The Price of Paradise

by C. S. Johnson

  “Noted,” Emery replied with a laugh as she gave Tyler another squeeze.

  “I have business to discuss with you later, but I’ll need both of you to keep tabs on Merra while I’m preoccupied.”

  “She’s back already?” Emery sighed. “I was hoping she would stay away longer.”

  “She hasn’t been too bad, has she?” Tyler asked. “She seemed to be okay when I was with her.”

  Emery made a face. “Oh, she’s not terrible, I guess. She’s been occupied in the spare office Aunt Patty gave her, but she comes out and does her rounds. She always seems to have Marcus around to distract me when I want answers from her. Then she asks questions and has ideas that would make even Aerie suspicious of whose side she is on.”

  “Well, we know which side she’s on,” Exton said. When Emery and Tyler both gave him the same surprised look, he sneered. “Hers.”

  “Ha! True enough.” Emery crossed her arms over her chest. “Aunt Patty doesn’t seem to question her loyalty.”

  “Your aunt’s glad for her expertise and friendship. She was your mother’s colleague, too. I imagine running this place is actually quite lonely.” Tyler shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past her to see Merra as a friend. She is pretty reliable.”

  “Still, Tyler, I’m going to need you and Emery watching her while I’m working through the Boötes system stuff,” Exton said.

  A wary look came into Emery’s eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help you sort through all that?”

  Instantly, Exton glared at Tyler. “Come on, man. You didn’t have to tell her.”

  “We were worried,” Tyler said, his voice sheepish as he took a step back. “I mean, I was worried. I figured I’d run the information by her. Besides, Emery’s involved, too.”

  “If St. Cloud is telling the truth, you’re not the only one who has to deal with the fallout,” Emery insisted. “I’m his daughter, just as you are his son.”

  “But you’re not the one—” Exton stopped. You’re not the one who got him killed in the first place. He felt his fingers flex involuntarily, as fear and shame snapped through him viciously.

  Emery arched her brow. “I’m not the one who set out to avenge him? So what? I still mourned him.”

  Exton shook his head, breathing out slowly. “Well, since you know,” he said, “I’ll need to have the rest of Papa’s stuff.”

  “I’ve set up a small office for you near the hangar,” Emery said. “I moved all his stuff in there.”

  “Does anyone else know?”

  “No. I did it myself,” Emery told him.

  “Are you sure you should be doing that?” Tyler asked. “Some of those boxes are heavy.”

  “It’s fine,” Emery said, brushing the matter aside. “I’m pregnant, but I’m still healthy. And I am certain of that actually, since Serena has been checking on me constantly.”

  “Aerie’s sister?”

  “Yeah. She said she’s never seen a pregnant patient before,” Emery said.

  “I’m glad you found an inauspicious way to keep watch over her.” Exton thought of Aerie’s older sister. She reminded him of Merra much more than Aerie did. He knew it would be a mistake to underestimate her.

  “She’s been getting along with the other med techs nicely,” Emery said. “Tyra’s been supervising her under Aunt Patty’s direction. She’s been earning her keep just nicely. She even seems to have softened toward us somewhat.”

  “Somewhat.”

  “Exactly.” Emery smiled ruefully. “She’s disappointed that she’s not encouraged to date her patients, and her bedside manner has been cited as ‘overly friendly.’”

  “I can imagine,” Exton grumbled. “Aerie told me Serena’s a bit of flirt. I was almost hoping she would start dating Brock while they were stuck here.”

  “Almost hoping?” Tyler asked.

  “I was actually hoping he would leave, period,” Exton admitted. “I am indebted to him for rescuing Aerie from the URS, but he wore out his welcome after he tried to escape with her.”

  “In his defense, he said he was taking her away so she wouldn’t get hurt by the Craftcarrier attack,” Tyler said. He gave Emery a wink. “I know how easy it is to want to be the hero.”

  “He’s still more of a villain in my book.”

  “He’s been doing well here,” Emery said. “I’ve been coordinating the reports from our managers. He’s been working with Aerie’s brothers a lot. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.”

  “What are they doing?”

  “They fly out supplies or work in maintenance,” Emery said. “We don’t have a lot of shuttles or fighters here, so we’re making sure we can keep up what we have.”

  Exton frowned. “Did Merra or anyone else say anything about a ship coming here?”

  “A ship like a shuttle or—”

  “A ship like a boat, on the ocean.”

  “Oh.” Emery shook her head. “You mean like the one that’s gone missing?”

  Exton glared at Tyler again.

  He threw up his hands. “What? She’s still your Coordinating Director,” Tyler said. “She’s allowed to hear this sort of information.”

  “Just as long as other people don’t,” Exton reminded him.

  “Emery and I have our own comm frequency. I set it up myself. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Fine.” Exton rolled his eyes. He knew better than to try to argue technology with Tyler. Exton turned back to Emery. “What about the ship?”

  “Nothing,” Emery said. “Aunt Patty hasn’t heard anything, either. At least, not that I’m aware of, but I’m pretty much aware of everything here.”

  Exton knew that was no exaggeration. He was glad to know Emery was excelling at her job. He’d wanted to keep her somewhere safe while the war was going on, and while Petra still had its vulnerabilities, the Perdition was more isolated by being up in space.

  The downside of individualism, Exton thought wryly. He had more appreciation for Merra’s critique of their movement since the Perdition and Petra had been attacked.

  “If I hear anything otherwise, I’ll let you know right away,” Emery said. She nudged him on the shoulder. “Now, go ahead and get started on your project. Tyler and I will take care of the rest.”

  “You do make a good team.” Exton ruffled her hair affectionately, surprised to notice it was much longer than he remembered it. “Is your hair getting longer?”

  “Prenatal care,” Emery explained, pushing her tresses back down. “It hasn’t grown that much.”

  “It’s almost to your shoulders. You usually keep it shorter.”

  “I’ll take care of it later if it bothers you so much.”

  “I like it,” Tyler said.

  Exton shrugged. “If you’re happy with it, that’s all that matters, really. I just didn’t realize ... ”

  Emery laughed. “Time goes by quickly. “Sometimes, anyway. It usually goes by quicker when you’re not paying attention. I’m more than willing to bet you’ve had other, more demanding things to pay attention to than the fact that I’m pregnant and my hair has gotten longer.”

  “I guess so,” Exton said. He thought of his project, the one where he would have to go through all of his papa’s things, searching through the Boötes system for the URS files, trying to find evidence for the truth. Beyond that, he still had the war and his community to handle. He sighed. “I can’t let that get in the way of family, though.”

  Emery patted his arm. “I’ll make sure you don’t,” she promised. “And I’m willing to bet Aerie will keep you in line, too. That’s the first job of the wife, you know.”

  “What’s the first job of the husband?” Exton asked.

  “To give the wife a job to do,” Tyler answered. He smiled wickedly. “So the wife will have something else to worry about.”

  “Excuse me?” Emery cleared her throat. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I think I’ll take off now, so you can discuss that amon
gst yourselves,” Exton said, struggling to keep his laughter down. He knew Emery wouldn’t appreciate it, especially since he had done exactly that, by leaving Aerie to act as his representative on the Perdition.

  ♦11♦

  “Are we almost finished for today, Bruce?” Aerie glanced up from the foliage, looking for the large, familiar shadow of her friend and coworker. She was surprised, and slightly irritated, to see that he was nowhere in sight.

  Sighing, she stood up and began to brush the dirt off her uniform. She studied the stains on her outfit ruefully, knowing Olga would give her one of her famous “you can do better, Aerie” expressions.

  But, Aerie thought, it would be nice to see Olga again. She was one of the first people she met when she first came to the Perdition, and she enjoyed her company. Since Exton left the ship two days ago, some of the other crewmembers had been almost too kind, checking up on her every so often. Aerie could tell some of it seemed forced, though she would likely guess that it was more out of guilt than actual force.

  Sometimes it was just too kind, too, she thought, remembering how tired she’d been, staying up late to have dinner or heading all over the ship for visits.

  Not that she minded the time with others. She appreciated their efforts to make her feel welcome and supported as the wife of their captain. But she still missed Exton, and even dinner with Olga and her husband, Sean, and four of their six children was not enough to relieve her heart of that burden, even if her attention had been necessarily diverted.

  “Bruce?” Aerie circled around, glancing over the pots of smaller trees and plants, hoping to catch sight of Bruce’s flannel jacket.

  “Over here, Aerie,” he called back a moment later.

  Good. I was just about to give up and leave. Aerie carefully made her way over to the small clearing, where Bruce was checking the pH levels of the water system.

  “Sorry ‘bout that,” he said. “Didn’t mean to leave you for so long.”

  “Oh, it’s no trouble,” Aerie assured him. “I just noticed the shift’s almost over.”

  “If you want to head out early, you can go with my blessing,” Bruce said. He gave her a kind look.

  “I would appreciate it,” Aerie said. “I wanted to go and see how things were on the Command Bridge. I know Henry said that my mother’s attack force launched a few hours ago, and they should already be at the rendezvous point. I figured they would have something to report by now, anyway.”

  “‘Tis not a problem,” Bruce assured her. He waved her away. “Go. I’ll finish up here and I’ll see you in here tomorrow.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure.” Bruce’s beard twitched in amusement. “The Biovid will still be standing if you leave a few moments early. And since you’re doing more than one job, it’s only right that you should consider it a break.”

  “Well, when you put it like that, I don’t have any reason to worry at all.” Aerie giggled. “Alright. See you tomorrow.”

  She returned Bruce’s wave as she headed toward one of the exits. Upon reviewing her destination, Aerie decided to head over to the forward portside exit. It was a smart move, she thought. It would get her closer to the front of the ship where the Command Bridge was located, and it would allow her to walk through the rest of the Biovid.

  She passed through a small clearing, where there was a fresh hill of soft soil piled. Aerie recognized it immediately; it was where Exton had planted the Memory Tree in the ship, after he decided to save it for her, and before he had his lumberjack crew transfer it down to Petra.

  Aerie took a moment to gaze at the dirt. It was dark and dry, and part of her wondered if she could use the area to plant some new seedlings.

  Footsteps approached her from behind, startling her.

  “Forgive my intrusion, Miss. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Aerie turned to see the familiar old face of Reverend Thorne, the leader of the Ecclesia on the Perdition. Exton told her before that he always imagined himself to be a father figure of sorts, and he was more insulted than appreciative of his efforts.

  It must have been something Exton saw that she didn’t. Aerie gave the reverend a kind smile. “No problem.”

  “You look more like your mother when you smile,” Reverend Thorne said. “I see St. Cloud’s features otherwise.”

  Aerie laughed, nervously running her hand through her hair. “My mother’s hair is darker,” she said. “I always thought I looked more like her than my father.”

  “You have his eyes. And his penchant for the adventurous.”

  “I never thought of him as adventurous,” Aerie admitted.

  Reverend Thorne shrugged. “Most children don’t know their parents very well, outside of the role of being a parent,” he said. “But you need not look any further than your mother to see St. Cloud’s sense of adventure.”

  “That’s sweet, I guess,” Aerie murmured. She frowned. “Have you talked to him recently?”

  “I talk with him every once in a while,” Reverend Thorne said. “Everyone likes having company. My brother and I go to visit him sometimes.”

  “Did he tell you I went to go see him?” Aerie suddenly felt suspicious. Exton had warned her he didn’t trust Reverend Thorne much; it wasn’t that he wasn’t a good man, but there always seemed to be too much that the older man knew and he wouldn’t divulge. It was irritating, Exton had told her.

  She had been hesitant to accept that; she knew Exton had a different perspective on a lot of the people she met on the Perdition, and the Ecclesia especially.

  On some level, she wondered if Exton didn’t blame them for his father’s death, too.

  “No,” Reverend Thorne answered. “I like to walk through the Biovid. We call it Eden here, sometimes.”

  “My mother had a small garden she called Eden, too,” Aerie said.

  “Yes, I know. She loved to garden. She said it was something peaceful to balance the rest of her out.”

  “I remember her doing it a lot before she died­—I mean, before she left the URS,” Aerie corrected herself.

  “She did a lot of it at Chaya, too,” the reverend said. “She stepped down to work with your family unit soon after you were born, but she always came and volunteered with our scientists. Merra has been a great asset to Chaya.”

  “What about to the Ecclesia?” Aerie asked. “Has she been good to the Ecclesia, too?”

  “We are a religion,” he replied. “Our religion doesn’t fall based on one person.” He smiled. “Or at least, it’s not based on Merra. But to answer your question more fully, she has never failed to call upon us to help people in need.”

  “I can’t tell if that’s a backhanded compliment or not,” Aerie said.

  “It is true that we can be overburdened, like any community,” Reverend Thorne said. “But we can always pray.”

  Aerie nodded. “Have you been praying for Exton and the war?”

  “Of course.”

  “Why hasn’t God answered your prayer for that?” Aerie asked. “It’s still going on.”

  “That’s a more complicated question that it seems,” he said. “Are you sure you’d like an answer?”

  Aerie thought about the Command Bridge, and how she had a job to do. But ... she was curious. “I can spare a few moments,” she replied.

  “Okay. Then let me start to answer your question by asking you another one.” Reverend Thorne took a step closer to her. “Have you ever played the piano? Or have you learned music of any kind?”

  “No,” Aerie admitted. She had never been comfortable with music in the URS, and even if she’d liked it, she would never have admitted it.

  “There are some pretty basic elements to music,” the reverend said. “When you look at a sheet of music, it’s written out in a special way. There’s the melody and the harmony, and the scales of the different notes.”

  “Uh-huh,” Aerie said, nodding. She squirmed slightly; she didn’t know much of anything about music.
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  “Just imagine for a moment that the melody is all you hear to a song. The melody is often considered the most pleasing part of the song. It tends to lead the rest of the parts.

  “Now, the harmony is lower than the melody. Its notes are deeper, and its accents, without being in combination with the melody, seem incomplete.”

  “Okay.” Aerie sighed. “I’m not sure how this is tied into war.”

  “Think of the melody as joy and goodness, and think of the harmony as depth and darkness. The melody by itself can be lovely, but with the harmony, a new level is added to the final product. The lower tones contrast the good, giving them even more emphasis, and the higher pitches become weighted, keeping the melody grounded. Music is a product of living between worlds, with the ideal and the real coming together to form something even more beautiful.”

  Aerie still felt confused. “I’m not sure I get it.”

  “We see God as the grand composer,” Reverend Thorne said. “All of the good and evil in this world are still subject to him, and as humans, we are still subject to it and the consequences of sin. The high notes—the good, the beautiful, and the truth—and the low notes—the pain, the sadness, the uncertainty—all of this is still within his power to redeem. It’s not a perfect metaphor, since I know plenty of excellent harmonies just as beautiful as melodies. But this war, while it is unpleasant and we cannot understand its full impact, can still bring about goodness. We believe that has been the answer the Ecclesia has been given for now.”

  “I see it more now,” Aerie said, nodding slowly. “Maybe I should’ve had you use a plant metaphor.”

  “That would’ve been better, seeing as you are Merra’s daughter,” the reverend said. He chuckled. “I thought mine was pretty clever, still. I didn’t want to forget it.”

  “You seem to have a pretty good memory, from what Exton’s told me,” Aerie said. “You recognized me as Merra’s daughter right away, didn’t you?”

  “Not right away,” Reverend Thorne said. “But nearly so. I have talked with her before. She was at Chaya for many years, and it is one of our favorite camps to visit.”

  “Why didn’t you tell him about her?” Aerie asked. “Why didn’t you reveal me when you did realize the truth?”