The Price of Paradise

by C. S. Johnson

  But now, weeks later, with failure finally hitting home, Exton wondered if he had made the right choice, even if it had been a choice which seemed to be thrown on him at the time.

  “I don’t have life all figured out,” Exton finally said. “I would be less surprised by it if I did.”

  “Sometimes there are better things in store for us.” Tyler smiled. “I’m going to go and catch up with Emery. I don’t want her going up to Cartagena, either, but it’s hard for me to say no to the things she wants.”

  “I warned her before about that,” Exton said, as his mind swept away to the night of Emery’s wedding. “I told her that you’re a fool when it comes to her.”

  “I might be a fool, but I’d be even more a fool if I let her go. But you’re probably right about this trip. I don’t really want her to go, but I did check through the itinerary. It doesn’t seem dangerous, and the crew has contingency plans. For now, I’m learning how to argue with her,” Tyler said. “It’s a process.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind when it comes to Aerie,” Exton promised.

  Tyler nodded. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Emery, Exton. And she knows it, for better or for worse. And you know, she’s had a lot of practice with the divers from the Craftcarrier inspection, over in Palmer Bay. So it’s only logical that she was asked to go along with the Panama crew.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear it’s not a hazardous mission.” He tossed the comm device up in the air and caught it playfully. “I’m going to try Aerie again and then get some work finished up. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Bright and early, no doubt.”

  Exton watched as Tyler disappeared from the hangar, leaving him to watch the activity below, as mechanics and cleaners and all sorts of workers ran around. In the late night, there were plenty of bright lights on, illuminating the small hangar. In some ways, he felt like a ghost again, hovering over the world as its time continued on without his input.

  He sighed as he caught sight of the Memory Tree, the choppy top of the tree just barely visible at the edge of light. Exton thought about finding Aerie there, tucked in its trunk, her hair twisted around the twigs.

  Aerie had already told him, after hearing the story about his father, and his own temptations to destroy the URS, that she still loved him. Could she still love him if he denied her mother passage home?

  Probably not if he denied it, he thought. But if he at least tried to find a way to work with Gerard, that was one thing. He thought about his conversation with Tyler over his family, and suddenly Exton wondered if it would be possible to find a way to free Gerard in all of this, too.

  The idea began to form in his mind as he turned away and headed toward his room, just as a small passenger shuttle came gliding down into the far corner of the hangar.

  ♦17♦

  Aerie watched as the General shut off the engines and turned off the cabin lights. Outside the front window of the small shuttle, she could see Petra was as busy as it usually was, and she was glad none of the mechanics seemed to take notice. She was worried that they wouldn’t be able to get out of the camp once they landed; it was a calculated risk, and she was not as optimistic about it as her father seemed to be.

  Even from where she was sitting, only a few meters away from the General, she could almost see a charged energy around him, emitting from his quick, precise movements. Aerie wondered if he was nervous at all, or if he as just relieved to be out of his small cell of a room.

  “Are you sure about this?” she asked. Even as she spoke the words, she knew it was the wrong thing to say, especially since it was about the tenth time she’d asked the question. “I mean, I don’t see why we can’t just go to Panama now. Why stop at Petra?”

  “Aerie, just pretend this is combat class,” the General replied smoothly. “We need to get some supplies. We’re not going to go barreling into a well-guarded military base to free your mother with no weapons.”

  “I wasn’t talking about that part of the plan, necessarily,” Aerie retorted. “I was talking about getting Cal. I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “Believe it or not, it’s the best sort of therapy. He’s going to have to get over his fear of getting back into battle, or he’ll never recover. The sooner, the better, and the faster he’ll get used to it.” General St. Cloud glanced over at her. “It’s not going to be hard to get him. This is the night shift at Petra, and you should have enough of your mother’s natural talent to be able to sneak down to the med ward and find your brother without drawing attention to yourself.”

  Aerie thought of how Merra had come to see her as she worked in the Biovid with Bruce. She had come unannounced, choosing to reveal herself when she saw fit. “She did warn me that I would fail to follow Exton’s instructions one day,” Aerie said with a loud sigh, thinking of what her mother had said to her that day.

  “You’re the one who decided to do it, so stick to the plan. We’re already too far in this to go back.”

  That was true, Aerie conceded to herself as she tightened the utility belt around her waist. Sneaking her father out of the ship had been tricky enough; there was little hope she would be able to get him to go back to his room. Once they found out she was gone, and then that he was gone, there would be no escaping punishment.

  What that punishment was, Aerie didn’t want to know. She could only hope that she would be able to rescue her mom before anything went wrong, and that would allow Exton, and the others in charge, to overlook her malfeasance.

  At the thought of her mother, strapped down to a parrilla and being shot through with bursting streams of electricity, Aerie pushed herself forward.

  “I’m going to get our supplies,” the General told her. “I can borrow a mechanic’s jacket and start loading up the ship. You go and get Cal from the med ward.”

  “What do I do if he’s not there?” Aerie asked.

  “Find him. We’ll likely need another man around if we’re going to make it a quick trip.”

  Aerie took a deep, steadying breath, allowing herself to pretend that it was a combat mission; she could even imagine Master Browning’s thick eyebrows boring into her back as she stepped out of the small shuttle and headed toward the shadows of the hangar as naturally as she could.

  Several moments later, Aerie was surprised as much as she was relieved to find out the General had been correct. As she stepped into the room she was certain belonged to Cal, she breathed a silent sigh of relief.

  Here’s hoping the rest of this plan goes just as smoothly.

  It hadn’t taken long for the General to formulate a master plan. It was simple enough, but complicated at different points. Sneaking down to Petra, unnoticed, or at least with a plausible story, was difficult. Aerie was glad that the only people who had caught her were Reverend Thorne and his brother, Don. They were bound by their vows of silence when it came to secrets. Just to make it official, both of them had taken the time to pray over them.

  That was actually really nice of them, Aerie thought, remembering the soft-spoken prayers offered as a supernatural quality seemed to encapsulate them. She felt much more at peace with her decision after that.

  It was good to know that God would still accept her, especially since she was pretty sure Exton was going to be upset with her.

  The interruption by the reverend and his brother had proved to be even more fortuitous, as they were able to point Aerie in the direction of an empty shuttle.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Aerie whirled around to see Serena behind her, her hands on her hips and an eyebrow raised in hardened disdain. Aerie’s optimism, the little that remained, completely died. “Serena.”

  “Yeah, nice to see you too,” Serena replied. “Now, what are you doing here? I heard from Alice that you’ve had a fight with your precious husband. Did you come here to kiss and make up?”

  “That’s none of your business,” Aerie said, her cheeks running red.

  “Well, you�
�re in my med ward, during my shift, so it’s at least a little bit of my business.”

  Aerie straightened, forcing herself to stand up to her older sister. “I’m looking for Cal. I wanted to see how he was doing, if you must know.” It was a small lie, one that was mostly of omission; Aerie didn’t need to tell Serena she was looking for Cal to see if he was up for a half-revenge-fueled rescue mission.

  Aerie hoped Serena would believe her; she didn’t want to answer any more questions, especially ones that would force her to lie and immediately convict her.

  At the mention of their brother, Serena softened ever so slightly. She dropped her hands from her hips and sighed. “He’s in the room down the hall and to the right,” she said. “Brock’s across the hall, if you want to go and visit him, too.”

  “Cal is my primary concern,” Aerie said curtly, “but thanks for letting me know.”

  Before she turned away, Aerie stopped herself. “How are you doing?” she asked Serena. “You know, with everything?” It was the kindest way of saying their mother’s imprisonment and their older brother’s death.

  “Life goes on,” Serena said, rolling her eyes. “We’ve been training for the day when we give up our lives for the URS. Dorian was trained to do what he ended up doing, and he liked doing it. So what difference does it make?”

  Aerie blinked, jarred by the rational absurdity of Serena’s comments. She was right, Aerie realized. Dorian had been brought up in the URS, and his skills as a pilot had been refined to be an instrument of warfare. Even if he was fighting against the URS, his life’s mission had an appropriate ending. But the hollowness of such a life, and such a purpose, and the meaninglessness of his fate against everything—one that several other pilots in the URS and now in Petra’s camp still faced—was still too sad to properly contemplate.

  He might have died doing what he’d been trained to do, and even something that he loved to do. But why die for something you don’t believe in? Why die for a cause that means little to nothing to you?

  Aerie sighed. There were some questions she knew she would never get the answers to. She decided to switch topics. “You’re not worried about Mom?”

  “If Mom’s reappearance has taught me anything, it’s that Mom can take care of herself,” Serena said. “If she is alive, I pity the people who think they’ve won.”

  Aerie smiled, giggling a little at the thought. Serena was most likely right. Their mother was a fighter.

  “I do think I’ll miss Dorian,” Serena added a moment later. “He was a good brother. Tolerable. Cal’s the one who always seemed more abrasive.”

  “I feel like I didn’t know him very well,” Aerie admitted.

  “Well, he was several years older than you,” Serena said. “We didn’t know you very well, either, I think. Maybe now that we’re all adults, and we’re stuck here working for the Perdition, we’ll start to understand each other better.”

  It was the closest thing to a compliment Aerie could recall hearing from Serena. She reached over and gave Serena a quick, fervent hug. “Thank you.”

  Serena frowned, but she did not attempt to pull away from Aerie’s embrace. “I said understand each other better, not like each other.”

  Aerie laughed again as she stepped back. “I think I like you just fine,” she said, “even if I don’t agree with you all the time.”

  Serena’s expression was obviously perplexed, and Aerie forced herself to keep from laughing. Did her sister never really figure out familial love?

  Before Serena could recover from her admission, Aerie headed down the hall. “Thanks for the help,” she called back, hoping her voice wouldn’t carry too far. She heard Serena snort, before her footsteps disappeared down the hall once more

  Aerie quickly found Cal’s room and slipped inside. After she closed the door behind her, she was glad no one was in the room checking in on him; she’d forgotten to check before she opened the door.

  I’ve got to be more careful. There’s no such thing as luck at this point.

  “Aerie?”

  At the sound of Cal’s voice, Aerie stepped forward.

  Her older brother turned around to face her. As much as Serena had been surprised by her visit, there appeared to be no shock on Cal’s face as he looked at her.

  “Hi, Cal.” Aerie came up beside him with soft footsteps.

  Cal took one look at her, sizing her up. “You’re here to break me out of here, aren’t you?” he asked.

  Aerie blinked. “How did you know?”

  “Come on, Aerie. I know about Mom, and I know Dorian’s gone. You’re here to ask me to go help you rescue her.”

  Confusion briefly derailed her. “Did the General contact you ahead of our arrival here?”

  “Dad’s here too?” Cal shot up in the bed, a new eagerness in his movements. “Alright then, I’ll actually go.”

  Aerie frowned. “You mean you were going to refuse me if it had been just me?” she asked.

  “You’re smart, Aerie,” Cal said. “As much as the rest of us picked on you, we knew you were smart. But if I’m going to go sweeping through a military base for the URS, I want someone with experience leading the charge.”

  Aerie watched as Cal grabbed his boots from under the mattress, stupefied as to how to respond. Between getting told that her siblings knew she was smart and then getting told she wasn’t capable of pulling off a rescue mission on her own, she wasn’t sure if she should be angry or insulted or both.

  She just scowled at him, only stopping as they made their way down through the halls of the med ward, and headed back toward the hangar.

  “Where is Dad?” Cal asked.

  “We have a small shuttle from the Perdition,” Aerie said. “The General’s loading up supplies and weapons now.” She checked the time. “We should have another twenty minutes before anyone grows concerned.”

  “That’s plenty of time. What model of ship? Can I pilot?”

  As Aerie filled Cal in on the details, she felt herself glancing around, an uneasy feeling settling on her shoulders. She hoped no one else would see her. She’d pulled back her red hair, tucking into a tight bun, similar to the one she used to sport at the Education Center.

  Some part of her wondered if she didn’t feel like a child enough already, playing hide-and-seek with her husband and playing pretend war games with her father.

  No, Aerie told herself. Stop thinking that.

  She had no choice. Exton didn’t have a plan to rescue her mother. He was not going to surrender to Gerard. Their hands were tied, and there was no other option than organizing a rescue mission. With the recent casualties from the battle at Panama, there were just not enough people to go and storm the area. And, as he’d said, he thought Merra deserved her imprisonment as payment for her recklessness.

  If I don’t do anything, Mom will be killed or tortured. She could end up like Gerard, her mind so warped she wouldn’t know the true enemy when she saw it. I can’t just do nothing. Not when my mother needs help.

  “Alright, good job, kids.” General St. Cloud’s voice cut through her inner thoughts as Aerie blinked. She was surprised to find that she had made it back to the shuttle without a hitch. Cal stood beside her, giving the General a formal salute.

  “Sir,” Cal said in greeting. His mouth formed a hard line. “I’m here to accept my role in this mission.”

  “Excellent,” the General replied. “Let’s get going then. I’ve got the ship stocked with what we need. Are you up to piloting the ship, Cal?”

  “You know it,” Cal replied, a spark of his old self shining in that small moment. “I’ve got a legacy to uphold, for Dorian as well as the rest of my family.”

  Aerie watched as Cal trotted up the ramp into the shuttle, heading for the cockpit. She felt a half-smile curl on her lips, glad to see the General had been right. There was no doubt that her brother was going to enjoy the chance to fight the forces responsible for Dorian’s loss. She was also glad to see that he was using the word �
��family” over “unit.”

  A flickering light at the opposite end of the hangar caught her attention. She saw no one hailing their ship, no one approaching the ship to ask about unloading cargo or running an inspection.

  Aerie knew enough about Petra’s black market arrangements to know that there was little chance someone would pay them any significant attention. But Aerie also knew it was time to go.

  The supernatural quality she’d felt earlier, as Reverend Thorne and Brother Don asked for a blessing on the mission, was still there, but it felt as though it had dimmed.

  Moments later, as Aerie was snuggled into the shuttle seat and buckled in, while her brother cheered at being in the air once more and her father oversaw things with an enviable amount of self-assurance, she admitted to herself she almost wished someone had caught them.

  She watched, transfixed by her own thoughts, as the clouds gradually began to lighten, as their shuttle flew over the curved belly of the world; the almost cheerful atmosphere of the sky was at odds with her somber mood.

  Exton had told her that all pleasures, all desires—all of them came with a price. She never thought that her displeasure would have an even higher cost.

  ♦18♦

  “What do you mean, she’s not there?” Exton’s voice repeated Henry’s words with startling detachment, even as there was a feeling inside of him, one that he recognized as much as he dreaded.

  He narrowed his eyes, glancing around his small office, where his father’s files and different reports were scattered slapdashedly on his desk, as if he was looking for any other possibility than the one stirring around in his gut. He had been using some of the papers as an unwitting pillow, until the call from Henry came through.