Hutch couldn’t help thinking how much Charlie and Maureen would have liked to see all this.

Derek retired to his cabin and spent most of the balance of the day collaborating with Barry, looking at telescopic images of the planet, and more frequently at the black hole, which was simply a distant flickering glow now. He commented that the lights resembled a weak storm brewing at sea. Hutch wasn’t sure what sort of connection he had with the sea, but it didn’t really matter.

They named the planet Eve, for Derek’s daughter. Then, as they began talking again about going home, Barry announced that he’d found a second planet. “This one’s much smaller. It appears to be slightly larger than Earth.”

•  •  •

Barry aimed the scope at the world, and as they drew closer, everybody gathered in the passenger cabin to watch the images appear on the display. Vast fields of ice and rock glittered in the starlight. Oceans at one time, Hutch thought, if the climate had been sufficiently warm.

The overall appearance could only be described as dismal. Mountains and broken crags rose out of the ice, and tall thin towers. Ken pointed at a pinnacle jutting out of an otherwise flat layer of ice. “It’s a building.”

There were more. Spread around the planet. Ruins jutting out of frozen ground. “Let’s hope,” said Beth, “they really were evacuating and got everyone off.”

Hutch eased the Eiferman into orbit.

Most of the structures were simply wreckage. Broken buildings. Some had windows, or turrets, or ramparts. They saw a lone wall with a stairway that ended a hundred meters over a valley. And came across a tower that rose out of an otherwise empty field of ice. The remains of a statue stood atop the tower. The bottom half, the legs, if that’s what they were, were clothed in a gown.

Eventually, Barry announced they’d completed circling the planet. “Do we want to continue?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Derek. “Stay in orbit.”

Hutch angled them slightly to starboard. “Most of what we’re seeing,” said Ken, “looks like what’s left of skyscrapers. You think that’s what’s buried in the ice?”

“Probably,” said Derek. He turned to Hutch. “We need to go down and take a look. At least we might get a sense of who the inhabitants were.” He studied the icescape with mixed feelings. “What a disaster.”

“Barry,” said Hutch. “What’s the radiation look like here?”

“It’s too high for the Flickinger units. The lander will be safe, but if you’re planning to get out and walk around, you’ll need to wear standard pressure suits.”

There were only four. “I guess nobody thought to make sure we had enough for everybody,” said Derek. He was blaming himself.