The crew was relieved, and thrilled, to hear we'd be stopping at Earth before continuing the mission. At least, they were happy about it for a couple days. Then, on one of my duty shifts, Simms waved to get my attention, I nodded and gestured for her to come onto the bridge. There wasn't anything important going on at the time, we were a lightyear away from a very unimportant red dwarf star, three lightyears from the nearest wormhole, waiting while the jump engines recharged. “Colonel," Major Simms said, "now that we’re on our way to shut down the wormhole, there’s some second guessing among the crew.”

“What?” Desai exclaimed from the pilot seat, and Walorski also turned in his seat.

I had the same reaction. “Major, the whole point of this mission is to cut off the lizard’s access to Earth.”

“Yes, sir, that’s not the problem. People are concerned that the Expeditionary Force on Paradise will be cut off from ever returning to Earth, they won’t receive shipments of food or medical supplies after the wormhole is shut down. We’ll be abandoning them. Permanently.” Her hands balled up into fists, displaying her anxiety. “That doesn’t set well with the crew. Or with me. Sir.”

This was a conversation I knew was coming, and wasn’t looking forward to. It had been hanging in the back of my mind ever since Skippy first mentioned the idea of shutting down the wormhole. Before I could fashion a reply, Skippy spoke up. “Not to worry, Major Tammy. Your Expeditionary Force has been abandoned already, and there’s nothing we can do about it, so we’re not responsible. I have intercepted messages that the Thuranin have told the White Wind clan they won’t support further attempts to recapture Paradise, the planet isn’t worth the effort and the Thuranin forces are being kept busy elsewhere in the sector. The Kristang stopped bringing supplies from Earth even before the Ruhar retook the planet. The Kristang won’t make any effort to evacuate humans from Paradise, and the Ruhar don’t have access to Earth, or the transport capacity in this sector. They're on their own.”

He’d pissed me off again. “Damn it, Skippy, you don’t have to sound so cheery about it!”

“Facts aren’t cheery or gloomy, Colonel Joe,” Skippy had a defensive tone in his voice, which surprised me. “They’re just facts. The fact is, whether we shut down the wormhole or not, UNEF is stuck on Paradise for the foreseeable future. The Ruhar are providing food supplements until your crops can be harvested. I think.”