“I hate to break in,” said Hutch. “But everybody please get back in your seats and fasten belts. We’re going to clear out.” She should not have let them start walking around. Dumb. “Come on, people. Move.”

Barry broke in. “There’s one asteroid now that I can make out. It’s almost the size of a small moon. It’s coming our way. Not a direct threat, but it impedes my view.”

Everybody hurried back into the passenger cabin and belted in. The Locarno hadn’t completed recharging yet, so Hutch simply took the Eiferman to a less-crowded area.

Beth’s voice came in over the allcomm. “I’m trying to imagine how the people, the inhabitants, on the Calliope world must have felt when they found out they were in the path of this thing. It’s so small. But it can do so much damage. That’s what blows my mind.”

“It’s a machine, and that’s all it is,” Hutch said. “And it has some seriously weird mechanisms. Some places just get unlucky.”

“That wouldn’t come as news to my aunt Sarah,” said Beth.

“Why?” asked Hutch. “What happened to her?”

“She was killed by lightning when I was a kid. I was with her when it happened.”

It was approaching midnight, and nobody was going to sleep in the presence of that thing. Even Derek was affected by it. “I don’t care that we’re not at risk,” he told Hutch. “When we’re able, let’s get away from here.”

The order surprised her. Just a few minutes before, he’d been delighted by what they saw.

The Locarno had finished charging. “Barry, get us clear of the area. Take us out a billion kilometers.”

“Before you jump—” said the AI.

“What is it?”

“I’ve got something.”

“What?”

“A planet. It’s probably of no significance, but you should be aware.”

“Is it in orbit?”

“Yes. About three hundred million kilometers out.”

She thought about it. The smart thing to do would be simply to leave the area. But the sighting would be logged in, and eventually, she’d have to explain herself to Derek. “Where is it?”

“We’re headed more or less toward it now. It will require only a minor course adjustment.”

She informed Derek, who sounded as if he’d had enough of the black hole. But duty called. “We have safe passage?”

“Yes.”

“All right. Let’s go take a look.”

•  •  •

The planet was a gas giant, with a swirling atmosphere brightened by storms. “Is this thing actually orbiting the hole?” asked Ken.

“Oh, yes,” said Derek.

“That’s hard to believe.”

Two moons were visible. There might have been others.

“Its diameter is approximately fifty thousand kilometers,” said Barry.

“Small for a gas giant,” said Derek. “Well, probably not, in an area like this. The black hole has probably sucked off some of the atmosphere.”