Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(90)

She nodded. “I will consider it carefully. I will also go tell Rhys the news in case he hasn’t heard.”





Chapter 24




After Veronica left, I sank down on the edge of the bed. Worry pressed on my shoulders. There hadn’t been any news of outright attack, but it would only be a matter of time.

Loch leaned against the wall across from me. “What will you do?” he asked.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. “I have to go home. I need to be there for my siblings. I’ll still negotiate with Father before I go, but it’ll be rushed. We’ll both have to settle for less than we wanted. What about you?”

“I don’t know. I thought I might try my hand at private security. You know anyone headed to a war zone who might need a little backup?”

I looked up in shock. He met my gaze calmly. “I might know someone,” I said, fighting a smile. “What are your qualifications?”

“I was trained in the military. I’m tough. I heal fast.” He gave me a smoldering look. “And I’ve been told I’m fantastic in bed.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure my brother much cares about that last one, but I’ll be sure to pass it along,” I said with a straight face. Loch laughed and the sound loosened some of the tension I carried.

His expression turned serious. He sat next to me and rested his elbows on his knees. I couldn’t see his face. “I joined the RCDF when I was seventeen,” he said. “I was the perfect candidate—strong, smart, and eager to fight—except that I had a difficult time taking orders.”

I sucked in a breath when I realized what he was doing.

“But I still managed to toe the line enough to rise quickly through the ranks. So when my commander approached me about a new project, one where I would command my own elite unit, I jumped at it.”

He shook his head. “I was still just a kid. When they told me they wanted to make us supersoldiers, I thought it sounded awesome. They called it the Genesis Project. There were four squads of eight that started the project, broken into groups based on DNA similarities. I was the squad leader for my group.”

I wanted so badly to ask questions, but I kept silent, afraid if I moved or made a sound, he would stop talking.

“We signed away our rights without reading the contracts because our supervisors told us everything was on the up-and-up. The scientists tinkered with our DNA. My eyes are not ocular implants, they’re genetically engineered.”

I gaped at him. The sanctity of DNA was one of the foundational principles of the Consortium. We might introduce nanobots into our blood or augment ourselves with biomechanical implants, but our DNA, the core of who we were, was strictly off-limits. It had been that way from the beginning of the Royal Consortium. Genetic engineering could still be found, of course, deep in the black market, but only the most desperate would risk it, because it carried a Consortium death sentence for both provider and patient.

“Soldiers started dropping right from the beginning, but they didn’t cancel the project. It was hell. My squad was the only one that made it through, and only just,” he said. Old pain laced his voice.

I wrapped my arm around his back and squeezed him in a half hug.

He continued, “We spent months in training missions. The conditions were brutal. The scientists wanted to see what we could do, how much damage we could take, and how quickly we would spring back. Requests for reassignment went nowhere. Fornax was our first real mission.”

“Rhys was there with you?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah, he was in my squad. We were elated to be sent on a real mission, thinking the worst of it was over. We were wrong. The people of Fornax Zero were starving because House Rockhurst was taxing them to death. They were rebelling against the price of food.”

He took a deep breath. “Because it was a Rockhurst planet, House Rockhurst sent Richard to oversee the operation. I think it was his very first assignment and he was eager to prove himself by whatever means necessary.”

“But he couldn’t have been in the Santa Celestia,” I said. “I distinctly remember that was after Fornax. And there was no mention of him being at Fornax at all.”

“No, at the time he was in an older ship. He had a passel of military advisors with him, but he ignored their advice and ordered us to attack. We were sent in to quell the rebellion by killing women and kids, which is probably why House Rockhurst didn’t proclaim his involvement.”

Loch shook his head in disgust at the memory. “At that point, we all knew the only way out for us was death. As the squad leader, it was my responsibility, so I ‘killed’ them. Then I really did kill the bastards in charge, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. If I could get my hands on Richard, I’d kill him, too. Unfortunately, the fucker seems to know about my abilities and has taken precautions every time I’ve gotten close.”

“Why didn’t you go to the Consortium?”

Loch laughed without humor. “Who do you think funded the entire thing, sweetheart? And who increases my bounty year after year? House Rockhurst might’ve owned Fornax Zero, but all three High Houses approved the Genesis Project.”

I wasn’t so naive as to believe the Consortium was all rainbows and puppies, but I’d never truly been exposed to the darkest parts, either. “How did the others in your squad escape notice?”