“How generous of him to share some of it, for once,” Ives snaps. She grinds her teeth together, and I stay quiet, worried I struck the wrong nerve. “If Altair suggested me, there must be a reason.” She taps her fingers on the desk, staring at the vial. “It must be dangerous. That’s probably why you’re avoiding giving me details, too.”

How convenient for me that Ives is weaving her own story.

“I didn’t think you were the type to shy away from a little danger,” I say, leaning into it.

“I’m not.” She pauses and shakes her head. “But this is too much risk for me. I’m not going to send my people into the field with alien technology I don’t know anything about. I don’t know you. There’s something off about this.”

Damn it. Ives might be a young and hungry general, but maybe I underestimated the value of trust when it comes to deals like this. Altair knows Momma, but I’m a stranger to this planet, with nothing to back up my reputation. My stomach sinks. I force myself to keep my smile.

“That’s perfectly fair. I understand.” I slowly rise and take my time grabbing my coat, giving her a chance to stop me. She doesn’t. “You were at the top of Altair’s list, but I guess I’ll move on to the next. Thank you for your time, General Ives.” I salute her and head for the door, still moving slowly, still hoping. When I pause in the doorway and glance over my shoulder, she’s staring down at her comm rather than at me, and my stomach drops further. I guess this is really it. Maybe I will try to track down another general, or…

“Wait.”

I bite back a grin before I turn to face Ives again.

“Yes?”

She sets her comm aside.

“I just received word that one of Altair’s teams is headed to Vin to test out a new weapon.” I don’t have the slightest clue where or what Vin is, but I nod as though I do. She scrutinizes me. “You said no structural damage?”

“No, ma’am. It’s biological in nature. Only attacks living things. People, animals.”

“But my own people won’t be harmed?”

“Not as long as you’re far enough away.” She frowns, and I quickly make up some specifics to satisfy her. “Drop it from up high, and make sure you’re at least ten miles away by the time it hits. And don’t enter the area for at least a month afterward.”