A second chance

by laserturret1

Not my story written by MaxiBrux Bellamy, Raven, and Clarke time travel to before dropship after season 4

6. 5

chapter 30: Questions, Answers, Explanations, Concerns

Summary:

Everyone can leave their bunkers and preparations have to be made so that the green spot in Shallow Valley can take the coalition people and steps can be taken to start bringing those on the Arc down to earth.

Notes:

This chapter is a bit of a filler. Not a lot happening, but some scene setting for things to happen in the next couple of chapters.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"I strongly suggest that you take a few very trusted people to Eden to remove all remnants of Shallow Valley otherwise you may have a mutiny on your hands at some point" Luna said. "You will probably end up having to destroy already built homes and other buildings, but I think it very necessary. Anyone who ever visited that village will recognise it straight away as it is." Luna wondered if she had given too much away but luckily Lexa thought the details had come from the likenesses shown by the people at Areasi.

"I informed all the clan leaders that I did not know exactly where the patch of green was except that it was somewhere in the south, probably Glowing Forest, Shallow Valley or Broad Leaf and asked them all to swear that the small area will belong to the coalition as a whole that we would all live and cultivate to expand the patch. The three were reluctant, but when it was pointed out that we didn't know which, if any, of their territories is was actually in if they didn't agree they could end up homeless. I also pointed out that other than walking, they had no way to return to their previous lands without the help of Mt Orlan. But you're right, once it becomes known that it is Shallow Valley land, there could be some sort of rebellion" the Commander agreed. "I shall have to make sure that no one feels they need to and that they know it won't succeed if they tried. I suppose it is possible that the three could try to form a coalition to keep it for them, but I think it unlikely."

Raven suggested that she come to help clear the buildings and to plan out roads that would alter the area a bit. Madi had spoken to Raven and Luna and told them that one side of the valley was riddled with caves that anyone from the area would recognise so Raven suggested that Shallow Valley people be housed on the other side. Close mapping by a drone allowed Raven to show both the Commander in Mt Orlan and Aiden in Areasi the contours of the valley, its size and the type of flora there, as well as note some animals that had been spotted. "Maximum it can support at the moment is 1,000. With the animals that you have you could make it a few more and if we build you a large hydroponic farm we are probably looking at around 1,500, but you would have to wait until the farm was set up and producing to full capacity to feed that many."

"What can we give you in exchange for you to build us a hydroponic farm?" the Commander asked, now familiar with the once strange word.

"Clarke has suggested a few things that individually might not be much but they all add up" Raven began having been fully briefed by Clarke and Bellamy. "One thing that she would like you to do is that if there proves to be fish in the lake in the valley you leave all the fish in the river in Areasi. You shouldn't need the fish and there's the difficulty in transporting them and the possibility that they won't take to the water in Eden and they would be useful to the people in Areasi" the Commander nodded since it was a logical suggestion. "We will find it very useful to have some more help in preparing an area for the shuttle to land. I am suggesting that ten of your strong people be used for labour, for no more than ten days, probably less to make a safe runway" Raven said and smirked at the raised brow that suggested the people of Mt Orlan were obviously weak. "Hey, we can do it without; it will just be quicker if we have help! If any of the Azgedans that we currently house wish to join up with you, you accept them. However, if you agree to take them Hector must never leave Eden, otherwise he will be relocated to Montreal in north Azgeda with any who wish to join him." The Commander knew why Hector was the exception and again nodded her acceptance. "Once you have taken all you want from the three bunkers in your territory, you allow us to take anything else remaining that we want from them unless some people still wish to live in them rather than move down to Eden" Raven added thinking that she couldn't imagine any grounders wanting to continue living in a bunker when they didn't need to. The Commander again nodded to indicate her agreement, like Raven thinking that none would wish to continue to live in a bunker when they did not need to. "Finally, and this is the real issue, the formal territory for Mt Orlan expands to include much of the south of Azgeda and the Lake People land, the northern half of Trikru, Rock line and Blue Cliffs, plus all of Boat People land, the exact border can be negotiated if any of your people wish to try to make their home in the former clan lands."

This last point caused the Commander to think hard. It was true that currently the lands were practically useless, she had seen as she had been driven from Polis to Mt Orlan, but she hoped that the same could not be said for very much longer. She then remembered that Clarke had said that her people had thought that it would take another 100 years before they could return to earth.

"I agree in principle to the formal transfer of territory but would like to negotiate the exact border using, where possible, natural landmarks" the Commander finally agreed, after all she would have all of the rest of the coalition territory to expand in the years to come.

"Okay, then we suggest that we build you two farms so if one fails you still have the other, to be housed on otherwise useless land, Hannah should be the one to help you choose the sites and the plants to be grown. We think allocating an area for each clan along the perimeter would be best with Heda'sville or Heda's town in the centre. If you want them to trade with each other then you know the resources you have best and who could make the best of them and allocate them so that every clan has the chance to thrive. Alternatively you could be more centralised with it all controlled by you and your team. But you'll need to know how you want to organise before you bring people here to settle rather than just work to prepare for settling" Raven was sure she was preaching to the converted but she thought it would give the Commander time to organise her thoughts.

"If I give you more of my people to help you with your landing path, build your homes, can I have more of yours to clear and survey the land?" the Commander asked.

"I'm sure that will be acceptable. We can make use of the drones for much of the planning. I know Clarke has been speaking to all the different clans people we have here. She said that it was so she could get a feel for them for a mural she planned in the main hall. Anyway, she does have a suggested outline for areas if you're interested, she also suggested that there should be clear roads linking each clan to the central Heda's town and each clan to its neighbour" Raven said.

The Commander agreed to everything said and thought that the person she really needed to plan with was Wanheda.

Clarke was able to use drone footage to show the Commander a visual of Eden. An outline of the green area, Eden, was shown on one screen, divided into the suggested 11 areas.

"This appears to be the only village in the area. The main building is a church. Given that it is pretty much in the centre I suggest that this be your area and the church be repaired to be your home and parliament. It will be obvious that it is Shallow Valley so I think you will have to come clean to everyone once you have their agreement to the broad outline of land allocation. Opposite the church/parliament you could have the main Healers' Centre and there could be a large market for trading, stables, and whatever else you feel your area needs.

"Each clan area has access to fresh water, and in exchange for a more generous land settlement, we will send some engineers to build water pipes so that clean water will be available over all the 11 main settlements and the farms. I don't know how you want to allocate the resources you have, and I don't know how much of the goods stored in the caves survived yet, but you might want them all to completely independent and share everything out equally, same per clan, or per population; or you might want to give each clan some basic supplies and share the rest out to match the clan specialities.

"To start with, I would mark the boundaries, it could be something that would soon rot, but would be clear for the start. When the land is cleared, let the leaders, builders and farmers go with some rations and tents to their areas so they can make their settlement plans."

The Commander pondered Wanheda's words: she could allow for clan specialism so that they would need to integrate to share their resources; or they could be allowed to be more separate and only use the market to exchange excess. In any case, it would probably be necessary for the centre to be fully self-supporting and allow for the Heda to distribute bounty when necessary or desired. Regardless of the path chosen, there would be some changes necessary.

"Could you give me a parchment drawing of the outline that you suggested, please except make the central area a little bigger? I need to return to Polis to speak with the leaders and Titus. Could you accompany me, please?" the Commander asked.

"Very well, but he might not be pleased to see me since we put him in detention; and Roan and Jacob will be with me" Clarke agreed.

"I'm sure that some leaders will be glad to see King Roan happy and will respect his words as being impartial. It will be good for your people to see you, too" the Commander added.

"That is as maybe, but none of my people will be pleased to see Titus since they know what happened to Ben and his dad and it is almost certain that he is responsible for their deaths; and even if he wasn't responsible, he made sure that Ben didn't receive the help he needed. It is possible that even if it was a very early blow that started the brain bleed, stabilising his head could have prevented it from deteriorating to the level it did. Ben's death led to Philip's death and I am so mad at Titus that I want to make him pay. However, since I cannot prove that Titus is responsible I cannot punish him; but if our medical knowledge ever improves to the point that I can be sure one way or another I will take the appropriate action – either to formally let him know that he is no longer a suspect in the deaths of Philip and Ben Rhodes or to request his extradition to Mt Orlan to be charged in connection with the deaths of Ben Rhodes and Philip Rhodes; but unless he is returning as a prisoner to face charges, he is no longer welcome in our territory" Clarke said making it clear that Titus is persona non grata as far as Skaikru of Mt Orlan are concerned.

"I understand and accept your anger and frustration over Titus" the Commander said not adding that she was concerned for her own people because of his inability to adapt and wondered if there were any extra steps she could take to protect Costia. At least she knew that Titus would not think it his duty to kill her because he knew that the next Commander would be Aiden who had grown away from his influence over the past five years, as had the other night bloods.

Echo didn't quite trust anyone to protect the little prince in the strange place filled with strange people so she travelled to Polis to keep Jacob both entertained and safe while his parents were in meetings. The fact that she was able to do that while hanging out with Maya, and getting to know Jasper and Monty a little better, was purely incidental.

The Commander put the option of specialisation of resource allocation or of initial equality in allocation so the clans could exchange as they wished. She outlined the idea of a central parliament, healing centre, market, and the arena for competitive games that she wanted. The clan areas were outlined and plans for water distribution and road clearing.

"Why are you doing this?" one of the leaders asked Clarke. "Why are you helping us? You could have taken this land for your own and we would not have been able to stop you."

Clarke looked at Roan as he smirked and shrugged his shoulders at her. Roan knew that any other clan would have done exactly that.

"Because it would be wrong to do that given that it is in coalition territory" Clarke sighed. "Our price for helping you to move and get established in the only patch of green that we have found on the whole of this part of the world is for an increase in the territory belonging to Mt Orlan. Currently the land is dead and almost useless but it will not always be so and we do not want to live trapped inside the mountain; we will need land to build homes and to find a way to make our plants grow and to be able to keep our animals outside. We also want to plan reforestation, and if what we do works, we'll let you know how to replicate it and hope it works where you are, but the conditions will be different so it may not. The proposal gives you all room to expand outwards if the land reclamation does work.

"We can live in and around the Mt Orlan bunker and grow from that over years, generations if necessary, but you don't have that option with the Polis bunker and need somewhere to live now."

The clans discussed, argued, questioned Clarke and Roan, and finally reached agreement: they would not take all the help being offered by Skaikru without giving something in return.

Skaikru would try to ensure that Areasi as well as themselves have no guns, but definitely no many-multi-faya guns (as the clans called automatics); Skaikru will share all knowledge on success of reforestation, Skaikru will arrange for the boundaries to be marked as agreed, roads to be cleared as agreed and to transport the people, animals and goods of the coalition as agreed; Skairkru will make sure that the main village of each clan has access to water; Skaikru will provide five hydroponic farms across clan borders so that all have access to one, with three of the farms to cross into the central area, and each year, Skaikru will carry out maintenance of the farms and check the water supplies; all clans plus Heda's central receive equal share of all coalition assets; people of Heda's Central to vow to set aside clan loyalties and serve the coalition as a whole. In return for their generosity, Skaikru will be given all the territory of the Boat People, Lake People, Sankru, Azgeda, Delfikru, and the northern part of Trikru, Blue Cliff and Rock line. Plains Riders land and beyond will be free territory. Hector, formerly of Azgeda will work for the Commander and be denoted as splita; and up to three other Azgedans will also be accepted but with the same status unless he chooses to be exiled to Montreal. Children born with mutations will no longer be left to die but advice and help will be sought from Skaikru on how to minimise disability which will be given gratis and if the child is still rejected by the coalition it will be adopted by Skaikru. The final benefit for Skaikru is that the coalition people will help prepare a landing place for the large mechanical bird. The final issue agreed was that all trade agreements between Skaikru and coalition clans must first be approved by the Commander.

There was one issue that both Roan and Clarke agreed upon: they should not be officially called Skaikru any more since they had many people join them who had never left earth.

"Now that it has been agreed that we hold all the territories of the north, we should be called Northerners, or Northernkru" Clarke declared. "Northerners are people of the north and all of us who live in Mt Orlan are now people of the north."

The clans graciously agreed.

The Commander later told Clarke that she had also managed to gain agreement that night blood children's parents could also be housed in the central area, or have visitation with their children if they wish, and that only novitiates wishing to take part in the conclave will do so as long as those not taking part swear loyalty to the new commander.

Clarke thought that she gained far more than she conceded. When she said as much to Roan he pointed out that many of the things the Northerners were offering as per the agreement were things that they would have offered anyway, and some of the things that she was gaining were things that the Commander recognised the logic of and would have agreed to without any incentive, so now she probably thinks that she has gained so much all in exchange for some useless land.

Raven, Luna, Lincoln, Octavia and a contingent of 15 of the former delinquents all went down to Eden to help clear roads, mark boundaries, clear the village, make safe and weatherproof the church (the real work would be carried out by the building experts of the coalition), lay the foundations for the hydroponic farms including the water and lay some water pipes and standing taps to where they think the centre of all the villages will be. Madi had said that there were many traps so that they had to be careful before they put their feet anywhere or they could die.

Care was taken to make sure that any trees cut down were properly apportioned between the 11 villages so that they could be used for either fire wood or for building homes; and that any demolition allowed for as much of the material to be reused as possible.

The delinquents showed the Commander how to make a safe, warm and waterproof cabin quickly using the thinner flexible branches from trees, some thin sheets of metal and some vines and reeds. They built the med centre with three patient beds (separated by portable screens), a staff bed, a metal operating table, shelves for storage, a table and chair, a fire pit with chimney and as a gift, added some solar powered lights that could stay on all day.

Raven suggested that one day they could barter for a wind turbine or two so that the whole valley could be lit up when necessary, or, if they could find the raw materials, buildings could be heated without fires. "But that is very much in the future, I'm afraid" Raven lamented. "We need to get everyone set with the basics before we turn to the luxuries. It will give us something to look forward to."

Four of the warriors who had already swore to forego their clan allegiance and dedicate themselves to Aiden were tasked with the job of making sure each village had an equal share of all the stores with any balance being given to the Heda to disperse as she deemed appropriate.

Bellamy, Nate and Roan explored all the caves that had been marked on a tablet to discover what had survived priamfaya. Everyone was really pleased to learn that everything that had been placed deep in the caves had survived and would be transported to Eden. Everything except the animals would be there before the people. The large animals would arrive after all the people, the smaller ones when the Commander thought that they would be housed properly.

It took three months before the Commander was satisfied that everything possible had been done to prepare Eden for her people.

Each clan leader was advised to pick six people, including themselves, from Polis or Mt Orlan and six from Areasi. They would be transported to their area of Eden so that they could plan and prepare what they could and then choose more to arrive from Areasi. All the clans people had to leave Areasi before any more could leave Polis or Mt Orlan. Don said that those leaving from Areasi would be given one week of rations each in the first instance: more if they could be spared later.

Wells told Clarke that many of the Arkers weren't happy with that offer, thinking that all excess food should be preserved for those that come down from the Arc. "Don pointed out that if the Arkers didn't like it, they could always leave now that the air was breathable and find their own place to settle" Wells said.

Clarke snorted, knowing how selfish many from the Arc still were. She told Wells about the agreement to leave all the fish for Areasi and hoped that would appease them somewhat. Wells said that he wasn't going to mention it because they would just try to prevent anyone from fishing in the meantime.

Once each village had at least 20 people living in Eden, the Commander declared that they should all prepare an area for rabbits and for chickens. A proportion of the total available would be brought as soon as could be arranged. It would allow the people of Eden have eggs and to start making their own decisions about size of flocks and preparing for their future. Luckily it was Aiden's job to make sure that the correct amounts of rabbits, bucks, hens and cockerels made it on to the truck. Because there were some rabbits in Eden, the Commander said that they could leave some in Areasi if the people wished. Wells sent his thanks as he gratefully accepted the offer on behalf of the Arkers.

The last of the coalition people, bar Aiden and three of his guards (three had died in the whooping cough outbreak) who remained to look after the animals, were resident in Eden. Wells radioed the Arc to tell them to prepare the shuttle to start bringing people to earth. He also contacted London and Berlin to warn them to make sure that the runways were smooth and solid. Since they hadn't even thought to check on the runways, let alone make any repairs, people from the Arc would be taken to Areasi before the people in Europe, or at least some of them.

The first shuttle trip brought most of the Council, including the Chancellor and Clarke's mom. Clarke was not best pleased but knew she had to somehow find the strength to be gracious.

"You didn't tell me you were pregnant!" were Abby's first words on seeing Clarke.

"I thought Wells kept you up to date with my life, mom" Clarke retorted. "Anyway, welcome to Mt Orlan. I understand that you will be on the last convoy for this cohort down to Areasi and will be staying with us for a while. Bree has arranged accommodation for everyone. It's probably not as comfortable as you have become used to, but it is only temporary and I'm sure they have made everything ready in Areasi for you. You will have a chance to get to know Roan and Jacob and at least now you'll be in Areasi we can video chat. Jacob will like that: talking to Wells makes him feel so important."

"Clarke" Abby interrupted, "you're talking as if I should know who this Jacob is."

This time Clarke was a little surprised. "I honestly thought you did. I thought Wells kept you informed of what was going on in my life. I know he told you I was married because he told me you didn't seem to be very happy about it. Maybe that's why he didn't tell you anything else. I guess we'll have to ask him. Anyway, Jacob is my and Roan's son: he's 18 months old."

"You have a son; I have a grandson" Abby was shocked, although why she would be Clarke didn't know since she and Roan had been together for nearly five years. "And you're still with this Roan?"

"Yes, mom, of-course I'm still with Roan. Why would you think I wouldn't be?" Clarke was puzzled.

"Well, I think I thought that once the excitement of your circumstances settled you would realise that he wasn't right for you after all" Abby dithered, "you know, too old for you".

"Mom, Roan may be older than me, but neither he nor I think he is too old for me, or that I am too young for him. I understand that the betting was when we would get together, not if, and that was going on long before the death wave. I don't understand why you would think that I would be stupid enough to bind myself to someone, have children with them, if they are not the right one for me" Clarke was getting cross.

"Clarke" Abby was patronising, "you are still very young and have lived a very sheltered life. You know nothing about smooth talking charmers who can offer nothing but a brief good time inevitably followed by heart ache. Anyone could take advantage of your gullibility and you wouldn't see it until it was too late. We all know that you and Wells belong together, and I really think that Thelonious was wrong to not let Wells join you here so that you could grow up together and then join us in Areasi leaving this place to the factory people and exiles from the coalition."

Clarke looked at her mother in amazement before she suddenly started to laugh. Abby didn't know what was so funny and wondered if perhaps the pressure Clarke had been under while she was in charge had finally gotten to her and she snapped.

Clarke led Abby into a room with many people: Abby recognised Raven Reyes, and one or two of the other faces looked familiar, but that was all.

"Hey, can I ask you all a few questions?" Clarke asked the assembled crowd. "Who here thinks that I am young, naïve, and have lived a sheltered life so anyone could take advantage of me and I wouldn't know until it was too late?"

Abby was taken aback at the howls of laughter that followed.

"Please tell me you're not serious" Raven Reyes begged as she barely contained herself.

"Abby here thinks just that of me" Clarke said snottily, making Abby wish that she could take Clarke to task for talking about her in that tone, "possibly because dad and I trusted her once upon a time and we both paid very high prices when that trust was betrayed."

"Abby, I am Echo. I used to be the senior spy for the leader of one of the 12 clans of the coalition. Most of my people died when the late Queen declared war on the coalition. Clarke saved those who she could. Clarke invites all people who wish to live in peace into her clan but is not naïve enough to think that just because people say something they mean it. When some men raped one of her people, Clarke removed their testicles, sliced their cocks and allowed the victim to tattoo details of their crime on their faces. When she wants something, she bargains hard for it if that is the way to get it, if she needs to she can fight for it. Clarke is very different to the teenager you betrayed and had sent to solitary confinement and now no one takes advantage of Clarke: if they try, they regret it. You should remember that and be proud of her."

Clarke smiled her thanks at Echo before asking her next question: "Who thinks that there is any chance of me moving to Areasi to live with the rest of the Arkers?"

This time the question was greeted with absolute silence before someone not known to Abby but she thought she saw him before when she visited said "Clarke will never leave her people here in Mt Orlan, and if for any reason she had to, we will follow her, but I cannot believe that if there was any other alternative that Clarke would want to live with the Arkers again."

Clarke thanked Lincoln and agreed wholeheartedly with his conclusions as she led her mom away to go to the Training Room where she knew she would find her husband and son.

"Mom, you need to stop seeing me as I was before dad got floated. I am older, a lot wiser, so much tougher, necessary to my people, very happy, and in charge so unless you could live under rules and ethos that I set, there is no chance of me living with you Arkers. You need to get over whatever you're hoping for so you can move on to a happy reality."

Abby was appalled. This old, one armed, scarred savage, was teaching her young grandson how to fight! He could barely walk yet he was being taught how to fight, and Clarke thought nothing was wrong with that picture! She would have to talk to Thelonious to see how she could rescue her baby girl from this travesty of a marriage.

Roan wasn't impressed with his mother-in-law any more than she was impressed with him. She was supercilious and condescending. Roan knew that if it wasn't for the presence of his son, she would have been outright rude. Abby was exactly like Clarke had described and he was surprised at how surprised he was. Roan had thought that a little of Clarke's views about her mother had been tainted by the fact that it was Abby who had turned in her father for execution and for Clarke to be placed in solitary, and then add a little youthful rebellion against one's parent: but he should have thought about how well Clarke read people, how well she understood where they were coming from and realised that Clarke really did know her mother well.

"You are exactly as Clarke described you" Roan said to Abby as he offered his left hand to shake only for it to receive a derisive glare. "Hey young one, come and meet your grandma."

Jacob turned from where he was wrapped around Clarke's legs to look at the woman who he had been told was his grandma. "Pictur, mama" Jacob said. "Ganma picture."

"Yes, sweet heart, this is grandma from the picture. She has come down from the sky to visit us for a little while before she goes to live in Areasi where Uncle Wells lives" Clarke explained.

"Unc 'Ells, dio?" Jacob asked.

"No, uncle Wells isn't on the radio at the moment but you can speak to him later and you can tell him all about your duel with nontu."

"No like duel, mama. Like 'rawing" Jacob declare, reinforcing Abby's dislike of her son-in-law.

"Then why did you ask nontu to bring you instead of drawing with Emori and Otan?" Clarke asked perplexed.

Jacob struck a pose, waving an imaginary sword as he declared he was going to beat Otan.

Roan laughed as he swept his son up in his arms. "Not for many a year little one. You have to be as big as mama before you can duel Otan. Come on, let's go find some building bricks to play with while mama helps Bellamy, Luna and Bree show everyone where they will sleep." Roan bent to gently kiss Clarke and nodded to Abby while Jacob gave Clarke a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

Clarke showed Abby where she would be sleeping and said the Chancellor would be in the next room until he left for Areasi in two days since he wanted to be on the first convoy headed south. Clarke told Abby to have a wander around, look at any medical records she wanted, as long as she kept everything she learned confidential, of-course, and that they would catch up later.

Luna, while escorting some others to their temporary accommodation heard Abby talking.

"Thelonious, he's awful! He's old, his face is terribly scarred, has really long hair kept in lots of thin scruffy braids and he only has one hand! What can she possibly see in him? At least if she was with Wells I would know that she was with someone who was her equal, someone who could understand the burdens of leadership she carries and help her with them; not like this useless savage."

"Don't worry, Abby. I'm sure that after spending time with civilised people Clarke will remember where she comes from and her destiny" the man, presumably Thelonious, replied.

Luna went to talk to everyone she could find and get them to agree with her plan of action. Dinner that evening was going to be fun, not for Abby and Thelonious, but for the northerners of Mt Orlan it was. Luna didn't know all the reasons for some of the reactions, but she did know that some of the former Skaikru were really going to enjoy themselves at the expense of Clarke's mother and the Skaikru Chancellor.

Notes:

As usual I've let my dislike for Abby's character shine through.

I was rather at a loss for what the people of Mt Orlan could be called. They wanted to separate themselves from those who will live in Areasi as much as they could, and still acknowledge that they had people from the ground join their clan too so I came up with the rather boring Northerners, or Northernkru - sorry for those wanting something a bit more imaginative.

It was a bit obvious that they would get all of Azgeda and Floukru land since their leaders and remains of their people are now resident in Mt Orlan, but I wanted it to be clear to everyone in the coalition, too.

Chapter 31: And Things Were Going So Well

Summary:

Abby hopefully learns not to be a judgmental bitch and to finally accept that Clarke is no longer her baby girl.

There's a major problem in getting to earth from the Arc and in transporting those in Europe to Areasi.

Notes:

Sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter up: RL has hit me with the proverbial 2x4 and I don't have the same amount of writing time as I enjoyed earlier.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The word had spread. Everyone from Mt Orlan knew what they were going to do. Raven and Bellamy had even talked to Roan and Clarke. At first Clarke wasn't too keen on the idea until Raven repeated what Abby had said to the Chancellor about Roan. That made her blood boil

"I don't suppose you have time to make a pair of spectacular looking crowns do you?" Clarke growled.

"No, but everyone is on board with the plan, you and the King just need to play your parts. I've even spoken to Wells and Luna the Commander and they will make sure they get the point across whenever the situation allows. We thought you should make the proposed titles announcement, too. Wells and Sinclair are on board, and Monty did a brief check with everyone in Polis and they're happy that you announce the proposals and that an open meeting followed by voting on them will take place once all your people are home. I sent a copy of the rough outline to Monty so that he can make sure everyone has a chance to look at it, he said it's cool as something to get the discussions started, which is its aim. When you stand to make the announcement, everyone bar Roan will also stand so just make sure you tell us we can all sit down again.

"All the youngsters will have early dinner and then go to the cinema to watch some kids cartoon or something; I think Cole suggested Toy Story. A few people will watch them all, those who think that they might clock your mom and Jaha and don't want to put you in the position of having to punish them. I thought that I should be one of them but Luna said she would keep an eye on me and reminded me that I didn't want to miss the fun."

Clarke thanked her friend. Echo took Jacob to his meal and would be in the control room while he was in the cinema and the adults were eating. She knew her role.

Clarke and Roan knocked on the doors of Abby and Theolonious's room to accompany them to dinner. As they walked through the corridors Abby noted how very well mannered everyone they saw was: the few people about all bowed their heads as the group walked past. 'This' Abby thought, 'shows that the people of Mt Orlan want to join with us, live under the protection of the Council'. Thelonious just took it all for granted.

As they entered the canteen everyone, well all the Northerners, stood and bowed their heads. The people from the Arc gawped for a moment before following suit.

"Please sit down everyone" Jaha said with a wave of his hand. The Arkers did but the Northerners continued to stand with their heads bowed.

Roan smirked at the Chancellor and said "Our people follow our orders. They will wait until we are seated then they will sit down unless we tell them otherwise" as they walked to the front table. There Bellamy was holding out Clarke's chair while Luna was holding Roan's.

"Dr Griffin, Mr Jaha, you can sit here" Miller said pointing to two chairs opposite Clarke and Roan. Bellamy and Luna helped Roan and Clarke to sit and Clarke then told everyone else to take their seats.

Murphy and another member of the kitchen staff came out carrying plates to Clarke and Roan. Plates were already in front of everyone else. "Usually everyone goes to serve themselves but in your honour, your portions were brought to you since you won't be aware of how much to give yourself" Murphy said as he nodded to the plates in front of Abby and Thelonious. "It means your food's a little cooler than you getting it hot from the oven, so to speak, but it's better than you taking too much because our leaders don't eat until everyone else has eaten and we can't risk you leaving them without enough to eat." Murphy then turned to Roan and Clarke and said "Enjoy your meal, Your Majesties" and left with a gleam in his eye and a small bow.

Seeing the bowls of fruit on the table Clarke told her mom and the Chancellor that today was fruit day for desert. "When you have finished your main course, just choose a piece of fruit and enjoy. Roan and I will choose our pieces last."

Abby and Thelonious were looking at their food as if it was dangerous. Clarke thought it was hilarious because she knew they had probably never eaten spaghetti before and would have no idea how to eat it without making a mess. Naturally Roan was able to twirl the pasta and meat sauce on his fork very proficiently. Looking around, Abby could see that some were using their spoon to cut up the strings and then to mix everything together before scooping it up with their spoon to eat. She decided to follow that path rather than make a fool of herself eating it the way her daughter and husband did.

"What was that about Majesties?" Abby asked just as Echo stood between Clarke and Roan with her head bowed.

"Echo" Roan encouraged.

"Forgive me for interrupting your meal Your Majesties, but the Commander is on the radio saying she needs some urgent strategic battle advice" Echo said, loud enough to be sure that everyone on their table heard.

"She's playing chess with Wells again isn't she?" Clarke laughed.

"I believe so, m'am. I heard her say something about not wanting to sacrifice her queen."

"I don't blame her" Roan spoke. "I would never wish to sacrifice my Queen" he too Clarke's hand to raise it to his lips with a smile.

"I hate to tell you this, Sire" Bellamy interrupted, "but I don't think anyone here would want you to sacrifice the Queen to save the King".

"You're wrong" Raven said. "The Queen here would be happy to sacrifice herself to save the King."

"Then I beg you, my love, the Prince and Princess need their mama more than they need their nontu, especially while in there" Roan said as he gently rubbed the swell of the new baby. "The Queen, must be protected at all costs, understand?"

"I understand that while our children physically need me more than you, I come first, but once they are independent, all bets are off. Now, the Commander; why don't we suggest that the king be renamed the commander, and the queen the flame keeper? She can sacrifice that piece to her heart's content then" Clarke suggested.

"A very good idea, love. I'll go and speak with her while you carry on eating" Roan said as he stood and smirked when everyone else, bar the Arkers and Clarke, did the same. "Please sit" he said with a wave of his hand as he walked off with Echo.

"Clarke, what the hell is going on with all this standing and King and Queen stuff?" Abby snarked across the table.

"What do you mean, mom?" Clarke played ignorant. "We're trying to work out a way for our people to show their respect without going over board, I believe the late Queen Nia, Roan's mom, required all people to get down onto one knee when she walked in the room. We want to be more progressive, but you know how it is, change sometimes comes slowly and it would be awful if people were to mistake our easy ways as weakness and lack of respect, don't you think?"

Abby and Thelonious looked at Clarke in shock. "You mean he is a real King and you are a real Queen?" Jaha asked.

"A promotion from being a make believe Princess to a genuine Queen, eh?" Bellamy said.

"But he has scars, and only one hand!" Abby cried.

"And I'm the one who cut off his hand" Clarke said.

"And I'm the one who made his new hand" Raven said. "And it is awesome!"

"I do believe that King Roan is almost universally regarded as awesome and while his hand and arm may have a little to do with it, a lot is because he survived the attack in the first place, and because he managed to win the heart of Wanheda, the second most powerful person on earth" Luna put in. "Only the Commander is respected more than Wanheda Clarke within the coalition."

"Thank you Luna" Clarke said. "I know that I sometimes feel a little awkward with the title of 'Queen' when all I did to earn it was to marry the love of my life while he does not get an accompanying title for marrying the Wanheda. It is just so unfair."

"Wanheda Clarke, since the Commander is already spoken for" Costia said with a smile, "the only person on earth with a sufficiently high enough title for you is King Roan. It is very fortuitous that you fell in love with him. Of-course you could have fallen in love with one of the other clan leaders but …"

"… but I'de be more likely to kill them. No, Roan is …" and Clarke trailed off as the door opened and Roan entered the canteen as everyone once again stood and bowed their heads.

Roan sat in his seat and waved everyone else to do the same. "We have got to put a stop to this" Roan muttered, it was getting old already.

Most of the tables had been cleared but people were still sitting with a drink because they knew an announcement would be made. Most people knew what it was about and why it had been brought forward from the original plan. When the front table had also all finished eating Clarke stood. As she had been warned, everyone else did too but she quickly told them to sit down again.

"I thank you all for the respect and loyalty you have shown to Roan and myself this evening, but I have to say, I personally prefer the genuine respect you show us every day rather than the obsequiousness shown this evening. I think we got the message across to our guests so we can stop with the over the top standing, bowing and Majestying, keeping it for any formal occasions that might come up in the future when we're wearing crowns. The next time we are referred to as savages we can just let them find their own way home, or remind them that I am the Killer Queen, with gun powder and gelatine, dynamite with a laser beam, especially when Raven is there to help me, and that there is a reason I am respected as Wanheda" and she paused for the sniggers to settle.

"As you know, when all our people are home, we will be reviewing our constitution again. We hope that the next few years will be a period of growth and that means all the change and uncertainty that comes with it. We want to keep the responsibilities at the top separate: I, with the help of Roan, will continue to look to the long term prosperity of our people, including our relationships with the other peoples. Bellamy will continue to oversee the day to day issues that arise. But as we grow, Bellamy's role becomes bigger so we propose that Luna formally takes on the role of Second Minister, to Bellamy's Prime Minister. We also propose that other Ministers be chosen, by you. We suggest that for each category of Minister, for example Food, if more than one nomination for Minister for Food comes forward you vote to choose which one you want. Roan, Bellamy, Luna and myself will not be re-elected. Our jobs will remain ours for as long as we are working for the benefit of the community as a whole and for as long as we are willing to carry out the work. This means that there will continue to be stability as we will not need to make changes for the sake of short term popularity in order to win an election.

"Once all our people are home we will hold an open meeting to discuss this proposal and to clarify the titles we shall have: I think that the one holding Roan and my roles be called Presidents, but it is only a suggestion. You have time to talk amongst yourselves, think of questions you wish to ask, offer suggestions for how it might be improved and the senior titles, and then we will vote as to whether or not we wish to go ahead with those changes. Thank you for staying to listen. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Abby was fuming. "Was anything about this evening the truth or was it all designed to humiliate us?" she asked.

"It is true that we usually eat last, sometimes it is scrappy left overs, sometimes it is something special that the kitchen staff have prepared at short notice, sometimes it is exactly the same as everyone else" Clarke said.

"It is true that both Clarke and Roan are universally regarded as awesome" Luna said.

"It is also true that the previous Queen expected her subjects to prostrate themselves before her, obey her immediately and without question" Roan added.

"And if anyone had shown Nia the same disrespect you showed Roan when you met him you would be dead by now" Clarke said. "That woman was awful, but I made damned sure that she could not fault my manners."

"And knowing my mother, that probably made her dislike you even more" Roan said with a smile. "Come on, my Queen, let's go and collect our Little Prince and put him to bed. Do you think he stayed awake long enough to watch more than the first ten minutes? And the Commander thought it a very good idea to rename the chess pieces and was very happy to sacrifice the flame keeper to protect the commander. Wells agreed to it, too."

"What is 'Wanheda'?" Jaha asked.

"It is a title given to me as a mark of respect for those I have sent to their deaths, and those I have saved from death; it means 'Commander of Death'" Clarke explained calmly.

"What do you mean those you sent to their deaths?" Abby screeched. "How many people could you have possibly sent to their deaths?"

Clarke looked to her mother and with a straight face said "hundreds; and before you say it was Roan's influence, let me tell you most of them were carried out before I met him. How do you think I got control of this mountain facility; by asking nicely?"

Abby was turning a scary looking shade of red: Jaha was looking impressed. Clarke had a degree of ruthlessness that he could only wish was matched in his son.

The first convoy, luckily including the Chancellor, left for Areasi. No one was sad to see the Arkers leave, but their own people would be missed.

Abby seemed to have decided to adopt a more conciliatory manner and deigned to speak to everyone with respect since she didn't know who held what titles. Almost everyone could hear the condescension for what it was and were barely able to keep their own snark under control.

Abby asked what happened to Philip Rhodes. "I assume he died from his injuries like I always thought he would" she said without a hint of sadness.

"No, he committed suicide after Ben's death due to a brain haemorrhage following a seizure" Clarke was cross. "His goodbye message thanked us all for making Ben's life happy and fulfilled, making sure Ben knew how valuable he was to us all, and for all our efforts in keeping him alive to be there for Ben. He got five wonderful years with Ben, but with Ben's death, he couldn't live with the emotional pain as well as the physical. They are both very much missed. Lincoln said that the horses still miss Ben and look for him" Clarke was sad. "At least they both got to experience the best that the earth has to offer."

"You said that you were given your title in part because of the lives you saved: was Philip Rhodes part of that?" Abby asked. "I only ask because you were a Medic who hadn't practised any sort of medical procedures, even sutures given that you were in solitary for over a year, so how could you go on to do such complicated surgeries? I would have loved the chance to carry out such experiments."

"I don't know what to say, mom" Clarke prevaricated. "I guess I just have a knack for it, and I never thought of them as experiments since most of the complicated surgeries were either do them and the patients might live; or don't do them and the patients will die. Other than Roan, who was in no position to give consent or otherwise, I made sure they all knew the risks, including the potential outcome of them not waking up again. They were, or are, people: not animals to experiment upon." She wondered how her mother would feel about the experiments that Dr Tsing was carrying out before she was killed.

"What happened to Roan?"

"As you heard, his mother was not liked, but she was very well guarded. Roan was attacked by people who couldn't get to Nia. He was cut with a poisoned blade with no known antidote. Death is, apparently inevitable."

"Unless Wanheda Clarke is around" Abby interrupted, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. To most of the coalition, a disfigured person is an outcast so it would never occur to them to cut off the poisoned limb to stop it spreading. Roan wasn't happy when he realised what I had done. Strangely it was Philip Rhodes who brought Roan back to life. Once Roan was physically safe, the hardest part was to give him tasks that challenged him, but would not be impossible. The last thing for him to learn was doing his own braids" Clarke smiled. "He can do mine perfectly now, but his own still look a little ragged."

Abby was chagrined to realise that her words to Thelonious had been heard and she had been judgemental without knowing the circumstances and had herself thus been judged, and found wanting.

"If we had stayed on the Arc, would you and Wells have married, do you think?" Abby asked something that she was not sure she wanted to know.

"Probably" Clarke replied with a shrug. "Neither of us had any other real friends and the chances of being able to spend enough time with anyone else to allow love to develop were slim to none, so I expect we would have made do for lack of any other options. I guess we could have been content since we wouldn't have known any better: but that option went out of the airlock when dad did" she added with a bite that Abby chose to ignore.

"Does Roan make you happy?"

Clarke looked at her mother, trying to make sure that Abby was in no doubt as to her sincerity: "He makes me happy, sad, blessed, confident, angry, peaceful, jealous, lucky; in fact Roan makes me feel everything. With Roan, I'm alive: with Wells, I would have been getting by. There is no comparison. I know I give Roan everything, too. I liked and admired Roan before I loved him; I loved him before I was in love with him."

"But if not for you, he would have nothing. I just wish that you had waited to get married and have children; you're only 23, Clarke and he has to be at least 30. When you first got together he would have been at least 25 to your 18, you were just a child and I think he took advantage of you" Abby persisted.

"Mom, I'm only going to say this once more and if you try to undermine me and my decisions again then we will not maintain contact" Clarke paused to try to gather her thoughts. "I ceased being a child when dad was floated; when I was sent to solitary confinement; when I was dragged out of my cell and thrown to the ground; when I helped take charge of over 100 people; when I took this mountain, killing over 300 people while doing so; when I operated on various injuries while I was barely conscious due to a gunshot wound to my abdomen; when I negotiated a Peace Treaty with the Commander; when I made life or death decisions in the Med Bay; when I guided my friend in wiping out the Azgedan army; when I organised everything so that as many people as possible could live after the death wave; when I risked my own life and welfare to make sure people could stay in touch in the aftermath of the wave; when I castrated three rapists, one of whom was Roan's brother who I later put down; when I chose Roan to be the one with whom I wished to spend the rest of my life; when I gave birth; need I go on? You need to give up this notion you have of me being the same naïve 16 year old who was locked up: it was over seven years ago and I have grown up."

Abby was shocked: it really was longer than seven years since she had her daughter and she hadn't realised how much Clarke had grown away from her. "I'm never going to get my baby girl back again, am I?"

"No" Clarke was clear; "and if you carry on the way you're going, you're never going to have a relationship with your grown up daughter, your son in law or your grandchildren. Plus, you and Jaha seem to be doing your best to antagonise the very people to whom you owe so much. We could have just left you to die: don't make us regret not doing so."

Aiden spoke to Clarke to say that he fully understood why she had decided to live apart from the other Skaikru, especially after meeting the Chancellor.

"He talks to me very slowly and very loudly: it is irritating" Aiden grumbled. "Luckily we are soon to leave with the last of the animals and will not have to put up with them for much longer. I feel sorry for Wells having him for a nontu."

It was agreed that only chickens and the fish would remain in Areasi since none of the Arkers had any experience in looking after the animals and none had taken the initiative to learn.

Don Schmidt also agreed with Aiden and said that the Chancellor's arrival just reinforced their earlier decision to move to Mt Orlan. "Raven and Sinclair will be returning with the next convoy with the important hardware including the drones" reminding Clarke that Areasi didn't want to leave control over any of their missiles with the Arkers. "Areasi will only be able to maintain the current situation unless the Arkers develop anything themselves. Jackson will return with the first convoy from the next arrivals so that he can have a little overlap with Dr Griffin. Freda and Michael will leave with Jackson. They will be least likely to be missed since they are food production and the Arkers have taken over that area already."

As well as bringing the weapons and missile controls, Don said that they would bring lots of chemicals other raw ingredients that they use to make solar panels and batteries as well as their current supply of spares. Clarke almost grinned in amusement. It was likely that the Arkers would not realise that they had been so underhandedly screwed. All the animal sperm that they had saved would be sent to Mt Orlan with the next return convoy once a secure travel storage was made.

There was a slight delay in taking the last of the current cohort or Arkers to Areasi because all of the Northerners in Polis were ready to return home. Collecting them first meant a delay in the Arkers' journey of two days: taking the Arkers first meant a delay in the Orlians return of about ten days. To Clarke it was a no brainer as to which should take precedent. With the use of the horses as well as the vehicles, they could be collected in the one trip (even though the horse riders would be very stiff and sore the next day).

It was during this time of delay that Kane radioed Areasi from London to say that there was a problem with the front wheel of the shuttle. Clarke, as always, was very willing to help but she was appalled at being asked by Jaha "so how are you going to get the rest of my people home?"

"I say just tell them it's their problem, not ours" Bellamy grumbled when he was informed.

"Whilst I sympathise with that suggestion" Lincoln smiled, "it is not going along with our ethos if we don't at least try to find a solution to help them".

Octavia snorted and reluctantly agreed with her love, as did Roan.

"Okay, we check that everyone can get by in the short term, we get all our people back here and we brainstorm" Clarke suggested. It was agreed. In the meantime, Clarke made a point of telling Jaha that she would need Don to bring his long range drones and someone to operate them. It was the perfect excuse and Jaha didn't need to know that they would not be returning.

Berlin and London were not very happy at being told they were on hold since they had been preparing to leave and would have to undo all their previous work, but they agreed that they would survive until a solution was found. Those still on the Arc were more concerned about being able to get down to earth. Clarke didn't bother trying to reassure them that a way would be found since she didn't believe it was her place even though she doubted that Jaha would prove to be very comforting.

Naturally it was Raven, working with Wick and Sinclair who worked out what needed to be done and they established that there was someone in Berlin who would be able to do it if they only had the necessary tool and materials, which they did not.

"It's for you to work out how to get it there" Sinclair told the other leaders.

Operation of the drones would have to take place a lot further north and as close to the edge of the Atlantic as possible because of the limitations in their range. It was Emori who suggested trying to use Becca's Island as a base.

"ALIE did say she was convinced that the lab would survive and I promised to visit so it would be the perfect excuse" Emori said.

The discussion was short since no one could think of a better idea. It was agreed that Raven, Monty, Don, Sinclair and Emori had to go and other suggestions were sought for security, field medic and food prep. Those specific job suggestions were picked deliberately to allow for Luna, Harper and Murphy to also be selected without any appearance of favouritism (not that Harper knew she was chosen to go to give her and Monty the opportunity to bond).

Because Luna was used to Clarke's precautions, she listened carefully and made sure she knew how to pass on a message if there was a problem. Raven made sure that Jasper knew how to blow things up without overkill if necessary and she also asked that Octavia and Lincoln go to keep a distant watching brief with walkie-talkies so that ALIE could not interfere with those communications.

Raven, unlike Luna, knew exactly what ALIE was capable of and knew they might not be able to leave the island if ALIE refused to let them: at least they might not be able to leave without getting down and dirty both physically and mentally. Raven was almost looking forward to taking on ALIE's code and asked for lots of other things that no one understood the reason for, except for Emori and Clarke: not even Octavia knew the full story of what happened to Murphy at ALIE's hands but the oxygen canisters and the EMPs were a good precaution.

Since Emori was known to have been at the island before the death wave she was the one to keep radio contact as they approached.

"The sensory surveillance columns have gone" Emori said. "They were probably destroyed in the wave. It means no guard drones but we don't know what it means for getting in the lab."

Clarke acknowledged Emori without adding anything: she knew that Emori remembered Clarke saying that the entrance to the lab collapsed in the death wave but that the lab was intact. Clarke had even noted that the computers were still working as she had lain dying.

Emori recorded when they reached the collapsed entrance and noted that none of the pieces of rubble appeared to be too big for them to move fairly easily. The group worked to clear the entrance, mostly without complaint, but naturally Murphy had to comment on the potential damage this labouring was doing to his delicate chef's hands. Monty wondered how everyone in Mt Orlan had put up with him over the past nearly six years!

"We just learned to tune him out" Harper said. "Clarke told us to just think of his voice as awful music that is in the background to whatever else is going on. The difficulty comes when he says something that we need to hear."

"And how often does that happen?" Monty smirked.

"Not very often at all" Luna replied. "If he is talking about menus; and food in general, it's probably worth taking notice. Otan listens to him with rapt attention so that's good enough. Don't know if Otan will find Roan as fascinating."

Clarke smirked at hearing Luna's repost over the radio: "Otan definitely does not find Roan to be as interesting as his dad" she spoke. "When Roan talks and tells the bed time story Otan just looks as him with exasperated patience. He must have learned that look from Emori."

Clarke heared the sniggers and relaxed.

It was Sinclair who got the first look inside the lab. He was in awe. "Everything appears to be working: there's a clock; a radiation measure and weather report; and a note of when the computer was last activated."

"ALIE, it's Emori, are you able to respond?" Emori called.

"A screen is activating and a woman's face has appeared" Sinclair said.

"Hello, Emori, I am glad that you were able to come back to see me. Who else is with you?" Clarke could hear ALIE's computer generated voice.

"I take it you cannot project yourself here" Emori said and then told everyone to introduce themselves so that ALIE could recognise their voices.

"It is so nice for you all to come and see me" ALIE said. "But why have you come?"

"Sinclair and Don need to do something a bit further up north so I suggested that we make our base here and they can drive up and camp over night while they do what they have to do and the rest of us can hang around and talk to you. Raven and Monty are the computer geeks so I thought you would enjoy their company. Is that alright?" Emori asked.

"That is very good, thank you Emori. I cannot communicate beyond this lab so I think the tower must have been destroyed in the wave" ALIE said.

"Sorry that we don't have the ability to rebuild it" Raven said. "Is there any way we can download you onto a portable device then we can take you back with us to Mt Orlan? We could keep you in the Control Room so you could talk with whoever was working at the time."

Clarke was listening in to everything that was said while keeping her side mute. The plan was working. There was no way they wanted to allow ALIE free reign to infiltrate their computer system, but they did want to be able to make use of her knowledge if it was possible. But, if they needed to, they could always just blow the lab so that no one could set ALIE free again.

Raven and Monty were distracting ALIE while the others were removing things that they wanted to take back to Mt Orlan. They had all been warned that they needed to make sure that all doors were blocked open so that ALIE could not lock them in to keep them there. Murphy, Harper and Monty thought that Clarke's instructions were a little over the top, but Raven, Luna and Sinclair were particularly vociferous in making sure everyone adhered to them.

Don and Sinclair packed one of the rovers with the drones and overnight gear and drove further north to get a good look at the Atlantic to see if it was feasible to plan on crossing it in one of the vehicles.

ALIE asked what they were doing and Raven took great pleasure in telling her what was going on and emphasising all the people that they had been able to save. "Our main focus now is to get everyone to their home and to begin helping the earth to heal" Raven said.

"Without intervention, we reckon it will take about 100 years, but luckily we planned and kept seeds, saplings and some animals so that we can at least make sure that some pockets heal quicker" Monty pointed out. "I don't suppose Becca kept a store of anything we could use here, did she?"

Clarke wished Monty had not been quite so blunt, but it may have been useful to indicate that they were not hiding anything. Of-course they were hiding things, but it was best that ALIE thought otherwise.

It turned out that Becca had kept quite a store in the lab of things that would be useful in a post apocalyptical world: fertilised grow bags, seeds of fruits and vegetable including some that they had not kept; clothes; blankets; canned and dried foods; water purification tablets; lots of various tools and very importantly, some hydrazine. If necessary, Clarke wondered if there would be enough to send the rocket over the Atlantic and to land it safely. It would certainly be quicker than driving across the ocean bed.

Raven and Monty downloaded all of the information on the computers so that they could study it at their leisure back in Mt Orlan, it was Raven who asked about the frequent references to Eligius Corporation.

"The Eligius Corporation was an inter-galactical mining company. It was they that financed Becca's work on the Polaris station. She developed the anti-radiation serum for them so that they would not suffer from the increased radiation in space. The last missions lost contact just before the bombs were launched" ALIE explained without saying that she was the one that launched the bombs. "Their fate is not known; but they were equipped for long term missions and could be waiting until it is known that the earth is survivable before attempting to return."

That latter point was something that Clarke didn't know anything about and she thought that she ought to talk to Jaha to try to find out what the Arc knows, if anything.

All seemed to be going well: ALIE had allowed for her programme to be copied but not wiped from the lab's mainframe; various supplies that were likely to prove useful were brought to the upper level and Don and Sinclair said they obtained great footage of the Atlantic. A copy of the footage was downloaded onto the mainframe so that ALIE could assist with the analysis.

"Where's all the trenches?" Monty asked.

"Probably filled in with the sand" Sinclair said. "It looks fairly smooth, though. Do you think the rovers could traverse the sand?"

"The sand will be soft but there will be large rocks close to the surface which could prove hazardous" ALIE advised. "A mechanic will need to form part of the team because it is likely that there will be damage."

"Will motor bikes be better, do you think?" Raven asked.

"No" ALIE replied. "If you look closely at this part of the footage you will see that there are creatures in the sand and it would be safer to camp inside the rover. I will attempt to get a better picture of the creatures."

There was silence as the computer attempted to clear up the image of the creatures apparently crawling through the sand.

"They're crabs!" Luna said. "We used to sometimes get them close to the coast. They're mostly found further north than my former people would usually travel. They're very tasty, though."

"Perhaps whoever goes can see if there's a way to bring enough back to breed" Emori suggested. "I know, it's not the purpose of the mission, we need to get people home if possible but I don't see why we can't try to take advantage of anything that we might come across while doing so."

"That's my girl" Murphy applauded. "Always looking for a way to get more. I do love that attitude."

Everyone laughed, but they also agreed with the concept.

Notes:

The problem with the shuttle needs some welding and without it being fixed it is stuck so unless the Northerners do as Bellamy wanted they need to find a way to get welding stuff to London. I'm sure that Raven would prefer the option of flying the rocket, but that has to be a last resort so it isn't likely that Raven will get the chance to take her family flying!

Chapter 32: London Calling

Summary:

A trip is made to try to help the people in London. Things (note the plural) get a bit complicated!

Notes:

I have no mechanical or engineering knowledge so some of the things said here might be complete bull - just go with it and give a mental snort of haughty derision!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Octavia and Lincoln were bored. They knew they were there 'just in case' and that they should hope that there was nothing for them to do, but they didn't like being bored. It was good to exercise the horses, but they had to be careful because they only had so much food with them and they didn't want to make them suffer; and it was good to have lots of time and privacy to indulge themselves, but they didn't want to spend all day, every day making love; and it was nice to be able to train without worrying who was learning too much from them, but they knew each other so well now that it was more about keeping in shape.

So they were bored and wanted to go home.

Luckily, Don and Sinclair decided that they had everything they could reasonably get from their foray and they also thought it was time to go home to plan the next stage.

No one was happy with how far from the lab the rovers were kept since it made reloading more difficult, but orders were orders and they got right on with the job. Murphy, of-course, had to complain while carrying the precious cargo to the rover but he did nothing to try to get the transport close to the lab.

The first items Sinclair placed in the rover were the two separate tablets with all the information downloaded. Neither were physically capable of wireless connection: a precaution that Clarke, Raven and Emori insisted was needed. He understood when he heard that it was ALIE who actually launched the missiles that almost ended the world.

Raven was telling ALIE that they were going to return to Mt Orlan, but they would visit again when they had to come north again. "Are you okay with us using your lab as a base when we need to make the trips?" Raven asked.

"I do not want you to come and go. I want some to stay here permanently" ALIE replied.

"That one is not going to happen. It's either we leave and don't return, or we leave and we do" Raven stated. "It's your choice."

Suddenly an alarm went off and all the internal doors went to close.

Luna could see what was happening and was glad that they had kept something to obstruct the doors. "Wanheda Clarke thought that you might try to keep us here so she ordered us to block the doors" she said. "You cannot keep us from leaving."

"Monty is shut in" ALIE said as she showed Monty uselessly banging on a door that he had not wedged open. "He will stay. You will not all leave him so others will now stay."

"ALIE, we will all leave. Please let Monty out so that we don't have to destroy your lab to release him" Emori begged as she saw Harper trying to destroy the door mechanism that was keeping Monty shut in.

"Monty will not leave" ALIE reiterated and a light gas was released into the room in which Monty was trapped.

Luckily, although Monty had not taken the precaution of wedging the door open, he had taken the precaution of carrying an oxygen canister and mask. He tried to let Harper and the others know that he was fine as he breathed through his mask.

"Final warning, ALIE" Raven said. "Release Monty or we destroy your lab."

"You cannot destroy it, you have no suitable tools for doing so" ALIE stated. Even though she was an AI and had no real emotions, Raven could have sworn that she looked smug.

'Not for long' Raven thought as she checked that everything that was at risk that they wanted was a safe distance away and she deployed the EMP. Immediately the computers died and all the doors were opened. 'Hasta la vista, ALIE.'

"Monty! Monty! Are you alright?" Harper demanded. "Why the hell didn't you wedge the door opened like you were told to?"

"I'm okay" Monty said as he walked out carrying the box of seeds that he wanted. "I guess I forgot. I didn't really think it would be necessary, and I had my oxygen, so no problem."

"Did I just hear you say that it was no problem, Monty? Sinclair asked sternly as Monty gulped. "If Raven didn't have an EMP it is possible that we wouldn't have been able to open the door before your oxygen ran out. You were given those instructions for a reason and it's going to be hard giving you responsibilities if you're going to forget your instructions because you don't think they're really necessary. As it is, Raven had to destroy some valuable assets to ensure your safety."

Luna looked around at everyone and saw how upset they were, both at the potential loss and the fact that the precautions were needed. "We should get what we can into the rovers and leave. We can always collect more when we head this way again if any of it is reparable. We should block off the entrance to preserve it."

It was a subdued group that left for Mt Orlan.

"So what do people think?" Clarke asked after they had all studied the highlights of the drones' recordings.

"I'm not sure I want us to risk the rovers with all the potential for things to go wrong" Bellamy said.

"I don't think we should either" Don said. "I don't want to leave the people stranded but it's not as if their lives are in danger by staying there."

Clarke waited a little while for others to weigh in before she asked "How about we send one rover and some horses to pull a trailer? They could also be used to pull the rover if it should break down. Volunteers only to go."

"What about the crabs potentially spooking the horses?" Lincoln asked.

"They were fairly close to the British shore. The horses could stop before there, or skirt a little north of them and wait on Ireland for the rover to carry out the rest of the journey. On the way back the trailer could be used to carry a crate for crabs, if whoever goes thinks it's worth trying to catch some" Clarke pointed out.

"I will go and ride one of the horses in a team of four" Roan offered. "It is something I have done before and I know how much food they will need to maintain enough strength to carry out the journey. I do, however, think we should demand a payment that the Arkers agree that any Arkers, Areasians and Europeans who wish to leave them and live with us should be allowed to do so without hindrance or complaints."

"I'll go, too in the rover" Monty said. "I need to prove that I can follow orders and I have no doubt that Roan can pull me back into line if I decide not to. I can also carry out minor repairs if necessary so will be useful for that, too."

"I'll go as a field medic" Harper offered. "If those critters manage to snap at someone I can sterilise and suture a wound."

"Monty, would you be able to work with Raven to cobble together a long range radio so that you'll be able to stay in contact with us?" Clarke asked.

"That bit is the easy bit" Raven said.

"Okay then, if there's no other comments, we'll agree to the plan as outlined and we also go with Roan's suggested ultimatum to Jaha" Clarke said and paused for others to say something. When no one did she said "I must emphasise that if you find that the crossing is too much, you turn back. I am content that you have an uncomfortable journey, but you do not risk your or the horses lives to get there. I hope that there is no ambiguity to that. I understand that the return journey might be a little different, but getting there is to be as far as possible, risk free."

Jaha was not happy when Clarke radioed with the ultimatum. "I do not understand why you think you have a right to claim our people" he exclaimed.

"I don't want the right to claim them; I am demanding the right to accept them. If you cannot agree then my people will not be risking themselves to try to help yours. Get them here yourself, if you think you can then do so without having to surrender anything to me. Let me know when you decide." Clarke cut the connection.

It didn't take long for the Chancellor to call back to speak with Clarke. He was pissed and became even more so when Clarke insisted on them speaking with the rest of the Council, plus Wells and all the original Areasians in the room. When she was sure that her request had been fulfilled Clarke outlined the basis of their agreement.

"I'm going to Mt Orlan."

"Yeah, me too."

"And me"

And so forth until all the Areasians said that they would be moving to Mt Orlan.

"So it will be just us Arkers living here, then" Jaha sounded satisfied, and happy, at last.

"Don't forget that the offer extends to all the Arkers, too" Clarke reminded them.

"I don't think my people will want to leave the security that comes with living under the experience of the Council and live with you. Many had that chance and returned to us when the opportunity arose" Jaha was smug.

"And I am also sure that most will not wish to live with us. We just want them to have the option and if only one or two choose to do so then we'll be very happy to receive them" Clarke shrugged knowing that Jaha wouldn't be so smug if he knew that Wells was also planning on joining the Northerners.

Clarke was very tearful when she realised that she had one more night with Roan before he had to set off. A large convoy was going as far north as they could so that they could carry all the food for as long as possible to save the horses. If she wasn't pregnant Clarke would be part of the convoy. It would be a long journey. Jake was devastated when he learned that he would not be able to see his beloved nontu for a very long time. He was only reassured when he was told that they would speak every day over the radio for a little while.

The people in Berlin had packed up and hiked to London. It took them almost as long as it took the rover to get there from Mt Orlan.

Monty and Roan radioed every eight hours once they began the crossing. It was a most unpleasant journey. The horses got bogged down in the soft sand and their ankles were rubbed raw until Harper fashioned some socks for them using some of their blankets. It meant that they all had to huddle together for warmth at night. The horses were needed to pull the rover a couple of times when it got stuck and they felt at times that they were making no progress. It was easier when it was raining, or just after it had rained, when the sand was firm and wet.

Monty used a drone to show where they were at the end of every day and to point out how far they had travelled.

"I only hope I'm back in time for the birth" Roan muttered as it dawned on him that it was possible that he wouldn't be.

"Is it culturally important to you to be there?" Harper asked. "You know, as either a Royal or as an Azgedan?"

"No, not at all. It's just Clarke's stated view that if I'm not there at the birth, I have no right to be there at the next conception" Roan replied to snorts of laughter from Harper and Monty. "She then went on to tell me exactly how she would arrange my lack of presence at the conception because she didn't need me to be there, just my sperm" he derided himself.

"And if anyone could arrange that, it would be Clarke" Harper agreed. "We'll just have to make sure we take all reasonable steps to return you to your Queen in time."

They finally approached the area that the drones had picked up the crabs: but it looked like the vibrations from the rover made them dig into the sand. Monty guided the drone to show how far they had to go and they all agreed that provided there were no breakdowns they should be able to go straight over the crabs' territory without needing to stop for a break.

This meant that they moved onto British soil somewhere in south Wales.

They found the substantial remains of an old castle that offered shelter. "I guess this place has been here for hundreds of years, through all sorts of war so a little fire wasn't going to completely end it" Monty said.

"I should wait here with the horses; rest them; while you two drive on to London" Roan suggested. "I shall keep the radio and you and I can keep in contact using the walkie-talkies. You can use the radio once you reach the others."

"That sounds reasonable" Monty agreed. "If we spend the night here we should be able to reach the others tomorrow afternoon. We can maintain contact every couple of hours just so we know we're all okay."

Harper removed the socks from the horses, noting that they will need more for the return journey, and checked that abrasions had healed with no infections. Both she and Roan were happy with the condition of the horses.

That evening's radio call to Clarke garnered much amusement at the irony of a King sleeping in a castle: something that hadn't happened for over 100 years.

"How do you know that the Kings never slept in a castle in Azgeda?" Roan asked.

"Please, there are no honest to goodness castles in this continent" Clarke retorted. "What the Azgedan royalty lived in may have been called a castle, I don't know, but I do know that it wasn't one."

"Alright, it was called the Palace and it certainly wasn't a castle" Roan muttered.

It was almost pleasant to sleep knowing that they were on solid ground as opposed to the ocean floor. They didn't bother setting a watch knowing that there was nothing to disturb them, but in the unlikely event that they were wrong, the horses would alert them.

Monty and Harper made good time in getting to London. There weren't many people by the shuttle, less than a dozen, but they were all pleased to see the rover.

"I thought you were coming with horses" Kane said.

"Roan is staying with them near to where we came on to land to give them a rest before they have to start the hazardous journey back. It's very hard work for them so they deserve it" Harper said, not liking the almost accusatory tone that Kane used.

"Then why bring them?" another man asked.

"They were needed to pull the rover when it got stuck in the soft sand" Harper replied.

"Is someone going to help unload that welding equipment?" Monty asked as everyone seemed to be happy to just stand around. "We'll stay until we know whether it works or not: I hope that's okay."

"Yes, of-course it's okay" a woman said.

"I'm Harper, Field Medic, and this is Monty, Computer Engineer" Harper tried to use her manners.

"Hey, yeah, sorry" the woman said. "I'm Hermione and I'm one of five who have said they want to live with you guys; the other four are back at the bunker. You know Marcus and Calvin" she indicated the two who were Arkers. "The others are Berndt and Doris from Berlin; Jerri, Thomas, Abe, Maxi, Joe and Brooke" as various people raised their hands briefly to acknowledge their names. "I guess you'll never remember them all so don't' worry about it."

Monty, Kane, Calvin and Berndt were all looking closely at the front wheel support muttering darkly amongst themselves. Harper could tell from Monty's expression that it wasn't good news.

"I think it has broken clean through and it is resting on itself. Without lifting gear, we can't do a proper weld" Monty said.

The others all nodded sagely.

"What does that mean for getting everyone to Areasi?" Hermione asked.

"We can do a patch up repair, joining a small area around the outside of the support" Berndt explained. "It may be strong enough to get the shuttle up in the air, but it will snap when it lands. Unless there are the facilities to carry out a proper repair, it will be a one shot deal. The alternatives are to take us and have a very bumpy landing and hope for another solution for those in space; take us to space and hope that the station can carry out a proper repair and if they can't hope that it can support us all; or to leave us here and take it up to the station and hope they can fix it."

"We'll need to talk to Clarke" Harper said.

"Why, none of those options have any bearing on you" Kane said.

Monty snorted while Harper looked at Kane in sympathy. "Who do you think will be the one to have to work out what to do to sort out the results of your decision? It sure as hell won't be Jaha."

"Don't speak of the Chancellor with such disrespect" Kane was angry.

"Why not, he's not my Chancellor?" Harper said. "When your problem came to light all he had to offer was 'What are you doing to bring my people home?' knowing that we would be the ones to sort it out. So, you talk to Clarke and at least give her the opportunity to offer her opinion unless you're content for us to let you make your temporary repair and take our equipment back and be on our merry way home and leave the rest to you. And by the way, we'll need some blankets from you to make socks for the horses since the sand rubs their ankles raw and the ones they have are about worn out."

"It wouldn't hurt to talk to Clarke" Berndt said. "She does appear to be the one everyone looks to make the hard choices."

Harper and Monty got on the walkie-talkie to Roan and, in Trig, told him what was going on and why there was the potential for a real problem.

"I shall call her and warn her so that she can prepare with the questions she will need answering before she offer advice. She will want to know how many people from here will be living in Mt Orlan, too" Roan said.

Harper told Roan that it was five: she knew that one was a woman but she didn't know anything else about the others. "All this does mean that we might be here overnight, or maybe two nights, even. Do we have enough feed for the horses?"

"Yes, I worked out a margin for error and we'll still be within those margins. Have they agreed to give us some blankets?"

"I informed that they had to give them and no one contradicted me" Harper was a little sheepish.

Roan laughed and told Harper that she clearly was spending too much time with Clarke and was picking up her bad habits.

"Good habits, you mean" Harper corrected and ended the conversation with Roan and turned to Hermione. "I have informed Roan that we may need to spend a night or two here and he has confirmed that there is enough feed for the horses to have the small delay. He also reminded me about the blankets to make socks for them. If I could be given some blankets today I can make a start."

After a short discussion it was agreed that they would return to the bunker and talk to the Clarke and Jaha about the potential problem and agree a way forward. The next day, those who would work on the shuttle would do so with the aim of taking off the day after.

The accommodations in the bunker were a little cramped since everyone from Berlin was also being housed. Given that the previous weeks had been spent sleeping in the rover both Monty and Harper said that they would be happy to camp on a floor: but they would, however, really appreciated having a shower and washing their clothes since they had not been able to wash since they set off "other than what we could manage in the rain fall" Harper said. The appalled looks they received said it all.

The five that were wishing to join the northerners were all from London, although Berndt did say after the radio conversation that he was thinking of changing his mind.

The conversation was difficult with Clarke only being able to speak via a relay and Jaha consistently tried to talk over her. Eventually Clarke just told him to shut up and let her speak.

"Is it possible that the front wheel will break off on take-off?" Clarke asked: and on being told that it was a real possibility she asked if the Arc had the capability to replace it.

Harper knew that Clarke had already asked Raven and possibly Sinclair that very question and knew that the answer was in the negative. Clarke also asked if the Arc could sustain an extra 300 for however long it would take to make the repairs assuming the weld held until they were able to dock.

"No" Jaha said. "The shuttle would only be able to go to the Arc if it carried no passengers."

"So let me get this straight" Clarke set out the issues; "if the shuttle were to go to the Arc for repairs everyone in London and Berlin would have to stay there. If the shuttle was not reparable, they would have no way of getting to the Areasi later. If the shuttle takes everyone to Areasi it would be a one off trip and another way of getting everyone down from the Arc would have to be found, which would have to happen if it went to the Arc and was not reparable. Is there anything else?"

"That's it in a nutshell, Clarke" Kane agreed. "What do you think?"

"I think you should bring everyone to Areasi and we plan to bring the people on the Arc down by another method. Could they last until winter?" Clarke asked.

"Yes, they could" Jaha replied. "What do you have in mind?"

"Use the remaining dropships to bring down who you can, which means that if necessary you could accept everyone from Europe since the dropships will remove more than will arrive, but you will need to leave a good zero G mechanic up there. Once the dropships have left the mechanic will need to work out which is the most structurally sound station and make it even stronger. Then make it secure for the rest of the people to be safely restrained in it and drop it when we have deep snow. You'll need to make sure you have sufficient rations and blankets and everything for a few weeks, and they will be awful weeks, because we won't be able to get to you until the snows melt but you should be able to survive provided you prepare fully for it."

"That has to be the most preposterous idea that I have ever heard" Jaha said, so quietly that the loudest part was his anger.

"Well, that is my advice. If you're not going to follow it, I'm going to suggest that those who wish to make their home in Mt Orlan each prepare a large back pack with all their personal possessions, a tent, blankets, loads of rations, some canteens of water, wear sturdy clothes, especially boots, and be prepared a real nasty journey. In any case, you'll get here quicker than going via Areasi since the vehicles will be used to take food etc to meet up with you when you get to Nova Scotia so that the second half of the return journey will be a bit easier. They won't be able to get down to Areasi for at least three months."

"Are you saying that those who wish to live with you have the choice of a really awful journey or of staying in Areasi for at least three months, assuming that the Arkadians agree with your plan?" Berndt asked.

"Yes" Clarke made it simple. "Let me know your decision tomorrow. I'm going to bed, the little princess is practising her combat moves on my ribs and kidneys and I tire easily these days. Good night and Monty, Harper, good work on getting there with all of you in one piece. Well done, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Clarke. We all know that if it wasn't for the children that you would have volunteered right along with Roan. The King and Queen could have slept in the castle!" Harper said.

"Yeah, yeah. Roan and I have already had this discussion. Apparently they lived in a palace, not a castle so it's a new one on him, too!"

Berndt spent the evening talking with Harper and Monty and then he spoke with Hermione and Kane. He was very much impressed with Monty since it was he who insisted on cleaning the wheel shaft so that they could get a thorough look at the break. They had thought it was a mere crack but the cleaning had revealed that it was a break and that they were lucky that the weight of the shuttle had kept it together.

He also liked the way that Harper and Monty talked about how Clarke negotiated and organised people so that as many as possible could survive and that there were resources so that all the survivors should be able to live afterwards. It was Clarke who negotiated with the various specialists to be in the various locations for the five years and the one who went to re-establish communications with Polis, the WH and CD bunkers so that it was possible for everyone to remain in contact as soon as the ambient radiation had cleared enough to allow the radio waves through.

Berndt didn't like to think it, but he rather thought that Jaha would be content to leave them all in Europe despite his previous promise, and the fact that many of his own people would also be stuck. He didn't know, but from what Harper and Monty said, if that did prove to be the case Clarke would try to work out a way to get them all to the States.

Berndt asked Kane what he thought about Clarke's idea of bringing the Arc down.

"I think it's probably the best idea anyone could have come up with. She's the one who suggested algae farms to increase oxygen levels; she also talked with her people to get the idea to move everyone out of the flimsy stations that were leaking oxygen. From what others have said, she was also the one to question why it was thought that the earth would not be survivable for another 100 years and got the experts to look for another upcoming catastrophe. I admire Clarke and her leadership skills very much and hope to move to Mt Orlan when I finally reach the earth to settle. Bellamy, the one in charge of the day to day management of Mt Orlan, is also a very inspirational leader. He makes you want to do the work even when it's an awful job that needs doing. Other than coming here, none of the upper management has ever asked their people to do something they haven't done themselves; but even that is not strictly true since Roan is part of the upper management and he is here, or at least on this side of the Atlantic."

Kane's words confirmed Berndt's decision: he went to talk to Monty.

Jaha decided that the shuttle would go straight to the Arc for repairs but that the Europeans would be on it so they wouldn't be stuck on the other side of the Atlantic to the rest of his people. That immediately upset some of the original Europeans since they did not feel that they were his people yet. Three others decided that they would watch and wait before choosing whether or not they wanted to stay with the Arkers or move to Mt Orlan with the Northerners.

Berndt and Hermione asked if they could share the arduous and hazardous journey across the Atlantic with Monty and Harper. A relatively quick conversation with Clarke via Roan and it was agreed provided they made sure to take plenty of rations because it would be at least three weeks, probably closer to six, before they would get any more food; and that they were both fit and well.

The repairs were carried out as best they could without any lifting gear. The mechanics were fairly confident that they would at least be able to lift off. Everyone bar Berndt, Hermione, Monty and Harper packed up everything they could and loaded it into the shuttle.

The fairwells were not particularly tearful or heartfelt: Harper thought that there was too much general apprehension. The four remainers watched with bated breath as the shuttle sped up and all sighed with relief when it safely took to the skies.

"Right, let's have a quick search of the bunker to see if there is anything that might be useful to us that we could take" Harper said, all practicality. "I believe Raven said something about power generation and storage; but I'm sure anything will be great."

It was Berndt who led them to generator room and they found plenty of things that were portable that they could take: they even made sure that they had lots of weather proof covers so that they could keep some things outside the rover when they camped at night. All in all, it was going to be an extremely uncomfortable return journey.

They secured the pilfered things onto the roof of the rover and began what would be the easiest part of their journey. It was a relatively comfortable drive to meet up with Roan and the horses. The five of them looked a lot better than when Harper and Monty last saw them. It was probably a testament of how tough the crossing actually was for them.

"You look better" Harper said.

"I was able to use the trough to have a bath and a shave; I got lots of sleep and I didn't have to worry about anything other than making sure we're ready for the return. You're not looking as well as I thought you would for people who have been comfortable in a bunker. Hello, I'm Roan, Deputy Officer for Strategic Affairs" and Roan offered his left hand to the two new comers.

"Sorry, I should have introduced you as soon as we arrived" Harper said, taking full responsibility. "Roan, this is Berndt, a mechanic from Berlin; and Hermione who appears to be a diplomat from London."

"I tended to be the one to settle disputes, a bit like a judge, and to plan what we would need to do to maintain the bunker, but only did any of the actual work under close supervision" Hermione said. "Diplomat just about sums it up, though."

"Good to meet you both. I hope you are both very strong because at times the next part of the journey is going to be hell" Roan said.

Both Berndt and Hermione were sizing up Roan, but for two different reasons. Berndt had wondered if being offered Roan's left hand to shake was a test of some sort or if he really didn't know that it was traditionally the right hand that offered. It appeared that there was something wrong with his right hand, but surely there was no way a man with an injured arm would be suitable for such a hazardous journey? Perhaps he had injured it on the journey and neither Monty nor Harper had wanted to embarrass Roan by mentioning it.

Hermione was sizing up Roan because he was a very attractive man and she thought that he and she could keep each other warm and entertained on the long nights ahead. Of-course Hermione knew that Roan was married; but she wasn't looking to get between him and his wife, just spend some time together before they moved back to real life.

Monty and Berndt were completely oblivious to Hermione's interest; but Roan wasn't and he would wait to see how far she would push it before putting her in her place; and neither was Harper who was going to make sure that Hermione was headed off at the pass since she did not want to witness the certain fall out if Hermione pressed her case.

"So this will be your last night sleeping in a castle, unless you decide to build one back home" Monty joked.

Roan smiled (and unwittingly increased Hermione's fascination) and said "I don't think it will be if you tech heads work out a way to get us over here fairly easily because I expect that a lot of these ancient buildings have treasures that we could love".

"What do you mean?" Berndt asked.

"I found some wood. Not a lot, and not in good condition, but none-the-less, wood that survived the first apocalypse and praim faya. Who knows what else may have survived in buildings built to the same high standards? I'm going to give it to Clarke: I'm sure she'll think of something fitting to do with it."

"So, Monty, when do you think you tech heads will have worked out a way for us to travel back and forth with relative ease?" Harper asked.

"No idea; you'll have to ask Raven since she is, after all, Tech Heda and I'm sure it will be she who will come up with the plans."

"Not Clarke?" Hermione was a little snide. "I thought Clarke was the one who comes up with all the plans."

"Clarke will probably steer Raven in the direction she needs to go since although she is not a mechanic or engineer, Clarke does have a good understanding of what should be feasible and knows how to prioritise the projects. Clarke knows it wouldn't do to let Raven become bored once she has sorted out the civil engineering work for our town" Monty suggested.

"She has a list" Roan added. "Clarke admitted that it wasn't fixed, but she has an idea of future projects for Raven and her team. I don't know what weight is given to keeping Raven happy and what is geared towards trade, but I know that both are factors in considering what goes on the list and where. They'll both be glad to have at least one new team member to join them.

"Does anyone know if the Arc will be able to send the drop ships close to Areasi or if they will have to land close to us?"

Roan's change of subject puzzled the others, but Monty tried to answer it anyway. "In theory, they should be able to programme exact co-ordinates for where they are to land so should be able to land close to Areasi. Why?"

"It would be better in one way if they could go direct to Areasi without us having to transport them, although we will need to make a journey to collect our people; but there could be problems because we will not be able to control what weapons they have and we could find that they don't let our people go easily. We will have the people who will need to crash land to help with a smooth exchange but Clarke doesn't think that Jaha will behave rationally."

"Not sure if it's helpful, but they programmed our dropship to land on Mt Weather but we were miles away, just as well, really, but who knows what they're gonna do. I agree with Clarke, though; Jaha he does not always behave rationally and it's gonna be worse when he realises that Wells is one of those wishing to live with us, and Kane" Monty was pessimistic.

"Just as well that Clarke is on top of it and has a plan, then, isn't it?" Harper was upbeat.

"How do you know that Clarke has a plan?" Hermione was starting to get on Roan's nerves.

"Because she always has plans, most of which are never needed, but she has contingency plans, plans in case the contingency plans go awry, and more plans just in case there's further problems. Just hope you never get to find out how thorough Clarke is in her planning for things to go wrong" Harper said. "Both Monty and Roan are alive because of Clarke's planning."

Roan smirked, Monty looked sheepish and said "Yeah, I thought she was being over cautious but I was wrong and if it wasn't for the worst case planning I would have died. Because I ignored the plan, a lot of valuable equipment was ruined when an EMP had to be deployed to get me released. Of-course we can get it working again, but it will take a lot of time and there are other priorities. An expensive lesson, but then I heard about the chickens so I guess I'm not the only one."

This time it was Berndt who asked what chickens had to do with anything.

"Nothing to do with Clarke, this one" Roan said. "It seems that some people didn't agree that cleaning is as important as any other job and so carried out a half assed clean of one of the chicken coups. We lost half of our flock to disease because of that. Since then, everyone has been more diligent in making sure that when it is their turn to clean, they do the job thoroughly."

"Who has to do cleaning?" Hermione sounded a little apprehensive.

"Everyone!" replied Roan, Monty and Harper together. "If you are assigned to a specific area, for example Monty is usually computers, so he is part of the team that will make sure the Control Room is kept clean. Clarke is a doctor, so she along with the other medical staff, are responsible for keeping the med bay clean. Admittedly the more senior staff clean less than the junior staff but they do still have to take their turn. Others who do general cleaning only have that as their part time job and can do something more interesting for the rest of their time. We don't have many children so sometimes people are part time cleaners and part time teachers. Cleaning the toilets is a punishment for minor offences so there is usually no shortage of people who do that job!" Roan explained.

"So Clarke is a doctor and head of strategy?" Berndt wanted to clarify.

"Yes. I don't know where she finds the time to do everything" Harper said. "I don't think her family feel that she doesn't have enough time for them either, I know her friends don't."

"Now that Jackson is back from Areasi she is needed in medical less" Roan admitted. "She just keeps an eye on what is happening, she calls it 'doing rounds' every day and spends a whole day there cleaning, stock taking and talking strategy with the rest of the staff. If there was something serious, she would be there in a heart beat to assist. I don't know when she last had a whole day to just relax, though. Perhaps she's resting now that the birth is so near" the latter point was said more in hope than expectation as Harper snorted in amusement.

"You do remember what she was like when she was expecting Jake, don't you? And without you there you can bet Jake is a bit of a nightmare, so no, she won't be resting" Harper said.

Roan smiled fondly in remembrance as he thought about how often Clarke demanded sex to help her prepare for the birth; and then his thoughts turned darker as he realised that he was no longer there to help her. Hermione saw the frown and assumed that it meant there was trouble in paradise.

The group settled down for the night; Roan got on the radio to speak with his family. He spoke to Jake and asked if he was behaving himself for his mama.

"Echo said me naughty!" Jake was affronted.

"I expect you were" Roan agreed with Echo. "What did you do?"

"Good now" Jake avoided the subject. "You come home?"

Roan told his son that he was on his way but that it was night time now and it was time for him to go to sleep. Jake was so amused at the idea that his nontu was going to sleep before him that he passed the radio to his mama without complaint.

Roan deliberately spoke to Clarke in trig so that Hermione wouldn't know what he was saying. He told Clarke about how the woman appeared to be coming on to him and hoped that his indifference was enough to put her off since he didn't want any tension for the long journey.

"Let her and the man see you remove your arm and you may have reactions to go by. They will be interesting if nothing else. Anything else of interest?" Clarke asked.

"No, just worried that you're not resting enough. What did Jake do for Echo to tell him off?"

"He told Otan that he was stupid and hit him because Otan's drawing was better than his. I was impressed that Jake was able to see that Otan's drawing was very good. Emori and Murphy both said that it was a lucky one off but I'm going to keep an eye on him. I need a trainee artist: you don't know if any of our new people from Europe are artists, do you?"

"No, but I shall find out before long. Now, niron, you rest, I'm going to strip for the audience. I'll tell you how it goes tomorrow. I love you and our family."

"I'm going to imagine you stripping and I'm going to enjoy it a hell of a lot more than you will. I love you too. Stay safe."

Monty and Harper, who understood all that was said, could barely contain their sniggers. Monty, who until Roan had mentioned it hadn't noticed Hermione hitting on Roan, but now he thought about it, he could see that she had been doing so. Like Roan, he hoped that Hermione could be put off because it would be very awkward otherwise.

"Harper, Clarke asked if you could look at my arm. Even after six years she is not convinced that I know how to look after it" Roan grumbled and began to take his upper layers off.

"That might be because there was a time when you didn't" Harper reminded Roan. "Hurry up so I can look at it and then you can reassure her tomorrow that I pronounced it good."

Roan carried on stripping, well aware that his upper body is in most circles considered to be attractive. He didn't bother removing the vest, since it wasn't in the way. Ignoring the gasps as the metal arm was revealed he went through the steps of taking it, and then the cuff off.

"What the hell happened to your arm?" Berndt asked.

"Clarke cut it off" Roan said. "It was how we met. Someone who hated my mother decided to kill me since they couldn't get to her, and I got stabbed with a poisoned knife with no known cure. Clarke had me carted about with my arm hanging down, wrists sliced to try to stop the poison spreading. When she got me to her operating room she had me promise that if she saved my life I would live it to the full. Of-course I thought there was no way I was going to live through the poison and the blood loss but I promised her anyway. Right pissed I was too when I came to and realised what she had done to me. Clarke made sure that I knew she felt no pity for me and that she expected me to get out of myself and start to realise that I hadn't lost anything. Raven designed my new arm. Well, Harper, is the site good?"

"Yes, no excessive redness. You're keeping your muscle tone so the cuff and arm are still the right size. You can tell Clarke that all is well. Are we all bedding down together?"

"Yeah, I think so. If we set out all the blankets we should be comfortable enough to get a good night's sleep since it will be our last for a while. If I sleep here against the wall, then you two" he pointed at Monty and Harper, "and then you two. We should be warm enough. Is the rover secured?"

"I'll double check and make sure we have all the blankets, Berndt, come help and I can show what we need to do every night to secure the solar panels" Monty said.

"Come on, Hermione, let's help carry blankets" Harper said as she dragged the woman away from the object of her fascination. "Don't even try to go there" Harper warned. "If you make your feelings any more blatant then Roan will no longer be able to just ignore them and you will not like the result."

"How do you know? He and I may be able to have a great time together. Let's face it, with a pregnant wife and this journey he hasn't had any for a while and I bet he could do with a good, long, hard … . Ow! What the hell was that for?"

Harper slapped Hermione. "I wouldn't be surprised if they had been having radio sex for the past few nights so Roan doesn't need anything. I slapped you; Roan will eviscerate you; Clarke will make you wish you were dead; Echo will make you believe you are and that you're in hell. You will come away from an attempt to seduce Roan with nothing good. Even before Clarke and he got together people were always throwing themselves at him. He availed himself of one of them for one time. Neither of them have wanted to acknowledge that it ever happened. Possibly it actually didn't and they just spent the night together as friends, but Roan has gone a lot longer than this without sex and he is grown up enough to know that one of the cornerstones of a happy marriage is trust. He will not break Clarke's trust. Do yourself a favour, Hermione, and forget Roan as a potential anything. Let us get home and allow this to fade out of our memories and all will be well: push it and nothing for you will be. When we get back, there will be other men for you to pick up."

Hermione thought about Harper's words: it was true that the potential for awkwardness was huge if Roan didn't want to take her up on her offer, and she guessed that both Roan and Clarke could make her life difficult (she didn't know who Echo was so ignored Harper's words about that woman). What she didn't understand is why it was such a big deal. So she asked.

"Why is it such a big deal, it's only sex?"

"If a person is not committed then it isn't a big deal" Harper agreed. "But once vows are exchanged then anyone who tries to come between them is in for a world of hurt. Bellamy has two wives. That is not an issue. He married them both together in the same ceremony. The same applies to their union: you don't make a move on a bonded person. The law allows for the injured party to challenge the perpetrator and let me tell you that there is no way you could beat Clarke in a duel. Vows are taken very seriously; as are promises. You do not give your word unless you intend to keep it. It is one the things that distinguish us from the Arkers."

Luckily for Roan's piece of mind Hermione decided against pressing her suit on him. He thought about what they could do to keep her happy, but away from all the chosen men of Mt Orlan. He mentally snickered to himself as he thought about a way forward for the woman, one that would probably suit everyone since she didn't appear to have a specific area of expertise.

Clarke agreed with Roan when he radioed with his idea the next morning. Harper wanted to have a quick word so that she could tell Clarke (and by virtue of him hearing the conversation, Roan, too) of what happened when they went to get the blankets from the rover. Clarke was even more convinced that Roan's plan was a good idea.

The journey home started out reasonably okay. Roan led the horses who were pulling the trailer. Monty drove the rover with Harper in the passenger seat monitoring their position and anything that the drone might pick up. Berndt and Hermione sat in the back and wondered what all the fuss was about. Lunch and toileting brought home that there were now no comforts.

The afternoon saw Monty and Harper switch roles and Berndt asked if there was anything that he and Hermione could do.

"We could teach you how to drive and work the drone when we take a break so that you two can take some of the burden" Harper said. "That will allow me to spend a bit more time with the horses; but when we need you to do something, please do exactly what we say as soon as we say it. The going is about to get tougher and we will all need to pull together."

"Are you sure that you don't just want to spend a bit more time with Roan?" Hermione asked.

Harper and Monty shared a private smile. "I like someone a bit calmer, civilised and without that raw power that makes me feel safe but so very inferior" Harper said. "I like someone who understands me and where I come from; someone who loves and values me; someone who gives me peace and happiness. As much as I like Roan, even without Clarke he would never have been able to give me that. I admit I would rather spend time with Roan than you, but the same doesn't apply to the others in here" Harper added with a bite.

Monty taught both Hermione and Berndt how to drive. It meant that they were able to share the driving while Monty operated the drone and navigation. Harper spent most of the time in the rover resting so that she could do most of the work with the horses once they had stopped for the night to allow Roan more time to relax (and dodge Hermione's not so subtle passes that she seemed to be unable to help herself from making).

It was the third night in that Roan raised the question of any of the Europeans being artists. "Clarke said that we need an arts teacher" Roan added.

"Can't Clarke do it?" Hermione couldn't stop making the snide comments.

"Well if she had more hours in each day she could" Harper replied. "The mural she did was wonderful and the drawings of the planned outdoors settlement are an inspiration, but really she does have enough on her plate."

Hermione was a little taken aback and thought that Harper was probably being snide herself so just shrugged it off and answered Roan's original question in the negative.

"Well it looks like Clarke is going to have to find another couple of hours a week for arts lessons" Roan shrugged.

"I thought we had a maximum working week of 60 hours" Monty said.

"That does not seem to apply to Clarke, Bellamy, Raven, Luna and me" Roan replied. "I think Clarke works about 80 hours each week. Raven is worse because even when she is supposed to be relaxing she always seems to be fiddling with something useful."

"Yeah, I remember that about Raven" Monty put in. "If she wasn't officially on the clock she was playing with things. She made our first walkie-talkies while playing."

"How do you not resent all the hours she puts in instead spending time with you and your family?" Hermione, this time not snidely, asked.

"I know that Clarke would do anything for her people, as would I; and don't forget that she and I work together a lot of the time, and we train together. Sometimes Clarke takes Jake to the med bay when she's working there in case that's where his field of expertise lay in the future. Before Clarke I was a solitary person, now I have friends with whom I wish to spend time, sometimes with Clarke, sometimes not. Of-course I wish we could spend more time together but Clarke wouldn't be the woman I love if she didn't work so hard for her people. When life is quiet, we're together more" Roan explained.

They were more than half way across the Atlantic when Monty noted a storm ahead. He looked at his tablet and told Hermione to turn around. Monty told Harper what was going on. Harper got out of the rover to inform Roan so he understood why they turned around: there was a ridge not too far back that would provide some form or shelter for the horses.

They reached the spot Monty was aiming for and once everyone was out of the vehicle they were instructed to dig.

"Why?" Berndt asked.

"There's lightening ahead and currently the horses are the tallest objects around and therefore likely to attract it. We need to make a big enough ditch so that they can all stand in it and for the canopy to be less tall than this ridge, so dig" Harper instructed.

With the three shovels they had Monty, Berndt and Hermione began to dig the area Harper marked out while she searched in the back of the rover for the horses rubber boots which were a lot harder to find than their coats. Lincoln thought Clarke was crazy when she insisted on the horses having rubber boots but Harper was glad of them.

Roan arrived and unhitched the trailer from the horses and helped the others with the digging while Harper saw to the horses. The one not using a shovel was instructed remove and store the solar panels safely and to split the supplies evenly between the trailer and the rover so that if one got lost in the storm the other would keep them alive. Monty erected a lightning conductor not too far from them in the hope that it would help keep them safe. Once again Hermione was snide about the excessive precautions.

Once the horses were shod and coated, Harper erected the canopy that would hopefully provide some shelter from the rain. She and Roan would have to be with the horses to try to keep them calm and she guessed it would be a most unpleasant time.

Harper was correct: the wind and rain were vicious. The sand, blowing in seemingly all directions, was making it very difficult to breathe so she and Roan stood in the centre of a horse star trying to keep the poor, terrified animals safe. She and Roan knew that the storm would pass, the horses did not. They had no idea what was happening outside of their little circle.

"That storm is bad. Will Roan and Harper be safe with the horses?" Berndt asked from the relative safety of the rover.

"They know what they are doing" Monty replied. "Roan in particular is good with the horses and Harper has tried to spend as much time with them as she can so that they could learn to trust her too. And that is why we erected a lightening conductor" he added as it was visibly hit by a bolt of lightning.

"How long do you think this will last?" Hermione was a little more subdued than usual.

"Another couple of hours. When we're sure it's safe, we do whatever Roan tells us, even if it is to stay in rover while he and Harper walk them around a bit to calm them down. When they are sure the horses are okay, we then check that both Roan and Harper are fine. Then we check the supplies. No doubt it will then be safe to remove the lightening rod, attach the solar panels, and let Roan radio Clarke so she'll know if there is any damage that she'll need to do something to help us with. We probably won't make any more progress today so will just set up camp for the night – unless we have lost some supplies and need to get back as quickly as possible."

It turned out that the trailer was damaged and the supplies it was storing were gone.

The horses' coats were badly torn from the flying sand and their hips were cut badly enough to need some treatment. Harper appeared to have a broken foot and a wrenched shoulder, but otherwise everyone else was okay.

"Harper, you rest for the remaining journey" Roan declared. Since none of you can ride, you will have to be cramped in the rover. We travel as fast as we can. Monty, your control of the drone will be even more important with navigation. We will be met at Nova Scotia, wherever that is, with more supplies so that is where we're heading."

Monty didn't say that they were heading for Nova Scotia anyway. Without the trailer for the horses to pull it meant that they could travel faster. That did not mean that it was plain sailing: no, the horses were still needed to pull the rover when it got bogged down, with Berndt helping Roan to encourage then to struggle themselves with the sand and to pull the heavy vehicle, which it did a few times. Harper made use of her rest time by repairing the horses' socks and coats, making sure that the horses were no more damaged than they needed to be. The journey was so exhausting that even Hermione didn't have the energy to hit on Roan anymore!

When they were almost at their destination, Berndt pointed out a green light going straight up in the sky.

"That's our target" Monty said. "That's where our people are waiting for us. We're almost there!"

It was a hungry, exhausted, bedraggled, but thanks to the daily rain not thirsty, group that were greeted by the beautiful site of a truck, another rover and two motor bikes; as well as a group of friends.

"Nontu!" shouted a small boy as he ran towards the suddenly smiling man on a giant horse.

"Jake! What are you doing here? It is so good to see you. Have you been good? Is your mama well?" Roan asked without giving Jake a chance to respond.

"Nontu, we have princess!"

"We do?"

"Yes we do, and you're late!" said the voice that Roan missed so much. "We missed you so much. Don't worry, I won't hold it against you, this time. Let me introduce you to Princess Ash."

"Ash?" Roan asked.

"Yeah, I spoke to Echo and she agreed that I could do that. Echo can continue to honour the late Echo, while young Ash can live to honour the Ash that had to die for Nia. Do you approve?" Clarke asked anxiously: they hadn't been able to agree on any names for this one.

"I think it very fitting. Thank you, my love, for giving me a princess, for bringing my family to meet me, and for not making me miss the next conception! Come on, let me introduce you to our two new members" Roan said as he kissed his wife.

"Ah yes, the slutty witch wanna be" Clarke muttered. "Yeah, let me meet them, we can all eat, Harper can have a bath and I'll check on her foot and shoulder, then you. The others can fight it out between them as to who bathes first. Lincoln and Octavia will stay here with the horses to rest them before heading back to Mt Orlan. Bellamy and Branch want to ride the motor bikes."

"Bellamy's here?" Roan was surprised that he hadn't noticed him.

"Yeah, officially he came to welcome Berndt and Hermione. Unofficially he came to have the excuse to ride the bike" Clarke snorted. "We'll stay here for the night. We brought plenty of supplies and then set off for home tomorrow: okay with you?"

Roan smiled and said "It is very okay with me."

Notes:

Well that was a long one: over 10,000 words!

Anyone guess what Roan's plan for Hermione is? I promise, it's not bad.

The next chapter will make it clear that Clarke's use of the word 'bath' was a little generous so don't worry, they haven't suddenly found the nirvana of camping!

Chapter 33: Friend Or Foe?

Summary:

Will Hermione and Berndt turn out to be friends, or foes? What about the people who come from space, are they friends or foes?

Lexa and Costia's wedding goes off almost without any hitches!

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"How did you get the water warm?" Harper asked as she stood being assisted to wash with warm soapy water by Clarke.

"It was something Raven was working on" Clarke explained. "It can't heat a lot of water but it can certainly take the chill off. Once we're sure you're all clean, I'll rinse you off with this lovely warm water before helping you to get dressed in these lovely clean clothes. I'll then put a sling on your shoulder and immobilise your foot. I'll then ask one of our lovely strong men to carry you wherever you need to go. You'll need surgery on that once we get back home, but it will heal completely provided you follow your doctor's orders!"

Harper grunted her acknowledgement and asked "What's the plan for dealing with Hermione?" because she knew there had to be one.

"It was Roan's idea. He's suggested we send her on a diplomatic mission to Eden" Clarke said with a smile.

"I think she will have a great time there. Just be sure to give her an objective or two so she doesn't find out that it is all a sham."

"It isn't totally a sham" Clarke insisted. "She and the rest of the Europeans will have only the Arker's point of view of the coalition and since she is here and doesn't immediately fall into a position like Berndt I want her to get a realistic picture to pass to the others when they get here. Also, I do want her to show how much she can be a peacekeeping diplomat because we could do with more of them, especially when dealing with the Arkers; and if she proves to be competent, then that can be her specific part time role – mobile diplomat: she can travel the country on a motorbike talking to all our friends and allies keeping us on their good side, or at least getting information about why we're on their bad side. I'll give her to Echo to teach her how to fight, and be sneaky in case she needs those skills. She can come with us when we go with Costia to Eden and she can stay for a while."

"I don't think I ever want to get on your bad side" Harper said. "Was the other part of the journey north successful?"

"Yeah; we dropped Hector and Leah off in Montreal. A lot of that town was built underground so much seems to have survived the death wave even if the radiation still seeped in to kill everyone. They should be able to scavenge enough to live, or find the means to end it, whatever is their choice" Clarke was fairly confident that after a while they would decide to kill themselves.

"How did Roan take it?"

"We talked about it while he was alone in the castle. I think he was surprised, pleased, that only Leah elected to go with Hector. He hopes that means that the others will make proper efforts to integrate with us this time. Anyway, in a surprising turn of events, Branch and Willow have begun a relationship."

Harper was puzzled: "Why is Branch with us? I thought he had been granted permission to live in Eden."

"He had but he got some stick for it since he, unlike the others, wasn't chosen. We made him swear fealty to Northernkru so that he can never go back to Eden for anything more than a visit. Lincoln is happy since Branch was one of his friends."

While everyone was enjoying their evening meal Clarke announced that Jaha had told her that they would try to send the dropships to within five miles of Areasi so that we won't need to be concerned about transporting them. "I didn't tell him that I wasn't concerned at all, I just asked about the people who were planning on moving to Mt Orlan" Clarke said. "He told me that they would all be remaining on the Arc until it came down. I think he thought that would upset me because he doesn't think anyone can survive an Arc fall."

"Does that mean he won't order the work to make sure the station to come down isn't as secure as possible?" Monty asked.

"Apparently Kane has said that he will be amongst the last group to come down and that he would make sure everything possible was being done. The main mechanics and skilled workers would come down on the last drop ship. I believe that means that many of the others will realise that Jaha had essentially written them off and want to transfer their loyalties to us. We'll have to work on the building programme, just in case they do. Many of our current people want to move outside, anyway so the homes won't go to waste."

"Kane was a bit weird with me" Harper said. "He snapped at me for not talking about Jaha respectfully enough but he told Berndt that he wanted to live with us, so I wonder what he is playing at."

"He later told me that he hadn't said anything to his people about wanting to live in Mt Orlan and doesn't want them to know for a while. From what I have heard, it would have been expected of him to reprimand someone who spoke in a disrespectful manner about his Chancellor" Berndt said.

"Yeah, probably" Harper agreed. "Calvin was there as well and if he thought about it he would think it odd if Kane had let it pass."

"Kane is known to be a brown nosing stick in the mud, a by the book firmly on the side of the Chancellor council member" Bellamy added. "I wonder what caused the change."

"Hopefully we'll get the chance to talk to him to find out" Roan was bored with the subject. "I have a gift for you, niron" and he went to get the pieces of wood he found in the castle.

"Oh I know the perfect thing to do with this" Clarke exclaimed. "While you three were off being all strong, brave and heroic; I was being clever, sneaky and diplomatic. Titus had to be neutralised with regard to Costia so I wangled it that Titus would perform the bonding ceremony between the Commander and Costia, and he agreed publicly to do so. Even though past commanders had never bonded, love being weakness and all that crap, there is nothing that says they can't; and with the law that to harm one's chosen is the same as harming the person, Titus knows that any attack on Costia is the same as an attack on the Commander and that to do so is Treason. The Commander, Luna and Costia all agree that that is the best protection that Costia can have. So, the pieces of wood, they can be carved into the black half of a chess set, and the white half could be made from glass and that could be our bonding gift to the Commander and Costia. What do you think?"

"I think, my love, that you are indeed clever and sneaky. Well done, it is an excellent idea" Roan agreed.

"Hermione, Harper said you have been used to being somewhat of a peace keeping diplomat, if that's so I'm afraid I want to throw you in at the deep end. We, Roan and I, will need to visit Eden for the ceremony and be all majesterial; I want you to accompany us. The reason is twofold: I want you to get to know the various clans, we'll give you some background before you go so you're not completely in the dark, work out if they have some sort of hierarchy - in theory they shouldn't, all clans being equal, but often that proves not to be the case in practice, be a sort of diplomatic spy, so we can work out who we need to be on the good side of other than the Commander and her team. The second thing I will want you to find out is if there is any resentment towards us, primarily, but also to the Arkers; and if possible, if there is any towards Costia and the Commander, or inter clan rivalries. If you agree, we will leave you there with a guard for a while, I shall ask the Commander if you can be there to learn about the coalition so that you can talk to the people joining us to counteract the bad press that would have already been given to them by Jaha and his coterie, since you will be seen as a neutral. What do you think?"

Roan was so impressed with how Clarke managed that tricky little plan.

"Do you really think I am the best person for the job?" Hermione asked, sounding very unsure and diffident.

"If you think you can play the part of naïve ingénue, full of interest, a little awe and maybe add a touch of distaste that you take great steps to hide, then I am sure you can pick up on all sorts of vibes. They know us too well to be fooled by any of our long standing members" Clarke played with the truth.

"Okay then, I'll give it a go. How long will I need to stay there for?" Hermione asked.

"Well I'll need to ask the Commander, but I was hoping for a maximum of three months, but as long as we maintain radio contact, do you speak any languages other than English? So we can discuss progress and plan accordingly, it can be very flexible."

"I speak French" Hermione said.

"Then when we have our radio conversations, they should be in French, can you practice being crap at English in the meantime?"

"Mais bien sur!" Hermione replied.

"Everyone here, for the time being, you have to be patient with Hermione, her English is not good. Of-course that subterfuge goes down the drain when the others come down from the Arc but it shouldn't be necessary any more by then" Clarke ordered.

"You're up to something" Octavia said. "I don't know what it is, but I know you're up to something."

Clarke half smiled at her friend. "I'm not sure that I need to be up to something, but it's just a feeling I have from something Branch said. I might be seeing things, hearing things, that are just not there, I hope it's all in my over active imagination, but I want to be sure and then I'll apologise to you, Hermione, for sending you on a wild goose chase, as the saying goes."

"Then I think that Lincoln and I should be the guard" Octavia said.

Clarke looked to Lincoln, then Roan, then Bellamy and since all three only nodded their agreement Clarke agreed "You should be back in time before we need to set off for Eden".

As they were just about to set off the next morning they saw the first drop ship fall from the sky. Because of how far north they were, they couldn't tell how close to Areasi it landed as opposed to Mt Orlan. No doubt they would receive an SOS if it turned out it landed miles from Areasi.

Their journey to Mt Orlan was long but boring. Hermione and Berndt infinitely preferred it that way. Roan relished the opportunity to be with Clarke, Jake and Ash, but since they were hardly ever alone it wasn't as good as it could have been. Still, it was nice not to feel that the skin on his face was being ripped away by the biting wind and the sand.

Two days later the second drop ship fell from the sky. Since there had been no message about a problem Clarke had to assume all was well with the landings and that they were close enough to Areasi to hike there. It was seven days later that the third ship landed. Clarke wondered at the cause for the delay: no doubt one of the remaining Areasians would tell Don and she would find out that way.

Monty's first task back home was to establish direct radio contact with the Arc. He was asked to work with Don to make sure that Areasi would not be able to intercept their conversations. Until all the drop ships had left, the contact would, ostensibly, be purely about maintaining contact with those who had declared their wish to join the people of Mt Orlan, and to co-ordinate the Arc fall with Kane.

What didn't surprise Clarke in the slightest is that Jaha had ordered all the skilled workers to be in the drop ships: the only ones left, other than those destined for Mt Orlan, were cleaners and kitchen workers plus two Guards who volunteered to remain to help keep the peace (Clarke understood that to mean that they would also wish to stay with Mt Orlan). Clarke thought that Jaha had miscalculated: did he think that those who had been used to working to a higher rank would be happy to carry out the grunt work for long which is what would have to happen without the unskilled workers because someone had to do it?

Clarke discovered that the delay in sending the third drop ship was caused by an attempt to take the drop ship by those who were told they would have to go to Earth with the Arc. It was only after all the drop ships had landed that Kane admitted that he had those attempting to take the ship locked up rather than floated like Jaha had insisted happen.

"They all know they've been abandoned" Kane said to Clarke. "My mother was not one of those selected for the drop ships and I couldn't leave her. I learned the hard way to appreciate my loved ones and I wasn't going to lose another loved one when I didn't need to. Some of the others who are still here volunteered for the same reasons. Thelonious told me that I was crazy when I told him why I wouldn't be on the last ship like he expected."

"I understand your reasoning, but why not come clean earlier? And what about the others still there? Do they want to eventually find their way to Areasi?" Clarke asked.

"Some are thinking about staying here because they feel that other than that small patch of Eden, there isn't much worth seeing on Earth, which means that Farm Station will have to remain if they do decide that. If they stay here, at least they will know what to expect, have a degree of security that they've never had before. I couldn't say anything earlier in case Thelonious ordered some of the Guards to make sure I was on the ship. I don't think anyone here actually wants to go to Areasi, maybe a handful or two at most" Kane said.

"Okay, when it's time for the station to drop we can talk more about the numbers. Do you think more would be willing to come down here if we could arrange visits to Eden? Perhaps we could set up a type of old fashioned holiday home there. The coalition people will not accept anything from us if they don't feel they are giving back, this is something that I think we could ask for from them – your mother would love it there" Clarke offered a subtle bribe.

"I'll talk to them. Some might feel a little traitorous for not wanting to go to Areasi. I'll give them some time to think about their various options."

"Well we have plenty of time before the snow falls which is when we need to decide the exact timing and other planning.

"Kane?

"Marcus, are you still there?

"What's going on? MARCUS!"

"Erm, Clarke, a very large space ship has appeared in range. I have no idea who they are."

"What? Goodness; it must be one of the Eligius ships. Hail them. We'll try too, keep an open channel and remember that Areasi might be listening."

Clarke immediately got on to the intercom calling for the senior team to come to the Control room "Stat!"

The tablet with ALIE's programme was set up and Clarke explained what Kane said about the ship. "Could it be one of the Eligius ships?" she asked Raven and ALIE.

"Probably. You should hail them" ALIE advised.

A quick look to everyone else showed they agreed with ALIE and had Clarke reaching for the mic with Raven fiddling with the radio settings.

"This is Clarke of Mt Orlan, formerly known as Mt Weather, hailing the unknown ship, presumably from the Eligius fleet above Earth. Come in, please. This is Clarke, Head of Strategy and External Relations of the Northerners based in Mt Orlan, formerly known as Mt Weather calling the unknown ship, presumed to be from the Eligius fleet: come in, please."

This time Clarke waited a couple of minutes before she spoke again, repeating what she said earlier. She was interrupted by Kane.

"Clarke, a drop ship has left the main ship, heading for Earth."

"Raven make this go out on all frequencies."

Raven flipped a few switches, turned a couple of dials and nodded to Clarke.

"This is Clarke hailing the drop ship heading to Earth; make for these co-ordinates" and Clarke gave the co-ordinates for the Camp David bunker. Speaking off mic she asked ALIE if it would be possible for Raven to hack into the computer systems of the drop ship to make sure it lands where they want.

"Yeah, it is: I just might not have enough time if it wants to go somewhere else, though. Keep trying to talk to them" Raven replied.

"This is Clarke of the Northerners of Mt Orlan hailing the drop ship heading for Earth: please head for these co-ordinates. Please be advised that landing outside of the immediate vicinity of the given co-ordinates could be deemed an act of aggression."

"I'm in" Raven exclaimed. "They were heading for the centre of Eden! Bloody hell, they would have killed who knows how many and done a shit load of damage. Top right screen, we're shielded" and an image of the bridge of a ship came on screen.

"An act of aggression, my ass" a woman said.

"I say we bomb the hell out of this Mt Orlan" said a man.

"Colonel, we're being controlled. They're sending us to the co-ordinates they gave us. We can't bomb anything" another guy said.

"Then you had better get control back again hadn't you?" said the first man.

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder 'coz if you don't then I guess I'm gonna get to shoot you after all."

Clarke indicated that she wanted to talk to them again,

"If you shoot him, or anyone, or even use some other weapon to hurt him or anyone, we will initiate the self-destruct sequence and then our problems go away. Now put the gun down and learn to play nice. Which Eligius mission were you?" Clarke asked.

"Well, I guess you're Clarke. Why are you living in a mountain in a barren wasteland instead of the only green patch we could see on the planet?" the woman, the Colonel, Clarke thinks asked.

"Another group of people live there, the people of the Kongeda, the people who survived and adapted to the increased radiation and the new reality after the first apocalypse caused by the launch of all the bombs; a group of people mainly made up of people who survived by living on the space station that you ignored live in the place formerly known as Area 51, we call it Areasi; and there's us, people who have made their home here made up of a mixture of the other two plus people who survived by living in bunkers. Now we're always open to having new friends join us, but the key principle by which we live is to treat everyone with respect. If you can't do that then good luck with the other options. Now, you've landed in what used to be Camp David, you, Colonel, the pilot, plus one other, but not the trigger happy asshole leave your ship, unarmed with your hands raised. A truck will be there shortly to bring you to us. We'll give you some food and water while we run some blood tests to make sure you're not carrying anything that could harm us, and by the way we'll ask you to strip to your underwear and don some of our clothes for the same reason. When we get the all clear from the mas spec we come and talk nicely about how we can help each other. Anyone who could come into contact with you will be wearing a hazmat suit until we know it's safe. We'll speak again shortly, in the meantime think about what you really want from your return to Earth and what you're prepared to give to attain it. As long as we're both reasonable we should be able to make everyone happy. See you soon, Colonel."

The live feed continued. It seemed that the trigger happy asshole didn't learn.

"As soon as the doors open we take the blasters and blow the hell out of whoever comes" he said. "That will teach little miss bitch that we don't take orders."

"You do take orders, McCreary, you take mine" the Colonel said. "We do what she said and play nice. Think about what she said idiot: they want to carry out blood tests to make sure we're not carrying anything that's contagious, sensible of them. That means, idiot, that they have medical facilities. Do you want to mess up possibly the only chance you have to be cured?"

On hearing this, Clarke asked Raven to down load the medical files. They were interesting, but appalling. Most of the miners had chronic metal cancer. She immediately asked Jackson to look at the files and make a recommendation when he can.

Clarke was relieved that the Colonel appeared to be sensible despite thinking that it was okay to land in the middle of a small patch of habitable land, doing who knows what damage to the surroundings in the meantime.

"We don't know that they will be able to cure us so it might be for nothing" McCreary grumbled. "We should have a contingency plan so that if we die anyway we take some of these bastards with us, especially little miss bitch. I really want to have some fun with her before I kill her."

The Colonel shook her head in exasperation. Clarke was betting that she had already worked out that they were listening in. "McCreary, if you, or any of your little dick friends, do anything to mess this up for the rest of my people I will not be happy. And I would bet that in a fair fight, Clarke could kick your ass, and if she couldn't, no doubt she has people who could. Shaw, get ready to go, and get Razor to go with us: remember, unarmed and make sure that Razor knows that."

The pilot, Shaw, got up from his seat and left the bridge. The Colonel turned her back to where the camera was and clearly gesticulated to McCreary without saying anything the mic could pick up. McCreary looked in the direction of the camera, no doubt ready to carry out some damage.

"The truck is nearly there" Clarke spoke through the mic to derail McCreary's actions. "The three leaving should make their way to the exit. No others should leave at this stage. Once the truck team are satisfied that only three are outside the ship, the door will close again. If more than three leave, the door will close and the Colonel, plus Shaw plus one other will live, the other, or others, will be shot. For everyone we kill because you couldn't follow simple instructions, McCreary will receive a knife wound unless he is shot in which case I'll select another. The last knife wound I inflicted was to slice open someone's femoral artery so that they bled to death. I could make it nice and slow – such fun. Not nearly as much fun as publically castrating someone and cutting off their testicles, but you grab the kicks where you can, eh? See you in a bit Colonel."

McCreary did appear to be derailed from his plans as he stormed away from the Bridge. Clarke asked Raven to use the internal cameras to follow McCreary because didn't trust him as far as she could throw him with one hand tied. As Raven tracked McCreary it was clear he didn't realise that he was being watched because they saw him grab another woman,
"Tell the others, we take control in ten" he said to her.

Clarke waited until she was informed that the three were in the truck then asked that the radio be passed to the Colonel.

"McCreary is telling people that they will take control in ten, that was six minutes ago. What is your preference for what we do?" Clarke asked.

"If you can make sure that he really can't take control of the ship, watch and wait, if you're not able to stop him, bomb it because he will wipe you off the face of the Earth if he can. He has access to the weapons that can blow a ruddy great hole in the hull rendering it useless anyway" the Colonel suggested.

Clarke asked Raven if she could gas them all, put them to sleep.

"No, not in sufficient time" Raven declared.

Clarke thought for a second and decided it was worth the risk since she didn't want to have to kill everyone if she didn't have to. She told Raven to patch her through to speak to everyone on the drop ship. "People of the Eligius ship" she spoke, "shortly the door will open once more and you may all step outside. You will see that the landscape is harsh and barren so don't wonder too far from your ship or you may get lost and dehydrated. When we are sure that your Colonel and her team are safe we will discuss with her how we may best help you. I know that some of you are sick; very sick. If it is possible to help you we will, unless you try to take over the ship or attack each other. You will gain nothing from forcibly trying to take control of the ship, but you will lose everything. The doors will now be opened, please go and breathe some fresh air. We will get back to you as soon as we can, after we have spoken with your Colonel."

Clarke indicated to Raven to open the ship doors, keep open any room doors, but not the armoury doors and then power down the ship. She hoped that McCreary didn't already have the weapons that could damage the ship since it could be the best way to get the people down from the Arc.

The drones were deployed since the ship's cameras couldn't be used once it was powered down. The pictures were not pretty: two men had weapons that seemed to incinerate the person they hit, and whatever was beside them. The ship was already damaged beyond repair and the men with the weapons just seemed to enjoy destroying things. Clarke told Raven to send the missile, record the drones' view, but try to keep the drones safe. "And hopefully enough of the 'good guys' have got far enough away that they don't die in the blast."

Raven took a deep breath and programmed the computer to send the least powerful missile they had control over to destroy the drop ship. "I need you to input your pass code" Raven said defeatedly.

Clarke took a deep breath of her own before she input her launch security code.

They watched on the screen as two men continued to shoot anything that moved. She could see that some people had either been shot with a conventional weapon or were laying down, playing dead in the hope that they were left alone.

While Clarke and Raven were watching the carnage take place, Maya called and told Clarke "the Colonel is pregnant, four to five months; the pilot is completely healthy, but curious; and the other man is very sick, cancer. They wouldn't give their names, but they were very compliant."

Still watching the screen, Clarke suggested that Maya asks Bellamy to entertain the pilot in the garage, see if he can get anything worthwhile from him; take the sick one to the med bay to run all the tests possible to discover the extent of the cancer; and bring the Colonel to the Control Room. "Let her know what's happening so that she can object if she wishes" Clarke suggested.

The Colonel didn't object to anything. She did, however, ask when she could have her book back. Clarke raised a brow and nodded to the screen so that the Colonel could see what was happening with her crew and the end of the drop ship as the missile landed.

When the smoke cleared and they once again had visual on the area around the ship, Clarke, Raven and the Colonel could see that those closest to the ship had no chance, including at least one of the men who were shooting to kill and destroy.

Clarke got on the radio to David Miller and told him to take a team to try to find survivors "Use tranques on them all until we are able to determine exactly who did what. I'll tell Jackson what to expect in med bay. If needed, to keep our people safe, shoot to kill, otherwise defence only" Clarke finished. She gave the Colonel a quick once over and turned to Raven "Show the Colonel everything we have recorded since she left the Bridge. I need to help in medical. We need to be able to separate the good guys from the bad and consider appropriate penalties: we don't like the death penalty here, we don't impose it, but we will offer it as an alternative if the guilty party doesn't like what their punishment is. They are your people, though, not ours and none of ours have been hurt - so far - so it is up to you; just know that if you want any of them dead, you will have to do it. I'll send in Echo." Clarke left for the med bay.

Fourteen of the Eligius crew left at the ship were still alive, unfortunately that included McCreary. He had a shrapnel wound that didn't take much work to patch up, Jackson and Clarke even agreed that Maya could do the stitches, as long as she didn't take too much time or make them all nice and neat.

The Colonel said that she would prefer not to execute any of her people, but some did need to be taught hard lessons and asked if Clarke had any suggestions. Clarke insisted that, first, everyone had to be properly introduced so that she and others would know how to address them.

"My name is Charmaine Diyoza, I prefer to be addressed as Diyoza. I prefer that the others introduce themselves so that they can tell you what they want you to call them."

"Fair enough" Clarke agreed. "What pre-natal care have you received, so far? We can't find anything on the records that we down loaded to indicate that you received any."

"I haven't received any. I made damn sure that no one knew I was pregnant or they would have made me abort. I would have been allowed to go to term once I reached 24 weeks" Diyoza replied, completely ignoring the comment about down loaded records.

"Okay, so perhaps for a first check-up you should see Jackson, wait until tomorrow so he is rested, after that, unless there are any problems, Maya is our best for pre and post-natal care. Maya has this way about her that just helps everyone relax, including the babies.

"The cancers are different. We might not be able to save them all. Vinson has a brain tumour that is inoperable. Even if we were able to cure the cancer, we won't be able to correct the damage done to his brain: he will never get better, and every time he receives an electrical jolt, it shortens his life. It's impossible to say which would kill him first, the cancer if left unabated or the tumour. We will talk to him when he is conscious to ask what he wishes us to do.

"For the others, we are going to recommend they agree to an experimental treatment that we think may work: we want to replace as much of the contaminated blood as possible, we think drain two pints from the left leg, transfuse two pints in the right arm. Drain two pints from the right leg, transfuse two into the left arm and repeat at least twice. We then want to carry out a dialysis to try to remove any remaining contaminants. The only thing we can do after that is a bone marrow transplant. Like I said, experimental, it might not work, it might give them more time, it might cure them; but it's all we can do since we have never had to deal with this type of cancer before, sorry" Clarke finished.

Diyoza rubbed her burgeoning belly and sighed. "When I staged the coup on the ship I hoped that we would be returning to a better Earth. An Earth where we could find a safe home, a place to fit in and be happy instead it looked like there was nothing; like we had gone through everything for nothing. I want my child to be able to grow up and be safe, be happy. He or she won't be able to if McCreary and any of his people are around. I don't want to have to execute them, but I will if there is no other solution that will keep my child safe."

"I note that none of the women have the cancer. It is possible that none of those with it will survive. While I talk to them about their options, you work out which ones you can trust so that we can talk options for the rest. I do have an idea for what to do with McCreary but it requires the assistance of someone else and I need to check that she will play ball. A group of us have to travel to Eden to attend a wedding – and by the way, if you had landed where you planned you would have started a war that would have seen all of your people, including you and your baby, wiped out along with the majority of the others who live there. I think you should come to learn about the people who grew from what remained after all the nuclear bombs were set off. I'll ask Costia to give you an overview of them, it's her wedding to the Commander that we're attending; and Don to give you an overview of Areasi. Monty can tell you about what's happened and is happening with Europe and the Arc and why I'm pissed that your ship was destroyed."

Vinson said that he didn't want his cancer treated since it seemed like a lot of effort only to die anyway. The others were grateful for the chance, well, McCreary wasn't exactly grateful: he demanded to know when they were going to start.

Roan and Diyoza got on very well - they admired each other's scars. At first Clarke was a little worried: did Diyoza want her man? The answer was clearly that Diyoza wouldn't mind a man just like Roan but she wasn't going to even try to poach a man who was already taken.

The Commander was agreeable to more from Mt Orlan attending the celebration of her bonding with Costia and for Hermione to stay to learn about the people of the Kongeda. "She is from Europe so she speaks French" Clarke informed the Commander. "We are gradually teaching her to speak our language, and she already has some phrases and words since there are others in Europe who also speak it, but I'm afraid I don't want to over load her by teaching her your language at the same time. If you do happen to think that there might be an area that she could work in for us, let me know, otherwise she might turn out to be a bit of a dead weight unless you want us to start having formal ambassadors?"

"I think, Wanheda, that I would prefer that contact be between us two direct rather than a third party" the Commander replied.

"I do, too, Commander. I'm sure I'll think of something to do with her, and the others who will be coming to join us eventually. At least the other one here now is easy to place" Clarke semi grumbled; but she also preferred that there was direct contact between her and the Commander rather than everything being relayed through ambassadors.

Octavia and Lincoln returned with the horses, who all seemed to be glad to be back home, and had two days' of rest before they had to leave the mountain for the trek to Eden.

Kaylar, Raven and Echo had worked together to design and make crowns for Roan and Clarke; Aurora had worked with Jass and Luna to design and make ceremonial clothing, including cloaks, to wear to the bonding ceremony of Lexa, the Commander of the Kongeda to Costia, of Trikru who would forswear her allegiance to Trikru to pledge to put the Commander first and then the whole of the Kongeda. It was to be a magnificent occasion calling for full majesterial dress and honour.

The King and Queen were accompanied by Luna, Raven, Octavia, Lincoln, Echo, the personal Guards for the Prince and Princess, Hermione, Diyoza, assorted guards as well as Jake and Ash; and the bride, Costia, who wanted Maya to be one of her attendants so had Jasper and Maya with her.

Roan, Luna and Costia all agreed that even though they would face most of the journey by vehicle, they and their guard would need to ride into Eden which meant that they had to take horses and travel slower than they would do otherwise. It wouldn't do for any of the Kongeda to think that Clarke or Roan were lacking in any way so they had to demonstrate their strength and leadership the grounder way, but add their own touch with the vehicles for some of their entourage. The Guard were armed with swords, knives and shock batons. Both Clarke and Roan knew that Miller also had a handgun secreted in his back pack but it was hoped that it was not needed. Echo carried a bow and some arrows and Harper a Raven adapted bow with aluminium arrows. There was also the addition of Roan's arm blade which was an added weapon.

When they were in sight of Eden, the horses were prepared, Roan and Clarke put on their cloaks and swords and they and the Guard, plus Costia mounted and led the entourage into Eden. Raven made sure that they knew exactly where to enter to take the clear path to Heda's Central. As expected they were met and were ordered to leave their guns behind.

"Miller, please give your gun to this guard. Keep the bullets so it can't accidently be fired" Clarke instructed.

Miller dismounted and pulled a gun from its holster and emptied the chambers. He passed it to the guard and told him to wait because he had another in his luggage. Miller did the same with the one in his luggage.

On being pressed about other members of the Royal Guard carrying fayaguns, Clarke insisted that only those trained in the use of them were allowed to carry them at all. She then apologised and called "Harper, do you have a gun with you?"

"No, just my bow and arrows" she called.

Clarke had wanted to leave Harper behind because of her broken foot, but she was informed that there would be an archery competition and Harper was their best so she had to come.

The guard allowed them to pass and they could feel the stares of all the people hiding in the trees, watching, analysing, judging.

They reached Heda's Cental and were greeted by Titus. Costia wasted no time in leaping from her horse and calling for Lexa. Clarke gave Titus the stare as he glared at Costia for her lack of decorum: something that the Commander didn't seemed to mind as she ran to her love to hold her.

After a couple of minutes of Lexa and Costia being all lovey dovey; Clarke and Roan smirking at each other; Titus grimacing as he witnessed the spectacle and other people smiling indulgently; the Commander brought herself to greeting her esteemed visitors.

"Wanheda, Queen Clarke and King Roan from Mt Orlan of the Northernkru, I, Lexa, Commander of the Kongeda welcome you and your party to Eden. I thank you for your care of my chosen and for all that you have taught her. Will you please introduce me to the newest members of your clan?" the Commander asked.

Clarke nodded to the rover and out stepped Hermione and Diyoza, a visibly pregnant Diyoza.

The Commander was almost charming to Hermione, and congratulated Diyoza on the impending birth. She then turned to Clarke and Roan and said "I am sorry for not being clear, and I am pleased to meet Hermione and Diyoza but I was actually referring to the Prince and Princess."

Clarke and Roan smiled and indicated to Echo that the Royal guard should bring out Jake and Ash to meet the Commander.

Ash, naturally, did nothing but lie in Clarke's arms and sleep, but Jake proved that he is his father's son by holding out his hand to the Commander and saying "You pretty like Costia".

The Commander smiled gently at the youngster and told him that no one was prettier than Costia. But Jake insisted that "Mama prettiest" while the Commander replied that she loved Costia so much that she doesn't notice how pretty anyone else is. Jake beamed his approval at the Commander for such sincerity.

The Commander was telling Clarke and Roan that they had accommodations prepared for them so that they may freshen up before meeting the guests from Areasi when a strident voice could be heard: "You have no right to prevent me from seeing my daughter!"

The muttered, impatient, reply was not audible. Clarke turned to the Commander "May I?"

"Allow Wanheda Queen Clarke's Abby through" the Commander said, carefully not acknowledging Abby's status as mother.

"Clarke, thank goodness you're here" Abby said. "These, these people were preventing me from seeing you! What's wrong?"

Clarke raised a haughty brow to her mother and replied "Why would you think there was anything wrong? The Commander had just been introduced to our newest people and had very kindly informed us that we would be shown to our quarters and allowed to freshen up before being meeting her other guests. I should have realised that you would not allow us that curtesy before barging in and being rude to our hosts. Please excuse us, mother, we shall see you after we have the chance to do as the Commander so thoughtfully suggested."

Those who knew Clarke and about her relationship with Abby smirked at Clarke's put down, others just looked shocked. Abby looked incensed, a look that Clarke was very familiar with and refused to let it bother her anymore.

Luna chose that moment to step into the fray. "Commander, it is my great pleasure to be here to witness this historic and long awaited event."

"Luna, my dear friend, thank you. None of this would have been possible without the courage and wisdom of you and Wanheda, Queen Clarke."

Roan decided he didn't like to be ignored and coughed to remind others of his presence.

"And I must not forget all that King Roan sacrificed, too. I am grateful to all of my friends from Northernkru. Now, I shall take Costia away while Titus will lead you to your accommodations. He can point out where the Areasians are staying so that you may make your own way there once you are ready, if you wish to, that is. You are very welcome to wander around Heda's Central and I know other clans would offer to guide you through their territory if you wish, but perhaps leave that for another day."

Abby tried to attach herself to Clarke but the Royal Guard surrounded her and Roan. Titus pointed out the house where the Areasians were staying and Clarke could see Wells waving though one of the windows; she smiled and gave a quick nod.

"Mother, we will see you later" Clarke said in clear dismissal.

Waiting for the Northerners at the house was Aiden. He told them that the house they were staying in was used by the novitiates who all deemed it a great honour to be the servants of their great allies, the people of Northernkru, especially Wanheda Queen Clarke, King Roan and the Commander's dear friend, Luna. All this was said within the hearing of Titus who looked as though he had sucked on a lemon. It was Titus's house that had been surrendered to the Areasians for their stay. Titus was staying with the Commander and Costia, while the novitiates were camping: "We have become too used to our home comforts and the Commander was planning on us having to rough it for a while, this is just the first step" Aiden said with a grin.

Knowing ahead who was coming and all the various relationships, Aiden showed everyone to the room he suggested would be most appropriate for them. He apologised to those who were required to share but he knew that there would be no issues since Northernkru were well known to be co-operative.

Clarke was very happy to see some bowls of water waiting in the room allotted to her and Roan so that they could carry out a quick strip wash to help clean the grubbiness of the journey. Jake was not impressed at having to be cleaned instead of being allowed to go and explore.

There were no children of the same age as Jake so he was practically worshiped by all of the Kongeda with whom they came into contact. He did enjoy being treated like a prince until he asked Gordon, his guard, why his gan'ma was cross?

"Because she doesn't like that she is not the most important person here" Gordon replied.

"Mama and nontu 'portant" Jake declared as if daring Gordon to disagree.

"Yes they are" Gordon agreed. "Here, only the Commander is more important. At home, no one is. But even if they are not important, you should still be very respectful to them."

"Nor'kru 'spect ev'one" Jake pronounced.

"And that is a very good thing to do" an unknown voice said behind them, Gordon instantly on his guard.

"Unca 'Ells!" Jake screeched and ran to greet his radio hero. "You go wedding?"

"Yes, I am here for the wedding, too. The Commander and I play chess so she thinks of me as one of her friends and asked me especially to attend. Your grandma is here to represent the people of Areasi."

"Gan'ma cross she not 'portant" Jake gave the information as solemnly as if imparting a state secret.

Wells could only agree.

Clarke and Roan only went to see Abby. When asked, everyone else was keen to find something else to do. Diyoza did say she would like to meet the Areasians later but first she wished to rest.

The meeting did not go well: Abby could not see that her behaviour was cause of offence.

"These savages were keeping me from you!" Abby cried. "How can that be me offending them?"

"Because they were not keeping you from us, they were being considerate and you spoke to them, and about them, in such a way that it makes it clear that that is exactly how you see them, savages, and you wonder why they, and we, are offended by you. Who thought it would be a good idea to send you on a diplomatic visit? They must have marbles in their brains" Clarke was scathing.

"Why would you be offended?" Abby was puzzled.

"These people are my friends, some very close friends, and allies. Many of my people were part of their culture, including my husband: how could I not be offended, and embarrassed by the rudeness exhibited by my mother?" Clarke was exasperated.

"Well if they hadn't kept me from you …"

"Do you not hear anything I say? They did not keep you from me! They were trying to be considerate of the fact that we had spent days on the trail and offered us a chance to freshen up a little before seeing others. Why could you not be as considerate; or does nobodies' feelings matter except yours? If you couldn't be polite, why bother coming. Let me know when you are willing to apologise to the Commander" and Clarke led a sternly amused Roan back to their accommodation.

Clarke asked Luna if she thought she could be patient enough to go and talk to Abby about the protocol she would be expected to observe during her stay here.

"I can be as patient as you need me to be" Luna agreed.

Clarke might not have been so relieved if she had heard Luna tell Abby that as a favour to Clarke, Luna would advise Dr Griffin how she is expected to behave while in Eden so that she doesn't embarrass Clarke, herself, and all of Areasi, with another display of such blatant disrespect.

Wells was thrilled to see his friends again. He confided in Aiden that he would not be returning to Areasi with Abby and the two guards. Together they went to talk to Clarke and Roan so that they could plan the best way to arrange it so there would be no fallout from Areasi with the Kongeda. Wells gave Clarke all the rest of his personal belongings except for those he would need during the festivities. Aiden said that as his belongings were cleaned, he would arrange for them to 'accidentally' be given to Clarke so that when it came time to leave, all he would have to do is to walk away with what he was wearing.

The bonding ceremony between the Commander and Lexa was a magnificent, solemn occasion. The party afterwards was a blast. Titus somehow managed to swallow his pride and sound like he was happy to oversee the event.

Clarke introduced Anya and Diyoza and explained her idea for McCreary. Anya was happy to oblige her good friend and promised to send him back chastened and obedient, or not at all. Anya and Diyoza spent the rest of the night together and Clarke never thought to ask about it further.

Because she was breast feeding, Clarke was one of the few to abstain from the very excellent wine. Clarke thought it was a good job that they would be staying for one further day so that no one had to ride or drive while nursing a hangover!

The Commander took the opportunity to have a private word with Clarke, mainly to thank her for her part in getting Titus to publicly agree to perform the bonding ceremony and to declare that love can be a strength as well as a weakness. Titus went on to say in the ceremony that he knew the flame gave the Commander the wisdom to know how to use the love she felt for all her people, but especially for Costia, to maintain the strength she needed to carry out her sacred role. He thanked Costia for being an oasis of rest for the Commander – something that Lexa said she never thought she would hear from Titus.

Clarke told the Commander the truth about Hermione's stay. "I know that I may be imagining things, but I have learned to listen to that inner voice that tells me that something could be wrong."

The Commander thought for a moment and said that she agreed that it was very possible for there to be some dissatisfaction with the way the land was allocated and that she was grateful for any insight that Hermione could offer.

Abby did not react well when Wells informed her that he was leaving with the Northerners. At first she thought he intended to merely visit and asked what she should tell his father about when he would return.

"I'm not returning, Abby" Wells stated. "I will make my home there and formally pledge my loyalty to Northernkru. The attitude of my father, the guards, and especially you, towards this event brought home to me how very different we are in outlook. I think of the Commander and Aiden as friends: smart, funny, great friends. That you and my father would think of them as savages appals me. I did think about asking if I could live here, but I thought that it would be better for everyone if I asked instead to live in Mt Orlan. I have left a letter for my father in my room."

It was almost comical when the two Arker guards tried to prevent Wells from leaving with the Northerners. It took Clarke and Luna mere seconds to disable them. Abby was almost shocked to realise that Clarke was able to do that without even blinking.

"Goodbye, mother. May we meet again" Clarke was all business like.

"Bye, Gan'ma", Jake was cheerful.

Clarke held on until she was in one of the rovers with Roan's arms around her to cry: she was convinced that she would never meet her mother again.

Notes:

I think Clarke is being too good to Hermione, but it is possible that she thinks that Hermione will take a liking to one of the clans men and decide to relocate!

Anya and Diyoza or Anya and McCreary? I think Anya could have fun with either of them!

Chapter 34: They All Fall Down

Summary:

The remaining people on the Arc come to Earth and Jaha is not happy that Wells has left Areasi.

Notes:

Although marked complete, there will be an epilogue at some point, to wrap up all the loose ends and look at how Northernkru, the Kongeda and the Arkers fair in the year's ahead. Don't know when I will be able to get around to it, though, but I promise that one day it will appear.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The journey back to Mt Orlan could have been fraught with tension but Wells proved to be the eternal diplomat and asked insightful questions that were designed to show how interested he was in the person with whom he was talking, and to keep the conversation flowing. He would base his questions on the people that he didn't know, and be very self-deprecating about the things he found very difficult. It allowed those who did not know him to see him in his best light and many thought that he would be a welcome addition to the Northerners. Luna settled any doubt that anyone might feel because of who his father is by announcing that the Commander regarded Wells as a good friend, as did Clarke therefore he had to be a good guy, and she reminded everyone that no one held the fact that Clarke was the daughter of Abby against her!

Wells settled into working with Clarke and Roan on strategic planning. Whilst he clearly lacked knowledge about their current capabilities, the questions he raised showed how adept he was at looking at future needs. He wanted to concentrate on preparing for the people to come down from the Arc.

"Until we know the details of those who wish to make their home with us there is little we can do" Clarke said. "You could talk to Kane about the likely numbers, current abilities and interests; then liaise with Bellamy about where they can all work. I'm not saying this as an order, but I think Vera Kane could be employed as a teacher of crafts, or with Marrietta and Cole in child minding. Bree is in charge of accommodation so you'll need to check with her about housing everyone. We'll also need to know if there is anything from Farm Station that we'll be able to use since we'll probably have a big increase in numbers. Where possible, we prepare for the worst that could happen, in this case, the worst is that everyone currently on the Arc wants to live with us. We have to make sure that we can feed them immediately and in the longer term. Liaise with Hannah and Zoe and if there's going to be problems, call a meeting and we can brain storm possible solutions."

Wells took the words of wisdom to heart and got to planning for the fall of the Arc and took the opportunity to work with all the heads of the various departments to ensure that everyone could be fed, housed, clothed and employed.

Don said that he spoke with his people in Areasi: they had bugged some rooms and discovered that Jaha intended not to let the others leave Areasi unless Wells was handed over. It was not a surprise to Clarke. She would need to engage in a little stealth if she was to succeed in getting at least the original Areasians out if not any Arkers who wished to move to Mt Orlan.

"From what I heard and saw, the ones who were even open to the possibility of moving here were at best ambivalent about it" Don said. "They said that it was a big enough change coming to Earth without having to add a completely different way of living to the mix. In theory, most thought your way of leading was great, but they didn't know if it could work out in the long term and so were wary of burning bridges that they might want to cross back if they chose to try the experiment. Wells would know best, but I'm pretty sure you won't get any more takers."

In a way Clarke was relieved because it meant one less problem to have to overcome. Don's people didn't mix overly much with the Arkers so it would be relatively easy to plot with them provided their conversations weren't listened to.

"Do any of your people speak any trig?" Clarke asked: it would make it so much easier if at least one of them did.

"A few speak a few words or phrases; why?"

"It will be easier to plan if the Arkers don't know what we're talking about" Clarke replied. Is there another way out of the bunker other than the main entrance, preferably one that's miles away?"

"There is a service shaft that comes out about five clicks north, north east. They'll have to climb" Don said.

"Then in that case during your next radio conversation with someone, tell them they'll need to start getting fit for when they come here since everyone has to carry out some of the physical work as well as the intellectual. Also, casually mention that trig is often spoken here so ask if they want to have lessons over the radio. I'll radio Jaha as if I think nothing is wrong and ask if he has any idea if any Arkers there wish to move here when we bring the rest of his people to him. I'll suggest to him that if there are some that want to move, we could begin to talk over the radio to try to work out what department they will be placed in."

"Do you think that will fool him?"

"Thelonious Jaha is very arrogant and hears what he wants to hear, believes what he is told if it reflects well on him, thinks I'm nothing more than an insubordinate child: he will believe that I am naïve enough to think that he will keep his word. Until it all hits the fan, that's the image I want to project."

Clarke was correct: Jaha did think that Clarke believed that when the time came he would hand over all the people who wanted to move to Mt Orlan. He was very regretful that the people of the Arc thought that Clarke's way of living was a utopian ideal, but not practical in the long run, and wished to continue to live under the protection that the experience of the Council gave them.

"That's good" Clarke agreed. "I think it is important that people live where they feel safe and if they feel safer living there with you then that is definitely where they should stay. Do you wish to set up formal trade deals with us? I expect that at the moment there is nothing that we wish to trade, but perhaps one day we will need to; or would you rather we just keep being friendly and deal with things on an ad hoc basis?"

Jaha pretended to think for a while before saying "I think you're right: we don't need to trade at the moment, but we can't say for sure that will always be the case. I suggest that we keep things friendly and deal with any issues that crop up in a flexible, ad hoc basis" as if it was his idea and not a repeat of something Clarke had just offered.

"Okay, speak to you again soon, Theo."

"That's Chancellor to you, Clarke" Jaha was stern.

"I thought we were being informal" Clarke retorted; "but never mind: then it must be 'Your Majesty' when speaking to me, or 'Wanheda'" Clarke was not to be denigrated.

"Good bye" Jaha returned with no form of address.

"Clarke we have a problem; a big one" Kane said on the radio. "There's a meteor shower headed our way and we have no way of avoiding it. We can't move far enough away and we don't have the resources to make the likely necessary repairs."

"Can you get everyone into the strongest station? Pack up what you can and come down now?" Clarke asked.

"I don't think we have any choice. Another problem, someone will have to stay here in the GoSci to release the stations" Kane added.

"That's okay" Clarke reassured. "Make sure that whoever stays has enough supplies to survive for a while – oxygen, water, food; and we'll find a way to get them down."

Kane looked like he thought Clarke was telling a comforting falsehood. "I promise, Marcus; we will get them down, I just don't know how long it will take Raven to prepare the rocket but I'll get her started on that straight away. I'll rally the troops to get ready to come and help you once you land, you prepare to leave. If possible, have the person staying in the GoSci release only the station you're leaving in at first so we know which target, or targets, to head for. The others can be released a short while later. Hopefully we'll be able to maintain radio contact. You go prepare our people, but Marcus, no guns" Clarke was emphatic on the last point.

"There are none left" Kane said sadly. "The Chancellor took them all on the drop ships. May we meet again, Clarke."

Clarke notified everyone about what was happening. The youngsters were mobilised to attend group activities that would end in a giant camp out – something they all seemed to enjoy; while the adults who were not child minding were geared up to prepare for mass casualties and the feeding and comforting of the injury free survivors.

Wells was shocked when he saw how everyone was ready to pull together for this: no one seemed to think that it had nothing to do with them so that they should just stay out of it. He saw people moving out of their accommodation and into a communal bunk without a murmur of complaint; he saw the kitchen staff who had just gone off duty return to help prepare more food; he saw the vehicles being brought into the open with medical equipment being loaded onto them; horses were saddled up and trailers attached for them to pull. Then it seemed that everyone was as ready as they could be and they stood and watched the sky, waiting.

To Wells the wait felt endless, but it was mere minutes before they heard the crack of a large object entering the atmosphere. It was coming down fast, too fast not to break up and burn before it even hit the ground, Wells was sure. But he was wrong.

As everyone watched the trajectory of the falling station, Clarke called those riding the horses to mount up and for everyone else to get in the vehicles. Those staying behind were to prepare to receive the first wave of wounded.

They headed out toward the area that in a previous life was called Arkadia: Mecha Station was the one that was chosen to fall. The sound of the crash reverberated around them all, making some wonder if anyone could survive.

There were many people, some holding cloths to wounds on either themselves or others, mostly just sitting on the ground in shock. Clarke couldn't tell if it was shock that they were alive and on the ground, or shock that they didn't get to just walk away.

"Shaw, Echo; get your team and set up the First Aid point for the walking wounded" Clarke called. "Give them clean pads, tea and comforting words. Lincoln, you are in charge of triage: get your team to help separating those needing quicker care into immediate surgery, immediate other and final care. Octavia, Luna, Jass, Wells, Monroe, follow Lincoln's instructions." Clarke knew that Luna and Monroe would be the ones to offer the comfort to those who could not be saved, the others named would offer immediate help and send a runner to find her or Roan. "Everyone else, lead the people out of the station so that we can deal with the injured without others unintentionally hindering. Stay with a group of around ten to talk to them, and offer refreshments and what information you can. Nate and Miller, try to take any weapons you find and secure them." The drivers were staying in the trucks ready to take seriously injured straight to the med bay where Jackson, Maya and Molly awaited them.

Four people were dead before the Northerners arrived: two of them died because they tried to move when they should have stayed still. No one needed final care although there were a few that some thought would require it.

"I need a sharp blade to cut the leg off and a hot blade to cauterize the stump" Clarke said on seeing one man that the Arkers thought was a gonner. Part of the wall had fallen on his leg and they didn't have the ability to remove the debris before he bled out. To help, Clarke set up an I.V. with blood; gave him a sedative; got some people to hold him down and told Roan where to slice the leg through so that she could cauterize the wound before he lost more blood. He would be the first to be taken to Mt Orlan and to Jackson.

There was a number of broken bones, some cuts requiring stitches and a few concussions, most were not worrying and would just need time to heal; but one was unconscious and Clarke couldn't tell if it was serious. Her pupils reacted to light, which was a good sign, but there was no reaction to pain, which was not a good sign. She would be the second one taken to Mt Orlan.

The most serious was one that would die unless they were very lucky: a rail had partly come away from a wall and Joseph Morgan, the oldest person to live on the Arc, was impaled upon it.

"If you can find a way to get me outside to breathe the fresh pure air, I'll die a happy man" Joseph said.

"We'll get you outside to breathe the fresh air, but I'd rather you didn't die just yet since it will ruin my reputation" Clarke said. "It is not going to be easy, and you might not remember your first breath on Earth since I'm going to dose you up with pain killers; but if you fight, and let me and my team do all they can, we'll get you see, smell, feel and hear sounds that you never thought possible: deal?"

"You really think you can do that, young 'un? You barely look old enough to hold a scalpel let alone actually know what to do with it" Joseph snarked.

Those who know about Clarke's prowess with a scalpel gave a half hearted laugh.

"You're still breathing, you've not lost a lot of blood, and we have lots of strong people ready and able to do exactly what I tell them. We can get you out of here with that rail still inside you so we can remove it safely back in our state of the art med bay. And in Mt Orlan, there are no limits to any medical supplies so you don't need to worry about a thing except breathing, and imagining showing everyone your slightly impressive scars at the end of it" Clarke reassured.

"Okay, but you make sure my scar is very impressive, not slightly!"

Clarke injected Joseph with enough pain killer to knock him out; gave instructions for an adaptation being made to a stretcher so that the rail could stick through it. Next, the rail had to be detached from the wall and safely cut to allow for patient transportation. By the time they were ready to transport Joseph, the first truck had returned from Mt Orlan so that he could be taken there with Clarke.

Marcus was amazed at how well they survived the fall: four dead was bad, but not as bad as he feared it would be. Only now they were on the ground did he admit to himself that he thought that Clarke was talking out of her backside when she told them how to get down. It made him wonder if Liza would be safe up in the GoSci until she could be somehow brought down after all. Perhaps they would get to meet again and have the chance to explore what might be between them.

Vera was wandering around, holding the tree, telling everyone that they were blessed and soon they would be able to plant their tree in the Earth just like they had always planned. It was Jass who saw Vera wander away from where everyone was congregating and went to intercept her.

"M'am, hello, my name is Jass. May I show you back to your people so that no one fears that they have lost you?"

"Hello, young lady. Jass: that's a lovely name. My name is Vera Kane; Marcus is my son; do you know where he is?"

"I'm sorry, Vera, but I don't know who Marcus is: but I do know who will know. Shall we find them so that we can ask? Is that tree special to you? I don't think we have any like it with us at Mt Orlan."

Vera explained to Jass the significance of the tree to the people of the Arc. Jass thought it was very sad that these people had been reduced to pouring all their adoration onto one measly tree when they at least had the opportunity to take the many trees for granted. 'No more, though' she thought; 'we can't take them for granted any more' and she watched as the other pieces of this people's former home crashed to the ground – one piece, she could tell, landing in her former home of Azgeda.

It didn't seem like any time at all before everyone had been transported from the crash site to Mt Orlan and assigned housing, even though in some cases it was a little cramped and temporary. The more permanent housing had been assigned to those who had already declared that they would be staying with the Northerners.

The day after the crash, Marcus Kane oversaw a burial of those who had died. It was a short, well attended ceremony even though most could not find themselves to feel too sad since only four had died and they were still celebrating the fact that they were alive.

Personal belongings had been recovered and handed over to the individuals and those belonging to the four who died had been given to Fox to place with the other recyclables.

Liza reported that she was still alive and well but that the ring had sustained damage from the meteor shower and was losing oxygen. She thought that with the supplies, and confining herself into one room, she could survive for about 14 to 20 days. She did say, however, that the large Eligius ship had been struck and looked like it would now be out of commission. That put a dent in Clarke and Raven's plan for retrieving Liza.

"Will there be hydrazine that we can recover?" Clarke asked Diyoza.

"Unless the ship blew up, yes" Diyoza said. "You should go up with Shaw to help transport it."

Raven had thought of going up alone, but she could see the sense of Diyoza's suggestion: not only could Shaw help with the actual transportation, he would know where it was stored which would save time looking if the computer systems were down. It would mean that they would need to make minor adjustments to the pod to seat three, but it was better than the adjustments she had to make last time to seat eight.

Ten days after the Arc fell to Earth, Raven steered Becca's rocket through a ruddy great hole in the hull of the Eligius IV ship. The ship was dead and they would have to do everything manually. As well as topping up their fuel supply, they also topped up their oxygen since they had to spend more time in the ship than they were prepared for. Raven was glad that she had agreed to bring Shaw with her.

While Raven was refuelling the rocket, Shaw went through the ship to grab as much as he could that he thought would be useful on the ground. There was no way he could see that they would ever be able to make sufficient repairs that they would be able to bring it to ground. They were lucky that those still in cryo did not know what had hit them. The last thing they did while on the ship was to programme the space rover to land near Mt Orlan and send it on its way.

"I heard about crossing the Atlantic" Shaw said. "This might be a better way of crossing rough terrain if needed again."

Raven thought it was an excellent idea and wished they had it at the time of the crossing.

Liza was a mess, a very grateful mess. They wasted no time in getting her hydrated, calm and into her space suit. Taking her few personal possessions with them, the three left the GoSci ring to the same fate as the Eligius ship.

The people from the Arc had been on Earth for one complete lunar cycle (except for Liza, of-course) and even those who had been severely injured were well enough to be able to get about. They were called to a meeting.

"We need to know for sure who wishes to be taken to Areasi to join up with Jaha and the Council and who wishes to pledge their loyalty to us, Northernkru" Bellamy began. "We would like to take those moving to Areasi in the near future so we can bring back the rest of our people. Any who are still undecided, please raise your hand."

Three people, who were sitting together, raised their hands.

"Okay, you three stay after the meeting so that we can talk in more detail so you have all the information we can give you to help you make your decision" Bellamy looked at them. "Those who wish to be taken to Areasi, please raise your hands."

Seven people raised their hands. It was fewer than they had thought would want to go. They were told to leave their names with Caron, who raised her hand to let everyone know who she was, so that they could make sure they were notified when the final details of the travel arrangements had been made. They were invited to leave the meeting.

"The main ethos of Northernkru is that everyone is worthy of respect and treated accordingly. If you can't agree to that then you will probably find that your long term happiness will not lie here. Check the rules and punishments. The most serious offences carry the punishment of banishment" Bellamy said. "You've seen what is out there; you won't like it so if you can't live by our rules then chose to live in Areasi."

Bellamy spoke about the type of work that they did and explained that everyone had to do some cleaning work, usually related to the field they were assigned "for example" he said, "Raven works in Engineering. She is Head of Blue Skies, that is the long term strategy projects, but she also has to take her turn in cleaning her lab. Cleaning the general quarters, and the toilets, is a punishment assignment. Senior staff have to do it if there is no one on punishment detail. So far that has only happened for six days" and there were general snorts of laughter. "Thankfully, people can't seem to stop themselves from breaking the rules so they get a month of punishment detail and we usually have a waiting list.

"Everyone gets the same pay regardless of their job: all necessities are provided with all adults getting the same rations except for the builders and pregnant women who are allowed more because they need more. If anyone feels they are still hungry, eat an algae bar. They taste disgusting but they are very nutritious. Worn out clothes and shoes etc can be exchanged for better. Basic furniture is provided. If you want more then you have to make it yourself, or find someone to make it for you in their spare time. All adults receive 20 currency units every lunar cycle, and we still haven't decided what to call it, that can be used to buy sweets and cakes, alcohol, cinema trips, pic-nic baskets, flowers, toys, all sorts of luxuries – and each child receives five currency units to spend.

"We need to formalise our constitution: most of you have seen the discussion paper, if you haven't, you can find it on your room screen or talk to one of our original people who can help you. We will have a meeting when all our people are here to talk and vote on it. All major changes are voted on and anyone aged 16 or over is eligible to vote provided they are not in detention for a serious crime. Any questions?"

One hand was raised. Bellamy indicated she should speak. "If everyone gets the same pay, what's the incentive to work hard and progress? I mean, if being a janitor is going to get me the same pay as being a teacher, I would rather just be a janitor and go without the hassle."

Bellamy smiled at her. "If you are happy to clean then you can be a janitor and clean the common areas except the toilets which will remain punishment detail; or if you have an interest in a specific field then you could work in that department and do most of the cleaning for them, or just be assigned a department that comes with a lot of cleaning. Think about it, to us, cleaning is just as important as anything else – there's no point in feeding people if they're going to die of infection because someone didn't clean their plates properly. We very much want to make sure that everyone does a job that they feel gives them what they need. Everyone must work – no work, no pay, unless you have been given a medical or compassionate exemption."

The meeting ended with most people happy that they had chosen to stay: two, however, chose to change their mind and go to Areasi. The three who were undecided asked for another day to make their decision.

Peter Colins wanted to speak with Clarke. Peter was one of those who had chosen to move to Areasi and he wanted to explain why.

"Beppi has been my best friend for as long as I can remember" he said. "When he first came down I assumed he had died, we were expecting his death. I couldn't believe it when I discovered he was still alive. He told me about what you did: not just the experimental bone marrow transplant, but the fact that you were always very kind and respectful of him. Beppi said that in the first days after you landed you were very injured and at no point did you make him feel that he was a burden to you."

"He wasn't a burden, he helped us" Clarke interjected.

"And that is what he said you would say. Your mother, well, I hate to say it, but she made him feel that he was just using up precious resources. I don't like Dr Griffin – an excellent surgeon, no doubt, but a lousy doctor."

Clarke snorted and offered her agreement.

"But it wasn't that that impressed me the most" Peter said. "It was the day by the lake. Beppi told me that you didn't know what would happen if he chose to go ahead with the operation and asked him what he wanted to do in case he didn't improve – your mother would never have thought to do that. You gave Beppi a day to remember; you and the rest of the delinquents went out of your way to make sure that if Beppi were to die, he would die happy. I see that you still have that attitude; Joseph is stumbling around complaining that you didn't leave him with a very impressive scar and on top of it all he is expected to help teach the kids about history. Thank you for giving him that; that sense that he was not and is not at death's door and that he still has something to contribute. I asked Jackson how easy it was to save him and Jackson said that he could only follow your instructions and that your mother would have just let him go, probably not even bother to offer pain medication if I know her, but you saved his life and his sanity.

"I want you to know that if my newly pregnant daughter wasn't in Areasi, I would ask to stay here: but I need to be where my family is. Leandra and her husband are two of those who like the sound of how you live here but don't think it's possible to keep it up once everything has settled down and people revert back to their normal selfish selves and those at the top will be getting more than those at the bottom. They would rather stay where they are, knowing the limited path they have" he sounded sad.

"It brings a form of security" Clarke explained. "They are not at the bottom, and know they are not likely to fall to the bottom so they are secure, they are safe. It is a very powerful feeling, the feeling of security. Most of those living here didn't feel that before they chose us; many felt like they had nothing to lose so why not?"

Wells was working with Marcus Kane and all the different departments to find homes and employment for all those who fell from the Arc. He was given the task of making sure that the various parts of the fallen stations were stripped of anything useful and was surprised at how much of the wreakages was thought to be useful. He realised how much he didn't know about repurposing things: for example, he didn't know that bed frames could be used to make grills to place over open fires that could be traded with Eden; he wouldn't have been bothered to collect the small pieces of stuffing he found if one member of the team didn't open a bag to start putting them in: "hey, if I fill this bag, it's enough for a cushion" he was told. In fact they found enough stuffing from old mattresses to fill at least five cushions from Alpha.

For some reason, Echo had taken to talking to Wells: he didn't mind, she had a sharp wit and was very interested in his chess matches with the Commander. She asked if Wells would teach her and, of-course, he was happy to oblige.

The time came to take the nine people to Areasi and to collect theirs. Don informed his people to leave by the service shaft, and hide the exit as best they could, in three days' time. They had to make sure they had all their personal belongings with them as well as water, and to make sure at least one of them had a mirror or glass that they could use to signal their location to the truck that would collect them.

Clarke was not one of those leaving for that journey: the meeting of the senior staff had agreed that they couldn't risk something going wrong and Jaha taking the opportunity to kidnap her. It was obvious that Wells wanted to say that his father would never do such a thing, but he knew that his father would do anything he thought necessary to get the outcome that he wanted: namely Wells back in Areasi.

The convoy was at the point where they would split to allow one truck, ostensibly carrying nothing but supplies, to peel off to head for the co-ordinates to collect the Areasians from the service shaft; and the others continued towards the main entrance. They stopped when they were just a few miles away for a break. The Arkers had no idea something was going on.

Dieter radioed Clarke to let her know that they had picked up all their people who were squeezing into the back of the truck to move away from the shaft exit, just in case. Clarke called Jaha on an open signal to let him know that the convoy was almost there and she wanted to check that her people were ready to go.

"I'm afraid that they're not quite ready" Jaha said. "They're just finishing up something for me to aid the transfer. Could your people not stay one night here then they could all set off first thing in the morning?"

"That's strange" Clarke retorted; "the last time I spoke with them they said that you had already taken over everything and they were left with nothing to do but wait to be collected and brought here. They said they were almost at the point of wanting to start walking here they were that bored."

"Yes, well, rightly or wrongly we left some things to the last minute so they are not quite ready to leave. Your people will have to stay here for a night."

"Not going to happen. What is really going on, Theo: do try to be honest?"

"I am not letting your people go until you return my son to me" Jaha growled. "Find a way to get Wells to me quickly and your people can be exchanged for my son."

"No" Clarke was adamant.

Jaha snorted in amusement. "Come on Clarke, we both know that you would not put one person ahead of a dozen, so that's all you need to do; give me one person, Wells, and you can have all your others. Do we have a deal?" Jaha was so sure that he was in control.

"No. What about your people that are almost there waiting to join you?"

"I don't care about them. None of them were chosen to come down in the drop ships so they are expendable" Jaha didn't realise that he spoke on an open signal and that his words were heard by many.

"That's one of our many differences: none of our people are expendable, and that includes Wells. I'll ask the team of drivers to drop your people off about an hour's walk away, if they still want to join you after hearing you describe them as expendable and head back to Mt Orlan." Clarke took a deep breath and went straight for the jugular: "By the way, Dieter just radioed to say that he's collected all the Areasians and is heading to meet up with the convoy. Mt Orlan over and out."

Miller asked how many of the Arkers wanted to be taken closer to Areasi. Five of them did, four wanted to return to Mt Orlan to live.

"Okay, we'll use a drone to watch and make sure they let you in. If you're still up there when the drone heads back in this direction, if you want to change your mind, follow it back to us" Miller offered.

The four and their personal belongings all piled into the back of one rover with Miller driving and Shawn operating the drone. They had just come to the point where they would stop to let out their people when the drone picked up activity from the bunker entrance. Half a dozen guards came out brandishing their guns and fanned out as a not very warm welcome committee. One of the guards spotted the drone and shot at it.

"Sorry, but you're on your own now" Miller said. "You can see the outline of the buildings in the distance that you need to head for. We're getting out of here once we've collected our injured drone. Best of luck to you all."

Three of the Arkers exited the rover; the other, Peter Colins, grabbed one of their arms and asked "Tell my Leandra that I love her very, very much, please?"

"Yeah, I'll do that, Pete. I wish I could do it, but I don't think I have it in me to change now. Better the devil you know, huh?"

"It was Beppi that convinced me that Clarke was not a devil: he thinks she's the best thing to ever happen to him, she saved his life, but only because he wanted her to take the chance, not because she wanted to experiment to see if she could do it. Here, take this. Keep it on the hush, hush. Contact Mt Orlan if you need to get out. Clarke gave it to me and said she would come get me if I called. I'm sure she would for anyone else needing help" and Peter handed over a long range, walkie-talkie that would only talk to one other machine. "Only use it if you need to get out."

With all their people safely home, Northernkru held a memorial for all those who perished in the Death Wave. The people of Eden were invited to send representatives to join in with their memories.

The Commander, Costia, Aiden, representatives of each of the remaining clans (including Anya who was to collect McCreary and return with him as her 'Trainee') came and escorted Octavia, Lincoln and Hermione home. The cavalcade, as it approached Mt Orlan, was an impressive sight. Clarke knew that it was designed to look impressive because Octavia had given daily updates on their journey; Costia and Maya had chatted about interesting medical things they had seen and done over the recent past; the Commander and Wells had chatted and continued their current game of chess; Aiden and Don had spent a few minutes talking about getting all the Areasians to Mt Orlan; Lincoln and Roan enjoyed a dry daily catch up chat each day Lincoln was away. Their chats probably lasted no more than a minute, but Clarke knew that Roan was happy after each call with his friend.

The service was held around the Arc tree of life. Bellamy told the story of a few drunken teenagers talking around the fire about the possibility of there being something coming that would destroy the Earth once again, and how they realised they could prepare for it and be ready to give a kick-start to replenish afterwards. He mentioned how it was necessary for all the people to work as one to make it happen. He gave praise to Monty for finding and making contact with Area 51, Areasi, so that thousands could be saved. He praised the sacrifice of those who had shelter in Mt Orlan but gave up their spots so that others, youngsters, could be saved in their stead.

Roan spoke of the sacrifice of Bogdov, and his determination to give order and hope to the people of Azgeda.

Mbege spoke of those who died in the search for the other bunker that they hoped would save a thousand more people, paying particular attention to the bravery of the Sankru warriors to thesurprise of many who thought he would focus on the Northernkru deaths.

Luna spoke of the deaths of just about all of her former kru, the unknowing sacrifice to her arrogance and she would never forget what she owed their memories.

The representatives of each of the former clans spoke about people they knew who had been left to burn in praimfaya. The clans promised that their spirits would be at peace and offered promises that their deaths would not be in vain.

The Commander spoke in general terms of those who were left behind when the doors to the bunkers were closed: she knew that many were grateful that some would be saved. She expressed her gratitude to Northernkru for sharing their knowledge on how to survive praimfaya so that they may once again thrive as a people. The Commander also gave thanks for the fact that Eden survived the inferno and that her people were able to make a new start, to grow again from the ashes.

Clarke ended the service by talking about all the things they had gained since the death wave. "We have the chance to build a life of peace, real peace; one that is not paid for by someone else. We have friends, great friends and we appreciate all that they give us, even if it is the occasional slap across the head when we need it.

"Without the death wave, I don't know if Costia and Maya would become such great friends; or if the Commander would be someone whom I knew I could call if I needed a helping hand; and I know that Berndt and Don, to name but two, who are great people to have with us; assets in both the literal and metaphorical sense would not be part of our lives. None of this would have happened without the death wave so, I am so very, very sorry for all that was lost – both the people and much of nature, but I am also so very grateful for all that we have gained, and all that we have yet to realise."

Notes:

If you have any ends you particularly want to know what happens, ask and I'll answer.

I hope you enjoyed this second chance that the delinquents got and how they were able to make the most of it. Thanks to those who stuck with my story and gave such wonderful comments, and kudos.

Everyone, please stay safe, and look after your neighbours!

Chapter 35: Epilogue

Summary:

It is five years since the bunker doors were opened and this is a little peak into the lives of the various characters.

Notes:

There is the mention of miscarriage in this chapter but it does not go into details. I hope no-one is too upset by it, and I am sorry if anyone is.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Five years after the doors officially opened Clarke and Roan were holding each other as they cried together. Clarke had just been discharged from the med centre after suffering her second miscarriage. This one was more devastating than the first, she had only been nine weeks pregnant the previous time, but Clarke had carried this baby, another daughter, for 18 weeks; and only the day before she began to bleed, Roan had commented on Clarke's little bump.

"Perhaps we should just be grateful for the wonderful gift of our three and not ask for more" Clarke said.

"We don't ask for more" Roan corrected. "We hope for more but leave it to the will of the gods. I don't know why we have lost two precious gifts, perhaps the gods got it a little wrong, but there is no reason to think that we won't be blessed again."

"I don't know if I want to risk going through this again" Clarke said. "I saw that she was a perfect little girl: our perfect little girl. Another younger sister for Jake to boss around and we lost her!"

"I know, niron, I know" Roan could do nothing but hold his love tight as they both mourned the loss.

"No, Ro, no!" Rory declared to her friend Rona.

"Ror, peeze! Rona begged.

Octavia thought that it might be time to step in before her daughter stomped right over that line of friendship. "'Rora, Rona played at duelling with you so now it's your turn to play roly-poly with her. Don't forget that Rona also has to practice duelling with Jake and Ash so sometimes needs to play something else."

Aurora put her hands on her hips and appeared to be ready to state that she was not going to play roly-poly before Rona declared "'sokay. I pay roly-poly wiv Gus" and wandered off leaving Aurora to wonder what happened.

"I am ashamed of you Aurora. You promised Rona that you would play roly-poly with her if she played duelling with you first. You broke your promise and that is very bad. We will go home now and tell stories."

Aurora knew that her momma's tone meant she should not argue or it would be alone time. "Stories Ben?" she asked looking at the bump that meant a baby was growing in her tummy.

"Yes, we can tell stories to Ben. We can tell him about the other Ben who was so good with horses, how much the other Ben loved horses and the horses loved Ben. Do you think our Ben will love the horses?" Octavia asked her daughter, pleased to have diverted her from her potential tantrum.

"Momma, if Bruno is my brother, why does he live with Anya and not us?" Hope asked her mom Charmaine.

"Because Anya is his momma just like I am yours. You both had the same papa, the one who died when he tried to kill the Commander a long time ago. That's one of the reasons Anya and I are such good friends. We want you and Bruno to grow up and know each other as family. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, but should we move to Eden or Anya and Bruno move here?"

"Anya is the leader of Trikru so she has to live in Trikru lands in Eden, but if you really wanted, when you're a little older we could move there" Charmaine offered.

"Maybe, but I won't see Ash so much if we move, will I? And she might choose someone else to be her best friend."

"No, baby which is why we'll wait to make the decision. In the meantime, you can speak to Bruno and Anya on the radio and we'll still visit them and they'll still visit us every year."

"Who are you going to choose to be the next Fleimkeepa, Titus?" the Commander asked. "Costia thought that Gaia was the obvious choice but you may feel different. Aiden also admires Gaia and he is the one who will have the greater dealings with the next keepa."

"I believe that Gaia will make an admirable successor to me" Titus proclaimed as pompous as ever. "I do believe that it is unwise of you to declare that you will hand over the reins at the same time that a new Fleimkeepa is needed" Titus said for seemed to be the hundredth time.

"I think it right that each Commander should have only one Fleimkeepa and each Fleimkeepa should serve only one Commander. Aiden doesn't necessarily agree with me but has promised that he will honour my choice. I do not think it right that he should not be able to celebrate his ascension to Commander because he will be mourning my death. The Ascension should always be a matter for celebration. He has also said that he doesn't think that he should have children even if he should bond with someone." Lexa sounded sad at that thought: Aiden would be so good with children.

"The nightbleedas that he helps nurture will be his children. It is the correct choice for him" Titus reassured the Commander.

"I think that you are right in that, Titus. I believe he is in love with someone from Northernkru who he does not think will move to Eden to live with him and so has decided not to pursue her."

Titus knew the Commander was correct. "She does visit frequently, though. It is enough for Aiden, but I am not sure how Hermione feels about it."

The Commander smiled: she should have known that Titus would exactly who it was that Aiden was in love with. "Hermione enjoys her time with us and can appreciate our many qualities; but she is definitely not a member of the kongeda. However, she is very good at getting people to relax and talk to her or in her presence and let things slip. Because she discovered the Shallow Valley dissatisfaction with sharing Eden so equally, we were able to stop it taking root and spreading. Their leaders understood the point that if the clans didn't share everything equally then Shallow Valley would have received no places in the bunkers since they would have all gone to Trikru and Azgeda because it was within their lands that the bunkers stood. I think Luwoda enjoy being the hosts of the Northernkru hotel: hospitality is part of their tradition, after all."

"Lotha has asked if she can formally be declared a non-contender for the position of Commander and take on the role of Aiden's Senior Personal Guard. She remembers how close you were to Gustus and thinks it is important that the Commander and their Senior Personal Guard should be able to have complete and utter trust in one another. She thinks that Gustus's betrayal of you was because he was not brought up to know that not all nightbleeders desire power."

"I think it an excellent idea. Lotha is fiercely loyal but has no desire to lead our people, and would much rather serve. Try to encourage the others to decide how they could best serve the kongeda. Something that I think is unfair and very likely unnecessary, but I think we need to establish who would be Aiden's successor if a new batch of novitiates is not ready. Maybe one could be nominated, and agree to become, a Regent, or perhaps they should be a successor. It is something I want us to think about and talk to Aiden before we discuss it with the other nightbleeders and the clans" the Commander said.

"Yes, much would depend on when Aiden lost his fight. It is something that we need to give thought to. We cannot risk leaving the kongeda without a legitimate heir, but neither do we want to lose valuable people to death too soon. I know it was something to which I was opposed, but I now perceive the wisdom of no longer using a conclave to choose the next commander."

"What do you think, Jasper; should we try for a baby? I know you're only 26 but I'm 27 and I'm not getting any younger and if we want two then we really should get started on that sooner rather than later" Maya said as she tried not to look desperate.

"Actually, that was something that I wanted to talk to you about" Jasper looked nervous. "Monty and I were talking …"

"As you frequently do" Maya interrupted.

"Yeah, anyway, Monty and I were both hoping that you and Harper would agree to try to have a child at the same time so they would hopefully be close in age and could grow up to be best friends."

Maya thought for a moment and realised that there seemed to be only one aspect of having children that Jasper was bothered about. "So if I talk to Harper to try to time our conceptions to be close together you'll be happy?" she asked to be sure.

"Yeah, it would be great if you can do that; and if you can arrange to have either both girls or both boys at the same time that would be even better: but I guess that's too much to hope for" he sounded very down at that thought.

Maya didn't say that they did have a way to control the sex of a baby but that Clarke and Jackson had said they didn't want to go down that route unless it became necessary for population control. She didn't think that this would be counted as an adequate excuse. Still, there were things they could do to try to encourage a particular gender and she would talk to Harper to hear what she thought. Maya told Jasper as much.

"That would be great! I promise, I'll do everything you say if it will increase the odds of us having the same sex babies" Maya smiled at Jasper's enthusiasm. She rather thought that they should try for daughters first. "I'm going to make the best drink ever for pregnant women – fruity, with a zesty bite since you can't have alcohol, full of vitamins and minerals and I know once it has Clarke's approval Gina will let us serve it at the bar."

Maya thought that Clarke and Gina might wonder why Jasper had decided to make it now rather than earlier when he focussed all his attention on making the best alcoholic drinks. Then she realised that Clarke wouldn't wonder since she knew Jasper so well, and Gina probably did, too. It would soon be all over that Jasper was expecting to be a father some time soon and no-one would have to say a word.

"No, we are not going to learn whether it's a boy or a girl" Echo declared to her chosen. "I want it to be a surprise when the baby is born. I was glad to learn that there was only one baby and that everything appears to be perfectly normal; but that is all the information I want until we welcome him or her into this world."

"But, Echo, Sweetheart" Wells cajoled; "if we knew what we were having we could find it so much easier to pick out a name."

"You write up a list of ten boys' names that you like and if it's a boy, when he is born I will choose from that list. I will do the same for girls' names for you to choose when she is born."

"Is that how the people from Azgeda traditionally chose names for their children?" Wells asked.

"No, names were never discussed until after the baby was safely delivered. Too many babies were lost prior to birth for parents to want to invest in giving a name to one before they knew they would be safe" Echo explained. "As soon as something has a name, there is a bond."

Wells understood and resolved to cease pushing Echo to discover the gender of their child but to discuss when or if they should try to have a second (he knew that Echo was older than he and that she may feel that she was too old to try to have another).

There was also the issue of his father: his dad had declared that he will not accept Wells's relationship with 'the savage' nor will he acknowledge their child. It was something that he hoped would one day change. At least Abby acknowledged Jake, Ash and Rona as her grandchildren and tried to speak to them once a week to be a part of their lives, no matter how small.

Abby and Thelonious were worried: their people were not happy. Getting to the ground had always been their dream, but now they were here and they might as well have stayed on the Arc. The only difference was that there was no food, oxygen, water or medical shortages.

People wanted to live on the surface but there were no natural building materials nearby and they didn't know how to make any. They would go to the surface to feel the breeze through their hair, but there was nothing to do and nothing to see except the unremitting desert. There seemed to be no point to anything anymore since they were not needed to save humanity.

Wells had told Thelonious about the hotel they had built in Eden that their people could visit for holidays. At first Abby thought the idea of going to stay with the savages for a holiday was preposterous. Now she wondered if they should to negotiate a similar arrangement for their people. She said as much to the Chancellor.

"I don't see how we could negotiate with or trust those savages. And how would we get our people there and back again?" Thelonious argued.

"We trade" Abby suggested. "Surely we have to have something that those people would want: or if not with them then with Clarke and Wells so people could visit there."

"I think too many would want to stay."

Abby knew he was right. They already had one mass defection of Arkers and they still did not know how they exited the bunker or were able to make their way to Mt Orlan. But it did mean that they had very few lower station people to carry out the mundane tasks that they had previously taken for granted. When you had no laundry staff, you had to do your own washing: when you had too few cooks, you had to eat a lot of uncooked vegetables and boring easy to prepare dishes: when you had no tailors, you had to wear very roughly made clothes. The lower orders liked knowing that the work they did was valued as much as the work of the chief medical officer, or the chief engineer.

"We have to do something or we will die out" Abby argued. "We had just two children born last year, and so far there is only one pregnancy this year. Perhaps we can ask Wells for his advice, ask what it would take to get him to move back here?"

"Wells would only come back here if we were to accept his savage girlfriend and her spawn. Unless I was to pretend to accept them when he's here we can banish her and her brat. They wouldn't be able to last very long out there."

It was at that point that Abby realised that her friend, her lover was past the point of safe return. "You can't do that; Wells would never stand for it and it might lead to Clarke retaliating. When you speak to him next, ask how he thinks we can improve morale among our people; I'll do the same when talking to Clarke" she suggested while she plotted to remove him from power.

Jonus Cray and his wife were eating their rations of carrots and soy, thinking about the food they enjoyed for the short time they stayed in Mt Orlan when they came down on the first shuttle after the death wave.

"We should have stayed with them" Freya said to her husband. "I would be able to make all sorts of craft items for people instead of being demoted to a janitor and you would be able to be a mechanic instead of a dogsbody."

"Yeah, I know we would also have to do a share of the crap work, everyone did; it was the main thing to put me off wanting to stay with them when I heard how they organised themselves; but we would also have been able to do some enjoyable work. The thing is, how do we get out of here and get to them? Jaha seems to have cut off all communication between us and them."

"I bet he still talks to his son and Dr Griffin to her daughter, though" Freya was more than a little bitter.

"I'm going to try to find a way to hack into the radio signal and call them. It's got to be worth a try, right?" Jonus desperately asked his wife.

Freya thought about the possible consequences, and realised that they really had very little to lose: they weren't really living; they were marking time until they died. "Go for it" she said.

"Well, what do you think?" Raven asked Luna as she proudly displayed the plane that she and Shaw had rebuilt from the shell they found in the remains of the Smithsonian museum.

"I think that if you think I am getting in that thing with you to fly across the world you are mad" Luna declared.

"No sense of adventure. We've already driven it along the ground, and shown that it can build up enough speed to take off" Raven looked at Luna and could see that she would not be budged. "Okay, then I'll ask Emori if she wants to come up first with me."

"I don't think they'll want to have half of the best mechanics up in that thing. Ask Bellamy or Roan" Luna suggested. "And since he used to fly these things, don't you think that Shaw would be the best person to try if first?"

"Maybe he should be the one, but I want to. I'll ask Bellamy: he won't be scared and Roan won't want anyone to know that he would be" Raven said. She didn't add that it had been a while since she had spent any time with Bellamy and she missed him. He did have his hands full with two wives and six children so it was understandable that he wasn't available to socialise much, but this was the perfect opportunity.

Bellamy was thrilled to take part in the inaugural flight of the small plane that it was hoped would prove to be a prototype for larger planes to be built in the future. A large crowd came out to watch the almost magical event of people flying in the sky like a bird.

"Ready Bellamy?" Raven asked as the excitement got to her.

"Go for it Rae" Bellamy enthused. "Let's see what this bird has to offer."

They taxied to the start of the runway and turned the plane. Raven checked that no-one was close enough to get burned by the thrusters and let go. In mere seconds they were leaving the ground and soaring up towards the clouds. They burst through the clouds to see the sky as the most beautiful shade of blue they could ever have imagined.

"You have got to bring Clarke up here to see this sky" Bellamy said.

"No can do" Raven argued; "she would be forever trying to replicate that exact shade and I think such an impossible task will drive her nuts" as she knew that the open radio signal would be relaying their conversation to Clarke.

Bellamy could only agree.

Two minutes later they broke back through the cloud to head back home.

The landing was a little bumpy. Raven had never had to worry about landing something before but she knew she would improve with practice: and she was determined to be able to get in plenty of practice. Shaw was a trained pilot, (and didn't she have to do some begging, cajoling and pulling rank to do this first flight instead of him) so he would also have the opportunity to take plenty of flights. Raven thought that Shaw should also give flying lessons to some of the others, too, so they had a bank of pilots.

Hopefully, now that they knew their schematic worked, they would soon (well, sometime within the next few years) have a small fleet of planes to fly to Eden for visits, and to go across the world looking for other survivors and resources.

"Do you think that we should agree to take on the responsibility?" Marcus asked Don.

"I think that it's a great opportunity to look beyond that which we know, to be an explorer. I want to do it, but you need to talk to Liza about it. How will she feel about you potentially disappearing on her for at least a few weeks?"

"I think Liza will see it as an ideal opportunity for her to do something that would take her from here too. I think she would like to spend some time in Eden with Hermione and Aiden: take the opportunity to explore the plant life there and see if there are any plants we would benefit from having, too. Although she was Mecha station – which means she was predestined to work in engineering systems and Liza's task was to clean out the air filters, she was always interested in botany and loved plants" Kane explained Liza's situation in the Arc while giving him a little time to think. "Alright, if Liza is okay with me going across the strip then I'm with you. We take the rover and go up through Canada and Greenland to Russia for St Petersberg and Moscow for starters" Marcus agreed. It would be the longest planned trip yet and he was a little nervous that he was chosen for it.

'You speak Russian, idiot' he thought to himself. There was always the chance that there were survivors in bunkers and it would be helpful to be able to communicate with them. He thought about all the things that they might need to say and resolved to make sure he could make himself understood before they went: he had to look some things up because he hadn't previously learned how to ask about radiation sickness and bone marrow transplants! He also knew that he and Don were asked because although they both had partners, he had Liza and Don and Molly had an intermittent relationship, none of them had children who would lose out by their father being gone for so long: additionally, Don was a wiz with the electronics, especially communications, which would be a plus.

Berndt was pleased that he had been asked to take flying lessons. Building the planes so that they could fly instead of driving everywhere was awesome, but learning to fly them too was beyond what he thought he would achieve, even once he made the move to America.

Berndt knew that he was probably the happiest out of all the people who had joined the Northerners from Europe (except perhaps for Hermione who seemed to find great pleasure in everything now that she had turned her attention away from Roan), but he also knew that everyone else had settled and was happier than they had ever been in their lives. They had jobs, somewhere to go to get some 'me time' as Hermione calls is, and they could envision a future for their children. No one thought that they were just marking time anymore; they were all actually living now, with all the problems as well as privileges that entailed.

"So we are agreed, then" Marta said to Megan, "we talk to Maya about making sure we do not have any more babies: six is quite enough for one family."

"Yes. Do you think Bellamy will be cross with us?" Megan asked.

"Of-course he will not be cross" Marta reassured her gentle twin. "I expect that he will want to come with us to make sure that nothing is done that could harm us, that is all."

"So you definitely think we should tell him?" Megan wasn't so sure that Bellamy needed to know that his wives were taking steps to make sure that they gave him no more children.

"Yes, this affects him too. We are his family and he has a right to know about what is happening with his family. Do not forget, he was brought up to believe that each woman should only have the one child so he was thrilled when we had our second, and our third. That we have six children is, I think, more than he ever thought he could have. Bellamy will not be cross with us, I promise."

Marta was correct: in fact Bellamy apologised to his wives for not thinking about talking to them about the size of their family and taking steps to make sure everyone was happy with what they had. "Six children is far more than I ever thought I would be blessed with, so if six is the right number for you two to stop, then I say let's go and talk pregnancy prevention with Maya. Think of the fun we can have once that is taken care of!"

Marta snorted while Megan blushed thinking of the type of fun Bellamy had in mind.

Finn wandered up to Bree and with a charmingly sheepish smile told her that he needed his own place.

"What, did she chuck you out again?" Bree asked the eternal philanderer.

"Yeah, Tessy is pregnant and I think that really put her over the edge" Finn sounded bewildered by the state of affairs.

"Why didn't you make sure that Tessy had an implant? Jeepers, if you're going to sleep around you have to check on these things" Bree was exasperated.

"I just assumed that if a woman was going to sleep with a man in a committed relationship that she would automatically take care of these things" Finn said. "She said that she wanted a child but she didn't want to have a man hang around and get in the way! Why would she want that?"

"Probably because Tessy is gay. She and Nylah live together and Tessy probably drew the short straw. I guess they didn't want to share custody with the biological father if they asked a gay male couple for assistance. I have no sympathy for you, Finn; you can't seem to stick to anything, be it a woman or a job. Anyway, I'll see what I can do: in the meantime, there's a free bed in the male bunk room."

Zoe Monroe was examining the proposed pasture for their sheep and cows. It wasn't large enough to feed them all, in fact it won't last more than a few weeks, she knew, but it was an important step in getting the animals used to being above ground again. For the time being, it would work more as an enclosure with the majority of the feed being brought up to them. The cows and sheep would be coming up soon, but first Zoe wanted to make sure that the pigs were all settled in their new outdoors home – they appeared to be happy rolling in the mud!

The chickens already had their outside area that included a covered barn of nesting boxes for them and the egg production was back to the previous high levels. The hens didn't spend as much time outside as she thought they would – they probably preferred the warm dry barn, but at least now they had the choice.

Although it rained almost every day, the rivers and reservoir had still to take shape. They now had mud at the bottom of the river bed so perhaps it wouldn't be too long before they also had rivers, or at least streams: but in the meantime, Josh, assisted by Engineering Apprentice Ito (who was watched by his adoring girlfriend, Madi), was building a lined river to meander around their village with a pump to mimic the movement of a natural river so that they could try to bring some of the fish outside, too.

Although it would have been so much better if they could have hidden in the bunker for the five years and then just moved out once that time was up, Zoe found she actually enjoyed the challenge of the long term planning of the move of the animals to the surface. The only issue she had is that no one wanted to agree to bringing the goats up because they were a nightmare to control; but they would do that too, eventually. It would be a long time, though before they would be able to release the deer to roam through the woods and by then they probably would be fairly well domesticated.

So far, and fingers crossed that it continued to be the case, there seemed to be no predators that had survived the death wave for them to worry about, except for people, and the good ones were currently in the majority and had all the strength: Zoe hoped it would continue thus, but she did worry about the silence from the Arkers: nothing good ever came from a quiet Arc Chancellor and Council.

Notes:

A hint of a cliff hanger!

At some point I will probably write another epilogue set another five years into the future. Let me know if there is anyone you want me to mention then.

Chapter 36: Epilogue 2 - 25 Years After Praimfaya

Summary:

A brief catch up with what's happening with everyone 25 years after praimfaya.

Notes:

Hello to you all, and I hope you are all staying safe.

I wanted to write another epilogue so that you know that my world of second chances carries on with life being both good and bad for our favourite characters. I hope you enjoy this little peak into Northernkru's HEA.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

25 Years After Praimfayer
(20 after opening doors and previous chapter)

"Mother, please, we will be fine. Tell her, nontu" Jake almost begged his father.

Roan just smiled at his eldest son and shrugged his shoulders. He knew that there was no point in him trying to tell his wife that their children will be well.

Clarke caught the silent exchange between father and son and sighed. "I know that you are as prepared for this trip as it is possible to be. I also know that you are both my and your father's son so no matter what I say or think you'll do this anyway. I just want you to know that no matter how mature you are, how well prepared, or what it is you do, I will worry all the time that I cannot see you, just as I do with all my loved ones. I assure you that you are not unique in that respect, and that regardless of my fears, baseless or otherwise, I am proud to wave you off."

"I know mom" Jake hugged his mom. "Now I understand why Nora was the first to board, she knew this was how you would react and she moved quickly out of the firing line, didn't she?"

Roan snorted. "In many ways, Nora is most like your mother. As well as inheriting the healing gene, she also knows when to try to avoid her own mother. None-the-less, even though you are well prepared, I don't want you to think that you can go on this mission and not think about the possible dangers. You are the mission leader and are responsible for everyones' lives. If something happens to Gus, you are the one who has to explain it to Bellamy and Megan and I promise you that neither your mom nor I will stand before you."

Jake accepted the reminder that being a leader was serious business and that he had to take the role seriously. They were not off for a fun filled holiday away from their parents. They were exploring the old continent of South America, looking mainly for useful plants. They didn't expect to come across any humans (athough they knew to be prepared just in case) but they did expect to come across insects and small animals and they knew from the unfortunate death of Marta that small and cute did not mean harmless.

"I promise to take all reasonable and some not so reasonable precautions to make sure that all of us come back safely. I love you. Someone will be in touch regularly, I promise. Take care of each other, and of the tykes" Jake smiled as he though of his two youngest siblings, referred to as the tykes by nearly all of Northhernkru.

Clarke hugged her husband as she watched the helicopter carrying two of her beloved children take off. "I have a little more sypmpathy for my mother now, and they are older than I was when I came to Earth."

"Speaking of your mother, are you sure that it's a good idea to let Ash go?" Roan asked as he and Clarke walked back to their home.

"I think it is the right thing to do. There can't be many more than 25 people living there now and they are all over 40 years old. They have to know that Areasi is no longer a viable community. Griffin inherited his father's diplomatic, and his mother's spy skills so if anyone can talk them into all coming here, he can. And between Ash, Hope and Griffin, if the Council try to keep them, I know that they will be able to find or fight their way out. I know we didn't have as many children as Bellamy like you wanted, but thank you for my five blessings" Clarke was a little melancholy as she thought about her family.

Roan, in an effort to turn Clarke's mind to happier thoughts, snorted and said "Our last two are a lot more trouble than our older three plus Bellamy's six added together so thank goodness we didn't have more".

This time it was Clarke who snorted. "We were a lot older when we had our last two; and they were spoiled by us all. They're only five years old, plenty of time for them to grow up" she hoped.

The next day Ash, Hope and Griffin (feeling very like a third wheel since Ash and Hope were a very much in love couple) set off for Areasi. They hoped that they would be able to talk the residents into moving to Mt Orlan or Washington, or even Norfolk if they wanted to live by the sea.

Griffin had never met or talked to his grandfather, but he had seen him on screen a couple of times. Thelonious had paid no attention to the young man attending a meeting and had focussed solely on Wells or Clarke. Thelonious would talk to no one else but them or Marcus Kane. Griffin was not impressed.

He had spoken with Abby once at a tele-meeting: although she was polite she didn't seem to know who he was – which was puzzling since he was sure that his dad spoke to both Thelonious and Abby about him. He had no doubt that his presence would be a shock; and a challenge to the leaders of Areasi.

Clint was almost looking forward to the visit from the Northernkru delegation. He wondered if it would be anyone he recognised; and then he remembered that it was mentioned that the delegation would be led by Clarke's daughter. Clint snorted and almost pitied the Council if the daughter was anything like her mother.

Clint knew he made a mistake by wanting to stay in Areasi but he was too proud to admit it when he had the opportunity to return to Mt Orlan after the death wave. At first, like almost everyone else from the Arc, he assumed that the settlement in Mt Orlan would fail and that Areasi would go from strength to strength. It wasn't long after they were shut in that he began to consider that he might have made a mistake. When the whooping cough outbreak decimated the people of Areasi yet some people from Mt Orlan risked their own lives to help them, he knew he had made a mistake (but he was pleased to see Philip Rhodes and how wel he was doing with the transplant from Charles). It was pushed home when he heard how Roan led a team to traverse the Atlantic to help rescue their people from Europe and how the factory workers had been abandoned on the Arc by the Council, only for Clarke to come to their rescue. Consequently, Northernkru had grown from strength to strength and Areasi was an empty shell.

Clint hoped that Clarke's girl had come to give them all hell.

Lexa, former Commander of the Kongeda, and her wife, Costia, were arguing, no, they were not arguing, they were discussing the issue of moving to Norfolk. The sadest part was that neither knew what it was that they really wanted so they were discussing the issue hoping that what they wished to do would somehow be revealed to them.

On the one hand they were both former Trikru and Washington was in former Trikru territory so they may feel more at home there than in Norfolk. On the other hand there were no trees around Washington yet so it looked nothing like their former home anyway.

One the one hand, if they moved to Washington they would be the Hedas of that village while if they moved to Norfolk then they would be second to Luna. On the other hand, Lexa was used to commanding on a much larger scale than one small village so it may be easier to not lead at all.

They were going round in circles so much that they decided to just ask their children where they wanted to live. It didn't help: Tara wanted to move to Washington in honour of her biological origns of Trikru despite their rejection of her due to a large birthmark on her face, Jerom wanted to move to Norfolk since he was convinced that the sea was in his blood, despite not knowing which clan his birth family were from, but knowing that the shortened arm he was born with meant that they did not want him.

In the end it was Jackson and Maya who advised them to choose Washington so that Costia could be the senior healer there since they did not have another who could take the position.

Raven found so many raw materials in and around Norfolk that she wondered why she had ever baulked at moving there with Luna and their family. They couldn't unearth an old building without coming across a bit of tech or machinery that could be re-purposed. There was so much she could do, so much to play with and it wasn't as if she was a million miles from her friends - less than an hour by 'copter and they could talk any time they wanted to. In fact, Raven thought they probably talked more now they were apart then they did while they lived in the same village, ironic. Luckily her little (or at 13, not so little) munchkin, Colin, was a complete Engineer in the making so she always had someone with whom she could bounce ideas around.

Hermione was snuggled up to her partner, Aiden, Commander of the Kongeda, and asked if she could bring Natalie and Jack to visit the next time she came.

Aiden had to think carefully. It wasn't exactly that he was jealous that Hermione, the woman he loved, had children by other men. The other men were a gay couple and the children were conceived artificially; and he had declared that Hermione could not have children with him so it was perfectly understandable that she had taken this route to motherhood, albeit only as a part time mother since the children resided primarily with their fathers. No, Aiden was concerned that he might come to regret his decision. He told Hermione his concern.

Hermione was not at all sympathetic: she simply snorted and said "They're not exactly children anymore Aid. If anything, I think they'll make you grateful that you didn't go down that road. Natalie has Eric's faults and mine and she has no sense of respect for anyone she deems unintelligent. She is going to be an absolute madam until she is put in her place. Jack is so laid back that he comes across as lazy and dull witted. If he sees no point in doing something, and the fact that he has been told or asked to is not good enough in his mind, then he simply does not do it, unless he can find no way out of it without encountering a punishment. They both know who you are to me and they want to meet the man of my life."

Jonus and Freya Cray had just been told that they were to become grandparents. Their fifteen year old, still in school son had gotten his twenty-four year old lover pregnant. They didn't know what to say. They escaped from Areasi to Mt Orlan so that they could have a life; they were not expecting this much life this soon. Once they awoke from their stupor, they decided that their first move was to make sure that their thirteen year old daughter had her implant as soon as possible.

Marcus, Liza and their adopted daughter, Vera, (born to a member of Broadleaf Clan, but without an ear and therefore rejected by her natural parents) went to visit the last surviving member from the Moscow bunker. Nicolai had not much time left before he would meet up with his old friends; but he was grateful, so grateful that he got to spend as much time as he had on the surface, drinking rain water, breathing fresh air: his clothes might be recycled, but no other of his needs were. He would die contented. Nicolai only wished that his comrades from Beijing had waited just a little longer before they decided to give up so that they, too, could have enjoyed the end of their lives on the surface instead of ending them in the bunker. Nicolai wondered if they would ever discover more people as teams were sent out to explore more of this beautiful once more planet.

Anya was glad to see the back of her son. She would miss him, but he needed to get away from Trikru to truly grow into the man he could be. Exploring the lands south of the kongeda with Jake and others from Northernkru would be good for him. Anya hoped that Bruno would learn that there was more to leading than being physically strong: she greatly regretted the emphasis she put on that particular quality as Bruno was growing up. Still, Anya knew that Jake had learned from both Wanheda and the King so would be a good mentor for Bruno while they were away.

Madi decided that she didn't want to tie herself to one person, much to Aurora and Vincent's dismay. Madi's adopted siblings, Bellamy, Octavia and Maya, all thought it was hilarious and encouraged Madi to be true to herself, just to make sure that she didn't inadvertently lead anyone on.

"You could do as I did and have more than one spouse" Bellamy suggested.

"Have to keep two or more people happy, no thank you" Madi declared,

"No, have two or more people to keep you happy" Bellamy pointed out.

"I can do that anyway and change the people when they start to irritate me" Madi shrugged. "I'm afraid I am a bit flighty, I get bored with the same partner."

Aurora had to tell Madi that she, too, had liked to practice serial monogamy when she was younger, Bellamy and Octavia had different fathers, afterall; but when she matured, in her forties, that was when she decided to settle down with the one partner and be happy. It made Madi feel a lot less guilty and more determined to stay happy learning everything she could about the way Mt Orlan was run so that she could one day take over from Bellamy as Prime Minister, she had no interest other than in general terms in the Presidential side of the leadership of Northernkru.

Jass was happy. At one time she didn't think it was possible to be this happy. She was not high up in the chain of command liked she had wanted to be when she first came to Mt Orlan, but she had found her niche, one that gave her immense job satisfaction.

The idea of a social carer was, at first, a complete anathema to her: people who could no longer look after themselves should just be left to die was her first thoughts. But then she saw how others took on that role without thought and never made the recipient of that care feel less. It was her friend Molly who Jass first approached about it.

"They have lived and struggled for years, they deserve some time of peace and relaxation before they die" Molly had suggested.

It didn't satisfy Jass. She approached Maya.

"We value all life" Maya reminded Jass, "so we value the life they have left". She still was not satisfied so Jass approached Clarke.

"They still contribute to the clan" Clarke had said. This seemed to be so incorrect to Jass that she was about to question Clarke's word when Clarke spoke on. "Like all teachers, their lessons might not always be obvious but they are still teaching us. Listen when the elders speak, they have knowledge to impart. When they say the same thing over and over again, practice patience, it is a quality of great value. When, like Joseph, they grumble a lot, learn to smile and joke with them. When they are just lonely, practice empathy and working out how to make their lives better so that others can learn, too. When they are not able to practically care for themselves, learn humility for it is a situation that can happen to anyone, temporarily or otherwise and be grateful that it hasn't happened to you yet, but know that when it does, someone will be there to help you keep what enjoyment you get in your life. Marcus and Liza made sure that Vera could see the Arc tree, a simple pleasure that gave her reason to wake up every day. Nicolai likes to just sit outside to breathe the air – a reminder that it is something that we should never take for granted. Do not belittle the value of their lives: they teach me to appreciate everything I have every day, to accept my own mortality and I don't think there are any better teachers of those important lessons."

Jass accepted that social care was needed and wanted to know more about it. She took all of Clarke's words to heart and became happy that she was able to bring comfort and joy to people who were entering the twilight of their lives. It was also comforting to know that she would be looked after when her time came.

Beppi Mkembi was struggling to decide what he wanted to do with his birthday treat. All his friends wanted to have a party but that wasn't really his scene. Beppi thought back to his first special day on Earth – a trip to the lake with all the youngsters. That day wasn't his birthday, but it was a celebration none-the-less. At that time Beppi didn't think that he would be alive to celebrate any more birthdays but he was and each time he thanked the stars for Clarke Griffin. Beppi knew how he wanted to celebrate this year: a beach party; they would visit Norfolk, sit on the beach, drink, tell each other tall tales, laugh; and all with the background music of the sea – the miraculous, wondrous sea.

Once a year they had a girls' day out: Clarke, Raven, Octavia, Echo, Costia, Maya and Emori. No one (except Roan, Bellamy, Lincoln and Aurora) could understand why it was those seven, and only those seven: partners, children, other friends were not invited.

"Any regrets about anything?" Maya asked.

"I wished I come straight to Mt Orlan instead of spending as much time with ALIE as I did" Emori said.

"Not killing Routh while we were having sex and pretending that it was a sex game gone wrong" Echo said as she thought hard for something to say much to everyone elses amusement.

"I have so much to do I don't have to regret anything" Raven offered as some others raised their glasses to Raven's prodigious work output.

"I think that I am glad that everything worked out the way it did" Costia offered. "I married the woman I love, served the Kongeda, and then got to live a quieter life and raise a family after Titus …, that's it, I regret that I didn't find a way to end Titus's fight sooner!"

"What?" spluttered Maya, "Are you saying that you found a way to knock off Titus and for no one to know?"

Costia looked a little shocked at Maya's question, whether it was at the suggestion that Costia would do such a thing, or that Costia let it slip that she might do such a thing was not explained; and then Costia smiled an enigmatic, Mona Lisa smile and they all knew that they would never know which aspect of Maya's question it was that had surprised their friend.

"What about you, Clarke" Octavia pushed, "is there anything wish you'de done differently?"

Clarke had to think hard, but finally she came up with something.

"Yeah, I wish I'de hunted a damned puana when I had the chance: it's fur would have made a brilliant floor covering in the meeting hall, a real statement when we have visitors!"

Notes:

Unless anyone can think of a good reason to write more for this story, this is definitely it for A Second Chance. Many thanks to those who have left comments and kudos, especially to OzElectra for really making me think.

I will now finish Two Krus, try some more on Freezing Time (I am finding this one really difficult and may end up pulling it if I cannot see myself finishing it) and start a new story which will be a continuation of one from A Different Choice. At some point I will be starting Even More Different Choices. Anyway, while there are people who want to read what I write, I will continue to post it. Thank you for all the encouragement you have given me.

STAY SAFE, PLEASE.

Chapter 37: Outtake

Summary:

This outtake takes place at the karaoke concert staring the men as announced at the end of chapter 28.

Notes:

Sorry, I know this was marked finished but I just couldn't get some of these songs out of my mind so I just had to write this to put them in yours, too. Sorry, not at all sorry!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"This is your fault" Bellamy grumbled to Roan.

"How is this my fault?" Roan snarked back. "I had no idea that this would happen."

"Because you were so supportive of Clarke that she thought you would be happy to do the same" Lincoln joined in the fray.

"Actually, the real culprits are Raven and Emori" Murphy pushed in the conversation with a shrug. "They are the ones who talked the other women into doing theirs and suggested that they make it a regular event. Personally I think it could be fun."

Belllamy, Lincoln and Roan looked at Murphy as is he had suddenly grown two heads.

"What? Lighten up guys" Murphy pushed. "The women were not exactly all in tune: in fact some of the vocals were definitely out of wack but they gave it their best and they made sure everyone had fun."

"He's right" agreed Nate Miller. "When Gordon was sitting there shaking at the idea of doing this I offered to take his place. That way he owes me a favour, I get brownie points with Clarke and I get to have some fun."

"I guess" Roan muttered. "The least we can do is to give it our best shot at helping others to have fun."

"He's right" Bellamy sighed. "It is supposed to be fun for everyone and you know that our motto is that we don't ask our people to do something that we wouldn't do ourselves so …"

"So we have to give it the enthusiasm that we want all future participants to demonstrate" Roan also sighed.

"I am impressed" Lincoln said. "I never thought that you two would ever agree that you were wrong while Murphy was right. I must remember to tell Octavia."

At the stern glares being directed at poor Lincoln, Murphy intervened once again. "Listen, we all agree that those women are amongst the bravest people we've ever met, yeah?"

There was unanimous agreement.

"We may need to accept that we men are not quite as brave as those women, but I'm damned well not going to be thought of as a coward. Are you?" Murphy pushed the three leaders while Miller smirked.

Roan stood tall as he thought of the shame of being thought a coward.

Lincoln almost shrivelled into himself before he too stood tall so that no one could make the mistake of thinking him a coward.

Bellamy just stood and thought before a crafty grin came over his face. "I'm going to get my wives to sing at the next one: Star Man" he said.

The others smiled even as they admitted that they didn't know the song.

"There's a star man waiting in the skies" Bellamy sang quietly. "He'd like to come and meet us, but he thinks he'd blow our minds."

They all laughed.

"I remember it now. I'm sure it would be fairly easy to alter the words to make it more apt to you" Nate agreed with Bellamy's choice of song for Marta and Megan.

"You should know that James can sing, but he prefers that opera crap" Murphy said. "He is always singing as he cuts away at the carcasses. I asked him once if he knew any modern songs and he said that Andre Bettecel or somebody or another was as modern as he got. Don't know if you would want to arrange a more classical night."

"That's a very good thought, Murphy; thank you" Bellamy said surprised. "I'll speak to Marietta and Cole to see what they think of the idea of a classical karaoke."

"What is opera?" Roan asked after he received a shrug from Lincoln as he silently asked him the question with a raised brow.

"Well now, that will be a lovely surprise for you" Miller smirked, not liking opera either, but he knew that his dad did, and he supposed that some of the songs weren't too bad.

Although Titus was the official Master of Ceremonies, and didn't he enjoy being called the master of something, Clarke took the microphone first because she had a very important announcement to make. If it was being made on any other night then Bellamy would have been the one making it, but with him performing it was thought that it should be either Clarke or Luna: Luna won rock, paper, sissors and Clarke was forced up on stage again.

"I have the results of the important populous vote as to which is our favourite desert" Clarke annaounced and received a surprisingly enthusiastic cheer. "All of the deserts voted on were liked by everyone, none received a 'would not eat again' vote, but one did receive fewer 'really liked' or better votes than the other two: banana cake was third place so that one will not enter into the special treats category and will be served as a matter of course as and when the cooks think appropriate. Our second place cake, the merangue, was most popular with the children so that will be served to all children aged 12 or under when one of them celebrates their birthday, otherwise it will be a special treat that will only be available occasionally and must be paid for with a treat credit. The most popular cake by far was the cheesecake. You will be pleased to know that on special occasions, if the ingredients are available, cheesecake will be served for desert" Clarke had to pause for the very enthusiastic applause. "The kitchen staff have promised that as long as they receive adequate notice that they will do their best to make sure that they can serve the cheesecake for those occasions. I understand that due to special nature of the ingredients, it is unlikely that cheesecake will be made available to purchase using a treat credit, but in time, as we build up our resources, it could become more easily available. Thank you to everyone for voting. If there is anything else anyone wants to put to the vote, get in touch with the appropriate DC and we'll see what we can do.

"Now, without further ado, let me hand the mic over to tonight's Master of Ceremonies, the ever jovial, Titus!" (The last part was said with just the merest hint of sarcasm.)

Titus stolled onto the stage calm and collected, taking the foreign looking object that he had been instructed he needed to talk into for his words to reach the other sites from Clarke.

Speaking in Trig, despite knowing that most of the people listening are not able to understand, Titus said that although he was honoured to be asked to perform this function, he didn't understand the strange Skaikru songs, nor did he understand the need to perform in this manner.

"To have fun you old fart" was called out from the auditorium (by Emori, Murphy was sure) in English.

"I think it unseemly that your King should have to perform just so you can have fun" Titus retorted.

"I think it perfectly proper that the leaders should join with their people in having fun" Luna called from the audience this time. "Get on with the introduction!"

"Yes, this first song to be sung by all tonight's performers is an adaptation of one from a band called the Beatles from long before the bombs about a yellow boat that moves in the sea like the fish. The new words will be shown on the screen if any of you want to join in: the first song 'Bunker Underground', although it does not apply to those still living in the sky."

"The sky ain't blue.

"The grass ain't green

"Outside this bunker

"From what we've seen.

"We all live in a bunker underground, a bunker underground, a bunker underground"

And many people joined in with singing the new words to the old classic.

"Next is a song that used to be sung by the king of rock. Again it is stating the obvious as King Roan sings about not having a wooden hand" Titus was not hiding his derisive bafflement; which unbeknownst to him was coming across as slightly hilarious.

Roan told everyone to to treat him right, treat him good, just like they know they should with menace as he unveiled his metal hand and one of the weapons that had been made for it, much to the amusement of those who knew Roan, and of the song. Listening, without any visual aids, nor any real knowledge of the singer, high in the sky, Abby did not find it at all funny.

When Roan started singing in Trig, those who understood, and knew Clarke were almost crying with laughter. "Treat me right, treat me good, my wife is made of steel; and she'll skewer you if you don't. I'll treat her right, treat her good, just like I know I should, because if I do not she will skewer me as well".

"Too damned right I will!" Clarke yelled to more laughter.

"The next song is one I agree with" Titus said, "although why only Saturday night is alright for fighting I'll never understand" Titus grumbled as others sniggered in amusement.

A clearly choreographed song (although the song was not so much sung but loudly screeched) with plenty of pretend swagger and fighting from all the men received raucus applause.

Murphy performed the next song 'The Way You Make Me Feel' making sure that Titus's introduction of it being dedicated to Emori was emphasised by not taking his eyes from his girlfriend. At the end of that performance, all the women in the audience stood and cheered as tears poured down Emori's cheeks as she smiled her appreciation.

"The next performance is being assisted by some youngsters who will perform some dance moves" Titus said as he shook his head in bafflement. "The strange song, 'Rock Around The Clock' is meant to get everyone dancing, but I have seen the dancing that the young ones will do and there is not room for you all to dance. I hope you enjoy it anyway."

The old Bill Haley song was sung with great gusto by the men and when it came to the instrumental they moved to the side to let six young teens jive, spin, hop and throw themselves around to the music. When the song was over, the young dancers who performed very competent jitterbugs had their own moment of applause.

"This next song has also had its words changed" Titus grumbled. "Since it is now called 'Octavia' instead of 'Delilah', Lincoln wishes it to be known that it is about Octavia."

The single spotlight shone on Lincoln.

"I saw the joy in her eyes as I passed by them sparring.

"I saw the flashes of light on her sword.

"She was my woman,

"As she trained with another the pride just swelled in my heart.

"My, my, my Octavia!

"Wow, wow, wow Octavia!"

Unlike Tom Jones who sang about being being driven to murder by the cheating Delilah, Lincoln sang about his pride in skill of the warrior Octavia. Naturally Octavia stood proud as she applauded her love.

"This next song requires the men to wear the same costume" Titus said. "For those who cannot see what they are wearing I am to tell you that if your records allow, you should look up a visual of a man called John Travolta and what he wears in Saturday Night Fever. The men will attempt to copy the dance moves of Mr Travolta in that musical recording of the song 'Staying Alive'" and Titus finished his speech with a sad shake of his head.

Although the costumes were great, the performance wasn't – it was hilarious! None of them were able to walk properly in the wide flares let alone dance in them. While it did nothing for the mens' dignity, it did make everyone who saw it happy and it received a standing ovation.

The next performance was a very camped up rendition of the song 'I'm Your Man' by Nate Miller. Nate was enjoying himself and that came across perfectly with everyone else enjoying his performance too. Most thought that Nate would be a frequent performer and they looked forward to be being entertained by him in the future.

"The next song is one that should not be taken seriously" Titus informed everyone. "They did want to change the words to make it more relevant to us now, but they decided that the main reason for choosing the song, getting everyone to sing to the chorus, would not be changed by different words; and what they think is the main point of the song, that it is acceptable to be optimistic, but you shouldn't be oblivious, comes across even with the old words. The words will be displayed on the screen for those who can see so you will know what they mean. Please greet all the men who will sing 'Hi ho Silver Lining'.

While everyone sang along to the chorus, Clarke thought that the point about being optimistic without being oblivious was very right, even if it wasn't the main point of the song originally. She wondered if they could take the song to make it some sort of anthem for the Northerners, perhaps with the words changed to make it more relavent to them.

"Our final single performer, Bellamy, will sing a song dedicated to his wives, Marta and Megan. It was originally 'Sweet Caroline' but Bellamy has changed it to 'Sweet Wives of Mine'. Bellamy will be assisted by the same dancers from before who will be the supporting backing singers: although they don't sing a lot, just shout two words, 'so good' every so often so I don't know why special supporters are needed" Titus grumped. "No matter, please greet Bellamy."

It only took the backing singers to sing (shout) their part once before they were no longer needed as the audience joined in. Most people were surprised at how well Bellamy actually sang, except those who knew that he used to sing to Octavia to help keep her quiet when she was a young child.

"I don't like this last song" Titus said, completely ignoring the fact that he made it clear that he didn't like most of the others as well. "You are not the champions of the world, Heda and her sacred nightbloods are: you are merely acceptable allies, and although I agree with the sentiments of the song, you appear to have lots of time for losers since you house and give aid to them."

Raven knew what the song was since she did consider trying to get the women to sing it at their performance and told the others with her what it was about. Luna stood up to shout "There are no losers here, Titus, except for you!"

That comment received loud applause and caused Titus to stomp off the stage.

The spot light shone on Roan: "I've paid my dues,"

Then Bellamy: "Time after time."

Nate: "I've done my sentence,"

Lincoln: "But committed no crime."

Then Roan again: "And bad mistakes,"

And Bellamy again: "I've made a few."

Murphy: "I've had my share of sand kicked in my face,"

Then the whole stage light up as all the men sang "But we've come through" and they all sang the rest of the song together, even if all not quite in tune.

The song finished to raucus applause from the audience.

To make sure that Titus didn't say anything else that could cause a bit of a downer Roan took the mic. "Thank you everyone. Your applause is appreciated. We know that we are not the best singers but all we wanted was to provide a little bit of entertainment for our people and we hope you all enjoyed our humble efforts."

The audience stood up to applaud once more to let the king know that the mens' efforts were appreciated and that the objective was met.

"Thank you. We would like to have more evenings similar to this. I believe Bellamy has already picked out a song for Marta and Megan to sing, and from what he said about it earlier it is very appropriate. We hope that others will put themselves forward to give a performance. It was also mentioned that one night could be a classical night, although I do not know what the difference would be for a song to be classical. You don't have to be a great singer; you just have to be willing to enjoy yourself and want others to enjoy it too. So if you want to, or are just willing to have a go, let Marrietta or Cole know since they are in charge of entertainment. Thank you everyone, and goodnight!"

Notes:

I'll try to finish this story there, but who knows, maybe one day I'll come back with another outtake - maybe about Classical Karaoke! Let me know what you thought of my song choices and if would recommend anything for a Classical Karaoke should I write one.

I hope you are all being safe, protecting your loved ones as well as yourselves.