Disturb the Peace, Just as Planned

Posted on Thu Jul 16th, 2026 @ 11:01pm by Lonian Royal Sovereignty

Mission: Season 6: Episode 7: Crossroads of Destiny
Location: Niea IV :: Session Hall, Pomei Government Buildings
Timeline: MD4, 1730
2645 words - 5.3 OF Standard Post Measure

The meeting table was occupied by three of the four Ladies: Emeyr, Vanei, and Relou. Behind each of their seats, holographic versions of their crests were displayed on the walls. Datapads were arranged on the table with a stylus placed neatly on the left side. To the right of each Lady, their consuls sat quietly, some looking at datapads and others just waiting for the meeting to start. A soft hum of status displays and the faint stir of ventilation gave the room an almost ceremonial stillness.

Lady Sama’s chair remained empty.

Emeyr’s eyes flicked to it for probably the fifth time since she had arrived. “She’s late.” Her tone couldn’t help but hold a note of impatience and perhaps irritability. This was the second time she’d done this.

“There’s probably a reason,” Vanei said, however the assurance masked annoyance of her own. She had been scrolling through her agenda, reorganising the importance of the items for the fourth time. Deviations from the schedule were never mundane, and the last time Sama had done this, she wanted to allocate more resources to her forces. She couldn’t help but wonder what game she was playing this time.

“Perhaps we should start without her?” Relou tentatively asked. It wouldn’t be unheard of, but it would cause problems later. She had been sitting with her hands folded, trying to maintain a polite neutrality. At one point, she had asked her consul if he would contact Sama’s consul to see what the holdup was.

Before anyone could answer, the doors to the room slid open. Sama entered without haste, as if stepping into her own office rather than into a shared seat of government. She offered no apology or reason for her tardiness, just took her seat beneath the crest of the Fourth House and set her datapads on the table. Her consul, Solne, walked behind her and silently went to her designated chair, hair pulled back into a crisp bun. Her tunic was a dark blue and crisp, and as she took her seat she made sure it folded just right to maintain its perfection.

The other consuls stiffened when Sama entered. The air vibrated with unspoken tension, like a forest before a rainstorm. It was only interrupted when Vanei tapped her stylus once on her datapad, a crisp and deliberate sound to reclaim the shape of the meeting.

“Glad you could join us,” Vanei told Sama through forced composure. “Now we can bring this session to order.” She brushed some of her curly hair behind her shoulder before straightening in her chair. The simple adjustment brought formality back to the table. “We’ll follow the agenda as circulated.” Her tone was now crisp, silently demanding the dismissal of Sama’s little show. “Lady Relou, how is the planning for Falenor Day?”

With the change of tone, three of the four consuls lowered their eyes to their screens. The exception was Solne, whose eyes kept flickering between the members of the other courts with an eerie confidence.

Relou nodded, looking at her datapad to avoid the possibility of making eye contact with Sama. “It’s going well. Everything is on schedule and should be finished by next week.” She shared a couple of reports on some of the ongoing research, noting that she was working with Vanei to secure the resources needed to continue the work.

Sama listened silently for a few seconds, then turned to her datapad and began typing. The quiet click of her stylus against the screen wasn’t loud enough to interrupt, but it disturbed the air. She heard Relou falter in what she was saying, but she didn’t offer the benefit of attention, instead sorting out her agenda items.

Emeyr’s consul, Phyans, noticed this and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He spared a glance toward Vanei’s consul, whose eyes briefly widened in a silent note of solidarity. Despite the return to business, the air retained its thick tension. The room held its breath with a professional unease.

When Relou finished, Vanei acknowledged it with a nod. Her expression, taut when the meeting began, smoothed back into something more disciplined. It was an atypical start to the meeting, but the procedural cadence was beginning to return, even if it was out of sync with Sama’s stylus.

“Thank you, Lady Relou,” she said, looking up from the datapad. “We’ll review final allocations after this session. Let’s move on. Lady Emeyr?” Vanei looked to her left, where the blonde head of the diplomatic house sat. “I hear you’ve made progress on negotiations with the Elysium?”

Emeyr sat a little straighter, relieved that she didn’t have to sit in uncomfortable silence. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Phyans straighten as well. “Yes,” she began, tapping her datapad to bring up her notes. “Our talks with the Elysium representatives have progressed nicely. We are finalising the-"

Lady Sama cleared her throat. It was quiet, yet it pierced the professional curtain draped over the room.

The disruption made Emeyr stop mid-sentence, and her gaze snapped to the head of the Fourth House.

Sama didn’t bother looking up from her datapad, instead continuing to type on it. “Before you continue,” she began, her tone suspiciously innocuous. “I feel compelled to question the wisdom of continuing negotiations with a vessel that has shown hostility toward our people.”

Even the ventilation seemed to fall silent in the wake of that. Emeyr’s composure cracked as her eyes narrowed toward Sama. Relou found her stylus very interesting to inspect. Even the consuls froze with the exception of Sama’s, who instead watched the room with a steady, almost predatory attention.

Vanei’s jaw tensed. “Do elaborate, Lady Sama.”

The stylus in Sama’s hand paused, and she eventually looked up, meeting Vanei’s gaze. Emeyr was too inexperienced in her eyes, so she didn’t pay the woman’s childish glare any attention. “They knowingly brought a criminal to our world who had fraternised with the Kavai,” she continued matter-of-factly. “This council is well aware that such a thing is a violation of the Bedia Convention. It doesn’t seem appropriate to reward a ship for abetting treason.”

Vanei didn’t react to Sama’s accusation, at least not in an obvious way. Her grip on the stylus tightened slightly as she considered how to address this. “The Elysium’s presence was sanctioned by this council,” she replied, her tone deliberately measured. “This is quite the allegation, Lady Sama.”

“It is,” Sama replied. “The criminal admitted guilt, and normally I wouldn’t press the matter, but some of the Elysium’s crew decided to ally themselves with the criminal. Their presence may be sanctioned, but it should be revoked because they shouldn’t be trusted.”

Emeyr released a steady breath as she fought to maintain composure. “Lady Sama, the diplomatic team has been forthright in every negotiation. There is nothing to suggest any hostility from the Elysium.” Her voice was steady, but the glance she got from Relou gave away that the strain beneath it wasn’t as hidden as she would have liked.

“Have they?” Sama’s words had a quiet amusement that made Phyans visibly bristle. She tilted her head slightly toward Emeyr, “malicious intent has a talent for charming its way past the unobservant. How forthright can a ship be when it carries terrorists under your nose?”

Vanei tapped her stylus, giving Sama a warning look. “We don’t operate on insinuation.”

Sama offered a faint smile, the kind that injected ice into the spine. “Neither do I. Every effort I have taken to mitigate this threat came from evidence and protocol.” When she looked at Emeyr again, the look held a disregard for her authority. It was as if looking down on a child having a tantrum. “I can’t blame you for not noticing it, Lady Emeyr. You've only held the Head of House for what, three cycles?”

That made Emeyr seethe. She knew she was the newest to her title, but Sama didn’t have to be a bitch about it. “You are one to talk about protocol when you disturbed the diplomatic chamber for a security matter without prior approval."

The room was strangled by silence.

Phyans’ jaw went slack as he looked up from his datapad. He was there when it happened, but he didn’t expect Emeyr to bring it up. He knew she was intimidated by Lady Sama, and usually just let things go or waited to speak with Lady Vanei privately. This was new. He spared a glance at Vanei’s consul, who was wide-eyed in shock, then to Relou’s, who silently mouthed a ‘holy shit.’ Oh, this was definitely going into the group chat between them.

Relou’s head snapped up, the shock raw across her face. “That is a protected area." Her voice carried her disbelief, as if she hoped she’d misheard.

Vanei’s reaction was sharper. She firmly put her stylus down, the sound a sharp crack against the table. Her eyes narrowed at Sama, “you did what?”

Sama’s consul didn’t move, but her focus gained something else. Not a smile, but a curdling satisfaction.

“She interrupted my negotiations to interrogate Elysium’s diplomatic team,” Emeyr continued, glaring at Sama for a couple extra seconds before focusing on Vanei. “She questioned them about Mister Dosivi-”

“I was conducting an investigation,” Sama interrupted, her tone controlled. She folded her hands on the table with a composed elegance that only made the gesture more chilling.

Emeyr’s head snapped back to focus on Sama. She was no longer bothering to hide her outrage. “Don't give me that bullshit! Investigations don't leverage prisoners like hostages!"

Sama tsked at Emeyr, pleased to see the sound get under her skin. “You really shouldn't swear while in session, Lady Emeyr. It's unbecoming.”

“Don't turn this on me! You had no reason-”

“I had every reason. Their crew chose to condone the prisoner's actions. I am merely taking protective measures-”

“That wasn't a protective measure! That was an escalation!”

“Enough!” Vanei’s voice pierced the air. This was disturbing news, and she didn’t even know which part to address first. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed. “Lady Emeyr, I understand your frustration, however please compose yourself while we are in session.”

Emeyr's head whipped around toward Vanei to protest, but a sideways glance from the First House made her hold her tongue. It was her job to mitigate such disputes, so she needed to let Vanei do her job. Crossing her arms, Emeyr sat back into her seat.

Turning to the seat across from her, Vanei continued. “Lady Sama, this is unacceptable behaviour. Security matters pertaining to a party engaged in diplomatic proceedings require a review by this council, period. You know this. You circumvented protocol that predates all of us.”

Sama’s chest rose in a slow breath as she gently drummed her fingers. As annoyed as she was at Emeyr, she couldn’t show it. Weakness would only guarantee her case be dismissed. “You seem to be more focused on a single incident than the fact that there has been a violation of the Bedia Convention.”

Vanei narrowed her eyes, trying to gauge what exactly Lady Sama was playing at. “Two infractions can exist at the same time, Lady Sama.”

“And yet, only one seems to bother you,” Sama replied smoothly, leaning forward just a little. She glanced to Relou, who seemed perfectly content to keep her focus on her stylus. “The Bedia Convention was created to keep our people safe. The first chapter, containing the most fundamental laws to our modern society, have never been violated until now. What does that say about the Kavai’s intentions?”

“Get to your point,” Vanei ordered, starting to lose patience. Her gut was anticipating it, but she knew better than to make assumptions.

“Instead of bickering about how to be proper in a government building, we should be building up our defenses.” Sama returned her gaze back toward Vanei, matching the woman’s glare with a look of steel. “We need to prepare for the possibility of another war with the Kavai.”

“Absolutely not!” Emeyr objected, glaring at Sama. Despite her own reservations about the Kavai, as a diplomat she had considered trying to negotiate peace with them. She had been working up the courage to finally have a meeting with the Ladies surrounding it, but secretly Sama intimidated her and knew that she would shoot it down.

“War would not be good for morale, Lady Sama,” Relou added, looking toward her peer with uncertainty. “We still feel the effects of the Bedia War on society. Besides, this is only the first alleged violation of the Convention."

Sama turned her cold eyes toward Relou, who seemed to shrink in her seat a little in response. “I’m sorry, Lady Relou, you’re right,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “How many violations of our most severe laws must occur before we consider doing something about it?”

“Lady Sama, you are in contempt of this council!” Vanei interjected, standing from her chair. The move was so abrupt that her consul jumped in his seat. “We have discussed this. Unless the Kavai show direct provocation, we will not entertain the idea of war! It is unbecoming of the head of the Fourth House to desire something so damaging to the welfare of our people.”

“It will be more damaging to discover Kavai infiltrators hiding within our society,” Sama shot back. “The Kavai courted one of our people! How is that not a direct provocation??”

That was the final straw. Vanei pointed toward the door Sama had so shamelessly walked through earlier. “You are out of order! Your speaking privilege has been revoked. Your consul may stay to take notes, but you are to leave this session immediately!”

A chilled silence followed, the air still enough that a stylus dropping would sound like thunder. The three consuls seemed to be collectively holding their breaths. Sama’s composure faltered slightly, showing a hint of annoyance. After what felt like an eternity, she stood, taking her time to collect her datapads, before exiting the room. Solne remained behind, unbothered by the argument that had just unfolded. Her unwavering gaze studied each of the remaining Ladies before she looked down to take notes on her datapad.

Vanei remained standing for a couple seconds after Sama left, then sat back down with a sigh. Running both hands over her hair, she took a short moment to compose herself before looking at the datapad in front of her. She hated when Sama did this. “Lady Emeyr, you may continue your report, or I can share my updates if you need a moment.”

Emeyr clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking. “I… I think I need a moment, Lady Vanei,” she said quietly. She offered a weak smile to Relou when she spotted the woman’s sympathetic look.

Outside the session hall, Sama paused before glancing down at the datapad that rested on top of her little stack. Shortly after she had left, a message came through from her consul.

[ Terrific performance, Your Grace. They are unsettled, just as you anticipated. ]

The annoyance turned into a hint of a smirk, an eerie contentment over the outcome. Good, another piece of her plan was falling into place. Sama typed something back before striding down the corridor to return to the defense building. Being removed from the session had the benefit of allowing her to continue her other, more important, work.