Word of a streaker filtered through the crowd to the obvious amusement of BAF Commander Goodmen who could be seen having a good chuckle with a foreign looking Ensign. The Nobility appeared rather shocked and began discussing poor security and incompetent staff.
Savins sidled over to Silsbury and Palmer and began to recite a few nervous jokes and stories in order to settle himself in a bit more. Lucy could understand his nervousness at being among the upper class, She herself was more worried however as to the amount of the surrounding persons.
She was not a people person as the raggedy Inspector Price would say and the thought of having to mingle made her a bit standoffish.
Palmer, after his rather philosophical outburst, finished his drink and reluctantly moved off to associate with various interested Noblemen, Savins agreed to accompany her as curious persons came to inspect and converse with the woman-who-had-punched-Kelvin-Finch-on-live-television.
She forced smiles for each one and tried to be as polite and courteous as possible, she even managed to compliment the ostentatious outfits of some of the noblewomen. Inside she was scowling, she knew why Goodmen hated Nobles, the snobby attitude and the way they judged you viciously made her simmer in suppressed anger.
-----+-----
Sykes moved along the mezzanine floor taking careful note of every security person he saw. Unfortunately the Manor guards were in distinct uniforms, his apparel matched the MI5 crowd perfectly however and he passed un-noticed.
He noted the positions of the security personnel. He was fairly impressed. Each door had one member of the Manors staff standing sentry, checking invites and giving directions while an Intelligence counterpart stood silently on the other side of the door. All main entrances and exits were covered on the ground floor and the stairs from the higher levels were being covered as well. The Mezzanine where he strode now had agents at strategic positions along every walkway.
He smirked; Nobles and their need for the ground floor rooms to have two story high ceilings. The mezzanine did allow portions of the second story to be utilized and it also gave security good vantage points in an indirect way.
He followed the walkway past various doors leading into guestrooms and small offices until he reached a door marked Ballroom Walkway.
-----+-----
She was introduced to various persons of medium importance, the higher class people preferring to remain among their own company and would only see the Admiralty of the BAF and occasionally Commissioner Palmer. Fortunately, just as she started to become a bit ruder with the visitors, a cohort of BAF Lieutenants came in.
Lieutenant Blair detached himself and soon they were chatting about ship maneuverability and weapon loadouts and such. Lucy was just beginning to enjoy herself when a flash of pain lanced through her head.
Clutching her temples she moved towards a wall as the headache began to gain in intensity.
She cursed herself for not bringing pain killers and signaled a servant over.
Panamol, now! She ordered and leaned back against the wood paneling as the intense pain throbbed within her cranium.
Perhaps the Commissioner was right and this was the result of being too wrapped up in her work. She scoffed at this notion almost immediately.
![[Image: LucySilsbury32.jpg]](http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq145/Incindre/LucySilsbury32.jpg)