Surprisingly, Ten had not thought to pack many blouse and skirt combinations that could be utilized for 'formal attire.' There was a lovely pantsuit type ensemble, spectacular gowns, and casual wear for traveling and exploring (since it had been made clear to the criminal mastermind that they did such things), but he was not apparently a fan of the ensemble they were looking for. Solae laughed and made a joke about how he would probably lightly chastise her for failing to be fashionable. Too physically tired and mentally exhausted to worry about her clothes, she settled on a basic white and blue blouse intended for the pantsuit and one of Rene's fatigue pants, which were large enough to fit over the apparatuses on her legs. It wasn't what a duchess would typically wear, but she didn't care much about keeping pretenses. Bel'sian had already seen her buried alive and Bouradine was allegely much more worried about what her plans were than if her garments were technically appropriate under the Stellar Empire's etiquette guidelines.

"Mia, please call them in," the diplomat said as stared at her pants with amusement for about the tenth time since she unilaterally decided she would borrow his extra pair. "What do you think? Never thought I'd get into your pants this way, did you?" she said with an impish eyebrow wiggle and a laugh. Humor was one of the many way she dealt with her trauma. There was no therapist to be found and she didn't want to impose her feelings on anyway. Rather than worry her companions, she deflected and joked, as if she wasn't horribly broken inside.

"Yes, Duchess Falia. Bouradine and Bel'sian will be along in a moment," Mia purred as if too was able to be consoled by the apparent change in Solae's behavior from a sobbing, terrified mess to being reluctantly authoritative, jesting, smiling.

"Oh, my apologies Mia, but please call [i]all[/i] of them except the soldier. If she's still resting, she ought to remain that way. I'd like Yarue, Dasin, and Rosaria here as well. It'll be tight quarters, but it should be a short enough meeting that it won't be much of an issue," she explained for the benefit of Rene rather than the AI. He looked perplexed, but if he had an objection he almost certainly knew that the computer would defer to Solae's judgment if she could find an excuse to do so, and there wasn't a threat to the noblewoman's health in having a few more people in her audience.

"I understand, Duchess Falia," Mia replied with what sounded like a touch of hesitance. It didn't matter. If she had to figure out how to walk down the hall herself, she would do it. Being a leader was not simply making decisions and dictating what others ought to do. In her mind, she needed to keep them involved, and solicit input when necessarily. The plot she had in mind for resolving matters with the Kalderi had several possible solutions and they involved more than herself and the star-crossed couple.

They had to wait a few minutes as everyone was roused from their naps, Rosaria particularly grumpy as she hadn't settled down for the night all that long ago. While the soldier was absent, her conditioned had improved in the past few hours, and Mia was all too happy to report that she was no longer deemed 'critical.' The marine wouldn't be healed for quite some time with the medical supplies they had on hand, and they had no plan exactly what they would do with her, but the good news was welcomed. With such a bleak forecast the smallest ray of sunshine was worth noting with excitement.

"I'll be brief," Solae began, an unusual way to start any sort of gathering, much less when you were a duchess. "We need to return Bouradine and Bel'sian back to her world and the Kalderi, [i]however[/i]" she quickly added when the pair looked stricken with fear and disappointment, "we will not allow their relationship to be dissolved simply because another suitor wants to stake a claim. I propose rather than have Bouradine fight for the right to be her mate, we rely on the time-honored tradition of a proxy." Yarue knitted his brows together and the linguist took a moment to translate into his tongue since his comprehension was not perfect when it came to the the Stellar Empire's common language, especially when they delved into complex concepts.

"What if they refuse?" Bouradine quickly responded, so nervous he was practically sweating at the mention of a confrontation.

"Using proxies has more than one precedent. Think of the simple use of ambassadors," she said, gesturing to herself. "It's impractical to demand that the leader of a culture, world, even a city be all places at once, so they will appoint others to speak for them and with their authority in their absence. The logic is very similar with using a proxy. We would argue because Bouradine is not familiar with their culture and customs, he is authorizing someone better prepared to act on his behalf."

"But don't they require the actual person to do the... I don't know what it is, duel?" Rosaria countered, a little irritable, cranky, and groggy as she stifled a yawn.

"Traditionally I believe so; however, we have options there as well. We can demand a thorough explanation why it must be Bouradine. After all, he has the resources to hire people to protect Bel'sian, and it's an antiquated notion that a mate has to have battle prowess. Should that fail, we could point out that they have already accepted the human tradition of humans standing in the place of other humans for private agreements, such as when I arrived and spoke for the Stellar Empire on a whole. It's not the only approach I can think of, but I think it's our best approach," she said with a reassuring smile.

"Can a Syshin be a proxy?" Dasin asked after a moment's pause. "Humans buy Syshin all the time to make them act for them," he pointed out. Solae saw the logic, but she was pretty sure his motivations were because of how personally offended he was that a female wouldn't have the agency to be with whomever she pleased, regardless of whether certain males felt snubbed. His culture was so centered on consent that the Kalderi had unintentionally provoked them with the way they spoke as if the female's opinion was not the only deciding factor.

"I haven't had enough time to study Kalderi culture, so you'd have to ask Bel'sian, but... in our ancient past a woman could chose a champion that would defend her and fight for her since she was not supposed to do so herself. We could try to convince the other Kalderi that you are Bouradine's champion or, alternatively, that you are Bel'sian's, and represent her ability to chose for herself, though I suspect it would be a much harder sell," Solae contemplated thoughtfully, torn on what was the best way to tackle the issue. One thing was for certain- very few Kalderi would stand a chance against a Syshin. Where the Kalderi had flight and superior technology, the Syshin were towering figures, that were stronger, faster, and tougher than a human, which was what made them so appealing in underground gladiatorial rings.