Mira Murphy (b.b.) // The 100

2 - Brother

It was mid-afternoon when I was woken by clattering in the large supply area just outside my room. I opened my eyes slowly to see the blinding light had been turned off sometime while I was asleep. I tried to ignore the way my heart swelled at the thought of someone caring about me - even in such a small, offhanded gesture. Another clatter startled me. I craned my neck to see around the corner, but only caught a glimpse of a tanned hand pocketing something off a counter.

"Here, sorry, let me-"

"No, I got it. What do you need?" Jackson interrupted a female voice I didn't recognize.

"Dr. Griffin asked me to grab this for her," the voice said, followed by a paper rustling.

I couldn't see what was happening, but after a long pause he went and grabbed something off a shelf, telling the girl to be extremely careful with it. Her thank you trailed behind her as her footsteps disappeared down the hall. My interest was peaked as I realized the girl had knocked whatever fell over to distract Jackson, and for some reason Abby was helping her.

After a few minutes of keyboard clicks in the next room, I heard the computer shut off and Jackson's whistling fade down the hallway. I slowly inched out of bed, steadying myself on the cold floor. I took a moment to stretch before creeping out of the room, making sure the ward was clear before even thinking about entering the hallway.

I knew this place like the back of my hand.

Six Years Earlier

In and out. Fast, silent, unnoticed.

"I'll be up front talking with her. You'll have three minutes to get back out the side hallway."

My father's words echoed in my head. I wanted to do this, and he knew this was for the best, but the pained look on his face told me he knew what he was risking - and the worry it caused him.

I had only grabbed one bottle off the shelf when the light flicked on in the hallway outside. My heart stopped as footsteps entered the room.

I tried not to think too much about those times, or about my father at all, but sneaking through the medical ward brought back too much to ignore. I tried to think of the bright side: If anyone found me, I was already sentenced to die so what did it matter now?

I wasn't worried about getting caught. I was worried about not finding out what Abby was up to.

--

"I got you the part," Abby's voice drifted from a sector neither I nor she should be in. It was closed off from everyone on the Ark, and hadn't been used in years.

She argued back and forth with the same voice from earlier for a while, talking about going with me and they'll float you. My curiosity was sky high as I peaked around the corner. I could see the other person now, and I recognized her - but not enough to know why. She was turned away from me and, unfortunately, I hadn't noticed the conversation had ended or that Abby had begun walking my way until she turned the corner and nearly ran right into me.

"Mira-"

"What are you doing down here?"

"Abby who is that?" The girl asked.

"Come in before someone sees you," Abby sighed as she pulled me into the room and shut the door.

"Abby, what the hell?"

"Raven, this is Mira."

"The patient?" Raven asked.

"Raven Reyes?" It suddenly dawned on me.

"The one and only," she almost smiled. She was the youngest zero-g mechanic the Ark had ever seen. She was a legend.

"Why do you need a mechanic in a restricted sector, Abby?" I asked.

"Mira.... There's a lot you don't know. Raven get that part in."

I stared at the pod Raven jogged over to in awe.

"Abby, why is she fixing a pod in a restricted sector for you?"

She hushed me gently as she continued.

"When I said you had to stay a few more days for observation, it wasn't for the reason I said. You couldn't go back because I was monitoring you for oxygen deprivation. It's been everywhere, for weeks, but you're the first one I've had an excuse to monitor - because you couldn't go back to the delinquent sector anyways."

"Why?" I whispered.

"There's a flaw with the Ark. My husband found it a month before he was floated and my daughter was put in solitary. They were going to go public..." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "The council, we all thought we could fix it before anyone noticed, but I've been seeing the effects firsthand and I know the damage it's causing."

"Why can't I go back to the delinquent sector, Abby?" I asked, my throat dry.

"In order to buy some time, we approved a mission to send 100 juvenile delinquents down to the ground. We sent them to see if Earth was survivable."

I was frozen in place.

"You... you sent 100 kids to the Earth? You sent them to their deaths just to buy some time for everyone else?!" I tried to keep my voice down.

"To buy time for all of us, Mira." Abby choked out. "They had these wristbands that sent back their vitals so we knew if we could follow them down. They made it to the ground but shortly after, all the bands started going dark. Raven thinks they're just taking them off and the data can back that up."

"Then why are you preparing a pod?"

"Because the council doesn't see it that way. If we can't get a signal back to us confirming that the ground is survivable and the 100 are alive...then they're going suffocate an entire sector."

"I was supposed to go down with them," I realized.

"You still can, Mira," Abby was smiling now.

Raven started to say something but Abby cut her off.

"They know I traded morphine for the part, they're going to be on their way any minute. I can get out of this - she can't," Abby pointed to me.

"No. No way. Your daughter is down there, and they'll have to do something with me since the sector is closed, right? Maybe-"

"They'll just float you," Raven sighed. "They'll do anything to cover this up."

"Abby you have every reason to go down there. Even if they do float me...my time was almost up anyways," I argued.

"Mira, he's on the ground," Abby stopped me, placing an old space suit in my arms.

"What?" I whispered.

She started to slip the suit over my arms. I jerked away from her touch and stared her down.

"What do you mean he's on the ground?" I asked quietly.

"Your brother, Mira," Abby placed her hands on my face. "He got himself locked up only a few days after your mother died. He couldn't stand being alone."

Abby's radio beeped a couple times before Jackson's frantic warning came through. She zipped me up in the suit quickly as Raven started up the pod. She was cursing under her breath, trying to get the century old machine to work.

"You can see your brother again."