“I state it.”
The silence thickens perceptibly.
Councilor Dresk gestures once. “Present evidence.”
I activate the projection.
The harmonic waveform blooms into the center of the chamber—cold, luminous, intricate. It casts faint reflections across the armor of those closest to it. For a moment, the chamber looks lit from beneath.
“This,” I begin, “is the detonation signature released publicly by Alliance Forensic Command.”
“It matches your resonance,” Varok interjects.
“It matches my docking scan,” I correct.
I expand the data layers deliberately, allowing the timestamp metadata to separate from the surface file.
“The harmonic trace carries a pre-embedded timestamp sixty-nine seconds prior to the detonation event,” I continue. “The signature existed in system architecture before the device triggered.”
A ripple of disbelief moves through the outer ring.
“That is a claim,” Varok says carefully. “Not proof.”
I overlay the docking scan.
The alignment is nearly exact.
Micro-fluctuation. Amplitude variance. Stress-modulated frequency dips.
“This docking scan was recorded upon arrival at Virex,” I say. “Under truce protocol. Two hours prior to summit.”
“And?” Varok presses.
“And it was lifted.”
Elara steps forward when Dresk inclines his head toward her.
“The harmonic trace was embedded manually,” she says, her tone controlled but edged with conviction. “The detonation core file routed through a private server linked to Admiral Valen’s command structure before release to public channels.”
“You accuse a human admiral,” Varok replies, his voice turning colder.
“I accuse the routing log,” she answers.
Her refusal to retreat registers across the chamber more loudly than raised volume would.
“You stake our posture on human testimony,” Varok says to me.
“I stake our survival on verification,” I reply.
Varok circles slightly, not in threat, but in performance.
“You suspend raid cycles,” he says. “You negotiate with fringe systems. You now invite Alliance civilian into our settlement andstand accused of terrorism. At what point does reform become erosion?”
The word erosion lingers.
“Erosion of what?” I ask.
“Authority. Reputation. Fear.”
