Which she was not. She was only an administrator.
Jack was being as supportive as possible. He could hold her and tell her that everything was going to be all right, but he couldn’t make decisions for her. At least Andrea had settled down. The scale of the emergency and the extent of the overt violence had pushed adolescent concerns onto the back burner. In other words, Matthias knew, the events of the past couple of days had forced her daughter to grow up a little.
“We can handle another thousand max, maybe.” Gosling was studying the crowd. His staff was methodically settling groups in empty hangars and available storage buildings, trying to provide every family and individual with at least a modicum of shelter. There was no pushing or shoving among the Deyzara. It was not that they were an especially docile people, just that they were used to, and respected, the benefits of organization.
“Any more than that and port operations will begin to be compromised.”
Matthias’s mouth tightened. “We can’t have that, Eric. Local transport is going to be more important than ever, and we’re going to need space for some big boys to land and unload here.”
“How soon until the first relief ship arrives?”
“Couple of weeks. The government on Praxiteles has been as helpful as you could ask for, but it still takes time to get relief material together, shuttled to orbit, loaded, and delivered. Tharce Four is putting together an enormous shipment, as you might expect, but there’s no telling when that will get here. That’s what happens when the world you’re on lies on the fringes of settled space.” She checked her chronometer. “I’ve got to get back to the office. I’m meeting with representatives of both species.”