Ark 7: The Sariel

Chapter 14: Choice

"Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away."
-Elvis Presley

"How? How could this happen? Why? Why me?" I thought to myself, I'm lost, I don't know what to do. It's up to me, me of all people to raise my younger siblings, how can I do that during this? During this crisis? During a war? I need to be on the ready, security needs me, but so do my brothers and my sister Celia. So which comes first? My family? My job? Or myself?

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A/N: Switching viewpoints to a third person perspective of the others around Jax, this is how the others are viewing the situation and maybe some insight into what the others see Jax as.

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"We can't lose him, not now, he's to critical to keeping this Ark alive," Jameson was telling everyone.

"But we can't force him into this! He just lost his mother for gods sake!" Las was getting emotional again.

"Las is right, Jax lost his mom, one of his friends and now he has to take care of his siblings, his life just went straight to hell," Troy put a reassuring hand on Las's shoulder.

"We need him, Reynes knew this, so he targeted Jax personally. This means Jax is someone Reynes fears," Jameson looked up from the computer display.

"So what? He just lost his mom! You can't just bounce back from something like that!" Las raised his voice.

"We have more important things than the loss of one person, we are talking about millions of people aboard this Ark!" Alvar said as he walked into the room.

"Loss of one person? Have you no heart? It was his mother for Pete's sake!" Las stood up, his face flushed red with anger.

"Excuse me young sir, but I seem to be looking at the big picture, unlike you." Alvar stared at Las, his face devoid of emotion.

"Who gives a damn about the big picture! Jax isn't some random pawn in your war against Reynes! He's a human, not just that he's also my best friend!" Jax moved up next to Alvar.

"Your 'friend' is the only one capable of fixing the damage done to the ship, he is a 'pawn' in our 'game of war' with Reynes!" Alvar looked down at Las.

"Ya know what? I'm done with everyone looking down at me and those around me, in case you forgot Jax outranks everyone in this room Mr. Captain of a ship that no longer exists!" Las got up into Alvar's face. Alvar punched Las in the face, knocking him down.

"You sonofa-," Las stood up, his nose bleeding. Las swung an uppercut into Alvar's jaw with a crunching noise.

"You little mocoso!" Alvar yelled, holding his jaw.

"Both of you stop it!" Troy was holding an EM handgun, pointing it alternating his aim between the two.

"Troy! He's your friend too! We can't put him through more! He'll crack and then we all lose!" Las stood there, the glare he was giving Alvar was one of uncontrollable rage.

"I agree, with both sides. Instead of making this choice for Jax, and either forcing him to lay low, or forcing him to fight, why don't we ask him what he wants to do?" Troy kept his aim trained on Alvar and Las.

"I.....yea.....your right......it's not our choice, it's his..." Las stepped back, looking towards Troy.

"I don't think Jax is fit for this decision." Alvar looked at Las with disdain.

"Ya know what? Your right, he may not be fit for this decision. But it's not our right to take the decision away from him!" Las gave Alvar a cold stare.

"And you have no right to vote in this matter, after all, you don't even hold a rank here." Alvar remarked snidely

"He doesn't need one." Troy said, firing his EM gun into Alvar's side, knocking him out.