"What are you doing here?" All eyes in the corridor turned to look at the man who had spoken. Councillor Marcus Kane was glaring at a tall female guard who was glaring back. The woman stood tall and refused to back down under the man's glower.
With a salute, she answered, "I am boarding the drop ship, sir!"
The councillor looked murderous as he grabbed the guard and pulled her to the side of the hallway. Each person averted his eyes out of respect for the man. "I will not allow you to throw away your life, Cal."
Calliope Kane glared at her father and jerked her arm out of his grasp. "Like how the Council elected to throw away the lives of one hundred teenagers," she sneered. "I approached Commander Shumway and Chancellor Jaha with the offer and they agreed to allow me to accompany the hundred to the ground. I will be able to help protect them from any dangers on the ground."
"No!" Councillor Kane barked with a downward slash of his hand. "We cannot afford to lose a guard. We will need you in the coming days."
Cal scoffed. "You can think of it as extra air for those on the Ark, sir." She then turned away from her father and stared ahead at the airlock door.
Marcus stared in shock as his daughter turned away from him. He had always known that she had a strong sense of justice, but never imagined that it would cause such enmity between them. He was reminded of her mother as he look in the stubborn set of her jaw and the fire that shone through her green eyes. "I can't lose you too, Callie," he tried again, his voice barely above a whisper.
"You should have thought about that before you floated my fiance," she hissed as she rounded on him. Marcus was forced to step back to avoid the irate female. "You chose this! You know I could never let these kids be sent to the ground alone. They're defenseless!"
Just then, guards entered the corridor, leading the one hundred teenagers to the drop ship. Cal lowered her voice to a harsh whisper and stepped closer to Marcus. "I volunteered so that these kids actually have a fighting chance, if the radiation doesn't kill them. It's naive to think that nothing could have survived, be it animal or human."
"I am your father," Marcus tried futilely, "and I-"
He was cut off by Cal shoving him into the wall. "You stopped being my father the day you stood by and watched as Peter and Jake Griffith were floated for wanting what was right for the people of the Ark. You have no say in my life anymore." Cal turned to go, but paused to throw one last barb. "I'm just glad mom isn't alive to see any of this." With that, she turned on her heel and marched onto the ship, taking her place with the hundred.
Marcus watched in agony as the last of the kids were loaded onto the ship and the airlock was sealed. Abigail Griffith, whose own daughter was on board, stood beside him with tear-filled eyes. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he said, "I'm sorry, Abby."
Abigail looked into his eyes for a moment before saying, "You got your extra air." She then walked away.
With a heavy heart, Marcus followed her to the control center where they would be monitoring the drop ship. The room held screens with information on each of the hundred thanks to wristbands that Abigail designed to read and transmit vital signs. His eyes were instantly drawn to the picture of his daughter. Her pulse was high, but he was assured that was most likely due to being nervous. Watching the descent of the drop ship was torturous. At least he thought it was until they lost all communication. Now their only source of information came from the wristbands that each of the hundred wore.