"All right." Meng surveyed the group. "We have a motion on the floor that Dr. Ocampo's vote be stricken for conflict. Do we have a second?"

Jiya hesitated, then raised her hand.

Meng laughed. "I applaud your conviction Dr. Kapoor, but even if you were allowed a vote in a council matter, your conflict with Dr. Ocampo would ensure the fate of your vote was tied with hers."

Jiya lowered her hand, once again feeling all the more a child chided by the adults in the room. Thirty-six years old, an expert in her field, and still she didn't feel the slightest sense of authority or confidence.

"I second that motion." Luttman. Of course.

"Fine. We'll put it to a vote. Dr. Ocampo you will have to abstain."

"Of course, sir. Let's just get this nonsense over with."

"All in favor of striking Dr. Ocampo's vote, raise your hands."

Luttman, Dr. Li, and even Chief Jindal raised their hands. Chief Hardison, however, kept his tucked neatly on his lap.

"To be clear," Meng said, "you are aware Chief Hardison that your vote would swing this decision in your favor."

"I am, sir."

"And yet you are not voting to strike Dr. Ocampo's vote."

"No, sir." Chet Hardison cast a remorseful glance to his colleagues. "I'm sorry, but like her or not, I don't believe Dr. Ocampo would let any conflicts sway her judgement. If she is voting against a search party, I have full confidence that she is doing so based on her convictions, not out of some misguided malice."

"Well, then. All opposed to striking Dr. Ocampo's vote."

Chiefs Hino, Alexander, and Hardison raised their hands, accompanied at last by Administrator Meng. "So then," Meng said, "Dr. Ocampo's vote stands. I'm afraid we are still at an impasse."

"At which point," Dr. Li said, "the vote must be broken by your assistant and the station's vice administrator.

Meng laughed. "And now you look for protocol to save you, Dr. Li? Absolutely we can open the vote to Vice Administrator Situ. Mr. Situ, will you join us."

Situ Tao stepped forward from the shadows that clung to the back of the room. "Sir."

"The minutes are automated?"

"Set and recording."

"Good. So, please put Dr. Li at ease. What say you? Shall a search party be sent?"

Situ Tao cast his eyes about the assemblage in the room, then lowered his gaze in deference. Meng smiled assured of his victory.

"Aye."

"Yes," Meng started, speaking on top of his vice administrator. "Of course. So the nays --" Meng stopped mid-sentence. "Wait. Come again?"

Situ Tao kept his head bowed. "I'm sorry sir, but I vote in favor."

The look on Meng's face said it all - a battle of fury and restraint. He breathed in, restraint battling to be the victor, but his anger was evident nonetheless. "Thank you, Mr. Situ. You're excused."

"Yes, sir." Situ Tao returned into the dark at the back of the room. Jiya assumed he was returning to his clerical duties. More, Jiya assumed that Mr. Situ would have a worse tomorrow than even she would. If she had Dr. Ocampo boiling over, Mr. Situ must have Administrator Meng on the verge of erupting.

"So Dr. Li, it looks like you have your search party." Dr. Li nodded with no sign of gloating - merely a simple acceptance of the victory. "That being said, Chief Luttman, you will assign no more than two security personnel to the search, and I will have final approval."

"Yes, sir."

"Beyond that, the civilian members of the search party will be on a volunteer only basis, and capped at four personnel. Understood."

The room nodded their agreement.

Jiya cast a furtive glance about the room, desperate to speak but uncertain if she could yet interject. Dr. Li obviously picked up on the unease.

"Go ahead, Dr. Kapoor."

Jiya nodded, a sense of relief flooding over her at the same time as her nerves lit on fire. She knew what she was about to say, but she found herself surprised as she uttered the words all the same.

"I would like to lead the civilian party."

"Absolutely out of the question." Dr. Ocampo fumed. "This nonsense has gone far enough. You're to report to the lab immediately and that will be the end of this."

A throat cleared and all eyes returned to Administrator Meng.

"Your reservations are noted, Dr. Ocampo, but denied."

"Sir --"

"Do not interrupt me." All remnants of resistance had left. A decision had been made and Meng looked prepared to see it through no matter where it led. "Dr. Kapoor has volunteered. While I will not allow chiefs to participate," Meng glanced pointedly to Luttman, then continued, "to ensure the voluntary nature of this expedition, I will also not tolerate administrative objections to any volunteers, lest some inequity be created by our reservations. What's more, as Dr. Kapoor insisted on this matter, I see it only fitting she is a part of it."

Dr. Ocampo silenced, Jiya found her voice. "Thank you, sir." She often disagreed with Administrator Meng, but one thing she never questioned was his conviction to a just management of the colony's affairs. "I won't let you down."

"Don't make any promises, Dr. Kapoor, and definitely don't thank me. That far out towards the perimeter and the pinwheels are unchecked. Any search party will be in serious jeopardy."

"I think I have a way around that. We have ranae samples in the lab. I could create an aerosol out of ranae musk. As a natural predator of the pinwheels, I am confident we could use the musk as a repellant."

"Fine. Make that happen, but I still believe this is a fool's errand - outvoted or not." Administrator Meng sighed and turned to his chiefs. "Chief Hino, you will make an announcement calling for volunteers. Dr. Li, you will review for medical approval and Luttman, from those qualified you will determine those best suited to serve. You are all dismissed."

Meng pushed back on his chair, and all of the chiefs rose in unison, the meeting adjourned. As they did, Vice Administrator Situ approached. Jiya could see from the furrow of his brow that he was weighing a decision, one that would not be to the council's liking.

"Administrator Meng," he said, nodding, then turned and nodded to Chief Hino as well. "Chief Hino. I ask to volunteer for the search party."

"Absolutely not." Meng shook his head. "Don't be absurd."

"Sir, I'm not a chief."

"That's beside the point."

Dr. Li broke in. "I can vouch for his health. He is fit to serve."

"But he's my vice administrator."

"Who by your own orders you are forbidden to restrict." Jiya had rarely seen Dr. Ocampo smiling, but in this she obviously took great pleasure.

Meng ran his hands once more through his thinning hair. "Right, right you are. Once more I object, but I cannot refuse. Luttman, the final decision to Mr. Situ's fitness shall lie with you."

"Yes, sir."

Jiya could see the eddies of power within the council as responsibility jockeyed from one chief to the next. It was a rare glimpse into the administration of the colony. Viewing it in person, experiencing it firsthand, it felt no different than the infighting of a clique of school kids - playground bartering. That the fate of one hundred colonists, and an entire planet of indigenous life, boiled down to the whims of these eight seemed wildly inappropriate.

"Dr. Kapoor?"

Jiya stirred from her musings. "Yes, Dr. Li?"

Dr. Li Meilin patted a gnarled hand on Jiya's shoulder. "I believe you have to be going." She gesticulated with her other hand shewing Jiya towards the door. "Off with you, now. No one likes a gawker."

"Yes, ma'am."

Jiya turned and shuffled from the room. Yes, wildly inappropriate, she thought noting Dr. Li's apparent delight. They were all children playing house, while the lives of the colonists and the entire ecosystem of Alium hung in the balance.