Chapter 12
On the Ark
Clarke moved through the tunnels to Raven's den. She had radio duty. She entered the room and Octavia smiled.
"Thank God!" I was going crazy in here!"
"It's okay, my turn," Clarke said. "Anything happen?"
"Nope, not yet." Just then the radio came to life.
"Raven to Raven's Den, Raven to Raven's den. Come in please."
"Hey, Raven, Clarke and Octavia here."
"Great. Can one of you go to the library and look up when the summer solstice is? It's somewhere around the end of June. Oh, can you tell me what the date is?"
"Yeah, it's July 8th 2147."
"Ahh, crap! That's too late."
"What's going on?" Octavia asked.
"Are you alone?"
"Yes."
"Okay, listen. Sol and Jake have dug out where they think an underground bunker is, but the clues left point to the summer solstice as the time to open it. We need to know when to try it. If it's already July, then we're going to have to wait until next year."
"A bunker? It's not the Second Dawn one, is it?" asked Octavia.
"No. This is one that her great, great, whatever helped build about a hundred and fifty years ago. We've decided not to tell those on the Ark who do not remember. We want people to live above the ground, not live in a cosy bunker and pretend they're still on the Ark. This land is still the Commander's and so is what's under it."
"I agree," said Clarke. "I remember what it was like and I never want that to happen again!"
"Me neither!" agreed Octavia.
"Okay, gotta go. We're still having a meeting about it. See ya." Raven signed off and left.
Clarke sat back and looked at Octavia.
"Do we tell Kane?" Octavia thought about what had happened and how Kane was.
"No. I don't want anyone else knowing, just in case ALIE happens again. If no-one else knows, they can't tell her about it. That will be the last refuge of the clans. I do not want it destroyed." Clarke nodded.
"We keep this to ourselves. Let's hope if she rears her ugly head again, Raven stays out of her clutches."
"Jok!" Octavia said. "We need to keep an eye on her." Clarke nodded again.
"What of Sol?"
"What about her?"
"She and Erin were in Factory when it came down, Octavia. Neither of them survived last time."
"I know. It's hard to keep it from Erin, but as long as we can keep them safe, it should be okay."
"I agree."
"Okay, I need food, so I'm out of here. Enjoy your quiet time," Octavia said, grinning.
"Don't worry, I brought a book."
"Well, you'd better check on that summer solstice thing. I'd stand out in the library."
"Yep. I'll do that after my shift." Octavia left with a wave.
Clarke settled in and was enjoying her book. It was one she never had the leisure to enjoy last time. Actually, it was a book she'd never even thought of reading last time. This time she wanted to be prepared. She was reading a survival book that taught people how to make things from nothing and what to look for when hunting or foraging. There was even a chapter on camouflage and scouting.
She was there for about two hours before the radio came to life again.
"Raven's den, Raven's den, Come in."
"Sol?" asked Clarke.
"Yeah. We've thought of something, but we need your input as leader of the Skaikru," Sol said.
"Okay, go ahead."
"Do you think we could persuade Kane to send the kids in lockup down again?"
"When?"
"As soon as possible. I know that some of them will be kids who had been floated before you came down, but on the other hand, it's less people to breathe air needed for the others. The problem we see is that we have no idea how they're going to react. Raven would know how the ones who came down last time would react, but not the new ones."
"I'll have to think about it, Sol. I'll talk to Octavia first, but I think we need to send kids down roughly the same time as last time to make sure we have the right kids."
"I know, but if we don't, those kids in lockup will be floated when they turn 18. We could save dozens of them, Clarke. I think it's worth it. Maybe we could send kids down now and then again in a year."
"Last time, we were sent down in September. Fall is not a good time to live there as we had no idea what was good to eat, and by the time we figured it out, we were in the middle of a war."
"We send them down in July. That should give us time to open that bunker and check it out. With Raven and Jake down here, we've got engineering covered. Anything mechanical or engineering will be fine. Just wish we had a computer expert down here too."
"You do. Raven's a whiz at that stuff. Only Monty's better, but not by much."
"So anything else?"
"Not really. I want to try using spotlights as artificial sunlight to see if we can open it that way."
"What does the Commander think of all this?"
"She said that as long as you agree, she'll abide by your decisions. We've told her what we found and she's interested, but I get the impression that going underground is not something they want to do. I think when we get it open, she'll want to check it out herself."
"I think so too."
"Look, Raven was telling me and Jake some of what happened last time, including Monty having to kill his own mother to save you. Can you do me a favour and check her out? If she was just like Pike because of the situation, then she could be redeemable. If she really thinks that way, then we'll have to keep an eye on her."
"I know. Maybe Monty can sound her out?"
"I thought he didn't remember?"
"He doesn't, but I think he could be triggered. I just don't know if we should."
"Me neither."
"I'll let you go, Sol. Say hello to my dad and tell him I love him."
"I will, bye."
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
On the ground
Sol was wondering where the Arkers could live that wouldn't interfere with the clans. She got out her maps and looked at them. She sorted them into date order and had a look at the latest map she had. It was from just before the war. She searched for likely places the Arkers could live, but she wasn't having much luck finding any islands they could live on near the coast. There were the ones up by New York and a few along the coast going towards Florida, but those ones were small.
There were some up in the great lakes area, but again she didn't know if anyone lived on them and she didn't know whose territory they were in. she looked for other places like some of the inlets and bays had a lot of dead end pieces of land they could live one, but with a lot of bridges attaching them to other places, the Arkers might decide that the land on the other side of the bridge is theirs - if no-one seemed to be living there.
Sol sighed, it would not be easy finding somewhere the Arkers wouldn't try to take more land. She did note one piece of land called Newport News that could be an area to stash them. If they abided by the area the Commander decreed, it would be big enough to live, farm, raise animals and spread out without needing to leave the area. There was a reservoir in the area as well as several freshwater ponds. The area would have to be checked out first because it was a military area and Sol didn't want the Arkers to get their hands on any weapons that may still be there, stored away waiting for someone to come and get them.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
On the Ark
Clarke was thinking about how to get the kids down and when. She knew if they were sent down early, then some of the kids they needed would not be in prison yet, but if they sent them down in a year, then a year's worth of kids would die - just because they turned 18 and were deemed criminals. She'd wait until they had one of their secret meetings and then bring it up, someone might have an answer she hadn't thought about.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Erin and Octavia were taking tests to determine their level of education before being placed into the school system. As they were the same age, they'd be put into the same class for school. The two honorary sisters decided to stick together against any bullies. The teachers were surprised at the level of education their families had given them. The only areas they were lacking in were things that needed hands-on practical work like chemistry and biology. Physics was okay, but that too sometimes needed a physical demonstration they couldn't get inside their family quarters. Their physical fitness tested out quite high, and when asked how they managed that in hiding, they replied that they had to learn to scurry about to avoid the guards. Their maths and English were quite high too, though the more complicated mathematics were beyond both of them. They struggled with that until they found real world applications for it and then they could figure out a solution. Calculating the distance from the Ark to Earth wasn't easy, but calculating how far you needed to run to avoid the guards, well that was easy - and fun!
In the end, they only needed remedial English and maths and more practical applications of the sciences. Things like history, geography and human services, they could live without. They knew they were going to the ground eventually and those already living on the ground didn't need to know which king ruled in France in 1842 to live, so neither did they.
Harper and Monty would talk to them in between lessons and soon enough, they became friends with some of the other students. Monroe, Jasper - Monty's best friend, Sterling and even Finn Collins were some of those who would talk to them in a friendly manner. For some reason, Octavia and Miller got on like a house on fire while in prison and she tried to find that kind of friendship with Sterling, while Erin and Monroe had gotten close. Octavia was still her best friend, but Monroe was a close second.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Kane was studying the files that Murphy had already uncovered and was wondering if he should make them public. On the one hand, they'd show just how far Jaha would go to save those he thought of as his people, but on the other, Wells would be a target for their backlash. He thought about telling their little gang about them too, but again, he knew Abby wouldn't be able to keep it quiet and he wasn't sure about Erin. He didn't know her like he did Octavia, so he didn't know how much he could trust her to keep this secret. But then again, she had kept quiet about what she already knew. It was a dilemma for another time. Murphy was due to be pulled into the interrogation room in half an hour and Kane had to be there. He tidied up the files and put them back in the secret panel and then went to the skybox to await Murphy.
Murphy looked around the office. He'd already checked the couch, table and fireplace and Kane had checked the desk, so where else could Jaha have hidden something he didn't want found?
He started at the door and worked his way around clockwise. He checked the chairs and the tables then the back wall, which seemed solid. He moved on to the desk, but that was an obvious place to look as were the filing cabinets. He's already checked the fake fireplace but there was one place he didn't have time to look last time, the bookcase in the corner. He went over to it and looked at the books on the shelf. Dickens, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Laura Ingalls Wilder… wait, that last author.
"Kane, do you know who Laura Ingalls Wilder was?"
"Yes, she was an author who wrote some books for children. She wrote Little House on the Prairie, which was turned into a tv show. Why?"
"Well Jaha's got classic authors on this shelf but this Wilder woman's also included. She's not one of the classic authors is she?"
"Not really..., modern classic, maybe." Murphy studied the book further without touching it, getting his face as close as possible to it. He ran his finger along the spine of the book and then moved it to the top and pulled. The book tipped towards him, but didn't slide out. It stopped and a click was heard. Murphy turned to Kane with a grin on his face. Both of them looked at the crack they could see and Murphy reached out and gently pulled on the book again and the whole bookcase swung open to reveal another room. Both went in and looked around. There was another sofa and table, a large cupboard and what looked like another file cabinet. Kane went to the file cabinet while Murphy went to the cupboard.
"Shit!" exclaimed Murphy once he opened the door to the cupboard. Kane spun around and looked on in astonishment as food of all kinds was exposed. There were ration bars and powdered soup, stews and freeze dried rations too. Jaha's ancestor and his cronies must have brought up an enormous stash of rations and kept them for themselves!
"How much stuff did they steal?" Kane asked. He hated the thought that some people died several years previously due to lack of food when something went wrong with one of the food replicators and not enough food was available. Those in charge had their own food, yet they still took what little there was from those who needed it more!
Murphy shut the cupboard and turned to the filing cabinet. It was locked, but that was no problem for Murphy. He went back out and picked up several items from the draws of the desk and came back and neatly picked the lock. Kane raised his eyebrows.
"Lockup was good for something," Murphy said, shrugging his shoulders. He opened the first draw and saw some more files. Kane had a quick look, but knew each of them would have damning evidence in them. The bottom drawer was a deep one and that too had food in it, but it also had some mechanical parts. Kane picked one up and looked at it. It was damaged beyond repair, so why did Jaha have it in his filing cabinet? Something about it was nagging him until he realised what he was holding.
"That misbegotten snake of a human!" Kane said. Murphy looked at him.
"What is it?"
"It's an air tank regulator!"
"So?"
"This is what helps regulate how much air the machines can make." Murphy frowned until it came to him.
"He made the machines fail?! Why?"
"I have no idea, unless he knew the ground was livable and was looking for a reason to go down."
"But why send four people down with a faulty radio?"
"I don't know, unless he was putting himself forward for being benign and altruistic."
"By sending people down he was pretending he cared for everyone? And by sabotaging the radio, he made sure no-one would know their fate?" Murphy asked, trying to work his way through things.
"Something like that."
"So what now?"
"I think we need to find a way to send some kids down to the ground. Everyone knows about the four that went, but if we say we're sending the kids from the prison, that should help. Those kids won't be floated and with them off the station, more air available for others."
"Yeah, but most of those in lockup would have been floated before we were sent down. You send them down now and we won't know how they'll act down there. At least if we were sent down when we went last time, the same people would be there."
"I know, but I'm trying to save as many as I can. I've already got people looking into the arrests of everyone in the prison and at least six of them have been released because the charges were made up. I can't release everyone, John, but hopefully I can save them."
"Can I go?"
"If we can safely send people down, then yes. Raven remembers but the other three died. Sol Armstrong's from Factory, John and only one person survived that crash and it wasn't either of the Armstrong sisters."
"When would we go?"
"No idea. I don't know if it's even viable. There's a lot to think about." Murphy nodded and checked the time on the clock on the wall.
"We'd better get back to the interrogation room so I can be put back in prison."
"Do you think Miller could be triggered?"
"Maybe, but I don't know what his recall word would be."
"Neither do I."
"Ask Clarke - or better yet, Octavia. He was one of her bodyguards when they went into that bunker."
"True. Can you think of anyone else who could be woken up and would help us?"
"Most people would remember their deaths, Kane. Atom died early, as did Wells. Drew, Jones died fighting the Trikru before the ring of fire, Monroe lived quite a while before she died. She may be one to wake up, but again I have no idea of her recall word."
"I can't really bring them into interrogation and fire the odd word at them in the hopes it could wake them up," Kane said. Murphy snorted as he envisioned that happening.
"Whatever their words, they would have to be ones significant to them and not common ones, otherwise they'd already be awake." Kane's eyes grew wide.
"Any way you can feel them out about that? Maybe they do remember but think no-one else does, or think they're going crazy recalling a past life that didn't happen."
"I'll do that," said Murphy, climbing into the secret opening.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Kane called a meeting in Raven's den. When everyone was there, he started the meeting.
"I've been looking for a secret compartment inside Jaha's old office and my new one. I used Murphy to find where it was. He found several places with several files, all with damning evidence of what was going on. He also found a secret room hidden behind a bookcase. In that room, we found more files and a cupboard full of rations from before the war. These were all powdered or freeze-dried and there's enough food in that one cupboard to give everyone on the Ark one good meal a day for a week. Where there's one cache of goods, there's probably more. I need help finding them." Everyone was stunned at Kane's revelation.
"He's been hoarding food when we've been starving?!" Abby said, incensed.
"Yes."
"We need to move those files, Kane. If any of his people find them, they'll destroy them and we won't have any evidence against him!" Clarke said.
"Anyone coming into the room will be seen on the security cameras outside in the corridor," Kane said.
"So we use the tunnels," Monty said. "We find a way into your office and take the stuff out that way. We leave the room empty but still hidden. Maybe I can put a camera up in your office and the secret room. That way we'd know if anyone got into your office when you weren't there, and what they were looking through."
"Good idea," said Clarke. "If Octavia and Erin can go with you, they can find places to hide those documents that the guards won't be able to find."
"I didn't use the tunnels when I was hidden, Clarke. The floor didn't extend past the outer wall of our quarters."
"Mine did," said Erin. I would travel the tunnels half the night going places others didn't."
"Do you know of a secret place?" asked Kane.
"Several." He thought about it.
"Okay. You and Octavia and Monty come into my office through the secret panel in my office. I don't know where else it goes, but I can get into one of the interrogation rooms in the skybox through it."
"Really?" Monty said, perking up. Kane nodded.
"Alright," said Abby. "What do we do about the food?"
"We keep it for when we go down to the ground. Those first few days are going to be rough until we've established ourselves and start hunting for our own food," Monty said. Harper was nodding.
"Another thing I've been thinking about is whether to send some of the kids in the skybox to the ground," said Kane.
"What?"
"Why?"
"Because I want to save as many as possible and if I don't, then the Ark laws say that they have to be floated when they reach 18. I don't want to do that, but some people would be paranoid enough to want them floated to save on air," Kane said. There was silence as they digested what he said.
"Who would go?" asked Clarke.
"I was thinking about Murphy, Miller and maybe Monroe. If we can get them to wake up and understand the severity of what's happening, then they could help us."
"How many others would you be sending? I can't see you sending just three others down when we need every ship we have to get everyone down," Clarke asked.
"I know. There's an old pod that could be retrofitted to carry maybe four people. That wouldn't impact on the resources we need for the new ships." Clarke realised he meant Raven's pod.
"What about one of the other dropships? "If we packed it to the gills, we could get about a hundred people in it."
"We don't have a hundred kids in lock-up right now. We only have 82."
"So we find 18 others who can go down and help out down there," Clarke stated. She didn't dare look at her mother because Abby would know immediately that Clarke wanted to be one of those going down. "Who else gets locked up in the next few months?"
"How are we supposed to know that?" Octavia asked.
"Because I found a list of people - kids - who are due to be arrested and charged on certain days in the future. Jaha had already decided what to charge kids with and marked them for termination on their 18th birthdays. I have no idea what he was thinking, but he had that list," Kane explained. The others were shocked.
"I want to go down," Erin announced. "I can do more down there than up here. Monty and Harper can stay up here and do more good than I can."
"Me too, said Octavia."
"If O's going, then I want to go as well. Sorry, O, but I need to keep an eye on you."
"No you don't. Mom's down there and believe me, she's gonna be more confining than you would be."
"Sol may be the same," Erin admitted.
"I haven't decided IF anyone's going yet. I need to think about this some more."
"I still want to go, Kane. If you're sending those 100 kids down, then I want in," Erin said.
"I'll think about it," Kane said. "There is one other thing to tell you."
"What?" asked Abby.
"Murphy and I found some mechanical parts in that secret room. I recognised one of them as an air regulator. It regulates how much air is made."
"He caused this crisis?!" Clarke almost yelled, her mind running faster than the others in the room."
"We think so. We don't know why, though."
"Doesn't matter, Kane. He caused this and he's using it as a reason to kill people. He's nothing more than a serial killer masquerading as a leader!"
"We don't know that was his intention, Clarke," said Abby.
"Mom! We know what he did to dad! We know what he does to those he thinks are useless!"
"He sent your father to the ground, Clarke. He didn't kill him."
"No, but he is a master manipulator. Each of those sent to the ground have someone up here that could be used to further his own plans. No idea what Erin and the Blakes were for, but you and I and Monty would be used by him and his cronies for their own needs and ambitions!"
"How paranoid was Jaha?" asked Erin.
Why?"
"Because if he wanted to, he could record any meetings of his to prove something was or wasn't said," Erin reasoned. "Did you find any recordings?"
"No, but we weren't looking for them," admitted Kane.
"We'll have a look when we come for the files," Erin said. Kane nodded, not quite sure when the kids had taken over the meeting.
"Anything else?" asked Clarke, looking around. No-one said anything. "Okay, Kane, Erin and Octavia can come to your office tonight to move them. The sooner the better. Monty can check on your computer for any hidden files and Erin can have a quick nosy around your office for places you may have missed." Kane nodded and the meeting broke up.
Abby and Kane walked together back towards Alpha.
"They just took over," Kane said, amazed.
"They're just children, Kane."
"Not anymore, Abby. Even you have to admit that since those kids have been in lock-up, they've matured. Can you really say that Clarke is still that little girl that followed you around all the time?" Abby thought about it and realised Kane was right.
"No," she admitted. "She's more grown up than I was at that age."
"She's had to mature fast, Abby. What Jaha did to her had to shake her world upside down. Before that, she knew that the people in Alpha were there to look after everyone else. That they'd do the right thing, because that's what we taught her. All of Alpha taught the kids of Alpha that. Then Jaha comes along and imprisons her for treason without cause. She had the nice cosy world she knew pulled out from under her. That would change anyone, Abby. At least your daughter is on the right side in all this." Abby reluctantly nodded. Clarke was not a little girl anymore, but Abby didn't know how to let her go.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
On the ground
Sol was looking at the maps again. She was looking at the area around Newport News. It was set on a spit of land and she was looking for a natural cut off area to define where the Arkers could have their own area. They'd have to acknowledge that the Commander was letting them stay on her land and they didn't own it, but Sol thought it was very generous of her to even do that. She knew if the tables were turned, Jaha would have killed them rather than let them live on HIS land.
There was a creek that didn't quite go all the way across the land, but it would do as the northwest marker of their land. She didn't know how large the area was, but she thought it would do for them. Using the small ruler in the bottom corner, she came up with a rough estimate of twenty miles long by 10 miles wide. That would make it roughly 200 square miles! Maybe that was too much area. If she measured from the airport to the tip, that would be roughtly 12 miles. 120 square miles ought to be enough for them. The only problem she could see was that some of them would take more land just because there was no-one to stop them. Maybe letting them have the 200 square miles would hopefully make them stay there.
Sol then turned her mind to finding those out of the way malls that they used to have. If they could find one of those industrial places, maybe they could find large spotlights. Failing that then looking for a lamp and lighting place for them would do. She sighed as she realised there was a lot to do and no way of figuring it out until Clarke came down. If the Commander only recognised her as the leader of the sky people, then she needed to be down here sorting things out. Hopefully on their next radio communication with Raven's den, she could talk to her about it.
She looked around as the evening drew near. Rory was talking to Nyko. They were sitting close and most people around them could see the attraction they had for each other. She didn't know what the Blake kids would say when they found out, but it would be fun to watch! Jake was playing with his watch - something Sol had noticed he did when he was thinking about his family. Raven was watching some kind of game involving pebbles and pine cones. One of the warriors was telling Raven the rules and she was nodding, taking it all in. Sol wondered if it was a gambling game and had no doubt that she'd try to fleece some poor schmuck from the Ark when they came down. She sighed again and went to her tent and went to sleep. The next day Anya was taking her and Raven on a hunt and Sol wanted to be fresh for it. Anya had a bad habit of waking early and waking them up! If she was up, they should be up.
They came back from their hunt with two deer and a panther. Raven was grinning as she'd taken down the Panther with her bow. Sol and Anya had each used spears to bring down the two deer. It would be a fitting meal for the Commander before she went back to Polis. She had to get back for some meetings. She hoped to talk to Clarke before she went as she knew it could be a few months before she talked to her again.
"Alright, let's recap everything," Raven said. "We know where the bunker is and that we need to be in place on the summer solstice next June at dawn. We need to realign the mirrors to get the light to shine on the keypad - err… ringpad? Anyway, we are trying to find strong lights to use instead. We still need to know what angle the sun will shine from on that day as well."
"Yup," Sol said.
"Kane and Sinclair are trying to build another exodus ship and they need to find ways of bringing everyone down. We need some of our kids down to help us with stuff and Kane needs to make sure that none of our kids are in danger. There are kids in lockup right now who would be floated when they turn 18 before the year is up. Do we ask that they are sent down early so we keep them alive? Which of our kids could come down in the dropship?"
"Can't help with that one, Raven. You're the only one down here who knows who came down with you last time. I'd suggest talking to Octavia and Clarke about that and then talk to Kane. I'd think Clarke needs to come down, but Abby's probably gonna kick up a stink. Both her husband and daughter out of her reach may be too much for her, but Abby coming down too would be suspicious to any of Jaha's people still roaming around up there."
"I agree," Jake said reluctantly. "I know my wife would want to keep Clarke as close to her as possible, but if the Commander only sees Clarke as our leader, then Clarke needs to be down here."
"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Sol said, as she thought of something.
"What?" asked Raven.
"You said Sincair was making another exodus ship, but he could only fit 400 people in it, right?"
"Yeah?" drawled Raven, not sure where Sol was going with it.
"Well, I think I know how to get five hundred in it."
"How?" Jake asked, frowning.
"Sinclair said four decks with a hundred on each deck, right?"
"Uh-huh," said Raven.
"And our standard height for a ceiling is ten foot?"
"Yeah?" Raven drawled again.
"So all they have to do is drop each deck by two foot! As far as I know, we don't have nine foot people roaming around up there. I think the tallest person on the Ark is probably 6,6 or 6,8. So there'll be plenty of headroom still." Jake and Raven's eyes widened at the implication.
"It would be difficult to do," Jake drawled as he thought about it.
"Yeah, Raven replied, "But they have a year to figure it out."
"They do. We should tell them. Maybe they can retrofit the other ships too to hold more people."
"How many seats are they short of?" Both Jake and Raven looked at each other.
"I don't know," Jake admitted.
"Better fire up the radio, Raven."
"Who do we call, my place or the command centre?"
"Command centre," Jake said. "It's Sinclair who needs to know." Raven nodded and went to the radio.
"Ark Station, Ark Station, come in please?"
"Ark Station here."
"Can you find Kane, Sinclair and Wick for me please? Sol thought of something that may help you with the ships."
"Will do. It'll take a few minutes."
"No problem, we'll be here." Raven ended the call and sat back to wait.
"Think they'll do it?" asked Raven.
"I hope so," said Jake. If we can retrofit those other ships, we could fit more people in them."
"I just hope that the numbers needed are reachable."
"We could always strap people directly to the wall," Raven said. "There'd be enough space."
"No seating for them?"
"They can sit on the floor and be strapped in," said Raven, thinking of how Monty and Jasper had told her how they'd come down in the dropship.
"Raven? Are you there?" said Kane over the radio.
"We're here, Kane. Are Sinclair and Wick with you?"
"Yes. What's going on?"
"Sol came up with a solution. She said we could drop the height of the decks by two foot and still have plenty of headroom. That new build Sinclair's working on could have five decks instead of four, that's another hundred in that ship!" They could hear sounds of exclamation and shouts of 'yes'!
"That's brilliant!" Kane said. He turned to Sinclair but still had an open mike so those on the ground could hear. "Could you do the same with the other ships?"
"Calculating that now, Chancellor," Sinclair said. A few seconds later Sinclair spoke up.
"With the new deck heights, we can add another 300 people to the exodus ships."
"Is that enough?" asked Raven.
"No, we're still eighty people short."
"Then strap them directly to the walls, Kane. They can survive re-entry that way. 10 to a deck and you only need to do that for a couple of the ships," Raven said.
"It's a bit risky. I'd prefer to use seats."
"What's the setup for the seats?"
"A ring around the perimeter and rows of seats in the centre."
"Try different configurations and see if you can add more seats to each deck. Try rows instead of around the edges."
"We tried that and we had less seats," Sinclair said.
"How far apart are the seats?"
"We had them in rows, with five chairs in a block."
"How many aisles did you have?"
" Three. One down each side and one in the middle."
"Change it. No aisles down the sides, add chairs instead and only have one aisle down the middle. That should add three chairs to each row. How many rows?"
"Ten."
"Ten?! Is that all?"
"We need room for cargo too, Raven."
"I know but only ten rows?"
"How far apart are the rows?" asked Sol.
"Well we want to give people room to move, so we placed the rows four feet apart."
"Dammit, Sinclair!" Raven yelled. "Change it and move the seats closer together and you can get more in!"
"People will need room to move, Raven!"
"Not that much! They only need to be strapped in for the journey down. It's not like they'll be living in those seats!"
"Do it," Kane told him. "People are more important than cargo. I want a seat for every person on the Ark, got it?"
"Yes, Chancellor," Sinclair said.
"Good. Raven, Jake? We'll implement it and have enough room for everyone."
"That's good, Kane," Jake said when Raven was still too pissed to talk to them.
"We'll talk more later," Sol said, hoping Kane figured out she would use the secret radio.
"Got it," Kane said. "Sinclair and Wick have gone to see about reconfiguring those decks and seats."
"Good, talk to you later, Kane. Sol out."