The harsh lighting of the glowstudio baked the broadcast crew below. Respected citizens of the Directorate handpicked to deliver news across Sphere Rael?n—Magistrate Tani Undali’s personal territory.

  Hurried feet and shouts echoed through the tall chamber, as everyone settled into their positions.

  "Alright quiet on set. Broadcast begins in three... two—."

  The director gave a sharp wave, cuing Belas Doras and his striking co-host, Ula Morez, both in crisp white tunics, to begin.

  "Treachery among the Magistrates," Doras began, first-class smile plastered across an ebony, and heavily mascaraed face. "Words we’ve sadly heard before."

  "Indeed." Morez nodded. "Magistrate Thorne of Sphere Tharkai has been caught with damning evidence. Embezzlement. Fraud. And ties to radical factions. Investigators now link him to several high-casualty attacks over the past decade. Including the recent one on the Citadel, and last year's fateful bombing here on Karthas."

  “And to remind our off-world viewers, one of our kelrons—a submerged, oceanic cityscape, sustained significant damage in the attack. Its walls were breached and catastrophic flooding claimed countless lives.” Doras lowered his head with solemn care. “Given Magistrate Undali’s stout intolerance for terrorism—a swift, and dare I say fiery response is all—”

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  “It may come sooner than expected. With tensions at an all-time high, Union ships continue to mass in the Minas’ Nebula, just three systems shy of a tertiary trade route. While they’ve yet to breach Directorate territory, their proximity amid a scandal of this scale is...troubling. It begs the question of how far Thorne’s illicit ties truly reached? At least I think so. Do you concur, Doras?”

  “Yes, and please don't interrupt me again. It's especially concerning when paired with reports of Thorne’s loyalist fleets. A shocking number of cruisers, and at least two mammoth-class vessels have refused to check-in. Unofficial sources suggest their Shipwardens believe the orders to be part of a plot, rather than a legitimate recall.”

  Morez dramatically regarded the floor, performative as humanly possible.

  “It paints a precarious picture. We could see Directorate-on-Directorate conflict. A sudden, albeit brief, engagement in a Sphere already on edge. An opening the Union might not ignore.”

  The director waved at them again, pointing at his watch.

  Doras allowed his professional smile to fade into a faux frown. “And even with the potential chaos of the days to come, we here at Sphere Rael?n Broadcast and Data Services. will remain not only voices of calm. But of truth and compassion.”

  "I'm Belas Doras."

  "And I'm Ula Morez."

  "And may the light of Primas shine on the rest of your day."