The Price of Paradise

by C. S. Johnson

  “Thanks, I think,” Aerie murmured.

  “It is a high compliment,” General St. Cloud assured her.

  There was a strange look on her face that made her even more uncomfortable. “If you think that means we’ll be able to get along, don’t count on it,” Aerie warned him. “I know Mom is here because she wants you back down at Petra with her, but I won’t betray Exton to help you.”

  “I am content to stay here for now,” he said. “The food is decent, the room is small but comfortable, and I can still listen to the news. I am safe here.”

  “Oh. Well. Good.”

  The two of them lapped into silence. Aerie stayed by the door, barely entering the room. She glanced around it, taking it in; it reminded her a lot of her old room aboard the Perdition, only it was smaller.

  General St. Cloud relaxed, sitting back in the chair at his desk.

  Aerie was almost relieved when he broke the silence. “I had fun at your wedding,” he said. He gave her an uncharacteristic smile as he added, “The part I was there for, anyway.”

  “Thank you,” Aerie replied stiffly.

  “It was really nice to see Marcus again, too,” he said. “And to have everyone there, even though it was only for a few short hours ... well, it was something I never could have asked for or hoped for.”

  Aerie bit down her lip to keep from replying. She knew the only reason that he didn’t have that already was because he’d chosen to forsake his family’s happiness for something else. It was his own fault, Aerie thought to herself.

  “There is such hope when we get things we don’t deserve,” the General continued. “I didn’t think I would get any time with my family, and at such a happy occasion, too. Maybe one day I’ll get the other thing I don’t deserve—something I hope for, even though I can’t hope to ever have it.”

  “What’s that?” Aerie asked, her voice hard. “Your freedom?”

  “No. Your forgiveness,” he said.

  Aerie did a double-take, before she balked. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said.

  “No. I’m not.” He met her gaze. “Can you forgive me for injecting you with Memory Serum, for lying to you about your injuries, for being overprotective, and sending you to the Reeducation Program, where Gerard tortured you?”

  “I already told you, I don’t need an apology,” Aerie hissed.

  “I’m not apologizing. But still I need your forgiveness,” her father said.

  Something inside of her retched at the thought of forgiving the General for all his atrocities. She wasn’t just going to give him a free pass, even if he apologized, and even if in some strange, twisted, unlikely way he had done all those things for her own good.

  “You’re a liar,” Aerie said quietly. “Exton was right not to trust you. I won’t trust you either. This is a power play of some kind. You can’t be serious, and even if you are, I can’t trust you.”

  “I wasn’t lying when I told Exton the truth about his father,” the General said. “He’ll find that out soon enough.”

  Aerie said nothing. She turned on her heel and opened the door. “I knew I shouldn’t have come,” she whispered.

  “Aeris,” the General called.

  Aerie nearly jumped at the sound of her name. “What?” she asked.

  “I understand that you’re upset, but you and I still have things to discuss.”

  “Like what?” Aerie retorted.

  “I wanted to know about your escape,” he said.

  “What is there for you to know?” Aerie swiveled around and faced him. “Brock came and broke me out of there, and then we escaped with Serena, and Cal mentioned you had told them to stick with Brock so we all ... ”

  Aerie paused as she considered what the General had told her.

  “I wanted to know why Comrade Rearden came to get you,” General St. Cloud said. “I informed Merra of your capture, but he went in to save you before Exton arrived.”

  “You know Brock wanted to cohabitate with me,” Aerie said, her cheeks flushing over red. She never liked to think about that, especially now that she had married Exton.

  “But why did he rescue you?”

  Aerie watched her father’s face as he asked that question, and instantly grew irritated. It was clear he already knew the answer, and he wanted to see if she did, too.

  “Because he thought he loved me,” Aerie insisted. “And I’m willing to bet you sent him ... to ... ”

  Scenes from her rescue, as harsh and terrifying as they were, popped up inside her mind.

  Brock had rescued her, even though the General informed Merra. He would have known Exton was coming. So why send Brock? And why have her brothers follow him?

  “You didn’t send Brock to rescue me,” she breathed.

  “No, I didn’t.” General St. Cloud sat up in his chair and sighed. “I should have guessed Osgood was behind it all sooner. I might have managed to kill him if I had anticipated that, too.”

  “How would Osgood have—”

  “Don’t be naïve, Aerie. Brock might have loved you, but he was trained to follow orders from the day he was born. And he did an exceedingly good job of it. Osgood has used some of his other subordinates to contact him about military training for years.”

  Aerie remembered the rumors about Brock’s PAR assessment, saying he’d been in touch with the military for over a year. She considered the rumor an exaggeration at the time.

  “Brock freed you on Osgood’s orders.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Aerie said.

  “How else would Brock have known about Petra?” the General asked. “He was flying here from the capital, wasn’t he?”

  Yes.

  “I don’t know how he figured it out, but Osgood found Petra, even before the Craftcarrier attack.” General St. Cloud sighed. “I’ll have to find out.”

  Aerie’s mind reeled at the possibility Brock had been secretly recruited by Osgood. He was currently working down in Petra, with all her friends and Exton’s family. Emery had told her not to worry about him when she left for the Perdition, since she would watch over him, and Serena and her brothers.

  “I’ll watch over them and take care of Moona and the Memory Tree for you while you’re gone,” Emery said. She smiled. “Hopefully, you can check in on the Biovid for me.”

  Aerie relaxed just the slightest. There was no proof the General was telling the truth; everything was circumstantial.

  This isn’t the first time he’s done this to me, either.

  Aerie remembered that moment on top of New Hope, standing on the surface of the forbidden world. She saw the Memory Tree had vanished, and the Memory Serum she now knew about was unable to hold back the memories of getting captured by Exton and his crew.

  I will not let my father lie to me anymore, Aerie thought determinedly.

  She opened her mouth to berate him, but then she stopped. She barely stopped herself from screaming, instead choosing to take a deep breath. There was no use in arguing over this. She needed proof, and once she had it, she would be able to condemn him.

  “I have to go,” Aerie finally blurted out, before she hurried out and slammed the door behind her. She didn’t even say goodbye.

  The old scars from her broken relationship with her father seared against her heart in new disappointment.

  He would have to make me doubt.

  She was just thinking about going to find Exton to tell him what the General had told her when, as if he’d known she was up to no good, she heard him call out to her.

  “Aerie.”

  The edge in Exton’s voice, even from down the hall, was sharp with his own anger. She froze, mid-step, and struggled not to stumble as she swiveled around.

  It was an act of self-torment to look into his eyes. “Exton. What are you doing here?”

  He crossed his arms. “I could ask you the same question.”

  “I was just talking to my father,” Aerie said, her face flushing over in knowing guilt. She forced herself to
straighten her posture. “I’m allowed to see him. He is my father.”

  “I didn’t give you permission.”

  At his words, she was barely able to contain her aggravation. “He’s my father, Exton. I don’t need permission from you,” Aerie argued.

  “He’s a prisoner of war, whether he’s your father or not.”

  “You can’t order me not to see him.”

  “I can, too,” Exton replied, stepping toward her. He took her arm and started walking with her away from the General’s quarters. “I’m the captain of this ship. You don’t get special treatment just because you’re my wife.”

  “Ha! I probably got better treatment as a guest,” Aerie bristled. She jerked her hand free of his and pulled back, stopping him.

  “Being a guest is different from being an active member here,” Exton said, his voice still brittle, even as his gaze softened.

  It was not enough to calm her rage. “Maybe I should go back to being a guest, then.”

  “You can’t,” Exton pointed out. “There’s no escaping that when you joined us—and when you became part of my family—you took on responsibilities. Part of that is a commitment not to endanger our crew.”

  “Talking to the General was not putting the crew in danger,” Aerie snapped. She brightened. “If anything, I’m one of the only people who can really connect with him, and we can use that to gain access to more information.”

  “You don’t know what kind of information we need. And I’m guessing that he didn’t decide to tell you about anything Merra was planning or what sort of plan Osgood has to try to destroy us.” Exton frowned. “I’d bet anything that you just went in there to satisfy your own curiosity, and little else.”

  Aerie put her hands on her hips. “I wouldn’t have to if you would just tell me,” she shot back.

  She held her breath as he came close to her, almost trapping her. His face, etched in exhaustion and stress, was inches away. Just as she had before, she met his gaze, willing herself not to lose her courage or her common sense as she stood against him.

  “I told you I would tell you later,” Exton muttered, softly. “You waited for me all this time, and then the instant you don’t get what you ask for, right when you want it, you go running off? There was no need, Aerie.”

  Aerie was just about to tell him about the General’s suspicions about Brock when Exton drew back from her.

  “I have rounds to make,” he said. “I can’t be here all day. I was going to ask you to join me, but I can see that would likely be a bad idea.”

  “Why?” Aerie scowled, insulted at his disregard. “Afraid that your crew will see that we’re fighting?”

  “It is bad for morale,” he said. His voice was flat, and Aerie knew that if he hadn’t been so upset with her, he would’ve laughed at her remark.

  Aerie turned away from him with a huff. “Well, we wouldn’t want that,” she said. “I’ll leave you to your work then.”

  As she started walking away, he called out, “You’re still not allowed to go and see General St. Cloud, Aerie.”

  “What? Why?” Aerie glared over her shoulder. “I wasn’t going to go see him again anytime soon, but that’s still taking it too far, Exton.”

  “You’re the one who took it too far,” he replied, “by going in the first place.”

  “I told you, you can’t just order me to stay away from my father. That’s not how being married works, and even I know that. I can’t imagine Tyler forcing Emery to stay away from her family.”

  “First of all, Tyler and Emery are also not allowed to see St. Cloud without my permission, so there’s no need to pretend that you’re being treated differently because of that. You are my wife, yes, but you’re also under my command as captain.”

  “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to go down, is it?” Aerie sniffed. “Good to know you can always pull the ‘Captain’ card out while we’re stuck here.”

  “It’s not like—”

  “What? That you don’t trust me?” Aerie felt a rush of surprise at her own words.

  “Come on, Aerie—”

  “No, that’s it, isn’t it?” Aerie’s eyes briefly sparkled with angry tears, before she blinked them away. “I should’ve known you were lying to me about that.”

  “Aerie, that’s—”

  “No. We’re done talking, Captain.”

  Before Exton could say anything else, Aerie stomped off, determined to get away from him.

  ♦8♦

  Exton as watched Aerie stormed away from him, angry and amused and befuddled by her all over again. She was a woman of spirit, and she was beautiful even when she was angry.

  She is even beautiful when she is being careless, too, he added silently to himself. What had she been thinking, going to see St. Cloud, especially without him or even anyone else? St. Cloud could have told her anything, and there would be no one stop him from corrupting her mind.

  She’s already on his side, anyway, he thought, recalling their argument that morning. At this point, it was more prudent to worry that he would solidify her resolve.

  With a sigh, he turned back to the duties at hand. “After all, duty first,” he muttered to himself, not surprised at how wearing the words sounded against the ship’s corridors.

  As he walked through the ten levels of the Perdition, checking in with the different managers and directors and officers, he found himself returning to that mental picture of Aerie walking away from him.

  He wondered why it seemed familiar to him.

  Granted, it was always upsetting when Aerie did finally allow herself to fight with him; Exton knew she was facing a lot of new changes, with their marriage—probably more than half of that coming from just discovering the difference between a marriage and a unit partnership or cohabitation under the URS—and with trouble from the war.

  Exton had hoped that working in the Biovid would distract her from some of the harsher uncertainties of their situation. It wasn’t like everyone onboard the Perdition was involved with the war; only a couple of levels had been affected by the militant activity. While there were still plenty of people who would gather over whispers and rumors, outside the med ward and the Command Bridge there were few places where the war took priority. Many still went about their usual business, just as they had for the last six years.

  As she disappeared down the hallway, ducking out of his sight, he knew that his plan hadn’t worked; even the mystical, otherworldly appeal of the Biovid was not enough to relieve Aerie’s worry.

  Exton made his way through the ship, his eyes taking in the sleekness of the design, the quality of the workmanship, and the blend of the efficient and the elegant.

  The dark luminescence of his father’s ghost.

  Papa didn’t have this kind of trouble with Mama, Exton thought. Or at least, he never seemed to.

  He thought of his father once more, standing in the house back down on Earth, staring out into the far distance as he gripped his Bible.

  Exton thought of his mother, recalling her own stubborn gentleness. She was the one who had all the tenderness between them. She was also the one who’d helped him stash his books, the ones Papa didn’t like, in a safe and secret place.

  When his father would stare out the window, sometimes his lips moving in silent prayers, his mother would come and kiss his cheek, and then head to bed.

  There was no doubt his father loved his mother, and that he loved his family. He taught Emery and Exton how to fly, his favorite pastime, and as they grew older, he allowed them to pursue their own interests. Exton worked in mechanics and design, always relishing the days when he could go to the shipyard with his papa, and Emery stayed close to their mother, working with special botany and horticulture curriculum.

  He stopped and glanced around, surprised to see he was already halfway through his rounds. Time flies, he thought bitterly. Exton nodded to the maintenance crew members he passed on Level 5 as he headed to the elevator.

  But as he stepped
into the elevator, he decided against going up to the next level. Instead, he pushed the button for Level 10, where his room, and now Aerie’s, too, was located.

  Whether St. Cloud was telling the truth or not, Exton knew his father did keep secrets—secrets he kept from others, even those closest to him.

  “And secrets, while necessary, can destroy you,” he murmured. He had faced the darkness alone for long enough, and now that he had Aerie to give his soul some sunshine, he had to be just as brave to face the light as he had been to confront the night.

  He wasn’t his father. He didn’t want Aerie to be kept in the dark, even when it came to sharing the deepest parts of himself.

  Slipping past the hustle and bustle of the nearby hangar, Exton slowly opened the door to their room. “Aerie?” he called. “Are you in here?”

  Silence answered him. She wasn’t there.

  He checked the time. I suppose it’s possible she is in the commissary. Both of them had been running too late to get a proper breakfast that morning, and there never seemed to be an appropriate moment to stop for lunch.

  Exton sighed and left the room. Before he could think of what to do next, his comm beeped. When he answered it, Jared’s voice came in as clearly as his concern.

  “Captain, we found the ship.”

  “Let me guess. There’s trouble,” Exton said.

  “Yep.”

  “I’ll be right there.” He gripped the comm device tightly. Aerie will have to wait.

  IT WAS NEVER EASY TO prepare for trouble. But as Exton stepped onto the Bridge, he quickly saw the situation had devolved beyond even his expectations.

  There were crew members hurrying around, while Jared was once more talking with Kamalo on the main monitor, and Merra was tapping her foot impatiently against the hard floor. As he came up to the helm, Thora glanced up from her station. “Two minutes to confirm my results, Captain,” she called.

  “You have it,” Exton approved.

  “Exton,” Merra said, nodding curtly as she came up beside him. “I’m curious as to why you delayed my flight, but I guess I know why now, from just looking around.”

  It was not the most ideal of situations, Exton thought. He nodded. “Tell me what you know about the ship.”