The reception had been organized by Ithanne, and nobody seemed particularly excited to be there.
Every faction had sent people. The Ancients stayed together, Corvyn was as loud as ever, and Kesh remained a step behind him, speaking only when he had to.
Maela moved from group to group, talking to everyone. Several administrators Trafalgar recognized from the sealed chamber were there too, though he still didn't know most of their names.
Aldis Brenn was from the Canal Houses, third generation, and the kind of man who liked talking about what his family had built. Two different people had told Trafalgar that Brenn knew the port better than anyone alive.
They had also told him Brenn was perfectly happy to remind people of that.
Trafalgar drifted into his orbit with a glass he had no intention of finishing, let Brenn talk about freight capacity for several minutes, agreed in all the wrong places, and eventually got one detail slightly wrong on purpose.
