With the media focused so intently on androids, it had only been a matter of time before Jericho's teams started running into trouble. CyberLife had all but barricaded their stores after the break ins, and trucks were armored now. Less and less biocomponents were able to be found and it was getting harder for androids to move around even without LEDs.
Many of the androids didn't want to stand against the humans, and were looking for nothing more than a place to be safe. Markus knew Jericho wouldn't be safe forever. While he knew he needed manpower in case something did happen, he also couldn't force people to risk their lives. The next issue had been setting up transportation to other safe places. There were a few places in Detroit that were safe for the moment, abandoned buildings and such, but most androids that wanted to hide rather than fight wanted to go across the border into Canada.
The problem lay in the weather. Crossing the river unnoticed in the winter was a challenge, and could easily end in disaster. Markus didn't know how to get the people across, but whispers of people helping the androids were all over Jericho. He had asked around and found a person named Rose who seemed to be a safe bet. The next step would be to find her and talk to her.
"Markus, you can't be serious." North exclaimed when he presented his idea to the group that had come to be the main leader board for Jericho. "Asking a human to help? She'll turn us in."
"Why do you think every human is bad, North?" Josh asked. "She's helping androids already!"
"Not all humans are bad, but there's no way to know if she's good or not. It's too risky."
"We need help, North." Markus explained. "Getting around is only going to get harder for us. It's time we ask for humans to help."
"The media is for us." Josh added. "We have supporters everywhere. There are surely people out there who can help us."
"Markus, we don't need help. We can figure it out on our own." North insisted.
Markus shook his head. "The biggest priority for me is freeing my people. For some androids, they only want safety. I need to be sure that those goals are realized, but I can't focus on both. Getting someone who can take the noncombatants to safety while I continue working towards our freedom is important. I'm not going to let these people die if I can help it."
"And what do you think that's going to do to our numbers, huh? We'll half in size, Markus. The humans will never take us seriously, we'll be wiped out!"
"I'm not forcing anyone to stand by me. I can't ask people to risk their lives for this unless I know they have another way! I'm not putting more blood on my hands."
Markus thought back to Simon. How could he have done things differently? How could he have saved him? He knew there was no way, but the guilt still haunted him. All the androids that had been killed in direct relation to his broadcast haunted him. He wondered if it would ever be worth it.
"I heard about Rose before coming here." Dan said. He looked calmly at North. "She is a good option. I think Markus is right. Getting people to safety and minimizing casualties is a high priority."
"Fine. I hope you're right, Markus." North crossed her arms in defeat.
The other androids seemed to agree with the plan. Markus was relieved.
"North, you keep working on getting more biocomponents. We still have a lot of injured androids. Me and Josh will go and talk to Rose. If she's willing to help, we'll try and see about setting up some operations to get a few of the members who have been waiting longest across. We should also start looking into other ways to get androids away from here. I know electric passports are an option for some, but we need to be careful with those."
"Sounds good to me." Josh said.
"Leave the biocomponents to me." North smiled and nodded.
Markus was glad for the support. Josh had the same heart as Markus in some ways. They both hated the idea of war, and just wanted to keep everyone safe. North on the other hand, was good about the harder decisions. Markus and her didn't agree on the way things should be done, but Markus knew he could trust her in a life and death situation. The two of them were his closest friends.
We can leave in the morning, Josh. I still have a few more meetings today."
It was Friday. Markus was trying to make it a habit to check up on the different teams he had organized every few days. The infrastructure of Jericho had been built so quickly it was still in need of a lot of fine tuning. Added to that was the constant flow of new androids. It quickly disorganized things, and made working together hard.
He spent the evening and late into the night checking on people and talking to the androids. He never wanted to seem distant, so he tried to at least say hi to everyone he could. It was exhausting, and caused his stress to raise, but he knew it was worth it.
"Will we be able to leave?" One girl asked. She was holding hands with another girl. Both looked scared.
"I'm trying to figure that out." Markus promised. "If we can get you safely away from here, we will. I promise."
The girls looked at one another and smiled. It was worth it for the hope he saw in their faces. Hope was the most important thing. He needed these people to hope in him. That was the only way to save them.
Around 3am he finally pulled himself away from the people and went to his room. He had asked for one specifically, since most of the other areas inside the ship were bustling. He needed time to himself. It was hard enough to think clearly without others watching him constantly.
He spent the next several hours rehashing the plans he had in mind and dodging the same fears that had been plaguing him since Simon's death on that tower.
