Doctor Brent didn't quite know where to begin, but he decided that the most important thing was to clear the air before anyone's imagination ran too far ahead.
"For clarification," he said, lifting a hand before anyone could interrupt, "the rank assigned to him was not the result of foul play. There was nothing untoward involved."
Several shoulders visibly relaxed.
"In truth, it was based on the same results you're all looking at right now."
That didn't relax anyone.
"As you can probably tell," he continued, glancing at the projection, "even when compared against your own spiritual rank assessments, these results are very far from the standard patterns we're accustomed to seeing."
Doctor Brent paused, then let out a faint sigh, already bracing himself for the professional backlash this explanation would inevitably invite.
