“I just finally managed to lose Bedara.”
“Lucky you.” Harriman made a face. “I have to deal with him every day.”
“Try to be understanding. He’s good at what he does.” Matthias indicated the hovering projection. “How are we doing—really?”
“About as well as could be expected. Maybe even a little better.” Harriman leaned back in her chair. “Thanks to the bubbles, most of them now have a place to sleep out of the rain. A large number brought food with them, and we’ve been able to supplement that enough to prevent any hunger, let alone starvation. It helps that the Deyzara eat only soft foods and that those are easier to store and transport, not to mention rehydrate.” She summoned up a reluctant smile. “The Commonwealth can be proud of its representatives on Fluva.”
“Hang the Commonwealth. We need to settle this soon, before our facilities are overwhelmed. And overwhelmed they will be, if this keeps up.”
Murmuring to her desk, Harriman snuffed out the projection and turned to her superior. “How is it in the other towns?”
“Pretty bad. A few better, where moderate, reasonable Sakuntala have been able to intervene.” Her expression darkened. “Several worse. There have been some killings.”
Harriman nodded somberly. “I’ve heard. Word gets around. Much more of that and the Deyzara won’t wait for us to adjudicate. They’ll start finding weapons of their own and fighting back. Then we will have a tragedy on our hands.” She hesitated. “Well, a bigger tragedy.” She gestured toward a window. “A few of these Deyzara can trace their lineage on Fluva back five generations. Some of them have lost everything. They’ll be petitioning for redress.”