Gravity sucked.
That had been Abby's first thought as she had climbed out the wreckage of Alpha Station. The thrusters that kept the Ark spinning, thus providing a gravitational field for those inside the Ark were obviously not strong enough to mimic the exact gravitational conditions on Earth and so Abby felt as if some giant hand was pressing down on her just enough to feel discomfort.
The communications on the Ark had been fried beyond repair and the status of the 100 and the Exodus ship were completely unknown. The pessimist within Abby had feared the worst and that the 100 had been wiped out by Diana and her people.
Her more optimistic side, on the other hand,had told her that she had nothing to worry about and that all would befine and well with Clarke, Raven and the delinquents once they got to Earth.
If only that side of her hadn't been ruthlessly crushed by the young man in front of her.
"What do you mean they're gone?"questioned Kane as he looked at the tired and haggard forms of Bellamy Blake and Finn Collins.
The Chancellor's pin was gleaming on Kane's shirt and the sight if it sent mixed emotions through Abby. On the one hand, Thelonious had floated Jake despite Abby practically pleading for him to save her husband.
On the other hand, Thelonious had not only given Clarke the best chance of survival with the Novus serum, but he had also exposed the dark history of the Ark and had stayed behind to disengage the 12 stations from the Go-Sci ring.
She knew, though, that the position of Chancellor had taken it's toll on Jaha. He had gone from the fun-loving and cheery man who would watch soccer with Jake, Clarke and Wells to the stern and strict man he was now. Especially after his wife had died of an unexpected disease that had rapidly reduced her brain activity to that of a vegetative state.
Despite popular belief, the medical rationing applied to everyone and Thelonious had been forced to pull the plug on his wife so that she wouldn't drain any more resources. It had happened not even a month after Thelonious had become Chancellor and though he still kept contact with Jake and Abby – it went without saying that the event had changed him.
This was before the stress and strain of being Chancellor of a dying ship had taken its toll on Jaha and perhaps the final nail in the coffin had been Wells forcing his father to send him down as one of the prisoners and then never even getting the chance to speak with him once Raven had established contact with the Ark because his son had been murdered in some twisted revenge plot by a girl whose parents had been floated by Jaha and the girl herself had been sentenced to the Sky Box by Jaha.
She could see why he would want his last act as Chancellor to be a good one. That position had warped Thelonious into a different person and Abby was certain that Thelonious would have never taken the position in the past of he knew what it would cost him.
"I don't know what's so hard to believe, "snapped Bellamy as the irritation that had been bubbling beneath the surface finally broke free,"Some of the delinquents separated from our camp and during the meeting Clarke was having with one of the leaders of the Grounders. The Grounders didn't want anything to do with is after that and basically declared war on us. "
"This leader's name was Anya?"asked Kane as he tried to inculcate the whole story. They had been over this already, but Kane wanted to make sure he knew absolutely every detail before deciding on a course of action.
"Yes,"said Finn in place of Bellamy,"Clarke, Raven and I were trying to find her so we could come to a compromise. Clarke and Bellamy came up with the idea of selling out the delinquents that had been responsible for the attack at the bridge so that the Grounders could exact justice and we could reach an understanding. "
Bellamy had scoffed when he heard Finn talk about 'selling out' Mbege and Diggs and there was an undercurrent of annoyance in his voice as he said,"That sure is a nice way to talk about the guy who saved all the delinquents and you from that Tristan guy."
Finn seemed nonchalant by Bellamy's words and said,"I'm just saying it as it is. In a way, I could see why Mbege and his goons left. You and the Princess were always preaching about how this wasn't the Ark and we would do better down here and then you guys go and kill a bunch of Grounders. It's pure hypocrisy. "
Bellamy grabbed Finn by the scruff of his collar and slammed him against the wall.
"Blake,"said Kane as sternly as he could,"Stand down."
Bellamy ignored Kane and instead spoke to a now bewildered Finn,"Say that again. I dare you."
The table in the centre of the room moved up off the ground and was rising higher as the boys standoff continued.
"That's enough,"said Kane as he wrenched the two boys apart and the table fell to the ground with a loud bang,"Bellamy, you ignored a direct order from the Chancellor. That's one warning. Do it again and you'll have earned yourself 20 shock lashes. "
The two boys had calmed down after Kane's admonition. The three of them retook their seat and Abby decided to try and get the conversation back on track.
"Tell me, Finn. "said Abby in a questioning tone,"You, Raven and Clarke had gone for a meeting with Anya and after being attacked the three of you were separated with you being taken prisoner and according to Bellamy, Raven was brought not too far from the site of the dropship and you aren't sure where Clarke had been taken?"
Finn nodded at Abby to confirm that she was right so far and he waited for the inevitable question.
"So, how is it that Anya went from trying to kill you guys to helping you against those monsters? Is it possible that she and Clarke made an alliance?"asked Abby. She knew that for them to know for sure they would need to speak to Clarke or Anya.
"I don't know honestly,"said Finn before adding,"I guess Clarke and Anya may have reached an agreement, but if what that Tristan guy said to me and Bellamy is true then Anya isn't even in charge of the war anymore."
"This Tristan was acting under orders from the Commander?"said Kane with a thoughtful look and after he received two nods in answer to his question he continued on speaking to say,"Okay then. I'll fetch Tristan from lockup and he'll take me to speak to the Commander. If he was able to build a Coalition amongst 12 warring clans then he must be willing to negotiate with us."
"Are you crazy?"questioned Finn and he was undeterred by the stern gaze Finn had, "We need to find the other delinquents. For all we know, they're being held hostage by the Grounders and you want to negotiate with them? I say we take the fight to them. They respect strength. Let's show them we're not to be messed with."
"So much for hypocrisy, "mumbled Bellamy before he spoke louder,"I hate to admit it, but Finn is right. Lincoln said strength is what the Grounders respect above all else. Let's show them we can't be messed with. If Clarke and everyone are being held somewhere then I'm sure they'll find a way out. Clarke is smart and strong. I wouldn't bet in her being locked up for much longer."
They all conveniently ignored the possibility that she and the delinquents might be dead as it was better left unsaid.
Marcus still seemed unconvinced, but he eventually decided on a course of action as he unsnapped the Chancellor's pin from his shirt.
"We need to do better. This isn't the Ark and death shouldn't be something we should even consider,"said Kane with a serious expression,"However, we need to be prepared for any situation. Bellamy and Major Burns will be in charge of organising the Guard. The construction of the wall had been very quick thankfully so I'll need you to organise guard patrols and you need to get Sinclair to use the hydrazine to make grenades. They have a numbers advantage so we'll need to be able to take down more of them than they can of us."
Marcus then turned to Abby and held out the Chancellor's pin,"In case I don't return then I want you to be Chancellor, Abby. Everyone in this camp trusts you and between the two of us you're more popular than I am. The days ahead might be dark especially if I die and our people will need someone they can look up to."
"I don't like you going deep into their territory, but it's our only chance at this ending peacefully, "said Abby as she took the pin and attached it to her shirt.
"What about the delinquents?"spat Finn as he looked at the two adults,"Are we just going to abandon them? Wherever they are its because you guys and the mighty council thought we were expendable. Is this how we do better?"
Despite himself, Bellamy agreed with Finn. His sister was amongst those missing as well after all. As strong and smart as Clarke was, it had been four days since the attack on the dropship and they still hadn't found even a trace of where they could have gone. It's like they all just vanished into thin air.
Abby looked conflicted especially as she took in the furious expression on the two boys' faces ,but she kept silent as Marcus said,"We'll deal with the delinquents later. You said they were attacked by some other people that weren't like any of the Grounders you've. They might not be Trikru at all maybe they were those traitors that had attacked you guys when you first landed."
Bellamy shook his head and said,"They definitely weren't those traitors. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually Trikru."
Abby looked intrigued and said,"What makes you think that?"
"Their tattoos, "said Bellamy, "The traitors had tattoos, but they were disfigured like someone had tried to burn them. Lincoln said people that were exiled from the Trikru had their tattoos burned of. Those freaks didn't all look the same probably from different clans, but I know for a fact that the tattoos of those who had them were not damaged in anyway. "
"That's enough,"said Kane as he stopped their train of thought,"We don't know anything for sure yet. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"More stupid than trusting a Grounder that's actually brought an army here to kill us?"challenged Finn, but a disapproving look from Abby stopped any further arguments.
"That's what he said he would do, but his 'rangers ' aren't anywhere nearby according to our patrol. It's likely he would have first relieved Anya before summoning them,"said Kane undeterred as he stood up and took his shock baton and pistol off of the desk, "In any case, you're right. I'll go with Hudson and Tim as guards. Tou should also prioritise finding the Ark survivors. Alpha Station had the most people on it and we know for sure that Arrow and Hydra blew up, but the status of the other stations are unknown. Mecha Station is likely to have survived and it's the biggest that came down beside Alpha Station and Farm Station. Get Kyle Wick on establishing contact with the other survivors. We need to find them before the Grounders do. We already had an encounter in the woods earlier today, but whoever it was retreated after we connected with a shot."
There were no more disagreements and Kane made to leave, but before he did he turned to them all and said,"May we meet again."
The greeting was echoed by the other occupants of the room and so Kane left the room and made his way over to where he knew he'd find his quarry.
Tristan hadn't moved since he'd been restrained and thrown into the airlock. Bellamy had found him dragging a bunch of delinquents ,including Finn , that were tied together by a rope. Bellamy had apparently slammed him into the ground hard enough to knock him out and had used the rope that was on the delinquents to tie him up.