Venna was right. It was his fault as much as hers. More his, really. But all the same, he couldn’t bear to look at her right now.
“Go to your shuttle. I suggest you lock the door and don’t come out again. I doubt you’re any more popular than I am around here right now.”
“Shouldn’t I stay and look after you?”
“Thanks for the offer—but no.”
She looked at him. “They weren’t badly treated. They had food and shelter.”
“And they died from the experiments.”
“This is science. We need to make sacrifices.”
“Just go, Venna.”
He watched until the door shut behind her. He wanted to weep, but that wouldn’t change things.
Venna had said they weren’t badly treated, but they must have known what was in store for them. To live with the threat of death hanging over you constantly. No wonder Tannis was obsessed with getting the Meridian treatment. Well, at least he could give her that.
He remembered Rico’s comment that she was scared of sex. Was that a hang-up from her time at the center? What had happened to her there? He could guess and nausea rose up sharp and bitter in his throat.
Callum?
He felt the word like a tap on the door to his mind. The colonel. About time.
You okay? You feel off.
I’ll live.
You want me to send a ship to pick you up?
No. Everything is fine. I saw Rosalie.
The colonel was silent for a moment. How was she?
Good. Old…but happy.
Thank you.
And I’ve got Venna—
I know. She contacted the Council about five minutes ago. She seems to think you’re in danger.
I’m fine. If they were going to kill me, I’d be dead by now. The captain will keep me alive—she wants something from me.
And that would be…?
I’ve promised her the Meridian treatment if she takes me to Trakis Seven Ah.
What does “ah” mean?
There might be a problem with that.
Callum’s head ached viciously. His body was still racked with tremors and his mind weighted down by something he could only guess was guilt. He hardly recognized the emotion, but what else could it be? He had so much to feel guilty for.
All the same, couldn’t one thing just go right for him today?
Are you going to tell me what the problem is? I heard the Church is heading there to destroy the Meridian stocks, but I’m hoping we’ll beat them to it.
It’s more than the stocks they plan to destroy. I just got new intel in from my people inside the Church. They’ve sent a ship to blow up the whole planet. Shock hit him in the gut.
Why the hell would they want to do that?
To destroy the evil once and for all, I guess. Temperance Hatcher is hardly known for his rational behavior. And they’re getting a big following. There’s a lot of anti-Collective feeling right now. People believe we’re holding onto the Meridian in order to push prices up.
What are the Council doing about this?
Absolutely nothing. I don’t understand it. They could at least try and stop it from happening, but they refused to even consider my plan. It makes no sense.
Actually, it made perfect sense to Callum. Only the Council knew that Meridian was all but finished. Maybe a few others like Venna, who were involved in the running of the planet, might suspect, but they didn’t know for sure.
The Council’s reasoning would be that if they allowed the Church to go ahead and destroy the planet, they could blame the Church for the loss of Meridian. It would give them valuable propaganda to use against the Church.
But Callum knew the Council would love to see the planet destroyed. They were terrified of what Callum might find there, terrified of the truth.
It makes sense to me, he told the colonel.
And are you going to share? I need to understand what’s going on, Callum. I can’t help you if I don’t know what I’m up against.
The Meridian is finished.
What?
Callum could feel the shock reverberating through the colonel’s mind. We’ve found no new Meridian for over ten years. It’s finished. There is no more.
Jesus. He was silent for a moment. So they really don’t care.
Oh, they care. They’d like to see the planet destroyed and any secrets it holds with it—the Church is doing them a favor. Is there any way you can stop this from your end?
None that I can see right now. We’re still under siege here, and the Council has called in just about every ship in range to try and break the Church’s hold around the planet. I’m free but only nominally in charge. They’ve given me the title of strategic advisor, which doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doing anything I advise.
Callum rubbed the point between his eyes, trying to relieve some of the tension.
Okay, I’ll see what we can do from here. Can you do something for me though?
Of course.
Send the intel you have on the Church through to this ship so they can see what we’re up against.
Sure, Callum.