Nova's Story

Warning: This chapter contains mentions of being drugged, sexual assault, self harm, and suicidal thoughts. If any of these things trigger you please avoid reading it (Only the first section does not include any of these things)

Everyone on the Ark knew about Nova Kane and not just because her father, Marcus, was the Vice Chancellor. No, they knew who she was because not only did she do extremely well in all of her classes but she was funny, kind, and above all she was shaping to become the next Chancellor. The youngest Chancellor in the history of the Ark.

Of course with Nova only being 15 it was still going to be quite sometime before this happened. But anyone who looked at her could tell that the girl was a natural born leader. The way she talked, the way she walked, the way she constantly observed everyone around her. She was intimidating to say the least. She held an aura that immediately made you respect her, even if you didn't like her.

Just three months ago Nova began taking private lessons with councilman Jericho Abraham. Her father, Chancellor Jaha, and Dr. Griffon were all too busy with their duties to give her lessons so Jericho happily volunteered to help.

These lessons were scheduled once a week so that Jericho could teach Nova about the laws on the Ark and the duties of the councilmen. These meetings were to help her understand how to best help her people, enforce the laws, and how to make difficult decisions. After all, before Nova could become Chancellor she needed to be on the council and win her people over.

When she wasn't at these lessons with Jericho, Nova was practicing her self defence training with her boyfriend Jett. Jett was a year older and training to become a guard at the time. Her self defence lessons were originally taught by an older guard, but when Jett started his training he volunteered to take over.

Nova wasn't someone you wanted to mess with, and that was clear to see. Though the more people got to know her, they realized how kind and caring she truly was. The Ark residents may not like the laws and they may frown at the sight of the privileged but everyone had, at one moment or another, wondered if Nova could be the person to make a difference.

But one day this hope for change was crushed. Nova Kane was arrested and no one knew why. There were rumors that she stole, what or from whom, no one knew. There were other rumors that she was framed for something she never even did. Only four people knew the truth, Chancellor Jaha, Dr. Griffon, Marcus Kane, and herself.

*_*_*_*_*_*

It was just after lunch on a Saturday, which meant it was time for Nova's lesson with Jericho. Head held high she made her way past the empty halls to his place. She knocked on the door and not a minute later it opened to reveal Jericho's smiling face. "Hello Nova. Please come in."

He steps aside, making room for the teenager to walk through the door, "Hi Mr. Abraham."

"Nova, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Jericho?"

Nova sheepishly smiled, "Right, sorry."

He lightly chuckled, "Would you like some tea before we begin?"

"Tea sounds lovely, thanks." Nova sits down in the living room and pulls out her tablet so she could get ready to write notes. She waits patiently as Jericho prepares the tea.

As soon as they were both seated, tea placed in front of them, the lesson began. As Nova was writing her notes and sipping the tea she started to feel dizzy. Blinking, she gently placed her mug down and shakes her head, trying to get rid of the odd feeling.

"Are you alright, Nova?" She hears Jericho ask.

"I- I don't-" She can't properly form a sentence. Her words slur as she raises a hand to her head.

"It's okay. You're going to be fine." This is the last thing Nova hears before she falls back, passing out.

When she starts to come through her vision is blurry and she feels pressure between her legs. She tries to move but quickly realizes that her limbs are tied. She groans out trying to speak but a cloth is stuffed in her mouth.

Finally her vision clears and above her is Jericho. When he sees that she's awake he let's a smile form on his lips, "You're so beautiful, darling." He whispers in her ear.

Realizing what's happening Nova begins to fight against her restraints. She looks down to see Jericho already inside of her. Tears fall from her eyes as he pushes her shoulders back, "It's okay. We're almost done. You've been so good."

The next few minutes go by agonizingly slow. But once Jericho is finished he begins speaking once more, "Now you're going to be a good girl as I untie you. You're going to take a shower and leave, not telling anyone about this."

He slowly takes the cloth out of her mouth so that she can answer, "Why should I listen to you?" Nova spits out, tears streaming down her face.

"Because no one will believe you. I mean come on. A councilman over a silly teenager? Be smart about this, darling."

"My dad will believe me."

"Fine, how about this? I know a way to kill you while making it look like an accident. So if you don't agree to my conditions you will never see your friends or father again."

Nova pauses, thinking this over. Reluctantly she nods, "Fine. I'll do what you say."

*_*_*_*_*_*

It's been a week since Nova was raped by Jericho Abraham. She's been trying her best to act normal but everyone can tell something is wrong. She's been distant and less talkative than usual.

Every night she wakes up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath, and tears streaming down her face. She's been having nightmares about the incident and whenever she sees Jericho in the halls she turns to walk the other way.

On Saturday morning she quickly made her way to Jett's place. Once the door opens Jett let Nova in, "Hey. Are you alright? You've been pretty distant this past week." Jett says once they're sitting.

"I think we should break up." Nova states.

"What? Why?" Jett asks in shock, "Did I do something?"

"No, Jett. I just- I've been going through some stuff and right now I'm not in the right mindset to be dating."

"Nova, talk to me. I want to help."

Nova bites her lip and blinks back tears, "Trust me. This is for the best. You can't help me with this, okay?"

Jett starts to become frustrated, "How do you know that?"

"I just do. Don't make this any harder than it has to be. Please, Jett. I care about you so much, but I need to deal with this by myself." She abruptly stands up, "I gotta go."

"Nova wait-" She doesn't hear the rest as she turns on her heel and leaves his place, rushing back to her room.

She knew what had to be done. She couldn't live like this anymore. Knowing that Jericho got away with raping her. She felt disgusting, used, broken. She knew that her dad wasn't supposed to be home until after dinner so she quickly picked up a knife and went to her room.

She twirled the knife in her hand, studying the silver blade. She gently put it down and grabbed her tablet. She wanted to write her goodbyes. A letter to Elara, Jett, and her dad apologizing for ending her life.

It took her a few hours before the three letters were written just how she wanted them to be. By this time it was well past her scheduled meeting time with Jericho. She made sure she left her tablet unlocked so there was easy access to her suicide letters.

She calmly reached over and grabbed the knife. She bite her lip to stop the sob from escaping her mouth. She ran the blade over one wrist then switched hands so she could do the same to the other.

She paused, sucking in a breath as she watched the blood drip from her arms. As her vision blurred from her tears she picked up the knife one last time to bury it in her chest. Just as she was lining up the blade and tightening her grip, her door swung open.

"Nova! Stop!" She looked up, shocked to see her father home early. Before she had the time to react he rushed over and pulled the knife from her hands. Marcus pulled his daughter into a tight hug, cradling her head against his chest.

"No! No! Why did you do that?" Nova sobbed, trying to shove her father away.

"Nova, please stop." Marcus said, not letting her go. Finally, Nova stopped fighting. Her body shook with sobs as she gripped tightly to Marcus' shirt. "You're okay, babygirl. I got you." He whispered to her, lightly patting her head to try and calm her.

Once she calmed down Marcus looked at her arms, "We need to get you to Abby."

"I'm not leaving my room." Nova replied, stubbornly.

"Fine, I'll tell her to come here." He quickly grabbed the knife and left the room to call Abby. When he re-entered Nova's room he looked at her, "What made you want to kill yourself, babygirl?"

She bit her lip, unsure if she should tell the truth. "Jericho raped me last week." She finally mumbled. She made sure to look her father in the eyes so he knew she was telling the truth.

"He what?" Marcus asked, shocked.

"Jericho drugged me, tied me up, and raped me last week when he was supposed to be helping me." She spoke once more, this time louder and more clear. "He made me shower after and told me not to say anything because no one would believe me. And then he said even if they did he knew a way to kill me and make it look like an accident."

Nova's voice shook as she told her dad what happened. But if you looked close enough you could see that there was fire in her eyes. She would get justice one way or another. "I'm going to see if there is anything we can do to prove this. And when we do I will be there to personally float him." Marcus says to his daughter.

*_*_*_*_*_*

Another week went by of Nova being distant with her friends and waking up in the middle of the night because of her nightmares. Marcus has been working tirelessly with Jaha and Abby to try and figure out a way that they could prove what he did. The night before they finally reached a conclusion but Nova was already in bed before her father could tell her.

On Saturday morning Marcus and Nova sat in their small kitchen eating breakfast. It was silent for a while before Marcus finally decided to break the news to the young girl, "Nova?"

"Hmm." She hummed, still not looking up from her plate.

"You know how Abby, Jaha, and I have been talking?" Nova nods. "Well, we don't think there is anyway to prove what he did to you."

Nova froze. This was her worst fear. To speak up and still have to face him everyday. "Nova, babygirl? Are you alright?"

Nova slammed her fork down. She quickly pushed out her chair, making it fall to the floor. "Nova!" Marcus called.

"What the fuck kind of question is that? Of course I'm not alright! My rapist gets to roam free because it's my word against his! He was fucking right! There's nothing I can do about it. I am not alright, not even in the slightest. I'm pissed off. I'm hurt. I don't want to be alive anymore."

"Nova please, calm down. Just because we can't do anything right now, doesn't mean that we will never be able to do anything."

Nova bitterly laughs, "Right. So we're just supposed to wait around until he commits another crime? Hurts another innocent girl? This is bullshit and you know it."

"Nova please. I'll figure something out. Just stay here. I'll be back in no more than an hour." He reaches over and kisses Nova on the forehead before turning and leaving.

Nova sucks in a couple of breaths. She then squares her shoulders and leaves her home, taking the well known journey to Jericho's place.

When the door swings open and Jericho's eyes land on Nova's smiling face, he's shocked. "Nova, what are you doing here? Your dad told me that you didn't want to take lessons anymore."

Nova pushed past him, "He doesn't know what he's talking about. I just needed a break last week."

"Oh, uh, alright. Did you want something to drink? Tea?"

Nova's smile widens, "Tea sounds lovely." Unlike last time, this time Nova follows him into the kitchen. When Jericho's back is turned her smile drops from her face. Her eyes harden into a glare as he starts to speak to her, though the words don't register.

She reaches over and picks up a pan. She holds it tightly in both hands and whacks Jericho over the head, instantly knocking him out. She slowly maneuvers him into a kitchen chair, tying his hands and legs to the chair so he can't move. She shoves a cloth in his mouth and grabs a long kitchen knife.

She pulls up a chair to sit across from him, waiting until he wakes up. When Jericho's eyes blink open Nova smirks. "Welcome to the land of the living. Don't enjoy it too much because you'll be dead soon."

Jericho's eyes widen in fear, he starts trying to speak though no words can be made out through the cloth, "Hush now, darling. It's okay. Be good for me." Nova patronizes. She leans forward pointing the knife under his throat, tilting his chin up. "I want you to look me in the eyes when I end your pathetic life."

She slowly stands up, pushing her chair away with her foot. She walks around Jericho, lightly dragging the knife across his face. She leans down to whisper in his ear, "Where should I cut first? Maybe an arm?" She moves the knife to one of his forearms.

"Or maybe I should just cut off both your hands so you can never touch a girl again." She moves the knife over his wrist. "Actually, I think it would be better if we start off closer to the penis." As she says the last word she slams the knife into Jericho's thigh.

This makes him scream in pain, though the sound is muffled. Nova chuckles, "This is fun." She yanks the knife out, making Jericho scream once more. She moves behind him once more, wrapping her arms around his chest. He tries to squirm away, putting as much distance between them as possible.

Nova mockingly pouts, "Why are you trying to move away from me? Just a couple of weeks ago you would have loved the feeling of my arms around you." When he doesn't stop trying to move away, Nova adjusts her hold on the knife and drags it across his ribs. Blood drips from the wound as Jericho grunts in pain. "Oops."

She quickly releases her hold on him, walking around to look him in the eyes once more. She eyes him carefully, "This is losing the appeal quickly. If I let you go, you won't say anything, right? Your cuts you got in some freak accident."

Nova reaches forward and pulls the cloth out of his mouth, "Why should I not say anything?" He says through clenched teeth.

"Because if you do you'll have to explain why I attacked you in the first place. And I already told my dad that you raped me. So that's two Kane's against a silly councilman."

"Fine, I won't say anything." Jericho spits out.

Nova smirks once more. She shoves the cloth back in his mouth which makes him start moving frantically, trying to get out of his binds. Nova quickly cuts Jericho's penis, tears springing to the older man's eyes. "See Jericho, the difference between me and you." Nova pauses, "I don't care if I get arrested. And the only way I'll let someone get away with disrespecting me," Nova scoffs, "Is if I'm dead."

Nova looks him directly in the eyes one last time as she plunges the knife through his heart. She cleans off the knife and her hands then leaves Jericho's home, returning to her own. As soon as she opens the door she is met with the frantic pacing of her father.

Marcus turns to face the door when he hears it opening, "Oh my God! Are you alright? Where have you been?" Marcus rushes over to his daughter, checking to see if she is injured.

"I'm fine." She looks down seeing her shirt coated in blood, "It's not my blood." She answers emotionlessly.

"Nova... what did you do?" Marcus asks, shock evident in his voice.

"You may want to get to councilman Abraham's place before his wife gets home in two hours." Is all she replies, "I'm going to go shower." She turns on her heel and walks into the bathroom. The next day Nova was arrested.

Abby told everyone that Jericho died from a heart attack and that Nova found him when she went over for her lesson that day. Rumors started to be made about why Nova was arrested but the only people who knew were the people involved in the cover up, Dr. Griffon, Marcus, and the Chancellor.

Of course Jericho and Nova knew the truth too. But only one of them could speak about it and she was locked in solitary for the next two and a half years.