The Hidden Costs

Posted on Fri Aug 14th, 2026 @ 10:55am by Lonian Royal Sovereignty & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson

Mission: Season 6: Episode 7: Crossroads of Destiny
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD5 :: 1100h
5644 words - 11.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Phoenix was getting agitated with the small level minion who was not playing ball. She had been sitting in her ready room, under orders not to exert herself. Easier said than done. "No I will not call back. I have been on hold for hours. Either put me through to Lady Sama or I will come down there in person."

Solne, the consul who had picked up the call and was fielding this incessant pestering, tightened her jaw slightly. First it was their legal team. Now it was the commodore herself. If she was being honest, she was hoping Phoenix would just give up. "I will see if she's available." The response was curt, and shortly after the screen switched yet again to one showing the seal of the Fourth House.

Phoenix's face did not change. She kept her gaze on the screen. She would not, she swore to herself give them anything they could use in a broadcast or show their people how weak her ship was.

A couple minutes later, the holding screen changed, showing the Head of House. Sama was focused off camera, and she took the time to wrap up a message before her icy eyes shifted to her most recent nuisance. "What can I do for you?" She asked. While the words were cordial, she didn't make an effort to hide that her work was being disrupted.

Phoenix did not answer immediately. She folded her hands neatly on the desk before her, the movement deliberate and practiced. It was a posture learned long before Starfleet—a lesson from palace tutors who taught that composure was often a ruler's sharpest weapon. Only the faint whitening of her knuckles betrayed the effort it took to maintain that composure. When she finally spoke, her voice was measured. Almost deceptively calm. "Lady Sama." She inclined her head with impeccable courtesy. "Thank you for accepting my call." The bruising near her temple and the fatigue beneath her eyes hinted at the difficult hours she had endured, but neither diminished the quiet authority she carried. "I will be frank. My husband... my officers... and members of my crew are currently being held by your government." A brief pause. "I have reviewed the allegations presented to us. My Judge Advocate General has reviewed them. My senior officers have reviewed them." Her gaze remained steady. "At present, we find the legal basis for their continued detention... questionable."

The word was chosen with precision. Not incorrect. Not unlawful. Simply... Questionable.

"I am not calling to challenge your government's right to enforce its own laws. Every sovereign nation has that right." She leaned forward only slightly. "I am asking whether your government intends to pursue justice... or make an example of Starfleet." The silence that followed was deliberate, allowing the distinction to settle. "If crimes have been committed, then present the evidence. Permit my legal officers access to those detained. Allow them the opportunity to answer the accusations against them." Her expression never wavered. "If this is justice, then justice has nothing to fear from transparency." A heartbeat passed. "If, however, this has become a matter of politics..." The warmth left her voice—not through anger, but through absolute certainty. "...then political decisions rarely remain confined to those who make them."

Phoenix folded her hands once more. "Lady Sama... we find ourselves a very long way from Federation space. There is no admiral between us. No council. Only two women entrusted with the lives of those under their protection." Her eyes never left Sama's.

"I was not entrusted with command of an Odyssey-class starship because I lack resolve." It was not spoken with pride. It was stated as a simple fact. "My duty as a Starfleet officer requires that I pursue every diplomatic avenue available to secure the safe return of my people. My duty as their commanding officer requires that I never abandon them." For the first time, the mask slipped ever so slightly. "My husband is among those you hold." The words carried no plea. Only truth. "I imagine there are people for whom you would move worlds." "I ask only that you understand I am no different." Another measured silence. Then, with all the grace of someone born to courts and politics, Phoenix offered Lady Sama the opportunity to preserve both their dignities. "So tell me, Lady Sama..." A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips. "How do we resolve this together...before restraint is mistaken for indecision?"

Sama remained silent throughout the commodore's monologue. "It's unfortunate that this matter is also a personal one for you," she began. "Your people weren't arrested because of their origins, they were arrested because they violated Lonian law. Your husband was arrested because he attempted to attack me and sent three of my guards to the infirmary. The others allied themselves with a terrorist. The charges simply reflect that."

She leaned forward ever so slightly as she watched Phoenix closely. Sama's expression was collected, a perfect mask of neutrality. "Your detained crew have been given opportunities to defend or dispute their actions. They will have yet another chance during their trials. Foreign legal counsel has no standing under our judicial code unless the accused is incapable of representing themselves, a circumstance that does not currently apply to your people."

Straightening once again, Sama finished with, "I am still willing to negotiate a transfer of custody for your officers, but as long as they are within Lonian territory, they are under Lonian jurisdiction."

Phoenix remained perfectly still as Sama spoke. There were several points at which she could have interrupted. Several more where, only hours earlier, she almost certainly would have. She did not. Instead, she listened with the patience drilled into her in another lifetime, in rooms filled with nobles who smiled while arranging one another's destruction. Only when Sama had finished did Phoenix incline her head. "Then perhaps we have finally reached the part of this conversation that matters." Her tone remained courteous. "You are willing to negotiate a transfer of custody." It was not a question.

"I will not insult you by pretending Major Richardson's actions are irrelevant simply because he is my husband. Nor will I ask you to disregard the injuries sustained by your guards." A small pause. "However, I would caution against allowing the circumstances surrounding those actions to disappear beneath the simplicity of a charge." Her gaze remained fixed upon Sama. "Major Richardson is a fully trained Starfleet Marine. He has spent his adult life being taught precisely how much force to use, and when." Her expression did not change. "Three of your guards required medical treatment."
A beat. "None of them died." Phoenix allowed the silence to settle before continuing because to Phoenix, that was the most telling. Mattias was more than capable of cold blooded killing. She knew that very well. And knew what it took for him to have such... restraint.

"I would suggest that distinction is worthy of consideration when determining whether his actions constituted an attempt upon your life." There was no pride in the statement. No defence born from affection. She presented it as she might any other piece of evidence. "As for the accusation that my officers allied themselves with a terrorist..." The faintest tightening of her jaw. "...that designation is yours, Lady Sama. I acknowledge that your government has made it. I do not concede that my people understood themselves to be aiding one." Another careful distinction. "You have made your position regarding Lonian jurisdiction clear. I understand it." Phoenix inclined her head. "I am not asking you to surrender that jurisdiction."

A pause. "I am asking you to exercise it." Phoenix leaned forward slightly. "If your laws permit you to negotiate a transfer of custody, then there is clearly a mechanism by which this can be resolved without diminishing the authority of your House or requiring me to accept that my officers remain imprisoned while awaiting trials conducted under a legal system entirely foreign to them." Her expression softened fractionally. "Neither of us benefits from turning this into a contest over sovereignty." Then came the steel. "And I have no intention of making it one." The words were quiet enough that their meaning depended entirely upon how Sama chose to hear them. "We are strangers to your galaxy. We have spent months trying to find our way home while respecting the peoples whose territories we have crossed. Sometimes successfully. Sometimes imperfectly." A flicker of something passed through her eyes. "We have made mistakes." She could concede that much.

"But my officers are not terrorists." A beat. "And whatever Major Richardson may have done, he is not an enemy of your House." Phoenix deliberately used his rank again. "So." She settled back into her chair. "You have offered to negotiate." There was something subtly different about her now. Something that had nothing to do with Starfleet and everything to do with the royal household in which Phoenix had been raised. She had been taught from childhood that negotiations were rarely won by the person who spoke the loudest. They were won by the person who understood precisely when to stop speaking. "Name your terms, Lady Sama." A pause. "If they are reasonable, you will find me equally so." Her eyes held Sama's. "And I suspect that would be a considerably better outcome for both of us than discovering precisely how unreasonable either of us is capable of becoming."

During Phoenix's explanation of Mattias' actions, Sama conceded only a minute gesture. The shape of her gaze shifted, hardened. It was so subtle that one could convince themselves they imagined it. At best, they would have to agree to disagree on the intention behind his actions, especially since her guards hadn't managed to get anything out of him. Her husband, however, was only the emotional and personal side of this discussion. "You and I share a rather unique protective instinct. We both want what is best for our people. I'm sure we can find something agreeable --and reasonable-- before we find ourselves in a diplomatic gaffe." While she addressed herself as well as Phoenix, the subtle emergence of amusement suggested that only one of them was the real target audience.

"I recognise that your people are not from here, nor are you Lonian, which is why I provided your diplomatic team with a form to request transfer of custody." Sama's eyes shifted slightly as she focused on a screen out of view. "Your legal team submitted the requests, however the section detailing the course of action for reprimand is insufficient." This time, Sama allowed a breath of pause. "Our laws allow for transfer of custody as long as the other party processes the crime within their own legal framework. Simply saying that they will be reprimanded doesn't guarantee anything. A prisoner could gain their freedom without justice served. I hope you can see how that sets a negative precedent."

Sama paused just long enough to lace her fingers together, resting them on the desk. "So, my terms are simple. Proof of justice served. If your legal team revises their requests with a form of irrefutable proof --court records, for instance-- I will allow the transfer of half of your officers. Once we have proof that you aren't just trying to get them out of my detention centre, the other half may go."

Phoenix caught the flicker of amusement. Once, a very long time ago, she had lived among people who communicated entire threats through the angle of a smile. She allowed Sama hers. "Then we are closer to agreement than I feared."
There was no triumph in Phoenix's voice. If anything, some of the tension seemed to leave her shoulders. "I understand your concern. If our positions were reversed, I would not accept a promise that amounted to little more than *trust us* either."
Her fingers remained loosely folded before her. "There is, however, one distinction we will need to make." Phoenix's gaze remained level. "I can guarantee proceedings. I can guarantee investigation. I can guarantee that the allegations against each officer will be considered under the regulations and laws applicable to Starfleet personnel aboard the Elysium."

She deliberately paused ."And I can guarantee you a record of those proceedings and their outcome." Her expression remained politely neutral. "What I cannot guarantee you is punishment." There it was. No apology. No hesitation. "To do so before those proceedings have taken place would require me to presume their guilt. That would make whatever followed theatre rather than justice." Phoenix tilted her head slightly. "And I suspect neither of us wishes to establish *that* precedent."

The words were mild. Almost conversational. But they both knew what they meant. Phoenix continued before the point could become adversarial. "If our proceedings determine that an offence was committed, then whatever disciplinary or judicial action is appropriate under our laws will follow. You will receive the record demonstrating that. If they determine that an offence was not committed, or that circumstances mitigate the actions taken, you will receive that record as well." Another pause as if considering more. "That is the only form of proof I can offer you honestly."

Phoenix sat back. "As to the staged transfer..." For the first time since Sama had named her terms, Phoenix's expression changed. Not much. Merely thoughtful. "Half returned initially. The remainder upon demonstration that we have honoured the agreement." She considered it for another moment. "That is not unreasonable." The admission came freely. "Though I would suggest one amendment." Her voice remained perfectly cordial, polite in it's tone. "Your House determines which half remain in your custody, and this ceases to be an agreement between equals. I determine it, and you have every reason to suspect I will select those whose return is most advantageous to me." A faint smile touched Phoenix's lips. "So neither of us chooses."

"Provide my legal team with the complete list of officers approved for transfer. We will divide them by an impartial method agreed upon by both parties." Her gaze settled firmly upon Sama. "Major Richardson will be included in that process exactly as any other officer." That sentence was deliberate. No special demand. No wife pleading for her husband. No opportunity for Sama to use Mattias as leverage against her. "And once they are aboard Elysium, proceedings will begin without unnecessary delay." Phoenix inclined her head. "You will receive authenticated copies of the records upon their conclusion. Those records will show what was alleged, what evidence was considered, what findings were reached, and what action was taken. If that satisfies the requirement of your law, then I believe we have the foundations of an agreement."

Only then did the faintest hint of warmth enter her expression. "And Lady Sama..." Phoenix's eyes held hers. "I appreciate your concern regarding diplomatic gaffes." The smallest smile. "I was raised at court." A pause. "I assure you, I know how terribly embarrassing they can be." It was delivered with such impeccable courtesy that Sama could interpret it as agreement, humour, warning—or all three. Phoenix inclined her head again. "Shall we have our respective legal representatives put it in writing?"

Sama was no stranger to how different species exercised their laws, and how consequences for the crime varied between cultures. To that, she gave a subtle tilt of her head. "I am familiar with the variation in judicial proceedings of other species. What you have proposed is agreeable." She didn't acknowledge the news that Phoenix herself came from a court, but she wasn't surprised. The woman's mannerisms were pristine, comparable to the behaviours taught to each House's successors.

A brief glance to the side, then Phoenix's computer alerted to incoming data. "The requested list of officers approved for transfer. It has also been sent to your legal team," Sama confirmed. "To avoid conflicts of interest, perhaps a small committee. From my House, those who have not interacted with the detained. From your vessel, those who have no attachments or relational connections to the detained. Our respective legal teams seem well suited for such a task."

Phoenix's terminal chimed. She did not immediately look away from Sama. "That seems an equitable solution. I have no objection to a joint committee, provided its mandate is limited to determining the initial transfer group and not revisiting matters already agreed between us." Only then did she glance down. Her eyes moved over the names once. Then again. There was no visible reaction. That, perhaps, was the reaction. Phoenix had been raised in a household where noticing what had *not* been said was every bit as important as listening to what had. She slowly lifted her gaze back to the screen.
"Thank you for the list." A pause. "You have been admirably precise." There was nothing overtly accusatory in the words.
If anything, they might almost have been complimentary. "Unfortunately, I was not." Phoenix touched the display once, bringing the document back into view. "I requested the officers approved for transfer."

Her eyes returned to Sama. "I should have requested the complete list of persons from the USS Elysium and those under her protection presently being detained, held, seized as evidence, or otherwise prevented from leaving Lonian custody."
The wording was careful now. Painfully so. "Teevs is absent." A beat. "So is Kerilia." Phoenix did not call the child an asset.
She would not dignify the classification by repeating it. "I would like to know why." Her voice remained level, but something had changed beneath it.

The courtesy was still there. So was the diplomacy. But the softness was gone. "My legal officers have spent considerable time studying the Bedia Convention." Phoenix's hands settled together before her. "They have drawn my attention to Article Two." Nothing in her expression betrayed the surge of fury those two words produced. "I understand that your law categorises certain persons of Kavai ancestry as prohibited biological assets." A slight pause. "I also understand what your law requires be done with those so categorised following sentencing." There it was.Phoenix allowed the silence to remain between them.

She did not raise her voice. She did not accuse. She did not threaten. When she continued, she sounded almost painfully reasonable. "Kerilia is a child." Not an asset. Not evidence. Not contraband. A child. "And she came here under the protection of people aboard my vessel." Phoenix's gaze held Sama's without wavering. "I appreciate that Lonian law may assign her another designation." A faint tilt of her head. "Elysium does not." Another beat. "Teevs, likewise, may not hold a Starfleet commission, but his absence from this document does not remove him from my concern." Her eyes dropped momentarily to the list before returning to Sama. "You and I have just spent considerable effort reaching an agreement founded upon the principle that neither of us wishes to see this matter deteriorate unnecessarily."

Her words were quiet. "I would very much like to preserve that agreement." There was no emphasis on *very much*.
There did not need to be. "So let us correct my imprecision." Phoenix sat a little straighter. "Please provide me with the status and intended disposition of Teevs and Kerilia." A pause. "And, if they have not been included within the transfer arrangement, I would like to discuss the terms under which they will be." She let that sit for a moment before adding, with absolute calm, "I will not attempt to disguise my position regarding the child, Lady Sama." Her expression remained composed. "There are matters upon which reasonable people may disagree." A breath. "The destruction of a child because of her ancestry is not one of them." Still no raised voice. Still no threat. Perhaps that was what made what followed carry so much weight. "I am prepared to respect Lonian sovereignty. I am prepared to respect Lonian judicial procedure. I am even prepared to accept that your laws may reach conclusions with which I profoundly disagree." Phoenix's eyes hardened.

"But I will not participate in an agreement whose price is knowingly leaving a child behind to be killed." Silence. Then, just as deliberately, Phoenix gave Sama a way out. "I do not believe that is what you are asking of me." A tiny inclination of her head. "So I am asking you to tell me what solution your law permits." Phoenix folded her hands again.
"And I suggest we find it."

One of Sama's brows lifted a fraction. "There are no children in my detention centre, Commodore. I hope the discussion continues with that correction in mind." She didn't elaborate further. She didn’t care to, not after she already explained it to Teevs. "The Royal Sovereignty remains grateful that the Elysium ensured safe passage for one of our own. Mister Dosivi, however, is a Lonian citizen within Lonian territory, therefore he and the evidence against him are fully within my jurisdiction. The vessel he arrived on does not change that."

Sama indulged a pause, though it was not for Phoenix's benefit. "If you've studied our laws, then you should be aware of the stakes. An act of treason is a serious matter, and we are committed to thorough investigation before delivering a verdict. The documented confession will make Mister Dosivi's trial a straightforward process."

Phoenix went very still. Not shocked. Not confused. Still. For a moment, the only sound in the ready room was the faint hum of the ship around her. Then she inclined her head. "Understood." The word was quiet. Precise. "You do not consider Kerilia a child." Phoenix did not use the term *asset*. She would not. Nor did she allow even the smallest trace of anger into her voice.

"Thank you for clarifying your position." Her eyes remained fixed on Sama. "Mine remains unchanged." a significant beat passed. "Teevs Dosivi may be a Lonian citizen. I do not dispute that." Another pause. One where she held the gaze firmly.
"I also do not dispute your jurisdiction over alleged offences committed by a Lonian citizen within Lonian territory." That much, Phoenix could concede. "What I dispute is the proposition that jurisdiction removes all obligation to consider circumstance." She folded her hands once more. "You have described the matter as straightforward because there is a confession." A faint tilt of her head. "Confessions are rarely straightforward when the accused believes another person's life depends upon giving one." Phoenix let that settle. She had seen enough courts, enough coercion dressed as law, enough powerful people convincing themselves that procedure made an outcome just. "Your investigators may call it an admission. I would call the circumstances surrounding it relevant." Her tone remained almost gentle.

"Particularly when the evidence against Mister Dosivi is a living person whose ancestry your law has transformed into an offence." A pause. "And before you correct me again, Lady Sama..." Something changed in Phoenix's expression. Not anger.
Recognition. "I heard you. You do not regard Kerilia as a person." The silence sharpened. "I do."

There was no argument in the words. No invitation to debate. Simply an immovable fact. Phoenix leaned back slightly. "You and I may disagree on law. We may disagree on jurisdiction. We may even disagree on what constitutes treason." Her gaze hardened blue eyes going an icy silver that showed her stance very clearly. "But there are certain disagreements I am not capable of making comfortable merely for the sake of diplomacy." A breath. "I was raised in a society that was very skilled at deciding which people counted." For the first time, something personal entered her voice. Very little. Enough. "I know what those arguments sound like."

Phoenix allowed the words to sit between them. "And I know what they become when everyone polite enough to object decides instead to remain silent." She did not elaborate. She did not need to. Her expression settled back into perfect composure. If Sama could see Phoenix's back, the tattoo that ran over the whip marks that her father had dealt. That Mattias had saved her from. She would know that this was one item that Phoenix would never move on. "That said, I am not asking you to abandon your investigation. I am asking you to consider a transfer arrangement for Mister Dosivi and Kerilia separately from the officers already discussed. Your legal representatives may stipulate conditions. Oversight. Records. Guarantees of appearance, if your law requires it." Then the steel returned. "But any arrangement that ends with Kerilia being destroyed is not an arrangement I can accept." Not will not. Cannot.

It was a subtle distinction, but an important one. Phoenix gave Sama one final measured look. "So perhaps we should not waste each other's time debating whether she qualifies as a child." A faint inclination of her head. "You have your definition. I have mine. Let us instead discuss what your law allows us to do before either definition becomes irreversible."

"No."

The single word carried more weight than anything else Sama could have offered in this little argument. Whatever crumb of hospitality she had extended to Phoenix was snatched away, leaving behind a cold veneer. "What you propose, arranging a transfer of Mister Dosivi and the hybrid, creates a foundation which allows tolerance of his crime to flourish. Would you relinquish one of your own to a foreign entity if you knew the act of doing so would weaken the severity of a crime committed under your jurisdiction?" She leaned forward slightly, but her steeled look never waned. "Would you accept being seen as the leader who tolerates certain offenses because she lets another authority decide a verdict for one of her subjects?"

Sama's blue eyes gripped Phoenix's as she let the questions sit between them. "We built the foundations of an agreement to return your people. I suggest we return to the details of that arrangement."

Phoenix held Sama's gaze. The refusal did not surprise her. Perhaps, somewhere beneath all the careful words and measured concessions, she had expected it. Sama's questions, however, deserved an answer. "No." Phoenix spoke the word without hesitation. "If I genuinely believed releasing one of my people into another authority's custody would undermine laws necessary to protect those entrusted to me, I would not do it." A slight inclination of her head acknowledged the point.
"And if I believed another authority intended to use jurisdiction merely as a means to prevent me from enforcing those laws, I would be considerably less accommodating than you have been." It was an answer Sama might not have expected.

Phoenix wasn't going to manufacture hypocrisy merely because it made her argument easier. "So yes, Lady Sama. I understand your position." A pause. "Understanding it does not require me to agree with it." Her eyes remained steady. "Nor does respecting your authority require me to approve of every use to which that authority is put." There was no accusation in her voice now. Only certainty. "You have given me your answer regarding Mister Dosivi." A beat. "And regarding Kerilia."
The name was deliberate. Because Phoenix was always deliberate when her mind was working more behind what was shown. Not *hybrid*. Not *asset*. Kerilia. "I will not insult either of us by pretending another ten minutes of argument will change it." Phoenix sat back slightly. Sama wanted to return to their agreement. Very well.

"We will return to the matter of my personnel." Her tone shifted almost imperceptibly. The disagreement was being placed aside, not surrendered. "The joint committee you proposed is acceptable. Representatives from both legal teams, with any member possessing a personal, professional or familial conflict regarding the detainees recusing themselves from the selection." Phoenix glanced briefly at the list Sama had transmitted. "The initial group will be transferred to Elysium. Proceedings under our legal framework will commence, and your government will receive authenticated records of their disposition." Her gaze returned to Sama. "Once those records demonstrate that we have honoured the agreement, the remaining personnel will be released into our custody under the same conditions."

A slight pause she made as if marshalling her thoughts. "If that accurately reflects our agreement, my legal team can begin drafting the terms immediately." She could have stopped there. Instead, Phoenix regarded Sama for another long moment.
"When I was young, I was taught that diplomacy is not the art of making another person agree with you." Her expression was composed. "It is the art of discovering what can be agreed upon when neither party intends to yield." The faintest inclination of her head. "On this matter, neither of us intends to yield." There was no challenge in the statement. Just recognition.
"So we will not." Her hands folded neatly before her. "We will save the people we *can* agree upon today." A beat. "And leave our disagreement where it stands." Phoenix's expression did not change. But there was something final in the way she said it. "Shall we proceed?"

Admittedly, Sama was a little surprised that Phoenix set aside the argument for Teevs so quickly. Given the earlier mention of not accepting any arrangement that, as the commodore put it, 'ends with Kerilia being destroyed,' she expected the woman to press the matter further. She watched Phoenix carefully, silently scrutinising every move. Phoenix struck her as someone who spoke deliberately. Her insistence on using the hybrid's name may not pose a direct challenge to Sama's laws, but it rejected a truth those laws were based upon. Her repeated efforts to show that she grew up under a royal system attempted to appeal to Sama, perhaps to show a different shape that their form of formality and rule can take. It was within the realm of possibility that her word choice to save the people in their arrangement instead of transferring them was also deliberate.

Sama's eyes narrowed.

She had spent years building her House up so that the right conditions would allow her to further expand her power. The conditions that Dosivi's case currently provided were precisely what she was looking for, and she wouldn't let this alien's whining get in the way. Even if it was just a slip of the tongue, she could afford small bouts of paranoia.

Of course Phoenix wanted her people back and wouldn't back down. Sama understood that.

Of course Sama valued her sovereignty and wouldn't relinquish what served her goals. She was certain Phoenix understood that.

Sama's posture shifted. To most, it was just a shift in her seat, a slight lean forward. To those who understood the subtle nonverbal language of a royal court, it presented as a threat. "We can proceed when you feel like being forthright about your real intentions." The connected then ended.

Phoenix did not move when the screen went dark. The seal of the Fourth House disappeared, leaving her staring at her own faint reflection in the black surface. For several seconds, she simply sat there. Then one eyebrow rose. "Well." It was barely more than a murmur. Phoenix leaned back slowly in her chair. Sama was good. Annoyingly good. The slight shift forward had not escaped Phoenix. She had spent too much of her childhood surrounded by women who could issue threats without altering the pitch of their voices and men who could condemn someone with a courteous smile. She knew precisely what she had just seen. More concerning was what Sama had apparently seen in her. Phoenix's fingers tapped once against the desk. Your real intentions. She had been too quick. Not obviously so. Not to most diplomats. She had argued. She had pressed. She had offered alternatives and concessions before finally accepting Sama's refusal. But Sama wasn't most diplomats.

Phoenix had told the woman she could not accept an arrangement that ended in Kerilia's death, and then, minutes later, apparently accepted precisely that. Of course Sama had noticed. "Shit." The decidedly unroyal word escaped quietly.
Her gaze dropped to the list still displayed on her terminal. Names. Her people. Mattias. For just a moment, Phoenix's fingertip rested against her husband's name. Then she pulled her hand away. Commodore first. Wife later. The agreement still mattered. Half of them could come home. And once they were aboard Elysium, the second half could follow. Phoenix would not sacrifice that because Sama had become suspicious. But Teevs and Kerilia... Her jaw tightened. There were some things diplomacy could accomplish.

There were other things for which diplomacy merely established that every reasonable alternative had been exhausted.
Phoenix rose carefully from her chair, ignoring the immediate protest from a body that reminded her rather forcefully that Sthilg had ordered her to rest. She crossed to the viewport. Circinus stretched beyond the glass. No Federation. No Starfleet Command. No cavalry coming over the horizon. Just them. And somewhere below, a young woman Phoenix had never met was awaiting what the Lonians politely termed destruction. "No," Phoenix whispered. This time the word belonged to her.

She stood there another moment before turning back toward her desk. Her hand hovered over the communications panel.
Then stopped. Sama was suspicious. Which meant Phoenix would assume from this moment onward that every communication between Elysium and the planet was being monitored. She withdrew her hand. No comm call. No written orders. Nothing Sama could intercept and nothing Phoenix might later be forced to explain as anything other than exactly what it was. Instead, Phoenix straightened her uniform. If she wanted a private conversation, she would have one the old-fashioned way. Face to face. She headed for the door. And paused. A tiny, humourless smile crossed her lips. "Forthright." The door opened. "Careful what you wish for, Lady Sama." Phoenix stepped into the corridor. And headed for the bridge, Her Command team and the choice she was about to make.

OFF