The press conference room was designed by someone who loved cameras and had never once had to sit under their own lighting.
Overhead lights so white they washed out everything. Long table at the front. Microphones spaced out perfectly. The kind of setup she'd stood at the edge of enough times to recognize it with her eyes closed.
Soorin took her usual spot against the side wall, kit bag at her feet, and watched the members settle in behind the table.
LUMEN on one side. F. Jay at the far end with his people. Three translators lined along the wall with earpieces in.
She did her now-habitual sweep of the exits.
Two doors. Back one still had staff moving through it. The one on the far left looked like it went to a service corridor. Both visible from where she stood.
'You are not here to count exits,' she told herself firmly.
She counted them anyway. Old habits from worse months.
Then she straightened up and focused on the actual job.
