Desolation of Erimos
Copyright© 2026 by Rycliff
Chapter 14: The Motion
The recess lasted almost two hours.
Alliyanna spent most of it in a small conference room behind the Senate chamber with Advocate Sol, Talak and Kahlan.
Nobody celebrated.
There was nothing to celebrate yet.
The prosecution had not proven a conspiracy. The Emperor himself had testified that he had no reason to believe Alliyanna had participated in the attack. The security recordings showed her standing in the same danger as everyone else.
None of that mattered until the Senate decided what to do with it.
Talak paced.
Kahlan sat with his feet stretched beneath the table, watching him.
“You’re going to wear through the floor.”
Talak ignored him.
Alliyanna sat at the end of the table with the indictment in front of her.
She had read the first page so many times that she could nearly recite it.
Treason.
Conspiracy against the Emperor.
Conspiracy in Birsha’s death.
Fraud.
Obstruction.
Words that had frightened her eight days earlier.
They looked different now.
Still dangerous.
But smaller.
Sol stood near the window reading messages on his tablet.
Alliyanna finally looked at him.
“What are they doing?”
“Arguing.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“That’s useful.”
“Senators tend to think so.”
Kahlan looked toward Sol.
“Are they arguing about whether to convict her?”
“Some.”
Talak stopped pacing.
“Some?”
Sol lowered the tablet.
“There are members who believe her conduct after the attack was sufficiently reckless that punishment is warranted even if the conspiracy charges fail.”
“That isn’t what she was charged with,” Talak said.
“I know.”
“So do they.”
“Yes.”
Talak resumed pacing.
Alliyanna looked at Sol.
“What do you think happens?”
“I think the prosecution has a problem.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It’s the answer I have.”
Alliyanna leaned back.
Through the weakened connection she could feel Talak’s frustration before he spoke.
You should eat.
She looked at him.
You’ve been walking for an hour.
I can walk and be worried at the same time.
Kahlan’s presence joined them.
Remarkable versatility.
Talak glared at him.
Kahlan smiled.
Out loud he said, “I didn’t say anything.”
A chime sounded from the wall.
Sol looked toward it.
“That’s us.”
Alliyanna stood.
Her stomach tightened.
Talak stopped beside her.
“You ready?”
“No.”
“Good.”
She frowned.
“Good?”
“You’d worry me if you were.”
Kahlan rose.
“I’m completely ready.”
Talak looked at him.
“You’re lying.”
“Yes.”
Alliyanna smiled briefly.
Then they went back.
The Senate chamber was louder than it had been before the recess.
Groups of senators remained standing near their seats, speaking across aisles and leaning over railings. Some returned hurriedly as the chamber officers called for order.
Alliyanna took her place beside Sol.
She looked toward Advocate-General Vale.
Vale was already seated.
There was something different about her.
Not defeated.
Resolved.
Alliyanna noticed Sol looking at her too.
“What?” Alliyanna whispered.
“I don’t know.”
That was not comforting.
The President entered.
The gavel fell.
“Order.”
The chamber settled slowly.
“Order in the Senate.”
The remaining conversations stopped.
The President looked over the chamber.
“The Senate will resume consideration in the matter of the Imperial Senate versus Baroness Alliyanna Kar’Jan.”
Vale rose.
“Mr. President.”
The President stopped.
“Yes, Advocate-General?”
“The prosecution has a matter to address before this chamber proceeds further.”
A murmur began immediately.
The President struck the gavel once.
“Proceed.”
Vale stepped away from her table.
Alliyanna watched her.
Vale carried no files.
No notes.
She stopped in the center of the floor.
“During the recess, the prosecution reviewed the evidentiary record presented during these proceedings.”
The chamber quieted.
“That review included the documentary evidence, the testimony presented by the prosecution, the testimony presented by the defense, the security recordings admitted into evidence, and the testimony of His Imperial Majesty.”
Alliyanna felt Talak go very still behind her.
Vale continued.
“The circumstances surrounding Baroness Kar’Jan’s actions warranted investigation.”
No one reacted.
“They warranted questions.”
Vale looked toward Alliyanna.
“They warranted scrutiny.”
Then she turned toward the senators.
“Some of those circumstances remain troubling.”
A few heads nodded.
“But troubling conduct is not proof of treason.”
Silence.
“It is not proof of murder.”
Vale paused.
“And it is not proof of conspiracy.”
Alliyanna forgot to breathe.
Vale continued.
“The prosecution has established that Baroness Kar’Jan benefited from Duke Birsha’s death. It has established that she prepared for the possibility of succession. It has established that she ignored a lawful Senate Notice, concealed her destination and resisted immediate transfer of the Fragment to Imperial custody.”
She did not soften any of it.
“Those facts remain facts.”
Then:
“What the prosecution has not established is a criminal connection between Baroness Kar’Jan and those who carried out the attack.”
The chamber shifted.
“No communication has been identified. No payment. No intermediary. No instruction. No meeting. No evidence that she anticipated the attack or arranged her position within it.”
Vale glanced briefly toward the witness position where the Emperor had sat.
“The evidence presented during the defense case has further weakened any reasonable basis upon which the prosecution could ask this Senate to find guilt on the most serious charges.”
Sol leaned slightly toward Alliyanna.
“Listen carefully.”
Vale faced the President.
“It is not the duty of the prosecution to obtain a conviction merely because charges have been filed.”
The President watched her without expression.
“Our duty is to proceed when the evidence supports those charges and to stop when it does not.”
Alliyanna felt something change throughout the chamber.
Some senators already understood.
Others were beginning to.
Vale spoke clearly.
“The prosecution no longer believes that the evidence before this Senate is sufficient to sustain the charges against Baroness Alliyanna Kar’Jan to the standard required for conviction.”
A voice somewhere above them said, “Oh.”
Vale did not react.
“Accordingly, the prosecution moves to withdraw all charges presently before this Senate.”
A dozen conversations started simultaneously.
Vale raised her voice slightly.
“With prejudice.”
The room erupted.
Alliyanna turned toward Sol.
He was already looking at her.
“With prejudice,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“That means—”
“Yes.”
The President struck the gavel.
“Order!”
Nobody listened.
The gavel fell again.
“Order in the Senate!”
The chamber gradually quieted.
The President looked down at Vale.
“Advocate-General, you are requesting withdrawal of every charge entered in this proceeding?”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“Including the charges concerning the life of His Imperial Majesty?”
“Yes.”
“The death of Duke Birsha?”
“Yes.”
“Fraudulent succession?”
“Yes.”
“Treason?”
“Yes.”
“And you request that the withdrawal be entered with prejudice?”
“Yes.”
The President leaned back.
“Why?”
Vale did not hesitate.
“Because after hearing the complete evidentiary presentation, I do not believe sufficient evidence exists to support those charges.”
That was the sentence.
Not politics.
Not mercy.
Not intervention from the Emperor.
Evidence.
Alliyanna felt herself exhale.
The President turned toward Sol.
“Defense?”
Sol stood.
“The defense does not oppose the prosecution’s motion.”
A few senators laughed.
Even the President looked briefly irritated.
“Thank you, Advocate.”
Sol sat.
The President consulted something on the screen before him.
The protocol officer stood several paces behind him.
The President glanced toward him.
The officer nodded once.
The President looked back to the chamber.
“The prosecution’s motion is granted.”
Alliyanna’s hands tightened around the edge of the table.
“The charges against Baroness Alliyanna Kar’Jan are withdrawn with prejudice.”
The gavel fell.
For a second Alliyanna heard nothing else.
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