Page 277 of Destined For Her Alien Daddy

Instant outrage.

A scholar near the back rises halfway from his seat. “So you admit withholding data?”

“Yes.”

The honesty shocks them more than denial would have.

“By what authority?”

“By the authority granted to the initiative through multi-polity oversight agreements after the destruction of Nareth-Kul.”

“That is political authority, not moral authority!”

“No,” I say calmly. “Moral authority does not exist in isolation. That is the entire problem.”

Silence crashes through the room.

I step away from the platform controls and let my voice lower.

“I know what some of you think. You think withholding anything makes us cowards. Manipulators. Gatekeepers terrified of the truth.”

My throat tightens briefly.

“I understand that instinct because I used to share it.”

Ghar’s eyes stay locked on me.

“So let me be very clear.” I draw a slow breath. “Truth matters. We will continue releasing verified findings gradually, transparently, and under review. But discovery is not morally pure simply because it is exciting. We have already seen what happens when existential truths arrive faster than societies can metabolize them. Panic creates demagogues. Despair creates extremism. Fear creates people willing to burn knowledge entirely.”

Rolaev ’s face flashes through my memory.

“I will not help build another cult of silence,” I say softly. “But I also will not confuse recklessness with courage.”

The chamber stays quiet this time.

Not convinced.

Listening.

I realize suddenly that I am not fighting the room anymore.

I am leading it.

The awareness almost knocks the breath out of me.

Questions continue for nearly two hours.

Hard questions.

Necessary questions.

I answer some directly. Redirect others. Refuse a handful cleanly enough to frustrate everyone equally, which Sira later informs me is an underrated diplomatic skill. By the end, the summit floor has transformed from near-panic into something messier and healthier: ongoing argument.

Not collapse.

Debate.

Humanity, Coalition species, Alliance cultures—all wrestling with uncertainty instead of surrendering to it.