Octavia Blake (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
okteiviakom) wrote2020-06-10 01:07 am
okteiviakom) wrote2020-06-10 01:07 am
The Bunker, Tuesday FT
Only a fool wouldn't try to take advantage of something that fell right into their lap.
Not all the worms had perished when they'd burned down the tent in the wasteland.
And Octavia had given Cooper the go-ahead to experiment with them. And to use the bodies of the defectors to do it with. They'd made their choice. The least they could do now was be of use. Wonkru were up against an army with superior firepower and every geographic advantage, and their hydrofarm was on its last legs. They needed that valley. Octavia would use whatever they had to win.
So when Indra called her down to the biolab, and Bellamy and Clarke were there with her, clearly having stumbled upon Cooper's research... She offered them none of the contrition they were clearly expecting of her.
Yes, she'd known about this. It had been her idea.
And yes, she knew there were people they knew out in Shallow Valley, people who would die when they sent the worms there ahead of their army. The losses were acceptable because they would ensure the valley would be clear by the time Wonkru got there, their enemies defeated and the worms dead because they couldn't survive in a green environment for more than two days.
That it turned out one of Cooper's test subjects had been alive until Indra had mercy-killed him... Well. It was unfortunate that Cooper had gone behind her back, but the results were remarkable. The worms reproduced three times faster in a live body, and they needed quantity as well as control for what they were planning. The test subject had lived long enough for a defector to board the Gagarin and fly to the valley.
Octavia ignored Bellamy and Clarke's hypocritical pleas for her not to do this. They'd sacrificed innocents for the good of their people, too. The great Wanheda had even irradiated a man in Becca's lab. They could spare their objections. Once Monty had control of the eye in the sky, they'd send the worms, and that was that.
It was time for Wonkru to go home.
-----
Indra had barely said a word in the biolab. It was very late in the evening when she came to Octavia's office, interrupting her poring over the map, over her strategy. Her plans.
"You need to sleep," Indra said, but there was no concern in her voice. Not the way Octavia had heard so many times over the past six years. "I'll sleep when the war is won," Octavia hissed. She stalked over to the other side of the map. She had work to do. "Why are you here?"
"You know why."
Octavia looked up. "No more lectures, Indra. I didn't sanction human testing, but that doesn't mean I won't use what Cooper learned to help save my people."
"What if the worms destroy the valley?"
Now, that was a question Octavia had asked herself before.
And one she didn't like hearing. She grabbed something off the desk, without even looking at what it was, and hurled it across the room. It hit a mirror that shattered, some of the splinters falling to the floor. "You're the head of my army!" she snapped. "Give me a better idea!"
"Am I the head of your army?"
What the-- "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"When were you going to tell me about this weapons plan?"
"When were you going to tell me you helped Kane escape?" Oh, Octavia could tell by Indra's face she hadn't thought she'd figured that one out yet. But she had, and she'd been willing to overlook it, because Indra was her seda, her closest advisor. But she wasn't so sure anymore. "If we lose, that'll be why. How does that make you feel?"
She was yelling, now.
She wanted Indra to yell back at her.
But Indra's voice stayed as even as always, "Awful," she said, "and I'd do it again."
The words pushed past Octavia's lips before she had time to think twice about it. "Not if I throw you in the pit first."
Indra's expression was stony. There was a momentary pause, and then she said, "I won't apologize for protecting you from yourself."
"Get out," Octavia ground out. Then, when Indra just kept on looking at her, she slammed her hands against the desk. "I said go!"
Her yelling summoned the guard outside the door, and Indra finally relented.
But as she turned to go, she said, "Be careful of the dark, Octavia. Too easy to lose your way."
-----
The next day, Cooper turned up dead. She'd been at the strategy meeting, and then she'd been there when Octavia had checked on Monty's progress and found out he was nearly finished taking control of the eye. But after Octavia had sent her off to load worms into the rover, there was suddenly an alarm from the biolab. And when Octavia, Miller and the rest got their, Indra was at the failsafe button, the one that released gas into the contained part of the lab, to kill the worms if they escaped. And Cooper was laying on the floor of the lab, in a pool of her own blood. Surrounded by worms.
Octavia knew immediately what had happened here.
"Octavia, I know this isn't a good time," Indra told her, "but I feel it's my duty to point out that without the worms to soften the battlefield, the cost in lives will be too high. This is not a war we should fight."
Octavia responded with a thoughful hum.
And then said, "Thank you for your advice, seda, but we weren't planning on using the worms. We are using their eggs." And the eggs were already loaded into the rover, so what was Cooper doing there? Off Indra's look, she added, "Whoever wanted to make this look like an accident... They didn't know that, either."
And she knew exactly who was behind this.
It didn't take them long after that to find Clarke and Bellamy. Octavia had her arrested for Cooper's murder, and told Bellamy to be careful, otherwise she might think he'd helped Clarke, and then they'd have enough prisoners to settle this in the arena.
He said nothing.
"Oh well," Octavia drawled, "guess we'll have to settle for an execution."
-----
He turned up when Octavia and the leaders of her army were finishing up a meeting by sharing rations, the way their people did. Omon gon oson, a bite from the bar, then you passed it to the next person. She dismissed everyone, told them to get sleep. Tomorrow, they would ride out.
Bellamy waited until they were out of the room before he got to his predictable spiel.
"I can't let you kill Clarke, O."
Octavia leaned back in her chair. "Here we go again," she drawled, "pleading for the life of a traitor." She looked up at him. "Who you love."
He didn't object. Why would he? They both knew she was right. Instead, he turned his gaze away - and saw the protein bars on the plate. He smiled a little, and it caught her off-guard. "Mom and I used to share our rations with you," he said, taking a seat right next to her. Reaching for one of the bars. "You mind?"
Octavia found her voice dropping close to a whisper. "Only if you say the words." One side of his mouth ticked up. She hadn't seen him look like that in six years. "Through the teeth," he said, "and over the gums..."
But it wasn't right. "Not those words," she replied before he'd even finished the last one. "Omon gon oson," she whispered. "Say it." She found herself desperate to hear him say it, desperate to feel like he was her people.
But then he said it, and didn't feel like anything.
He broke off a piece of the bar, put it in his mouth. Then twisted the rest around in his hands for a second before handing it over to her. Her fingers brushed against his as she took it from him. "Omon gon oson," and she put it in her mouth.
They watched each other for a moment.
But it didn't feel like anything.
"It's late, Bellamy," she said. "If you've come here to beg, just do it."
He shook his head. Just a little. "I'm not here to beg," he said. "I came here to tell you that I love you very much. No matter what happens. I hope you believe me."
Something wasn't right.
"Get to the point."
"I made a deal with Diyoza," Bellamy admitted, and a cold wave passed through Octavia. How could he say he loved her, and then say that practically in the same breath? "If Wonkru surrenders," he continued, "we can all live in the valley."
If Wonkru surrenders.
"How --" Octavia began, only to find it hard to speak. Hard to breathe. Her throat felt like it was closing up, and it was doing so fast. "Something's wrong," she wheezed. She gasped for breath.
And Bellamy looked away.
"Bellamy."
He was looking away.
She tried to stand. "Help me." He did nothing. "What did you do?"
"I dosed the bar with Monty's algae." Monty had been working on a fool's errand, trying to get the farm operating properly again. The first batch of algae was toxic, meant for feeding to the plants, not for eating. "I switched it with the one we were sharing."
Octavia tried to yell for a guard, but she couldn't get her voice to cooperate, couldn't be loud enough - and then Bellamy grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth. "You'll be okay," he whispered. Softly, like they were kids on the Ark. Like he was putting her under the floor, just for a little while, O, I promise. "By the time you wake back up, we'll be in the valley. We will have peace."
The black overtook her as he lay her down on the floor.
[ooc: NFB, NFI. Taken from The 100 S5 episodes 7-8 (yes we are so close to the end of this plot I can practically feel it in my bones omfg). Content warning for off-screen NPC death, and some gore.]
Not all the worms had perished when they'd burned down the tent in the wasteland.
And Octavia had given Cooper the go-ahead to experiment with them. And to use the bodies of the defectors to do it with. They'd made their choice. The least they could do now was be of use. Wonkru were up against an army with superior firepower and every geographic advantage, and their hydrofarm was on its last legs. They needed that valley. Octavia would use whatever they had to win.
So when Indra called her down to the biolab, and Bellamy and Clarke were there with her, clearly having stumbled upon Cooper's research... She offered them none of the contrition they were clearly expecting of her.
Yes, she'd known about this. It had been her idea.
And yes, she knew there were people they knew out in Shallow Valley, people who would die when they sent the worms there ahead of their army. The losses were acceptable because they would ensure the valley would be clear by the time Wonkru got there, their enemies defeated and the worms dead because they couldn't survive in a green environment for more than two days.
That it turned out one of Cooper's test subjects had been alive until Indra had mercy-killed him... Well. It was unfortunate that Cooper had gone behind her back, but the results were remarkable. The worms reproduced three times faster in a live body, and they needed quantity as well as control for what they were planning. The test subject had lived long enough for a defector to board the Gagarin and fly to the valley.
Octavia ignored Bellamy and Clarke's hypocritical pleas for her not to do this. They'd sacrificed innocents for the good of their people, too. The great Wanheda had even irradiated a man in Becca's lab. They could spare their objections. Once Monty had control of the eye in the sky, they'd send the worms, and that was that.
It was time for Wonkru to go home.
Indra had barely said a word in the biolab. It was very late in the evening when she came to Octavia's office, interrupting her poring over the map, over her strategy. Her plans.
"You need to sleep," Indra said, but there was no concern in her voice. Not the way Octavia had heard so many times over the past six years. "I'll sleep when the war is won," Octavia hissed. She stalked over to the other side of the map. She had work to do. "Why are you here?"
"You know why."
Octavia looked up. "No more lectures, Indra. I didn't sanction human testing, but that doesn't mean I won't use what Cooper learned to help save my people."
"What if the worms destroy the valley?"
Now, that was a question Octavia had asked herself before.
And one she didn't like hearing. She grabbed something off the desk, without even looking at what it was, and hurled it across the room. It hit a mirror that shattered, some of the splinters falling to the floor. "You're the head of my army!" she snapped. "Give me a better idea!"
"Am I the head of your army?"
What the-- "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"When were you going to tell me about this weapons plan?"
"When were you going to tell me you helped Kane escape?" Oh, Octavia could tell by Indra's face she hadn't thought she'd figured that one out yet. But she had, and she'd been willing to overlook it, because Indra was her seda, her closest advisor. But she wasn't so sure anymore. "If we lose, that'll be why. How does that make you feel?"
She was yelling, now.
She wanted Indra to yell back at her.
But Indra's voice stayed as even as always, "Awful," she said, "and I'd do it again."
The words pushed past Octavia's lips before she had time to think twice about it. "Not if I throw you in the pit first."
Indra's expression was stony. There was a momentary pause, and then she said, "I won't apologize for protecting you from yourself."
"Get out," Octavia ground out. Then, when Indra just kept on looking at her, she slammed her hands against the desk. "I said go!"
Her yelling summoned the guard outside the door, and Indra finally relented.
But as she turned to go, she said, "Be careful of the dark, Octavia. Too easy to lose your way."
The next day, Cooper turned up dead. She'd been at the strategy meeting, and then she'd been there when Octavia had checked on Monty's progress and found out he was nearly finished taking control of the eye. But after Octavia had sent her off to load worms into the rover, there was suddenly an alarm from the biolab. And when Octavia, Miller and the rest got their, Indra was at the failsafe button, the one that released gas into the contained part of the lab, to kill the worms if they escaped. And Cooper was laying on the floor of the lab, in a pool of her own blood. Surrounded by worms.
Octavia knew immediately what had happened here.
"Octavia, I know this isn't a good time," Indra told her, "but I feel it's my duty to point out that without the worms to soften the battlefield, the cost in lives will be too high. This is not a war we should fight."
Octavia responded with a thoughful hum.
And then said, "Thank you for your advice, seda, but we weren't planning on using the worms. We are using their eggs." And the eggs were already loaded into the rover, so what was Cooper doing there? Off Indra's look, she added, "Whoever wanted to make this look like an accident... They didn't know that, either."
And she knew exactly who was behind this.
It didn't take them long after that to find Clarke and Bellamy. Octavia had her arrested for Cooper's murder, and told Bellamy to be careful, otherwise she might think he'd helped Clarke, and then they'd have enough prisoners to settle this in the arena.
He said nothing.
"Oh well," Octavia drawled, "guess we'll have to settle for an execution."
He turned up when Octavia and the leaders of her army were finishing up a meeting by sharing rations, the way their people did. Omon gon oson, a bite from the bar, then you passed it to the next person. She dismissed everyone, told them to get sleep. Tomorrow, they would ride out.
Bellamy waited until they were out of the room before he got to his predictable spiel.
"I can't let you kill Clarke, O."
Octavia leaned back in her chair. "Here we go again," she drawled, "pleading for the life of a traitor." She looked up at him. "Who you love."
He didn't object. Why would he? They both knew she was right. Instead, he turned his gaze away - and saw the protein bars on the plate. He smiled a little, and it caught her off-guard. "Mom and I used to share our rations with you," he said, taking a seat right next to her. Reaching for one of the bars. "You mind?"
Octavia found her voice dropping close to a whisper. "Only if you say the words." One side of his mouth ticked up. She hadn't seen him look like that in six years. "Through the teeth," he said, "and over the gums..."
But it wasn't right. "Not those words," she replied before he'd even finished the last one. "Omon gon oson," she whispered. "Say it." She found herself desperate to hear him say it, desperate to feel like he was her people.
But then he said it, and didn't feel like anything.
He broke off a piece of the bar, put it in his mouth. Then twisted the rest around in his hands for a second before handing it over to her. Her fingers brushed against his as she took it from him. "Omon gon oson," and she put it in her mouth.
They watched each other for a moment.
But it didn't feel like anything.
"It's late, Bellamy," she said. "If you've come here to beg, just do it."
He shook his head. Just a little. "I'm not here to beg," he said. "I came here to tell you that I love you very much. No matter what happens. I hope you believe me."
Something wasn't right.
"Get to the point."
"I made a deal with Diyoza," Bellamy admitted, and a cold wave passed through Octavia. How could he say he loved her, and then say that practically in the same breath? "If Wonkru surrenders," he continued, "we can all live in the valley."
If Wonkru surrenders.
"How --" Octavia began, only to find it hard to speak. Hard to breathe. Her throat felt like it was closing up, and it was doing so fast. "Something's wrong," she wheezed. She gasped for breath.
And Bellamy looked away.
"Bellamy."
He was looking away.
She tried to stand. "Help me." He did nothing. "What did you do?"
"I dosed the bar with Monty's algae." Monty had been working on a fool's errand, trying to get the farm operating properly again. The first batch of algae was toxic, meant for feeding to the plants, not for eating. "I switched it with the one we were sharing."
Octavia tried to yell for a guard, but she couldn't get her voice to cooperate, couldn't be loud enough - and then Bellamy grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth. "You'll be okay," he whispered. Softly, like they were kids on the Ark. Like he was putting her under the floor, just for a little while, O, I promise. "By the time you wake back up, we'll be in the valley. We will have peace."
The black overtook her as he lay her down on the floor.
[ooc: NFB, NFI. Taken from The 100 S5 episodes 7-8 (yes we are so close to the end of this plot I can practically feel it in my bones omfg). Content warning for off-screen NPC death, and some gore.]