The private resonance sanctum sat deep beneath the academy complex on Eden Prime. The heavy doors had stayed sealed for weeks. Only the core family came through tonight.
Elizabeth had called the gathering after she finished reviewing Lira's latest strain reports and the projections on doctrinal drift. "We cannot guide the empire if our own bonds fracture," she had said.
The air inside hummed from the controlled resonance arrays. They were strong enough to amplify every connection but contained to stop any uncontrolled Bloom spread.
Elara arrived first. She stripped off her formal robes and let them drop to the floor. Sabrina entered next, then Lira, who carried clear exhaustion in the set of her shoulders and the lines under her eyes.
Elizabeth stood at the center, still commanding even in this more open dynamic they had built. The chamber's soft ambient lights moved across bare skin as the last pieces of clothing fell away.
