a lot. Just that she has an important role to play in the survival of mankind.”
He smiled. “She does indeed.”
“She wants to go outside, look around.”
“Is that wise?”
She gave another shrug. “I don’t see it as a problem. And it will keep her healthy and happy. And that’s in all our best interests.”
His eyes narrowed as he considered her comment. “You think she might harm herself?”
Destiny was strong, and she was an optimist. She would never kill herself; she would always hope that things would get better. “No, but depression might set in, and that would likely affect her physical well-being.”
He gave a small nod. “You may provide her with things to keep her occupied—books—whatever.”
“And may she go outside? I’ll supervise the trips.”
He was quiet for a moment. Had she pushed him too far? Then he smiled. “No, you have important work to do, but I’ll arrange for her to spend some time outside. Silas can supervise her.”
“Thank you.” It was something, she supposed. “Do you plan to meet her?”
He looked thoughtful but then shook his head. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.” He was probably right, considering Destiny’s role. “When will you be ready?” he asked.
“A week, perhaps. Ten days at the most.”
“Good.” He gave a curt nod. “Thank you for your efforts.”
Recognizing the words as a dismissal, she rose to her feet but then hesitated. “I saw the shuttles landing for the meeting.”
“And…?”
“The representatives from the Trakis Two have arrived, and I wondered whether there was any news of my family. Have they been woken yet? Are they okay?” She surreptitiously rubbed her sweaty palms down her pants.
But he smiled. “I’ll talk with the representatives as soon as they arrive and find out what the situation is. However, as you are aware, the Chosen Ones are being woken in batches, so your family might still be in cryo.”
She swallowed down her disappointment. “I know. And thank you.”
She’d done her best for Destiny. For what it was worth. She’d always known what fate had in store for her charge—but they all had a role to play.
And there was her own family to worry about.
They had to come first.
Chapter Six
“The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
“You keep watch,” Milo said.
They were on their way to the first meeting of the Council for the Advancement of Mankind but had decided on a little detour first.
He wanted to get a look inside the docking bay of the Trakis Four.
Their main purpose here was to ascertain exactly what sort of a threat Luther Kinross could be to them.
Milo was impressed with the organization on the planet; already, considerable work had been done. As far as he was aware—though he hadn’t been down on the surface of Trakis Two—they hadn’t built anything yet. Kinross clearly had a detailed plan and was moving ahead with it. Milo had seen various groups at work around the place, presumably Chosen Ones. Making roads and buildings. The work groups reminded him of prison gangs back on Earth and were supervised by armed guards in dark green jumpsuits.
Where had the guards come from?
Kinross was clearly ready for trouble. But how ready?
They needed to find out what other weapons he had brought with him from Earth. And the most obvious place to start looking was the Trakis Four.
“Be quick,” Dylan muttered. “We’re already late.”
Milo nodded and headed up the ramp that led to the docking bay. There was no guard, and the door slid open when he pressed his hand to the panel, so he was unsurprised when he entered the cavernous space only to find it empty, except for the two shuttles parked up against the far curved wall and something that looked like a rocket launcher, which didn’t bode well. No weapons, but then Kinross would hardly leave weapons out in the open for anyone to see.
“They’ve cleared it out,” he said to Dylan as he walked back down. “Though there is some sort of rocket launcher—a fucking big one. We have to presume that somewhere there are some fucking big rockets to go with it.”
Dylan raised a brow. “Nice.”
“Now we need to find out where they’ve stored them and anything else Kinross brought from Earth.”
“After the meeting.”
A boat was waiting at the small dock to take them across to the island, and they climbed on board.
“It’s like a goddamn castle,” Dylan said five minutes later, as the boat docked on the island. “I’m