A Case of Libel

[Foxglove]

06.06.823 A.S.
Durban Station, Omicron Rho
Conference Room, C-Level

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Her steps echoed eerily through the barren hallways of Durban Station's C-Level. It wasn't that there weren't any people on it, but rather that the station, just like the Core or life itself, was partitioned into certain sections that each individual was allocated to. Section A and B were exclusively for the Exalted Guildmaster himself, tailored to satisfy all his needs, whereas the section C was intended to be sort of a confluence for the Exalted Guildmaster and those who were closest to him in terms of power, yet still couldn't reach him — they never could.

This was where Cordelia Lyell was headed.

Her own quarters alongside her work space were located in Section D. One would assume that the Guildkeepers would have some sort of uniformity in terms of where they'd set up camp, but apparently that wasn't the case, much to Lyell's chagrin. It would all be so much easier if they'd be close together, so one wouldn't have to use the bloody neural net to contact another Guildkeeper in case something came up, as was the case with Marston now, who spent most his time on either Alabama or Invicta.

She wasn't quite sure how to deal with him. On one hand, he seemed to be terribly receptive to all sorts of influences, given how easily he had been persuaded by the heat of the moment into attacking a Freeport. On the other hand, he wasn't just a Guildkeeper, but the Co-CEO of APM as well. Assuming that he hadn't had the most terrific fit of luck imaginable when obtaining these positions, he probably was a force to be reckoned with.

Good.

Either way, he might prove to be a valuable asset. Reaching her destination by rounding another corner, a set of files and a PDA held with one arm, she unlocked the rather plain-looking door by providing a voice sample plus finger print. When first she had entered this room, she had been rather surprised with how mundane it looked compared to other wonders of the Core, like the H+ Clinic or some of the labs on Invicta.

Lyell entered something that could be described as a dimly lit plenary hall, except there was no lectern of any sort in front but rather a large, round glass table with a holo-projector embedded in its middle, one chair with its back to the wall, usually taken by the Exalted Guildmaster himself, that would give a full view of the assorted crowd of approximately one hundred people that theoretically could be seated in the back. The problem simply was that nobody else besides the Guildmaster and the Guildkeepers had permission to enter this area. Lyell had never quite understood why those seats were there.

Opposite of the Guildmaster's seat, across the table and arranged in a semi circle, there were four more seats, each one allocated to one particular Guildkeeper, who would sit with their backs to the door, facing the Guildmaster. Taking her own seat, she placed the files in front of her and connected the PDA to the holo-projector in the middle, as she would need it to further drive her point home.

She had come too early, but that was alright — That was why she had brought her files. Depending on how Marston conducted himself, he might just not even occupy her full attention. Opening a file titled Vae Victis, she would sit and read, throwing occasional glances at the Guildmaster's seat, until Marston would arrive.

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