Chapter 10
"Now, is that any way to greet me?" Caius' smile doesn't change; it's frozen on his face as he dismisses the two men who've been hovering over the maps spread before him. He steps closer to me but stays just out of reach. "Please, have a seat."
I consider telling him where he can shove his seat, but the look on his face makes me rethink it. I begrudgingly sit, crossing my arms as I do.
"The guards tell me you're ... adjusting to life on Volterra." His expression gives away nothing.
My hands clench into fists under my arms as I try and rein in my anger at the piece of shit staring me down. "If that's what they say," I offer, my jaw tight.
"And your accommodations?" He looks me over, taking in my sunburned skin, my peeling lips, the scrapes, blisters, and bruises littered all over my body, and I'm sure the toll this place is taking on me is obvious.
"Not fit for a dog ... Sir," I say in mock respect.
Caius breathes a small laugh through his nose and turns to walk toward the chair at the head of the table. "Ah, well, I'd say I'm surprised by your answer, but your reputation precedes you, Commander, so I'm not surprised in the least. Given your family history of defiance of the Federation, I expected as much from you. Not to mention your name has come up many times over the years when our transports have gone missing." He sits and rests his elbows on the table, his fingers steepled under his chin. "Now, the question is, what am I going to do with you now that I've got you? Hmm?"
The door behind me opens and clicks closed, but I don't dare take my eyes off the man seated in front of me.
"Sorry, I'm late. We had an issue with one of the workers." The voice of the evil she-witch sends a ripple of unease down my spine. I have to wonder why she's a part of this meeting.
"There's no need for an apology, dear," Caius says. "We were just getting started." He waves an arm, pointing at the chair beside him. "Please, Jane, join us."
She eyes me appreciatively as she walks to the proffered seat, her perusal making me more than a little uncomfortable.
Caius sighs at her obvious ogling. "Do you think we could get to the matter at hand, Jane," he asks curtly.
"Of course, Ambassador." Her tone is contrite, but her expression is anything but.
"As I was saying before you joined us, I need to decide what I'm going to do with Commander Cullen. I'm sure, with his family's connections, they'll be willing to negotiate for his release. Which is what we had hoped to do with Admiral Swan, but ... Well, we all know how that ended. He didn't appreciate our hospitality."
"Hospitality? It's more like incarceration; a prison for people who did nothing wrong," I scoff.
"Yes, Cullen, hospitality. You're fed and clothed, given a place to sleep. I think that is hospitality by its very definition."
"Oh, yeah, wonderful hospitality. If you step out of line, you're shot on site." My eyes narrow in defiance.
"Yes, well, we have had some rather unfortunate incidences of late, haven't we?" he says with a slight nod. "But I'm sure you understand our need to keep the workers in line. If there are no repercussions for wayward behavior, how will we keep things in order?" He waves a hand, dismissing the conversation. "But all that is neither here nor there. We've strayed far off topic. My mistake when Admiral Swan arrived was not acting fast enough. Things weren't in order on Cordia just yet, and I failed to take advantage of my position."
"And what position was that?" I ask, growing more agitated by the second.
He looks at me blankly for a moment. "I was in a position to negotiate with the fools on Cordia, and I didn't take advantage of it. If they had known I had a member of their cabinet in my custody, why that could have changed everything."
My frustration is only growing with not understanding his point. "Changed what? How would having the Admiral given you any kind of position?"
"If he had agreed with my views, stood by me, we could have convinced the Cordian government to join us in my endeavors. But," he says with a sigh, "Admiral Swan was regretfully uncooperative with my plans. He was morally opposed to the idea, even if it could have benefitted the people of Cordia."
"How would it have benefitted them? What the hell could you possibly gain by taking all these people to mine a resource we have a very limited use for and already had access to?"
He studies me for a moment, his eyes narrowing. "Do you know the meaning of the word ambassador, Commander?" he asks me as if I'm dense.
"Of course I do. You were a go-between Cordia and several other planets." I lower my voice, my words mumbled. "And we can all see where your loyalties lie."
He sighs, shaking his head. "I spent my life doing what I could to establish pleasant relations between Cordia and our neighboring planets. But in the end, I realized humans are selfish creatures. They will always, first and foremost, look out for themselves. And at the end of the day, selfishness and greed will win out every time. Even back when we all lived on one planet, it was every man for himself."
"What does that have to do with—"
"Cullen, I'm sure you've heard the stories. They were taught to us as children. The watered-down version of how Cordians left Earth for a better life; to settle where there would be peace and harmony. When our ancestors left Earth all those centuries ago, every man, woman, and child had an ideal of what they wanted their lives to look like when they settled elsewhere. Promises of new lives and better conditions are what drew the billions of people to leave.
"But every nation had a different belief system, a different government, a different economy. The wealthier the nation, the better the chances of its citizens being approved for one of the more promising planets. And those who weren't fortunate enough to land on Cordia or Porta or one of the other wealthier planets were sent to smaller planets where it took generations for them to prosper. To say it caused bitter relations would be an understatement. None of the other planets held to the same belief system as those who settled Cordia. I mean, it's obvious they couldn't agree on how to govern themselves. For the human race to even survive, they had to leave Earth, so it isn't a surprise those planets couldn't agree on all Federation policies."
I sit quietly, taking in everything he's telling me, wondering what the hell it has to do with where we are now.
"And as an ambassador, I came to know some of the leaders of the other planets rather well. Some of them are just looking out for their well-being, for their people, and others ... Well, others are looking to further their own agendas. So when the leaders on Cordia wouldn't listen to my advice, to align themselves with some of these planets, I took it upon myself to strengthen those relations." He pauses, tilting his head. "You do realize this is a moon, do you not?"
"I do. It orbits an uninhabited planet." The smirk on Caius' face causes my statement to die on my tongue. "Right?" I question.
"Well, that's the official story; what we've all been led to believe. But the truth is, it's very much inhabited. Cordian officials haven't yet made their existence public because, so far, Aeonia has been unwilling to join them in the Federation. Their leaders are ... reluctant, and Cordia would rather keep Aeonia's existence under wraps ... for now."
"And what do they have to do with all this? With you kidnapping people and bringing them to slave camps?" I ask angrily.
"It has everything to do with it, Cullen. The people on Aeonia don't want to involve themselves in the politics of joining the Federation, but they also realize the potential benefits they would have if they did. My contact with them has been ... beneficial to us both."
"So, what? They're getting the Thanium we're digging out of the ground? People are dying for it! What could you possibly be getting in return that would justify losing lives over?"
His evil smile makes my skin crawl. "Because when people settled on Aeonia, they weren't the only ones on Aeonia." He lets his words hang in the air for a moment, their meaning slowly dawning on me.
"Other life forms?" I whisper as I slowly slump back in my chair.
His chuckle reverberates around the room. "Oh, not just any life forms, but life forms which seem to have an extraordinarily long lifespan. And I don't just mean decades, I mean centuries." He leans forward, his voice lowered but excited. "And here's the best part. Their reproduction is compatible with human DNA."
I clear my throat, the implications of what he's saying making me nauseous. "And that's why they didn't want to join the Federation?"
"Of course. Can you imagine if other planets knew about their little secret? They'd be invaded; their people would be taken and possibly experimented on." He shakes his head. "They simply won't allow it."
"But how do you ... how does all this"—I widen my arms—"come into play? Why the mining? Why take people from Cordia?"
"Because the Aeonians use more Thanium than any other planet. They only have limited sources of it on the surface, and they don't have the equipment or manpower to mine it, nor the firepower to defend it, or themselves, really. And even if they did, I doubt they'd be willing to expose their people to the dangers of direct exposure to it, which is where I come in."
Knowing the answer to my next question is one of the missing puzzle pieces, I ask, "What do they use the Thanium for?"
"That's the best part. They've been able to manipulate it, to alter its composition to use it on the humans still living on Aeonia; to alter their lifespans, give them a glimpse of ... immortality."
I swallow down the bile rising in my throat, knowing exactly what's in it for Caius and the others he has working for him. "And they've promised you ... " My words trail off, my mind spinning at the new information.
"Of course. What kind of fool would I be to pass up that opportunity? And once I have centuries of time in my future ... Well, the possibilities are endless, are they not?"
Seconds, minutes, maybe hours pass as I process all I've learned. The implications of this are far-reaching, and I'm not sure what to think. As I let it all sink in, I'm so focused on my thoughts, I don't realize Caius is speaking.
"So, what do you say?"
"What?" I ask, shaking my head to clear it.
"I asked if you would like to join us. You can clearly see how this could benefit you, your family, even. Join us and reap the benefits."
"And if I don't?"
"Well, then you'll need to consider your options while here on Volterra."
"Which are what, exactly?"
"If you choose not to join us, to try and convince those men and women on Aurora to side with us, you really only have two options. One, you can go back on the line and hope a bullet ends you before the Thanium exposure does, or two, Jane here has convinced me to offer you the position of ... a companion of sorts for her. You're a smart man, so I'm sure you'll make the right choice."
"So what did they want to talk to you about, Ed?" Ben asks as we stand side by side, chipping away at the walls of the cavern.
"They just needed to ask me a few questions, bud, nothing important." I reach over to ruffle his hair. His grin prompts one of my own, and I know I've made the right decision. I need to do all in my power to fight to free these people, set things right, no matter what the cost.
I tilt my head up to the bright sky, and the heat warms my skin as I squeeze my eyes closed. My thoughts are for a woman a galaxy away.
"I love you Bella, and I'm going to do whatever I can to get back to you."
A/N: Okay, guys, I'm not gonna lie. The next couple chapters are rough. The next couple of chapters will be difficult to read for most of you, and they will ABSOLUTELY earn the warnings I've given for this story. If you have ANY concerns, please, do NOT hesitate to PM me.
Remember, you can see teasers and pics in my Facebook group, Sunshine Fics. See you Tuesday!
Lots of love
~Sunshine