“But building a fleet takes time,” I continue, emboldened. “And now… now you’ve got those natural disasters happening on Gaia, and suspicion from the other planets. So you need to move up your timetable. You need to secure access to a planet that can feed your people. And you need help to do it.” She scoffs, but I keep going. “Titan proved you don’t need a whole fleet if no one sees you coming. You just need one ship with access to the planet. And as it so happens… we’re looking for work.”

Leonis’s eyebrows rise a fraction farther before she draws them back down.

“You came all the way to Deva, kidnapped my daughter, and threatened me… so you could ask for a job?”

I clear my throat and shrug. It does sound a little ridiculous when she puts it like that.

“Well… yeah.” I force a smile, trying to pretend that nerves aren’t turning my knees to rubber, and that merely asking such a thing doesn’t make me hate myself. I’ll learn to live with it if I can pull this off. “My family has contacts, business savviness, and the unique advantage of legal access to wherever we need to go, assuming your business isn’t on that shithole Pax. We can do whatever you need us to do. Quickly, quietly, and efficiently.” I pause. There’s no use pretending I don’t suspect exactly what she’ll ask of us, and I need her to know we’ll do whatever it takes. “And I wasn’t lying earlier. We’ve still got one of those vials.”

Leonis’s face is completely neutral.

“And in return?”

“Twice what you paid us for Titan.” I pause to gather myself, refusing to let my voice falter. “And a cure for my brother.”

“A cure?” the president repeats. I say nothing, and watch understanding dawn on her. “You don’t mean to tell me…”

“He was infected by the bio-weapon. He’s in cryosleep on our ship now.”

Leonis takes a step back.

“You shouldn’t have brought him here,” she says. “You’ve endangered millions of people on this planet by doing so. And all for—”

“For you to save him. I know you can.” Though I aim for conviction, the words come out desperate, like a zealot defending her cause. I take a deep breath, try to focus on logic. “He’s not contagious as long as he’s in cryosleep, or else my entire family would be dead by now. He can be transported safely.”

“Simply bringing him back from cryosleep would be a risky gamble,” Leonis says, slowly, as if breaking bad news to a child. “And the bio-weapon must have already taken a toll on him. To handle both at once would be—”