One cycle after the Convocation, Elara sat alone in her quarters on Eden Prime reviewing the latest stabilizer reports. The new committee structure had held for now, but she knew better than to assume it would stay that way without work. Systems failed when people inside them started keeping score in silence.
She decided on a Reckoning Review—private conversations only, one person at a time, in whatever location each preferred. No recordings, no aides taking notes. Just talk.
She started with Elizabeth in the old Thunderforge memorial garden. The place still carried the faint smell of scorched metal under the soil from the original forge collapse years ago. They walked the gravel path between low stone markers.
Elizabeth spoke first. "I won't lie. Stepping back feels like I'm abandoning the wheel. Every report that comes through the committees now, I read it and wonder if I would have done it different. Like watching someone else raise your kid while you stand on the sidelines."
