AN: This is my first story! Thanks for reading, y'all. This is an AU where Polaris became the thirteenth station, and most of Becca's research was preserved. Also, I always thought it was a little sketchy that the entirety of Grounder culture and language could've become what it did in only a hundred years, so I've decided to make it four hundred years since the apocalypse.
Note, I don't own this. I did do a bunch of research on radiation and how Nightblood could potentially function, though, so I feel like I put a little bit of original thought into this.
"This will work, Dee." The tall brunette said as she held the syringe filled with viscous black liquid. "It worked in the mice, and Peri's notes show that it was successfully done by Rebecca Heather."
Dee's dark eyes worried into her friend's profile. "It's been four centuries since that. And Heather was the creator of the AI that caused the apocalypse in the first place! I'm scared for you."
She shook her head, inserting the needle into her arm. "Don't be," she winced as she gradually emptied it into her bloodstream. "All the computer simulations show there won't be any negative effects from this. What I want to know is its limits of effectiveness against radiation, and the solar isn't going to cut it." She wiped the indention with an alcohol wipe before placing a bandage over it. "The virus should be finished within the next ten days, creating enough of the specialized cells in my liver and bone marrow to filter out the radiation. All I need to do is alter my diet to ensure optimal production of the various antioxidants my body can now produce. The serum is enough to jumpstart the necessary levels of glutathione in my liver within the next half-hour."
"God, Allison, you're going to kill yourself." Dee abruptly stood and started pacing. "Why is this even necessary?"
"Deirdre." She deliberately cupped her face in her hands, her thumbs stroking the soft, dark skin. "I'm not going to kill myself. As soon as my body begins exhibiting symptoms, the radiation chamber will shut off and I'll immediately go into decontamination. At worst, I'll get tissue damage to my skin or perhaps my liver. As for why…" she turned and looked out the glass window of the lab, overlooking the earth. "Why wait for our children's children for humanity to reach the ground? It's green, plants can grow there. The earth has the capability to support life now. And if this works, we can all live there."
"This is dangerous."
Allison turned, her golden-brown eyes soft. "No, Dee. This is revolutionary." She gently kissed Dee's lips.
"Allie, please." She pled. "Don't tempt fate like this."
"Dee, fate brought me this. Earth might be dangerous, but up here? We're totally dependent on the glued-together remnants of thirteen space stations. There are thousands of us, and the risk of malfunction… I'm not an engineer. But being so dependent on centuries-old equipment terrifies me." Allison turned to the radiation chamber.
"It looks like a coffin." Dee whispered. "I don't want you to die."
Allison was silent for a minute as she started connecting cables to the glass-covered table. "My vitals will be monitored closely, and I've automated it to shut off immediately if anything goes awry."
She stepped forward, forcefully taking Allison into her arms, their mouths connecting fiercely. "I don't want you to die."
Allison smiled down at her, tears shining in her eyes. "I won't." She pulled away and began connecting electrodes to her skin.
"I… I can't stay, Allison. I can't watch this."
"I'll see you later, then." She opened the chamber and laid inside. "I love you."
Dee blinked tears away. "May we meet again," she whispered, before rushing away.
"May we meet again." Allison murmured as the door swung closed. She took a deep breath. "Computer, begin sequence." She pulled the glass towards her, shutting herself in as the machine whirled to life. The screens set up on the nearby wall lit up, and her eyes focused carefully on the indicator, the needle gradually raising with the radiation levels. A minute passed, then five, and radiation levels were at forty-five percent.
The door swung open, and two armored guards stepped in. "Allison Gordon, you're under arrest for conducting unauthorized experiments and theft of public resources. Turn off the machine."
She remained silent, her eyes unmoving from the monitor.
"Turn off the machine," the guard repeated forcefully.
Her jaw worked, but she remained still.
"Unplug it." He said to his partner.
"Don't!" She warned, still looking at the screen. "The radiation will leak out if you disconnect from its power source." The radiation was now at sixty percent.
"If you won't turn it off, obstructing officers of the law will be added to your charges. You're still a minor, with only a single charge your review board will be much more lenient." He warned.
She bit her lip, tearing her eyes away and looking at the guard. "My life is a small price to pay if this technology can bring us to the ground. And I've exceeded predicted levels of radiation on earth"
Eighty percent.
"Call for backup. Get engineering in here, too." He ordered his companion.
Her vitals began flashing. "Moderate excess of free-radicals in the liver." The computer warned.
"Continue." She ordered.
The guard began banging on the glass. "Miss Gordon, you are now endangering your own life. Please, discontinue."
Ninety percent.
"A hundred and fifty percent of earth radiation." She declared, pride shining in her eyes. "I can bring us to the ground."
"Cell apoptosis is beginning on the sub-dermal level." The computer intoned, just as red, rash-like wounds began appearing in her skin.
The guard stepped back, his brow furrowed.
"Continue." She repeated.
Two more guards, accompanied by Jacapo Sinclair, came in.
"Sinclair, can you turn off this machine?"
"If you turn it off, it won't begin decontamination." He shook his head. "I can jump-start the process though."
"One-hundred percent. Beginning decontamination." The computer intoned.
Sinclair laughed. "Never mind. You don't need me anymore."
A guard nodded. "Very well, I'll escort you out."
"Miss Gordon, will you come quietly?" The guard asked.
"Once the decontamination process is complete." She said resolutely.
"Allie," Dee rushed forward, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, her voice trembling. "I thought… I thought maybe they would stop you. I never meant for this… for this to happen." She choked out.
"Dee, It's okay. I know. I knew as soon as they showed up." She pulled away, smiling sadly. "But I proved it. It works. And you know where my notes are, if… if my review doesn't end favorably. It's only six weeks away. But it works, Dee. The black blood works. This generation can be the one to go to the ground."
Dee sniffled, wiping her face. "No. You will get out. Your father's the head chemist. Your mothers on the council. An unauthorized experiment… there were no victims."
"Maybe." She stroked Dee's hair. "Did you pass your exams? Are you officially a mechanic?"
She nodded. "Thanks for helping me study." She giggled softly, her eyes still shining with unshed tears.
"Don't feel guilty. If I…. you know."
"Get floated?" Dee said bitterly.
She pursed her lips. "Yes." She said softly.
"It is my fault, you know." She bit her lip. "I told them what you were doing. I told them where you were doing it. I told them how you took materials from the lab." She started sobbing. "I was trying to save your life, not take it!"
"Dee…"
"No! I did this to you!" she collapsed against Allison's chest. "How can you not hate me?"
"Because… because it worked." She murmured. "They didn't know how to shut it off. I still finished testing the black blood." She held up her arm, her veins black against her pale skin. "I succeeded. And you helped me do that."
"I fucking turned you in! You're going to get floated and I'll get some award for being a 'model citizen' and the woman I wanted to marry is going to suffocate in a vacuum before flying off into space!"
"Dee. I could never hate you." She held her at arms length, staring into her dark eyes. "I love you. And I did this… I did this with the hope that one day, we could go to the ground. I'd been planning my next project, you know. I wanted to figure out how to fertilize an ovum with another ovum. I wanted us to have a child. Children, if we can get to the ground." She smiled softly. "You will get to go to the ground, Dee. You'll find someone else to love. And you'll get to see trees and lakes and mountains."
"I don't want to do it without you." She whispered softly.
A knock on the door signaled their time was up.
"Maybe you won't have to." Allison wiped her tears. "I'm not a danger to the Ark. Chances are I'll be released. Don't worry about it."
"Prisoner 401, face the wall."
Allison stood, turning to look out her small window, Earth spinning slowly in the distance.
"Hold out your right arm, please."
She did. "What's going on? It's not visitation day."
She felt the cool metal before she felt the spines sink into her skin, and she winced as her newly black blood dripped down to her hand.
"Come along." The guard said, not answering her questions.
She joined a stream of other adolescent delinquents and walked quietly among the commotion. There were sounds of a scuffle a few floors away, and confused chattering of the prisoners.
"Do you know what's going on?" She asked a familiar-looking boy behind her.
"We're being sent to the ground." He whispered furtively.
"What? All of you… you'll die!" She panicked.
"And you won't?" He chuckled.
She smiled grimly. "Do you know what I'm in for?"
He arched an eyebrow.
"Unsanctioned experiments. I made myself highly resistant to radiation, and I stole materials from the labs. I'm more worried about having to watch all of you die, as they clearly didn't consult me about my serum."
He shook his head amusedly, then stuck out his hand. "I'm Wells."
"Allison." She shook his hand. "I'll miss you after you die from ARS."
They were funneled into a docking bay, and when she saw Counsellor Kane standing with Dr. Griffin, she jumped out of line to stand in front of them. "You do know you're killing them, right? Dr. Griffin, you're a doctor! You should know this!"
A guard stepped up to her. "Get back inside."
"You're going to kill all of them!" She shouted, going up into Counsellor Kane's face. "Their bodies can't handle Earth levels of radiation!"
The guard grabbed her arms and started pulling her into the ship, and she kicked his leg in, before swinging her elbow around.
"What do you have to say? You're just standing there? Where's your conscience? I refuse to be the only person alive on the ground! Let me give them my serum! I can save them!"
Dr. Griffin put a gentle hand on her arm. "This is our best chance. We have no choice."
"Fuck you!" She spat. "You're killing them all! You know what I did, Kane! And you both know it works! You're condemning kids to death!"
She felt a pinch in her back, and her last thought before she blacked out was of Dierdre.