Chapter 29: Freedom?
Summary:
They're freed from the bunkers, some are freed from detention, and some others are freed from pain.
Clarke tells Roan about the previous life and they get even closer.
Notes:
WARNING: CHARACTER DEATHS, note the plural; some are sad, some not so much but if your're a softy have a tissue handy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Wells passed on the news to the ARC that Clarke had married Roan. As expected it was not well received by Abby who could not understand why they didn't wait until she had been able to be there to approve and witness. Abby asked if Clarke was pregnant.
"I don't think so" Wells replied. "She was certainly glowing through the ceremony but I think she would have told me if she were. They will make the most beautiful children one day; that is sure."
"Children" Abby said in wonder. "Not child, singular; but children, plural."
"Hmm, yeah. I can't see them limiting themselves to just one. They may want to wait until everyone is settled in their new homes, Clarke will still be only 23 then so they could do that but since Roan is a little older I don't know. I promise to be in touch as soon as I hear anything, just know that Clarke is very happy and that Roan is a great guy who totally adores her."
Wells didn't know that Abby was concerned that her baby girl was being controlled by an older man. Clarke, in Abby's very out of date view, was very naïve and not at all worldly so some smooth talking older man could easily prey on her good nature. Clarke was an important person in Mt Orlan, being joint leader despite her youth, and she could well be being taken advantage of by someone who had nothing to offer but charm. If only Wells had mentioned that the joking at the karaoke with Clarke's song was because Roan was an actual king, and Clarke therefore a Queen she may have been a bit happier.
Routh got an idea for how the Azgedans in detention could kill themselves from a piece of acting that was shown on the screen. The actors called it a Mexican Standoff. Of-course on the screen the actors used guns to carry out the deed but they would have to use each other since the Skaikru has made sure that they had nothing they could use for weapons.
Routh persuaded Bellamy that all the machines letting them talk to outside their rooms should be left switched on so that they could all talk to each other even though it wasn't always very clear. Mistake. Talking in azgedesleng Routh informed the rest of the inmates of his plan and how they should carry it out.
"No" Jass insisted. "We should do as Wanheda insists and accept our punishment with dignity. If we wanted to kill ourselves we should have done it before we carried out the crime or remained outside the mountain and died in praimfaya."
"We should have taken the mountain for ourselves and forced them to live by our ways" Routh insisted.
"We tried to take the mountain by force and they beat us" Yorke reminded Routh. "The Queen sent 200 of us and they took the lot of us and when we had that fight, they beat us at sword play, too. We would never win. We should have taken the opportunity that we were offered and learned to live their way, at least until we would have been able to leave and either re-join the coalition or find a place of our own because I know Wanheda would have helped us. Now we don't know what will happen. Azgeda will end because of the late Queen, and you" Yorke was bitter.
"You insolent dog!" Routh was now angry. "I am your King and you speak to me with respect and you do as I say!"
"No, Roan is my King" Yorke persisted; "and if I have the chance to speak with him again I promise it will be with respect and I shall do exactly what he says."
"That freak is not fit to be anyone's King" Routh spat.
"At least he will be able to produce an heir" Jass retorted. "Forget your plans, Routh, for they will only end badly for you."
"No, we shall do as I have said. We shall have our last meal, pitiful as it is, then we shall pray and then kill each other. That is an order, from your Prince, if not your King."
Jass was right: it did end badly for Routh. Of the seven that tried to carry out the mass suicide of breaking each other's neck, two were successfully dead; four were sore and had torn muscles but would heal; and one, Routh, was paralysed from the neck down. To Routh it was worse than being dead.
The Court reviewed the surveillance recordings and using Roan to translate heard everything said and saw everything done. They agreed to wait for five days then reconvene to determine any sentencing when they would know the full impact of the action on all the others.
Clarke and Roan were lying in bed and talking about Routh.
"What do you want to do, Clarke?" Roan asked.
"I hope you can forgive me for thinking this, but I want him to live long and suffer. I think death is the easy option and I don't want him to get the out that he was looking for. What do you think?"
"Like you I don't want him to get the out that he was looking for, but I don't want the rest of us to have to pay to keep him alive when there is nothing for anyone at the end of it. As soon as they are left alone, he will die because no one except Skaikru of Mt Orlan would look after him. Keeping him alive until then merely prolongs his pain and takes the burden of ending his life from us. I want him to learn and grow the way Jass and Yorke have, but I don't believe he can" Roan was honest.
Raven, having given up the fight against her feelings, and Luna were lying in bed talking about Routh, too.
"I want to give him the same pain he gave Emori" Raven was bloodthirsty. "We should have done it before this so he could feel exactly what Emori felt."
"Raven, my fierce niron. He would have never felt the same pain that Emori felt, but I think he will feel it now, the helplessness, the inability to escape, knowing that it is in the hands of others. That is his punishment.
When the Court Council reconvened, together with Emori as the victim, all the opinions and thoughts were discussed. It was Emori who asked if she could have a couple of days to be Routh's carer. She wanted him to understand exactly what it felt like to be completely in the power of someone else, she wanted to know if he could understand and empathise.
Luna said that she thought that it would be cruel to both Routh and Emori because he was already in the power of his carers and he was displaying no sense of empathy, just hate towards both Emori and Roan; and bitterness towards everyone. "My strong recommendation is that he is put out of his misery, now."
"It is part of our ethos that we can end the suffering of those who are not going to recover if that is what they want" Bellamy sighed.
"Emori, you're the victim, I'll go with what you want" Clarke said.
"Then put him out of his misery. If he has no chance to improve, either physically or mentally then there is no point in allowing him to continue to use resources" Emori said. "I don't think that him living or dying will affect my recovery one way or another."
Clarke looked to Roan and silently asked him. "Emori is right, we offer him the freedom from his misery now" Roan declared.
Bellamy looked at everyone and said "Okay, that is the proposition, that we put Routh out of his misery now, anyone opposed?"
There was no opposition. "Very well, I'll go and tell him. Clarke, how do you want us to do this?"
"I'll talk to him while I cut his femoral and brachial arteries. He won't feel a thing and will just fall asleep and bleed out" Clarke said, sad but also relieved that the decision was made and it would be one less problem for later.
"I know you wanted him to live long and suffer, but it was the right thing to do" Roan told Clarke after the Azgedans had said their final prayers over Routh, and his body was cremated.
"I know. I think that more than anything I just wanted him to show some remorse: but he was never going to was he?" Clarke said.
"No, Niron, he wasn't. You're right about Jass and Yorke, though. There is hope for them. Perhaps I should go and spend some time with them, help them work through some of your control and balance exercises. Since they are on half rations it would be impossible for them to train properly" Roan suggested.
"You are a very good King, Roan, and an even better person. Your people deserve you even less than I do" Clarke sighed.
"Why would you say that? You deserve only the best and I and I am certainly not that" Roan was puzzled; and then it came to him. "Is this about what happened before? Perhaps now is the time for you to tell me all about the past time you were here. Bellamy said we met when I kidnapped you."
Clarke smiled in fond memory for a moment and then realised that she should tell her tale from the beginning. "Much of the beginning is the same as the current life: I was a naïve 16 year old living in the best station in the Arc, training to be a doctor. One night I was woken up by an argument between my parents. Dad had discovered a problem that he wanted to tell everyone about, mom did not. The Arc was dying and there was nothing that could be done. I was on dad's side thinking everyone had the right to know what was happening. Dad decided to make a video to release to everyone. Mom went to her and dad's best friend to try to get him to stop dad. Unfortunately, mom wasn't speaking to their friend, Theo; she was speaking to the Chancellor. The Chancellor decided that dad should be floated for Treason and I should be locked up in solitary confinement.
"I don't know who had the idea to send the juvenile delinquents to earth before. But 100 of us were removed from our cells and forced onto a drop ship and sent to earth as test subjects. Bellamy, who wanted to get on to the ship to be with his sister, shot the Chancellor to sneak on board in the ensuing mayhem. He didn't know that everyone would die if they didn't come down and he did everything he could to make sure they didn't because he knew he would be executed. One of the things he did resulted in the death of 320 people on the Arc and a lot of people in one of Trikru's villages, I don't know how many. It led to a war with Trikru. With Raven and Jasper's help we blew up a bridge to delay their attack on us, killing some of them. When they attacked properly, once again with Jasper and Raven's help I set off a ring of fire killing all 300 except Anya who was taken with 50 of us into Mt Weather. Anya was put into the harvest cages and we were mixed with the inhabitants. Once I realised something was wrong with the place I managed to escape with Anya. Anya was killed by Arkadia guards and I was shot. The Arc had come down while we were in Mt Weather.
"Other things happened, including Lincoln becoming a reaper and being cured, me killing Finn after he went on a killing rampage followed by an alliance with the coalition to take the mountain. Bellamy got into the mountain with Lincoln's help and with Maya's help once inside took out the acid fog so that an attack could be carried out. Before that happened, the mountain sent a missile to TonDC because that was where the Commander was at the time. Bellamy was able to get word to me about it and I rushed to warn the Commander so that TonDC could be evacuated. Lexa said that we had to let the missile fall so that the mountain people wouldn't know about Bellamy. Over 200 were killed. My mom and Octavia were amongst those who didn't die but neither of them ever forgave me for letting the missile fall.
"When we got to the mountain with the largest army ever amassed since the bombs, the mountain people made a deal with the Commander. They let all of the coalition people go but kept mine. They discovered that if they used the bone marrow of my people they could go outside. Of course they didn't just take the marrow for two people and use a pain killer like I do when take it from the volunteers, they forcibly took doses by drilling into their bones until they were dead. I think that my people hated the Commander for that betrayal. Anyway, we, meaning Octavia, Lincoln and myself, managed to get in and thanks to my previous knowledge from the time there we eventually got to the control room and with the help of Monty and Bellamy I irradiated the whole complex, killing everyone inside who was not Skaikru, including Maya and her family who had helped protect us. I became known as Wanheda.
"I hated what I had become and couldn't be with my people, for many reasons, so I wandered for a while. There was a price on my head. Everyone wanted the power of Wanheda. You had been banished, I don't know what for, but I think it had something to do with the kidnapping, torture and death of Costia. I don't think you had any direct involvement in it, but I don't know: you should ask Echo, she would know. The Commander said she would lift your banishment if you found me and took me to her. You did, seriously injuring Bellamy, by the way; and because the Queen mounted an attack on the Commander Lexa went back on her word to you.
"Nia challenged the Commander and said you would fight for her. I don't think you were overly enamoured with the idea of your mother having control through Ontari so you didn't really fight that well and the Commander beat you, but instead of killing you she killed Nia and pronounced you King. You and I became sort of friends. The Commander and I became lovers. When Titus realised how close I was to the Commander he tried to kill me with a gun but instead killed the Commander. Ontari killed all the black blood children in their sleep so if you hadn't warned the Commander about that possibility I would have done so. Ontari couldn't ascend because Titus, realising his error, gave me the flame to protect on the Commander's death.
"While all that was going on, Arkadia had an election and Pike became Chancellor. He was from Farm Station that landed in Azgeda and I'm sure you can guess what happened to most of the people. The children playing in the snow were killed as were some of the adults who tried to protect them. Other adults were taken as slaves and a few made their way to Arkadia and wanted all people of all clans dead. Azgeda, before you took the throne, wanted Arkadia dead. We were taking things from the mountain to help Skaikru get through winter and maybe beyond, but Nia forged an alliance with the one surviving mountain man and with Echo's help blew up the mountain killing many of our people including Bellamy's girlfriend. The Commander sent an army of 300 to help protect Arkadia but Pike and all his followers, including Bellamy, didn't believe they were really there to protect Arkadia and gunned them down while they were sleeping.
"It would have been outright war then but for the City of Light. It was another of Becca's bright ideas. If everyone took a first edition of the flame, anyone could swallow these chips instead of having them inserted into the neck of a black blood, their minds would be uploaded into some super computer and they wouldn't have to feel the suffering of their body. They didn't know that they were then controlled by the computer programme in charge of this little debacle; we called it ALIE, an artificial intelligence that took the visual likeness of its creator Becca and was actually the one to launch all the bombs in the first place. You and I, and others forged a bond as we tried to fight against the City of Light. Raven was the one to help the most. She had taken one of the chips to try to escape the pain from being shot and was able to find a way to free her mind long enough to tell us how to kill the chip in her, the only one to do so, and once the chip in her was out was able to tell us how to shut it down completely. Basically I had to take the flame and one of the chips and go into the City and find the kill switch, guided by Raven and aided by Lexa as she helped me fight to the switch. ALIE tried to persuade me not to kill it by telling me about the mega reactors failing and the death wave. She said that the City of Light was the only way to save the human conscious. I killed it anyway."
At that Roan snorted "of-course you did, Niron. You are completely opposed to people living and being controlled."
"They weren't really living. My mom tortured me and tried to hang herself to get me to give in. You were shot for your troubles, too and barely survived. Actually it was my mom who saved you. With no Commander and Luna being the only known black blood and she refused to take the flame, you took control of the coalition as we tried to find a way to get through the death wave. We tried black blood but mom destroyed the testing chamber before we could fully test it. Then we found the Polis bunker. No one could decide how to share the bunker. I wanted to take the flame so that I could insist that we all have 100 spots for each clan but you wouldn't let me because you knew I became a black blood through science rather than birth. A conclave was held to decide which clan would get control on the bunker. Octavia fought for Skaikru, you for Azgeda and Luna who said no one should get it, all her people had already died through radiation poisoning. Luna killed you. Octavia killed Luna.
"I knew that if Luna won, which is what I thought was likely, then no one would live so I took over the bunker while the conclave was going on: another thing that Octavia never forgave me for. Octavia won and declared that it would be shared by all clans, 100 spots each. Ironic that it was what I wanted to do. A few of us went to get Raven to go in the bunker but we ran out of time. There was a rocket that could take some people to the remnants of the Arc so Raven ordered a load of us about as we got it ready. I had to go to a tower to switch on the power but instead of being at the bottom of the tower, the switch was at the top and there was no way I would be able to get back in time to go with them. So I climbed the tower and Raven, Bellamy, Monty, Harper, Echo, Emori and Murphy set off in the rocket.
"Unfortunately I didn't get the power switched on in time, Raven said another 30 seconds, a minute at the most, would have been enough. When I got back down the tower and ran to the lab I fell and broke my helmet so received a massive dose of radiation. I might have pulled through but I was too ill to help myself so I think I died of dehydration. I was alive for about a week without food, water or treatment. The Polis tower collapsed and broke the seal on the bunker so everyone in there died, or at least Octavia thinks everyone did. She said she couldn't see how anyone would have survived. And that's it. Everyone dead" Clarke finished.
"You said you and the Commander became lovers, did you and I ever do so?" Roan asked.
"Typical, that that's what you are interested in" Clarke snorted. "No, we didn't. I had a sort of calf love for Finn and ended up having to kill him. I had a brief fling with someone called Niylah. I then had a sort of admiration love for Lexa and she died in my arms because of me so after that, I wasn't getting involved with anyone. No doubt I would have gotten over that if there was time, but there wasn't. Lexa and I wouldn't have lasted any more than Finn and I did because neither of them were equal loves, and by that I don't mean rank, I mean the love wasn't equal, or rather they didn't work together. The love I have for you is matched by the love I feel from you. I'm not saying they are exactly the same, but they complement, blend, and strengthen each other."
"You are correct, the love I feel from you for me only strengthens the love I feel for you. I'm sorry that I didn't support you in taking command before" Roan said.
"You couldn't. I would have allowed Azgeda only 100 places in the bunker and you hoped to get over 1,000. So you don't hate me for all the deaths I was responsible for in the past life?" Clarke was a little hesitant.
"No. Just as I tried to do my best by Azgeda, you tried to do your best by your people. I'm glad we are one people and we don't have to pick opposing sides in this life. So you have no more previous knowledge to help us get through what will happen when the doors are opened?" Roan asked.
"Nope, none. We do have the advantage of the technology to help us but that's it. I think the Commander is going to have the hardest job because she will have to control all of her people and try to find somewhere for them all to live and work and Luna didn't think that patch of green in Shallow Valley would support them all so we will have to help them out for a while. The farm in the Polis bunker was designed to work for five years: it is possible that it may be able to produce for a while longer if some people wanted or needed to stay in Polis, but I think that we may have to grow a bit and it will be hard to make sure that we only have people who are willing to live by our ethos: I don't want another battle like we had with Routh, it's not fair to anyone" Clarke was sad.
"Perhaps those already here might want to stay" Roan consoled, "and I think without Routh to wind up the others, there would have been fewer problems from the Azgedans."
"Yeah, maybe, but we're not keeping Titus" Clarke affirmed to Roan's amusement.
Clarke was pondering something she should have given thought to previously. Octavia had asked for her implant to be renewed, as did a lot of other women, but Clarke never thought about it for herself. It wasn't until Marta came to see her because she thought she was pregnant that Clarke really began to think about the possibility of her and Roan having a child.
"How would you feel about us having a baby?" Clarke asked Roan while she was sketching an outline of an idea for their village layout.
"Only one?" Roan mused, "I think I'm a bit more ambitious than that. I would prefer four."
"How about we start off with one?" Clarke asked.
"That would be fine. Why are you …?" and Roan trailed off as it seemed to click as to what Clarke was trying to tell him. "You're pregnant?"
"I think so" Clarke said. "I need to do a test to be sure, which I'll do today when I get to the med bay, but I really think so."
"That is, that would be, that, I mean I would be very happy if you are pregnant, but if you are not, I would be very happy to try to make you pregnant. Very happy" Roan was finally able to say.
"Excellent, do you want to come with me after breakfast so you see the result of the test as soon as I do?" Clarke asked, knowing the answer.
After a very quick breakfast to which neither of them paid much attention, Clarke and Roan made their way to the med bay. Clarke took one of the pregnancy testing strips and showed Roan the colour guide for him to study as she went to pee on the strip.
The strip that Clarke peed on was getting darker: it had passed the 'six weeks' mark and after five minutes they both agreed it had settled very close to the '12 weeks' mark. Knowing that Roan would get a big kick out of it, Clarke locked the door and got out the ultrasound. Although it was difficult to use the wand, hold Roan's hand and control her tears as she looked at the monitor and her husband's face, Clarke managed to see, hear and feel everything as their baby was shown on the screen.
"Definitely only the one to start off with" Clarke smiled as she cried.
"I hadn't even noticed that you are getting fat!" Roan laughed. "You are going to be adorably ravishing when you're bigger. I can't believe I'm seeing our baby. Is he well?"
Clarke laughed as she reached over to press some buttons on the machine. "Are you sure it's a boy, it could be a girl, you know? But he or she seems to be fine. There are no apparent problems for an 11 week foetus. We can get more information at 16 to 20 weeks. Can we try to not tell anyone yet? I don't think we'll be able to last as long as the 20 week scan, which would be ideal, but I think I want it to be our little secret for a while. Marta will announce her pregnancy soon and I don't want to upstage her. Do you mind?"
"On one condition, that we have more children than Bellamy does" Roan agreed.
"But he has two wives to carry them, is this your roundabout way of saying you want to take a number two?"
"No my love; you are more than enough for me. Besides, I might lose out if you found the number two to be too attractive!" he laughed knowing that his wife was bisexual.
Clarke smiled and raised her hand to wipe at the tears on her husband's face "I don't want to share me or you with anyone else. Thank you for our baby."
It wasn't long before Clarke's libido was raised a notch or two, or three, so it was a good job that Roan thought the swell of her stomach was adorably ravishing. (And he wondered how Bellamy had the energy to satisfy two wives when one of them was pregnant!)
Roan was correct that the baby was a son – Jacob. Jacob arrived five weeks before Marta's baby daughter, Morwen; and 11 weeks before Emori and Murphy's son, Otan. Naturally Clarke and Roan insisted that their son was the most gorgeous baby ever and that although the other babies were very cute, they just didn't quite match up to Jacob!
It was nearly five years after the death wave and Raven was sure that the atmospheric radiation levels were safe, but it was possible that there were pockets where the radiation was higher so Clarke and Octavia went out and spent a day hiking around the mountain carrying Geiger counters sending data back to Raven to analyse. There were some slight fluctuations, but nothing significant. The next day Clarke, Octavia, Raven and Luna went to Polis to plan the removal of the rubble from the bunker entrance. While Raven was carrying out measurements, and doing calculations, assisted by Luna; Clarke and Octavia wandered around to look for any buildings that they thought could be lived in and checking the radiation levels.
It appeared that the buildings had somehow absorbed some of the radiation so they were unsafe to spend too much time in. If anyone stayed in Polis, they would have to live in the bunker, even though they would be able to spend some time outside. Clarke didn't know how anyone would take to that. They set up water catchers so that they could test the rain fall for drinkability in various places.
Raven decided that the easiest way to clear the debris was to blow it all up and then use the digger to clear away the mess. As long as they didn't blow an actual hole through to the bunker it wouldn't matter if they caused a small leak now. Raven was sure that it would just take a number of relatively small bombs to destroy the bigger pieces of rubble.
The Commander was informed of the plan and of the housing problem. She said that the first priority was to allow people to feel the fresh air as long as it was safe, and then they would consider where to live. They could survive off the produce of the farm for a while longer. Having spoken with Aiden, the Commander was firmly of the view that it was more important to get her people out of Areasi so they should be the first people to move to Shallow Valley. Clarke had heard about the tensions between the various factions there and had to agree.
The area around the TonDC WH bunker had the same problems as Polis so it was agreed that everyone who was there who wished to, could remove to Mt Orlan once it was agreed to open the doors. The area around CD had no issues and the Commander said that she would instruct her people to stay there, provided they were able to obtain food and water, for a while longer.
Bellamy insisted on being the one to drive the digger to Polis. Clarke thought that he would regret it since it didn't go as fast as the rovers so it took two days to get there. Octavia whooped it up riding one of the motorbikes around Bellamy in the digger while Raven, Luna, Derek, Luna's three surviving Floukru children and Madi travelled sedately in one of the rovers. Aurora and Beppi also travelled sedately in a truck packed with camping gear and the bomb making equipment and materials.
It took three days to clear all the debris from the entrance to the bunker. Wick took another couple of hours to remove the secondary seal and repair the staircase. The Commander led the exodus to the desolated ground.
Even though everyone had been told what to expect on the surface, no one could quite believe what they were seeing. The city was completely destroyed; there was nothing that could be used to make fires, nothing that could be used to grow food, and nothing that could be used to quench thirst.
"We've collected rain samples and we need to test them" Luna said as she watched Octavia and Raven hug and dance around Costia and Maya, and only then greet the other Skaikru. "You can stay outside and explore, check all the buildings for any supplies, but you must return to the bunker for each meal and to sleep. Some of the buildings have retained too much radiation for people to spend too long in them. There is nothing other than the patch of green in Shallow Valley; no trees, no villages, no streams, no lakes, no plants, nothing. Once we've tested the rain water a few times, you can then know more for planning. Clarke has collected water from sites around Mt Orlan and so far they are good, but she wants to carry out tests on two more rain falls before she will assume that we can use the rain water for anything. With that in mind, is there anything you would wish us to do before we leave to begin testing around Areasi?"
"Luna, my friend, I thank you so much for your help and support and that of all of Skaikru. My people could not have survived without their knowledge. For now, it will be enough that we can spend some time out breathing the fresh air. We can all stay here while Skaikru carry out all their tests so that decisions are made with all the information. Please introduce, or reintroduce me to everyone" the Commander required.
Luna called all of the Mt Orlan people together so that they may properly be presented to the Commander. "Aurora and Beppi were amongst the first of Skaikru to come to the ground. You know Bellamy and Octavia, Aurora's elder children, Bellamy has been blessed with two daughters from the Delfikru twins: you will remember Octavia's chosen, Lincoln, who is not here since Clarke suggested only night bloods should be outside full time until all tests have been carried out; and we have Aurora's youngest child, Madi. These are the youngest of my former clan, Raquel, Bennet, and Aba saved by a transfusion of nightblood marrow plus my son Derek who also decided to accompanied us; and finally, you also know my chosen, Raven who carefully calculated the correct amount of explosives to use so as not to risk damage to the bunker but to make as much noise as possible. I believe she encouraged the children to enjoy watching everything blow up."
"Welcome to Polis. On behalf of all the people trapped, I thank you for all your hard work to free us from the bunker" the Commander spoke.
"You're welcome, Commander" Aurora replied. "Would you mind if we mingled with the others and introduced the youngsters that they might not know? I promise that we won't go far."
They were all waved away except for Luna who shouted at her four youngsters to stay with Aurora and Beppi.
"It's going to be even harder than we imagined, isn't it?" the Commander asked Luna.
"Yeah, unless you have managed to merge all your different people into one crew, and can make the magic happen to the others, yes. Even with all the preparations and preserves we were able to make there is not enough land to feed us all yet. It is a good job that we followed Clarke's advice and kept some animals instead of filling all the bunkers with people. You will have to learn to farm the Skaikru way. Select some people who took to the farm work in the bunker to learn how to grow with little land and all through the year and hope that Skaikru will be willing to build you a farm" Luna replied. "Actually, I know that they would be willing to build you one because they will see it as a need, but I also know you will want to offer something in exchange. I will consider what they might think of as valuable but you would have no difficulty in supplying. I'm sorry, Lexa, I know that you didn't really think it would be as bad as it is; I know that no one really accepted how bad it would be so it will be very difficult for you keep your people hopeful. Liaise with Clarke; she will be able to advise you, better than Titus will be able to. I'm glad you have Costia to support and comfort you, but you also need friends, I've come to find that they are very good to have."
The Commander looked at her people, her thin, weak but still alive people as they enjoyed their time climbing over the ruins of Polis and feeling the late sun the and breeze. Yes, it would be hard, but they would enjoy their taste of freedom before they had to knuckle down to work so they could enjoy their life of freedom.
The people from the WH bunker in TonDC were all happy to relocate to Mt Orlan, especially once they saw what had happened to their world. Even though sleeping accommodation in the mountain was a little cramped, (it was decided not to set up homes outside until it was decided exactly where their village, their woodland, corral, animal pens and likely water source would be) but people didn't seem to mind cramped sleeping quarters when they were able to spend their day outside. The people at the CD bunker were content to accept that they should remain in that area for the time being and just enjoy the freedom of being able to go outside.
Raven, Luna, Derek and Luna's other three charges drove down to Areasi in one of the trucks to test all the ambient radiation so that they could open the bunker as soon as it was confirmed that there were no hot spots in the vicinity. The hardest part of that release was removing the rover from the lift carriage since it had long since lost its charge. The Arkers as well as original Areasis' knew how to collect and test the rainwater before risking being outside in it and were grateful for the chance to be free, the hope to escape the constant belittling of others.
Don Schmidt and Wells took Luna for a walk and private talk. Wells said that he had already told Bellamy that he wanted to move to Mt Orlan, but that it wouldn't happen until his dad was in no position to stop it. Don said that he and all his surviving people wanted to move too and leave it to the Arkers, but not until they had removed all weapons from this place. The only people they had talked to about it were Aiden, Sinclair and Jackson, all of whom supported them.
"Sinclair is hoping to gain Raven's help in transferring all the weapon codes onto one machine that can then be taken to Mt Orlan and kept in case needed, but without raising the suspicions of the Arkers" Wells said.
Luna asked if she could use the radio to talk to Clarke and Bellamy.
"We don't want anyone here to know" Don reminded Luna.
"Do any of the coalition people, other than Aiden go into the radio room?" Luna asked. On receiving two negative shakes of the head she asked "Do any of the Arkers speak trig?" Once again she was in receipt of two negative shakes of the head. "Any problems?"
This time the shakes were accompanied by smiles.
Luna used the radio to talk to Clarke and Bellamy about the wishes of the people of Areasi. Both Clarke and Bellamy agreed that they would be happy to take them. The accommodations and farm, together with the fish, chickens and rabbits could stay. The larger animals would either all go with Aiden to the coalition or live with the animals of Mt Orlan. The only issue was the frozen sperm. Clarke suggested that Raven or Sinclair be asked if they could rig up something to make sure that they would stay frozen long enough to be transported to the mountain and to ask Raven if she would need Monty to visit to assist with the computer work. Luna knew that asking Raven if she would need someone's help was not likely to lead to a grateful acceptance until she had worked herself almost to the death to prove that she didn't need anyone's help. Bellamy then suggested that Wells be taught how to drive so that he could drive to Mt Orlan with some of the things they wanted removed before anyone noticed they were missing, like the guns. It could be talked of as just a visit since Sinclair and Jackson, if not Raven too, would be staying for a while longer.
The plan worked like a charm. Wells arrived with a rover loaded with firearms and more of his personal belongings. Luna and the children did leave Raven behind, but left with the promise that if Raven thought it would be better if Monty was there Wells would be allowed to bring him on his return.
The Commander asked if Titus could be brought to Polis; if Costia could stay at Mt Orlan for a while to learn more about Skaikru cutting of people and if she could be taken to Areasi with a convoy of her people to assist with the preparations to move to Eden, which is what she had decided to call the patch to fertile land. Since so many of her people perished in Areasi, they should be able to support some more for a little while, the Commander assumed.
Clarke got in touch with Areasi and it was agreed that a convoy would leave taking a total of 30 people to Areasi shortly. The first step, though, was the return of Titus to Polis which came a day too late for the people of Mt Orlan.
Many people were enjoying their time outside, doing nothing but running, shouting, laughing and breathing. That all came to a halt when Ben Rhodes suddenly fell to the ground and began seizing. Many of Ben's companions had seen him seize before and all knew what they had to do. Charlotte ran to him to make sure he didn't harm himself, shouting at one of the other boys to go and get Clarke, but she was grabbed by Titus.
"No" Titus intoned; "you must not go to him. He could harm you."
"He won't" Charlotte shouted; "I know what to do to keep him safe. Clarke taught us all what to do if he had a seizure" she insisted.
But Titus held on. "No, he is probably sick with something that he could pass to you or others and no one should go near him" he shouted the latter point making some wonder if it was a strange radiation mutated disease.
"No it isn't" Charlotte was starting to get upset as she could see Ben banging his head, something that Clarke had told them they had to prevent. "He has epilepsy, this just means that he needs his medications increased."
"Then he should be allowed to die" Titus was serious.
Clarke came running to see a crowd round an unconscious Ben: no one making sure he didn't harm himself. She was about to berate Charlotte who knew what to do when she saw that Charlotte was being held back by Titus. She would deal with him later: Ben was her priority.
With Miller's help, Clarke took Ben to medical where she ran all the tests she could once she saw that one of his pupils was unreactive to light.
Clarke told Philip to talk to Ben while she looked at all the test results and discussed them with Jackson.
Clarke didn't need to look at the results again, but she did want to talk to Jackson to confirm her diagnosis. She called Bellamy so that he could hear the confirmation from Jackson and be with her when she told Rhodes.
"I'm sorry, I really am but there is nothing I, or anyone, can do for Ben to make him wake up" Clarke was almost crying as she spoke to Philip. "We can keep him breathing, his heart beating, but we cannot stop the bleeding in his brain, nor the seizures he's having even though we can't see it while he is sedated and each seizure makes his brain bleed that little bit more, and cause that little bit more damage. I know it is of little help, but I promise that he is no pain. I wish I could do more for him."
Philip Rhodes held the lifeless hand of his beautiful little boy and asked "If you don't turn off life support, how long before he dies, and how long if you do?"
"If we do turn off the life support it will be minutes, probably between two and five since the brain bleed is in the area that controls natural life support; if we keep him on life support, with the expected rate of brain deterioration, he will be brain dead within two days. I cannot tell when his organs will begin to shut down, but probably within a month or two. Eventually his heart will give out, and we might be able to resuscitate him but it will happen with increased frequency until such a time as we are unable to restart his heart" Clarke explained knowing that there was no point in pretending things were other than they were.
"Can you give me an hour with him and then send down his friends to come and say their goodbyes to him?" Philip asked.
That was what they did. After everyone who wished had come to say a few words to their friend, colleague, or classmate, Philip spent a little more time with him before the life support was switched off. It took three minutes and nine seconds for his heart to stop beating – Clarke counted.
Titus was arrested for being an accessory to the death of Ben Rhodes. He was placed in detention pending a court hearing. The trip to Polis was delayed.
As requested by Philip, Ben was buried by the remains of the drop ship. The service was shown on the screens in Mt Orlan because they could not transport everyone who wished to attend.
Titus watched with perplexed amazement that the death of a defective child of a defective father could have such a profound effect on these people. He was even more amazed when Lincoln spoke about how much he would miss Ben because of how very good he was with the horses. "I have never come across anyone who had such a natural and profound affinity with horses as Ben; he was born to work with horses. Ben had no fear of them, and they had none of him. Ben loved them and they loved him. His presence will be sorely missed by the humans and the animals in the stables."
Philip spoke about proud Ben was when Bellamy gave him his first job the very day they landed on earth and how since that day everyone, particularly Bellamy, Clarke, his best friend Charlotte and, more recently, Lincoln, made sure that Ben knew he was loved and valued by more than just his parents and Philip would never be able to thank them enough for that sense of belonging that Ben had on earth but never on the Arc.
As the final shovel of dirt was placed over the grave they recited the Traveller's Blessing, holding extra poignancy over the phrase 'final journey to the ground'.
The next morning Philip Rhodes's body was found. Without Ben he no longer had the strength to continue to live in pain. His note expressed his sorrow to Clarke and Bellamy for leaving them another worker short and for the extra work of his funeral, but he asked if he could be buried next to Ben. He ended by thanking them for everything they had done for his family and stated his surety that the people of Mt Orlan would only prosper under their thoughtful and inspiring leadership.
The Court decided, after hearing from Clarke that it was impossible to tell exactly when the blow that caused the brain bleed happened, and that it could even have happened as he fell to the ground before anyone could have reached him, that they could not find Titus guilty of being an accessory to Ben's death. They did agree that his complete and blatant disregard for Ben's welfare meant that they felt the four days in detention on half rations was completely justified (the trip to Polis had to be delayed again to allow for Philip's funeral).
The Commander informed Titus that she was leaving him to chair the Council of clan leaders that she had set up to oversee things in her absence while she was helping Aiden to lead her people in Areasi to Eden and planning how to proceed. His main role, she assured him, was to just make sure everything continued as it had been since they were released from the bunker.
Once they were on their way to Mt Orlan, both the Commander and Costia expressed their deep sympathy at the loss of both Ben and Philip Rhodes. Bellamy almost teared up as he thanked them. "Ben had wormed his way into many people's hearts with his kind and loving nature, and the horses really do miss him. I think Philip taught many that having a disability did not mean that you were completely unable. I know Roan may not have recovered as quickly or as well as he did if it wasn't for Philip. Roan much admired him, as did all of us who fully appreciated how much he lived in pain, all for the love of his son. Both of them, for different reasons, were an inspiration. The only comfort we have is that they are together and free from endless pain."
The Commander nodded her agreement and asked about the others who lived at the mountain who had been shunned by her people.
"Well you know about Roan and my wives; all three have thrived with us. Derek, Luna's son was born to one of the Azgedans and rejected because he had a clubbed foot. Clarke and Jackson tried to tell them that the foot could be treated but … . Well, he now looks completely normal and has a loving family. We also have Emori, the woman who was gang raped. Her hand is extremely large. Clarke operated to separate her fingers where they were fused but has said she doesn't want to operate to make the hand smaller because it could reduce its use quite significantly since various muscles and nerves would have to be cut as well as the bones. Emori has accepted that and is grateful that the separation means that for all practical purposes her hand is as normal as anyone else's, except for Roan's of-course, it's just larger. Raven is universally accepted as the most important person in the mountain given that if anything breaks, she's the one to fix it, but Emori is now regarded as the second most important. She's been complaining a bit that when Wick and Sinclair come back she's going to be demoted to fourth!" Bellamy smiled. "Emori gave birth to a son about the same age as Jacob. I'm not sure which one is going to be the bigger trouble maker."
"If it were not for Octavia I would suggest that girls are easier to handle" Costia laughed; a comment with which Bellamy could only agree.
Notes:
I hate to say it, but I always planned for Ben to die but I wanted him to have a great life on earth beforehand. Philip was needed to help other disabled (grounder) people know that they were no less valuable because of their injury, or sickness or mutation. I was unsure what to do with Philip but I realised that his character would not want to continue to live with all the physical pain he was in without his son, so he had to go too.
Other than Hector, who has to go, I'm still not sold on what happens with the other Azgedans: any views?