Elsewhere on the T-Vino Island and on the premises of one of the larger wineries, several people had gathered semi-formally.
One man stood in front of them with a thick file out of which he was reading.
"The grape harvest is done for the season, and preparations are being made for the-"
Alex Thornston, seated at the head of the group, looked at the empty seats on either side of him and then flipped his hand in the air, indicating that he go on and skip what he was about to read as if he already knew it…
"Sorry, Chairman, I'll skip the festival aspect and continu-"
A slight irritative glare from Alex made the man clear his throat awkwardly, resuming his professional stance. "We have tallied up the harvest and preparing for processing of the grapes now. We had a 20% lower yield than we did in the last harvest-"
A low, dissatisfied murmur rippled through the gathering. The man kept his face in his report and continued,
