diff --git a/assets/fx/vega/vega-council-intro.mp3 b/assets/fx/vega/vega-council-intro.mp3
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1fdf9a3
Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/fx/vega/vega-council-intro.mp3 differ
diff --git a/assets/music/vega/vega-council.mp3 b/assets/music/vega/vega-council.mp3
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31d5ecf
Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/music/vega/vega-council.mp3 differ
diff --git a/src/data/assetManifest.js b/src/data/assetManifest.js
index ddd9bf5..caea9c5 100644
--- a/src/data/assetManifest.js
+++ b/src/data/assetManifest.js
@@ -168,6 +168,9 @@ export const MANIFEST = {
     // than a mastervega-artwork.json map entry. Eager-loaded so the first
     // post-turn GNN open never stalls on a JIT fetch.
     { type: 'video', key: 'vega-gnn-anchor', path: 'assets/videos/vega/gnn.mp4' },
+    // The Galactic Council session ceremony's persistent anchor visual, same
+    // 2:3 eager-load treatment as the GNN clip above (VegaCouncilSession.js).
+    { type: 'video', key: 'vega-council-anchor', path: 'assets/videos/vega/galactic-council.mp4' },
     // The colony-founding cue. It is not part of the shuffled soundtrack —
     // VegaColonyIntro.js ducks that and plays this over the vignette instead.
     // Small, and it has to be ready the instant the vignette opens.
@@ -198,6 +201,10 @@ export const MANIFEST = {
     // the same way VegaColonyIntro.js's founding cue already does.
     { type: 'audio', key: 'sfx-vega-gnn-sting', path: 'assets/fx/vega/vega-gnn.mp3' },
     { type: 'audio', key: 'sfx-vega-gnn-loop', path: 'assets/music/vega/vega-gnn.mp3' },
+    // Same sting-then-loop shape for the Council Session ceremony
+    // (VegaCouncilSession.js's openCouncilSessionScreen).
+    { type: 'audio', key: 'sfx-vega-council-intro', path: 'assets/fx/vega/vega-council-intro.mp3' },
+    { type: 'audio', key: 'sfx-vega-council-loop', path: 'assets/music/vega/vega-council.mp3' },
     // Combat weapon cues, Mark-banded (see VegaCombat.js's weaponSfxKey()).
     { type: 'audio', key: 'sfx-vega-weapon-123', path: 'assets/fx/vega/vega-weapon-123.mp3' },
     { type: 'audio', key: 'sfx-vega-weapon-45', path: 'assets/fx/vega/vega-weapon-45.mp3' },
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/MasterOfVegaGame.js b/src/games/mastervega/MasterOfVegaGame.js
index 849b577..f4c130f 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/MasterOfVegaGame.js
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/MasterOfVegaGame.js
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import { openTurnReportScreen } from './VegaTurnReportScreen.js';
 import { NOTABLE_TYPES, isRelevantToHuman } from './VegaTurnReport.js';
 import * as Gnn from './VegaGnn.js';
 import { openGnnScreen } from './VegaGnnScreen.js';
+import { openCouncilSessionScreen } from './VegaCouncilSession.js';
 import { openAudienceScreen } from './VegaAudience.js';
 import { playIntroVideo } from './VegaIntroVideo.js';
 import { claimAudienceContacts, claimFleetComplaints, canNegotiate } from './VegaDiplomacy.js';
@@ -1191,6 +1192,26 @@ export default class MasterOfVegaGame extends Phaser.Scene {
   // synchronously, then the interesting events are replayed for the player.
   runToHumanTurn() {
     const step = () => {
+      // The Council Session ceremony pre-empts everything, including a
+      // decisive-victory state.over below — it can fire mid-AI-turn-stepping
+      // (VegaLogic.js's runCouncil runs inside endEmpireTurn's turn-wrap, on
+      // whichever empire's turn happens to close out the calendar turn), and
+      // a council win that ends the game still deserves its ceremony instead
+      // of jumping straight to the victory overlay. Manages modalOpen
+      // directly rather than through this.openModal() — same reasoning as
+      // runAudienceQueue()'s own comment: a synchronous recursive call back
+      // into step() from inside openModal's own done() would see modalOpen
+      // still true (its 60ms clear hasn't fired yet) and silently no-op.
+      if (this.state.council.pendingSession) {
+        this.state.council.pendingSession = false;
+        this.modalOpen = true;
+        openCouncilSessionScreen(this, this.rules, this.state, this.art, () => {
+          this.modalOpen = false;
+          this.refreshAll();
+          step();
+        });
+        return;
+      }
       if (this.state.over) { this.finishGame(); return; }
       if (this.state.current === this.state.humanIndex) {
         Logic.beginEmpireTurn(this.rules, this.state, this.state.humanIndex);
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaCouncilSession.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaCouncilSession.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6be989d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaCouncilSession.js
@@ -0,0 +1,506 @@
+// Master of Vega — the Galactic Council session ceremony: a full-screen
+// dramatization of runCouncil()'s already-computed result (VegaLogic.js),
+// in the same full-screen-takeover family as VegaGnnScreen.js and
+// VegaColonyIntro.js. Triggered from MasterOfVegaGame.js's runToHumanTurn()
+// the instant state.council.pendingSession is set — BEFORE the state.over
+// victory check, so a decisive session still gets its ceremony instead of
+// jumping straight to the victory overlay.
+//
+// Three fixed stages, advanced only by explicit clicks (Brian's ask — no
+// auto-advance, no ESC-to-skip):
+//   1. Roster  — every empire still alive, the two candidates called out.
+//   2. Voting  — "Begin Voting" reveals each delegate's vote one at a time
+//      via "Next Species Vote", SMALLEST population first — which puts the
+//      two candidates (who always vote for themselves, and are by
+//      definition the two largest empires) last, the natural climax. A live
+//      scoreboard fills in as each vote lands.
+//   3. Verdict — winner elected / refused-to-submit / no-majority, reusing
+//      the exact wording VegaScreens.js's openCouncilScreen already uses
+//      for the on-demand HUD summary.
+
+import * as Phaser from 'phaser';
+
+import { GAME_HEIGHT, GAME_WIDTH } from '../../config.js';
+import { Button } from './VegaButton.js';
+import { playSound, SFX } from '../../ui/Sounds.js';
+import { FONT, D } from './VegaScreens.js';
+import { frame } from './VegaColonyView.js';
+import { makeSpeciesPortrait, sourceWidth } from './VegaArt.js';
+import { createAdvisorTerminal } from './VegaColoniesScreen.js';
+import { pickLine } from './VegaChat.js';
+
+const ACCENT = 0x6fc4ff;
+const PANEL = 0x0b1220;
+
+const ANCHOR_KEY = 'vega-council-anchor';
+// galactic-council.mp4 is 544x800 (2:3 portrait) — the fallback sourceWidth()
+// uses before the video's first frame decodes, same convention as
+// VegaGnnScreen.js's GNN_ANCHOR_SRC_W.
+const ANCHOR_SRC_W = 544;
+
+const LEFT_X = 40;
+const CONTENT_TOP = 130;
+const LEFT_W = 460;
+const LEFT_H = Math.round(LEFT_W * (800 / 544));
+const RIGHT_X = LEFT_X + LEFT_W + 48;
+const RIGHT_W = GAME_WIDTH - RIGHT_X - 40;
+const FOOTER_Y = GAME_HEIGHT - 100;
+const RIGHT_H = FOOTER_Y - 30 - CONTENT_TOP;
+
+// Green-screen anchor-desk ticker below the video — same geometry formula
+// (and the same reused Colony Advisor terminal chrome) as VegaGnnScreen.js.
+const TERM_GAP = 20;
+const TERM_Y = CONTENT_TOP + LEFT_H + TERM_GAP;
+const TERM_H = (CONTENT_TOP + RIGHT_H) - TERM_Y;
+
+const toInt = (c) => Phaser.Display.Color.HexStringToColor(c).color;
+
+// ------------------------------------------------------------- narration
+
+function ordinal(n) {
+  const rem100 = n % 100;
+  if (rem100 >= 11 && rem100 <= 13) return `${n}th`;
+  switch (n % 10) {
+    case 1: return `${n}st`;
+    case 2: return `${n}nd`;
+    case 3: return `${n}rd`;
+    default: return `${n}th`;
+  }
+}
+
+const VOTE_CAST_LINES = [
+  '{delegate} rise to declare {weight} votes for {candidate}!',
+  'A stir in the gallery — {delegate} throw their full weight behind {candidate}.',
+  '{delegate} cast their lot with {candidate}, {weight} votes strong.',
+  'The {delegate} delegation pledges {weight} votes to {candidate}.',
+  '{delegate} deliver a firm {weight} votes in favor of {candidate}.',
+];
+const SELF_VOTE_LINES = [
+  '{delegate} confidently cast their own {weight} votes for themselves.',
+  'As expected, {delegate} back their own candidacy with {weight} votes.',
+  '{delegate} need no convincing — {weight} votes for {candidate}.',
+];
+const ABSTAIN_LINES = [
+  '{delegate} abstain, trusting neither candidate.',
+  'A murmur of uncertainty — {delegate} withhold their {weight} votes entirely.',
+  '{delegate} decline to choose. Their {weight} votes go uncast.',
+];
+
+/** Welcome + process explainer, typed the instant the roster stage opens.
+ * `{X}` from Brian's ask is this game's council-session ordinal — state.council
+ * .history already has this session pushed onto it by the time the screen
+ * opens (VegaLogic.js's runCouncil pushes before setting pendingSession). */
+function rosterLines(state, result) {
+  const [a, b] = result.candidates.map((idx) => state.empires[idx]);
+  const sessionNum = state.council.history.length;
+  return [
+    `Welcome, delegates, to the ${ordinal(sessionNum)} vote for a Galactic Ruling Species.`,
+    `${a.name} and ${b.name} command population enough to stand for High Guardian. Every other `
+      + "seated delegate will cast their world's full weight behind whichever candidate they trust "
+      + 'most — or abstain, if they trust neither.',
+    "A two-thirds majority of the galaxy's population is needed to win the chamber outright. Let the roll be called.",
+  ];
+}
+
+function votingBeginLines() {
+  return ['The chamber falls silent. Delegates, cast your votes.'];
+}
+
+/** One excited line for the delegate just revealed — re-typed over the
+ * previous line on every "Next Species Vote" click, same as GNN re-typing
+ * its own anchor line on every page turn. */
+function voteRevealLine(state, v) {
+  const delegate = state.empires[v.idx].name;
+  if (v.choice == null) return pickLine(ABSTAIN_LINES, { delegate, weight: Math.round(v.weight) });
+  const candidate = state.empires[v.choice].name;
+  const pool = v.idx === v.choice ? SELF_VOTE_LINES : VOTE_CAST_LINES;
+  return pickLine(pool, { delegate, weight: Math.round(v.weight), candidate });
+}
+
+/** The presumptive winner when a session ends in refusal — `result.winner`
+ * is already nulled out by runCouncil once refusal fires (VegaLogic.js), so
+ * this re-derives who WOULD have won from the still-intact `votes` tally,
+ * the same >= winFraction test runCouncil itself used. */
+function presumptiveWinner(rules, result) {
+  return result.candidates.find((idx) => (result.votes[idx] ?? 0) / result.totalPop >= rules.council.winFraction);
+}
+
+function verdictLines(rules, state, result) {
+  if (result.winner >= 0) {
+    return [
+      `By acclamation, ${state.empires[result.winner].name} is elected High Guardian of the Galaxy!`,
+      'The chamber erupts. A new order begins.',
+    ];
+  }
+  if (result.refused) {
+    const winIdx = presumptiveWinner(rules, result);
+    const loseIdx = result.candidates.find((idx) => idx !== winIdx);
+    const winnerName = winIdx != null ? state.empires[winIdx].name : 'the leading candidate';
+    const loserName = loseIdx != null ? state.empires[loseIdx].name : 'the defeated candidate';
+    return [
+      `${loserName} refuse to submit to ${winnerName}'s election — the chamber dissolves into uproar.`,
+      'This will be settled by the sword, not the ballot.',
+    ];
+  }
+  return [
+    'No candidate commands the required majority. The Council adjourns without a ruler.',
+    `We reconvene in ${rules.council.interval} turns.`,
+  ];
+}
+
+// -------------------------------------------------------------- anchor panel
+
+function buildAnchorFallback(scene, container, w, h) {
+  container.add(scene.add.rectangle(w / 2, h / 2, w, h, PANEL, 1).setStrokeStyle(2, ACCENT, 0.5));
+  container.add(scene.add.text(w / 2, h / 2, 'GALACTIC\nCOUNCIL', {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '40px', color: '#6fc4ff', align: 'center',
+  }).setOrigin(0.5));
+}
+
+/** Persistent looping anchor visual — built once, untouched by stage
+ * changes, same pattern as VegaGnnScreen.js's buildAnchorPanel. */
+function buildAnchorPanel(scene, w, h) {
+  const container = scene.add.container(0, 0);
+  if (scene.cache.video?.exists(ANCHOR_KEY)) {
+    const v = scene.add.video(w / 2, h / 2, ANCHOR_KEY);
+    v.setMute(true);
+    v.setLoop(true);
+    const fit = () => v.setScale(w / sourceWidth(v, ANCHOR_SRC_W));
+    fit();
+    v.on('created', fit);
+    v.on('playing', fit);
+    v.play(true);
+    // A missing/corrupt clip never leaves a hole where the anchor should be.
+    v.once('error', () => {
+      if (!v.scene) return;
+      container.removeAll(true);
+      buildAnchorFallback(scene, container, w, h);
+    });
+    container.add(v);
+  } else {
+    buildAnchorFallback(scene, container, w, h);
+  }
+  return container;
+}
+
+// -------------------------------------------------------------- portraits
+
+/** A framed species portrait with a name label, optionally dimmed (the
+ * electorate, once a winner is known) or badged (CANDIDATE / HIGH GUARDIAN
+ * tag above the frame). Shared by all three stages. */
+function portraitChip(scene, rules, art, container, cx, cy, size, emp, opts = {}) {
+  const { dim = false, tag = null } = opts;
+  const color = toInt(emp.color);
+  const box = scene.add.rectangle(cx, cy, size, size, PANEL, 0.9)
+    .setStrokeStyle(dim ? 2 : 4, color, dim ? 0.4 : 1);
+  container.add(box);
+  const portrait = makeSpeciesPortrait(scene, rules, art, emp.speciesId, cx, cy, size - 16);
+  if (dim) portrait.setAlpha(0.45);
+  container.add(portrait);
+  container.add(scene.add.text(cx, cy + size / 2 + 10, emp.name, {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: dim ? '15px' : '20px', color: dim ? '#7f97b3' : emp.color,
+  }).setOrigin(0.5, 0));
+  if (tag) {
+    container.add(scene.add.text(cx, cy - size / 2 - 20, tag, {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '15px', color: '#ffd88a', fontStyle: 'bold',
+    }).setOrigin(0.5, 1));
+  }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------- stage 1
+
+function renderRoster(scene, rules, state, art, container, result, onBegin) {
+  container.add(scene.add.text(RIGHT_W / 2, 0, `SESSION OF ${2300 + result.turn}`, {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '18px', color: '#7f97b3',
+  }).setOrigin(0.5, 0));
+  container.add(scene.add.text(RIGHT_W / 2, 26, 'The Galactic Council Convenes', {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '32px', color: '#e8f4ff', fontStyle: 'bold',
+  }).setOrigin(0.5, 0));
+
+  const cands = result.candidates.map((idx) => state.empires[idx]);
+  const candSet = new Set(result.candidates);
+  const others = result.voters.map((v) => state.empires[v.idx]).filter((e) => !candSet.has(e.idx));
+
+  const daisSize = 220;
+  const daisY = 130 + daisSize / 2;
+  const leftCx = RIGHT_W / 2 - 170;
+  const rightCx = RIGHT_W / 2 + 170;
+  portraitChip(scene, rules, art, container, leftCx, daisY, daisSize, cands[0], { tag: 'CANDIDATE FOR HIGH GUARDIAN' });
+  portraitChip(scene, rules, art, container, rightCx, daisY, daisSize, cands[1], { tag: 'CANDIDATE FOR HIGH GUARDIAN' });
+  container.add(scene.add.text(RIGHT_W / 2, daisY, 'VS', {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '28px', color: '#ffd88a', fontStyle: 'bold',
+  }).setOrigin(0.5));
+
+  if (others.length) {
+    const labelY = daisY + daisSize / 2 + 60;
+    container.add(scene.add.text(RIGHT_W / 2, labelY, 'THE ELECTORATE', {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '15px', color: '#6f8aa3', fontStyle: 'bold',
+    }).setOrigin(0.5, 0));
+    const chipSize = 100;
+    const gap = 26;
+    const rowW = others.length * chipSize + (others.length - 1) * gap;
+    const startX = RIGHT_W / 2 - rowW / 2 + chipSize / 2;
+    const rowY = labelY + 46 + chipSize / 2;
+    others.forEach((emp, i) => {
+      portraitChip(scene, rules, art, container, startX + i * (chipSize + gap), rowY, chipSize, emp, { dim: true });
+    });
+  }
+
+  container.add(new Button(scene, RIGHT_W / 2, RIGHT_H - 40, 'Begin Voting', () => {
+    playSound(scene, SFX.VEGA_SELECT);
+    onBegin();
+  }, { width: 260, height: 56, fontSize: 22 }));
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------- stage 2
+
+const VOTE_REVEAL_MS = 2500;
+
+/**
+ * Built ONCE on entering the voting stage — unlike the roster/verdict
+ * stages, this one is not torn down and rebuilt on every click. It has to
+ * stay alive across reveals so each vote's scoreboard change can tween from
+ * whatever the bar is currently showing rather than snapping — the same
+ * count-up-race read as VegaGnnScreen.js's renderRankingPage, just one
+ * value animating per click instead of the whole board racing at once.
+ * Returns nothing; all interaction is wired to the buttons/tweens directly.
+ */
+function buildVoting(scene, rules, state, art, container, result, onAllRevealed, terminal) {
+  const need = Math.ceil(result.totalPop * rules.council.winFraction);
+  container.add(scene.add.text(RIGHT_W / 2, 0, `${need} votes of ${Math.round(result.totalPop)} needed`, {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '17px', color: '#9fb6cc',
+  }).setOrigin(0.5, 0));
+
+  const cands = result.candidates.map((idx) => state.empires[idx]);
+  const voters = [...result.voters].sort((a, b) => a.weight - b.weight);
+  const barMax = Math.max(1, result.totalPop);
+
+  // Persistent scoreboard visuals — value lives on the closure-captured
+  // `bars` entries and is redrawn in place by drawBar(), never rebuilt.
+  const barY = 34;
+  const barW = (RIGHT_W - 80) / 2;
+  const bars = cands.map((emp, i) => {
+    const x = i === 0 ? 0 : RIGHT_W - barW;
+    container.add(scene.add.text(i === 0 ? x : x + barW, barY, emp.name, {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '22px', color: emp.color,
+    }).setOrigin(i === 0 ? 0 : 1, 0));
+    container.add(scene.add.rectangle(x, barY + 32, barW, 20, 0x1b2b42).setOrigin(0, 0));
+    const fillG = scene.add.graphics().setPosition(x, barY + 32);
+    container.add(fillG);
+    const valueText = scene.add.text(x + (i === 0 ? 0 : barW), barY + 58, '0', {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '19px', color: '#e8f4ff',
+    }).setOrigin(i === 0 ? 0 : 1, 0);
+    container.add(valueText);
+    return { idx: emp.idx, fillG, valueText, colorInt: toInt(emp.color), value: 0 };
+  });
+  container.add(scene.add.text(RIGHT_W / 2, barY + 32, 'VS', {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '16px', color: '#ffd88a',
+  }).setOrigin(0.5));
+  const abstainedText = scene.add.text(RIGHT_W / 2, barY + 90, 'Abstained: 0', {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '15px', color: '#7f97b3',
+  }).setOrigin(0.5, 0);
+  container.add(abstainedText);
+  let abstainedValue = 0;
+
+  function drawBar(b) {
+    b.fillG.clear();
+    b.fillG.fillStyle(b.colorInt, 1);
+    b.fillG.fillRect(0, 0, Math.max(barW * Phaser.Math.Clamp(b.value / barMax, 0, 1), 0.01), 20);
+    b.valueText.setText(`${Math.round(b.value)}`);
+  }
+  bars.forEach(drawBar);
+
+  // Reveal log — grows downward, most recent entry called out in gold.
+  const logTop = barY + 140;
+  container.add(scene.add.rectangle(0, logTop, RIGHT_W, 1, ACCENT, 0.25).setOrigin(0, 0));
+  const logStartY = logTop + 16;
+  const logRows = [];
+
+  function settle() {
+    logRows.forEach((row, i) => {
+      const isLast = i === logRows.length - 1;
+      row.text.setFontSize(isLast ? 19 : 16);
+      row.text.setColor(isLast ? '#ffd88a' : '#c7d3e0');
+    });
+  }
+
+  let animating = false;
+  const btn = new Button(scene, RIGHT_W / 2, RIGHT_H - 40, 'Next Species Vote', () => {
+    if (animating) return;
+    playSound(scene, SFX.VEGA_SELECT);
+    if (logRows.length >= voters.length) { onAllRevealed(); return; }
+    revealNext();
+  }, { width: 280, height: 56, fontSize: 22 });
+  container.add(btn);
+
+  function revealNext() {
+    const v = voters[logRows.length];
+    const emp = state.empires[v.idx];
+    const rowY = logStartY + logRows.length * 40;
+    const text = v.choice == null
+      ? `${emp.name} abstains.`
+      : `${emp.name} cast ${Math.round(v.weight)} votes for the ${state.empires[v.choice].name}.`;
+    container.add(makeSpeciesPortrait(scene, rules, art, emp.speciesId, 22, rowY + 18, 34));
+    const rowText = scene.add.text(56, rowY + 3, text, {
+      fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '16px', color: '#c7d3e0',
+    }).setOrigin(0, 0);
+    container.add(rowText);
+    logRows.push({ text: rowText });
+    settle();
+    terminal.setLines([voteRevealLine(state, v)]);
+
+    const bar = v.choice != null ? bars.find((b) => b.idx === v.choice) : null;
+    const fromValue = bar ? bar.value : abstainedValue;
+    const toValue = fromValue + v.weight;
+
+    animating = true;
+    btn.setEnabled(false);
+    // vega-counter.mp3 runs ~5s, longer than a single reveal's 2.5s window —
+    // cut short at onComplete rather than let it bleed into the next click's
+    // own copy (GNN's race gets away with letting it run because there's
+    // only ever one count-up per screen open; this one repeats per vote).
+    const counterSound = scene.sound.add(SFX.VEGA_COUNTER, { volume: 0.9 });
+    counterSound.play();
+    scene.tweens.addCounter({
+      from: fromValue, to: toValue, duration: VOTE_REVEAL_MS, ease: 'Linear',
+      onUpdate: (tw) => {
+        const val = tw.getValue();
+        if (bar) { bar.value = val; drawBar(bar); } else { abstainedValue = val; abstainedText.setText(`Abstained: ${Math.round(abstainedValue)}`); }
+      },
+      onComplete: () => {
+        counterSound.stop();
+        counterSound.destroy();
+        animating = false;
+        btn.setEnabled(true);
+        if (logRows.length >= voters.length) btn.setLabel('See Result');
+      },
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------- stage 3
+
+function renderVerdict(scene, rules, state, art, container, result, onClose) {
+  const cands = result.candidates.map((idx) => state.empires[idx]);
+  const size = 240;
+  const cy = 130 + size / 2;
+  const leftCx = RIGHT_W / 2 - 170;
+  const rightCx = RIGHT_W / 2 + 170;
+  cands.forEach((emp, i) => {
+    const isWinner = emp.idx === result.winner;
+    portraitChip(scene, rules, art, container, i === 0 ? leftCx : rightCx, cy, size, emp, {
+      dim: result.winner >= 0 && !isWinner,
+      tag: isWinner ? 'HIGH GUARDIAN OF THE GALAXY' : null,
+    });
+  });
+
+  const verdict = result.winner >= 0
+    ? `${state.empires[result.winner].name} is elected High Guardian of the Galaxy.`
+    : (result.refused
+      ? 'The defeated candidate REFUSES TO SUBMIT. The election is void — the matter will be settled by war.'
+      : 'No candidate reached the required majority. The Council adjourns.');
+  container.add(scene.add.text(RIGHT_W / 2, cy + size / 2 + 56, verdict, {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '26px', color: result.winner >= 0 ? '#ffd88a' : '#e08a8a',
+    align: 'center', wordWrap: { width: RIGHT_W - 120 },
+  }).setOrigin(0.5, 0));
+
+  container.add(new Button(scene, RIGHT_W / 2, RIGHT_H - 40, 'Close', () => {
+    playSound(scene, SFX.VEGA_CLOSE);
+    onClose();
+  }, { width: 220, height: 56, fontSize: 22 }));
+}
+
+// ------------------------------------------------------------------ pager
+
+/**
+ * Opens the full-screen Council Session takeover for `state.council.lastResult`
+ * (must already be set — this screen never computes anything itself, only
+ * replays runCouncil()'s output). `onDone` fires once, when the ceremony is
+ * dismissed via the verdict stage's Close button.
+ */
+export function openCouncilSessionScreen(scene, rules, state, art, onDone) {
+  const result = state.council.lastResult;
+
+  // Sting-then-loop, same shape as VegaGnnScreen.js's openGnnScreen: duck the
+  // regular soundtrack for as long as the ceremony is open, play the one-shot
+  // intro once, then hand off to the looping ambience the instant it finishes
+  // (not before — `closed` is declared further down but this callback only
+  // ever fires asynchronously, well after that declaration has run, same
+  // reasoning GNN's own version relies on).
+  scene.music?.pause();
+  let intro = null;
+  let loop = null;
+  function startLoop() {
+    if (!scene.cache.audio?.exists(SFX.VEGA_COUNCIL_LOOP)) return;
+    loop = scene.sound.add(SFX.VEGA_COUNCIL_LOOP, { loop: true, volume: 0.5 });
+    loop.play();
+  }
+  if (scene.cache.audio?.exists(SFX.VEGA_COUNCIL_INTRO)) {
+    intro = scene.sound.add(SFX.VEGA_COUNCIL_INTRO, { volume: 0.8 });
+    intro.once(Phaser.Sound.Events.COMPLETE, () => {
+      intro = null;
+      if (closed) return; // screen already closed before the intro finished
+      startLoop();
+    });
+    intro.play();
+  } else {
+    startLoop();
+  }
+
+  const root = scene.add.container(0, 0).setDepth(D.council);
+  root.add(scene.add.rectangle(0, 0, GAME_WIDTH, GAME_HEIGHT, 0x030509, 0.99)
+    .setOrigin(0, 0).setInteractive());
+  root.add(scene.add.text(LEFT_X, 34, 'GALACTIC COUNCIL', {
+    fontFamily: FONT, fontSize: '34px', color: '#e8f4ff',
+  }));
+
+  frame(scene, root, LEFT_X, CONTENT_TOP, LEFT_W, LEFT_H, 0);
+  const anchorPanel = buildAnchorPanel(scene, LEFT_W, LEFT_H);
+  anchorPanel.setPosition(LEFT_X, CONTENT_TOP);
+  root.add(anchorPanel);
+
+  // Green-screen ticker under the video, same chrome and bottom-alignment
+  // formula as VegaGnnScreen.js's own terminal.
+  const terminal = createAdvisorTerminal(scene, LEFT_X, TERM_Y, LEFT_W, TERM_H);
+  root.add(terminal.container);
+
+  frame(scene, root, RIGHT_X, CONTENT_TOP, RIGHT_W, RIGHT_H, 0.82);
+  const content = scene.add.container(RIGHT_X, CONTENT_TOP);
+  root.add(content);
+
+  // Roster and verdict are cheap to fully rebuild on their one-time
+  // transition; voting is built ONCE (see buildVoting's own comment) since
+  // its scoreboard has to tween continuously across many clicks. The
+  // terminal is re-typed once per stage entry here; buildVoting re-types it
+  // again itself on every individual vote reveal.
+  function enterRoster() {
+    content.removeAll(true);
+    renderRoster(scene, rules, state, art, content, result, enterVoting);
+    terminal.setLines(rosterLines(state, result));
+  }
+  function enterVoting() {
+    content.removeAll(true);
+    buildVoting(scene, rules, state, art, content, result, enterVerdict, terminal);
+    terminal.setLines(votingBeginLines());
+  }
+  function enterVerdict() {
+    content.removeAll(true);
+    renderVerdict(scene, rules, state, art, content, result, close);
+    terminal.setLines(verdictLines(rules, state, result));
+  }
+  enterRoster();
+
+  let closed = false;
+  function close() {
+    if (closed) return;
+    closed = true;
+    scene.music?.resume();
+    terminal.destroy();
+    intro?.stop();
+    loop?.stop();
+    root.destroy();
+    onDone?.();
+  }
+
+  return { root, close };
+}
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaLogic.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaLogic.js
index 6a8475a..92bdddc 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/VegaLogic.js
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaLogic.js
@@ -419,7 +419,9 @@ export function createGame(rules, opts) {
     nextColonyId: 0,
     nextFleetId: 0,
     events: [],
-    council: { nextTurn: rules.council.firstTurn, lastResult: null, history: [] },
+    council: {
+      nextTurn: rules.council.firstTurn, lastResult: null, history: [], pendingSession: false,
+    },
     gnn: { history: [] },
     over: false,
     winnerIdx: -1,
@@ -1772,11 +1774,16 @@ export function runCouncil(rules, state) {
   const votes = {};
   for (const c of candidates) votes[c.idx] = 0;
   let abstained = 0;
+  // Per-voter breakdown, purely additive to the aggregate `votes` above —
+  // exists so VegaCouncilSession.js can replay the session one delegate at a
+  // time (smallest population first) instead of only ever showing the
+  // final tally. `choice` is a candidate idx or null (abstained).
+  const voters = [];
 
   for (const voter of alive) {
     const weight = voter.totalPop;
     const own = candidates.find((c) => c.idx === voter.idx);
-    if (own) { votes[own.idx] += weight; continue; }
+    if (own) { votes[own.idx] += weight; voters.push({ idx: voter.idx, weight, choice: own.idx }); continue; }
     let best = null;
     let bestScore = -Infinity;
     for (const cand of candidates) {
@@ -1784,8 +1791,13 @@ export function runCouncil(rules, state) {
       const score = (voter.attitude[cand.idx] ?? 0) - (atWar(state, voter.idx, cand.idx) ? 60 : 0);
       if (score > bestScore) { bestScore = score; best = cand; }
     }
-    if (!best || bestScore < (rules.council.abstainAttitude ?? -20)) { abstained += weight; continue; }
+    if (!best || bestScore < (rules.council.abstainAttitude ?? -20)) {
+      abstained += weight;
+      voters.push({ idx: voter.idx, weight, choice: null });
+      continue;
+    }
     votes[best.idx] += weight;
+    voters.push({ idx: voter.idx, weight, choice: best.idx });
   }
 
   let winner = -1;
@@ -1819,10 +1831,18 @@ export function runCouncil(rules, state) {
     }
   }
 
-  const result = { turn: state.turn, votes, totalPop, abstained, winner, refused, candidates: candidates.map((c) => c.idx) };
+  const result = {
+    turn: state.turn, votes, totalPop, abstained, winner, refused,
+    candidates: candidates.map((c) => c.idx), voters,
+  };
   state.council.lastResult = result;
   state.council.history.push(result);
   state.council.nextTurn = state.turn + rules.council.interval;
+  // Consumed by MasterOfVegaGame.js's runToHumanTurn() the moment control
+  // returns to the human, which opens VegaCouncilSession.js's ceremony
+  // BEFORE the state.over victory check — so a decisive session still gets
+  // its ceremony instead of jumping straight to the victory overlay.
+  state.council.pendingSession = true;
   pushEvent(state, { type: 'council', ...result });
   if (winner >= 0) {
     state.over = true;
@@ -2562,6 +2582,10 @@ export function deserialize(json) {
     state.gnn = { history: [] };
     for (const ev of state.events) ev.gnnAnnounced = true;
   }
+  // Same convention for a save from before the Council Session ceremony
+  // existed — an old save can never be mid-session (the feature didn't
+  // exist to leave one pending), so false is always correct here.
+  state.council.pendingSession ??= false;
   // Same convention for a save from before Colony Focus existed.
   for (const c of state.colonies) {
     c.focus ??= 'manual';
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaScreens.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaScreens.js
index 14466af..9e14f30 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/VegaScreens.js
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaScreens.js
@@ -23,11 +23,15 @@ export const FONT = '"Julius Sans One"';
 // `colony` sits above `modal` so the colony screen can stack over the system
 // view that opened it without either having to be torn down. `detail` is the
 // ship pop-over, which opens from the star map's side panel AND from inside the
-// colony screen, so it has to clear both. `intro` is the colony-founding
-// vignette, which opens over the system view it was triggered from and must
-// cover everything except the end-of-game overlay.
+// colony screen, so it has to clear both. `council` is the Council Session
+// ceremony (VegaCouncilSession.js) — it can fire mid-AI-turn-stepping, before
+// any other modal is open, so its exact rank relative to gnn/detail never
+// actually matters in practice; it sits next to gnn as the other full-screen
+// takeover. `intro` is the colony-founding vignette, which opens over the
+// system view it was triggered from and must cover everything except the
+// end-of-game overlay.
 export const D = {
-  map: 1, hud: 30, modal: 60, colony: 70, gnn: 72, detail: 76, intro: 78, toast: 80,
+  map: 1, hud: 30, modal: 60, colony: 70, gnn: 72, council: 73, detail: 76, intro: 78, toast: 80,
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReport.js b/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReport.js
index 3b388c2..2b9169d 100644
--- a/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReport.js
+++ b/src/games/mastervega/VegaTurnReport.js
@@ -16,9 +16,18 @@ import { describeTechEffects } from './VegaTechEffects.js';
 // in the next turn's report on top of that would announce it twice — the
 // second time with less weight than a finished refit. Do not add it back
 // without taking the vignette out.
+//
+// `council` is the same story, added later: a council session now gets its
+// own full-screen ceremony the instant it fires (VegaCouncilSession.js,
+// triggered from MasterOfVegaGame.js's runToHumanTurn() off
+// state.council.pendingSession, not off this event bus at all), so a turn-
+// report row on top would repeat the exact same tally the ceremony just
+// showed. `councilRefused` stays notable — it is a distinct consequence (a
+// war begins) worth its own row alongside the ceremony, same as any other
+// warDeclared.
 export const NOTABLE_TYPES = new Set([
   'discovered', 'techDone', 'buildingDone', 'shipDone', 'contact', 'captured',
-  'colonyDestroyed', 'warDeclared', 'peace', 'alliance', 'tradeAgreementFormed', 'council',
+  'colonyDestroyed', 'warDeclared', 'peace', 'alliance', 'tradeAgreementFormed',
   'councilRefused', 'eliminated', 'advisorRecommendation',
 ]);
 
@@ -54,7 +63,6 @@ export const TYPE_LABEL = {
   peace: 'Peace',
   alliance: 'Alliance',
   tradeAgreementFormed: 'Trade Agreement',
-  council: 'Galactic Council',
   councilRefused: 'Council Refused',
   eliminated: 'Empire Eliminated',
   advisorRecommendation: 'Advisor Recommendation',
@@ -64,7 +72,7 @@ export const TYPE_LABEL = {
 // then discoveries, then research, then finished production, mirroring how
 // the plan orders the list.
 const CATEGORY_ORDER = {
-  contact: 0, warDeclared: 0, peace: 0, alliance: 0, tradeAgreementFormed: 0, council: 0, councilRefused: 0, eliminated: 0,
+  contact: 0, warDeclared: 0, peace: 0, alliance: 0, tradeAgreementFormed: 0, councilRefused: 0, eliminated: 0,
   captured: 1, colonyDestroyed: 1,
   discovered: 2,
   techDone: 3,
@@ -232,20 +240,6 @@ function describeTreaty(rules, state, ev, name, verb) {
   return { headline, lines: [] };
 }
 
-function describeCouncil(rules, state, ev, name) {
-  const need = Math.ceil(ev.totalPop * rules.council.winFraction);
-  const lines = (ev.candidates ?? []).map((idx) => line(
-    `${name(idx)}: ${Math.round(ev.votes?.[idx] ?? 0)} votes`, state.empires[idx]?.color,
-  ));
-  lines.push(line(`Abstained: ${Math.round(ev.abstained ?? 0)} · ${need} votes of ${Math.round(ev.totalPop)} needed`, '#7f97b3'));
-  const headline = ev.winner >= 0
-    ? `${name(ev.winner)} is elected High Guardian of the Galaxy.`
-    : (ev.refused
-      ? 'The Council election was refused — war has begun.'
-      : 'The Council failed to elect a High Guardian.');
-  return { headline, lines };
-}
-
 function describeCouncilRefused(rules, state, ev, name) {
   const me = state.humanIndex;
   let headline;
@@ -279,7 +273,6 @@ export function describeEvent(rules, state, ev) {
     case 'peace': out = describeTreaty(rules, state, ev, name, 'make peace with'); break;
     case 'alliance': out = describeTreaty(rules, state, ev, name, 'form an alliance with'); break;
     case 'tradeAgreementFormed': out = describeTreaty(rules, state, ev, name, 'form a trade agreement with'); break;
-    case 'council': out = describeCouncil(rules, state, ev, name); break;
     case 'councilRefused': out = describeCouncilRefused(rules, state, ev, name); break;
     case 'eliminated': out = describeEliminated(rules, state, ev, name); break;
     case 'advisorRecommendation': out = describeAdvisorRecommendation(rules, state, ev); break;
diff --git a/src/ui/Sounds.js b/src/ui/Sounds.js
index 274adc7..06c63e9 100644
--- a/src/ui/Sounds.js
+++ b/src/ui/Sounds.js
@@ -114,6 +114,8 @@ export const SFX = {
   VEGA_COUNTER:          'sfx-vega-counter',
   VEGA_GNN_STING:        'sfx-vega-gnn-sting',
   VEGA_GNN_LOOP:         'sfx-vega-gnn-loop',
+  VEGA_COUNCIL_INTRO:    'sfx-vega-council-intro',
+  VEGA_COUNCIL_LOOP:     'sfx-vega-council-loop',
   // Beam cues split by the firing ship's Mark (I-VII); missile cues split the
   // same way but only two ways, and further split into launch vs. impact.
   // See VegaCombatView.js's weaponSfxKey()/missileLaunchSfxKey()/
diff --git a/tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js b/tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js
index a74dc2e..464b4c2 100644
--- a/tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js
+++ b/tools/verifyMasterOfVega.js
@@ -1997,6 +1997,10 @@ section('6b. Founding vignette and the turn report');
   // Founding a colony is announced ONCE, by VegaColonyIntro.js the moment it
   // happens. Putting it back in the "New Turn" popup would announce it twice.
   check('founding a colony is not a turn-report row', !NOTABLE_TYPES.has('colonised'));
+  check('a council session is not a turn-report row (it has its own ceremony)',
+    !NOTABLE_TYPES.has('council'));
+  check('council refusal still is a turn-report row (a distinct war-declaration consequence)',
+    NOTABLE_TYPES.has('councilRefused'));
   check('colonised has no turn-report label either', !TYPE_LABEL.colonised);
   for (const type of NOTABLE_TYPES) {
     check(`notable event ${type} has a turn-report label`, !!TYPE_LABEL[type]);
@@ -2163,6 +2167,8 @@ section('7. Diplomacy and the Galactic Council');
   });
   st.rules = RULES;
 
+  check('a fresh game has no pending council session', st.council.pendingSession === false);
+
   check('a species with no diplomacy cannot negotiate', (() => {
     st.empires[0].contacted[3] = true;
     st.empires[3].contacted[0] = true;
@@ -2218,6 +2224,23 @@ section('7. Diplomacy and the Galactic Council');
   check('a landslide elects a High Guardian or is refused',
     result.winner >= 0 || result.refused);
 
+  // Per-voter breakdown, added for VegaCouncilSession.js's one-at-a-time
+  // reveal — must stay consistent with the aggregate `votes`/`abstained`
+  // this session's UI checks above, since both are read from the same
+  // result object.
+  check('every alive empire appears exactly once in the voter breakdown',
+    result.voters.length === st.empires.filter((e) => e.alive).length);
+  check("voter weights sum to the session's total population", (() => {
+    const sum = result.voters.reduce((t, v) => t + v.weight, 0);
+    return Math.abs(sum - result.totalPop) < 1e-6;
+  })());
+  check('every voter choice is a candidate or an abstention (null)',
+    result.voters.every((v) => v.choice === null || result.candidates.includes(v.choice)));
+  check('a candidate always votes for itself',
+    result.candidates.every((idx) => result.voters.find((v) => v.idx === idx)?.choice === idx));
+  check('runCouncil leaves a pending session for the UI to consume',
+    st.council.pendingSession === true);
+
   // Refusal: a candidate at war with the winner walks out.
   const st2 = Logic.createGame(RULES, {
     sizeId: 'medium', shapeId: 'elliptical', seed: 78, difficultyId: 'normal',