“This isn’t like the last time we voted,” Scorpia says, gazing around the circle, her face uncharacteristically serious. Even with all the other emotions flooding through me right now, I feel a burst of pride in my sister; she really was meant to lead. She’s doing a far better job than I ever would have in her position. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to bring the issue to a vote, though it should have. “The situation has changed. This time, if we decide to act, our lives will be in very real danger.” She pauses, licking her lips. “And even if we succeed… we’d be deliberately acting against Leonis.”

“And Leonis has Pol,” Drom says. Scorpia nods.

“We don’t know what the president could do to him in retaliation,” she says. “Even if we stop her now, the president seems hell-bent on starting a war to save her people. Doing this will place us on the other side of the conflict, and Pol is effectively her hostage.”

Drom bows her head and says nothing. Scorpia runs a hand through her hair and takes a deep breath before continuing.

“And aside from that… I think I know exactly which ship we’re going to meet out there,” she says. It takes me a moment to realize what she means.

“Of course,” I mutter. The Red Baron always shows up at the worst possible moments.

“Last time we fought them, Orion hinted they were out near Titan for a reason. He called it ‘legitimate business,’” Scorpia says. Before I can question why she was speaking to the old fling she notoriously hates, she continues, “And… I never mentioned it, but as we were leaving Titan, we passed a ship heading there.”

“Leonis must have wanted something,” I say. “Maybe confirming how soon the Gaians would be able to move in after the bio-weapon was used…” Or maybe she needed them to retrieve something for her. I think of Altair setting that power source on the table. That’s what Leonis was meant to gain from the deal with Titan, after all.

“Right,” Scorpia says. “We were never supposed to make it out alive. So she needed another ship working for her, and there are only so many ships that can cross borders nowadays.”

“Well, at least we know what we’re up against,” Drom says.

“Yes. And we know the Red Baron’s crew is nothing to scoff at. Plus, this time we can’t pull off some quick gimmicks and escape. We’ll have to find a way to fight our way through them without setting off the weapon and killing us all.”