“You protect the Sakuntala,” another delegate countered accusingly.
“The Commonwealth extends its protection to any and all who seek it,” she responded tiredly. “As chief administrator here I favor no side above the other. For your information, two young Sakuntala tried to kill me while I was on business at the port. My coworkers and I stopped them just before the Hata I referred to arrived to see how she could help with the current situation.”
A pair of Deyzara exchanged knowing glances. Given their bulging eyes, the exchange was hard to miss. So were their chromatically clashing clothes. In fact, with so many characteristically overdressed Deyzara in the room, any need for artificial lighting seemed all but superfluous.
“A most interesting coincidence,” the first murmured. “Two of them attempt to assassinate the administrator, and then a Hata shows up immediately after the attempt fails. Almost as if to see what has happened. What excellent timing.”
“So very much so,” responded a colleague. “Just in time to offer their ‘help’—or view the executed, depending on the exigencies of the moment. One would not think to associate such punctuality with the Sakuntala.”
Matthias leaned forward so sharply, she pushed herself partway into the projection. “It was a coincidence. I happen to know the Sakuntala Hata in question.”
“Oh, surely no one can dispute that,” observed another sardonically. “Of course, to say such a thing presumes that one actually can ‘know’ a Sakuntala. Just as one can ‘know’ the animals of the forest, or the decaying fungi of the Viisiiviisii.” Calculating whoops rose from the assembled.