Cort stood in the middle of the event space and turned in place, surveying all the details. Unlike his dinner with Dorma, he had opted for a more traditional black tuxedo with a white shirt and black bow tie. His beard was freshly trimmed and dress shoes polished.

All the guests would enter into the Oed Museum through multiple doors at the front into a large open tiled space in the middle, and were directly across from a matching flank of doors at the back that led to outdoor gathering spaces. The two left and right were exhibit areas (North and South Wings) with various rooms surrounding a larger exhibit space. There were a second and third floor with more exhibit spaces and a kids learning centre, but the middle space was open on the main floor, and this openness was copied in each central exhibit in the wings. This central main floor space was where the gala was being held and round tables were staggered through the space, leaving lots of space for people to move about and mingle. Light filtered through from the skylights high above them. Event staff had prepped a podium area where speeches and what not would happen (flanked by the Oed Five and Federation flags) and to the corner were buffet tables with a small set of them set perpendicular for the Vren’s specific food.

He had triple checked the audio system and all the assistants knew how to work it in case there were issues during speeches, but for the most part, the event staff had done a great job of setting everything up.

Cort spied the form of Dorma from across the space and moved over to greet her. Somewhere around here, Elema was double checking on a couple special food issues. “Good evening. How far through your mental checklist have you made it?” he said as he approached, managing to push away the fatigue from the last several days.

~Cort Belanger