He was very, very busy.
Such actions were being repeated, on scales both larger and smaller, throughout a large portion of the inhabited Viisiiviisii. It rapidly became apparent that unlike in the past, the attacks were not random outbreaks of anti-Deyzara violence but were being well coordinated. In the face of the ferocious (but by no means universal) assault, those frightened Deyzara who were able to do so fled their small settlements. Seeking protection and aid, they began to converge on the larger, more developed towns and municipalities. At first they were taken in by relatives and friends. But as the full dimension of the attacks and the scope of the tragedy became clear, more and more sought shelter in public facilities. These were rapidly overwhelmed by the number and desperation of the refugees with which they were being asked to cope.
Calls began to go out. Information traveled through the troubled Viisiiviisii. Eventually it reached Taulau.
Where it all ended up, metaphorically if not literally, on one desk.
7
Brushing idly at the softly humming brim of her fully charged rain cape, Lauren Matthias gazed glumly at the chaos before her. Hundreds of Deyzara were packed into the port’s staging area, a sea of mooning eyes, bobbing trunks, and pale rain-slicked heads. There was hardly enough room for those already there while more were arriving every hour on foot and via transport. Flocks of gauzy-winged, serrated-beaked voukopu soared overhead, skimming from one tree or building to another in search of the dead meat they seemed certain was to be forthcoming.