The Breadth of Creation

by C. S. Johnson

  “Serena,” Brock called back.

  Aerie felt even more uncomfortable as she heard him use Serena’s first name.

  “What are you—?” Serena’s voice faltered and the charismatic lilt disappeared. “Aerie.”

  “Serena.” Aerie bit her lip before she raised her chin, trying to look brave, even though she knew she was a mess. She was still dressed in her uniform, with the hospital gown over her shirt, and she was barefoot. Her hair was loose, and she didn’t want to know what her face looked like after hours of sleep deprivation and torture.

  “What happened to you?” Serena asked, not out of concern but contempt. “Why are you here like that? You didn’t make Brock do something, did you?”

  As Brock explained their situation to Serena, Aerie sighed. Despite Serena’s aloofness, Aerie had never felt she lived up to her sister’s legacy. Serena was smart and sharp, and everyone knew her for one reason or another. With their mother’s green eyes and reddish-brown hair, Serena easily had her pick of admirers. She was tall and toned, and more than once she had been hailed as the beauty of the family.

  “Well, whatever she did to twist you up in her mess, you can’t go into the hangar with her,” Serena said angrily, jolting Aerie back to the present. “There’s a battle going on. A couple of fighters have been stolen and several workers have been injured.”

  The hallway shook as explosions started to cry out from the hangar. Angry shouts and frightened screams accompanied the roaring sound of crumbling structures.

  Aerie felt Brock’s grip tighten around her, but this time it seemed to be more because of irritation rather than desperation. “We’ve got to leave, Serena. I’m sorry.”

  He turned away for a moment, before glancing back at her. “Why don’t you come with us? Aerie could use the medical support.”

  Aerie felt her mouth drop open. Serena looked equally appalled by the situation.

  “Come on. I know you’re the best we have on the military med services,” Brock said.

  Serena shot Aerie a smug smile at the compliment, but she still hesitated. “I don’t know. Cal and Dorian are taking off. If we head out, we might get caught in the battle.”

  “It’s a risk we’ll have to take,” Brock said. “Aerie and I need to get out of here.”

  Serena narrowed her eyes. “I know she has to leave, especially if she doesn’t want to end up in Reeducation again.”

  Aerie stuck her tongue out at her. Before Serena could retaliate, Brock stepped forward.

  “I’m helping Aerie,” he declared. “I’m not leaving her behind.”

  “Well, she’s not well,” Serena said with a groan. “And really, Brock, she’s a traitor. Who cares about her?”

  Aerie winced at Serena’s accusation and shrunk back from her glare.

  “I do.”

  Aerie felt a rush of warmth toward Brock. What do you know? Aerie wondered. Brock is capable of being loyal to me, even over the State.

  She was just beginning to believe she had underestimated Brock when he ruined the moment by asking Serena to come with them.

  “Come with us, Serena, please,” Brock said. “I’ll need you to help take care of her while we get out of here. And I’ll need a copilot for the cargo ship, anyway.”

  Serena chewed on her lip thoughtfully. “I don’t want to be responsible when the URS captures us and hauls us back here for punishment.”

  “You don’t have to come if you don’t think you can survive,” Aerie retorted.

  “Aerie,” Brock muttered.

  Serena ignored him. “So, the little mother is challenging me? That’s amusing, because I always won our games when we were kids.”

  “We’re not kids anymore, and this is not a game,” Aerie said. “So if you don’t think you have it in you, don’t bother. I might be the one who needs medical help, but at least I know I can survive this better than you.”

  “I was trained to survive the worst parts of war long before you were even in combat class,” Serena snapped. “What do you know about that? You spent all your free time at the housing unit with our mother, helping her weed out her garden, before she managed to get herself killed.”

  “I learned plenty,” Aerie shot back. “I’ll bet anything you’re just scared.”

  “Scared?” Serena huffed. “You’re the one who should be scared. You’re the one who’s bleeding and can’t even walk.” She nodded to the small trail of blood following from Aerie’s leg as it dripped down onto the legs of Brock’s pants.

  Aerie blushed before turning to Brock. “I can take care of my own medical needs while you get us out of here.”

  There was another explosion that blasted through the corridor, and Aerie felt herself sway dangerously as Brock staggered under the blast.

  “Come on,” Brock ordered. “We need to get to a transport.”

  He hurried off, and Aerie was able to glance over his shoulder just enough to see Serena scowl as she started to follow them.

  “Wait! I’m coming.”

  Great. I don’t need her along for the ride.

  “Can I put you down for a bit, Aerie?” Brock asked. “Are you feeling well enough to walk?”

  She nodded and blushed. “Yes, please.”

  “Here, put your arm around my shoulder,” Brock said as he shifted her.

  Aerie felt her legs buckle as she straightened, but with Brock’s support she knew she could make it to a ship.

  “Now, let’s head for that cargo carrier right there. It’ll be big enough for all of us, and it should be stocked with enough supplies.”

  “Where are we going?” Aerie asked.

  Brock didn’t appear to hear her as he hurried her forward. Several people called out to him, but he waved them off with his free arm. Serena raced up behind them, easily matching Brock’s uneven pace.

  Others were hurrying around, trying to get to their different positions while the hangar was under attack. As Brock pulled her out of the hallway and into the hangar, Aerie was able to see more of the damage that had been caused.

  There were some people who were injured, but it looked like the loss was minimal. She could hear pilots being called to their fighters over the announcement system, and she could hear other warnings as the newly minted URS fighters were cleared for takeoff.

  “This is incredible,” Aerie said, her voice hushed. What was going on?

  “Seems like two traitors stole two of our new ships,” Serena said. “I wonder where the twins are.”

  “They could’ve taken off already,” Brock said.

  “No, Cal and Dorian are sequenced for launch behind their squad commander, Drex. He’s over there, that big guy by the fuel center, but his ship is gone,” Serena replied.

  “Cal and Dorian are here?” Aerie asked.

  “Somewhere,” Serena said with a shrug. “They were called.”

  Brock turned his attention to the cargo ship’s docking bay. “Here,” he said, thrusting Aerie over to Serena. “Let me see if I can hack the code for this shuttle.”

  Serena shoved Aerie away from her, sending her flying to the ground. “Here,” she said, stepping up next to Brock. “There’s an emergency med code we can use to break in.”

  “Oh, cool.” Brock’s eyes lit up.

  Aerie frowned, but she hurried to get up off the floor again. Just keep going, she thought. You’ll be able to find Exton soon, even if you have to deal with Serena for the next several hours ... or days.

  Realizing the uncertainty of their situation, Aerie lost her balance again. She fell to the floor, hard, hitting her hip against the cement flooring. She scrambled to move, but this time she forced herself to move slowly.

  As she gradually got back on her feet, she did have to wonder what Brock had in mind.

  Before she could ask him, the docking doors opened. Serena made her way inside as another blast ricocheted off the outer hangar walls. A large explosion went off in the background, making Aerie wonder if a ship had been shot down.

>   Are we even going to be able to get out of here?

  Brock grabbed her once more, picking her up into his arms. “Come on, Aerie,” he said. He smiled down at her, kindly. “I’m sorry that you fell. I thought Serena would hold you while I waited.”

  “Well, we know not to expect that again,” Aerie grumbled.

  “At least she got us into the ship,” Brock said as he followed Serena down toward the cockpit.

  As they came out of the galley, Brock led her into the small infirmary. Inside were only a couple of stations, with only one examination bed. Aerie was about to ask if she could join him in the cockpit until Serena was ready to fix her up, when he interrupted her.

  “Here,” Brock said as he set her down onto the medic chair. He buckled her in, careful not to hurt her. Aerie was grateful, especially when he took the time to loop the straps around her injured shoulder, even though she knew they were pressed for time.

  Aerie reached out and took Brock’s arm. “Wait.”

  “What is it?” Brock looked down at her, and for a moment, Aerie saw his gaze soften. Even as the world was at war, the hangar was attacked, and Serena was cursing loudly in the cockpit next door, she felt herself taken aback by Brock’s concern.

  She had wanted to ask him to turn on the monitors in the infirmary so she could monitor their flight from where she was. But Aerie faltered, and instead only said, “Thank you. I know this wasn’t an easy thing for you to do.”

  He nodded.

  “I didn’t like it when you seemed to side with them on so much,” Aerie admitted. “I wasn’t sure you were my friend.” She was going to ask him if he had help from the Ecclesia when another bomb exploded outside the hangar.

  “Sometimes friendship means looking out for each other’s better interests,” Brock told her. He reached down and ruffled her hair some, before leaning down.

  Aerie was surprised to feel the quick warmth of his lips on hers.

  She jolted back in surprise, her head digging into the cushion of the chair.

  He backed away and grinned. Before she could tell him she wasn’t interested in him that way, he turned his gaze back to the helm. “I gotta head up there and help Serena take off. I’ll send her back here once we’re clear.”

  Aerie watched as Brock headed out to leave, feeling awkward.

  “Brock!” Serena called. “Get out here. One of those fighters just took out the signal tower!”

  Brock turned to Aerie. “I’m going to have to take off manually,” he said. “Don’t move from the chair. It’ll be a bumpy enough ride.”

  “Okay,” Aerie said.

  As she settled into her chair, she felt the ship begin to move.

  Aerie began to try to clean up the blood seeping from her cuts and scrapes, and where the IV needles had been inserted. She tenderly ran her fingers over the small blackened bumps where the electrode patches had been placed on her arms, and she hoped Serena had some burn cream in her med pack.

  She wasn’t concerned as she felt the ship swerve and drop and accelerate; she knew Brock was a good pilot, and Serena had enough sense to know how to follow directions on a plane. It was only when Brock hollered that she leaned forward.

  The monitor was beeping loudly. There was another ship coming their way.

  “It’s Captain Chainsword’s shuttle,” Brock called out. “Hold on, Aerie. This is too good of an opportunity to miss. We’re going to attack.”

  Exton!

  “No.” She gasped. As the ship sailed out of the hangar, she began to fumble with her seatbelt.

  ♦14♦

  Exton jolted awake suddenly, as his body jostled around with the turbulence. He reached out in front of him as he blinked open his eyes, surprised to find there was no control console in front of him.

  “You okay?” Emery’s voice was stark against the quietness filling the rest of the ship. He glanced over at his sister, watching her for a long moment as she sat calmly in the copilot’s seat.

  “Yeah,” he murmured, rubbing his eyes.

  “We’re passing through the last little bit of a storm.”

  “Where are we?” He glanced outside the window. All he could see from the ship was a grim, gray line of clouds, fighting the sea every inch of the horizon.

  “I was just about to wake you up,” Emery told him. “We have about ten minutes until we arrive in New Hope airspace, and twelve from the rendezvous point.”

  He nodded, taking in the ship’s readings. He was surprised to see he had slept as long as he had. He was confident that Emery, along with the five other crew members, would cover for him, and he had been exhausted. The weariness of the battle at Chaya and its aftermath had settled into him and finally lulled him into an uneasy sleep.

  Despite everything working in his favor, he still had trouble convincing himself to rest. Exton had been waiting for the moment he could act, and he was energized at the thought.

  He sat up in his chair. Excitement at seeing Aerie again, even knowing she wouldn’t remember him, gave him the power to fight off his fatigue.

  He glanced over at his sister, who was calmly piloting the ship, as they prepared to attack.

  “You didn’t have to come, you know.”

  Emery flinched; Exton knew his remark caught Emery off guard, but not enough that she’d let it slide. “I didn’t want to stay on the Perdition. You always get to have all the fun,” she replied.

  “I know you worry.”

  “I also happen to be your best pilot.” Emery’s hands tightened around the controls as she shot him a sneer.

  Exton knew she had a point, but he was certain that wasn’t the reason she had shown up aboard his favorite ship, the one in which he met Aerie for the first time.

  “Still,” he said, “you have to watch yourself with the baby, don’t you?”

  “As I’ve told you before, you can’t use my baby to get rid of me.”

  “I’ll have to find some other excuse then.”

  She glared at him, briefly, before turning her attention back to the screen in front of her. “I’ll keep finding ways around them, Exton, and you’re lucky I do. I’m the one who managed to get in contact with Aerie through the Ecclesia, didn’t I?”

  “You have a point,” Exton said. “By the way, who did you get to go behind my back to do it? Was it Dennis or Don? I know they know pretty much all the remnant leaders.”

  “It wasn’t either of them, actually, nor any of the others. Tyler contacted Meredith.”

  Recalling the relentless cheerfulness of Tyler’s sister, Exton scowled. “She’s already in enough danger, especially because of what happened when we took back the Perdition. You shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have returned Aerie in the first place,” Emery shot back. “You should’ve threatened St. Cloud with a nuke to New Hope or something like that.”

  “He knows who we are, Emery. He would still have plenty to hold against us.”

  “If you’re worried about the people who trade with us or the people who get stuff from the black markets—”

  “That’s only part of it, but what I meant was more along the line of what he knows about our family and the Ecclesia. St. Cloud’s smart, and he’s known our family for a long time.”

  “I know that. He’s probably watching for you at this point.”

  Exton smiled at her. Despite his teasing, he was glad to have her by his side. “Roger that.”

  Exton looked down as they headed in toward the lands of their childhood home. He could see the rolling hills just beyond New Hope, where he and his father started construction of the Perdition together. It was tempting to slide back into the memories of his childhood. But the moment passed, and the horizon shifted. The New Hope Military Academy, the shining bright spot among the ruins of New York from which New Hope was born, came into view.

  “I miss our home,” Exton admitted quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

  “I know. I do, too.” Emery gave him a sad s
mile. “You know, I was wondering something.”

  Exton sighed. He knew an inquisition in the making when he heard it from his sister.

  “I know Merra’s convincing, but you don’t do anything you don’t want to do, unless you feel you have to.” She glanced over at him. “Was there another reason you decided war was the best response to the URS?”

  “I started changing my mind once Merra told me that Gerard was the one who was promoted to St. Cloud’s old position as chief military strategist,” he said quietly.

  “Gerard?” Emery balked. “He’s been promoted?” she asked, her voice incredulous.

  “Yes,” Exton said quietly. “I felt the same way.”

  Emery closed her eyes briefly. “Do you think Osgood is intentionally doing this to us?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past him, if we were better acquainted. So far, St. Cloud seems to be the one who is calling the shots when it comes to us.” Exton thought of Osgood, the man who had ordered his father’s execution and the man who was behind the URS’s many woes. His fingers dug into his palms as he clenched his fists. “But St. Cloud hated dealing with Gerard when we were in class together, and he made no secret of it.”

  “I know Meredith’s been watching him,” Emery said. “It’s been close to seven years since everything happened. Do you think we’ll have to ... ?”

  “I don’t know,” Exton replied glumly. He didn’t want to think about it, especially after Meredith’s role in helping Aerie. “I know we promised Meredith we would do everything we could, though. And now that Gerard has been promoted, going on the offensive seemed like a good way to draw him out.”

  Before either of them could speculate further, a beeping noise sounded out from the control console. Emery frowned. “Something’s wrong.”

  There was something in her tone which made Exton pause. “What is it?”

  “The military academy. It seems to be in the middle of a battle already.”

  Exton turned to face Thora, who had arrived with Emery as part of a new attack crew. “What does the data show?”

  “Two ships are attacking the base,” Thora said as she studied the incoming figures. “Two URS fighter-class. It looks like there’s another one about to launch, but it’s a cargo carrier.”