When they returned to Arkadia, Raven went to check on the power. The batteries were still charging, but the lights were on. Raven went to her workshop. She turned on the lights and looked at everything. After a minute, she began disassembling her workspace. She didn't pay attention to the time. Instead, she focused on gathering what she could take back to Polis. She had no idea how long she'd been sorting things when Ontari entered.
"You missed supper," Ontari said, looking around for a place to put down the plate and mug she carried.
"Sorry," Raven answered and kept working.
"You must eat."
Raven looked at Ontari. "Oh, yeah, sorry." She walked to Ontari and took the plate and mug from her. She looked around as Ontari had, finding no place to put anything else. Raven backed up to the closest wall and slid down it. Ontari sat next to her. Raven ate without talking, her eyes moving between her plate and the piles covering her workshop.
"Do you feel well?" Ontari asked.
"Sorry?"
"You are not acting like you usually do."
"I'm fine. My brain's just trying to do a million things at once."
"I thought," Ontari started, and stopped.
"You thought?" Raven prompted her.
"I thought perhaps I did something," Ontari said uncertainly.
Raven put her plate down and put her hand on Ontari's shoulder. "It's not you," she said and squeezed gently before removing her hand. "You did nothing wrong. I'm just, coming here made me realize how much you guys are relying on me. And Octavia was a jerk. She acts like she's the only one who lost something. I thought she'd be happy. She's where she wants to be, but she's still mad and she doesn't want to hear anything except what she believes."
"Change is hard."
Raven laughed quietly. "You would know."
"As you do." Ontari leaned over and picked up Raven's plate and mug, then stood. She offered her hand and Raven let Ontari help her to her feet. "It is late. You can finish this in my tent, and I will massage your leg."
"That's the best offer I've had today," Raven answered with a smile. She followed Ontari out of the workshop. She closed the door and let Ontari lead her through the quiet camp.
The first thing Raven saw in Ontari's tent was the second cot. While sitting down at the table she asked, "Tired of sleeping on the ground?"
"My guards think it unfitting."
"That you're sleeping on the ground or that you're sleeping on the ground because I'm in your bed."
"Probably both." Ontari filled a mug with water and put more in Raven's. "Finish your food."
"I'm really not hungry."
"You will eat," Ontari insisted.
"Do you bully Clarke like this?"
"When necessary."
It only took a few minutes for Raven to empty the plate. She got up and started to walk to the new cot, but Ontari intercepted her and pointed at the one Raven had been sleeping in. Ten minutes later, Raven was asleep, but Ontari continued to work until she finished.
100 – 100 – 100
Clarke left Murphy to deal with Emori and went below to see how much room they had. She had no idea how much Raven would need to bring, and at a minimum, seven people would be making the trip there. If everything went well, eight would return to Polis.
The tug hadn't been cared for. Everywhere belowdecks was filthy, but there should be enough space for all of them. She hurried back to the deck and fresh air. In the wheelhouse, Murphy and Emori were talking, but the engine drowned out their conversation. Clarke checked on her guards. They looked uncomfortable, and it occurred to Clarke that they probably couldn't swim, not that they'd get far with the weight they carried.
Clarke climbed the ladder and sat on top of the wheelhouse. It was warm and she drowsed, enjoying the break. Do not trust her.
Why? she asked silently, but Lexa didn't answer.
100 – 100 – 100
In the morning, Abby went to the Medbay and started inventorying what remained. Some of the equipment could be portable, but much of it was built into the Ark. There was a surprising amount of small usable items, including all of the medicines. There were other things, too, and Abby began gathering the things she could carry back to Polis.
Ontari and Raven entered the Medbay, and Abby looked up. "Everything OK?"
"Raven is giving me a tour," Ontari volunteered.
"And this is my stop. I'll let Abby explain all her things in here. If you get done before I get back, I'll be searching the storage areas."
"Are you looking for something specific?" Abby asked.
"Jaha had a chip maker. I hope it's still here in one piece."
"It's in my office. I took it to keep him from making more."
"Thanks. I'm still going to look around and see if there's anything useful." Raven smiled at Ontari. "See you later, Commander."
Ontari smiled back and watched her leave before turning her attention to Abby. "What do you need to take from here?"
"I'd like to have everything, but the x-ray machine is portable, so it should be first to go."
"What does that do?"
"It lets me see inside a body. It will show broken bones, tumors, blood clots."
"You can fix those things?"
"Yes."
"You will have it. Anything else?"
"I'll show you what there is and you can decide what's a priority," Abby offered.
Ontari gestured for her to show the way and followed Abby.
100 – 100 – 100
Murphy climbed up to check on Clarke. "Everything good?"
"It's getting late. We need to stop someplace."
"Nah, the radar's working."
"Does it show rocks and shallows?"
"I don't know."
"Tell Emori we're stopping for the night. If there's no place to dock, we'll have to drop an anchor."
"OK." Murphy paused. "She's different," he said.
"Different how?"
"I'm not sure."
"We'll keep an eye on her."
Murphy nodded and returned to the wheelhouse.
An hour later, they tied up at a pier. The guards were nervous, and transmitted it to Clarke and Murphy. They declined to leave the boat and pulled food from their packs. When they set up watches, Clarke and Murphy both volunteered to help.
100 – 100 – 100
Cloud cover made it darker than usual and the gentle slap of water covered a lot of sounds, but not all of them. When Murphy heard voices again, he roused everyone. They were prepared when people jumped onto the deck, screaming.
It wasn't a long fight. The concussed guard remembered his instruction from Clarke and stood in the wheelhouse with his sword at Emori's throat. The others relied too much on the element of surprise, and when they didn't have it, went down quickly.
None of them were badly hurt. Clarke bandaged the worst wounds after the guards restrained all of them, including Emori. Clarke started with her. "You really thought you could take this from us?"
"It's not yours."
"It's not yours, either. I thought we had a deal. You help me, I pay you for your help."
"You won't."
"I will if you keep our deal. Your friends are another matter."
"What are you going to do to them?"
"I don't know yet."
Clarke waited for Emori to say something, and left when she didn't. Murphy went in as soon as Clarke left.
"What the hell was that? Are you trying to get your friends killed? These guards report directly to Heda when we return."
"Heda can do nothing to us."
"Oh fuck," Murphy said. He closed the distance between them and put his fingers on her neck. He groaned when he felt the chip. "Damn it," he said, and went out on deck to Clarke, who was trying to talk to one of their prisoners. "Don't bother talking to them."
"What?"
He jerked his head to the side, and they climbed back on top of the wheelhouse. "What?" Clarke demanded.
"They're chipped."
Clarke closed her eyes and shook her head. "So A.L.I.E. knows we're coming."
"I don't know. But you can't really hold this against them."
"I can, but I won't. Do you think Emori's telling the truth about anything?"
"You see them, Clarke. They're dirty, they're skinny, and they aren't really in control."
"Fine, I'll remove their chips when we get to Polis, but Ontari's going to banish them."
"I'm not sure they'll think that's punishment, but whatever."
"She tells you how to get to the City of Light, or she comes with us."
"Explain it after you get the chip out."