“My name is Corvus Kaiser,” he says, “and I am, as far as I know, the last surviving Titan.”

Shit. What the hell is he doing? I shoot him a panicked look, but his focus is entirely on the council, whose eyes are all on him. My breath catches as I remember the argument we had before arriving on Deva, when he was so eager to inform the Interplanetary Council of the truth and get justice for his people. Surely he doesn’t mean to tell the Nibirans now, when it could ruin our entire plan. They will never allow the Gaians to settle here if they know that President Leonis was responsible for Titan.

“You bring up Titan as a tragedy now,” he says. “And its end was tragic. But long before the massacre there, the people of Titan suffered. They struggled to survive in a harsh world, as the Gaians are struggling now. You, along with the rest of the system, ignored Titan when they needed you. You watched from afar while they froze and starved and grew so desperate that they began to kill one another. Now you intend to ignore Gaia in the same way? Are you willing to let them meet the same fate? Watch them succumb to hunger and in-fighting as my people did?”

The council murmurs uneasily among themselves. Oshiro stands, leaning forward with a spark of excitement in their eyes.

“If you are truly a survivor of Titan, does that mean you know what happened there?”

Corvus hesitates. I take a step toward him, but stop. Surely, he won’t let the people of Gaia suffer for the sake of his own revenge.

“Yes,” Corvus says. I shut my eyes, bracing myself, but open them again as I hear him rustling in one of the hidden pockets in his sleeve. The mere motion is enough for the security at the doors to step forward, raising their weapons, but Oshiro halts them with a hand. The councillor’s eyes remain on Corvus as he pulls a vial out of his pocket.

“Oh, no,” Shey whispers, while I let out a long string of curses under my breath. So much for keeping the incredibly dangerous alien weapon safe on the ship. Lyre must have agreed to this, little schemer that she is.

“What is this?” Councilwoman Govender asks.

“If the scanners didn’t catch anything”—another council member—“then it’s—”

“Primus technology. Correct.” Corvus holds it up for them to see. “This is an extremely powerful biological weapon. It wiped out the entire population of Titan in less than twenty-four hours. It’s airborne, fatal, and entirely unstoppable.”

A few of the council members rise to their feet in immediate panic. The security guards rush toward us, shouting frantic commands at Corvus. I hurriedly step between him and the nearest one, terrified that one will shoot and make him drop it.