Aerie frowned. “What is the GPI exactly?”
“It’s an advanced model of the Perdition,” the General explained. “It was made with military enhancements. While Silas wanted to make the Paradise a place of education and refuge, the URS wanted a battle starship.”
“So Osgood really will be able to conquer the world,” Exton muttered darkly. “That sounds about right.”
Aerie felt a shiver go down her spine. She didn’t need her father to explain every detail about the GPI’s weapon capabilities, but she knew what the Perdition was capable of. She recalled the nukes that were protecting the Biovid hanging off the bottom of the ship.
Cal cheered. “Alright, we’re past the battlefront and Cartagena’s ten minutes from here if I push it.”
Aerie watched as her father frowned. “You’re sure about this, Exton?”
“We can drop Merra off with Emery,” Exton replied. “Serena will be able to take care of her. We’ll have to leave her there, but once I figure out where everyone is, we’ll be able to stop the GPI. Turnaround time will cost us some, but it’s negligible. It’s worth it if we can save Merra.”
Aerie felt warm as he looked over at her. “That’s what we came here for in the end, right?”
“I’m grateful,” the General said. “Thank you.”
Exton shrugged. “The feeling is mutual. If it weren’t for Cal and your ship, we might not have made it out of the hangar.”
Aerie put her hand on his shoulder. “Let me try to get a hold of Emery,” she said. “Maybe we can save some more time that way.”
“Good idea.”
“What’s she doing in Cartagena anyway?” Aerie suddenly asked.
“The Morgan Soromsky was hit when the Freedom was attacked. She was going with a bunch of botanists and other scientists to test the waters and see if there were any nuclear leaks, among other things.”
“Oh. That sounds like fun, actually,” Aerie said.
“You can stay with her if you want,” Exton remarked. “You can watch over your mom and help Serena. Your father and I can take care of Osgood.”
Aerie would’ve laughed if the stakes weren’t so high. “Never,” she declared. “I know you and my father have a common goal in defeating Osgood, but there’s no way I’m going to leave you two alone. You need a referee, and you know I can help with other things, too.”
Exton smirked. “I should’ve known it was pointless to try to argue with you.”
“Where you go, I will go,” Aerie whispered softly, reminding him of their wedding vows.
“That’s not meant to be quite that literal,” he replied.
“Doesn’t matter.” Aerie put her hands on her hips. “After all the fighting we’ve done, it’s time for us to fight for something greater, together.”
Aerie felt her face blush over as he stared into her eyes for a long moment. She was about to argue further when he just nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “But only if you agree to obey my orders.”
She sighed. “Fine. But only because I don’t know Osgood that well. I know you and my father know him better, so you’ll be able to anticipate his movements.”
Exton shook his head. “Good to know you trust me.”
“I do,” Aerie insisted. “I just ... struggle with trusting you more than trusting myself, I guess.”
“Survival instincts are one thing, Aerie. But they do not have the primary position when it comes to war.” Exton glanced behind her. Aerie followed his gaze to see Merra and Victor, as he laid his head down next to hers. Aerie could see there were small tears leaking out of the corner of her mother’s eyes. “Maybe that’s true in relationships, too.”
IT DIDN’T EVEN TAKE the full ten minutes for Cal to land the shuttle on the beach at Cartagena. Exton took a good look around, glad to see they were not far from Emery’s camp. He could see their temporary housing tents easily against the rotting cityscape in the distance.
Cartagena had been a beautiful city once, he remembered, thinking of the data he’d downloaded on different parts of the world. It was a bustling hub for a variety of business enterprises, most of which fell away once the city’s skies clouded over with nuclear ash and toxic discharge.
As St. Cloud and Aerie helped Merra out of the small shuttle, Exton hurried over toward the camp. They were going to take care of Merra, and he had to take care of his role. If they were going to stop the GPI, he knew he would have to coordinate efforts with the rest of his allies.
“Exton!”
At the sound of Emery’s cry, Exton braced himself. The impact came a moment later, as she came rushing into his arms. “Hi, Em.”
“I was so happy to get Aerie’s call,” she said. “Are you okay?”
“Gerard is gone.”
At his words, Emery shrunk back. “Oh, Exton.”
“He died fighting St. Cloud.”
“You don’t blame him for his death, though, do you?”
“No.”
“I knew it.” Emery shook her head. “It’s not your fault, either, Exton. Gerard knew the risks when he helped us take back the Perdition.”
“I doubt he thought he would wind up a tool for the States and their torture program,” Exton said, surprised at how normal his voice seemed to sound. From all the turmoil inside of him over his anger at Gerard’s treatment of Aerie, he would have thought it would have come storming out, full of vitriol and spite. “Let alone face the reality of forgetting all about his true love and his friends.”
“Don’t forget that he still did terrible things,” Emery said. “I know you told me that Aerie’s forgiven him for what happened in New Hope, but there’s no reason that because he had been forgiven, judgment is not just or necessary.”
Exton nodded. “That’s probably why I am not sad,” he said. “When people die, you think of the good things first. I’m more angry that the whole thing happened that way to begin with.”
Emery took his arm. “I’ll have Tyler tell Meredith the news,” she said. “It’s his right, anyway, as her brother.”
“I should tell her myself. I’m the one who promised her I would save him.”
“He was saved,” Emery said. “You know as well as I do that sometimes death is kinder. He is now free from the URS and their games.”
“It’s not the same thing. It’s not what I wanted.”
“It’s not all about you,” Emery said, chastising him lightly. “If you’re upset because he died when you might not have been able to save him anyway, you are only fooling yourself.”
“I know.”
“Gerard knew as we did that there was something greater to live for. Don’t be so conceited, Exton. You’re just going to dishonor his memory in the end, if you think you could have saved him, or that you condemned him to his fate.”
“I guess I am glad he’s finally at peace, if for no other reason than I don’t have to worry about Aerie running into him anymore.”
Emery nodded. “Good. She’s your main concern now.”
Exton sighed. “But I wanted to make Meredith happy again. Gerard was our first loss, and were good friends when we were younger. Then there is the fact Meredith is Tyler’s sister, and she did help save Aerie’s life. She had such hope for him all those years working beside him, and she helped us out when we needed her. I wanted to keep my promise to her and see her get her happy ending, too.”
“Meredith will understand,” Emery assured him in a firm voice. “She has known for a long time not everyone gets a happy ending on this side of Heaven. And she will not regret helping you get Aerie back, even if you were not able to bring Gerard back to her.”
“I’ll argue with you about this later, probably multiple times.”
“I’ll warn Aerie to expect it, too,” Emery said with a quick smile. “Maybe between all of us, we’ll be able to get it all out of your system in record time.”
“You mean before I do something stupid or reckless?”
“We’re already at war
,” Emery said. “Can’t be much worse at this point.”
“We’ll see about that.” Exton frowned. “I need to get in touch with Aunt Patty and Kamalo to see what’s going on at Panama. I wasn’t able to observe a whole lot from the half-imploded hangar.”
“Come with me,” Emery said. She glanced over her shoulder. “It looks like the others will be using my tent for Merra, so let’s go ahead and go to the ship.”
Exton glanced behind him to see Aerie and St. Cloud as they carried Merra’s passed-out body. Serena led the way. She sent him a quick wave, and he returned the gesture before he caught up with Emery.
It looks like Merra will be okay, he thought. He doubted Serena would have been so calm if there was something to worry about, even if she had been trained to disregard her feelings when it came to her patients. Good.
Exton didn’t want to see Aerie hurt anymore. He knew that in the long run, Merra was likely going to bother him for years to come as they had a new chance at being close. And he decided that, while he was no doubt going to be constantly angry and frustrated with her schemes and half-truths, it was still more than he deserved.
But he was going to demand that she find her own accommodations to reside in when she came to visit. There was no need to make it easy for her to be completely comfortable.
Exton’s concerns about Aerie’s family visits were immediately hijacked as soon as he started talking to Henry.
“I had a feeling you wouldn’t exactly be happy with the news,” Henry said. “Miguel and Rhodey told me not to worry about it.”
“You allowed them to drive the Perdition into the airspace above Panama,” Exton said. “Of course I’m not happy. If we lose the Perdition, we lose everything.”
“Not everything,” Henry said.
“Now’s not the best time to argue with me,” Exton told him through gritted teeth.
“We’ve already ordered evacuations,” Henry said. “The people are still going to be fine. Director Ward already has her staff on standby to recover them. I’ve programmed it so that every pod is headed for Petra.”
“What about the workers?” Exton asked. “You still need to pilot the ship.”
“So far, a handful of volunteers have offered to stay behind,” Henry said. “Rhodey and Miguel both have all the veterans working to replace them. They know what they’re risking.”
Exton sighed, miserable all over again. The veteran division on the Perdition had been a collection of the remaining soldiers from the Old Republic. They had signed on to the Perdition for situations just like this one.
But this shouldn’t even be happening, he thought. “Why did Miguel and Rhodey agree to this?”
“Kamalo and Director Ward’s forces weren’t able to get to Panama as quickly as the Perdition was,” Henry explained. “I thought it prudent to make sure you and milady were safe. When we found out Osgood was there, we knew we’d made the right choice.”
Exton put his hand over his eyes, rubbing his temples. He hated that Henry had a point.
“Rhodey used one of the smaller nukes on the last Craftcarrier, too,” Henry said. “So even if Osgood gets away, we have at least downed their last major Craftcarrier. And don’t worry, I already warned Director Caudwell about it, so she’s aware of the situation.”
Exton hoped Emery had taken precautions, but he was also glad to hear the Craftcarrier was down. Besides being a threat to their forces, they had been a major deterrent for some of the Perdition’s suppliers.
His fingers gripped the top of the monitor. “What did Rhodey or Miguel say about the GPI?”
“We haven’t seen any significant development regarding that,” Henry said. “I only have a few reports from our forces fighting down in Panama. Some have said something big is coming.”
“It is, and we need to stop it.” Exton’s mind raced with questions. How much longer would it take for Osgood to launch the battle starship? Was it possible to hit it before it launched? Would they be able to ensure its complete destruction?
All of the questions faded as the answer came to him. Exton had a plan.
“Anything else I can do for you, Captain?” Henry asked.
“Send me the coordinates and hailing frequency for the Perdition, and then get to an escape pod,” Exton said. “I’m coming back up to relieve you.”
♦25♦
Aerie gripped onto her mother’s hands. She watched as her mother’s eyes blinked open, and instantly Aerie felt a weight of relief fall off her heart and shoulders. “Mom,” she said. “How are you feeling?”
Merra tried to move her right shoulder, where Phoebe had managed to clip her. “Stiff,” she replied softly. Her face was beyond pale, but there was some color starting to come back into it.
“Serena said that you lost a lot of blood, so you should already be feeling some of the medication taking effect,” Aerie said.
Merra gave her a tired smile. “I can tell. If I say anything loopy right now, I don’t mean it.”
“You got it,” Aerie said. She watched as Exton came into the room and signaled for the General to follow him. Aerie was surprised when her father left without protest.
Merra’s eyes followed him as he headed out of the tent. “I’m almost surprised those two are getting along,” she said. “I had a feeling they would learn to live with each other, eventually.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Aerie said. “They’ll still take years to learn how to get along. Just to spite us, I think.”
“You were the one who let him free, aren’t you?” Merra asked. “You did it to save me.”
“I didn’t do it without thinking it all through,” Aerie told her.
“I was right. You disappointed Exton.”
“Yes,” Aerie admitted grudgingly. “But we’ll be okay.” Her cheeks warmed as she thought of how Exton, even as he was furious with her, told her that he would never leave her. Her heart raced and she knew a helpless, dreamy look had come over her face a moment later when Merra chuckled.
“You always were a daydreamer,” Merra said. “I always liked that about you.”
Aerie grimaced. “My instructors never liked it much, and I can’t imagine it helps with the war effort a whole lot. I know I’m not a lot like you.”
“Aerie, you’re a lot better than me,” Merra told her. “I am sorry I wasn’t around during your teenage years, but I am very proud of how you’ve turned out.”
Aerie leaned down and wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, Aerie.” Merra pulled back. “Now, go get Serena. I’m going to have her load me up on more meds so I can try to get some sleep. As much as I’m feeling better than before, I know I’m going to need to get to Petra before I’ll be able to get my shoulder properly fixed up.”
“Alright,” Aerie said, letting a small laugh escape.
“And please watch out for your father. I’m not happy about my shoulder,” Merra said, “but it was well worth the pain, now that I never have to deal with Phoebe again. Still, I’d like another several years with Victor.”
“You got it, Mom.”
Aerie walked out of the tent, nearly running into Serena. “Mom’s going to rest,” she said.
“Good. She needs to,” Serena replied. “And you’d better hurry. Your husband and the General are about to head out for the Perdition. Don’t let them leave you here.”
“Thanks,” Aerie said. “I can see Exton trying to leave me behind.”
“It won’t work,” Serena said.
Aerie was touched her sister was so concerned about her. “Thank you, Serena. I appreciate the notice. I didn’t know you cared about me so much.”
Serena wrinkled her nose. “With all of our staff, and Cal, too, we don’t have room to take you back to Petra,” she said. “Frankly, even dealing with Cal will be hard in addition to the other six people, considering all the extra stuff I packed for Emery.”
“Cal’s staying with you?” Aerie
asked.
“Yeah, he promised to keep watch for us. Exton told him to stay here anyway, since he wanted to make sure we were well guarded in case any of the fighting from Panama leaks out over here.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good to know. I’m glad you’ll have the extra protection.”
“Don’t get all mushy on me.” Serena gave her a light push toward the shuttle. “You’ve got more work to do.”
Aerie twisted away from her, before circling back and giving her a hug. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
Serena bristled at the embrace, but eventually patted Aerie on the back. Aerie knew she was surprised by the sisterly affection, but she was also glad Serena didn’t push her away. If there was one thing rescuing her mother had taught her, it was that family was even more important in times of trouble.
Aerie let her go and waved, heading over to the shuttle, where her husband and her father were already arguing.
“Time to referee,” she said, steeling herself for the coming confrontation.
Her efforts to prepare hadn’t taken long, but they were a waste. Aerie watched as Exton and her father both scowled at each other, before turning and facing her.
“What are you arguing about now?” she demanded to know. She put her hands on her hips. “Come on, tell me. We can take it to a vote.”
“That wouldn’t work,” Exton said.
“Why not?” Aerie asked. She was confused, until she realized it likely had to do with her. “I’m part of this team, too.”
The General shook his head. “Aerie, we both think it would be best for you to stay here.”
“You can’t make me stay,” Aerie insisted. She turned to Exton. “You know I’ll just make things worse if I get the chance to.”
“That’s why I was telling St. Cloud ordering you to stay here wasn’t a good option,” he said. “I was all for just leaving.”
“Hey,” Aerie objected. “I’m your wife. You have to protect me.”
“This is protecting you,” Exton insisted.
The Price of Paradise Page 24
