Clarke ignored Jaha's ongoing complaints. "How many of you were there?" she asked while checking his incision.
He didn't answer. "You don't understand what you've done."
"I understand completely. I know exactly how many deaths I'm responsible for. You, on the other hand, have yet to acknowledge that you sent a hundred children, including your own son, down here to die, or that you suffocated 300 more, or the mess you've made by being the pawn of an insane computer program."
"You don't understand," Jaha insisted.
Clarke huffed and rolled her eyes. She left the holding cell, and on the way out told the guards, "You can untie him, but keep an eye on him. He's going back to Polis with me."
In the yard outside the Ark, Clarke stopped the first soldier she saw. "I need to know how many Skaikru you stopped on the way to Farm Station." She stood and waited for an answer.
It took almost an hour before the ranking Azgeda warrior came to her. He had a sheaf of papers in his hand, and she took him to the Medbay to do a head count. Only three Skaikru weren't there. He assured her they would be found.
Clarke had the case containing A.L.I.E. brought to her room. She sat at the desk and wrote out messages for Ontari, Roan, Raven, and Murphy. Clarke handed the messages to the guard outside her door, and settled at the desk with her sketchbook. She wrote down the things Jaha said and described the attempted attack by A.L.I.E.'s acolytes before getting down to the questions that needed immediate answers.
If she destroyed the case, would that destroy A.L.I.E.? What effect would that have on the City of Light? What effect would it have on anyone who still carried a chip? Could A.L.I.E. in a box be near Ontari and Titus? What, if anything, could Raven learn from the box?
Clarke sighed. As always, she had more questions than answers. Jaha had some of them, but he wasn't helping. She turned to the front of her notebook, where she jotted notes from Roan's letter describing the contents of the vials in her pouch. One of them was a truth serum. Giving it to Jaha was an option. Maybe the Azgeda healer could tell her more about it.
Clarke took her satchel along so she could make certain which vial to use. She found the healer taking a break in what had been her mother's office. Clarke thanked her for her help before starting the conversation she came to have.
The healer assured her that the serum had no long term effects. It made the person who ingested it drowsy and lowered their resistance, making them more likely to answer questions truthfully. Since the healer didn't know what was in the Skaikru sedative, she recommended that Clarke wait at least a day before administering it.
That evening, Clarke's guards moved her to a tent. With three Skaikru still at large and knowledgeable about how to sneak around the structure, they didn't want her inside. She didn't mind; the fresher air was a relief after hours of the Ark's air which carried the scent of death.
When she retired, her tent was ringed with Azgeda warriors.
100 – 100 – 100
Ontari was distracted during that evening's chess game. When Raven asked why, Ontari looked at her.
"Right," Raven said. "Clarke's not here."
"Sha," Ontari sighed.
"Are you two hooking up?"
"Hooking up?"
"Sex. Are you having sex or a relationship or what?"
"No. Klark still grieves and Heda Leksa swears they will be reunited soon."
"No offense, but that sounds insane. Wait, Clarke and Lexa?"
"Sha."
"She definitely did not tell me everything."
"Klark holds many secrets."
"That's one way to put it." Raven drummed her fingers on the table for a few seconds, then brightened. "Good news, Commander, two radios are ready. I'm going to send Roger and Fay out of the city tomorrow morning to test how far they can transmit. The preliminary tests had good reception from one side of the city to the other."
"Good," Ontari agreed. "Radios will be helpful, even if they can only be used in the city."
"I'll get better range on them, but Clarke wants me to work on the chips now."
Ontari nodded.
After another minute of silence, Raven said, "I'm gonna read in my room."
"Good night, Ontari answered. She remained at the table, fighting the urge to get a horse and ride to Arkadia.
A messenger entered and handed her a folded and sealed sheet of paper. Ontari opened it, unsure what to expect, and was happy to see it was from Clarke. Her writing was clear and Ontari read the message without difficulty. Clarke was well, and foresaw no problems, and would return as soon as she could.
Ontari took the paper to Clarke's bed, and held it while she fell asleep.
100 – 100 – 100
In the morning, Clarke sent a note to TonDC asking them to keep an eye out for the missing Skaikru. If they caught them, they should be brought to Arkadia if troops remained there, or to Polis. She ate quickly and went to the Medbay. Nearly all of the Skaikru could travel. A few needed to ride in a cart, but the rest could walk. Except for Jaha, they would be free in Polis until Ontari decided what to do. There were still fewer than a hundred of them, but Clarke would make an argument for them to stay together. She decided they should leave as soon as arrangements could be made, and spent the morning working out the logistics with the Azgeda warrior in charge.
Clarke left after lunch with her guards and Thelonious Jaha, who rode bound and gagged in front of one of them. They made good time before they had to stop for the night. Clarke let Jaha walk around with her while the guards made camp. She made it clear that he wouldn't like what happen if he tried to run away or if he yelled to attract attention.
This time, he tried a different approach with her. "I'm sorry, Clarke."
She shrugged.
"I know you had to do a lot of things you wish you didn't. That's part of what it is to be a leader."
"Doesn't make it right," she said.
"No, it doesn't. That's why I was trying to fix everything."
"Killing everyone doesn't fix anything. If you aren't going to tell me about A.L.I.E., don't talk."
"The City of Light," Jaha began.
Clarke turned her head to look at the guard trailing her. "Gag him. Watch him," she instructed, and walked away.
In her tent, Clarke wrote brief messages to Ontari and Raven. She thought for a few moments and wrote a single message to her mother and Marcus reporting that she had Jaha and nearly all of his acolytes unchipped and on their way to Polis. Her final message was to Miller warning him about the oncoming influx of people. Clarke didn't want them staying in a group together, and instructed Miller to rearrange the quarters so that the two groups mixed.
A guard brought her supper. Clarke thanked him, ate her food, and got into her furs. She hoped the messenger would bring her some answers in the morning.
100 – 100 – 100
"Holy shit," Raven said softly after reading Clarke's note. The messenger waited, at her request, and she took a few minutes to dash off an answer. It was an acknowledgment of Clarke's message and a promise to sit and think about what she knew. She handed it to the messenger, and he left her.
While she and Ontari played chess that evening, Raven let her mind sort through everything she learned about A.L.I.E. She wasn't certain whether destroying the case would destroy the A.I. It could contain a copy of the software; it was what Raven would do. There were never too many backups. She tried to recall anything she heard about the physical location of the City of Light and came up blank.
Her distraction kept the game close and Ontari nearly won. Raven went over the game with Ontari, showing where she weakened herself and missed opportunities for successful attacks. After, they lingered at the table, Raven still rummaging through her memories. She glanced at Ontari. "Something bothering you, Commander?"
"Is it safe for Clarke to return?"
"Is there a reason she wouldn't be safe here?"
"Polis is safe. What she brings may not be."
"I'm pretty sure you're immune to any effort A.L.I.E. would make to overtake you. As long as you don't use one of the other chips. I don't think that would work. I think yours would recognize it as an invader and neutralize it."
"Is it safe to have it here?"
"Yeah, as long as she doesn't control anyone, which she doesn't anymore."
"Are you sure?"
"95 percent on all counts."
Ontari nodded. She looked through the messages on the table again, hoping one from Clarke would have appeared. A messenger entered and handed her a message. Ontari was thrilled to hear from Clarke, and happier still at the news that she was on her way back to Polis.