She gestures without turning to look at me. Calling me to her side like a dog. I grit my teeth and, for a moment, indulge the thought of refusing her just to prove that I can. The fantasy passes quickly. It would serve no purpose but to anger her and embarrass us both in front of the general. I move to her side and take the glass like the good soldier and obedient son I am. Altair and I down the glasses at the same time, and I return to my seat with the weight of his eyes on my back. What does he think of me? I wonder. His face is inscrutable when I glance over. Scorpia, on the other hand, stares at me with open distaste.

“I’m going to be perfectly frank with you,” Momma says. “What I’m offering you is a chance to end the war.”

I suck in a breath through my teeth. That could mean a number of things, but Momma wouldn’t pull a lie out of nothing.

“If you wanted to sell bullshit, you should have gone to Ives or one of the younger generals,” Altair says. “I don’t buy promises. So tell me, what is it? A weapon?”

“It is. But not the kind you’re used to.”

Unease sours my stomach. I should be glad that a new weapon is going to my side of the war, but somehow I can’t be. I thought leaving the service would mean leaving the bloodshed behind. But now, I’m just a different part of the war machine. A less honorable one.

Rather than speak, Altair gestures for Momma to continue.

“This is a specialty, freshly discovered piece of Primus technology, which I’m exclusively offering to you,” she says.

The room goes very still. Primus technology. All this time, Altair and the other generals told soldiers like me that they didn’t believe in using it. That it was too dangerous. I let myself believe the mission to retrieve that power source was to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. The fact that Altair isn’t immediately appalled by Momma’s suggestion says otherwise.

“What kind of technology are we talking about?” Though Altair’s voice is level, his interest is obviously caught. “A bomb?”

“Think bigger,” Momma says. “A biological weapon. The kind with the potential to take out many, many more than a bomb would.” She leans forward, smiling conspiratorially. “And the best part is… it won’t cause any damage to structures or resources. It will affect only people, and anything they leave behind will be yours for the taking.”