Series 1.18 - Sway to the Sounds of Discourse
His heart rhythms in his chest like the cords of a finely tuned instrument; echoing loudly in his ears. The Grand Hall of the Assemblage's waiting rooms were designed to be as silent as possible, bordering on inhuman, as a power play. The more unsettled a visitor was, the less likely they'd stand any kind of chance at getting the underhand once standing in front of the Prime Committee. Ceren Rowe knew this, it was far his first time in the room and he had more guile than most who dared come here, but that did not make it any less uncomfortable. He took in a slow, deep breathe in hopes that it would at least provide some sort of distraction as he waited. Waiting was, in fact, yet another form on calculated torture that the Committee was famous for employing on its guests. He knew the worst was yet to come. The real torment was having to put on an artificial smile and making it last the entire duration of the audience. Considering the topic of discussion could be described as hotter than the core itself, that would prove to be difficult, he imagined. The Sunder threat was growing and the Prime Committee did not want to admit it. He let out the breath, which broke the silence as if he had detonated a charge. This was the only place he had ever heard breathing echo. He took a moment to glance down at his comm-set, only to see that it was still being flooded with updates and message requests. Life as the Grand Controller was one of perpetually being busy, but with the state of the galaxy being on the edge of invasion and both the Commandant and her Vice out on a secret deployment, it had gotten near unmanageable.
“I wonder how inappropriate it would be for me to hire an assistant?” he pondered, near silently to himself. Nonetheless, the Chamber Guard heard him from across the large room. The guard was an Aolidian man, a species known for their dedication and strict sense of moral duty, which made them perfect as servants to the Assemblage's more important members and as soldiers.
“Pardon, sir? But I do believe that you, as Grand Controller of the Order of Ascendancy, would know the answer to that question more precisely than I would venture to guess.” he yelled out, in an unnecessarily loud way that only a military man would do in that situation.
“It was a rhetorical question. You wouldn't by chance know how much longer they're going to make me wait in here, do you? I have a lot to do the rest of the day.”
“Once again, sir, seeing as you are the Grand Controller of the Order of Ascendancy, and that you have been here multiple times throughout the course of the last few decades, you should be aware that I am unable to report or dictate the pace at which the Prime Committee members complete their duties. Respectively, sir.”
Ceren knew this, of course, but his ears did not have the endurance to question the man further and let the exchange die a silent death. He would have just gotten up and left, as unthinkable as that would be to perhaps every other living being in the galaxy, had his reason for being here not been so important. The OoA needed official permission to escalate the conflict with the Sunder beyond what they have already been doing. It was hard enough even getting them to admit that the Sunder had traveled beyond from the Other Side, let alone getting them to see that they were indeed a threat. But little mattered to the Assemblage if it did not directly impact the Core planets and systems. And the space in which the Sunder were operating was so far beyond any reasonable sense of danger that they were willing to overlook the incursion. That is, until the last time Ceren had visited the chambers, and spent nearly three standard hours arguing to at least be allowed to conduct surveillance on the threat. He feared that this meeting would be even longer, seeing as the Sunder had managed to eliminate a small handful of OoA Controllers and support staff already. They would never allow the general public to know that, though, that much was for sure already. But that did not mean that he had to continue to sit back and allow things to get worse before trying to be proactive.
Might have to even call in a favor or two...
Ceren was never keen on how much control the Prime Committee had over the Order, but he understood was things had been that way for as long as they had. The war with the Myriad and the ineptitude of both the Assemlbage and the Order during it's early years did a lot of damage in the faith that the Committee had in them. And though Ceren had done a lot in reclaiming some of that trust since taking over, he knew that there was still a long way to go and that they'd have to kowtow to the wishes of the Assemblage for the foreseeable future. The sudden appearance of the Sunder threat was perhaps the worst possible timing imaginable, as things were finally starting to level out. The galaxy was starting to revere the Order members as luminaries again, thanks in large part to Melora and her unmatched abilities as a leader and statesman. She had become the superstar that they needed to get back the people, and he feared that another possible full scale war could undue all the good that she had accomplished up to now. He took a moment in his mind to decide if he felt that way because he was a proud father or because of how much easier it had made his job lately.
“Sir! I have been ordered to inform you that the members of the Prime Committee, by word of Arbiter Prime Belles'tar himself, that the Committee will be unable to accommodate your presence this afternoon and request that you please return the following week. The Arbiter Prime does send his most unfortunate regrets at the sudden inconvenience that this may cause.” exclaimed the Chamber Guard, breaking the silence once again.
“You must be joking, right? No, of course you aren't. Look, can you relay to them how important my topic of discussion is? And that perhaps they might reconsider how making the head of the Order wait to see them will look if word of it gets out to the prying eyes of the NebulaBridge.”
“Pardon me, sir, but the only way that would happen is if you, yourself, told them of the circumstances of your delay.”
“Right, and?”
“And I can direct you to the correct location in the Grand Hall to reschedule, if you are unfamiliar with where to do so.”
Ceren knew that trying to argue his way in was not going to work. The guard had strict orders to not allow anyone into the Chamber Hall; sound reasoning or not. He did not like doing what he was about to do, but the urgency of the Sunder invasion could at least justify it. While turning his back to the guard, he typed a message into his comm-set and sent it out as quickly and covertly as he could. He then gathered his cloak from the back of the chair he had been sitting, and turned to walk to where the guard was posted. He came to a stop in the doorway next to the man right as both men's comm-set's pinged new messages.
“I wonder how inappropriate it would be for me to hire an assistant?” he pondered, near silently to himself. Nonetheless, the Chamber Guard heard him from across the large room. The guard was an Aolidian man, a species known for their dedication and strict sense of moral duty, which made them perfect as servants to the Assemblage's more important members and as soldiers.
“Pardon, sir? But I do believe that you, as Grand Controller of the Order of Ascendancy, would know the answer to that question more precisely than I would venture to guess.” he yelled out, in an unnecessarily loud way that only a military man would do in that situation.
“It was a rhetorical question. You wouldn't by chance know how much longer they're going to make me wait in here, do you? I have a lot to do the rest of the day.”
“Once again, sir, seeing as you are the Grand Controller of the Order of Ascendancy, and that you have been here multiple times throughout the course of the last few decades, you should be aware that I am unable to report or dictate the pace at which the Prime Committee members complete their duties. Respectively, sir.”
Ceren knew this, of course, but his ears did not have the endurance to question the man further and let the exchange die a silent death. He would have just gotten up and left, as unthinkable as that would be to perhaps every other living being in the galaxy, had his reason for being here not been so important. The OoA needed official permission to escalate the conflict with the Sunder beyond what they have already been doing. It was hard enough even getting them to admit that the Sunder had traveled beyond from the Other Side, let alone getting them to see that they were indeed a threat. But little mattered to the Assemblage if it did not directly impact the Core planets and systems. And the space in which the Sunder were operating was so far beyond any reasonable sense of danger that they were willing to overlook the incursion. That is, until the last time Ceren had visited the chambers, and spent nearly three standard hours arguing to at least be allowed to conduct surveillance on the threat. He feared that this meeting would be even longer, seeing as the Sunder had managed to eliminate a small handful of OoA Controllers and support staff already. They would never allow the general public to know that, though, that much was for sure already. But that did not mean that he had to continue to sit back and allow things to get worse before trying to be proactive.
Might have to even call in a favor or two...
Ceren was never keen on how much control the Prime Committee had over the Order, but he understood was things had been that way for as long as they had. The war with the Myriad and the ineptitude of both the Assemlbage and the Order during it's early years did a lot of damage in the faith that the Committee had in them. And though Ceren had done a lot in reclaiming some of that trust since taking over, he knew that there was still a long way to go and that they'd have to kowtow to the wishes of the Assemblage for the foreseeable future. The sudden appearance of the Sunder threat was perhaps the worst possible timing imaginable, as things were finally starting to level out. The galaxy was starting to revere the Order members as luminaries again, thanks in large part to Melora and her unmatched abilities as a leader and statesman. She had become the superstar that they needed to get back the people, and he feared that another possible full scale war could undue all the good that she had accomplished up to now. He took a moment in his mind to decide if he felt that way because he was a proud father or because of how much easier it had made his job lately.
“Sir! I have been ordered to inform you that the members of the Prime Committee, by word of Arbiter Prime Belles'tar himself, that the Committee will be unable to accommodate your presence this afternoon and request that you please return the following week. The Arbiter Prime does send his most unfortunate regrets at the sudden inconvenience that this may cause.” exclaimed the Chamber Guard, breaking the silence once again.
“You must be joking, right? No, of course you aren't. Look, can you relay to them how important my topic of discussion is? And that perhaps they might reconsider how making the head of the Order wait to see them will look if word of it gets out to the prying eyes of the NebulaBridge.”
“Pardon me, sir, but the only way that would happen is if you, yourself, told them of the circumstances of your delay.”
“Right, and?”
“And I can direct you to the correct location in the Grand Hall to reschedule, if you are unfamiliar with where to do so.”
Ceren knew that trying to argue his way in was not going to work. The guard had strict orders to not allow anyone into the Chamber Hall; sound reasoning or not. He did not like doing what he was about to do, but the urgency of the Sunder invasion could at least justify it. While turning his back to the guard, he typed a message into his comm-set and sent it out as quickly and covertly as he could. He then gathered his cloak from the back of the chair he had been sitting, and turned to walk to where the guard was posted. He came to a stop in the doorway next to the man right as both men's comm-set's pinged new messages.
*****
It was just a glance down; a slight nod of the head. It was only a few odd symbols flashing across her screen. But she knew exactly what they meant when presented in that order. She had doubts that any of the others even noticed her take the slight peek at her comm-set. The crushing egos in the room were an exceptional representation of the intense pressure of the deep core systems they came from. Surely none of them would take the time to notice something that didn't directly involve them, and she knew it. She also knew just how important the message must be, considering the large risk it took Ceren to break protocols like this. The two of them agreed a long time ago to protect the anonymity between the Order of Ascendancy and herself. However, she had a lifelong debt to him that she felt compelled to pay back, no matter how small the increments happened to be. The urgency of his request was unusual for someone with the poise he possessed in the political world. Though she sat in a room with some of the most self-centered beings in the entire galaxy, she had to enact some of her own regal importance to find out what he needed to say.
“Pardon me, Bells, but did I hear you correctly? We're finished entertaining audiences for the day?” Lady Berla asked, gently placing her hand under her chin as she turned in her chair to face the Arbiter Prime in his elevated position in the middle.
“That is correct, your ladyship. I have plenty of other things to do today that do not involve hearing the dull humdrum and complaints that are constantly being presented before me.”
“Odd that you would choose this moment to make that decision considering who is next on the agenda.”
“And what is it that you're implying? I see exactly who was scheduled next, but that is irrelevant compared to the pain between my temples. One can only take so much in one's day.”
She never found it hard to don a counterfeit smile and inject as much poison as needed in her voice when she desired something. Her family had been doing it for thousands of years.
“I am just rather curious as to the message that the esteemed Grand Controller has for the Committee. Call it an intrusive desire, if you so please.”
“You should desire nothing that man ever brings into these chambers, I dare say. It's always doom and gloom, and frankly it can be draining.” he said after a lengthy sigh, still not looking her direction.
“Well, maybe it couldn't hurt to find out what he wants. You know this is the last place he wants to be too.” Admiral Heden Del Krung broke into the conversation, the military man perhaps could see the unwinnable battle that was about to begin had he not. Being the ranking member of the Assemblage Fleet gave him that kind of hard earned intuition.
“The Admiral makes a very good point.” she urged on, as passively as she could without giving away her position.
“Fine, but you have to be the one to tell him no to whatever unreasonable request he has.”
“That's fair, I suppose.” she said, with a bit of real smile bleeding through the facade now.
After a few moments of silence, the massive doors to the chamber opened. Ceren Rowe, clad in the all black attire the Order was known for, came sauntering in before stopping at the podium in the center of the room before them. He took a moment to greet each and every member of the Prime Committee who were in attendance; taking an extra moment to bow to Lady Berla.
“Your grace, it is an honor to be in your presence, as always. And to you, Arbiter Prime, I want to say thank you for reconsidering the request for a reschedule of this meeting. The information I bring before you today is of utmost importance and is time sensitive, to say the least.”
“Yes, yes, get to the point, Ceren. We are not going to go through another long, drawn out debate like the one we had the last time you were here. Which, might I remind you, was not that long ago. I am one step out of the door and the other in a warm bath.” said Belles'tar, audibly and visibly annoyed already by the interaction.
Ceren refused to allow the man to get under his skin. The two of them had known each other for nearly their entire lives due in part to the paths they had taken often intermingling. He knew not to let the man get the upper hand by attempting just to brush him off. The dance was an eternal one and the two of them often managed to step on the other's feet when given the chance; now was no different.
“You won't have to worry about that, so long as you trust me when I say that what I am presenting you here today is vital to the security of the Assemblage and to the entire galaxy.” he said as gently as he could to defuse the tension already building around them all.
“Isn't that what you said last time, Rowe?” asked Counselor Hej Orien, known as being perhaps the least personable Avorundi alive.
“You are correct, Counselor Orien. However, I'd simply like to assure you all as to the gravity of the situation.” he said, slightly turning to face her. He noticed her bristles were already twitching.
“Unless there is something you left out from before, I fail to see why we are entertaining this nonsense again. Whatever threat you perceive from whatever phantoms on the edges of space means very little to this Committee, or frankly, to the Assemblage as a whole. I dot not understand why the Grand Controller of the oh-so-great Order can't also see that.” proclaimed Belles'tar, who had shifted in his seat to a position that appeared to almost completely turn him away from having to look Ceren in the eyes.
“I don't consider the death of Order Controllers to be nonsense.”
“Deaths? Of which Controllers?” asked the Admiral.
“A Recon Duo comprised of a Dorcet Trymma and Janu Jett. They were captured, tortured, and murdered by the Sunder at the listening post who first alerted to the intrusion.”
“Forgive me for asking, but who?” said Orien, with a very clear disdain in her voice.
“She's right. Why are we to worry about a couple of no-name Controllers being killed? It's a dangerous job, regardless. Especially when it was you, yourself, who requested that we allow you to send people like that out that far anyway?” Belles'tar agreed with her heartless stance on the matter. The Assemblage prioritized prominence and notoriety over all else, especially from it's would be heroes.
“They were both very talented members of the Order and had bright futures. To simply cast aside their sacrifices because they weren't famous is...” Ceren said, biting at his lip to stop himself from finishing the sentence.
“Is realistic. And again, it was you who asked for the permission. If it was up to us, without your pestering, we'd have just left them alone. I doubt they are even from the Other Side, as you claim, and are simply just an uncontacted peoples from someplace our surveyors have just not yet mapped out. There is plenty of that out there in those parts of the galaxy. That seems far more reasonable than the theory you brought forward last time. A race of beings alien even to our own systems? Foolishness.” said Belles'tar, no longer holding back his thoughts for the sake of unity.
“Might I remind you, Arbiter Prime, of the relationship that the Order and the Assemblage have built throughout all the years you and I have been in charge, respectively. The last time the Assemblage put on a pair of blinders and ignored a threat, the Myriad thrust us into decades worth of war. A war that could have been halted long before ever getting to the level it reached had you simply allowed me to do what I needed to do, what we needed to do, to stop them early on. But you convinced an aging, foolish man and he made us wait. You wouldn't take our word for it. You forced the Order to stand down until you needed us. You, the Committee and those who served on it, failed the people and cost many lives and years of suffering because of your own arrogance. I have fought day in and day out ever since that fatal mistake to right the way and restore things to how they were before the bloodshed. And now I'm standing here before you, once again, and you're going to make the very same mistake. This is not something you can ignore. The Sunder are not going to just go away. The weapons they are using are more deadly than whatever elder-tech the Myriad had. We tried to reach out to find out what they wanted. And do you know what the answer was? Pain. None of you care right now because you only care about the core and your home planets and systems, but if you make the same mistakes as the past, the pain will find you eventually. The Order will not let that happen again. I will not let that happen again.”
It had been a long time since Ceren found himself ignoring the game that most played when dealing in politics and spoke the truth as plainly as he could. But his heart was bleeding through into his words and he could not continue to try and stop it from flowing any longer. Lady Berla, who up to this point had kept silent, was the first to apply pressure.
“The people of Henz know the pain caused by the Myriad well, perhaps better than anyone, and I assure you that I personally will not allow war to reach the proverbial shores of my kingdom again. I have no doubt that what you say is true, Grand Controller, but you must understand that we also have a very fine balance between panic and readiness that we have to consider. There are trillions of people who will see a headline about invaders from the Other Side and become hysterical at the threat of another galaxy-wide war breaking out." It hurt her to say it, but she had more to consider than just her friendship with him.
“I have doubts still about all this but I trust you as a leader and a veteran of war. That said, I think she's right. We can't just announce this without a better understanding of what is going on first.” said Heden, a man who often understood the need for action over passivity in conflict, yet a man who also knew how to play the game very well as a Committee member.
“All I'm asking for today is the endorsement from the Committee to expand our fact-finding and disruption efforts, when needed.”
“What you are asking for sounds an awful lot like permission to seek out revenge.” said Orien, who had never been a supporter of anything Ceren ever brought to them. She clearly resented him and the Order for the status they had garnered over the years following the war with the Myriad.
“The Order does not condone acts of revenge. But what we do care about is preventing more untimely or unnecessary deaths. And in order to do that, we need to know more about what the Sunder are and what they want from us.”
“The Sunder...please, enough already! Tell me, Ceren, what do you want from me? I've had enough of this and I refuse to drag it out any further.” said Belles'tar, finally surrendering just an inch. Which is all Ceren had been hoping for.
“Just allow me to elevate our approved operation level. You and I both know that I could do this without your permission, but it is the best for everyone involved and the Assemblage, to get your acceptance first. If the rest of the Assemblage found out about this rift...” Ceren said, hands extended out to defuse his words before they hit.
“I concede.”
Ceren knew just how painful it must have been for Belles'tar to say those two simple words. And to have to sit in his chair, high above the floor, and ignore the very obvious threat to the customs shared between the Order and the Assemblage. Everyone in the room knew that the Order could function without the Assemblage, but not the other way around. They had banned UDE-1 from being used as a weapon by anyone other than Order Controllers, and attempting to fight a war against even a minor threat without that power would be difficult at best. It was the ace that Ceren knew he always held in his hand but very rarely liked to play. Because he knew at some point, the Committee would just flip the table. The circumstances that faced them now and in the future was more important than any contest of wills, however. He smiled and gave a nod of thanks to the Arbiter Prime and Admiral Del Krung, followed by another customary bow to Lady Berla. He did not even need to fully look in the direction of the Avorundi Counselor before turning to leave to see how ruffled her feathers had become.
But he looked anyway.
“Pardon me, Bells, but did I hear you correctly? We're finished entertaining audiences for the day?” Lady Berla asked, gently placing her hand under her chin as she turned in her chair to face the Arbiter Prime in his elevated position in the middle.
“That is correct, your ladyship. I have plenty of other things to do today that do not involve hearing the dull humdrum and complaints that are constantly being presented before me.”
“Odd that you would choose this moment to make that decision considering who is next on the agenda.”
“And what is it that you're implying? I see exactly who was scheduled next, but that is irrelevant compared to the pain between my temples. One can only take so much in one's day.”
She never found it hard to don a counterfeit smile and inject as much poison as needed in her voice when she desired something. Her family had been doing it for thousands of years.
“I am just rather curious as to the message that the esteemed Grand Controller has for the Committee. Call it an intrusive desire, if you so please.”
“You should desire nothing that man ever brings into these chambers, I dare say. It's always doom and gloom, and frankly it can be draining.” he said after a lengthy sigh, still not looking her direction.
“Well, maybe it couldn't hurt to find out what he wants. You know this is the last place he wants to be too.” Admiral Heden Del Krung broke into the conversation, the military man perhaps could see the unwinnable battle that was about to begin had he not. Being the ranking member of the Assemblage Fleet gave him that kind of hard earned intuition.
“The Admiral makes a very good point.” she urged on, as passively as she could without giving away her position.
“Fine, but you have to be the one to tell him no to whatever unreasonable request he has.”
“That's fair, I suppose.” she said, with a bit of real smile bleeding through the facade now.
After a few moments of silence, the massive doors to the chamber opened. Ceren Rowe, clad in the all black attire the Order was known for, came sauntering in before stopping at the podium in the center of the room before them. He took a moment to greet each and every member of the Prime Committee who were in attendance; taking an extra moment to bow to Lady Berla.
“Your grace, it is an honor to be in your presence, as always. And to you, Arbiter Prime, I want to say thank you for reconsidering the request for a reschedule of this meeting. The information I bring before you today is of utmost importance and is time sensitive, to say the least.”
“Yes, yes, get to the point, Ceren. We are not going to go through another long, drawn out debate like the one we had the last time you were here. Which, might I remind you, was not that long ago. I am one step out of the door and the other in a warm bath.” said Belles'tar, audibly and visibly annoyed already by the interaction.
Ceren refused to allow the man to get under his skin. The two of them had known each other for nearly their entire lives due in part to the paths they had taken often intermingling. He knew not to let the man get the upper hand by attempting just to brush him off. The dance was an eternal one and the two of them often managed to step on the other's feet when given the chance; now was no different.
“You won't have to worry about that, so long as you trust me when I say that what I am presenting you here today is vital to the security of the Assemblage and to the entire galaxy.” he said as gently as he could to defuse the tension already building around them all.
“Isn't that what you said last time, Rowe?” asked Counselor Hej Orien, known as being perhaps the least personable Avorundi alive.
“You are correct, Counselor Orien. However, I'd simply like to assure you all as to the gravity of the situation.” he said, slightly turning to face her. He noticed her bristles were already twitching.
“Unless there is something you left out from before, I fail to see why we are entertaining this nonsense again. Whatever threat you perceive from whatever phantoms on the edges of space means very little to this Committee, or frankly, to the Assemblage as a whole. I dot not understand why the Grand Controller of the oh-so-great Order can't also see that.” proclaimed Belles'tar, who had shifted in his seat to a position that appeared to almost completely turn him away from having to look Ceren in the eyes.
“I don't consider the death of Order Controllers to be nonsense.”
“Deaths? Of which Controllers?” asked the Admiral.
“A Recon Duo comprised of a Dorcet Trymma and Janu Jett. They were captured, tortured, and murdered by the Sunder at the listening post who first alerted to the intrusion.”
“Forgive me for asking, but who?” said Orien, with a very clear disdain in her voice.
“She's right. Why are we to worry about a couple of no-name Controllers being killed? It's a dangerous job, regardless. Especially when it was you, yourself, who requested that we allow you to send people like that out that far anyway?” Belles'tar agreed with her heartless stance on the matter. The Assemblage prioritized prominence and notoriety over all else, especially from it's would be heroes.
“They were both very talented members of the Order and had bright futures. To simply cast aside their sacrifices because they weren't famous is...” Ceren said, biting at his lip to stop himself from finishing the sentence.
“Is realistic. And again, it was you who asked for the permission. If it was up to us, without your pestering, we'd have just left them alone. I doubt they are even from the Other Side, as you claim, and are simply just an uncontacted peoples from someplace our surveyors have just not yet mapped out. There is plenty of that out there in those parts of the galaxy. That seems far more reasonable than the theory you brought forward last time. A race of beings alien even to our own systems? Foolishness.” said Belles'tar, no longer holding back his thoughts for the sake of unity.
“Might I remind you, Arbiter Prime, of the relationship that the Order and the Assemblage have built throughout all the years you and I have been in charge, respectively. The last time the Assemblage put on a pair of blinders and ignored a threat, the Myriad thrust us into decades worth of war. A war that could have been halted long before ever getting to the level it reached had you simply allowed me to do what I needed to do, what we needed to do, to stop them early on. But you convinced an aging, foolish man and he made us wait. You wouldn't take our word for it. You forced the Order to stand down until you needed us. You, the Committee and those who served on it, failed the people and cost many lives and years of suffering because of your own arrogance. I have fought day in and day out ever since that fatal mistake to right the way and restore things to how they were before the bloodshed. And now I'm standing here before you, once again, and you're going to make the very same mistake. This is not something you can ignore. The Sunder are not going to just go away. The weapons they are using are more deadly than whatever elder-tech the Myriad had. We tried to reach out to find out what they wanted. And do you know what the answer was? Pain. None of you care right now because you only care about the core and your home planets and systems, but if you make the same mistakes as the past, the pain will find you eventually. The Order will not let that happen again. I will not let that happen again.”
It had been a long time since Ceren found himself ignoring the game that most played when dealing in politics and spoke the truth as plainly as he could. But his heart was bleeding through into his words and he could not continue to try and stop it from flowing any longer. Lady Berla, who up to this point had kept silent, was the first to apply pressure.
“The people of Henz know the pain caused by the Myriad well, perhaps better than anyone, and I assure you that I personally will not allow war to reach the proverbial shores of my kingdom again. I have no doubt that what you say is true, Grand Controller, but you must understand that we also have a very fine balance between panic and readiness that we have to consider. There are trillions of people who will see a headline about invaders from the Other Side and become hysterical at the threat of another galaxy-wide war breaking out." It hurt her to say it, but she had more to consider than just her friendship with him.
“I have doubts still about all this but I trust you as a leader and a veteran of war. That said, I think she's right. We can't just announce this without a better understanding of what is going on first.” said Heden, a man who often understood the need for action over passivity in conflict, yet a man who also knew how to play the game very well as a Committee member.
“All I'm asking for today is the endorsement from the Committee to expand our fact-finding and disruption efforts, when needed.”
“What you are asking for sounds an awful lot like permission to seek out revenge.” said Orien, who had never been a supporter of anything Ceren ever brought to them. She clearly resented him and the Order for the status they had garnered over the years following the war with the Myriad.
“The Order does not condone acts of revenge. But what we do care about is preventing more untimely or unnecessary deaths. And in order to do that, we need to know more about what the Sunder are and what they want from us.”
“The Sunder...please, enough already! Tell me, Ceren, what do you want from me? I've had enough of this and I refuse to drag it out any further.” said Belles'tar, finally surrendering just an inch. Which is all Ceren had been hoping for.
“Just allow me to elevate our approved operation level. You and I both know that I could do this without your permission, but it is the best for everyone involved and the Assemblage, to get your acceptance first. If the rest of the Assemblage found out about this rift...” Ceren said, hands extended out to defuse his words before they hit.
“I concede.”
Ceren knew just how painful it must have been for Belles'tar to say those two simple words. And to have to sit in his chair, high above the floor, and ignore the very obvious threat to the customs shared between the Order and the Assemblage. Everyone in the room knew that the Order could function without the Assemblage, but not the other way around. They had banned UDE-1 from being used as a weapon by anyone other than Order Controllers, and attempting to fight a war against even a minor threat without that power would be difficult at best. It was the ace that Ceren knew he always held in his hand but very rarely liked to play. Because he knew at some point, the Committee would just flip the table. The circumstances that faced them now and in the future was more important than any contest of wills, however. He smiled and gave a nod of thanks to the Arbiter Prime and Admiral Del Krung, followed by another customary bow to Lady Berla. He did not even need to fully look in the direction of the Avorundi Counselor before turning to leave to see how ruffled her feathers had become.
But he looked anyway.
