She let that hang, then said in a more sober tone. “You all went through orientation when you landed dirtside at PA. You know that The Corporation has lost six of the big cargo ships. Freelander’s crew and transportees met with disaster when they were in whatever universe they passed through. Your own ten-year passage on Ashanti was proof of the dangers involved in inverting symmetry and popping outside the universe. I’m serious when I tell you that you may be on your own for years without seeing another ship. The Pod is now your lifeboat, your haven, and your long-term hope for the future.”

Kalico stepped out around the table to better face the people. Could see that they were waiting to be convinced of her leadership. “There are only a thousand humans, give or take, on Donovan. Here is a list of our assets: We have Port Authority, Corporate Mine, some outlying research bases, and now we have the Maritime Unit. Everything on Donovan revolves around Port Authority. It’s the center of our social life, manufacturing and trade, food production, medical care, and our spaceport. For its part, Corporate Mine, with its smelter, is the heart of extraction and raw materials. In orbit, we have Freelander for limited free-fall manufacturing, but you’ve heard the stories. They’re true. Freelander is a spooky place to spend any time.

“The survey ship Vixen is compromised by a navigational error in its programming. Though the crew experienced an instantaneous transition to the Capella system on the outside, when they reversed the asymmetry and popped back in, fifty years had passed. So, though it remains our absolute last link to Solar System, any return trip may, and I stress may, be instantaneous to us, but Vixen will probably arrive off Neptune’s orbit fifty years in our future.”

Yeah, they were getting it. Uneasy looks were being passed back and forth, knowing lifts of the eyebrows, the faint shrugs. A lot of the communication was subtle—the sort that developed among people who knew each other intimately. Well, all but the sour senior woman in the back who had remained standing with her arms crossed. That, Kalico remembered, was Anna Gabarron.

Kalico raised her hands. “So there you have it. It’s not the Garden of Eden promised by The Corporation. It’s only a thousand people spread across a world that will kill us in an instant. Welcome to Donovan.”