It was a long ride in. Hutch had expected that her conversation with Kwylla and Arin would have been broadcast by then. It would have been the story of the age. But they’d have had a reaction from Zhang if it had happened. There was no way Jack Crispee would have passed on it. Something had happened.

“We’ve done what we can,” said Derek. “It’ll probably show up in a day or so.”

She spent her time on the bridge in a dark mood, which was rare for her. Arin tried to be reassuring. “Do not worry about us,” he said. “You’ve done everything you can.”

The hours dragged. Hutch spent most of her time on the front porch with her passengers, watching movies and shows. Arin and Kwylla were still trying to improve their language skills, even though it might no longer matter. When finally they shut the system down because nobody could talk through the noise and nobody was really watching anyway, she got up, went to her cabin, and packed. Then she returned to the bridge. Earth dominated the sky now. They were approaching on the daylight side.

Kwylla came in behind her. “You okay, Hutch?” she asked.

“Hi. Yes, I’m good, thanks.”

“Is that it ahead?”

“Yes. That’s Earth.”

“It’s a beautiful world.”

“Thank you.”

“I wanted to say good-bye. And to thank you for all you’ve done. In case this isn’t going to happen as we’d hoped.”

“I think we’ll be all right. Hold on a second.” She turned control of the ship over to CommOps, which would bring them in for docking. “In any case, I’m sure you and Arin will be okay. I don’t believe they’ll actually just turn you guys around. But if they do, we have a long time before the black hole arrives, and I think, eventually, we’ll get something going here to help you.” If nothing else, she still had the chip. If she could get it past Zhang’s security people.

“Hutch,” Kwylla said, “I love you.”

•  •  •

It had been probably the longest day of her life. And when it ended, as they eased into the station and she saw the security team waiting for them, she wanted to scream.

She could hear Derek, Beth, and Ken saying good-bye to Kwylla and Arin. She inserted the chip in her Hawks cap, directly in the center so that a careless observer might think it was only the underside of the button. She sealed it in place with a piece of tape the same color as the cap’s cotton interior. The chip was small and should be easy to miss. If she could get it through, it would be her backup. Just in case.

•  •  •

Arin was angry. “Why are they doing this to us?”

“Politics,” said Hutch.

Derek tried to be reassuring. “Don’t give up. It’s not over yet.”