To Elysia - The 100 season 5 - A bellarke story

Promethius - Part 4

The tears rolled down Ravens cheeks uncontrollably. This couldn't have all been for nothing? Everything that she had been through, for what, to be stuck up in space, with no way of getting back down?
Raven felt completely and utterly stupid. Every day at 4pm the crew had a meeting to discuss how to get back down to earth. Every single day she sat at that table, and every time their eyes were full of hope, expecting a new plan to get them back down to the ground.

Every day she let them down.

Admittedly life had been quite peaceful since being back in space, but the only development in the last 6 years was monty scavenging parts from a nearby satellite to repair the coms system, and even though he finally got it working last night, earth was silent, she hadn't heard a thing.

It was impossible, they had no fuel, the ark couldn't withstand the burn of reentry.
Raven slammed her hand against the wall in despair, how much more of this could she take?  She looked down at the floor, trying to steady her thoughts.
In half an hour, they would all come through that door, and ask the same damn question that they had been asking for 6 years, and she would have to give them the same damn answer.

She looked around the bridge, half completed plans were strewn everywhere, all rendered obsolete for having a fatal flaw of some sort. Cups and electrical parts covered the coms desk.
"Everything is such a damn mess!" She shouted, kicking a roll of wire across the floor in anger.
She looked out of the window at the planet she once called home. Everything looked so deserted and dead when compared to the lush green planet that she looked upon as a child. She had spotted a small patch of green a few years ago, and had watched it spread gradually over the years, that gave her hope, if only a small amount.

She shook her head to prepare herself mentally for the forthcoming meeting, an attempt to snap herself out of the feeling of failure rushing over her.
If earth could survive Praimfaya, they could survive a few more years in space. She had to do this.

Bellamy looked over at the bottle on the cabinet. "The baton".
He'd placed it in his quarters just after arrival, in memory of those who had died during Praimfaya, as a constant reminder of the end goal - to get back to the ground, to see Octavia again.
Thinking about Octavia was difficult for him, he couldn't help but worry about her. By now she would have been out of the bunker - out on the ground. She would be leading perhaps, that's if she was still in charge. Would she be safe?
Bellamy remembered the other leaders since their arrival, Lexa, Ontari, Roan, and their gruesome fates. Although, not all leaders had died in wars or battles he reminded himself, remembering Clarke for a moment.
Perhaps she would be safe.
He had to remind himself just how strong she had become, he needed to remember that. Now that Monty had fixed the coms system, he was hoping they would hear from her any day now.

"Is everything ok?" Echo said with her head around the door, snapping Bellamy from his thoughts.
Bellamy looked up at echo and smiled slightly.
"Yeah, just thinking about the ground, I'm hoping Raven has a new plan today"
Echo walked over to the bed, sitting next to him and placing her hand on his leg in comfort. "She might." She replied quietly.
Echo scanned Bellamys face, but she found nothing but sorrow. "We can only have hope" she whispered, hoping to momentarily end his grief.
At that, Echo rose to her feet, before bending forward to kiss Bellamy. "We're going to be late, come on".
Bellamy nodded, glancing over at the baton.
"We can only have hope" he parroted quietly to himself, before rising to his feet and heading off to the meeting.

Raven had waited patiently for everyone to arrive, but the only one she knew she needed to speak to was Monty. He knew how to get the coms system to do what she needed. Nothing else mattered right now.
Bellamy and Echo were the last to enter the room, sitting side by side at the end of the table.

Raven cleared her throat.
"Right, as you know, Monty managed to fix our coms system yesterday"
Bellamy looked up at Raven.
"Anything?" He asked optimistically.
Raven shook her head, knowing his pain.
"We cannot get signals out, but the main receiver is finally working. Ive been listening since last night, but am still waiting to hear anything but static"
Raven watched the group and the disappointment spreading through their faces. She tried to be positive.
"I think its down to the signal being too weak to travel this far, but I'm sure that can be fixed, don't we have a satellite tethered to us?"
Monty's ears pricked. She was right - the systems being used on the ground were quite primitive, they may not be able to reach this far.
"If I could increase the surface area, adjust it slightly, they may have a better chance of getting through?" He said, enthusiasm showing. "It wouldn't take much to hook it up?"

This was exactly what Raven wanted to hear, and it was obvious with the smile beaming across her face. "Exactly Monty. If we can pick up a signal, that's the first step. We will be able to transmit out in no time!"
Both Murphy and Bellamy were now sitting forward in their seats.
"Monty, how long?" Bellamy asked. Monty paused for a moment, considering his options.
"Probably a couple of hours, maybe less if all goes to plan" Monty replied, seeing optimism in Bellamy was something he'd almost forgotten.
"I'll get on it now" monty said hurriedly as he headed out of the door, mission in hand.
Bellamy rose to his feet, "Murphy and I will help, there has to be something we can do". Murphy looked up at Bellamy, before sighing and reluctantly getting up to stand beside him.

"Great! Harper, can you give me a hand testing the wires on the transmission system?" Raven asked as she made her way over to the coms desk. Harper nodded, pouring herself a glass of water before hopping out of her seat.

"That's settled then, updates as they happen please Raven" Bellamy shouted over his shoulder as he and Murphy made their way off the bridge.

Monty worked on the satellite for much longer than intended, it was well into the night before the first crackles appeared. Bellamy was the first to arrive back on the bridge upon hearing the news. Sitting patiently by the radio whilst Raven scanned for incoming signals. Every click returned more white noise.
Raven looked at Bellamy, trying to remain optimistic that they would hear something. Anything. Someone had to be out there surely?

About an hour had passed, occasional glances back and forth between Bellamy and Raven were all that were exchanged when the crackle changed, but to no avail, the sound always stayed the same. The ground was dead.

Bellamy couldn't take any more, he was too tired, too drained to stay.
"Right, I need some shut eye, long day"
He sighed as he looked out of the window, watching the night creep across the ground, before heading back to his quarters.

Echo was asleep in bed when he entered the room. She really was so peaceful when at rest. However, Bellamy didn't want to go to sleep right now, nor particularly want to be near anyone. He just wanted to be by himself.
Walking over to the cabinet, he picked up the Baton, and headed over to a chair by the window, propping his feet on a strategically placed trunk.

He couldn't stop a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, he was missing something, everything felt wrong. He knew he missed Octavia. He looked down at the baton, perfectly illuminated by the gentle stream of moonlight trickling it's way into the room, moving his thumb over the old weathered label on the front.
Why did he have to leave her, he had promised to take care of her. He let her die alone, in pain. Bellamy looked out on the earth, remembering how Jasper had told him to appreciate life. Sadness and guilt washed over him.

You've gotta stop doing this, she's gone.
he thought.
Think with your head.
With that final thought he placed the baton on the side, and crawled into bed next to Echo, momentarily taking one last glance at the Baton in the moonlight, before closing his eyes.