Pandusky nodded. He was staring out the window again, at the raw, wet forest beyond. “That means if this Hasselemoga and the two we sent to look for him are still alive, they’re going to have to find a way to survive on their own for a few days out in the open Viisiiviisii.”
“Maybe a few weeks,” she added. “Maybe longer. It can’t be helped. I need all personnel to attend to their assigned stations until further notice.”
Pandusky nodded again and excused himself from the room. Once, by dint of a mistake, he had been forced to spend a few hours alone in the Viisiiviisii. Once was enough, and he knew he had been fortunate to survive the experience. He did not care to think about what it would be like to try to survive in the flooded forest for a few weeks.
Later that afternoon he returned to the office to deliver a personal entreaty from the supervisor of the skimmer port at Kaxanti Town. Administrator Matthias was nowhere to be seen. He finally located her—standing outside on the porch, beyond the rim of the protective overhang. She was capeless and soaked, dripping wet from head to toe, her red hair plastered to her face and neck like stranded seaweed as she stared out into the Viisiiviisii.
“Administrator Matthias?” he asked hesitantly.
At first he thought she hadn’t heard him. Or that if she had, she was not going to respond. Finally, she turned, looked hesitant, then smiled and brushed wet hair back from her forehead. Across the way, a sokot was eyeing her speculatively. A tentative, timid predator, it disappeared back into the rain and the branches as soon as she moved.