[Next Day.]
[Star Nation.]
"My Queen, why are you suddenly going on a trip?" Gabriel asked, his confusion mirrored on the faces of the nine senators behind him.
Matilda's gaze swept over them, her authority unwavering despite her diminished power. "You saw what happened in the throne hall yesterday. I want answers," she stated, her voice firm. "Senator Gabriel will be in charge while I'm away. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I will try to make this quick. Two weeks at the absolute most."
With a final, meaningful nod to Gabriel, she turned and entered her personal starship. The engines hummed to life, and the vessel ascended into the sky, a silver dart against the blue. Gabriel and the senators watched it become a speck of light before it shot out of the planet's atmosphere.
'Be safe, My Queen.' Gabriel thought, a quiet prayer in his heart.
__
[In the Starship.]
