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While Aerie dealt with the medical team at Petra, Exton was once more caught up in the routines the Perdition demanded of him.
Although, he thought, this isn’t exactly routine.
When Tyler had contacted him with the news that they’d been able to build a program to detect the Craftcarriers, Exton hurried off to one of the nearby transmission offices, where he would be able to talk with his friend and Commander in peace. He felt bad about leaving Aerie behind with her mother, but he had been understandably distracted. More than one of Perdition’s market suppliers had complained about the Craftcarriers in the past, and now, having fought with one, he was better prepared to conquer that problem.
“That’ll really help us out, Tyler,” Exton said to his friend, as he gave the last few lines of coding for the program. It began installing onto Petra’s monitor as he turned back to the video screen. “Thanks.”
“You’ll need to give a lot of the credit to Thora,” Tyler said. “She sent up all the reports to me after you landed in Petra. We’ve managed to get a reading on the one that you hobbled.”
“I’ll see to it that she’s commended.”
“She’d probably appreciate some time off so she can take a vacation or something with her kids.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Exton grinned back at his profile on the screen. “How is everything else onboard?”
“We’re still well out of sight. Hiding under the world has always been easy for us, even on the Perdition,” Tyler said. “Routines are normal here, although we’re going to need more med supplies. Merra’s taken full advantage, and she’ll probably ask for more.”
“I had a feeling she would,” Exton muttered glumly.
“She’s an able leader, though,” Tyler said. “Some of the crew have mentioned she’s pretty thrifty with what we give her, so you know it’s not being wasted or hoarded.”
“Aerie met with her earlier.”
Tyler was silent for a long moment. “Dare I ask how it went?”
“Aerie stormed off. Emery found her.”
“That’s something to be thankful for—that Emery found her, I mean, not that she’s upset.”
“I knew what you meant. And at least it gives Em a chance to practice her mothering skills,” Exton said. “And on someone other than me.”
Tyler laughed. “True enough.”
“I’m worried about her.”
“Aerie, or Emery?”
“Both, but Aerie more.” Exton sighed. “Among other things, she told me that our old friend Gerard was the one who was assigned to ‘reeducate’ her.”
“Does Meredith know?” Tyler asked quietly.
“Aerie said she was there with her.” Exton waited for Tyler to respond. When he said nothing, he pushed forward. “Have you heard from her at all?”
“Meredith? Yes, she contacted us after Aerie was able to escape, though it was well after you were already chasing down her ship,” Tyler replied. “She wanted me to let you know we lost two members when the other URS fighters shot them down.”
Exton felt his heart grow heavy at the sad news. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
He almost expected Tyler to say something about how they were no longer in the world, but they were in a better place, or how they lived their lives sacrificially for others. But he said nothing, and Exton had to wonder if this was how it was going to be for the remainder of the war.
Exton finally shook his head, as if he had to snap himself out of it.
“I know Aerie’s upset at the thought of war,” Exton said. “I can’t blame her for feeling that way.”
“Hopefully it will be a quick war.”
“War is never quick unless a lot of people die quickly.”
“Or the right people die quickly,” Tyler said dolefully. “Well, the light shift is nearly over. We’ll be able to get more people to check on the new program in a few hours. Predicting the anomalies in the atmosphere will be the hardest part, since Thora focused mainly on weather patterns, rather than the Craftcarrier’s movements. It might be trickier, too, depending on how many are gathered in a particular area.”
“We know the URS didn’t commission any in recent years,” Exton said. “In fact, they haven’t built anything significant for several years. Not since ... ”
“Not since we took the Perdition back from them,” Tyler finished.
Exton felt the reality of that moment all over again—the one where his father was still alive, and then the next second, he was gone. His breath caught in his throat at the clarity of the memory, and he felt his heart harden over once more.
“They were probably worried we’d steal that one, too,” Tyler said, breaking the spell despair had cast on him.
“Probably,” Exton said.
“I wonder why we haven’t seen them up to more tricks. I’ll have to check on that.”
Exton watched as Tyler yawned, and he suddenly smiled.
“I trust your skills,” Exton replied, still struggling to recover from reliving his father’s death. “But it couldn’t hurt to have a few more coders check for you. Especially if you have been working for the last several shifts.”
“You used to make it look easy,” Tyler said.
“You should’ve thought of that before Jared left.”
“He’ll be coming back once Merra’s given him the okay.”
“I’ll assume that’s part of the reason she’s here, too,” Exton muttered. “I guess I better go see exactly what she wants.”
“There’s no need to hurry to get Jared back,” Tyler said. “His replacement, Henry, is doing a good job.”
“As much as I agree with you,” Exton said, “I’m more terrified of not knowing what Merra wants. I have a feeling if she wants something badly enough, she’ll find a way to get it, no matter what I say.”
“That is pretty terrifying,” Tyler said. “I hope she doesn’t decide she wants to come up here.”
“I’m about to go find out.” Exton waved to his friend as he cut the video feed. “Wish me luck.”
He heard Tyler’s garbled, “Good luck,” before the transmission cut out completely.
The weariness of the world seemed to settle onto him as he stood up. It was closing in on midday, but there were signs rain would be moving in again. Exton wondered, as he headed out to the hangar once more, if he wasn’t the only one to feel it. The people he passed were diligent in going about their duties, but there was a slight sluggishness to their work that was hardly perceivable. He might have thought he was imagining it if he didn’t seem to struggle with it himself.
The thought of finding Aerie and getting some rest sorely tempted him.
The temptation was blown away a second later as the door to one of the many shipping offices bounced open and Merra walked out.
“Thank you for your cooperation,” she called back to the office manager. “I’ll expect the shipment to be deployed before too long.”
“I’ll still need the Captain’s approval, or Director Ward’s signature.”
“You’ll get it.” Merra’s eyes narrowed at the older man.
Exton was glad to see he had the fortitude not to flinch. He cleared his throat. “Merra, I’ve been looking for you,” he called, inciting a look of gratitude from the man in the office standing behind her.
“What is it?” Merra asked, her eyes quickly losing their ruthless expression.
“We have business to discuss,” he said. “Follow me.”
He led them back toward the office, seeing no better alternative. He knew from his instruction from St. Cloud that with instances like this, it was always better to be able to determine the field of battle. But he also knew in dealing with Merra, that wasn’t likely to give him any edge.
Finally, he turned to face her. “Why are you here?”
Seamlessly, Merra’s willing compliance transformed into staunch authority as she arched her brow. “I came to see my kids, of course,” she said. “Once I heard they were on their way here, I decided to head out from Chaya. I also have full notes for further aid if you can spare it, Exton.”
“So I’ve figured, from what I overheard you say to the office manager at the hangar.”
“If you’re worried about the amount, don’t be. Chaya has excellent connections with several of the Middle East traders and other settlements. We’ve managed to make our position clear, now that you and the Ecclesia are backing us.”
“The Ecclesia have no official position,” Exton reminded her. “But speaking of them, I want to know how you found out about Aerie and the others.”
“I have my sources,” Merra answered coyly.
“Was it someone from the Ecclesia?”
“Ha! The Ecclesia are made of naive and gullible leaders, too beholden to God to understand the wars of men,” Merra said. “While they have good gossip lines, I have better places to go for military intel.”
Exton was surprised at the derision in her tone. “I thought you liked the Ecclesia.”
“Of course. I love them, Exton, I really do.” She smiled. “But we all have weaknesses, Exton, and there are some days I can’t tell if theirs is too little spine or too much holy fear. It’s too much for some of them to recognize the right times to stand up and take a difficult stance.”
“Sometimes we are not sure of what is right,” Exton muttered, angry to hear his defense of the Ecclesia. He was irritated to find himself agreeing with Merra’s assessment.
“Compassion has to be tempered by competency,” Merra said, “but so does faith with fact, and justice with mercy. We might attack, but we make sure to minimize damage.”
But we still have to attack. Exton sighed. “I don’t have time to argue philosophy.”
“Practical philosophy is always up for debate,” Merra said. “But you’re right. There’s a time for everything under the sun. And when it comes to time, we never have enough of it.”
Exton nodded. “How did things go with Aerie?”
“Predictably.” Merra gave him a forced smile. “She’s upset.”
“She’ll need some time to adjust.”
“Certainly.”
“Did the others see you yet?”
“No,” Merra said. “I’ve been arranging meetings, and I fully intend to be back en route to Chaya soon enough.”
“You are going to see them, though?”
“Of course,” she said. “I came here to see them. Getting more supplies and informing you of warfront developments while I’m here is just being efficient.”
“I’m going to request, formally as a leader in this community, that you do not seek them out until tomorrow.”
A door opened up, and Exton saw Aunt Patty as she came inside.
Merra sniffed haughtily. “I will agree, formally, to your request. But if I see them of their own accord, it’s not for you to call.”
“Fine.” He agreed, only because he knew it would be pointless to argue with her, and he had other things that required his attention.
Merra walked out of the room, giving Patty a courteous nod as she passed her in the doorway.
Patty glanced at Exton. “If you want me to send someone to tail her, I can do that. There are plenty of people who can spare an hour or two.”
“She was St. Cloud’s wife,” Exton said. “I wouldn’t put it past her to murder someone if she thought they gave her enough reason to.”
Patty smirked. “Maybe I should see if some of our more anxious defectors are up for such a task. She’ll give them some exercise.”
“I don’t think it’s the kind you’d want to encourage,” Exton replied.
“We’ll see,” Patty said. She pushed some of her wayward white bangs out of her eyes. “I have been in contact with some of our other brothers and sisters around the world. You were right about the URS and their forces.”
“They’re mobilizing. Do we know where?”
“They’ve been sent all over the world,” Patty said. “Rumors say they’re building something big.”
“Not another Craftcarrier, I hope.” Exton leaned back against the console. “We don’t have the forces to successfully take care of them.”
“You did pretty well with the one hanging out over South America.”
“We immobilized it,” Exton said. “And it’ll likely be on the ground for a couple days at least. But destroying it will take a lot of firepower.”
“I’ll keep an ear to the ground,” Patty said. “In the meantime, things here are going well. Your girlfriend and her family unit are all getting situated. The Rearden boy is still in the med ward, but the others have been assigned rooms and bunks.”
“They didn’t give you any trouble, did they?” Exton asked. “I know they weren’t happy about being here.”
“We can take what chaos they’ll cause, if they cause any at all. The young lady was poking around our med supplies, but that was the most disruptive thing they’ve done so far. Unless,” she said with a disapproving look, “you count their appetites. The twins alone ate enough for five people.”
“I’m glad to hear that’s the worst of it.” He rubbed his forehead. “It seems we have enough to worry about.”
“You’ve had a long night, Exton.” Patty reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Go get some rest.”
“Soon enough,” Exton said.
“The best of us still need rest,” Patty insisted. “We’re all in this together. Emery and I can keep watch for now. She’s already taken over the counsel room..”
“I know she misses Tyler.”
“Work has always been an escape for our family,” Patty said with a sigh. “Even your mother obsessed with her plants, and your father with his inventions and his machines.”
“What do you obsess over?” Exton asked.
“Now?” Patty’s eyes gleamed, reminding him of his mother’s cheerfulness. “Justice. Law and order is my calling.”
“Fitting.”
“I know yours is revenge,” Patty said. She glanced over at him, eying him carefully. “I would encourage you to forgo it.”
“I will,” Exton said. “Eventually.”
Patty nodded. “Eventually is good enough for me. You know better than most that some people will always want war. I hope you’re aware of the same influence that revenge can bring.”
“I am.” Exton thought about Aerie. “But it helps that I do have something else to care for these days.”
“Go and tend to her, then,” Patty said, surprising him with her perceptiveness. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you, too.”
Exton smiled. “Thanks.”