life. She took a deep breath. “So someone killed an entire colony to keep production secret?”
“Partly. We also think the Aldanis had additional information about technology they discovered.”
Renna tapped her finger on the smooth white surface of the table. “Well, you have the kid now, and I’m assuming the tech I retrieved was the stuff you were looking for. What else do you need me for?”
Dallas’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Whoever was behind the attack on Banos Prime hasn’t stopped. They’re still after something, and we need to know what.”
“I haven’t heard of any attacks.”
Dallas stopped pacing long enough to tap the holopad on the table, careful to keep his eyes averted from the screen. The map of the galaxy on the wall flickered and then disappeared, replaced by high-definition photo images.
Mangled bodies, smoking cities, blood, death, and destruction flashed by in a blur. Renna’s stomach roiled, and she pressed a hand to her mouth.
“That’s Nath. Or what’s left of it. Two months ago, it was attacked without warning, and most of the humans on the planet killed. We don’t know what the attackers were looking for or if they found it.”
Renna dragged her gaze from the screen, swallowing the acid burning the back of her throat. “There’s been no word of this. Not even a hint.” She had contacts on every planet. There was no way the Coalition could have kept this a secret.
“MYTH is a powerful organization.” Dallas’s gaze fell to the table and his expression tightened. “And there were few survivors left to talk.”
“But what do they want? Why are they doing this?” The pictures kept coming, and she wanted to scream at him to turn them off. She’d seen it all before, but there was something about the way the bodies had been gutted, the way their blood splattered everything around them… It was horrific.
“That’s what we need your help to find out. We know the gamma particle destabilizer is part of it. So is Myka. Dr. Aldani agreed to help us if we rescued his nephew, but he refused to work on anything until Myka was returned. We think he knows more than he’s telling us.”
Myka’s uncle seemed like a very smart man. “Nice to see someone able to stand up to you.”
Dallas’s face darkened. “We’ve found another manufacturing installation in the middle of the desert on Banos Prime, about twenty klicks from the city’s ruins. We think it’s the same people.”
Renna’s gaze rested on Lieutenant Keva and the two silent men sitting beside her. They all looked more than capable. She already knew the captain was. “I’ve seen how your space ninjas work. You’re telling me they couldn’t rescue a little boy from thugs like the Cordozas?”
“It wasn’t that we couldn’t. We just wanted to see if you could.”
Her nausea faded away as every muscle in her body hardened. “You mean you used this kid as a frakking test for me?” she snarled.
Dallas raised a hand calmingly. “No, not at all. Myka was genuinely in danger, and we needed to rescue him. You were the closest thing we had to a stealth team. Had Finn’s crew broken into the warehouse, it would have alerted the Cordozas immediately. And this way I was able to force my superiors into agreeing to give you those pardons if you helped us. It was for your benefit as well as ours.”
“I don’t much like your definition of benefit.” Renna crossed her arms. “What I don’t understand is what you think I can do at a manufacturing facility. I’m no scientist.”
“No, but you can get into places no one else can. And this facility is…different.” Dallas nodded at Keva, and she used the tablet in front of her to pull an aerial photo onto the screen.
A dull gray building sat in the middle of the desert. Keva flipped through several pictures, different angles. The walls were completely smooth. No doors, windows or other entrances. It looked like some sort of huge box.
“What
“Partly. We also think the Aldanis had additional information about technology they discovered.”
Renna tapped her finger on the smooth white surface of the table. “Well, you have the kid now, and I’m assuming the tech I retrieved was the stuff you were looking for. What else do you need me for?”
Dallas’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Whoever was behind the attack on Banos Prime hasn’t stopped. They’re still after something, and we need to know what.”
“I haven’t heard of any attacks.”
Dallas stopped pacing long enough to tap the holopad on the table, careful to keep his eyes averted from the screen. The map of the galaxy on the wall flickered and then disappeared, replaced by high-definition photo images.
Mangled bodies, smoking cities, blood, death, and destruction flashed by in a blur. Renna’s stomach roiled, and she pressed a hand to her mouth.
“That’s Nath. Or what’s left of it. Two months ago, it was attacked without warning, and most of the humans on the planet killed. We don’t know what the attackers were looking for or if they found it.”
Renna dragged her gaze from the screen, swallowing the acid burning the back of her throat. “There’s been no word of this. Not even a hint.” She had contacts on every planet. There was no way the Coalition could have kept this a secret.
“MYTH is a powerful organization.” Dallas’s gaze fell to the table and his expression tightened. “And there were few survivors left to talk.”
“But what do they want? Why are they doing this?” The pictures kept coming, and she wanted to scream at him to turn them off. She’d seen it all before, but there was something about the way the bodies had been gutted, the way their blood splattered everything around them… It was horrific.
“That’s what we need your help to find out. We know the gamma particle destabilizer is part of it. So is Myka. Dr. Aldani agreed to help us if we rescued his nephew, but he refused to work on anything until Myka was returned. We think he knows more than he’s telling us.”
Myka’s uncle seemed like a very smart man. “Nice to see someone able to stand up to you.”
Dallas’s face darkened. “We’ve found another manufacturing installation in the middle of the desert on Banos Prime, about twenty klicks from the city’s ruins. We think it’s the same people.”
Renna’s gaze rested on Lieutenant Keva and the two silent men sitting beside her. They all looked more than capable. She already knew the captain was. “I’ve seen how your space ninjas work. You’re telling me they couldn’t rescue a little boy from thugs like the Cordozas?”
“It wasn’t that we couldn’t. We just wanted to see if you could.”
Her nausea faded away as every muscle in her body hardened. “You mean you used this kid as a frakking test for me?” she snarled.
Dallas raised a hand calmingly. “No, not at all. Myka was genuinely in danger, and we needed to rescue him. You were the closest thing we had to a stealth team. Had Finn’s crew broken into the warehouse, it would have alerted the Cordozas immediately. And this way I was able to force my superiors into agreeing to give you those pardons if you helped us. It was for your benefit as well as ours.”
“I don’t much like your definition of benefit.” Renna crossed her arms. “What I don’t understand is what you think I can do at a manufacturing facility. I’m no scientist.”
“No, but you can get into places no one else can. And this facility is…different.” Dallas nodded at Keva, and she used the tablet in front of her to pull an aerial photo onto the screen.
A dull gray building sat in the middle of the desert. Keva flipped through several pictures, different angles. The walls were completely smooth. No doors, windows or other entrances. It looked like some sort of huge box.
“What
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