I do not sit.
“I’ll stand,” I say evenly.
A flicker passes across more than one face, annoyance quickly masked, and the chair inclines his head. “As you prefer.”
The doors seal behind me with a soft, final sound.
“This session is being recorded,” he says.
“I assumed as much,” I reply.
“This is a procedural review,” another member adds. “Not a disciplinary hearing.”
“Yet,” I say.
The chair’s mouth tightens. “Your conduct during the earlier incident raises concerns.”
“About,” I ask.
“Authority,” he replies. “Judgment. Appropriateness.”
I fold my hands loosely in front of me, grounding myself in posture instead of furniture, because standing keeps my spine straight and my mind sharper.
“Then ask,” I say.
The chair leans forward slightly. “Did you obstruct a lawful extraction order.”
“No,” I answer.
A murmur ripples faintly around the table.
“Did you interfere with security operations.”
“No,” I repeat.
“Did you place personal loyalty above institutional mandate.”
“No.”
The chair’s eyes narrow. “Then explain your actions.”
“I prevented an individual from being isolated under contested authority,” I say calmly. “I enforced visibility, jurisdictional clarity, and procedural restraint in a situation where force was being misrepresented as protection.”
Another member interjects. “That is your interpretation.”
“It is observable fact,” I reply.
“Do you acknowledge,” the chair continues, “that your public statements escalated unrest.”
“I acknowledge,” I say, “that visibility accelerates accountability.”
“That is not what was asked.”
“It is the answer.”
The temperature in the room shifts, irritation bleeding through polish as they realize I am not going to play the narrowing game they prepared.
“You have become a focal point,” one member says. “That is destabilizing.”
“Only to systems that require silence to function,” I reply.
The chair exhales slowly. “We are trying to protect the institution.”
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Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Omega and The Arrogant Alpha (by Kylie)
Very great read. Could have done with out the last few chapters....
Love the story. How can I read the remaining?...