Unity Day. The day was also known as the day the 13 - if we're being technical - space stations of the Ark formed together. To Beth, though, it just seemed like an excuse to get drunk, not that she minded that part.

The redhead stood in the back, watching on the small monitor. The Ark was broadcasting down to the Earth so the kids could see Unity Day. "My friends, this is a historic Unity Day. Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her. Next year, on the ground." Jaha spoke out to the people of the Ark.

"Right, after we did all the work." Beth nods, agreeing with Miller's words. "Someone shut him up!" Miller calls out.

Beth rolls her eyes, and Raven yells at him. "You shut up, Miller. No one's forcing you to watch." She says.

"She's got a point there." Beth says, pointing at the Reyes girl. Raven smiles at her, and she smiles back.

"For ninety- seven years, we have eked out an existence, hoping that someday out descendants would return to Earth." Jaha says. Beth rolls her eyes at his words.

"Whoo!" Jasper yells, running out of his and Monty's tent, holding a bottle of liquid. "Monty strikes again! Hey! Call this batch, Unity Juice!" He exclaims. "Who's thirsty?" He asks, and a line starts forming almost instantly.

"Hey, save me some!" Monty tells Jasper, causing Beth to laugh lightly.

"Happy Unity Day! Pass it around!" He tells them.

Beth's attention goes back to Jaha talking. "To our sons and daughters on Earth listening to this message, we will see you soon. The first Exodus ship will launch in under sixty hours, carrying the reinforcements that you need, so stay strong. Help is on the way." Jaha finishes. Beth sighs, thinking about the Ark coming down. Don't get her wrong; she wanted her people safe, and she wanted to see her family again, but she was scared what's gonna happen when they all got here. She looks at the screen one last time before walking away, not wanting to hear anymore.

-

ON THE ARK

"Hello, Abby." Diana says, walking up to the former council women.

Abby looks at the woman. "Diana." She says, looking back towards Jaha.

"We have seen the true soul of our people." Jaha says, continuing his speech Beth had walked away from.

"I hope there are no hard feelings about me taking the Council seat." Diana says to the woman.

Abby shakes her head. "No hard feeling about anything at all today."

Diana nods, remembering. "That's right, you'll be able to see your daughter soon." The blonde says.

"But enough from me. You all are here for the pageant anyway, right?" Jaha asks, ending the long speech.

"He's cutting his remarks short." Diana whispers.

Abby looks over at her. "What's that?"

"Oh, nothing. I helped him with his speech. He's leaving the best part out." Diana tells her, earning her a confused look from Abby, but she doesn't notice as she walks away.

"Without further ado, I present the story of us." Jaha says, introducing the pageant.

Vera Kane walked over to her son, Marcus. "They tell me you'll be on the first Exodus ship." She says to him.

Marcus nods. "Yes. I'm overseeing security on the ground." He tells her.

She nods. "Will you take the tree down for me?" Vera asks of her son.

"Mom, I have a job to do." He replies.

Vera sighs. "Well, at least come to the departure ceremony. You could give the travelers' blessing." She says to him. "Think of it as a good-bye gift for your mother. I never did get to say goodbye to Beth."

"I don't remember it." He says to her. "Excuse me." He says and turns his attention to the pageant.

A little girl starts speaking as other kids come out, holding up flags. "Long ago, when the Earth was on fire, through space all alone." She began. "Then one day, Mir floated by Shenzhen, and they realized life would be better together. The other stations say this, and they wanted to be together, too. When all the stations were formed, they called themselv-" The little girl is cut off by a loud explosion. A loud alarm rang out as the girl cried out for her dad. "Daddy!" Abby gets to the little girl, checking her for any wounds.

"I'll go and find your daddy." Abby tells the girl, then looks over at Jaha. "Jaha, are you okay?" There was screaming all around them. "Get him to medical now!" Abby commands a guard before looking at Marcus.  "Kane! Find out who did this!"

Marcus looks around, his head somewhat foggy. He looks down, seeing his mother underneath the rubble. "Mom, mom, mom." He says, sobbing as he looks at her. There was something sticking out of her stomach, and there was blood on her head. She was unconscious, not moving. Not breathing.

"We need triage supplies now! Abby yells out.

"Doctor Griffin, we need your help over here." A guard says to her.

Marcus looks down at his mother, tears falling from his eyes as he takes everything that happened in. "In peace, may you leave the shore." Marcus starts the travelers passage he had lied about earlier. "In love, may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels until our final journey to the ground. May we meet again." Marcus finishes, and Vera was gone. Marcus looks around, not knowing what to do. His mother had died, and he still doesn't know if Beth is alive. Right in this moment, he has no one.

Jaha goes over to Marcus, seeing Vera gone. "Marcus, I'm so sorry. Let's get you out of here." He tells him. Marcus doesn't say anything or move.

"Sir, this was a coup." A guard says, walking over to the two. "Councilors Cole, Kaplan, Muir, and Fuji are dead." He tells him, causing Marcus to sigh. "If you hadn't cut your speech short -"

"Where's Councilor Sydney?" Jaha suddenly asks, noticing the woman not around anymore.

"She left before the blast. I'll find her." The guard says.

Jaha nods at him. "You do that, and double the guard at the dropship. I'm putting the Ark on Lockdown!" Jaha calls out. Broken eletrical wires start sparking around the room, causing some people and kids to scream out. "We are not missing that launch window!"

-

ON THE GROUND

Everybody was drunk. Beth looked around at all of the delinquents, all partying and drinking, and playing games. Beth smiled. She loved that they were able to relax and calm down, not have to worry about getting killed.

Beth walks out of the gates, making sure no one was watching her. She walks a few feet into the forest, stopping at a tree that had one lone white lily sitting on it. Lincoln. Beth thought, she knew it was him that had put it there. Who else would have?

The flower reminded her of the tree her grandmother had up on the Ark. It was the only tree on the Ark, and Beth loved that her grandmother was chosen to care for it. Vera had taught Beth all she knew about plants and trees and had once even told Beth that the tree would be her's one day to take care of. Beth couldn't wait to see her grandmother on the ground.

She lifts the flower up to her face, smelling it. She smiled as she continued her walk to Lincoln's cave.

She got to the entrance of the cave before she started tiptoeing, hoping he won't hear here. Beth quietly walks in before tripping on the last step in. Lincoln turns around quickly, startled by the noise. "That did not work the way I wanted it, too." Beth says with a smirk.

Lincoln laughs. "What were you trying to do?" He asks her.

"Sneak up on you." She says, biting her lip.

Lincoln laughs. "We'll me a warrior out of you soon." He says to her, and she smiles.

"I'm sorry again for what they did to you." She tells him.

He shakes his head. "It's fine. And I'm fine." He reassures her.

She nods and looks up at him with a smile. He looks down at her before leaning in and kissing her. Beth kisses him back and wraps her arms around his neck as he wraps his around her waist. The two continue kissing as he lays her down on a fur blanket. He kisses her lips before moving to her neck. She bites her lip, trying not to make noise, even though they're alone. He kisses her neck for a moment before Beth leans up, taking off her jacket and pulling off her shirt, leaving her just in her jeans and bra. She looks back at Lincoln before kissing him again, pulling him back on top of her.

---

okay, guys, y'all can tell what they did. i am not good at writing smut, so there's prob not gonna be a lot of it. but what did you guys think? I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but i should have another up this week! I really wanna get to book 2 soon! hopefully, within the next week, I will. I'm also really excited for the next chapter! Anyways, what do you guys think about Lincoln and Beth?? What did you guys think of the chapter? Let me know!! Thanks for reading! Bye.

-bellarkesklaroline