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the best of two bad choices."
    Mitchell ran his hand along his head. Maria was right, too. Both choices sucked. "Okay, keep going with the numeric matching. I'll speak with Admiral Hohn and find out what the timing looks like for reaching one of the Black Hole planets."
    "Yes, Colonel," Aiko said.
    "Thank you all," he said. "Every minute you keep doing what you're doing, you're improving our chances of surviving this mess."
    That earned him a smile from all three of the techs. They dove back into their work as he headed off to find Calvin.

8

    Mitchell found Admiral Hohn in a small office directly off Asimov's Situation Room beneath Operations. It was a sparse workspace - a desk and tabletop screen combination that the Admiral was standing over when Mitchell entered.
    "Admiral Hohn," Mitchell said.
    Calvin looked up. "Colonel. You came to check on my progress?"
    "Not exactly. You've only had a few hours, so I don't expect you to have a complete plan in place. What I need to know is the position of the nearest Black Hole planet. More importantly, how long will it take to get there, and how far from Earth will we be moving?"
    Calvin smiled. "You have a keen interest in protecting Earth, and I understand that. Jingu has four billion people on it as well."
    Mitchell felt a chill run down his spine. He hadn't forgotten the Federation's home world, even if he hadn't prioritized it either.
    "Right now, I don't feel too great about reaching either one," he said.
    "Neither do I," Calvin replied. "Of course, since the Black Hole planet is in Federation space, it will deliver us much closer to Jingu than Earth. Tell me, Colonel, given a choice would you allow my homeworld to fall to save yours, even if you knew it was too late?
    "Wouldn't you?"
    "Yes. I appreciate your honesty."
    "I appreciate yours. Anyway, the Black Hole Planet isn't the final destination. We'll decide where to go once we've gained Tio's brother."
    "Of course."
    "So, let me ask the original question again. How long will it take to get there?"
    "Two weeks, moving directly into Federation space."
    "That isn't close."
    "No."
    "Aiko thinks she can make a good guess about Pulin's numeric identity in three days, and that there's an outside chance we can skip a step in ten to fourteen. I need to make a decision about which path to take and keep in mind the second may lead back to the first. You know more about the Black Hole than anybody. What do you think?"
    "The Black Holes are meant to be secure. Getting into one won't be easy."
    "Can we do it?"
    "I don't know the capabilities of your forces, Colonel."
    "Neither do I. Let's say it was your mission to infiltrate the system. Could you do it?"
    Calvin was silent while he considered. "Me? No. I'm not a Marine, and I've never participated in a ground mission. With the right equipment and the right people, I would put the likelihood of your success at perhaps ten percent."
    Mitchell sighed. That wasn't the good news he was trying to convince himself he would receive. "That's better than zero."
    "If you're asking me if that is a better option than waiting and hoping we can determine Pulin's location without it, then I would say no, it isn't. There is a reason the Federation's most sensitive data is stored there, Colonel."
    "Right."
    "That being said, there is some merit to the idea. We could wait and end up with nothing, and then have to launch the mission anyway. If we assume the first option will fail, it will help us plan for and attempt the second more efficiently."
    "So you're saying we should do it?"
    "No, Colonel. I'm saying that my opinion is that we shouldn't, but there is an obvious benefit to the approach. I imagine you aren't about to make your decision based solely on the assessment of a Federation Admiral."
    Mitchell wasn't going to tell Calvin how heavily he was weighing his feedback. He didn't feel certain about either approach and nothing in his subconscious was steering him in one direction over the other