“That’s why we should all speak to her,” Naomi said. “Pose a united front. Have everything on the table and make an informed decision, like we did with Cochran’s message. Maybe you’re right and there is an explanation, or we’re rushing to conclusions not supported by the facts. I mean, I want to be proven wrong. I don’t want Valerie to have done this. I think we can all agree on that.”

“We have to make decisions before the jump, or it’ll take months to send word back to Earth,” Hart said.

“And if you decide you do not like that Dr. Black kept things from us?” Lebedeva asked. “What, you suggest mutiny?” She gave something like a tch. “If we break, none of us will make it.”

Hixon grimaced. “It won’t come to that. We know Valerie. All of us. She wouldn’t kill five people. She won’t force us to do anything we don’t want to do. This crew is a collective. We work together, as a team. It’s not didactic, or a dictatorship. Secrets have no place here, though, I agree. We air everything.”

As if on cue, Naomi’s tablet in her pocket beeped with a new message. Lebedeva startled, then her eyes narrowed. They all knew that noise. Their tablets were identical, but no one else had heard that sound since Earth.

She picked it up. Read Evan’s message. Blanched.

She took in a breath, lowered her voice. “I’ve been able to access messages from Earth.” She figured it was safer to let them think she intercepted official information rather than that she was in direct conversation with Evan.

Hixon crossed her arms. “Looks like Valerie isn’t the only one keeping secrets.”

“Berate me later. The message says there’s a potential illness outbreak.” She copied the text of the message to the larger screen, hiding who had sent it.

That local outbreak is a virus. Something new. Something vicious. We’re still investigating it, but so far it’s like an unholy blend of Marburg spreading like a common cold. Could be airborne. Fatality is high. It’s early days, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to slow its spread. We’re locking down a perimeter, and my team and I are trying to find either a vaccine, a cure, or something to help slow the symptoms. That’ll take time—months at least, years more likely—and we might not have it. They’re trying to avoid making a widespread announcement on Earth, but it’s only a matter of time. I don’t think we’ll be able to contain this.

The four women stared at the screen, reading silently.

“Who sent this?” Hixon asked.