Note: THIS CHAPTER WILL NOT MAKE SENSE IF YOU HAVENT READ UP TO CHAPTER 46 OF MANY VOICES. It also technically doesn't happen until sometime during chapter 47 but it's probably better to read it right after you read 46.

Halogen looked up from his desk. "This is unusual, Senator," he said before looking back down at his work. "Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting?"

"We need to deal with that student," Ratbat said.

Halogen paused again in his work. The anger in the mech's voice was disappointing. "Excuse me?"

"The one who stood up. Earlier this-"

"I know what you're talking about." Halogen spoke calmly over his subordinate. "But you had him thrown out. Was that not dealing with him?"

Silence.

Halogen finally looked up again.

"Actually," Ratbat said. "I had him arrested."

Arrested? Why? He met the senator's optics and saw the answer in them. "You want him offline?"

"His words were treason."

This was no good. Ratbat was getting too comfortable in his power. "He is a secondary school student."

"But he spoke out against the Council."

"Yes," Halogen was starting to feel angry now too. "And you embarrassed the Council by rising to the bait and getting into a debate with him, which you lost."

Ratbat glared.

"And now you want to exact your petty revenge."

"We can't let him get away with this."

"Listen to yourself," Halogen said. "You are doing this because you're angry and jealous. If you let those emotions rule you, you will make fatal mistakes. If this student disappears, all of the others who were there will be able to guess why, no matter how well you cover it up."

Ratbat scowled. "No one will be able to do anything about it. He's low-sparked. His closest connection to power is the caretaker of a friend, who is minor nobility in Kalis. He's no one important, and in a vorn or two, no one will remember him."

"Then why does this matter so much?" Ratbat needed to learn to control his temper. "As I said, having a mechling, low-sparked at that, executed because he insulted you is so pitifully immature and unnecessary. If you have him imprisoned somewhere, you must release him before-"

"Everyone heard." Ratbat cut Halogen off.

"Excuse me?"

"Everyone heard him." The senator's gaze was intense now—less angry. "A low-sparked secondary school student stood up to the Council… and he was holding his own against me in a debate."

"If you hadn't gotten angry and made a fool of yourself…"

"What's done is done," Ratbat said. "We can't leave this threat to the Council unresolved."

Halogen looked back down at his work. He didn't have time for this conversation. "That sparkling isn't a threat."

"No, he isn't. But what he did is." Ratbat said. "What message do we send if we release him? That it's all right to stand up to us? And if he did it once, he'll try it again… or someone else who heard him will. We can't let that sort of thing go unpunished."

Halogen sighed. Ratbat did have a point. He was overreacting, painting this more important than it was, trying to manipulate the Grand Councilmech.

"Lord Halogen," Ratbat said. "These are critical times. Mecha are unhappy. This can't last much longer and your superiors are not ready to move yet."

A deep uneasiness that never truly left flared in Halogen's core. "Do not speak of that."

"In the long run, getting rid of this mech will be less of a hassle. And we can't afford to let it go—not when so much is at stake."

"I was tired of this argument before it began," Halogen said. "You know my opinion on the matter. But since you've already arrested him, I suppose you may do as you wish. As long as you understand that covering your tracks is your responsibility, Ratbat. You know the laws." They couldn't afford that two-faced media getting ahold of something like this.

"Don't worry about that," Ratbat said. "No one even knows he was arrested."

"Good," Halogen said. "Now please let me get back to my work."

Ratbat nodded and left. Maybe he was right, even if his real reasons for this were revenge. That young mech had been surprisingly convincing, and he hadn't been afraid. Fear was important. Fear was the glue holding society together. Without it, things would spin out of the Council's control. They could not let anymech, even low-sparked students stand up to them. The disease of rebellion had to be caught early and eradicated before it spread.