All the empty space on the right side of the image is a little bothersome. You might crop more off the right side of the image or add a bit more visual detail to this portion of the image. You could crop the image so that the right edge of the large monitor above the keyboard is just outside of the viewing area. Or, you could add visual detail by making the whole workstation look like it is set back in the wall as a shallow alcove, with the edge of the alcove visible in the empty area on the right side of the image. I would think about adding an extra level of detail to the over-all image... simple paneling on the walls (parting lines), markings or accessories on the clothes, etc.

Lighting... You could add some drama to the image by making the lighting less uniform. You already have a start in this direction by focusing a light on the Oriental Gentleman at the keyboard (keep this). Try something like changing the room lighting to spots that focus on the workstation and which produce light and dark areas on the wall where their light cones intersect with it. The idea is to focus the light more on areas where you want the viewer's eyes to go to and not on areas of less importance. I think right now the lighting is a bit too uniform in the image, but it is heading in the right direction. Just continue to focus the lights and create more contrast as you already have started to do. (You could also focus the lights more on the characters and the keyboard, away from the walls, and keep trying to make the screens glow more in contrast to lower lighting on the walls.)

Just my 2 cents worth.

"The only one that shows an arachnid, as far as I know. :-) Everybody else made spaceships." Is there a challenge or contest going on right now to produce an illustration for Vinge's 'Deepness in the Sky'? Yah, I'm out of touch with things. :)

Good work.

Oh... another thought... Instead of having the Oriental gentleman looking directly at the viewer you might have him looking at a hand-held device or something in his hand(s) but still have him facing in the same general direction. This would be another way of adding visual interest to the image and makking the characters look more active and a part of the scene. shouldn't the characters look more interested and worried about the arachnid at the door as shown on the monitor? I'd be worried. ;)