A/N: Hello and thank you for choosing my humble fic. This is my first Voltron fanfiction (I just felt the need to add to this community after the gutting season 8 did to our collective souls). This fic is based off of the TV series by the same name, but you don't need to have any knowledge about "The 100" to enjoy the fic. If you have seen the show, it may give you some insight into upcoming events, as I'm relying heavily on some of the different events and themes of the show to create this fic. This is NOT a crossover fic, in case anyone was wondering or was confused.

Please enjoy!

"In the times of old, before the war, humanity lived on the ground. It was a lush, green place, thriving with life in the most wild and unexpected ways. Technology blossomed under the fingertips of the ancestors and bloomed into the most advanced civilizations the world had come to know. But humans grew arrogant and greedy. They become obsessed with advancement, driven by power and fueled by devastation. With each push forward, more of their humanity fell away.

And then war began. They began to destroy themselves and soon, they began to destroy the world. The plants withered, the water dried up and the sun failed to rise through the thick, black plumes that was humanity's creation.

It wasn't long after that, then. When the breaking point was reached and humanity's desires to be on top knocked them down to the very bottom of the chain.

Nuclear war.

Only those who'd been awakened to the impending doom were able to save themselves, having built thirteen massive ships called Arks. As the world began to bleed from the actions of her caretakers, these Arks departed on their first and final voyage midst a sea of red and black. Up into the sky, drifting just above the atmosphere, the thirteen would sit. And it was there that they would wait. For the Arks were not meant to be a destination, but a way point. A way point for humanity in it's darkest hours. Perhaps, in the next thousand years, humans could rebuild their humanity, rediscover their own morality and again be able to set foot on the ground.

Perhaps in the next one thousand years they could change and the world could rebuild what had been broken. The radiation that had soaked into the very core of the earth could finally still. Humans could live on the ground once more. But until then, humanity was sentenced to float above their own destruction, witness to their fallen world."

Passage from The First Record, written by Chancellor Bishop Steel

The 100

Chapter One

Day 336,753, AE 922

Ark Substation 7

Shirogane Residence

The stacks of paper all across the table were common place. So was the pile of discarded clothes by the side of the bed. So was the clutter of coffee cups in the kitchen sink. Takahsi Shirogane had gotten used to this being the norm, especially since the only other alternative was to break up with the man he'd spent the last couple of years dating.

Adam was a very diligent and precise man, one that made sure everything was in place. Except for at home. Maybe it was because Adam spent so much energy keeping things in line when it came to his professional life that there was simply nothing left to give when he got home. Shiro had long since given up on trying to figure out the inner workings of Adam's mind, especially since the conversation usually drifted to Adam's take on Shiro's peculiar habits and behaviors. Not that Shiro felt any of those complaints were valid—Shiro did not hog all the blankets; he just happened to have more on his side in the night because Adam tossed and turned too much.

Regardless, he pushed up the sleeves of his worn Henley shirt and set himself the task of cleaning up now that he was done with work. Being an engineer, he barely felt like he had time to clean anyway, but by the time Adam was home from teaching about engineering to a bunch of doe-eyed children, the two were even less likely to clean.

Shiro did spot the note sitting on the counter, next to a stack of unwashed cups: 'dinner tonight is on me. I'm buying something special :)'

The little message brought a smile to Shiro's face before he set to work cleaning up the misadventures of his boyfriend from around the house. Humming to himself, he stopped when he heard the doorbell chime twice. Glancing at his watch, he furrowed his brow. It was still too early for Adam to be home. Padding across the front room, he pressed the button to slide open the door, a man he knew all too well standing there.

"Alfor? What is it?" It was rare for Alfor to be seen walking about without escort. Being the chancellor of the Ark, Alfor had made himself just as infamous as famous. He followed the charters without question and without mercy, which in part kept the Ark running smoothly, but also led to a rather large group of disenfranchised individuals.

"Shiro, I need you to look at something."

Without a word, Shiro pulled on his shoes and followed after. He was considered one of the best engineers on the ship. If Alfor was coming to him directly, there had to be a major issue. After all, major issues were not uncommon on the Ark, though that little detail was rarely advertised. The ship was 922 years old and had gone without any significant form of repair since it's launch from the ground that many years ago. They did what they could from the inside and outside, but there was a limit to parts and supplies that no amount of scraping or searching for long-since broken satellites would fix. But, they'd always managed to find a way. There was always some work-around. Shiro, himself, had managed to invent rather creative fixes for some rather hefty problems before, which was why Alfor was falling on him now.

They descended into the belly of the Ark and Alfor only spoke once they'd passed the 'service people only' sign. "As you know, these past 922 years have been stressful on the haul of the Ark, as well as all of her systems. When we added the other Arks all those years ago, we'd hoped for a so-called economic boom. The merge saved the Arks that day and allowed us to live for several more years. But this..."

They reached the bottom of the stairs, shuffling over to a massive machine labeled 'CO2 Scrubber'. It had seen better days, it's body patched together like Frankenstein. "Luca was down here earlier and said she could hear noises coming from within the machine. I don't trust anyone else but you to look at this vital piece of machinery."

Nodding, Shiro smiled at Chancellor Alfor. "Not a problem. I'll get her fixed right up."

Day 336,753, AE 922

Ark Substation 3

Classroom D

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Adam took a long breath in. He'd been fighting off a headache for the past week now and nothing seemed to kick it. With the medication rationing, he couldn't even get a spare aspirin. Adjusting his glasses, he determined he'd spent too long trying to grade these papers anyway. Standing and stretching, he made to grab his bag when the classroom door opened. Poking a curious head inside was one of his students, and a favorite at that.

"Keith, shouldn't you be home already?"

He looked a bit sheepish but shook his head, "I stayed to tutor someone. I saw your light on, so..."

Smiling, Adam picked up his bag and headed towards Keith. "How about we walk home together, then? I'm sure Takashi would be happy to see you." The mentioning of the other man's name seemed to melt away all embarrassment.

"That's a great idea!" Beaming, Keith stepped aside and walked beside Adam as the two headed out of the classroom and into the hall. The Ark had long ago been sectioned off, creating a sort of city within the strung together ships. Subsection 3 housed the school, whole blocks of rooms re-purposed for educational use. Like so many subsections, it was redesigned as best as possible to it the needs of the population. It also gave Adam a place to work. And as they left the school, they took to walking down the nearly empthy hall towards the large marketplace.

Keith inquired, "So, what are you guys doing tonight?"

Adam smiled. "Not much. I've got something special for dinner planned. Then we'll see where the night takes us, I guess." Glancing at Keith, he could see the red beginning to etch up his neck and cheeks. "Uh, not like that! Keith, don't think like that, your mother will kill me!"

"Oh," Diverting his gaze, the two walked in silence before Keith added, "My mom is pretty scary."

Chuckling, Adam nodded. "Krolia is just protective, nothing wrong with that."

Once they reached the market, passing the checkpoint with ease, the noise level rose and Adam winced at the sudden drumming on his ears. He and Shiro wouldn't be having a very romantic night if he was forced to spend the whole time with his head under a pillow in a totally dark bedroom. Then again, Shiro was often one to simply enjoy cuddling.

He's such a softy, Adam thought fondly.

It didn't take the two long to pick out the best cuts of synthetic steaks and a special dessert for he and Shiro to split, and the two were headed back to Shiro's quarters. Adam had long since moved in with Shiro and while they didn't always see eye-to-eye, he'd been glad he moved. It'd strengthened their relationship quiet a bit, honestly, and he couldn't image spending time with anyone else.

"So what's so special about today?" Keith finally asked.

"It's our 3 year anniversary and I wanted to make it very special." He winked at Keith, whom raised an eyebrow in response. "I love Takashi and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Tonight, I'm going to make that apparent to him. Tonight, I'm going to propose." His own heart was racing as he said it, the very thought making his palms sweat and limbs shake. Asking the man he'd accidentally fallen in love with to marry him was no easy task, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing was going to ruin this night, especially Adam's nerves.

Reaching the door, Adam made to ring the bell but it slide open before he could even reach for the button. Shiro was standing there, looking distressed, his hair a mess. "Adam, we need to talk."

Day 336,753, AE 922

Ark Substation 7

Shirogane Residence

Keith was dismissed to the living room, sitting anxiously on his hands, as the other two went into the bedroom to talk. The bag of steaks and dessert sat abandoned and forgotten on the kitchen table. All Keith could hear their murmured voices, Shiro's sounding beyond distressed. Adam had his usual reserved tone, one that was meant to sooth. Whatever had Shiro spooked, it had to be bad.

He tried to push it out of his mind, though, and busied himself with skimming over the papers on the coffee table. Some were already graded and absently, Keith wondered if he should dig through and change the grades on the papers of kids he hated. Tempting. But Shiro's shouting came through the door and while Keith couldn't make out the words, he knew this was something far more serious than he'd originally expected.

Standing and approaching the door, though better judgment told him to keep his nose clean, he pressed an ear to the cool metal and listened. It was still muffled, but Shiro's next statement came through clear as a whistle: "Adam, the Ark is dying. It might not even last the year."

Keith's entire core went numb. That couldn't be right. The Ark had it's share of problems but whatever was wrong with it was fixable. It'd always been fixable.

"Are you sure, Takashi? You checked it a dozen times, ran different algorithms, considered alternatives?"

"I wouldn't be this panicked if I hadn't."

Silence followed and Keith could feel the ice forming in his stomach.

"Adam, this is serious. The Scrubbers are cleaning at fifty percent. That's it. It'd explain your headaches, explain why people are getting sick easier."

"Alfor said that was because of a bad batch of vaccinations."

"But you and I both know that's garbage. There's no bad batches because there are no vaccinations, not since the 700s."

This wasn't real. None of it was. Keith's legs were shaking. Just what the hell was happening?

"What are you going to do, Takashi? What is Alfor going to do?"

A sigh. "He doesn't know. I told him we should inform the Ark, let everyone know that this is an impending thing. Maybe we could all work together to come up with a solution..."

Adam huffed, "Or it'd start a riot."

"And that's what Alfor's worried about. He said a riot would only make things worse. The last thing the Ark needs is anarchy."

"He's not wrong..."

"But he's not right, either. This is happening, Adam, rather we're ready for it to or not. We need the whole intelligence of every man, woman and child working on this problem and if we keep it to ourselves, if we try to fix it under everyone's nose..." A longer sigh, followed by the sound of Shiro shifting and sitting on the bed. "God, Adam, I don't even what to think about it."

Keith, on the other side of the door, was frozen in place. What he was hearing, it couldn't be true. Shiro had to be mistaken. But, the man wasn't known for his mistakes and he wasn't known for being dramatic. If he was truly rattled by this, it meant there was nothing but truth to his words. But that meant the Ark was dying and Keith didn't know what to do with that.

Adam spoke next, though softer. Keith strained to hear. "Takashi, please tell me you'll do what Alfor asks. He wants to keep this under wraps, so you'll do that, right?"

"I...I don't know."

"Takashi, even telling me is risky. It's borderline treason."

"I know, Adam, I do. But...we have two years at best before the scrubber stops working completely. When that happens, everyone on board the Ark will die. 3,000 innocent souls perishing in a single night. And to sit there, suffocating, thinking to myself, 'if only I'd done something to stop this'."

"Don't talk like that. You'll find a solution."

"I don't think we will, Adam. The system is just too old and too worn. If we had another Ark to salvage, maybe, but they've been linked to us for a long time. Their scrubbers are just as worn and exhausted as ours...This is it, Adam. The Ark is going to die."

More silence.

No. That couldn't be right. Keith wasn't going to believe it. There had to be a solution. Pulling the door open, fear in his eyes, he looked at Shiro. "No, you've got to find a way to fix it!"

Both of them startled, Adam immediately standing and looking concerned. "Keith, you shouldn't have been listening."

"But I did and I heard." He regarded Shiro. "Please, there's got to be something we can do! Anything!"

Shiro stood this time, stepping towards Keith and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'll do what I can, Keith. But you need to pretend you never heard this conversation. You can't know this, ok?"

Keith's whole being was shaking, but he nodded. Shiro would find a way to fix it. Surely he would.

Day 335,754, AE 922

Ark Substation 7

Shirogane Residence

"What did you do!?" Adam was shouting, knocking the stack of papers from the coffee table. "Goddamn it, Takashi, are you crazy!?"

Shiro gently pushed on Adam's shoulders, urging him to sit back down. "I'm doing what I think is right."

"Alfor will kill you, it's the law!"

"I'm sure he'll make an exception, alright? I'm the leading engineer, and besides, once I play this message, the whole Ark will know what's happening and when he sees how it brings everyone together, maybe it'll change his mind."

"Damn you and your goddamned good intentions!" He shoved Shiro, pressing the heels of palms into his eyes, glasses tossed aside. "And if he doesn't? If he decides to have you floated instead? If the people start to rebel and he needs to make an example of someone?"

Sitting down next to Adam, Shiro wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. "I have faith that the people of the Ark will unite. They have in the past and they will again. Have faith, Adam." Rubbing his hand in small circles along the small of Adam's back, Shiro sat quietly until the other man had calmed down some. It took a moment before Adam would even look in Shiro's direction. Even as he offered Adam his glasses, Adam still refused to look at him.

Finally, though, he spoke. "So what now?"

"Now," Shiro stated, "I go to the communications room and send this message to the people of the Ark."

Day 336,754, AE 922

Ark Substation 1

Airlock

Adam had to be held back, even as he tried to worm his way free from the guards holding him still. They were waiting outside the airlock, the one that'd seen thousands of people's lives end in an instant. This was where the executions were held. This was where people were shot into space, or floated, for their crimes. It was a simple airlock, one that connected with nothing but the void of space, and sat hidden behind a hanger door. Large windows gazed out upon the blackness of space, the other side of the massive ship visible, as well as the marbled planet below. At one time, the view might have been seen as breathtaking, now it only served to steal the air from the lungs of the guilty.

"You can't do this, Alfor! Please! Takashi only wanted to help the Ark, you have to understand that!"

Alfor, even as old as he was, looked somehow older standing there wordlessly. Stoic in the face of Adam's demanding and pleading, he only turned to speak then. "I don't want to do this, but as Chancellor, I must enforce the law and the law states that anyone who is eighteen or older is sentenced to death."

"But you have the power to change that, Alfor, you can make an exception! He didn't even get the message out!" Takashi had been aprehended before he'd even aired it. Punishment seemed harsh, death even worse.

Councilor Sanda spoke then, regarding Adam with no mercy in her features. "And thank God for that. If he'd succeeded, we'd have a riot on our hands and you'd be sent through the airlock as well. Thankfully, only one man has to die today."

Adam fought harder against the guards who held him, trying to break free, something, anything.

That's when Sanda spoke again, growling, "Stop struggling or we'll have you spaced for insubordination."

Alfor rose a hand to Sanda, shaking his head. "He has a right to be upset. We will not float him for having an opinion." She lowered her eyes for a fraction of a second before raising them up, glaring daggers into Adam. From behind them, the hanger door opened and Keith and Krolia walked in.

Stepping over to Krolia, Alfor gave a concerned look towards Keith. "You shouldn't have brought him here. He doesn't need to see."

Krolia, like etched marble, kept her face frozen. "If he doesn't need to see, then maybe you shouldn't do it."

"You get no say in the actions of the Chancellor, Krolia, even if you're a member of the council," Sanda growled.

Sharp eyes landed on Sanda, "I could say the same for you."

Keith had ventured away from his mother, going to Adam. The guards hesitantly let go of him so he could hug Keith tightly. "Keith, I'm so sorry." Squeezing the teen as hard as he could, he could feel Keith squeezing back. "You don't have to be here for this, Keith."

"No, I have to be." There was determination there, the same type of determination that'd been there ten years ago when Keith's father was floated. Keith had been there too, witnessed his father sucked into the vacuum of space. Now, he was going to witness it again. Another person whom Keith was close to, the only man whom he'd opened up to after his father's death. Gone in an instant. Just like his father.

Krolia approached, gently running her fingers through Keith's soft, black hair. She regarded Adam. "How are you fairing?" It was a stupid question, he knew, but he knew where it was coming from. There was nothing Krolia could say to make this situation any less horrible. All she could do was be there for him, same for with Keith. Adam's whole body began to tremble and he could feel the tears threatening him. But he wouldn't cry. Not in front of Shiro, not in front of Alfor and Sanda. Not in front of Keith.

Gently, he released Keith and squeezed his shoulders. Wordlessly they stood, waiting.

Waiting.

And then the sirens screamed.

Sanda's hand flew to the radio on her belt. "What's going on!?"

The voice from the other side, covered in static, responded, "An escape pod just launched!"

"What!?"

Rushing to the windows, they could see the white trail of the descending space craft. It was so tiny against the deep green and blue of the planet below. It was the radio that Adam heard speaking through the wail of the sirens and his own pounding heart, "Takashi Shirogane made an escape. He knocked out a guard and took his gun. He commandeered one of the old escape pods! He's heading towards earth!"

"Shoot him out of the sky!" Sanda screamed, but it was Alfor who gave the next command.

"Let him go. He's chosen death in his own way."

Adam had heard of it: suicide by earth. The escape pods of old sat lifeless in an old hanger bay, under constant surveillance for this very reason. Only a handful of people had ever chosen to eject themselves from the Ark. Now, Shiro was one of them. The radiation would soak through his skin before he even reached the lowest atmosphere. And if that didn't kill him, the impact would. Adam felt his heart sink deep into his stomach, completely numb.

This was the last time he'd ever see Shiro and it was in a blaze of unyielding defiance.

A/N: For you Shiro fans, please hang in there :) That's all I can say.