Fury washed through me but it was mostly suppressed by the concern I felt for Cas. It had been a long time since his dad addressed him directly and it always made him furious. But now, with him having used Cas’ old name, told him to come home and questioned us quite so much… I knew he wouldn’t deal with it well.

I was right. Colour was slowly creeping up Cas’ neck and his hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white.

There was nothing I could do though and Harvey wasn’t done.

“I understand that things have not been particularly calm under our watch for the last few years but we are committed to addressing all of your worries and concerns. We can bring about positive change together and make this galaxy the most powerful and peaceful in all of the universe. These changes cannot be accomplished by the terrorists,” Harvey said, his tone so passionate that I almost believed him.

I knew he was full of shit though. It was a desperate last-ditch attempt. The Council were haemorrhaging power, losing planets every day. They’d been forced off of Nova, made to fly through the galaxy, looking for safety, and it was clear they were fighting within themselves. Half of the Councillors were dead! Harvey had killed off the ones that didn’t agree with him and now he was left trying to deal with everything alone.

The smile that rose to my lips felt ugly. It was sneering, victorious. I liked seeing him suffer. He looked so well put together, so in control, but he was spiralling. He was losing control.

He would never try to get Cas back if he wasn’t desperate. He didn’t care about him, he didn’t want him.

He wanted to ruin us though. He wanted to destroy the fighters. In his fantasy, the only place this ridiculous plea would work, he wanted to use Cas to get to the rest of us. He’d capture us all, the whole crew, murder us and display our corpses proudly. Or he’d torture us until we were willing to forsake the rest of the fighters and beg for forgiveness.

He’d parade us around on planets and in front of cameras like a puppeteer, making us tell the whole universe how wrong we had been, that they needed to follow the Council, just like we were doing.

We wouldn’t do it though. It would never work.

“Think about what you have lost so far,” Harvey continued, his tone strangely gentle. “Think about what you have sacrificed to this cause. Was it worth it? Because things won’t be better under the rebel’s rule. They will let the universe tear itself apart but we won’t. We can protect you, they won’t.”

The room was silent as his words slowly sunk in. No one wanted to speak.

But worry started to edge into my mind. I knew that it was what he wanted, he wanted us to doubt Aquila, but it worked. What if he was right? What if we were trading one dictator for another?

I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that were true. If I’d helped bring someone as power hungry as Harvey into control. But Aquila isn’t Harvey. She’s suffered at the hands of the Council. She wouldn’t make others suffer like that too.

“And,” Harvey started before pausing once more and staring deep into the camera. “If you are watching Adam, please come home. I miss you.”

The camera stayed on his face for a moment longer before turning blank, the Council logo and music reappearing.

I let out a slow breath, realising that my hands were trembling and squeezed them into fists. I wasn’t sure why his announcement had shaken me so much. It shouldn’t have. He’d blamed a death on us, yes, but apart from that, it wasn’t too bad.

I think it was just seeing him again. It brought back a lot. It always did.

Are you okay? Peggy asked, her tone quiet.

I glanced across at Cas, reaching out and taking hold of one of his fists immediately. His eyes were still looked on the screen but he looked like he wanted to punch someone.

Not someone. He wanted to punch Harvey. His dad. He wanted to do more than punch, he wanted to murder him.

“Well, that was a strange briefing,” Fornax started, turning back towards the table.

“Unfortunately, it isn’t over yet,” Andy interrupted quickly. “There is another broadcast of note coming up in just a few minutes. It’s… it’s not quite a Council briefing but I think it may also be important for us all to see.”

There was a pause that dragged on so long that I finally looked away from Cas. Andy was looking at him with a strange expression on his face. Something that was somewhere between concern and empathy. I could tell that he was worried about him.

He should have been. I really didn’t see this next briefing coming but… it was bad. It got to Cas more than any briefing from his dad ever did.

“Cas…” Andy said softly, waiting for him to turn before continuing. “If you need to step out or stop watching, please do.”

That scared me and I could tell it scared the others too. Not many people got it. Just my crew, Elliot and Chal. Most people were looking between Cas and Andy with a look of confusion on their faces but the rest of us were looking at Cas.

He looked perplexed, still angry but mostly confused about what Andy had said. He didn’t see it coming either. Maybe he should have. I think he knew it was always a risk. She was smart, too smart really, but she should have seen what a risk this was.

Maybe she did. Maybe she thought it would be worth it. I genuinely think she thought it would work.

A noise from the front of the room startled me and I turned towards it, still trying to work out what was about to happen. I didn’t expect the happy, chirpy tune to come from the speakers though. It felt so at odds, so opposite to the Council tune. It was jarring really.

But at the same time, I think I recognised it. I’d heard that music before but I wasn’t sure where. The tune was familiar and I was wracking my brain to try and work out where it had come from but I didn’t need to for long.

The screen cleared, showing a bright talk show set.

I recognised it. It was a little different from the last time I’d seen it. There weren’t just three chairs with kids playing on the floor between them, there were four. Even so, I was certain that it was the talk show Cas and his family had been on when he was a kid. It was the show that led to him being placed in the orphanage.

I squinted at the people sitting in the chairs, trying to work out who they were and when I realised, my stomach turned. I clasped Cas’ hand but he didn’t react in any way.

His expression was completely blank as he stared at the people on the screen.