Day 008: Love
Summary: Lydia Scott's fate is determined, and a lot of people get out their hate for Jaha.
Date: 12 May 2016
Related: Partius Interruptus, It Fell From the Sky and The Brawl With it All
Morgan Cameron Devin Layla Silas Quinn Grey Max Cookie Martin Fiona Jaha 


Primary Passenger Hold
This was once the main passenger cabin of the dropship, holding rows and rows of seats and a small communications console along one wall. Since landing, the seats have been removed, and it has been turned into a combination sick-bay and storage. The deck, ceiling, and walls are all bare metal, and several "wings" jut out from the main area, forming little cubbies that still provide exactly zero privacy. One of the cubbies has been repurposed as a makeshift medbay, with an equally-makeshift table and several small bundles of supplies. There is usually someone sitting around here tending to the medical supplies or just watching over them. Two ladders descend to the cargo hold below, one of them also rising up to the top level of the dropship through a hatch that can be locked from below.
8 Days After Landing

With Cam's mother possibly dying, there's no time to waste on explanations so they all double time through the camp and into the dropship, as carefully as possible getting her up into the pseudo medbay. "Set her down over there." Morgan rushes ahead to see if Fi got everything he asked for.

Once his mother is set down, Cameron crouches, taking hold of one of her hands with his own, his voice quiet, "Tell me if you need me to do anything, Morgan. Or to move." The hand that holds his mother's is steady, but the hand that Cookie holds begins to tremble and twitch, almost spasming.

Devin and Niner quickly and carefully move to set Lydia down where Morgan indicates, doing their best to not jostle the woman too badly. Once she's moved from the stretcher, the pair move the stretcher out of the way, setting it aside to be used later if it should be needed. Niner then heads out while Devin stands against a nearby wall, keeping out of the way of those working on saving the woman's life.

Lydia's head rolls slightly, but it is a ginger and half-distracted movement. She looks up toward Cam as her warm brown eyes open, and she finds herself smiling again with a touch of affection. "Cam," she breathes softly, and she squeezes his hand. "Didn't think I would make it," she says, her voice a little steadier, though her words still have a thick, cottony sound to them. She starts to look around her, though her eyes have a hard time focusing beyond the immediate area.

Cookie does what she can to calm the tremor she's holding onto, and her big, distraught eyes falls to the injured woman. "Hi, Aunt Lydia," she quietly chimes, not wanting to overwhelm the G-tech, but family is family, yo, and the chef's innards are as tugged and twisted as pulled taffy.

"Mom." Cameron's voice is thick, but he smiles at his mother, showing dimples even if it is something he has to force— she always did love his dimples. "I love you, Mom. Hold in there, Morgan's a great doctor, he'll take care of you. Cookie and I are here. You were brave to come, but hang in there, when Dad comes down he'll need you to keep him in line. You know Dad." The tremor in his hand manages to get under control, and he squeezes Cookie's hand.

As Cam's mom get set down, Morgan puts the radio in a corner and tosses a cloth over it. Having everyone here see is fine, having everyone in the camp know where it is is another matter. Returning to her side, he gives her a smile. "Open your mouth please." he tells her and helps a little with some gentle but firm guidance in case she's not tracking well. What he sees doesn't make him smile but he stays stony and just nods to her. "Help me get this off of her." It's too valuable to just cut off. But also, they might not have a knife sharp enough. Once the spacesuit is removed, he gives her a quick once but over there's no big bloody spots on her clothing. Always a good sign. Then he unfastens her shirt and can't help but stop and wince when it reveals a deep, dark bruise on her left side. His gaze flicks to Cameron for a moment.

"Cookie…" Lydia finally notices the girl, and her eyes well up a bit. "Goodness, won't your folks be happy to know you're okay." She shakes her head. "Retter only showed me Cam—" And her voice chokes when Morgan starts to work off her suit, showing arms and shoulders of cuts and bruises from the landing. Her eyes close tight, and her skin takes on a grey pallor. She remains that way for a few moments, lost in her pain and trying to keep her brain focused. Then she breathes again, and offers her son a tired smile. "I know, always a great troublemaker, your father." She does not look at Morgan, focusing on Cameron now. "You need to listen to me now, Cameron Scott… you listening?"

The sound of a few fast-paced steps come in from the lower level of the dropship that follow Silas as he makes his way over towards and up the ladder into the Primary Passenger Hold. He grunts, pulling himself up with a small parachute pouch and a Grounder sword bobbing at his side as he sets his feet down onto the metal flooring. He lets out a quiet breath, his right hand coming back to scratch the back of his neck as he steps over and moves to quietly enter the makeshift med-bay.

"Morg." says Silas as he steps in,s topping somewhat at the doorway as he quietly looks over the scene and watches everything, pursing his lips somewhat before he moves to set down the handful of half a dozen 'needles' made from bone, varying in thickness and length, but one looks decent enough for medical use. "I made those for you." he says, nodding to Morgan before he moves over to stay out of the way. When Camerons mother addresses the boy faster than Silas could open his mouth to speak to him, he shuts up and quietly looks to her and back to Cameron with pursed lips and a rather worried expression.

Upon seeing the dark bruise, Cameron tenses, his eyes welling with tears. The hand that holds Cookie's tightens to the point it might just be painful, and for a long moment he's frozen. And then, he reaches over very gently pulls her shirt back down, staring at Morgan for a moment. He knows what that means. Trying desperately to keep his calm, he looks to his mother and nods, leaning in towards her, tears spilling down his face, "I'm listening, Mom." He sniffs, and wipes at his nose.

Layla makes her way upstairs after having been detoured by something along the way. It's just a slight showing of her forehead and eyes as she peeks inside to the medbay, not wanting to interrupt if it's plain she's not exactly required. But even so, curiosity gets the better of the young woman and she slips inside. Ready to offer any sort of aid.

Does that tightening of her hand hurt? The wince on Cookie's face suggests YES, but she doesn't make a sound as she forces a smile for her Aunt. She remains quiet, letting what the mother needs to say to the son be said without any interruption.

"You need to use the radio," Lydia says, her voice firm. "You need to use the radio, and tell the Council that you are all still alive." If they are, because Lydia really doesn't know, but Cam's alive. She puts a stern amount of strength behind her grip on Cameron's hand. "Oxygen systems are failing… the Council thinks you are all dead or dying down here." Her lip trembles a bit. "And they are going to cull three-hundred and twenty people, to give us more time. That's why I'm here, Cameron…" And she drops his hand so she can lift it up to touch his cheek, to silently convey that she's also there to see him.

Morgan looks back to the bruise on Lydia's side. The coughing up blood. Almost certainly a broken rib puncturing a lung. And how the hell is he supposed to fix it with stones and sticks and plants?! He blinks when Cam moves her shirt back to cover it and then his eyes well with tears as well, looking at mother and son. And then he spins and runs for the ladder lading up to the 'Box', taking the rungs two at a time till he bangs on the hatch. "It's Morgan! Open the fuck up!"

Silas is quietly standing there, his right hand cupped over his mouth somewhat as he chews on his thumb, staying quiet as he listens to Lydia and occasionally flits his gaze over to Cameron and then back- taking in a sharp breath before breathing it out in a faint and somewhat shaky sigh. The news either doesn't seem to shock him too much, or the most likely fact that he's doig what he can to not show it. He quietly blinks and watches Morgan as he looks over and watches him run over to the ladder, staring as though he's conflicted on whether to stay or follow- or do anything, but ultimately stays where he is and watches worriedly.

Letting go of Cookie's hand— the poor, poor hand— Cameron lifts his hand up to cup it over his mother's at his cheek. His throat is clenched so tightly he can barely breath, but after working his mouth for a moment he nods his head slowly, still rubbing his cheek against her hand, "I understand, Mom. Some won't want to, they're so angry and afraid they're blind, but we'll do it. I'll do it. I'll use the radio." He doesn't really register Morgan leaving of course, but he doesn't really register anything but Lydia at the moment, "I'll use the radio and that means you'll have saved them, Mom. You're a hero. My hero. I love you, Mom."

That poor, poor hand of Cookie's? She shakes it out and flexes it a bit before she rounds Cameron to get into a position to lightly comb her fingers through Lydia's hair in a comforting motion.

Those doe eyes of her continue to rapidly blink as her lashes get damp and sticky from tears.

Lydia seems to relax then, her entire being sinking back into the makeshift hospital bed. She turns her hand out to his, allowing her fingers — fingers that are getting colder by the moment — curl around his. She holds his hand with a gentle, kind pressure. Then she smiles. "Oh… I love you too, baby." Her smile starts to soften, and her eyes grow distant. Her fingers go limp, and she goes very, very still.

Devin's heart breaks for Cameron as he listens to the interaction between him and his mother, but is surprised by the message she gives him. Then Morgan goes flying up to the upper floor where the prisoners are being held. He remains silent for a long moment before he looks to Cameron again. "Screw what the others want. You need to do it if it'll save over three hundred lives." His voice very soft.

Cameron still doesn't break down. He's trembling, and his eyes are wet with tears that fall down his ashen cheeks, but he's holding it together, more or less. He leans down and brushes a kiss against Lydia's cheek, then glances up and to Devin, and gives the slightest of nods as he rises and moves over towards the radio. Steady, if barely.

Layla waits for Morgan's return, curious, and all the while she watches the scene with Lydia unfold. In a way, the young woman feels as though she is intruding upon something far too personal for her to witness.

And in an instant, Layla knows it to be true. Because Lydia was gone. She pushes away from the wall where she had been leaning, her voice hesitant as she says, "Cameron-" but stops herself. She doesn't know what to do. What the best course of action is. Instead, she says to the group at large. "Maybe not all of us are needed in here right now. Unless Cameron wants us to remain."

And then Silas' eyes drift over to her fingers that go limp. He stares at her for a second or two shortly after the movement, his eyes widening and he grunts- "I've.. I've got something in my eye." he says. There's nothing in his eye, and he sure as hell knows it. Silas lets out a sniffle and a few tears seem to stream down his face. Up until this point it was easy not to cry- there was someone or something to shift blame on and turn what sadness there was into anger. It's harder here. Silas grunts, and about at the same time that Layla proposes it Silas slips aside and steps out of the med-bay into the main area of the secondary passenger hold, allowing Cameron and the others some space as he does a bit of tearing up himself. "Fuck.. This is fucked."

There was a brief moment of shouting from up top then Morgan slowly comes back down the hatch, head bowed and body language dejected. He didn't get the answer he wanted and with a look at Lydia, he knows it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Looking to Cam, he doesn't say anything or more to stop him. He just wanders back to the 'medbay'.

Devin frowns and lowers his head as Lydia passes, the tears filling his own eyes as his mind drifts to his own mother who has been gone for as long as he had been in the box. He looks up towards Morgan as he returns, a tear falling down his cheek then to another. He doesn't say a word as he looks back to Cameron again. He doesn't attempt to move from his place, just moving to squat down, wiping the tears from his eyes.

Cameron lifts up the radio, and turns around, sliding down the wall and sitting with his knees up, and one arm wrapped around his knees. He takes a shuddering breath, and though he's still trembling something fierce, he lifts the radio up, clicks it, and says in a clear, cool, calm voice, "Ark, this is Cameron Scott of the 100. Ark, this is the 100. The Ground is not toxic, we're surviving, only eight have died and not from radiation. Repeat, the Ground is safe, you motherfucking murdering bastards. Ark, this is Cameron Scott, come in. Over."

Cookie doesn't move, unless the tremors that come from trying to not sob while Cameron's handling Very Important Business count. The sniffles, though, that she quietly chokes on happen. That's life and loss, yo.

The radio is full of static and buzzing. There is a soft squeal of feedback, and then a sudden lapse of silence. For a long moment, it sounds as if the radio has gone dead, but then a smooth, warm, and distinctly mellifluous voice is heard in Cameron's hands. "Mister Scott, this is Chancellor Jaha… we read you…"

Morgan walks over to Cam to briefly clasp his shoulder. Then he holds out the hand for the radio.

Layla watches a few moments more, that annoying feeling of helplessness growing. Yet she didn't flee the room, because a part of her whispered that that was weak and cowardly. What's more, she was only ''all'' too curious to hear if the radio worked…

And was rewarded almost immediately, when the voice of Councillor Jaha fills the space. Her eyes actually widen with surprise.

Silas is quiet outside of the med-bay, though he steps over near the door and close enough to listen to the exchange over the radio. Taking in a sharp breath, durin the brief moment of silence after Cameron spoke, Silas' hands come over to wipe away some of the tears from his face with a slight grunt. When Jaha's voice comes over, Silas lets out a steady breath, looking away and pursing his lips before he crosses his hands along his chest. He quietly watches the ladder, as if expecting a tide of angry delinquents to come up at the sound of the voice.

Devin looks up as the radio crackles in Cameron's hand and the sound of Jaha is heard. His eyes narrowing slightly as he hears it. "I hope that bastard comes down here so we can take turns making him bleed." He says, mostly to himself, but then falls silent again before he looks back to Cameron. "You just saved three hundred and twenty lives. Your mother and father are proud of you."

Cameron, for a brief second, was almost going to hand the radio to Morgan, but _Jaha_ of all people answers. Cold fury enters his features then, blatant and utter hatred, "Jaha, you miserable piece of shit that cockroaches wouldn't eat, you can cancel your plans to murder three hundred more people. Lydia Scott died to get me this radio, so listen to me you fucking worm infested corpse of a toad, there is no serious radiation hazard on the Ground. The land is fertile, lush, and the air is clean and there's water's drinkable. Do you understand me? We are 92 and surviving, no thanks to you. Over." He glances at Devin, and there's a twitch of one lip, but, he's got Things to Say and Jaha is a captive audience.

"Cam." Morgan says quietly. "Let me. I know what I want to say. What we all need to say now." He was on the fence if they needed to say anything but once Cam's mother made her dying request, it was done. "Let me." he repeats.

There is a long, almost languishing silence after Cameron's tirade into the radio. When Jaha speaks next, he cannot hide the exhaustion that filter in through his voice. He speaks slowly, but there is a great seed of compassion deep within it. "A murder is not what it would have been, Mister Scott." He continues, his tone as soft as a warm lullabye. "We accepted volunteers." Then there is another break of silence, as if Jaha is either letting them process that or is thinking deeply himself. "I'm glad to hear it, Mister Scott," and there is a strange emotion in his words, perhaps even an unexpected tone of relief. "There is hope then," he continues, "thanks to you."

Layla is by no means an Ark apologist, but all she can think is what Faolan might want to say where he here - and if it's even right to do so. After all, she doesn't want to stick around if the rest of them land, what with being one hundred percent positive she and others like her would never truly be pardoned. And yet…

"Tell them to hurry," she says in a hasty whisper. "There's resistance, and no assurance Mount Weather remains, or if we can even make it there." Their weapons would be a huge boon against the Grounders, there could be no doubt about that.

Cameron eyes Morgan a moment, and holds up one finger, "You shit eating son of a rabid mutant rat, when you come down you had best make sure there's a guard between you and me every second of every day and night because if I get the chance I will cut your head off and bury it in the latrine, you fucking murderous shit hole that pig rapists wouldn't be seen near. I hold you responsible for her death. You. Personally. That said." Cameron takes a deep breath, "My boyfriend has important information to say to you. Please hold." And he hands the radio to Morgan.

From outside the dropship, there is a sudden burst of indistinct shouting. Things sound like they are getting heated outside.

Feeling his fingers dig into his arms and his teeth bite down on his lower lip, Silas furrows his brows as he hears further silence, but when the reply comes through he relaxes somewhat. Silas quietly listens to Cameron laying the smack down on the Chancellor- and in any other situation he'd possibly be smirking in amusement were it not for the circumstances. Silas continues to stand there and listen, looking over and inside the med-bay quietly as he listens to the others, his eyes flitting over to Layla and Morgan for a moment or two before he grunts and pushes himself off from the Dropship as he quietly moves to slip out and investigate the noise.

Morgan takes the radio when Cam gives it to him. "This is Morgan Blackwood, Jaha." One of the ones who they lost readings on days ago when he removed his bracelet the day before he got captured. "Cameron's mother said you're going to suffocate people before she died. None of us are surprised you'd do that. So send them down. Send down our families, if they want to come." He doesn't have family but Cam's father is alive and he knows others are concerned about their parents. "Send down farmers. Send down builders. Send down supplies and food and seeds to grow food. Send down medicine, needles and sutures and anaesthesia. Send down what we need to survive and people who'll listen to us and we'll take care of them. The land isn't radioactive but the people survived. They're savage and started out hostile but we've made contact. Send down people we can trust. I'm not going to bother asking for weapons since you didn't give enough of a shit about us to send us with a fucking geiger counter. But if you want the ones you send down to live, send down weapons for us. But send down the Guard and we'll make sure they all end up with a dozen arrows in them. Send down the Council and I'll kill them myself." Pause. "But I bet I'll have help. We're outnumbered - the entire Ark is outnumbered - so don't even think you can come down in force and take over the planet. And finally, go float yourself."

Still sniffling, tears streaming down her round cheeks, Cookie continues to lovingly stroke Lydia's hair.

As Morgan lays into the Chancellor— and Cameron briefly nods in approval here or there— Cam gets up, and moves over towards Cookie. He reaches a hand out to her, and if she takes it, he'll gently tug her up into a hug if she's in a hugging mood. His whole body is still tense like steel, cracking in a shudder here or there then tightening up again, but he hugs his cousin. "She's a hero. She saved them all." he whispers.

Well, Morgan's response to Jaha would suffice. Layla did not protest it, and she certainly had nothing else to add. In fact, as she watched Cameron get up to hug Cookie, Layla decided that this ''was'' the best time for her to leave. She quietly slipped out the door.

Again, there is a length of silence from the Ark end of the radio. Jaha does not speak again until Morgan begins to speak into the radio. "People?" The question is laced with surprise. "What do you mean, people?" There is almost a murmur heard behind Jaha over the radio, the sound of a woman repeating those same words. Jaha continues, his voice now deeply concerned. "I hear your frustration and your anger, Mister Blackwood… two things that neither surprise me nor do I think are unfounded." He pauses then, speaking in that calm level voice that he is well-known for. "Mister Blackwood, it was a Council member who assisted getting Mister Scott's mother to the planet… perhaps he may be spared from your anger?" There is another pause, but not as long as the others. "Mister Blackwood… now is not the time to choose who lives and who dies. The Ark will not sustain life more than a couple weeks at most. Would you care to be the one who tells these men and women that you will not allow them to live if the ground is the only place we can go?"

Devin looks to Morgan and Cameron with a very amused look at them both, nodding his head in approval. He finally stands and makes his way to the two. "Couldn't have said it better myself." He says to the two before he looks to Cameron. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to know your mother better, but this brief time, I can tell she was a strong and brave woman. I'm so very sorry for your loss." He starts to say something else, but then Jaha's voice comes through the radio again and he falls silent.

While the testosterone rages outside — inside, too — Cookie is girly sobbing all over Cameron the moment he pulls her close.

Holding Cookie still, but turning slightly so its with one arm with her held to his side, Cameron says with a voice that is tight and tense, "Thanks, Devin. She would have liked you." He looks to Morgan, and says in a severe tone, "You and I both know they're all coming down. Don't argue with them too much, it won't do any good. We'll deal with what we have to deal with. One at a time, if need be." He's pretending to be a statue still, but his voice crack every three words, "I need help carrying her outside. Digging a grave. She died to bring them all to the earth. She.. belongs.. in.. the.. earth.. to.. rest.."

"I mean people you fucking idiot!" Morgan yells into the radio. "People! Survivors! Humans! Lots and lots of people!" Granted,he doesn't know that for certain but them landing in the one place on Earth with survivors is so unlikely as to be nonsense. "And yes, I'll gladly tell some of you you're not welcome to live!" More calmly, he adds "But for the regular people, the families, we'll help as best we can. We've learned how to survive down here quickly because we had no choice." Sort of. Kinda. "But we're low on supplies and can't help everyone at once. Cam's mother died because we had no way to help her. That's your fault. Send down what we need to help fit people in and ones who'll accept it. Everyone at once will be a disaster." He gives those still here a helpless look and a shrug. What the hell is he supposed to do? To say?

Devin offers a slight smile at Cameron's words, nodding his head once. He looks to Morgan and nods. "He's right. We can come up with a plan to deal with them together, but it's not worth wasting your breath on him. We'll get our chance at him." He says softly. "If they send some people down slowly, it'll free up air for them and they can survive longer. Win. Win." He then looks towards Lydia at Cameron's words. "I'll help with it all." He offers, looking towards Cameron again.

The shouting explanation about the people on the ground does not warrant an immediate reply. Something else seems to mean more. "That is the thing, Mister Blackwood," Jaha continues, his voice soft and still gentle. "It is on me, and it is nothing I ever will expect Mister Scott to forgive me for. Just as I never imagine you will forgive me for whatever I have done to you. But, hear yourself, listen to your words… You are making a choice /now// that will ensure the death of men and women… some of which did nothing against you nor any of your peers. If you are to be their executioner, then you should look them in the eye when you do it." Which might be why Jaha has never been absent from a trial or retrial, particularly amongst the delinquents. He hesitates then, allowing weary to pass into his voice. "Let us help you, Morgan… let us help you, so you can in turn help us. Three hundred and twenty lives were saved today, help me save two-thousand more." And then the radio goes quiet, and Jaha waits.

What's a little tears and snot between kin? What's more than a little? A sign of love, that's what. Or so Cookie would tell Cameron were their places reversed. Her cousin's not yet moving, so neither does she. "I…" Hitched breath. "Think…" Hitched breath redux. "Fee-ee-eeoana pp-icked some…" One more hitched breath. "Flowers."

"It's not my decision, Jaha." Morgan states. "I'm not the Chancellor here. There is no Chancellor. No Council. And don't pretend that I can stop you from sending everyone down at once and having the Guard come kill everyone who was dumb enough to stick around. I'm telling you that surviving down here is hard and if you send down people who think it'll be business as usual, they're dead. If you send down people who think they know better, they're probably dead." Since they're expecting a Grounder attack any day now. "You were going to kill three hundred and twenty people. Send them down. Ones we can work with. We'll help them adapt. The quicker they do, the quicker you can send down more." They're all in medbay. Morgan is talking on the radio. The others are around Lydia's body. "Your oxygen will last longer that way."

Turning his head, Cameron brushes a kiss against Cookie's forehead, then resting his forehead against hers. He's not sobbing, no, but he's still crying. Silent tears, here and there. A trembling body that holds back choking sobs by sheer force of will. Cameron stands with an arm around Cookie, and he looks ashen; his face is pale, face wet, eyes bloodshot. He's trembling, and looks so tightly wound that he looks just shy of completely losing his shit, "That's enough, Morgan." So says Cameron who got his say, but he's not thinking perfectly rational, "Jaha will always have the last word, and he'll do what he wants— he won't do what you say. Don't satisfy him. Turn it off. Refuse to engage until we can look him in the eye and kill him for what he did to our mothers." Despite the fact that he looks on the edge of losing it, his voice is cool and even. Perhaps cold. Except, it cracks here, there. Words shake out before it solidifies again.

Grey comes swarming up the ladder, a wake of shouting and cursing echoing dully up behind him from the camp outside. The voice of Chancellor Jaha is… an unwelcome one and a very welcome one both at the same time. As he hops off the ladder, he growls, "I know you idiots didn't just threaten the survival of the people on the Ark because you're so damned consumed by hatred for the Chancellor and the Council." There are thunderclouds on his features, and they carry over to his voice, anger twisting his words and roughening his tone.

Jaha's end of the radio is very silent, almost weightily so. When the radio clicks back to life, Jaha may be getting the last word, but it is probably a very important one. "I'll stay," he says quietly. "If you allow me to send everyone I can so that lives can be spared, I will stay on the Ark and die with it." Then the radio goes silent again, waiting… He doesn't know of Grey's interruptions.

And… that's that. Cameron lets go of Cookie and he has his knife out and he's stalking towards Grey, irrational murder in his eyes, "You motherfucking pig, I just SAVED THE FUCKING ARK, you son of a bitch, My MOTHER just DIED to bring us the radio so we could WARN THEM, you shitfaced broke-dick ratfucker, because Jaha was going to kill THREE HUNDRED OF THEM because we took off the fucking bracelets you bastard son of a whore you.." Someone is going to restrain him, right?

Devin stands near Cameron and the others, listening to the conversation on the radio and offering a voice on occasion. He doesn't say anything this time, but as Grey comes up to the medbay, he looks up at him for a moment before he turns and looks back to the radio, still silent.

From above, the hatch to the makeshift Box opens and two heads poke down — the guards watching the Grounders. Katie blinks several times in shock at what she is seeing, and Jasin's brow lowers heavily over his dark eyes. Shouting draws attention…

Morgan looks at Grey, his own expression growing stormy when Jaha responds and he can't help but stare at the radio. What did he just say? He just said none of them could stop Jaha from doing whatever the hell he wanted. Why the hell is Jaha bargaining when he can just send everyone down and they can't stop him?

Grey is definitely outnumbered up here, but he came with his hackles up already, so he doesn't back down when Cameron advances on him, despite the blade in the other man's hand, just stepping away from the hatch to give himself room to maneuver, "Put that knife down, Cam." The anger still ripples under his voice, but it's certainly not bright or hot as Cameron's, "I'm sorry your mom died. But if people hadn't been taking their bracelets off, they'd know that it was safe down here. I was wrong about that. But if you," that's not just Cameron, that's Morgan and Devin too, although Cookie just gets a glance, "piss off the Council and Jaha just because you can, you're killing all of us."

Jaha's words still hang in the silence on his end of the radio. As the silence continues, the Chancellor's weary voice returns, "Mister Blackwood, Mister Scott?" Another pause. "Please let me know that you heard me…"

"Why are you bargaining?" Morgan asks into the radio. He has to know. "We can't stop you from sending whoever you want so why are you bargaining?" It doesn't make sense. He needs it to make sense. Cameron attacking Grey makes perfect sense. He's often wanted to.

"Cameron!" Katie gasps, and the girl is scrambling down the ladder, completely abandoning her post and leaving Jasin up there to watch the two. "Cameron, don't!"

Devin looks over towards Cameron and Grey, not moving to stop Cameron. His eyebrow raises slightly at the mention of killing us all. "What does it matter? We piss of Jaha, he comes down and they kill us all. The Grounders come for their prisoners and we refuse, they kill us all. We're fucked no matter what." He says simply, raising his shoulders slightly.

Maybe it's the raised voices. Maybe it's that she's been let go. Maybe it's the seemingly endless back and forth. Maybe it's Cameron in the mood to murder Grey. All on top of her Aunt Lydia having just died. Whatever it is, Cookie's had enough. "STOP. JUST STOP. EVERYONE FUCKING STOP. NO MORE KILLING. NO MORE DYING. NO MOR FIGHTING. JUST. STOP. STOP. STOP. STAHHHHHHHHHHP!"

And that last shrieking syllable is enough pierce eardrums.

Cameron is cold. In a crisis, he's ice. He's steady, he's /reliable/ even when suddenly panthers pop up to say Hi Your Ass Looks Tasty: he doesn't panic, he doesn't freak out, he calculates and responds. Everyone knows this who knows anything of him. He might get annoyed, but he doesn't get angry. He's never so much as yelled at someone before that anyone can remember.

And all of that completely gone.

He's fury and hatred and anger and there's not a whit of control in him. Grey might be who he's hating on right now, but his eyes are glazed like he's doing his best Faolan impression right now: there's no /reason/ in him. And in this state even Cookie's words don't penetrate. He surges towards Grey.

Jaha's voice returns, though it is not quite so haggard. In face, there is a soft hint of smiling resignation there — the kind of smile one wears when they feel a sense of relief at the end of a long, tiring journey. "Our people deserve unity, Morgan… They always have… since the twelve stations." He pauses, almost letting the words sink in a moment. "And our unity has always been out of survival… it is in our very bones… as Chancellor, I must always make the choice that means our people live… and if I must choose death, I will, Mister Blackwood."

Enraged citizen charging with a knife. This is straight out of Cadet training. Granted, that was two years ago, but Grey was kept in practice by assholes in the SkyBox and Grounders on the Ground. He twists away from the slashing knife even as Cookie's scream rings in his ears. He starts, the knife drawing a line of blood across his left arm as he steps to his right, evading the thrust for the most part. His right hand comes around, trying to grasp onto Cameron's knife-wrist, his left hand sweeping up in an attempt to put pressure on the back of the other youth's elbow to control the arm, "Cameron. Knock it the hell off. They're fighting outside. You're attacking me here. Jackhole Jaha just offered to die for the people of the Ark." He glances aside to Devin, "We got one chance here, as far as I see it. The Arkers are coming down. The Grounders are here. We can't piss either one off."

Martin peeks his head up as he climbs the ladder. Let's see - Cookie is hysterical, Grey is trying to put a rabid Cameron into a headlock, and Morgan is talking to Jaha on the radio. Yep, everything seems to be in order. He just nods a bit without saying a thing. Then finally he chimes in, "Good to see everyone getting along so well both in here and outside." Then Grey states that the Arkers are descending. Well, that's news.

Morgan simply watches Cameron as he waits for Jaha to answer, not really sure if he wants Cameron to succeed or not. Though it's certain that he'll step in if Cameron looks like he's in trouble. Again, he stares at the radio when there's an answer. Unfair. So unfair. Jaha is not supposed to say things like that. "It's not my decision." he eventually repeats. "There's no Chancellor down here. We need to talk it over. Gather your first load to send. Make sure they know what things are like down here and that they need to be able to trust and work with us. Make sure we have supplies. We can't handle everyone at once no matter what." It's been 8 FUCKING DAYS. "We'll get back to you tomorrow."

Devin looks between what's going on between Morgan and Jaha then to what's going on between Cameron and Grey. He watches the quick restraint of Cameron by Grey. He still doesn't move to intervene, as Katie comes to help with the situation. "You're right. She said if we don't let them go, they're going to come for them and it'll be nothing we can survive. They are coming for them." He says softer as Morgan speaks to Jaha.

Cameron tries to struggle like an animal does, but that sorta hold makes moving /hurt/. Still he hisses, snarling, and he's like, /insane/ with it for a moment that extends into several, and when its futile to escape and get leverage, and then… All the fight goes out of him. He just almost physically melts, collapsing to the ground and sobbing. Its full throated, alternating between choking and hacking for breath, it hurts down into his very bones, and he's just -broken-. Utterly and complete emotional devastation. Get sent down to the ground to die? No problem. Kill a man, fine. Face down a panther, okay. Hold your mother's hand as she dies? Cameron is, for right now, destroyed.

Martin decides that things are somewhat in control here. He nods as Morgan talks to Jaha, taking in what is said, then he decides to descend once more, stating, "Any of you who aren't going crazy, let me know if people start dying in here. I'm going back outside to see how things ar eout there."

Again, relief fills that soothing mellifluous voice. "Yes, of course, Mister Blackwood. I will keep this radio near by, and be waiting your call." Beat pause. "We would like to help you set up a more consistent communication system… there are families up here who would very much like to speak with their sons and daughters." Again, a small break of silence. "Then we would like to help you find some supplies. As I hear you, Mr. Blackwood, Mount Weather is not accessible… will you be amenable to our assistance in finding another supply depot close by?" Jaha intakes a breath, and his voice sounds a bit stronger, a bit more like he's talking to another adult. "Regardless of your decision, we would like to help you as best we can…"

Grey doesn't much like having his back to Devin and Morgan right now, not while he's doing his best to control Cameron's anger. But that same fury means that he can't divert much attention to the others. And then Cameron begins to collapse, and Grey immediately shifts his hands away from the armbar, snaking one around the other teen's chest and lowering him carefully to the ground. Only then does he reach for Cameron's knife, aiming to slip it from his hand and hold it out to Cookie from where he knee's behind Cam, "Devin. Not now with the Grounders. Please." Abruptly, Grey sounds more tired than angry, "Morgan, can I talk to him?" A nod toward the radio indicates who he means, and as he waits for a response, the ex-Cadet nods to Katie as well, "Thanks, Kate. I think the trouble's over down here, for now."

"They want to talk to their families too." Morgan answers. Of that he's certain. At least those who don't hate their families. But he'd never do anything to keep them apart. "We can keep someone with the radio. Tell us who's up there to talk and we'll get them." Pause. Then he gives Jaha eight names. "Those are the ones who died. Tell their parents… Tell their parents." He looks at Grey then says "Someone wants to talk to you." and hands the radio to Grey.

Katie looks uncertain, her mouth tense. She offers a small nod when Grey thanks her, but she still hesitates. "Okay, oh…" She pauses. "Grey, the Archer was asking for you…" Then she starts back up the ladder again, still a bit cautious.

Devin raises his hands up in surrender before he moves towards one of the back walls, leaning up against it. He falls silent as he looks to Morgan as they're talking about family. He glances towards Cam and Grey, wondering if he would react the same way if it was his sister on the table rather than Lydia or what he would says to his sister if he talked to her. He stuffs his hands into his pockets and slides down the wall into a sitting position.

If anyone has ever wondered if Cookie is capable of an absolutely baleful look, the answer is: YES. Whether or not Martin's back gives his brain the memo is another matter entirely, but his flippancy and insensitive choice of words won't be forgotten.

In the meanwhile, Cookie is rushing over to Cameron but iw knocked a bit off kilter when Grey seeks to hand her the knife. Shaking with adrenaline, she takes it, wide-eyed, distraught, and a little dumbfounded, and then quietly requests that the ex-C, "Let him go." She may not be ready just yet to cut a bitch, but she's clearly being protective and who knows where that may lead when torn up with grief?

Compared to the forty-some bracelets that are dark in the Earth Monitoring Station, hearing that only eight are actually dead probably incites some relief. Jaha's response to Morgan is again quite gentle and somber. "Thank you, Morgan… I will see to it that their families know." Then he waits to be passed along to the next person to cuss him out. Two down, ninety more to go.

Grey was already settling Cameron to the decking when Cookie makes her demand, and he just nods, stepping away and rising to his feet again. He takes a step toward the radio, and then his head snaps around toward Katie, his eyes widening slightly, "She what?" Blinking hard, he shakes his head trying to force his brain to work, "I'll come up… later." He pauses, "Probably best to keep that hatch shut while we're arguing down here." Again, he shakes his head, and finally steps over to the radio. He nods to Morgan, gnaws at a fingernail for a long moment, then finally presses the transmit button on the radio, "Chancellor," it took a good long moment of thinking to decide to use the title, "Grey here." That's probably not what Jaha wanted to hear, all things considered. "We've been unable to reach Mount Weather. The natives, we're calling them Grounders, stopped us. That's where Perry and Rees died. But if you send down Guard, a bunch of the Hundred are going to be a whole lot less than happy."

"Tell him that yes, we want as many supply depots as he can find." Morgan tells Grey. He forgot to tell Jaha that among the rest of the surprises.

When it is Grey's turn, Jaha does sound a bit surprised to hear the ex-Cadet's words. "Yes… Mister Blackwood had mentioned that there are… Grounders, as you call them." There is another pause. "Mister Grey, I'm afraid that picking and choosing who comes down from the Ark is what I was just speaking to Mister Blackwood about." The Chancellor hesitates, and the radio gives a faint crackle. "Go-Sci estimates that our oxygen systems will start wide failures in two weeks' time…"

After one fight with someone deemed responsible (even if he wasn't) Quinn is heading for another fight inside the dropship. The wound that had been slowing her down seems to be pretty well forgotten in the wake of everything, and she's pretty well making a lot of noise as she climbs into the passanger hold.

In the middle of the medbay, there's Lydia— who is quite clearly dead— the remnants of a spacesuit by here. Over near her feet is Cameron, collapsed on the ground, _sobbing_. Sobbing is a poor word for it. He's gagging himself, choking himself, gasping for breath, all while being utterly and completely out of his mind with grief. Its loud, and just now, its sorta messy, as he gags himself on his grief enough that he begins throwing up. Because that's what the dropship needs, new and interesting smells.

And right behind Quinn? Is Fiona, having previously passed out for a few hours after her 3 mile top speed run and subsequent medbay setup. It's gone to chaos down there, and as the smell of puke hits her, she realizes it's some degree of that up here, too.

Morgan grabs a cloth then walks over to Cam and sinks down besides him, holding him firmly while he vomits and then cleaning him up.

Max climbs up after her, rapidly keeping pace, and staying within arm's length just in case and looking pensive. "Quinn…" he says as they climb up and then he sees Cameron on the ground and Lydia and he stops, nearly blocking Fiona from coming up until he manages to move out of the way. "Shit.." he says quietly under his breath, grimacing.

Tear-streaked and runny-nosed, Cookie is still holding Cameron's knife. Before she can crouch next to him to comfort him, Morgan is already there. So she simply stands there, watching, feeling helpless and heartbroken.

Grey nods to Morgan sidelong, although the majority of his attention is on the radio. Somehow, in the short time since he arrived, Cameron collapsed bonelessly to the ground, to be tended by Cookie and Morgan, Devin retreated into a corner, and Grey got on the radio with Jaha. What can he say, he works fast. He starts to nod slowly at Jaha's words, but the final ones… the final ones are bone-chilling. He's silent for a long time before he responds, "Then we have a deadline to make peace with the Grounders, but we need an edge, sir. We'll gladly take the coordinates to any supply depot you can give us. As far as we can tell, we're about twenty kilometers east of Mount Weather. So something closer's better." He finds himself falling back into old Guard patterns, and inside, he's screaming at himself. The arrival of Quinn draws tension back into his shoulders, for all that he nods to her, Fiona, and Max, it's wary, "Chancellor, there are some very, very untrusting people down here. And with good reason. We need some proof that we aren't gonna be Boxed or shot when everyone comes down. That we're full members of the Ark."

"I'm fine…" Quinn replies, shaking her head at Max before she surveys the room, taking in the dead woman, and then Cameron and Cookie. She doesn't appear to be feeling one way or another about that for the moment, instead she looks at Grey, frowning at what he says, "He'll promise you anything you want to hear, Grey…it doesn't mean anything."

"No." Morgan says, looking across Cameron to Grey. "There is no Ark. The Ark is going to be scrap. This is our home and we're the ones who know how to live here. They need to join us."

Cam heaves a couple more times, but then with a shuddering breath, it stops. He's trembling fiercely, but his fingernails claw against the steel of the floor, and he pushes himself up, lifting a hand to take the cloth Morgan got and wiping his face, saying hoarsely, "Thankyou." And he shifts, moving into a sitting position. As his face comes into view, he looks devastated, ashen, puffy, swollen, all of it. Hoarsely, he says, "The Ark is dying, the /ark will die/. Ark law will not command the Ground. The Ground will accept no leader that the Ground can not recall. The Council dies with the Ark. Men and women come down. The Ark dies in space. Or there is no peace." If anyone heads him, who knows. He had his say. "Tell that twisted dicked assleaking son of a plague leech I told him so." Because that's how he really feels.

Fiona purses her lips, a certain sign of displeasure. "It's chaos down there." she says quietly, not wanting the radio to pick it up. She starts to ask a question, is halted when Cameron starts speaking. And so rather than adding fuel to the fire, she stays quiet, listens, and watches.

Morgan can't argue with what Cameron just said. Instead, he pulls Cam into his arms and holds him tightly. "I'm sorry." he says quietly. "Grey, tell Jaha that Cam needs to talk to his father."

Lovingly, Cookie seeks to ruffle Cameron's hair. Falling back to what she knows, what makes her comfortable — being a caregiver — she tells him, "I'm gonna make you some tea, Camomile, and then we'll see about burying your mom." Fiona's voice then draws her attention, and she asks, "Did you ever pick those flowers?"

"Of course, Mister Grey… I will instructor Councilor Kane — " There is something in Jaha's voice that is suddenly biting, but it does not seem to be directed at Grey. " — to provide you with coordinates to some available depots." Then the man releases a sigh, it whispering across the communication lines. He patiently goes back to Grey's earlier statements, and the Chancellor's voice returns to its patient, almost guiding quality. "Mister Grey, there is little proof I can offer across layers of atmosphere, but as I told Mister Blackwood, we seek to help you so that you can help us. We sent you to the Ground with nothing…" Jaha's voice is heavy now, though he amends, "… just one another, because we had nothing to give… but hope. You have survived eight days… against, as it sounds, incredible odds. We can give you an edge, but we need you to survive."

Max's got plenty of his own opinions, but for the moment, he's just trying to get his bearings on what all is going on, and his attention is split in several different directions, between Quinn, Cameron's loss, and the fact that the Ark, from which they have been detached for a little over a week, is suddenly once more a reality within their lives. It's easy to see from the way that his attention shifts from one person to another that he's conflicted about what to do or say in this particular situation, and so he remains by Quinn for the moment, just finding her hand, not to hold her back or anything, just for the contact.

Jaha allows a small lapse of silence before adding, "I have given Mister Blackwood an offer that may reunite our people, and he — quite wisely — knows he must discuss it with the rest of your. I am the source of your mistrust, your ire… I will stay here, and see to the end of the Ark, and the rest will come join you on the Ground."

"He already promised to stay up there and die, Quinn." No nickname from Grey this time, one finger jabbing up toward the sky above. "If that's what it took to get Morgan's help." Camron's words cause him to snarl wordlessly, and later on, he'll really wish that they also hadn't caused him to press down on the transmit button, especially since his next words are, "Look, I think the Jackhole's a dick too. Don't get me wrong. But I'm not about to let twenty-five hundred of our people die because I think he's a dick." And then he realizes that he transmitted all of that. There goes the good-Guardsman shine. Flushing darkly, he looks at the ground, then back up at the radio defiantly, as if he could stare down the Chancellor and say, 'no, I'm not taking that back.' What he does say, however is, "We're workin' to make peace with the natives. We've learned to live together. If we don't kill each other over this, we'll survive until you make it home. I'll be back for the coordinates for the depots, but right now… right now Cam could really do with talkin' to his dad."

"No more council. No more chancellor. Even if you stay there, no more. No one replacing you from up there." Apparently Quinn can agree with Cameron that the government nad leadership from the Ark needs to stay the fuck in space. When Max takes her hand she gives it a squeeze in response, "That agreement needs to be made on their end."

"Mister Grey," Chancellor Jaha says, his voice a bit humored now. "I believe you forgot to stop transmission." If there's any real chiding in there, it is done in some degree of good humor. Then he murmurs his agreement, and there is another lapse of silence. When he returns, he speaks again in that more adult-to-adult tone. "The Chief Engineer would like to speak Mister Menge about setting up video communications. I have already sent for Mister Scott, and he will be here soon. I have anxious parents who wish to speak to their children, and would like to see that they are all alright."

"Flowers would be nice." whispers Cameron to Cookie, looking at he vaguely, "Yellow, if we can find them. She always loved yellow. Maybe just one. One would be enough. One woman who died to get me the radio, so she could save the Ark. Just one, Cookie. That'd be nice, wouldn't it? Yellow like the sun." Then he leans more heavily against Morgan, slipping an arm around the young man and saying softly, "Thank you for trying to save her." He has enough first aid training that he knew the moment he saw the type of brusing that there was no chance of Morgan saving her with their tools, supplies, medicine. No chance at all. But, Morgan tried. "Thank you." Cam adds softly. He says more loudly, looking balefully at Grey, "You fucking pigfucker slime licking son of a bitch, I SAVED THEM. I CHOSE TO SAVE THEM. I TOLD HIM I TOLD THEM ALL." He's half-shouting, but its so sharp, "I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT MY FATHER WHO IS STILL THERE WHOSE WIFE JUST DIED TO SAVE THEM ALL." Still yelling, "I AM TELLING JAHA THAT IF THE COUNCIL COMES DOWN AND THINKS TO BE THE COUNCIL I WILL KILL THEM ALL ONE BY ONE." He then is gasping, because he needs to breathe, heaving, "They need to come down in stages as they can, and they all need to come down, that's why I WARNED THEM. I SAVED THEM. But the Council comes down as men. Not as rulers. Or they die."

Fiona regards Cameron a moment, and then starts to reply to Cookie - until Cameron starts yelling, and then she backpedals so fast she hits the wall, palms pressing flat. She thought the others scared her when they caught the Grounders? Cameron right now makes her want to piss herself.

With a final ruffle, Cookie tells Cameron, "Okay. We'll find the biggest, most beautiful yellow one." Her voice is soft and a little hoarse from her earlier fit of shrieking, but she stopped crying, at least, and is now using her free hand to wipe away the remnants of tears and snot.

Seeing Fiona so terrified, the chef heads that way, tucking Cameron's knife betwixt her cargo pant and faded robin's blue egg belt. "Hey, Fi. Wanna help me find Cole and then find that flower for my Aunt Lydia." Retreat with dignity, girl.

Grey looks back to Quinn even as he holds the microphone out to Morgan or Cameron or whomever is going to get it, "What the hell, Quinn?" There's not anger there, just disappointment, "What happened to you? You're sentencing those people to die because you don't like the government." Cameron's violent ranting causes Grey to take half a step back, turning toward Cameron. Grey may have handled the first attack easily enough (besides the shallow slice on his left forearm), but he's not about to discount the possibility of a second attack. He slowly brings the mic back up to his hand, "Uh… we're having some… technical difficulties, Chancellor. We'll get back to you when we have Cole here. And then I'll be back when Councilor Kane has the coordinates."

"No, I'm sentencing myself to die if they come down and try to reform the Ark here on the Ground. If they decide to come down here, and it's the same as it was up there…I'm leaving. I don't want to be here. But I can't stop them from coming down…they're going to no matter what I say. But I can leave now, before that happens. Before they go back on everything, before another Chancellor comes down and starts throwing us in boxes." Quinn points out, shaking her head just a little, "I've said this entire time that we need to learn to survive and work together somehow…and I'm not going to watch that die when they show up."

"It won't, Quinn. We'll make it work." Morgan tells her, still holding tight to Cameron and makes soothing noises. He'll just keep doing that till he needs to let go so Cam can go talk to his dad.

"Some of us want to be back with our families." Fiona says, holding up a hand to belay Cookie as she gives herself a little shake. "Or at least see them."

Cameron revels in glowering right now. He's not himself still. He had a good cry, but he's still on edge. More softly now, and in a more dangerous tone, "You keep accusing me of wanting to sentence them to die, Grey. I don't appreciate that. My mom told me Jaha was going to float three hundred of them, and that she died to come here to get me the radio. My mom made me promise to use that radio to warn them, to tell them we live, that we can survive. I did. I want them all here, Grey. If you tell me again I don't care about the Ark, where the heritage of our people is— a heritage I treasure— if you again tell me I'm condemning to death those families, including my family, including my father, the husband of that woman." Cameron points at Lydia, his eyes a fury, "I will kill you where you stand. I want to save them and you will not again tell me I want anything different. It is all I have -ever- wanted. But. The Council will not live on earth." He becomes less angry, more cold, "The Council that answers to no one, the Council which sought to murder us, that sought to murder three hundred innocent Arkers when they thought us dead, the Council will not be tolerated. Council and Ark Law will not come to earth and be accepted. The men, women, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, all of them as men and women and children. My FATHER. The widower of the woman.." A sharper gesture at Lydia there dead on the ground, ".. who sacrificed herself to save them all, the Ark, to bring me her radio so I could call them to earth. If the Council tries to come to earth and make a new Ark on earth, then I will kill them all."

When Grey feigns technical difficulties, Jaha respectfully remains silent on his end of the radio.

Fiona attempts to belay her, but Cookie really isn't in the mood to remain any longer. Faintly, she frown, "It's cool." She's not upset, she just doesn't want to stick around. She has a Cole to find and a beloved Aunt to bury, and neither will happen if she remains here.

Max gives Quinn's hand another squeeze and then finally lets his fingers slip from hers. He looks, a bit overwhelmed, and so he begins to head back for the latter now that it seems no one is going to beat anyone to mush, at least for the moment. "I'm sorry, Cam," he says quietly, knowing that Cameron probably can't hear it. Then he heads back down.

Fiona is watching Cameron like a hawk now. Death threats so readily thrown around are not something that are going to allow her to sleep easy. "Gray," she says, "We'll talk in the morning, okay?" With that, she too heads for the ladder, already dreading another sleepless night.

"Of all the…holy shit, what the fuck. People are trying to fuckin sleep. But noooooo, 'Cole build us a wall', 'Cole take care of the water', 'Cole fix some shit in the middle of when you're trying to sleep'. Never a goddamn dull moment, is there." Oh yeah, the mechanic is salty, being about to fall asleep in his tent. Cole sighs as he climbs the ladder. "The hell do you people want? I have a pod to tear apart in the fuckin morning. And I'm about to go the fuck to sleep after watching that goddamn orgy out front, people gettin all fuckin savage an shit, brownin their fuckin trousers over the big bad Ark. Is there any other kind of fuckin lovely news? Because I'm about fuckin tapped for the goddamn night.

"Then don't give up, Quinn." Grey's voice turns pleading there, as he sets down the microphone, "Running off, it's writing off every other human being in the world except you, and maybe Max, if you take him off to die with you. It's sayin' that you're so mad that none of us matter, let alone anyone up there. It's sayin' that I don't matter, that Hanne doesn't matter. Hell, you're throwing around 'I' so much, you're sayin' Max doesn't matter." And then he looks back at the font of rage and spite that is GriefCameron, drawing in a heavy breath, "You need to not be here, Cameron. You're not thinking. That shit," he points toward the mic, "might have made the call to kill three hundred people to give twenty-two hundred a chance… and don't think I'm not pissed as all hell about that," says the guy who personally swore he'd rescue any single Delinquent that got captured, even the ones he doesn't like, "but if we," One hand taps his chest to explicitly include himself, "don't help get them down here, we are killing them. And ranting and raving ain't helping." Grief counselor, Grey is not. Finally, he gives a still-angry, but equally-weary nod to Fiona.

Still, the radio remains nice and quiet… patient even.

"When you're done here, we can talk. But now isn't the time, and here isn't the place." Quinn points out before she turns towards the ladder, starting to exit as well.

Cameron stares at Grey a long moment, and as each moment goes by it is cooler and cooler, and his hand settles down on the sword held in the makeshift sling at his waist. The RageCameron was mindless, once he started talking? His other self started reasserting. Its reasonable to think he was still being crazy, but that ended when the ability to speak was regained. "You misunderstand, Grey." says Cameron softly, "I am thinking. I will do whatever it takes— whatever it takes— for every single family of the Ark to come down here, though I an open to debate on just what that schedule and plan looks like. The Council, though, is not welcome here. I'm talking about five people, Grey. Five." He lifts a hand, slowly counting off each finger, "One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Those five come down, they understand they are only men. They accept one thing: no one rules who is not subject to recall. If they disagree, they will come down anyways. Once I told them we were safe, once I took it upon myself to warn the Ark and fulfill the promise my mother demanded of me, I guaranteed the Ark will fall and they will come. I will support every endeavor to support the coming of our people, though I think it should be done in stages; they thought the Ark could survive by murdering three hundred people? So they send three hundred— maybe more, we can tlak about it— at first. We build foundations and make ready for the next wave. And the next. If this plan needs adjustment, we adjust. But the Council does not come down. Ark Law does not come down. If they disagree with my terms, I will save every soul I can, because I am not a fucking psychopath. BUt I will kill every fucking Councilor, one by one."

"Oh my god, will someone just fuckin tell me why I'm here." Cole grumps, clearly not in the mood.

"And their families, Cameron? What about them?" Grey sighs heavily, then looks to Cole, gesturing to the microphone beside him, "Chief Engineer wants to talk to you about rigging up a vid-link." Looking back to Cameron, he shakes his head, "Nevermind. I'm gonna go see what the crazy-ass Grounder wants. Because right now, I'm thinkin' they're saner than a whole lot of us." And he starts toward the ladder that leads upstairs.

"I said six men, Grey." Because he said six. Honest. Cameron's voice is cool and even, "What the fuck kind of insane psychopath do you think I am that I'd want to condemn any family, the day my mother died to save them all? Have you forgotten my FATHER is still up there?"

Grey shakes his head, "So you kill six men and women. Their families now hate you. Whatever, man. Grieve. You need it." And then he grasps the rungs of the ladder and begins climbing to knock on the hatch above.

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