His badge readsHigh Command Liaison — Commander Edrin Saal.
He doesn’t offer a hand. He doesn’t offer warmth. He offers gravity.
“Varos,” he says.
“Saal,” I reply, because I’ve read his dossiers. Coalition leadership loves men like him—efficient, pragmatic, capable of swallowing atrocity if it keeps the fleet intact.
He looks at the holo-projection hovering above the table. The top line of my statement is visible.
He arches an eyebrow. “You’re drafting again.”
“Writing,” I correct.
His mouth twitches, not quite amusement. “Sure.”
He steps closer, and the security officers remain by the door, statues with pulse rifles.
Saal pulls a compad from his pocket and sets it down on the table like he’s laying out a weapon. The screen glows to life, throwing pale light over his knuckles.
“We’re going to speak plainly,” he says. “This Oversight Panel situation is… a mess.”
“A mess,” I repeat, letting the word settle like ash.
He exhales through his nose. “A volatile mess. The Coalition has fleets on standby. The League has civilians in the streets. If this turns into accusations across command lines, you know what happens.”
“War,” I say.
He nods once. “War.”
Silence stretches, thick and heavy.
He taps his compad, and a document blooms into the air. Coalition High Command letterhead. Formal. Clean. Cold.
“High Command is prepared to restore your rank,” he says.
The words hit the room like a shockwave.
For a heartbeat, I can’t tell if I’m hearing right, because it’s so absurdly wrong—like offering a crown to a man with his hands bound.
I stare at the projection.Restoration of Rank and Command Eligibility — Conditional.
Conditional.
Of course.
Saal watches me carefully. “Your surrender was… appreciated. Your willingness to submit to scrutiny has been useful. It has prevented certain factions from using you as a banner.”
“Useful,” I repeat, my voice flat.
He doesn’t flinch. “We’re all useful to something.”
I let a slow breath out, feeling the binders hum as my wrists shift. “What’s the condition?”
Saal’s gaze doesn’t waver. “You withdraw direct accusations against League command. You allow the Oversight Panel to handle its findings quietly. You frame your statement as personal accountability, not systemic indictment.”
My jaw tightens. Heat climbs up my spine, slow and controlled. Not rage. Something colder.
“You want me to shut up,” I say.
