The Commander’s nostrils flare. “If someone forged Uranus tech, they did so with access to experimental prototypes we don’t distribute. That’s an act of industrial espionage against my House.”
Before Cardinal Benedict can respond, Lord Castor steps forward from Jupiter’s section. He’s dressed in battle-worn leather, hazel eyes tracking the room with predatory focus. His voice booms across the hall. “It’s an act of aggression against us all. If Uranus security can be compromised, none of our technology is safe.”
“Itwasn’tUranus,” Commander Kaelix snaps, their voice slicing clean through the hall. “But I don’t expect someone whose idea of problem-solving is to hit whatever’s nearest to understand how complex this tech truly is.”
A muscle jumps along Lord Castor’s jaw. His hands curl once at his sides, slow and deliberate, as if he’s physically forcing himself not to break something. The hall seems to shrink around him, the weight of Jupiter’s storm gathering behind his eyes.
“You speak boldly for someone who hides behind machines,” Lord Castor says, voice low. “If your innovations were half as brilliant as your insults, Commander … perhaps they wouldn’t be so easily stolen.”
A ripple moves through the crowd. Venus aides tilt toward each other, whispering behind jeweled hands. Mars aides shift subtly, ready for violence but unwilling to be the first to draw. Saturn scholarsexchange glances, equal parts alarmed and fascinated. Even the Cardinals stiffen, sensing just how quickly this exchange could ignite.
Commander Kaelix only smiles, thin and sharp, pleased to have struck the nerve they were aiming for.
Lady Tavia moves forward from Mercury’s delegation, her diplomatic training evident in the careful modulation of her voice. “We should consider that this breach represents a vulnerability inallour systems. If Uranus tech can be compromised, Mercury’s communications could be next. Or Saturn’s archives. Or Mars’s military protocols.”
Murmurs rise in pockets around the hall, voices overlapping in worried speculation.
Commander Kaelix tilts their head, studying the Cardinals with clinical detachment. “Or… perhaps this is the result of central authority stretched thin. The Cardinals have lost control, and now they’re scrambling to pin the blame on anyone but themselves.”
Cardinal Benedict’s eyes fix on the Commander coldly. “Uranus would do well to remember its place.”
Commander Kaelix offers a faint smile that has no warmth. “My place is wherever the system fails. Which seems to be right here.”
Cardinal Maria interjects, her voice rising through the growing noise. “We are increasing internal wards. Additional barriers will be placed on all residential quarters and access points. You will all be protected, we can assure you.”
Suddenly, unexpectedly, Lord Evander clears his throat, his long-fingered hands folded carefully in front of him. “Protectionis not the concern here, Cardinals. Trust is.”
The hall goes still for a moment, as everyone registers his words.
Cardinal Maria’s composure falters for the briefest moment, a muscle twitching at the corner of her thin mouth.
I turn to catch Ren’s eyes flick toward the Cardinal for a brief moment … and it’s almost as if there’s a hint of doubt in her expression.
Lord Castor folds his arms across his broad chest, his scarred hands gripping his biceps. “Cardinals … if your security cannot guarantee our safety, say so.”
Cardinal Benedict lifts his chin, his expression hardening. “We have the situation under control.”
The leaders don’t believe him. I can see it in the way Commander Kaelix’s expression shifts from contempt to calculation, in the cold assessment that flashes across Isolde’s beautiful face, in the way Lady Nerida’s shifting eyes focus on things I can’t see. The room begins to swell with overlapping frustration, voices rising in accusation and defence.
I listen as Commander Kaelix demands full access to the override device for analysis, their tone dripping with barely subdued fury. Lady Tavia suggests pooling intelligence resources to identify the source of the tech theft. Lord Castor warns that Jupiter will not tolerate further negligence, his voice loud enough to rattle the banners overhead.
The Cardinals try to maintain order, but the hall is losing its shape.
They are losing the room.
The noise rises, filling the cavernous hall until it feels too tight, too crowded. Voices collide and fracture, and I feel the room tipping toward danger.
Before I can reconsider, I step forward.
The sound doesn’t exactly stop, but it falters. A break in the current. Faces turn toward me, some curious, some irritated, some surprised.
“If someone stole Uranus tech to breach my quarters,” I say, my voice steadier and louder than I thought possible, “they wanted this reaction. They wanted us shouting, instead of listening.”
Dozens of eyes fix on me. Lord Castor’s beady gaze sharpens with assessment. Commander Kaelix watches with new curiosity, their electric blue eyes glowing.
“We gain nothing by blaming each other,” I continue, forcing myself to meet their gazes one by one. “Someone used experimental override technology to provoke a fracture. If we spend our energy tearing into each other, we give them what they want.”
The hall falls silent.
