“But why release it on Titan?” I ask, trying to keep my voice neutral. “We thought you wanted to build a fleet, but it sounds like Gaia never had the time for that.” My mind flashes to the alien power source I brought Altair, the one he was going to hand over to Leonis. Even if she needed that, though, she didn’t need to kill the entire population to get it.

“I can’t be certain,” she says haltingly. “But I suspect Titan was…” Her eyes drop. “A test. After what happened with the previous technology, my mother must have wanted to ensure the weapon would work as expected. As the council reported, it was confirmed that only humans were wiped out, with no other adverse effects on the planet, unlike the one we accidentally unleashed on ourselves. And it dissipates fast enough that it would be safe to settle quite quickly.”

Anger floods my body so fast and hot that I can barely breathe. I push myself away from the table and turn my back before I lash out, moving away from the conversation to lean against a counter in the kitchen. My head hangs, my breath coming in bursts.

A test. My entire home-planet dead, and that’s all it was to them.

“Fuck.” I slam a fist down on the counter.

“Maybe we should continue this conversation later,” Scorpia says.

I want to hit this counter until my knuckles bleed, smash every piece of glass in the kitchen, ruin that pretty Gaian woman’s face with my fists.

“All my mother really wants is a safe place for our people,” Shey says pleadingly. “But her mistrust runs so deeply. She still believes the plague that killed her family was a deliberate move by the Nibirans, and that the rest of the planets conspired against us in the council that followed. She must think the only way to find a new home is to force her way into one. But I believe there’s another way.”

“Damn right there’s another way,” I say, whirling around to face them again. As I stalk toward the table, Scorpia rises from her seat and blocks me from Shey. I glare at her over my sister’s shoulder. “We can turn around and dump this alien weapon on Gaia. They brought it upon themselves.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Scorpia says, placing a hand against my chest. “He doesn’t mean it,” she says over her shoulder to Shey. “He’s from Titan, he fought in the war, it’s…” She stops talking to renew her efforts to hold me back.

“My people have nothing to do with this,” Shey says, her expression remarkably composed as she meets my gaze. “I agree that those who engineered the plague should be punished, along with any government officials who sanctioned the attacks, including my mother. But most Gaians have no idea what my mother’s done, or what she plans to do. They’re innocent.”