The Price of Paradise

by C. S. Johnson

  “For a military guy, you are weirdly adverse to blood and needles,” Serena said with a playful smirk.

  “That’s enough,” Exton snapped at Serena. He turned back to Brock. “So you lied to her, to us, and you infiltrated Petra. Tell me why I shouldn’t just shoot you now and get you out of my way for good.”

  “I can contact the Craftcarrier near Panama,” Brock said.

  “Why didn’t you do it earlier?” Emery asked. “Why did you go off to fight them?”

  Brock shuffled his feet, reminding Exton how much younger and how much more inexperienced at life he really was. “I ... I sort of like it here,” he admitted bashfully. “I mean, I’m mad that Aerie’s not here.” He glared at Exton briefly, before adding, “But I like the people here. Cal and Dorian and I managed to make a few friends, and we all had more freedom here. The other day, Cal and Dorian and I all went ice fishing with some of the other guys around here, and I realized I’d never had a lot of real friends like that—people who would argue with me freely or force me to think about new ideas. It was ... weird. And nice.”

  He lowered his gaze. “After the Craftcarrier went down in the bay, I realized that I didn’t really want the URS to win. I didn’t want to return to a life where survival of the State was everything. I felt bad about calling them before.”

  “You were the one who contacted Osgood with the location of our post.” Exton closed his eyes. How blind could I have been?

  Part of him suddenly hated how much he had fallen in love with Aerie those few weeks on the Perdition. His heart had done him a great disservice. He was a better fighter when he had his heart in cold stasis, dead to the concerns of the world and only a servant to his own inner darkness.

  He even hated that he had to go and rescue her from her own recklessness. He was beginning to wonder how much she was like Merra, and what that would mean for the two of them.

  Could they live with each other? She had told him she didn’t judge him based on his father’s choices, but what about his own? Exton knew he had difficult decisions to make, especially when it came to war. She didn’t seem to understand how much her mother had messed things up, and how difficult it was for him to act as both a leader and a husband in this matter.

  “Well, yeah,” Brock replied, interrupting Exton’s worries. “But I didn’t think he would try to kill me along with everyone else. He told me to stay there, and when everything was over, he would send a scouting team out for me.”

  “He used you,” Emery remarked. “He wouldn’t have trusted you.”

  “I realize that now,” Brock said with a nod. “So I clicked off my device after the Craftcarrier was shot down. I’d hoped he would think that I was killed in action. But I promise you, sincerely, on anything that you want, I did not contact them after that. I swear. If I’m lying, you can kill me with my full approval.”

  After a long moment of considering Brock’s eager, still-swelling face, and glaring into his eyes as he searched for some semblance of a soul, Exton groaned. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll take you with me to go and get Aerie. But you’re piloting the ship, and you’re going to take the fall once Osgood alerts his minions that you’re no longer on his side.”

  “He might figure that out anyway,” Serena pointed out. “After all, why would you come back just as Aerie’s gone missing?”

  “He might not have found her yet,” Emery said. “You have some time, but you have to decide whether or not to take it now.”

  Exton felt a rush of shame as he realized he wasn’t completely willing to go. Some part of him wanted Aerie to learn the hard way how much she couldn’t disobey his orders; he even rationalized that she was stronger than most people gave her credit for. He even thought she might succeed, especially since St. Cloud was with her. And there were other things that required his attention. His father’s files, Petra’s fighter force was down, and he had no clear plan of how to rescue Merra anyway.

  There were a lot of reasons to stay away. The more pragmatic side of him said there were more than plenty of reasons to at least wait until he knew the full extent of his options. It was almost too easy.

  Almost.

  The temptation to allow Aerie to run away from him, even for what she saw as a justifiable reason, went against everything good and principled inside of him.

  He nodded. “It’s always now or never,” Exton said. “Emery, before you go, alert Aunt Patty of the situation. I’m going to go take care of Aerie and Merra. And St. Cloud, too.”

  Emery gave him a small smile. “She’ll be happy to help out,” she said. “She wanted Merra back too, almost as much as Aerie did.”

  Exton snorted. “Not enough to risk her life or the fate of this community, obviously. Give me your weapon, please, so I can take Brock down to the hangar.”

  “I’m not going to fight you,” Brock said.

  “I just punched you,” Exton reminded him, as he knocked the gun into Brock’s back, forcing him to march down the hall. “I’m not about to let my guard down now.”

  ♦19♦

  Aerie felt the shuttle land hard, and for a moment she had to wonder if Cal was allowing his shoulder to affect his flight skills. When she saw him laugh and give their father a high five, she realized he’d done it on purpose.

  “Hey!” she snapped. “There’s no need to try to be ‘cool’ here, Cal. We still need this ship to be able to take off once we’ve rescued Mom.”

  “Lighten up,” Cal bit back. “This is a standard rescue mission for me. Maybe if you’d made it into the military, you would have more appreciation for my attempts to have fun.”

  “I’m risking my marriage for this,” Aerie hissed back. “There’s nothing fun about that.”

  “If you’re risking all of that, it’s your fault,” Cal replied, as he stuck his tongue out at her.

  “Kids, calm down,” General St. Cloud said. His voice was deep but bland, and Aerie knew he was more focused on the scene before them. “Cal, you need to prep the ship for another takeoff. Even if it’s a standard mission to you, we’re not going to be taking our time. It’s already been over a full day since Merra was taken, and there’s no telling what the State will do to her. They have a problem with people who just won’t die, you know.”

  Aerie caught his expression and knew he was talking about Exton’s father. Once Silas had been killed, Exton had resurrected him as the ghost of Captain Chainsword. At her graduation, she remembered Osgood’s hopeful, almost sadistic delight that the Perdition was going to attack New Hope.

  Under the coils of clouds, the Panama Canal appeared to be hemorrhaging blood, but Aerie knew it was just a rare form of red algae.

  Or at least that’s what I hope it is. She glanced back at the General.

  “It’s poison,” he said, answering her inquiring gaze. There was a happy gleam in his eyes. “The URS will have to evacuate before too long. The algae is growing to the point where it will easily contaminate their water supply.”

  “Where is their base?” she asked.

  “Further east from here,” the General replied. He turned toward Cal. “You’ll need to make sure you keep your communication line open while you wait. You also need to keep watch on our scope. No screw ups, Cal.”

  Her older brother huffed. “We went over it several times already. I got it.”

  The General held his gaze for a long moment, as if he was sizing up Cal’s resolve. Then he nodded slowly. “Alright, son. I’m counting on you.”

  “You’re fine,” Cal said, brushing him off. “Now, get going before Aerie changes her mind. She doesn’t want to get in trouble with her husband, remember?”

  Aerie was about to insult him back, but her father stepped between them. “If I know Exton, it’s already too late for that,” the General said, and Aerie felt her heart sink. “Now, let’s grab our packs and go, Aerie.”

  Aerie nodded, determined to keep going. The General is right. What other choice do I have? I need to save my mother, no matter what
Exton says.

  Recalling their earlier argument made it easier for Aerie to climb down from the shuttle and step into the chilly mountain air.

  “I thought we were going down into Columbia,” Aerie said. “Why are we at Panama?”

  “All militaries have weaknesses, Aerie.” General St. Cloud took out his binoculars and looked around.

  Aerie could tell from his sweeping movements he was getting a digital reading of the nearby area.

  “You’re looking at Panama. This is where the main docking station for the URS forces is located. They might be concentrated in the Columbian boarders, but they still use the isthmus as a central hub for their supply runs.”

  Aerie glanced around, surprised. She saw the large canal docking stations, the water that was weaving its way into the wounded earth, and the sturdy mountains closing in on the manmade structure. “Makes sense,” she muttered, relishing the taste of the saltwater in the air.

  “This is where the Old Republic blasted through the mountains during the Canal’s construction,” the General said, as they overlooked the small mountain range.

  “Is this place close to where is Gerard keeping Mom?” Aerie asked. “I don’t see their base.”

  “The base is underground here, same as New Hope. It has several tunnels and channels, among other things, running down into Columbia.”

  “Even New Hope has some parts that remain above ground.”

  “The reasons are the same,” General St. Cloud told her. “You have the outcasts aboveground, before you decide to kill them or use them for test subjects, and then everyone else who is able to follow orders stays below.”

  Aerie’s eyes widened. “They really killed all the homeless people at New Hope?”

  “If you’re not useful,” the General said, “they find a way to make you useful. It’s not pretty, Aerie, when the world works on a purely utilitarian scale.”

  “I’ve noticed,” Aerie said, wrinkling her nose.

  A few moments passed while they walked on in silence. Aerie watched the General as he muttered to himself, looking around and taking mental notes. He would sometimes use the comm to ask Cal a question.

  She decided she was glad, even if it was reluctantly, that her father had come with her. He was comfortable taking the lead, and Aerie didn’t feel half as prepared as he looked.

  She squatted down on the path and squinted across the way. From where she was, she could just make out the slim waterway where the red algae continued to feed its way into the canal. Towers of smoke drizzled in the distance, and for the first time, Aerie wondered if she was looking at the remains of the Perdition’s fighters.

  “I’ve located an entrance,” the General told her. “We need to get down onto the Ustupo plains. That’s where their main base hangar opens up to air shipments. It’s going to be a bit of a hike, so stay close to me.”

  “I can manage,” Aerie assured him. She clung to the straps on her pack, trying to show him she was up to the task. “As you said, this is just like combat class so far.”

  Several hours and several miles later, Aerie regretted her proud assertion. She was still determined to go on strong, but with the aches in her legs and the strain on her back, she was starting to wonder how much longer it was going to take. She had been on the Perdition for weeks, and while the ship had its artificial gravity generator, Aerie could tell she was back on Earth.

  “Cal,” the General said, startling Aerie as he spoke into his comm. It had been a long time since either of them had said anything. “Can you hear me?”

  “Clearly,” Cal replied. “I’m keeping the engines warm enough to be ready to go when you are.”

  “Good. How’s the lookout?”

  “Clear, for the most—wait.”

  Aerie felt her breath rush out as there was a sound scraping against the sky.

  “I have some ships approaching the landing strip to the south of your position,” Cal said. “It looks like some from back home.”

  “I see them,” the General replied. He didn’t sound surprised.

  “Petra?” Aerie grabbed her own binoculars out and whirled around, looking for the ships. Her heart started beating terribly fast, as she wondered if Exton was on his way to stop her.

  “No, not Petra,” Cal said. “Home, Aerie. New Hope.”

  Aerie almost dropped the binoculars in surprised relief. She let out a nervous laugh, right before she felt her right foot fall through the ground.

  “Hey!” she yelled in surprise as she lost her balance.

  “Watch it!” Her father grabbed her arm.

  As he hauled her up to level ground once more, Aerie quickly saw she’d stepped on a concealed reservoir cover. It was empty now, except for a thick layer of mud topped with an icy sheen.

  She took a deep breath and saw the General had saved her from nearly a ten-foot drop. “Thank you,” she murmured. “That was close.”

  General St. Cloud didn’t seem to hear her. He turned his attention back to Cal. “Do you have a clear shot of the ships?”

  “No,” Cal responded. “I wouldn’t take it anyway. There’s no way I have enough power to take down the flagship. It looks like a C-Class shuttle, with enhancements.”

  The General frowned. “Can you see who it is that’s getting off?”

  Aerie was just about to ask him why it made a difference when she heard Cal choke out, “It’s Osgood.”

  “What’s he doing here?” Aerie asked. She felt another rush of sudden fear. With the dictator himself here, there had to be something else going on. “Could he be here about the ecobomb?”

  The General sighed. “I doubt it. He watches over everything, and all the reports are given to him. If he heard the water supply was poisoned, he wouldn’t act on it right away. He’s not very proactive.”

  “He did try to get the Emergency Responders up for when Exton came to New Hope,” Aerie reminded him. “That was something, at least.”

  “That’s true, but it was hardly a battle.”

  Aerie watched her father as he took off his backpack. “What’s wrong?”

  “We’re going to have to hurry,” he said. “The base will be on lockdown with Osgood here. We might not be able to rely on my memory to get to your mother if they have special orders.”

  “What should I do?” Cal asked. “I can fire at them, if you want.”

  “No,” the General replied. “Don’t do anything. We can only hope they don’t see you and the shuttle.”

  “I have the shields on.”

  “Shields on that shuttle are a joke compared to what the URS has here.”

  Aerie watched as Osgood and his legion of guards walked down the landing strip. They were headed to a small building, one that was half-buried into the mountain base. She adjusted the focus on her binoculars. “From the look on his face, I can’t tell if he looks angry or if he is airsick,” she said.

  At the sound of the low rumble in General St. Cloud’s throat, Aerie nearly jumped. She was surprised to see him smile down at her.

  “You’re right,” he said. “That’s a hard call.”

  Aerie giggled herself. As the two of them shared a laugh, Aerie realized it was the first time she felt as though she was actually having fun with her father.

  It only took a world war, my mother’s kidnapping, and the destruction of my marriage to get us here. Her eyes fell to the ground in shame.

  As she was glancing down, something caught her eye. “Look,” she said. “There’s a small stream of water still running through the reservoir.”

  “So?”

  “Even from here, I can tell it’s contaminated.” Aerie had to wonder just what her mother and the other scientists at the Chaya settlement had put in the bomb. “Looks like the bomb definitely went off.”

  The General turned and followed her gaze. “You’re right. Better be even more careful then.”

  As she watched the small trickle of pinkish water push through the rusty pipe, Aerie frowned. “You can stop t
he poison from spreading, right?”

  “We have the cure for it at our research center,” General St. Cloud assured her. “Merra actually tested it herself.”

  Aerie saw the softening of his expression for the quickest second. She turned back to the landing strip. “Good. She can be in charge of cleaning up this mess once we get her back.”

  “We won’t get her if we just stay here. Let’s get moving again. We need to find a quiet way in, especially with Osgood’s arrival.”

  Aerie followed him closely as he started moving down the bare mountains.

  ♦20♦

  Brock’s face was still slightly puffy as Exton piloted his shuttle through the clouds over the Old Columbian atmosphere. Despite feeling as though he’d been fully justified in hitting him, Exton was glad the mark under his eye seemed like it was slowly settling in.

  Just like the guilt, Exton thought bitterly. He had been sitting next to Brock for hours, wondering about Emery and watching for reports from Henry, and he was starting to feel guilty about punching Brock—well, at least punching him as hard as he had.

  It was hard for him to believe that he felt sorry for Brock. Exton had a feeling it was Aerie’s influence, because compassion was not one of his stronger reflexes. He knew compassion was good, and even necessary, and he knew he needed it as much as other people did. But Brock had deliberately placed Petra—along with Aerie—in danger by hiding the truth from them. He had been able to reach out and contact the URS ever since he came, and he came on specific orders from Osgood himself.

  Exton felt his compassion wane as he thought of how Brock had tried to kidnap Aerie several weeks ago, while the Craftcarrier was on its way to attack Petra. Brock had been overcome, and he relented to Exton’s decision. He even seemed to falter in his loyalty to the URS as he talked with Aerie in the command room, watching as Patty and the others coordinated their counterattack.