“Be quiet up, all of you!” Just to make sure she was not misunderstood, she repeated the admonition in Deyzar.
The combination of words, tone, and volume had the intended effect. Silence descended upon the delegation, accompanied by not a few shocked looks. Several of those present had engaged in prior dealings with the Commonwealth administrator. At none of those had she ever raised her voice, much less delivered what sounded suspiciously like a command.
It was the very most respected entrepreneur, Tasumandra, who finally took notice of the scratches on hands and arms and the raw red scrape on the human’s forehead. “I do not mean to remark on something that may be unpleasant to take notice of, but you appear to have suffered some recent injury.”
“Yes.” Inner calm and a habitual sense of professionalism had returned along with the comparative quiet. “I have suffered a recent injury. At the hands of the Deyzara, I must add.”
Hootings of disbelief mixed with concern greeted this disclosure. “Where did this regrettable episode take place?”
She was calling up a projection from her desk. “At the skimmer port. I was walking with a Sakuntala Hata when we were attacked.”
“Ah, refugees.” An older female’s trunk bobbed back and forth as she spoke. “While I personally regret the incident, it most certainly falls within the range of the recently possible.” Her eyes were unusually wide, even for a Deyzara. “People are very angry.”
“They have a right to be.” Matthias spoke while studying the latest news. “I don’t dispute that. But it doesn’t give them the right to go and attack any Sakuntala they encounter.”