So again, the general consensus was Ontari and Luna should be in. I agree, cause they're hot. And I know exactly how I will handle Ontari as well. Plus I totally see Luna and Lexa having a thing, since they refused to kill each other in canon. Dunno how I will handle that here though, since the whole ALIE 2.0 and all that shit isn't in this world. Cause it is fucking dumb.
I've decided Clarke will be full-time G!P after she wakes up from the Animus. Originally it was going to be A/B/O style, but I've elected to do otherwise.
To the many people who commented on Nia, yes I thought what they did with her in S3 was a huge fucking cop-out, but then I've been irritated with a lot of the writing since like halfway through S2. To be honest, there was shit that irritated me in S1E1, but S2 is when it got really bad. Yes, releasing Azrael will probably bite Clarke in the ass, but Clarke is Clarke. She will learn how to be ruthless when required in a bit.
The next chapter (not this one, chapter ten) is going to go wildly off of what I planned, and I think it is going to add an enormous amount of epic to this story. Please Look Forward To It (TM)!
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Nothing Is True (Save The Blood We've Shed)
Chapter Nine
A Lull In Life
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Flesh slapped on flesh, female grunts and moans were easily audible, and the stench of sweat permeated the air of Ark Storage Room 1337(W) as Marcus Kane, alone and more-or-less unarmed, approached it cautiously.
Why was he being cautious? Well, despite what more...libidinous trains of thought might jump to certain conclusions, he knew that Clarke's posse of adherents were in actuality practicing their martial arts and strengthening exercises. This meant they were will with adrenaline and aggression, younger by several decades, outnumbered him eight to one, and were not terribly fond of him at the moment. Still, they weren't murderers, so he would leave in one piece. Probably...
Taking a deep breath, he strode into the room, face stern, shoulders squared and posture confident and strong. All movement slowly stopped as the girls became aware of his newly-arrived presence amongst them, and he folded his hands behind his back as he regarded them calmly, even as they spread out in a loose semi-circle around him, Reyes and Blake in the center like the co-leaders they were. It was actually highly unnerving, he decided, because it reminded him so of the videos he had seen of wolves hunting down on earth. And here, he was the prey and they the wolves. Not an enviable position to be in.
"Reyes, you overextend your punches. Blake, your footwork is sloppy. Fox, Roma, your blocks are too low. Harper hesitates and Mel is too aggressive." He said bluntly after a long silence, looking around at them all. "If you're going to be of any use to Clarke whatsoever, you need to improve significantly. Fortunately, we have two years to make something out of you lot. If you listen to me apply yourselves properly."
"Excuse me? The Hell is that supposed to mean?" Octavia barked in outrage. "We've been training our asses of, by the book! Literally! And why the hell are you here anyway?"
"As fiery as Clarke. Small wonders…" Kane mused as he gazed at her for a long moment, before returning his attention to the group at large. "It is obvious you all know about the Council and their plans for the inhabitants of the Skybox in two years. It is obvious that you know just where Clarke is, and it is obvious that you're planning on finding her when you reach Earth."
"We've no idea what you're talking about. We're just a group of girls staying fit and keeping ourselves exercised." Raven denied coolly, and Marcus had to bite back a snort of amusement at the various 'innocent' expressions the girls were wearing.
"Of course you are." He rolled his eyes with deliberately overdramatic movements. "Of course, in that case, you don't want my help training or ensuring that Raven is sent to the ground by the Council instead of getting floated, whenever you put this plan of yours into action. Perhaps I can even arrange to send her down early?"
"And why would you do any of that?" Octavia asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed as she regarded him carefully, and he hummed in thought for a moment, organizing himself, before answering her.
"Clarke was, is, my finest student, and I admire her family a great deal. Besides which, it will be up to your generation to build a true civilization on Earth, should such a thing even be possible." His voice was full on sincerity, surprising the girls. Before he had trained Clarke, he would never have done what he was doing now. Instead, the lot of them would be in solitary confinement in the Skybox for the rest of their short lives. Clarke had shown him how much warmth and kindness could be just as good at keeping order and helping Humanity survive as cold, heartless justice. Both, he knew now, had their benefits. Balancing the two of them was the way of peace and prosperity.
"Can we trust him, Raven? I mean, he is the Head of ArkSec…" Octavia asked her mechanically-minded friend, and Raven nibbled on her bottom lip as she thought about it. There were significant pros and cons, but the question of the day was: which side was heavier on the proverbial scale? Which offered their best chance for helping Clarke and their people? Decision made, she met his eyes and nodded.
"Alright, Marshal Kane. I guess we're going to have to trust you, for now. For Clarke's sake." She said firmly, folding her arms under her bust as she looked around at her compatriots. "I must admit, learning from the same person who taught Clarke will be far more helpful than just reading from the books and improving through trial and error."
The girls murmured in agreement, their defensive body language relaxing somewhat, and Kane smiled slightly to himself, pleased that they had agreed. They might not be so happy after he ran them into the ground a few times, but they would adjust just like any other recruits. Better, actually, if he had to wager, given their determination and crude, limited, but still present foundation he had to work with. Things not usually present in his recruits.
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Finn Collins frowned in displeasure as he looked around the Skylight. Raven wasn't here either, which probably meant she was handing out with Blake again, just like she had every single day since Clarke got arrested and put into solitary confinement.
Ah, Clarke. The Ice Princess, his Princess. The girl who would be the crown jewel of his conquests, and hopefully his woman at some point. He deserved nothing but the best, and as beautiful as Raven was, she wasn't Clarke. Plus, when Clarke was his, he would have a ready-made powerbase to achieve Chancellorship. Once he controlled the Ark, he could have any woman, or women, that he chose, as often as he chose. A good thing too, because after it got around that he was trying to cheat on Raven and bag Clarke at the same time, all of Clarke's friends (male and female alike) had started to give him the cold shoulder. He had hoped that the rumors would lead to Raven spreading her legs for him in an effort to keep him from straying, but there was no such luck. Not even when he mentioned the rumors and promised that it wasn't true, though he had carefully planned his wording to try and trigger her jealousy. But no, she didn't even let him feel her up, nor would she suck him off! It just wasn't fair, damnit!
Still, he could afforded to be patient, he had all the time in the world to wait the girls out and worm his way into their good graces, and thus their pants. In the meantime, he would just have to try and find other diversions and entertainments.
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Thelonius Jaha resisted the urge to sigh wearily, slumping down in his comfortable armchair as he tried to rub away the headache between his throbbing temples. He regretted now more than ever having executed (No, be honest Theo, you murdered him! He mentally scolded himself) his best friend. Jake had always been the smart one, the compassionate one. The one who knew how to convince people to see things his way, but without malice or manipulation. Of course, those very traits were one reason the Chancellor had taken the opportunity presented by Abby's betrayal of her husband to get rid of Jake and, through great and unexpected fortune, Clarke as well. It had almost destroyed him, and it did destroy his relationship with his sons and few adult friends, not to mentioning severely damaging his reputation for being kind and friendly, but Humanity could never repopulate the homeworld and thrive if the well-meaning, but deluded beliefs of the Assassin Brotherhood had the chance to exist, and reemerge.
Freedom to live life as you chose sounded amazing, and should to an extent be permitted. But the rampant narcissism and self-entitlement in the youth of the two-thousands had played a massive role in the Last War, and as such the freedoms that birthed them had to be strangled in the cradle. Only totalitarianism could ensure that Humanity survived with safety and prosperity.
He sighed again as he thought about the horrific crimes his Order had perpetrated in the name of Humanity and its future. Betrayals, murder, kidnapping, war crimes of the most heinous sort...all for a brighter future for Human-kind. Was that so wrong? Were they the very evils of Humanity that they sought to purge, as a doctor might?
Several ancient sayings about intentions and Hell came to mind, and he had little doubt as to their accuracy. But if there was a God, then Hell was where Jaha was headed, and for Humanity he would gladly accept that fate. All of his was far greater than any one or even one hundred men. It was greater than anything, because failure meant the extinction of their species.
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Like her former best friend and ally, Abby Griffin was wearily and heavily burdened by an incredible, overwhelming guilt. Unlike Thelonius, however, her sins were far darker, because she had betrayed her husband to his death and her daughter to something as good as.
Yes, she had assumed that between them, she and Jaha could have convinced him not to do it. Or at least wait until their plans for averting the disaster had failed. Instead, Jaha had not even tried to save Jake from his own noble nature, instead having him executed within minutes of Abby's betrayal. Because of her doubt, her weakness, her fear, her husband had been killed before her child's eyes, and then said child was cast down to a radioactive wasteland alone. Oh, she knew that Clarke was strong, knew that she was as trained and equipped for the ground as any Arker could hope to be, knew that her daughter would never go quietly into death. Despite all that, despite her hopes, prayers, and dreams, she knew that the homeworld was not yet ready. Her daughter had been nothing more than a test run of their ability to refurbish the Exodus ships and drop them where they were aimed. They had succeeded in one (the drop ship had made landfall, even if they didn't know if Clarke had survived the landing itself) but failed utterly in the other. At least the kids from the Skybox would have a better chance, with the bracelets she had developed to monitor vitals as well as a radio (provided she could convince the Council to let them have one), tools unavailable to her daughter.
She would do her level best to ensure that those kids survived as much as humanly possible. It would never cleanse her soul of the kin's-blood that soaked her hands and heart, but she would spend her life trying to make up for it. Just like she would never forgive nor forget Jaha's part in all this.
The door to her quarters hissed open, and her closest friend Callie Cartwig walked through, looking both nervous and elated, a combination that Abby herself hadn't felt since her first date with Jake had ended with a kiss in the moonlight on an observation deck.
"Callie, what is it?" she asked, surprised at such bold and arguably rude actions from the normally quiet and polite woman.
"We got confirmation Clarke survived the landing, Abby. It's grainy and hard to see, but one of our few remaining satellites snapped a shot of her empty spacesuit next to the pod. Once we reestablished connection, we downloaded and enhanced it as best we could. It's not amazing, but its there." Callie's grin was so broad it looked like it bordered on painful.
If Abby hadn't been sitting down already she might have collapsed from sheer happiness and relief. Her daughter had not perished in fire and smoke, but had survived to land on mankind's cradle, and obviously the planet was not immediately lethal or she wouldn't have been able to remove her spacesuit and leave the landing site. Which meant there was a good chance that they could go home.
"Let Jaha know. It won't make much of a difference until the second dropship proves it wasn't a fluke, and it's not like we can repair it any faster than we already are." She instructed the Asian woman, cocking her head to the side in thought. "Have we made any more progress on the wristbands?"
"Kind of. We found a way to read basic vitals without causing permanent harm to the wearer, but transmitting that information wirelessly has thus far proven totally impossible. Still, I'm sure that we'll figure something out, we've got the time." Callie responded with a slight frown, as the team's continued failures rankled her as well as increased the likelihood of the mission failing.
"I don't doubt it. Thanks for telling me, Callie." Abby dismissed her with a smile, one that was returned as the other woman left the room. As the door hissed shut, Abby leaned forward and put her face in her hands, rubbing tiredly. She had so much to do, and there would never be enough time to do it. Still, she had to do it all anyway. Jake and Clarke would want her to save their people, ensure their happiness, and that was precisely what she planned on doing. No matter the costs or difficulties.
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Bellamy Blake was bitter, frustrated, and suspicious. The first two emotions had been ever-present since before his mother's death, and had only grown stronger with the event itself. The last emotion was due entirely to the behavior of his beloved baby sister, Octavia. Ever since the disastrous Unity Day Dance, she had spent far less time listening to him than he was all that comfortable with. Oh, sure, she was enjoying herself, finally free to come and go as she pleased and make friends amongst the other kids, and he was glad for that. Really, he was, but for many years Bellamy had been the only one to love her openly. Octavia had always somewhat resented their mother for forcing her to live in the floor, for bringing her into a world that consisted only of one, small room. The fact that Aurora had gotten pregnant by some random man they had never met, leaving them utterly bereft of a father figure, or a parent of any kind when their mother died, had not improved her attitude in the least. Now, instead of being with him, she spent all of her time with Clarke Griffin's friends.
His mouth twisted slightly as he thought about the golden-haired Princess of the Ark, whom he both loved and loathed in equal measure. On the one hand, she had lived an idyllic life until only a few short months ago, a life that Bellamy would give almost anything to have lived. Anything except his sister, which neatly brought him to the other hand: that without Clarke, Octavia would have exchanged one cage for another, locked away in the Skybox until she was 18 and, most likely, got floated. That without Clarke, he very well could have never seen her again. These two wildly differing opinions were causing him no small amount of emotional struggle. Said emotional struggle did nothing to improve his mood.
Still, his only real option was simply to try and convince his sister to spend time with him, politly. His attempts at controlling her after their mother had died had not gone very well, not very well at all, as she had very fiercly reprimanded him for trying to take away her freedom, and then ignored him for over a week. Granted, he had somewhat deserved it for trying to force the issue instead of calm discussion, something that his hothead of a sister might have responded a bit better too.
Ah well, he thought to himself with a tired sigh. Nothing to do but wait until she gets home...again. Maybe I'll take a nap..."
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"What about Clarke?" Lexa asked cautiously, suddenly quite worried about the sky-eyed girl, but Galina waved her concern off quickly with a soft laugh with a soft laugh and a shaken head, with a calming gesture of both hands.
"Nothing untoward has happened, Lexa, calm yourself." Galina's words had Lexa sinking back into her seat, but her alertness didn't fade a single iota. A good thing too, because her next words had her shooting back up. "However, she might be gone for a little, her and those cute, newly-minted little slaves of hers."
"What?! For how long?!" Lexa cried, distressed once more, and Galina frowned slightly, wiggling her hand in the universal gesture for variables.
"Month, give or take a few days. They're in the Grand Temple, getting trained to resurrect the Order." She explained, and Lexa scowled darkly indeed, very unhappy that the four Azgeda would be the first to learn the sacred arts of Clarke's ancestors. Her mood worsened drastically when she recalled that they were the first to taste her and touch her, the first to make her cry out in blissful release. How she had wanted to strike them down, wipe them from the face of the Earth for touching Clarke. But she restrained her jealousy, with Costia's help. While the quartet had put tongue and hand to good use, none had been permitted to penetrate or be penetrated by the Princess, and Costia had quietly reminded her that Clarke would likely lose her maidenhead to Lexa herself, based on how the blonde acted around her, a notion that pleased her greatly. Still, the idea of Clarke writhing in pleasure thanks to slaves before Lexa could bring forth such a reaction was infuriating.
"What does this training entail?" she asked brusquely, wanting very much for this conversation to be over. She had rapidly formulated plans for Costia to release her stress to act on. Not that the red-head would be complaining overly much, of course.
"She will be using a machine called an Animus to experience the memories of her ancestors, including the First Heda. Through their lives, she will learn the arts of the Brotherhood, and the true nature of the Last War. Through her, the four slaves will learn as well, and they will all be able to teach others." Galina explained, and Lexa shook her head in wonderment. The Old World was truly beyond her comprehension if such things were within their grasp. Still, it gladded and reassured her to hear that Clarke would emerge fully trained, capable of defending herself even without a gun. "I, meanwhile, will be scouting out the Mountain to find weaknesses. I've no doubt Clarke will want to wipe them from the map sooner rather than later, especially with her friends being sent down within two years."
"There are no hidden ways into the Mountain, no weaknesses to exploit, and the main gate is far too heavily guarded by men and that Maker-cursed acid fog." Lexa growled, having lost many warriors and scouts over the years, even more if you counted those lost under her previous incarnations.
"There are many hidden paths. Remember, I am off the Old World. I know things about that Mountain that even its current inhabitants don't know. My intent over the next month is to gather more information for her." Galina refuted with an audible smirk, and despite herself Lexa couldn't help return the gesture, gleeful at the prospect. Plus, destroying the Mountain would make her and Clarke utterly unassailable, even to Nia's most clandestine and cruel schemes. Not to mention that one of the greatest menaces of her people would finally be gone, after so long under its dark shadows.
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Jerusalem
1191 AD
Clarke grunted as she stabbed yet another Templar through the chest, pushing him aside as he fell with a gurgle, and her free hand dropped to her waist, drawing two throwing knives, and she spun on her feet. Steel sand and twin, short gasps echoed as they embedded themselves hilt-deep into two more soldier's ribcages, and they too crumpled to the ground in a clatter of armor. Finding herself alone for a sheer instant, and hearing the pounding feet of another group approaching, darted around into an alley before wall-jumping onto a nearby roof. Crouched low on the sun-baked surface, Clarke smirked as more Templars poured into the vicinity, checking their fallen comrades before stampeding off down the street, right past the building she was perched upon.
They never think to look up. She mused to herself, shaking her head in disbelief as she set off after them across the rooftops, reveling in the freedom she felt as she ran unending, displaying feats of agility and strength of which she had never dreamed. Of course, she was currently in the body of a young man who had trained his entire life, but the Triad assured her that their changes to her body would ensure she could perform all the same feats even better once she was outside of the Animus once more.
It was an incredible experience, learning through Altair Ibn La'ahad, who according to the Triad was one of the most accomplished and lethal Assassin ever to live, almost single handedly rearranging the entire structure and nature of the Brotherhood. Only his equally famed descendant, Ezio Auditore da Firenze had accomplished anything beyond his incredible deeds, some 500 years later. She could see why her family was so well-regarded by those 'in the know'. It was a bloodline as ancient as the Brotherhood itself, with influences and presence at nearly every major defining moment of human history. Her thoughts returned to the present as the Templars halted and grouped up around the two ranking members of the group. Within minutes, they had been dispersed back to the duties they had been performing before they began to chase her down. Only one Templar, a full Knight, remained separate from the group, heading deeper into the city, and Clarke felt herself leaving the memory as Altair pursued him.
Purgatory Simulator 2116 (AKA Animus Standby Matrix)
Clarke bnlinked slightly, still unused to leaving memories so abruptly, only having experienced a half dozen or so. On the bright side, she was getting better and better with every sequence, only losing Memory Synchronization twice with the last one. A sentiment her slaves agreed with as their mental avatars approached her, dressed as she was in the armored-robes of the Order, thought of course less elaborate than her own Master-ranked equipment.
"Welcome back, domina." The quartet chorused quietly, bowing respectfully, and she smiled at them warmly, if tiredly, in response. While she, herself, suffered no physical strain or injuries through the Animus, Altair's genetic memories echoed with both, an echo that she felt aching like a phantom touch even now.
"Thank you, girls. Everything still getting passed along properly?" she inquired, and all four nodded together, and she nodded back in satisfaction before sighing deeply in exhaustion, slumping slightly in place. Concerned, the four slaves rushed to her side, but even as they reached her side and stretched forth their hands to sooth her, she vanished once more into a memory, leaving them frowning heavily in displeasure as the world around them warped into the scenery of the sequence, the Arts of the Brotherhood flowing freely into their minds once more. Still, they remained aware enough to be discontented with the obvious strain on their owner from the extended barrage of memories and sensations beyond her normal experiences. It was odd, though, they could tell that for some reason having a cock between her legs didn't feel quite as odd as it should have to their owner. Irregardless, they turned their attention and wrath towards the overwhelming mental presence that was Jupiter.
"You push her far to hard. Even the Sky Princess cannot keep pushing herself so hard for so long." Ailyn rebuked him, seemingly unconcerned that the collossal presence and it's owner's ability to squash her like and ant with a literal thought.
"Perhaps not, but it is necessary regardless. She must be ready to confront what she must, and becoem what is required. There are things that you all must be prepared for, threats that you cannot yet begin to comprehend. She will rest herself only when she dances upon the razor's edge of breaking, and not a moment sooner." He responded emotionlessly, uncaring of their concerns and fears, and all four of them bristled angrily in defense of their domina.
Jupiter turned away, smirking slightly to himself. While the Animus was indeed teaching Clarke and her slaves how to move and fight and craft as their fore-bearers did, but was also subtly changing them, twisting their more subtle thought processes to a more...helpful mindset. Oh, it was nothing sinister per se, just a few tweaks here and there for further strengthen the dominant instincts and commanding aura that Juno had given Clarke, and ensuring that the four slaves would remain loyal and subservient. Clarke, if she ever found out, would no doubt be apoplectic with rage, but by then it would be far too late for her to do anything to reverse the process.
Clarke, meanwhile, was once more locked in battle. This time, however, she was battlign de Sable himself in front of none other than Richard the Lionheart of England and his elite knights, in order to prove that de Sable and his compatriots were indeed the traitors she, or rather Altair, had claimed them to be. The noble, however, was putting up a much greater fight than his various subordinates had throughout her ancestor's campaign of redemption. She had been badly shaken when she realized just how much influence the Templar's possessed, something that had not happened until she had discovered that de Sable was well on his way to personally convincing the Lionheart to team up with his enemy, Salah ad-Din, and wipe out the Brotherhood together. She cursed darkly in Arabic (and didn't that feel bizarre, to speak a language she had never before heard with perfect fluency?) as her opponent managed to land a solid blow on her, drawing first blood with a moderately deep cut on her left thigh.
"You cannot beat me, Assassin. You've spent your life traversing the shadows and stricking down the unawares. I have fought against the greatest knights the Saracens could muster, and emerged victorius time and time again. You are within my area of expertise now. I hold the advantage on this field!" the Templar sneered at her in contempt, and she spat on the ground in response, darting forwards once more. Steel sang and clashed as the battle was rejoined, and the gathered knights and nobles watched with rapt attention as the pair raged back and forth on the Field of Honor for several more minutes, before they locked blades. The more powerfully built de Sable began to exert all of his admittedly superior physical strength against the smaller Assassin, and Clarke gritted her teeth as she felt herself begin to buckle. Twisting her torso, in a move of pure desperation, she threw him off balance and drove and elbow into his face, breaking his nose and staggering him badly. A flourish of her blade later, and bitter steel sank into flesh as she slammed it hilt-deep into his chest.
Against all odds, he lived long enough to shatter Altair's worldview, as he exposed the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins as a high-ranking Templar, and that he had been for many years. Despite the knowledge that his teacher had betrayed both their order and him personally, Altair still managed to make a half-decent attempt at convincing the King to seek peace with Saladin, but the Lionheart could not be swayed. Returning to Masyaf, she had found herself forced to battle and slay the man that he had once respected over all others, looked up to almost like a son looks to his father. The power of the Apple terrified CLarke, and she began to realize just why she had been created. The Templars could never be allowed to lay claim to such a terrible power, or worse yet, Nia. She had no doubt that the cruel Queen would use such artifacts to bathe the world in blood and create an empire built upon the bones of thousands.
"It would be foolish to so easily cast aside such a boon when you could instead make use of it." Jupiter commented when she emerged from the memory and declared that any Apple she came across would be either destroyed or locked away, bar none. "You could walk alone into Mount Weather, end a century of terror and pain in a single instant. You could bring Nia to heel, even end the brutal practicies of Ark and Grounders alike."
"I will change this world for the better, but I will not do it through something so immoral, so depraved. Something like that should never have been created, and I will not allow them to reemerge into the world stage. Especially not in an era of incredible conflict that is guaranteed to see such things misused once again. I will not be swayed on this." Clarke snarled, furious beyond words at what she perceived as a slightly against her morality and judgment, as well as the fact that such an object could exist.
"Naive. Nobel, admirable even, but naive." Juno commented, though she did not show herself. Surprisingly, support for the Isu came from the mouths of Clarke's slaves.
"Domina, while I would never condone anyone besides yourself being entrusted with such a potent object of power, these 'Apples of Eden' can allow you to give us the peace we have fought for 100 years." Samara said softly, and Clarke looked at her sadly.
"It would be a false peace, a peace that would collapse the instant that the Apple ceased its influence on Humanity. Remember, the Apple's control resulted in the humans rebelling against the Isu, lead to a war that almost annihilated both. Would the humans have been more agreeable and willing to serve the Isu without its control? I don't know, but finding out your free will has been stolen without your knowledge is…not something most people will forgive and forget. No, the peace we will one day raise children is a peace that we need to fight for ourselves, or it is meaningless." She explained firmly, thought gently. She had no interest in brainwashing an entire species, especially not her own. Even if there were more than a few people on The Ark that could use a bit of attitude adjustment.
"Would not a false peace be better than endless war?" Daine asked softly, but it was Ailyn that responded in the negative.
"No. My people know this well. Several times in the past, before the Ice Nation brought us into the fold, we allowed rivals to depart in peace after we had beaten them. Each time, they used this false peace to strengthen themselves and learn our weaknesses. False peace does not last long, and they always bring more fire and pain and death than the wars that came before them." Ailyn's voice was dark, no doubt thanks to her recollection of the many atrocities her people had suffered, that she had been taught of as a child.
"So, what then will you do, domina? You are meant to rule this world as Queen, as was foretold, but if you reject the Apples how will you convince the Tribes to set the Old Hatreds aside?" Daja asked, voice very respectful despite her great skepticism, and Clarke grimaced tellingly.
"I will be honest: I don't know for sure. But I know stealing away people's free will and making them mindless drones is not and shall never be acceptable, something those damned Templar's never grasped, for all their good intentions. The Prophecy says I will free Humanity and guide them to true, lasting peace. I can only have faith that the solution will present itself in time." She admitted, thought she kept her voice upbeat. Looking at Jupiter, she raised her eyebrows. "Sending me back in?"
"No, not at this moment. Altair's story, or what of it you needed to see and experience, is now over. When you have rested properly, we will move on to your next ancestor, one who interacted directly with us several times. Ezio Auditore da Firenze, possibly the greatest member of your Order ever to live." The Isu responded, turning away and vanishing as his presence left the Animus, leaving them alone to fade into unconsciousness as they were sent into sleep.
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Diane Sydney was not pleased, indeed she was not. In fact, she was absolutely, downright, overwhelmingly furious. Her attempts at finding out anything specific related to the drop-ship being repaired had failed utterly, not matter whom she or her people talked to. It seemed that whatever Jaha and his faction were up to, they were keeping it on a very strict, utterly need-to-know basis. Even Shumay hadn't been brought in on it yet, despite being 2IC of ArkSec. She could make some damn good guesses, of course, but she was loathe to plan anything without solid intel to base any plots upon. Doing otherwise had the strong potential to be nothing short of disastrous. She knew that whatever it was, it had to be big. Big enough that she could probably use it to get rid of Jaha and the Council much earlier than she had planned for. Given the secrecy they were operating under, it had to be something that the average adult on the Ark was unlikely to approve of, which honestly didn't leave that many options available, given that most people just kept their heads down and didn't ask too many question about what The Council did. So, what did she know? Clarke Griffin was on the ground, and had survived to reach it. Indeed, she was presumed to still be alive. The Council was repairing one of the largest drop-pods available and keeping it far, far quieter than she thought would be possible. Abby Griffin was working on something equally hush-hush, whilst Kane was teaching a bunch of Clarke Griffin's friends in Security things…
Her thought process ground to a halt, and she went back over her information, mouth quirking into a smile, then a full blown grin, and finally loud laughter. She couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it before, it was precisely the kind of thing Pike would suggest and Jaha would reluctantly go along with, so long as there was a proviso that it was done in utter secrecy. Sending the expendable children from the Skybox down to see if the planet was survivable en masse. She was willing to bet Clarke's little fan-club had figured it out (or Reyes overheard the older mechanics talking about their project) and were planning on getting themselves locked up. With this, she could probably engineer a fall from grace for the Head of ArkSec, but she had far bigger fish to fry than Marcus Kane. But how best to fry them?
She wasn't going to do anything rash, that much was certain, and she was definitely not going to tell Shumay. The fool would either turn her or Marcus in to try and curry favor, and she had no inclination of being floated or even imprisoned (Jaha wouldn't dare float her for anything other than the most serious of crimes, like rape or murder. Her supporters would tear him apart) as they could make her plotting difficult at best, impossible at worst. And she would be damned if she didn't regain her rightful place as Chancellor, especially is they were going to repopulate the Earth. Perhaps she could arrange to be snuck onto the drop-ship? Play the sympathetic leader to the children and use them to take control when the rest made landfall? The parents would fall all over themselves to turn on the man who sent their kids to die, and support the woman who had risked her life to help them survive. The only problem, of course, was the chance that she wouldn't survive the ground long enough to take power. On the one hand, 'nothing ventured is nothing gained.' On the other, taking control was just as possible if she remained on the Ark, and her chances of survival were better too. Still, she have to dedicated a significant amount of thought to this, she decided. Both sides had powerful strengths and debilitating weaknesses, and as such it was no small matter, nor one to make a snap decision on.
Her calculating mind continued to tick away as she considered how best to make use of this information, or at least what to do with it right now. Discrete inquiries would have to be made to acquire more detailed information, of course, which should be somewhat easier now that she had some of the pertinent information. Smiling cruelly quite suddenly, she went over to her desk and pulled out the small, yet highly powerful minicomp that she had secreted away during the first year of her Chancellorship. Flipping it open, she powered it on and waited the scant few seconds needed for it to fully come online. A few keystrokes later, and she was inside the Ark's systems, adjusting a couple of schedules with precision and skill to ensure that she had some ten minutes alone in the Control Center, an easy task given how well she knew the ArkSec system thanks to Shumay. Even better, it would look like nothing more than a computer error, a fuck-up, to anyone who noticed it after the fact. Shutting down the minicomp, she returned it to its hiding place and got to her feet to begin a slow, purposeful track to the Control Center.
Entirely unbeknownst to her, someone else had less than legal access to the Ark Systems, and unlike ArkSec she was actively monitoring them for anything of...interest. Something they had started doing months ago, and was now very glad for her foresight and paranoia. But what would someone, whomever had done this, be hoping to gain? It was not her faction that was doing it, she knew, because she was the only one capable. Nor was it Kane, Jaha, or anyone else on the Council, not at this hour. And if it was none of them, she really needed to know what was going on, and that meant sneaking out after curfew. Not that it would be the first time, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be the last. Taking off her headest, Raven Reyes got to her feet and slipped out of her room, the room in which she lived alone ever sicne her parents died last year. She hadn't been moved because the Council 'didn't want to intrude on her grief', but in reality she was close to the age where she would be 'encouraged' to marry, no doubt to dear, dear Finn, and they didn't want to bother moving her more than once. Much easier to move her 'husband' in with her.
Quickly and silently traversing the hallways, she once again slipped into the ventilation duct and took up position next to the grate that overlooked the Control Center, and just in time too. Moments later, the ex-Chancellor sat down at the main console and opened a certain program. One that was known all across the old world for a rather upbeat and musical ringtone that was its hallmark.
"I thought that I would be hearing from you just around now. What the HELL did you people just drop into my back yard, Diane?" a man's voice came from the speakers as his image (though Raven couldn't discern anything beyond basic characteristics thanks to the grate and poor viewing angle she had), and Diane smirked in response.
"Not so much as a hello, Cage? I'm hurt, we haven't chatted in years." Her tone was falsly morose, and Cage snorted in response, waving a hand at her. Growing serious, Diane leaned back and crossed her legs. "Thing have gotten complicated, Cage. Jaha sent a scout down three days ago. A teenaged girl from ArkSec by the name of Clarke."
She paused for a long moment as Raven strained to hear, heart pounding at the mention of the blond.
"I want you to kill her, Cage."
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There you go, chapter nine! Stuff is really going to be getting really interesting now :D
