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Caelum Lex Pt. 2 Chapter 34: Escape Plan

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"It's just a matter of getting the timing right," Cyrus said, pointing at the timetable he'd posted to the wall of Delia's guest bedroom. It was scribbled with his notes and calculations that he'd spent the entire week writing.

A full week had past since they'd arrived on Vescent. A full week of pacing across Delia's apartment, tearing his hair out, staring out the windows, making note of every ship they saw land and take off from the city docks a few miles away ...

Only now did Cyrus feel he was making any sort of progress on escaping.

"We just need to be at the dock when one of these merchants are taking off," he explained to Leta, pointing to his list of potential escape vessels. "We can sneak aboard and just hide out until they land at their next stop."

Leta was nodding, but she wrinkled her forehead in concern. "How will we know where they're going?"

"Well, we won't," he admitted. "But anywhere's better than here, right?"

"Not Satieri," she said at once. "Or Ellegy. Or - "

"Okay. Point taken." He turned back to timetable and frowned. "Maybe there's a way to find out in advance…"

"There's also the matter of actually getting to the docks," said Leta, and Cyrus had to concede that she was right: that was a whole other issue altogether. How would they travel safely through the city?

The previous evening, while Delia was at work and Cyrus had been shut in the apartment watching the skies, Leta had made a decision: she would venture out into her home city, donning a Ridellian headscarf to hide her face, and learn as much as she could to aid their escape.

When she'd returned after only a half hour, Cyrus knew immediately something went badly: looking numb and shell-shocked, Leta had slipped off the scarf, dropped it to the floor, and then sank into the nearest chair. For several hours, she barely spoke to him, and Cyrus could get nothing out of her. If only Fiearius were here, he'd thought, for the thousandth time. Leta would have talked to Fiear, he was sure of it.

It was late that night - after Delia had gone to sleep, and the whole apartment was dark and quiet - that Leta told him what happened. They were both lying awake, unable to sleep in the guest bed they were sharing.

"I saw them kill someone," she said suddenly, breaking the silence. "There was an execution. In the city square."

She was gazing up at the ceiling, her expression mute and unreadable.

"Agents surrounded this man - this old, elderly man - forced him to his knees. They said he was a defector. And then they shot him in the head. I watched them hose the blood off the sidewalk."

Cyrus swallowed hard in his throat. Leta turned to him, her eyes shining with horror. "How did I ever work for them? How can Delia work for them now?"

"Delia doesn't know who she's working for," he reminded quietly. "The Society will say the execution was necessary, that the man was dangerous … that they're protecting their citizens … "

He fell silent when Leta closed her eyes, though not because she was sleeping. Quietly, she'd said, "We have to get out of here, Cy. We have to get home."

The following day, Leta seemed both exhausted and jumpy, but more determined than ever to help Cyrus plan their escape. She squinted at the timetable again, holding her fingers across her lips.

"What if we pick a certain time of day to head to the docks?" she suggested. "When there's a flood of people there, we could hide in the crowd."

Before Cyrus could consider the idea, a gentle knock sounded at the bedroom door. They both turned to see the door crack open an inch, Delia peering through.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," she said. "Just thought you guys might like some food? I picked up some takeout on the way home."

"That'd be great, thanks," said Cyrus, a rare smile coming to his face. Really, Delia had been nothing but accommodating since she'd shuffled them into her apartment and kept them on lock-down. More than accommodating really. She was risking her life, letting them even stay with her. Did she realize it?

Whatever her reasons were, Cyrus could not quite fathom, but he was grateful nonetheless. He'd been wary of trusting her at first. After all, whether she knew it or not, she had two fugitives in a potentially compromising situation. But she didn't ask too many questions and Cyrus had begun to appreciate her more than he'd thought possible.

Leta cast a longing look at the timetable - he suspected she did not particularly want to take a break - but she followed them into the kitchen nonetheless. Cyrus helped Delia pull takeout boxes from the bags.

"So how's the escape plan going?" she asked, smiling in an apologetic sort of way.

Cyrus laughed awkwardly. ''Bout as well as can be expected. I think we're really getting somewhere though. We'll be out of your hair soon enough."

Delia shook her head. "No, no, you're no trouble at all," she said and when Cyrus' smile faltered unsurely, she added through a laugh, "I mean, obviously, you're potentially huge trouble. Massive trouble. Right? But as far as houseguests go, no trouble at all. It's kind of nice having people around for once, even if they are in hiding. Everyone I know is back on Satieri."

Cyrus and Leta exchanged a look. Cyrus lowered into his chair and asked, "What made you decide to leave Satieri, anyway?"

Delia sat down to her own plate and shrugged. "Better job offer. Sonnete was great, but they had no intentions of making me more than a secretary. So when the Society offered me the job on the Titan with better pay, opportunity to travel? Of course I took it. And I don't regret it for an instant. It's a great ship with a fantastic crew. Feels like a big family. The only problem is it's-" Discomfort passed over her face. "Well, dangerous sometimes...And that family can get smaller."

Cyrus felt guilt billow inside him. This woman who was going so far out of her way to help them probably knew people that had been caught in the crossfire of the raid. In some way he shared the blame in their deaths. And she had no idea.

"But I'm sure you know all about danger," she went on, looking up with interest. "On a pirate ship and all. I can't even imagine. It must be terrifying."

It often was, Cyrus thought, but not for the reasons Delia believed. Cyrus had lied to her outright. He'd told her that he and Leta were merely kidnapped victims trapped aboard the pirate ship of a notorious criminal. It felt wrong, lying about his situation and painting a very inaccurate portrait of his brother. Certainly Fiearius didn't need one more person to hate and fear him. But Cyrus certainly didn't need Delia thinking they were enemies. It was far easier this way.

Easier, right up until Delia said things like, "Gods, that rogue Verdant character seems horrific."

At his side, Cyrus could feel Leta pause in the act of reaching for her drink. All Cyrus did was murmur agreeably.

The table descended into silence as the three of them, unlikely dinner companions, nervously picked at the food in front of them. It was often like this around here, Cyrus found. Perhaps it was just him, but ever since he'd arrived, he felt the awful looming expectation that at any moment someone would barge through the door and drag them off to be executed in the city sqaure themselves. It didn't exactly make for good dinner conversation.

But suddenly Delia, to his side, started laughing, apparently at nothing. Alarmed, Cyrus looked at Leta who just stared back at him, perplexed. Delia just kept on laughing until finally she got a hold of herself.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out as she tried to steady her breathing. "I'm so sorry. This is just so-it's so weird. I just can't believe that I'm sitting here eating cheap takeout on Vescent with Cyrus Soliveré hiding from the Society."

Cyrus didn't exactly get the humor in the situation, but she wasn't wrong. He chuckled a in return and muttered, "Yeah, it's - it's kinda strange."

"No no, you don't even know how strange," she corrected him, raising her hand. "I used to hate you."

Cyrus said, blankly, "Wait - what?"

"Back at Sonnete? Gods, you were so rude," she went on, and Leta snorted.

Delia continued, sounding amused, "I said hello to you every morning. You know what you said to me? Nothing. Nothing or hell, sometimes you even glared at me. You were so stuck-up and arrogant. You never gave anyone else the time of day. You acted like you were better than everyone there. You were genuinely terrible."

It was not the revelation Cyrus was expecting. Though even if he had, it still stung. Okay, so he hadn't been the greatest of people back then. Sure, he'd had a big head and a bit of a crappy attitude, but he'd never known that people actually hated him.

"I thought you two were friends," said Leta, looking intrigued herself.

"Friends? Hardly," Delia scoffed. "I didn't even know you knew my name."

Red by now with embarrassment, Cyrus stammered, "Of course I knew your name, I-" But there was a much more pressing question on his mind. "I don't get it. Why did you help us then?"

"Well I'm not heartless," Delia laughed. "Sure, I never liked you, but gods, if I'd turned you in on the Titan?" She shook her head. "I don't want you dead. I don't want anyone dead. I mean, I was genuinely glad when you left Sonnete. That's a terrible thing to say, but it was true at the time. Now, of course, I feel awful, knowing that you were kidnapped. Definitely not glad anymore. Sorry about that." She smiled sheepishly.

"But-I don't know, you're so much better now," she went on. "You seem-I don't know. Better." A genuine smile pulled across her face before she added in jest, "Maybe getting kidnapped by murderous traitors was good for you?"

And that, Cyrus was found, was when he couldn't take it anymore.

"I wasn't kidnapped," he said suddenly. Leta dropped her fork with a clatter. Delia knitted her brow, confused.

"Huh?"

"I wasn't kidnapped, Delia. And my brother's not-"

"Cyrus," Leta breathed sharply.

But he shook his head. "I have to tell her the truth. She has to know."

"She already knows the truth," Leta growled, but Cyrus had already turned back to Delia.

"Fiearius Soliveré isn't a traitor. He's not murderous. He's not dangerous. The things the Society says about him, they're lies."

Leta put her head in her hands beside him, but Delia was watching Cyrus with wide eyes. "What are you-not dangerous-but the Titan!"

"He's fighting the Society, yes. We all are. But not because we're the bad guys, we-" Suddenly Cyrus' words were stuck in his throat. How could he explain this? How could he make her understand? "They killed his family, Delia. When they made him Verdant, they killed his wife and his four year old son. Just to manipulate him." He heard her gasp as she put a hand over her mouth. "And you remember the Nautilus?"

Her hand fell away, just slightly. "The terraformer project? Of course. It was your pride and joy."

"And you remember the break-in? That ended with it broken nearly beyond repair?" She nodded. "It wasn't a break-in. It was me. I destroyed it because I found out what they were going to do with it once it was done. They weren't going to use it on uncivilized planets." Delia's hand clasped over her mouth again and her horrified eyes peered over it.

"And we're not the only ones. They imprisoned Leta's fiance just for knowing too much. They'll kill anyone who makes even the slightest transgression against them, whether they know they're guilty or not. The Society was once a force of good, yes, but it's gotten too powerful. And now? Now it's dangerous. That's why I left when my brother showed up asking for help. And that's why we're fighting them now. That's why we were on the Titan. That's why we're fugitives and have to get off this planet as soon as possible. And I thought you needed to know. I think everyone needs to know." He reached over and put his hand on her arm as he said seriously, "You're not safe, Delia. No one is. Not anymore."

Delia could not have been more stunned. She didn't move. She didn't blink. She just stared at him, horrified, unable it seemed to find any words. Cyrus half wondered if they were about to be thrown out. But before she got the chance, there was a knock on the door.

Leta practically jumped out of her seat, her hand going to the knife she hadn't taken from her hip since they'd landed. Cyrus too got to his feet and quietly started to usher Leta towards the back room. Delia almost seemed like she wasn't even going to get up, but finally, as Cyrus secured the both of them out of sight, he heard her footsteps and the sound of the door opening.

On the other side, he heard a quiet, nervous voice. "A-are you Delia?"

Cyrus felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. There was something oddly familiar about that voice ...

"Yes, can I help you?" was Delia's cold response.

"I'm looking for - an engineer. An experienced engineer. My ship, The Beacon, has a broken B-valve … "

And it hit him. But no. It couldn't be. There was no way. Ignoring Leta's hushed protests, Cyrus peered around the corner into the living room, past Delia and at the woman standing in the door. The messy blonde hair. The gray-blue eyes.

"Addy?!"


Everything about Vescent - from the gray clouds in the sky, to the slick cobblestone streets, to the stone buildings - was entirely strange and foreign. Not a piece of it felt familiar. As best as Addy could manage, she kept her head down, only briefly consulting the map she'd drawn on the inside of her palm, as she navigated her way through the dark streets. She hoped she didn't look as out of place as she felt. Otherwise, this mission would be over before it even began.

And she couldn't bear the thought of returning without them. She couldn't; she wouldn't do it. No matter what Fiearius had said. "If something happens - if you can't do it - just come back, okay? Come back, with or without them. No matter what," he'd warned, just before she'd stepped into one of the Beacon's fighter ships.

Addy had nodded. Then she said, "Corra's gonna kill you once she finds out."

"Probably," said Fiearius. "But I'll handle her. You just look out for yourself. Dov'ha re'ija niéle."

The fighter ship was a bigger vessel than Addy anticipated, but still flew beautifully; she could see why Finn loved these little ships. In the journey toward Vescent, she occupied her mind by tinkering with the ship's security protocol to make sure there'd be no hiccups when she arrived.

After the landing, Addy's nerves keyed up. The air was cool and she squinted up at the swirling gray Vescent sky - nothing like Satieri, nothing at all - and then joined the check point line. Her hands were shaking, so she slid them into her jacket pockets and tried to keep her expression neutral. But her heart was ramming inside her ribcage.

She realized that she had not, until this moment, really believed there was any possibility her fake CID wouldn't work.

When it was her turn, the agent gazed hard at her face, read the console screen, then waved her through. She had to concentrate on not heaving a heavy sigh of relief.

But she'd made it through the entry gates into the city. She'd made it inside. Now, it was a matter of finding where Cyrus and Leta were hiding out.

Society agents stood at every corner, dressed in all black. Some of them were armed with heavy assault rifles; others stood there with their arms crossed; Addy saw one agent yelling in a woman's face, and she quickly veered in a different direction.

When she'd found the apartment, when at last Delia had let her inside, Addy took her first real breath. Cyrus was the only familiar sight she'd seen in days.

"Cyrus, I - "

He looked thunderstruck. Then he crossed through the living room room, grasped her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers, warmly and fully, for nearly five seconds. She could hear Leta letting out a gasp of shock, but in those five seconds, Addy let herself revel in the warmth and shock that he was alive. That she'd found him. Normally she would have been embarrassed by the tears that formed in her eyes, but when Cyrus released her, she just brushed them away carelessly.

"What are you doing here?!" Cyrus demanded. "How'd you get here?"

"It's a long story." She let out a shaky gasp - half laughing, half crying. "Basically, thanks to some of my dad's genius, I can land safely on some Society planets. Oh, and hi, Leta," she added, glancing over Cyrus' shoulder to see her on the edge of the room.

She looked stricken with uncertainty. "Is - Fiearius isn't here too, is he?"

"No, no, I traveled alone."

"Thank the gods," said Cyrus, groaning as he took Addy's wrists and led her over to the couch. He sat down, holding her wrist tighter. "I mean, not that it's good that you're here. Shit, what are you doing here? Do you realize where you are? How dangerous it is? Gods, what if someone caught you or something happened? Did Fiearius send you? Why the hell did he-"

"Can you save that for later?" said Addy, unable to bite back a smile. "Less about how I got here. More about how we'll get out of here. I have a ship. One of the Beacon's fighters. We can leave on it."

Cyrus winced, biting down on his thumbnail. "Well that's one big problem solved, but what use is a ship if we can't get to it? There are agents everywhere. And the dock's checkpoint…"

"What if we go during a rush period?" said Leta at once. Addy could see the hope in her face, and her heart twisted: Addy wished she had some way of reassuring Fiearius that she was alive and alright. "The guards are more lax during crowded hours," she went on quickly. "They can't check everyone. If we get there in the morning when the dock's busy? We can blend into the crowd and slip right through."

Cyrus nodded slowly. "Right. That could work." His eyes trailed across the room to Delia who hadn't spoken a word since Addy had arrived. She stood up against the wall in the corner looking uncomfortable in her own home. Her arms were crossed over her chest, the corners of her mouth were turned down.

Carefully, Cyrus asked, "Is it alright if we stay just one more night? Then we'll be gone, I swear it. Just one more night."

Delia looked up at him, her eyes dazed as though she only just remembered he was there at all. "What if it doesn't work?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

Cyrus glanced at Leta who looked at Addy who had no idea what they would do if it didn't work. Gods, it just had to work. They had to get to that ship no matter what.

And Delia confirmed it. "You can stay one more night," she said, her tone cold. "But after that, don't come back here. I can't-" She swallowed hard. "I don't want to turn you in. I don't. But you can't be here anymore."

The three of them shared a look before Cyrus met Delia's stare. He could do nothing but nod.


The entry gates to the docks were crowded with people, but eerily silent. Tension was thick in the air. No one in the sea of people spoke above a hushed whisper as they edged forward toward entrance. "Move!" one of the agents barked, making an elderly woman jump; she hurried through the gates and toward the row of ships.

Leta was donning the headscarf again, her eyes darting around as the line began to move. She kept close to Cyrus and Addy. Together, they made a point of staying in the center of the crowd, hopefully preventing agents from seeing them too closely. Leta's heart turned over in her chest: was it possible they would be leaving? Was it possible - dare she believe it - that she'd see Fiearius by tomorrow? Her chest ached with hope.

The line inched forward again. They were ten people away from the entrance, then five, then three, and Leta could feel her breathing shorten with worry. At her side, Cyrus was wrought with tension, and for a fleeting moment she saw Cyrus and Addy holding hands amongst the crowd.

Just when they reached the gate, a shout erupted into the air. Leta jumped and spun around just in time to see two agents pulling at a woman, dragging her away from the scene. She was screaming.

"No - no, you can't take her away!" the woman sobbed. "That's my daughter - you can't let her go without me, she's just a child - ! Wait, WAIT!"

It was clear the agents were trying to silence her, but unrest rippled through the crowd: murmurs erupted as people began to shift uneasily. A woman near Leta's ear suddenly grabbed her arm, making her jump.

"The last time someone fought them like this, they shut down the docks for a month," the woman breathed, her eyes wide and horrified. "No one could leave at all."

Fear bolted through her. She shared one look of terror with Cyrus and Addy, and they had a silent conversation. Shut down for a month? They could have been trapped here for -

But Leta never got the chance to even think through this horrible possibility. The woman being dragged off was still screaming. Then five more agents pushed through the gates, pushing people out of their way - barking orders -

"Dock access is a privilege, not a right!" one of the men yelled. The crowd was stirring around him. "All citizens must - "'

Abruptly, the man stopped, and Leta experienced a cold wave of shock when she realized he was staring straight at her. His face darkened and he grunted, to her astonishment, "All Society personnel need to pass through Checkpoint B. What're you doing over here? You should know better."

Leta felt her mouth open, but no words came out. Society personnel? How did he - why did he -

At her side, Cyrus gave her the slightest nudge on her arm. Her tattooed arm. Glancing down briefly, she realized that when the strange woman had grabbed her, she'd pulled on her sleeve - exposing her librera for all the city to see.

At once, the citizens standing around Leta grumbled and backed away. I'm not one of them, Leta thought, feeling powerless and hysterical as the Society agent approached and took her arm.

"C'mon, you, over this way," he said, steering her away from Cyrus and Addy who could only look on in horror as she was drawn into the crowd.


Caelum Lex, the sci-fi, adventure, action, romance, space pirate serial! Chapter 34 of Part 2! In which Cyrus and Leta plot their escape from Vescent

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MimmiMeArt's avatar
Oooohhh noooo....!!! Leta in trouble...:XD: