She wasn't even supposed to be on the dropship going down to Earth.
As the youngest zero-g mechanic on the ark (as well as an engineer but she wouldn't dare speak of it in Raven's presence), Althena Chen was tasked-along with other senior mechanics...
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As the front door clicked shut, Marcus regretted everything. He regretted everything he said to her.
Althena Kane was his daughter. He raised her all alone and he swore, at all costs, he would protect her.
He wanted what was best for her. As the head of the guards, he saw the amount of criminals in the Ark, and how easily they were floated. He believed that desperation leads to death.
He didn't want her to end up like them.
He wanted her to stay sheltered in the Alpha station living with more things that she may need. He wanted her to have power. So that she could never feel desperation.
So when he saw her desperation to be something lowly in his eyes, an engineer, Kane panicked.
He thought her desperation to be what she wanted would lead to her death. A life of no power, a constant struggle. No, he couldn't have that. What he didn't realize it wasn't desperation; it was a flaming passion, one that could not be contained.
Kane believed that mercy was a luxury. And so, even towards his daughter, Kane wasn't merciful. Anything less than the council was dangerous and Kane only wanted her safe. It was the only way he could keep her safe. He tried to smother that flame inside her, not realizing it only ignited it more.
That was his first mistake.
His second mistake? Marcus Kane hesitated.
He hesitated. With his hand hovering over the doorknob, he waited too long to grab it, twist it open, and run after his daughter. Because by then, she was already long gone.
As he stared into the empty hallway, he thought he had time. He wanted to wait. For her to come to him, to give him the signal that she was okay, that she was ready to talk to him. The Prodigal Son, his mother would tell him. But it wasn't faith that Kane held, it was pride.
Marcus Kane was a prideful man.
So he stood, waiting, watching the front door. For four years.
"Althena Kane's missing. We suspect that she was in the dropship along with the 100. We think that... "
Marcus Kane stopped listening from the moment he heard that his daughter was on a suicide mission to the ground.
