Chapter 99

Five years after the war ended, Arianna stood in the Continental Council chamber for what would be her final address as Coordinator-General.

The decision to step down had been building for months—a gradual recognition that the federation no longer needed crisis leader but rather established administrator, that her particular skills were less suited to maintenance than transformation, and that new leadership might serve the continent better than her continued tenure.

"I'm not dying or being forced out," she clarified at the beginning of her address, seeing concern on familiar faces throughout the chamber. "I'm choosing to transition to the next phase of my life and leadership. The federation...