The hearing room was on the Administrative building's third floor — a chamber designed for exactly this purpose, used approximately twice per decade, furnished with the particular austerity of a space that dealt in verdicts rather than comfort.
Five chairs behind a raised table. One chair for the petitioner. One chair for the respondent. Gallery seating for observers — limited, by regulation, to involved parties and their advocates.
The five board members were seated by 8:45 AM.
Instructor Veylan Graves — advocate for the petitioner, seated at the end, scar visible, expression blank, carrying the particular weight of a man who'd been asked to put his career behind a student and had agreed without hesitation.
