girls if we can manage it. We tell the kids what they're heading for, and we let them and their parents see the hope. The real hope. No more secrets." he looked around, seeing reluctance on a few faces and agreement on a few others, and he thumped the table again, this time with a fist. "We're playing for all the marbles, now. It's all or nothing. Get the people inspired, get them involved, and let's go home."
"…I suppose he's right. We've already told the people about Clarke's mission, and about Reyes and Blake going to join her. There isn't much point in trying to hide anything at this juncture, all we can do is give people information and hope for the best." Jaha sighed after a long, long moment, much to the surprise of the rest of the room, all of whom had expected him to make an issue out of it, just like he had in regards to everything else for this entire process. None of them were going to complain, though.
"Then we have nothing to do but move forward. Jacapo, figure out the best people for you to talk to about gaming out ideas and putting them into practice. If we're going public, you might as well have the best team you can put together, regardless of their clearance." Marcus suggested, eager to keep things moving and get the meeting over while Jaha was being agreeable. "Abby, figure out what of your nurses can be spared. I think it would be a good idea to send some adults down with the hundred Skybox kids, if we can fit them in, or if we can stick them in pods like Octavia and Raven. Point is, having some adult professionals on the ground when the ball drops might be a good idea."
"That will take some doing, but it might be possible. And I don't disagree that it might be a good idea. God knows Clarke and her girls are plenty mature, but they're mature up here and in situations they're comfortable with. I'd feel better if they had people to lean on for help if they need it." Jacapo nodded quickly, eyes thoughtful as he visibly considered the situation. "Adding more seats to the Skybox dropship should be the simplest option, at least most immediately. We're practically building the thing from scratch anyway, at this point, so adjusting it a bit more shouldn't be impossible. It couldn't be many, though, not if we want to send any supplies down. Which we probably should, just in case."
"There's a lot of planning that needs to be done." Marcus grunted, rubbing his face again. "Everyone, talk to your top people, see what they can cook up. Whatever we decide on, we've got a hell of a job in front of us, not that we should be surprised by that. God forbid anything be quick and simple."
"It wouldn't make a very good story for the history books if it was easy." Jaha quipped dryly, his first display of genuine humor in a long time, earning himself several apparently-unnoticed looks of surprise and inspection from the men and women around him. Getting to his feet, he waved his hand a bit dismissively. "Report to me when you having rough sketches of something workable, I'll put it all together and call a Council meeting. There's no point in discussing it until then, none of us want to waste the time on daily statements of 'we're working on a plan'."
Well, he wasn't wrong about that, but it was still strange for it to be him of all people saying it, and more than one mind was now deeply suspicious. Ultimately, though, there wasn't anything to be gained -and quite a bit to be lost- in a confrontation. That being the case, those same minds resolved themselves to watch carefully and see what the man's game was, because there most certainly was a game afoot. As much as they might like to believe that he'd thrown in the towel and was putting his full support behind the changing world and the shifting dynamics of the Ark, none of them was stupid enough to actually believe it. Which was a shame, but much of life often was.
The minutes wound down quickly. The chambers emptied, Jaha leaving first and the rest following quickly, leaving Marcus and Abby as the last to leave. On the corridor between the Council chamber and the dormitories, he stopped her with a gentle hand.
"That was…something," he said, not sure if his voice conveyed relief, weariness, or warning. Probably a mixture of all three, because God knows that he was feeling all of those myriad emotions, and more besides. "Jaha agreeing so easily with unscripted honesty with the general populace, and making jokes at the same time? The end times truly are upon us."
"Maybe he's tired of fighting against the inevitable?" Abby offered, dry but not unkind, and she made a quick face, well aware that it was an absurd statement. This was the man that had executed his own best friend to maintain the image of power and invincibility that the Council had carefully built up, rather than working with the man to find a solution that could save their species from extinction.
"Or he's going to turn all of this to his advantage. Trying to stop this from happening is impossible, it would be suicide to try and he knows it. So, he's going to throw his full weight behind it, try to come out of this looking like a decisive leader who is saving us all. Clarke will lead the way, but he'll have sent her. Raven and Octavia will have helped, but it was with his support. The Council will find ways to get us down, but he'll have given permission and direction." he retorted, able to picture it all to easily, and somewhere in the back of his mind a voice murmured in wonder at how much he had changed thanks to Clarke. Not so very long ago, he'd been a hidebound man, ignoring all manner of context and decency to enforce the law and help the Council maintain unshaking control over the Ark without a moment of hesitation, but now here he was. Standing and whispering with someone who would have otherwise been a prime opponent to his efforts about their mutual superior, who was damn near the opposition instead.
What a strange life he now lived, but he didn't regret it, and he didn't think that he ever would either.
"Of course he is, and," Abby hesitated, biting her lower lip and looking around anxiously. Taking a deep breath and meeting his eyes, she continued. "Come to my quarters tonight. Alone. There's something I need to show you, to tell you. We'll have dinner and talk, alright?"
"O…kay?" his brow furrowed as he said the word, deeply confused and wondering what was going on, even as a part of him hoped that -as unlikely as it might be- Abby was feeling for him what he had started to feel quite strongly for her. It was absurd, of course, she was still bleeding from Jake's death and was desperately focused on saving their people and reuniting with her daughter, but the heart didn't often care what the mind had to say about things.
"Good. Then…then I'll see you then, Marcus."
She turned on her heel and strode away very quickly, cheeks a bit pink, leaving a bewildered, curious, and hopeful man staring after her, before he shook his head and headed off to complete his own duties…with a bit of a spring to his step.
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