She felt the sun on her face. She sees trees all around her. Scent of flowers on a breeze. It's so beautiful. In this moment, she is not stranded in space. It's been ninety seven years since a nuclear apocalypse killed everyone on Earth leaving the planet simmering in radiation. Fortunately, there were survivors. Twelve nations had operational space stations at the time of the bombs. There is now only the Ark, one station forged from many. They were told that Earth needed another hundred years to become survivable again. Four more space-locked generations and then man will be able to return home. The ground, that's the dream. This is reality.
Cassiopeia stared out of the only small window in her cell. It was one of the only things that had kept her sane since she had been locked up in this cell for over three years. Cassiopeia had brunette straight hair that went down to her shoulders, she was tall for her age and was unusually strong for a thin girl.
"What are you doing Cassy?" Her cell mate, John Murphy, who was her best friend asked her from his bunk. His hair was pulled back by a thick layer of gel like always. Cassy was Cassiopeias pet name because her name was very long.
It has been three years since Cassy was locked up in this dreadful cell because she was caught vandalising Marcus's Kane's, co-chancellor, headquarters. But what they didn't know was that Cassy was his only daughter. Not many people knew about it at first but when somebody leaked that information Cassy had became well know to all of the citizens of the Ark.
Cassiopeia pushed herself off the cold, grey wall. "I hate this stupid cell."
John chuckled at Cassy's statement. "Then you shouldn't have vandalised your own house."
"For the record I didn't have a choice." The girl retorted. The day she was caught her father was going to take a very important decision that affected the whole Ark, Cassy couldn't just sit and watch what the outcome was going to be when her father did take that decision.
"Whatever." Murphy muttered but suddenly the doors to our cell swung open to reveal two guards walking in.
"Prisoners 373 and 374 face the wall." One of the guards ordered John and Andrea.
John swung his legs over the side of his bunk. "What's going on?" He demanded.
"Face the wall." The guard sternly repeated. Cassy looked at Murphy for reassurance, he gave her a nod and they both did as they were told.
"Stick out your right arm." They instructed.
She glanced down to see that the guard was setting down a small metal box. John and Cassy both extended their arms out. One of the guards walked over to Cassy and snapped on a metal bracelet that pinched her skin. She heard Murphy curse under his breath as she pulled her arm back to her chest.
"This way." The guard that put the bracelet on Cassiopeia's arm said as he took ahold of her arm. Cassy looked back to see the other guard struggling to grab John but once the teenagers locked eyes Murphy let the guard escort them.
Cassy glanced up at the guard and hesitantly asked "are you going to tell us what's going on?"
"I won't but your father will." The guard said and then took Cassy in a room leaving Murphy and the other guard alone.
Cassy was embraced in a warm hug from her father Marcus Kane. "I'm so glad that you are okay." He whispered into her ear and then pulled away from the hug. His eyes were glassy so whatever he had to say to Cassy must've been important.
"What is it?" She asked worriedly. As much as she tried to hate her father for locking her up and sentencing her to death when she was going to turn eighteen was practically impossible.
"They are sending you down to the Earth Cassiopeia." Is all she heard. After that everything became inaudible. She was snapped out of her daze when her father waved his hand in front of her face.
"We can't go down there! The Earth isn't survivable yet." The brunette exclaimed and her father looked at her with pity. He knew that this was going to happen and he didn't even warn his daughter.
"I'm sorry I didn't warn you sooner Cassiopeia but you now have to leave." Marcus said and then waved over to the guard that had arranged this short meeting. Before Cassy could comprehend what was happening to her she was shoved into a line of other delinquents.
The line moved forward and Cassy noticed that they were moving towards a ladder. She sighed when it was her turn to climb it, following the rest of the prisoners gathered above.
Cassy walked around the drop ship trying to find a place to sit. She recognised most faces but couldn't remember the criminals names, apart from Clarke Griffin. Her mother was the Arks doctor and my fathers rival. Cassy was surprised to see Wells Jaha. Since he was the son of the Chancellor she expected better from him.
The girl spotted a seat next to a boy with brown hair and a smile plastered on his face. She strapped herself in and gave the boy a small smile. "Hi." Cassy said awkwardly.
"Hey, I'm Finn Collins." The boy said and extended his hand for a handshake. Cassy happily took it and replied "I'm Cassiopeia Kane, but you can call me Cassy." The boy furrowed his eyebrows and then mouthed oh. The girl slowly nodded as hoped that she wasn't going to get that expression again.
"Do you know what's going on?" Finn asked Cassy and she debated on wether or not telling him.
"We are being sent to the ground." Cassy said in a serious tone as she played with her brown, straight hair.
Before Finn could react Cassiopeia heard metal scraping against metal before she felt like they were falling. Cassy let out a shaky breath before the Dropship suddenly shook, making her hold onto Finns hand. She took away her hand once she realised what she was doing and then said "sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Finn replied and grabbed Cassy's hand again and squeezed it.
"What was that?" Someone asked in a terrified tone.
"That was the atmosphere." Came a quick response.
Small screens around the room started buzzing before Chancellor Jaha appeared on the screens. "Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now. You've been given a second chance. And as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you but a chance for all of us indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better we would have sent others. Frankly, we're sending you, because your crimes have made you extendable..."
"You're dad's a dick, Wells." Some random kid shouted out, causing a few people around Cassy laugh, including Finn. Cassy rolled her eyes at the immaturity the teenagers had.
"If, however, you do survive then those crimes will be forgiven. Your records will be wiped clean. The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables I sustain three-hundred people... for up to two years. No one ever made it there."
Cassiopeia felt Finn let her hand go and then saw him take off his seatbelt and started floating around in the shuttle, he clearly enjoyed the lack of gravity. He did after all end up in prison because he had gone for a spacewalk but it went badly wrong. He did not follow proper procedure, resulting in the Ark loosing two months worth of oxygen.
Finn floated in front of Wells and said "Check it out. Your father floated me after all." Cassy tried to hide her snicker but Finn had heard her because he smirked at her.
"You should strap in before the parachutes are deployed." Wells warned Finn but the boy didn't listen.
Two other boys around Cassiopeia followed Finns footsteps by undoing their seatbelts and allowing them to float around the Dropship.
"Hey you two! Stay put if you want to live." Clarke snapped at them and of course they didn't listen to her.
"Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately." Jaha finished even though no one was listening. In Cassiopeias opinion it was really childish and immature that nobody was listening to this useful information.
Then all of a sudden the ship shook violently. Some of the girls screamed as Finn and the two boys slammed into some pipes, which sent steam and sparks flying.
Where the hell was John?! Cassiopeia wondered. She tried to look for him but she never found him. She just had to accept the fact that she would be dying alone without her best friend.
The ship shook harder than before as the lights began to flicker. Cassy shut her eyes tightly. Then the ship slammed into something. Cassiopeia's body jerked from the impact and lost her grip on the harness of her seat. The hum of the machines in the Dropship stopped and Cassy was still intact. She didn't feel anything. When she opened her eyes, everyone in the Dropship was just fine, looking around each other with amazement and fear.
"Listen..." An Asian boy said, silencing a few whispered conversations. "No machine hum."
Immediately everyone started taking their seatbelts off, as soon as Cassiopeia unbuckled herself she ran towards the two boys to check if they were okay. She checked for one of the boys pulse as Finn checked the other one. Cassiopeia shakes her head sadly, the boy was dead.
"Finn are they okay?" Clarke asked in a worried tone.
The boy shook his head like I had did and said "no." After that I climbed the ladder that lead to the outer door. Cassiopeia let out a soft groan when a large group of people were already in front of her.
Before anyone could open the doors of the Dropship, Clarke yelled loudly "we can't just open the doors!" She pushed herself at the front to talk to whoever was at the door. "The air could be toxic."
"If the air is toxic, we're all dead anyways." A male voice replied.
"Bellamy?" A pretty girl with brown hair asked as she made her way towards the male. He had brown curly hair and resembled to the girl that had just called out his name.
"Octavia?" The boy named Bellamy asked the brunette girl. Octavia nodded and then they both hugged each other. It was a sweet reunion.
"What the hell are you wearing? A guards uniform?" Octavia questioned the curly hair boy. Octavia wore a puzzled expression.
"I had to borrow it to get on the Dropship." Bellamy explained, but the way he said it sent a unnerving shiver down her spine.
"Where's your wristband?" Clarke interrupted the happy moment Octavia and Bellamy were sharing.
Octavias happy face changed instantly into a scowl of annoyance. "Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year." Cassy was surprised to hear that Octavia was an illegal child. Back at the Ark anybody that had a second child was floated and the kid was sentenced to death at eighteen just like other crimes.
"No one has a brother." A kid shouted.
"That's Octavia Blake! The girl that his under the floor for sixteen years." Someone else in the crowd shouted.
Cassy watched as everyone started whispering into their friends ears. Octavia on the other hand was angered at the rumours begging to be thrown around at her. Cassy wouldn't like to be in her shoes at this moment. Octavia lunged at the people who spoke but was held back by her brother Bellamy.
"Octavia! Octavia, no!" Bellamy said to his younger sister with authority lacing his voice. He had warped his hands around her torso to prevent her from punching the kid that had shouted out her name before. "Let's give them something else to remember you by." The boy said with a mischievous grin.
"Yeah? Like what?" Octavia voiced out everyone's thought.
"Like being the first person to the ground in a hundred years." Bellamy responded.
He opened the door and a blinding white light flooded the darkness of the Dropship. Cassy had never seen so much light before. The light faded to reveal a vast forest with big trees stretched out in all directions. Stripes of blue, green and brown so vibrant her brain couldn't process them. It was like looking at an old photo but this was more joyful. A gust of wind passed over her, making her shiver slightly and flooding her nose with different scents that Cassy couldn't even identify. At first, all she could see were trees. It was as if all the trees on the planet had come to welcome them. Cassiopeias mouth parted at the sight in front of her. It was marvellous.
Octavia stepped forward, stopping at the edge of the ramp. She inhaled sharply, taking in the fresh air that the Ark could never produce. She hopped off the edge of the rampant waited for a second.
"We're back, bitches!" Octavia shouted in excitement as she threw her hands up in the air.
The crowd that surrounded Cassiopeia roared in excitement as they ran forward into the forest. Cassy searched for Murphy in the Dropship but she gave up when she hadn't seen him anywhere. Her eyes landed on Bellamy that was already staring at her. She took her gaze off of him and exited the Dropship happily.
Cassy walked over to a cliff and saw mountains surrounding her. There was so much colour in her life now. Back on the Ark you wouldn't see much green because there aren't any trees, unlike here.
"Hello stranger." A boy said making Cassy turn around. Her eyes landed on Finn as he walked up and sat on the ground next to her.
"Hey." She said with a smile and then averted her gaze back to the view that was in front of her. "Pretty isn't it?" She asked Finn and he shook his head.
"Before I forget. Clarke needs to talk to you." Finn said and that made Cassy groan. Sure Clarke is an amazing girl but because of the rivalry between her mother and Cassys father she hasn't gotten the time to get to know the girl.
"See you around." Cassy saluted Finn and then got up from her seat. The brunette made her way back to the Dropship. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Clarke on the ramp looking down at a map. Cassy approached the blonde girl while Wells walked out of the Dropship.
"We got problems." Wells told Clarke. "The communication system is dead. I went to the roof, a dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires. Oh hey Cassiopeia." Wells greeted the girl when he realised she was there.
"Hey." She said hesitantly. She hadn't talked to Clarke and Wells for almost three years, even though Clarke was in the same class as her when she had survival class for Earth. Who knew that the things that Pike had once said was going to help them for this? Not Cassy, that's for sure.
"All that matters right now is getting to Mount Weather." Clarke said before looking down at the map again. "See, look. This is us." She pointed out at a spot on the map before drawing a long line across it. "This is where we need to get to if we want to survive."
"Where did you learn how to do that?" Cassy asked, slightly impressed.
Clarke suddenly went silent. Cassy looked at Wells with a questioning look.
"You're father." Wells told Clarke. Cassy had picked up on the tension that her question had caused. Something must've happened between them thought Cassy.
A kid with a pair of goggles on his messy black hair peeked over Cassy's shoulders.
"Ah, cool, a map." The boy said chuckling. "Can I get a bar in this town? I'll buy you a beer." Cassy wasn't sure to who he was directly talking to because the boy was glancing at both of the girls.
Wells rolled his eyes and pushed the boy away. "Do you mind?" Wells then became a bit to rough so Cassy stood in between of the boy with the goggles and Wells.
"Relax." She said as she put her hand in front of Wells to distance him from the other boy that had gotten on his nerves.
"Yeah. Relax." The boy with the goggles repeated after Cassy.
Wells was about to hit the boy when a familiar voice yelled "Hey! Hands off of him. He's with us." John Murphy emerged from the crowd with his gang following him close behind. Cassiopeias face lit up with a small smile when she saw her best friend after what felt like forever. It was funny how time flies.
Wells took his hands off of the boy and held them up. "Relax. We're just trying to figure out where we are."
"We're on the ground. Is that not good enough for you?" Bellamy asked Wells as all of the prisoners started closing in on them.
"We need to find Mount Weather. You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority." Wells said, trying to ignore the glares that the crowd shot his way.
"Screw your father. What? You think you're in charge here? You and your little princess and sunshine?" Octavia questioned, gesturing towards Clarke and Cassiopeia. Cassy clenched her fists in anger at Octavias statement.
"How about you go hide under the floor again instead of calling me Wells's sunshine." Cassy said, without regretting a word she said. She wasn't usually this mean but she couldn't stand that kind of behaviour. Just because their parents were in charge of the Ark doesn't mean they had to act like this towards them as well. She then shot an apologetic look at Wells and then looked at Octavia with a challenging smile.
A wave of gasps and oohs were sounded from the crowd. Everyone wore shocked expressions apart from John that was trying to contain his laughter and Octavia that was scowling. She clearly didn't like Cassiopeias statement. Cassy was glad that she provided some sort of entertainment, it made her more likeable.
"Do you think we care who's in charge?" Clarke asked the group of teenagers after Cassys comeback. "We need to get to Mount Weather. Not because the Chancellor said so, because the longer we wait the hungrier we will get and the harder this will be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a twenty mile trek. Okay? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave. Now." Clarke said trying to get people to start moving but she only faced disapproving head shakes.
"I got a better idea." Bellamy started saying and all of the attention turned to him, he was standing next to Octavia, wearing his supposedly guards uniform. We all knew that was bullshit, if he was really part of the guard he would agree with us and help us. "You three go. Find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change."
The crowd of delinquents cheered in agreement with Bellamys speech. Cassiopeia breathed heavily and crossed her arms across her stomach, this was going to be hard she thought.
"You're not listening. We all need to go." Wells said desperately, trying to convince them but it didn't work.
"Look at this, everybody." John called out, pushing forward and shoved Wells. Cassy looked at Murphy with an unreadable expression. Why was he being so mean and cocky the brunette thought. "It's the Chancellor of Earth!"
The group around them roared in laughter of the teasing comment John had said. Murphy looked around him with a smirk on his face but when he saw Cassiopeias face amongst the crowd his smirk was erased.
"Think that's funny?" Wells asked Murphy, who then responded by slamming his foot down onto Wells's ankle. Wells cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Cassy was about to intervene but she felt strong hands wrap around her torso. She looked behind her and saw Bellamy. Somehow he slithered his way through the crowd just in time to keep the girl away from the two immature boys.
"Not so fast." He whispered in her ear. She tried to escape from his grasp and help Wells but she wasn't able to because he was to strong for her.
"No, but that was." John said, taunting as the crowd egged him on. Why was he acting so weird? Was he trying to be cool? A million thoughts raced in Cassiopeias mind as she watched them.
Wells pushed himself up to his feet and got in a position ready to fight. "Alright." Wells said when he was ready.
Finn then hopped off the Dropship and landed in between the two. Everyone fell silent as they tried to listen to what Finn had to say.
"Kid's got one leg. How about you wait until it's a fair fight?" Finn asked Murphy. John gave him a dirty look and then let his guard down.
Octavia then walked over to Finn with a flirty grin on her pretty face. "Hey Spacewalker rescue me next." Finn smiled at her before everyone dispersed including Finn.
"You might want to let go of me and go sort out your sister." Cassy said to Bellamy when she realised that his hands were still on her torso. He quickly let her go and without another word Cassy walked away.
"When do we leave for Mount Weather?" Cassiopeia asked Clarke as the blonde was examining Wells's ankle.
"Right now." Clarke responded and then turned back to face Wells "we will be back tomorrow with food."
"How are you three going to carry enough food for a hundred?" Wells asked. Cassiopeia hadn't realised that Finn was with them until he grabbed two random people, who just so happened to be the boy with the goggles and an Asian boy.
Finn patted their shoulders and said "Five of us. Can we go now?"
"Sounds like a party. Make it six." Octavia announced as she skipped over. This was going to be a long day Cassiopeia thought. When Octavia noticed Cassiopeia she gave a her a small smile that she happily returned.
"What do you think your doing?" Bellamy asked as he dragged his younger sister away from the group. I would be pissed if I had an overprotective brother like that, Cassy thought.
"Hey we're you trying to take this off?" Clarke asked as she lifted Finns scratched wristband. It looked damaged than Cassiopeias bracelet.
Finn grinned "yeah, so?"
Clarke looked at him disbelievingly. "So this wristband transmits your vital signs to the Ark. Take this off and they'll think your dead."
"Should I care?" Finn asked.
"Well I don't know. Do you want the people you love to think you're dead? Do you want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we are dying." Clarke said, knowing she had gotten the message through him. Something serious is going on on the Ark. "Okay. Now let's go."
All of them started walking off and was stopped by Octavia with Clarke. "Before you get any ideas. Finn is mine." Octavia said in a possessive and lustful tone.
"Before you get any ideas. I don't care." Clarke responded and walked away from both of the girls.
"What she said." Cassiopeia said and Octavia smiled at her triumph. "I'm also sorry for what I said before." Cassy muttered.
"It's okay. I shouldn't have called you Wells's princess." She chuckled.
"No you shouldn't have." Cassy joined in on the laughing. "By the way I'm Cassy, short for Cassiopeia."
"I'm Octavia." The girl responded.
*
*
After twenty minutes of walking in the outstretched, green forests the group was walking on a path surrounded by bushes with purple flowers on. Cassy couldn't stop thinking about the outcome of her vandalism. She had gone against her father and was locked up in a cell to rot until she turned eighteen and now she is on Earth. This is Cassiopeias lucky day.
Finn grabbed two of the purple flowers, handed one to Octavia and then walked besides Cassiopeia. "Everything okay?" The girl asked when she noticed the boy fidgeting with the flower he was holding.
"Yeah, this is for you." He said and then put the flower on Cassys ear. Cassiopeia looked at Octavia that wore a slightly offended look that Finn had given her the flower whereas to me, he tucked the flower behind my ear.
"Now that my friend is game." Jasper said to Monty. Jasper was the guy with the goggles that nearly got in a fight with Wells and Monty was the Asian boy.
"Now that my friend is poison sumac." Monty said. Cassiopeia without giving it a second thought took the flower out of her hair worried that something bad would happen to her.
"What! It is?" Octavia asked in a worried tone as she flipped her hair vigorously to take the flower off of her.
"The flowers aren't poisonous. They're medicinal. Calming, actually." Monty reassured both of the girls as he picked one of the many flowers from the bush.
"His family grows all the pharmaceutical on the Ark." Jasper said. Cassiopeia always wondered what it was like having both of her parents. She never met her mother because she ran off with another man after Cassy was born. Her father never talked about her nor did Cassy want to find out who her mother was. She thought that even if she did find her mother she would always know that she won't love her. That was the other reason she left her with her father. If she truly loved her, like mothers do, then she would've taken her with her. Now that she is thinking about it she might have a sibling, it would be quite unusual if they didn't have a child.
Cassiopeia was brought back to reality when she heard Clarke say "hey, guys, would you try to keep up?"
"Come on Clarke. How do you block all this out?" Finn voiced Cassiopeias thoughts as they got closer to the blonde.
"Well, it's simple. I wonder, why we haven't seen any animals? Maybe it's because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us. It sure is pretty though. Come on." She shared her doubts with the rest of the delinquents and then walked ahead like she had been doing before.
"Someone should slip her some poison sumac." Octavia said and we all let out quiet chuckles in order for Clarke not to hear us.
"I gotta know what you three did to get busted." Finn said with a small smirk.
"Sumac's not the only herb in the garden. If you know what I mean." Monty said with a devious smile.
"Someone forgot to replace what we took." Jasper accused Monty.
"Someone's apologised a thousand times." Mont replied quickly.
"What did you do Cassiopeia?" Finn asked when Monty and Jasper where done talking.
"I vandalised my dads property." Cassy said and shoved her hands in her pocket. "Wrote on the door 'liar' and just as I was about to leave I was caught by the guards."
"Why would you write something like that?" Jasper asked but Cassy didn't answer, it was for her and her father to know. Nobody else.
"It's complicated." The girl responded vaguely, hinting to the boy that his question was not going to be answered any time soon.
"How about you Octavia? What did they get you for?" Jasper asked innocently as if he didn't know, Octavia was the talk of the town today so it was very hard to miss that kind of information.
"Being born." She said and then ran in front to walk besides Clarke.
"That is so not game." Cassy and Monty said at the same time, they then looked at each other and Cassy sent him a smile that he returned.
The group of boys and Cassy halted to a stop when they noticed Clarke and Octavia crouched on the ground staring at something. All of them mirrored the girls actions and Cassy laid her eyes on the first animal she had ever seen in her life, up close and not from a book.
"No animals, huh?" Finn asked her. The deer was eating grass peacefully, it was so calm and beautiful. Finn walked slowly towards the deer but unfortunately a stick snapped under his foot. That caused the deer to look at us. This was no ordinary deer, this deer had to faces. Before Cassy could comprehend what was wrong with the animal it pranced away like it's life depended on it.
~
Authors note:
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This episode is based off of Episode 1- Pilot
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