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hot drink. “The two facts together suggest to me our ship is gone.”
    “Gone? You mean jumped into hyperspace?”
    “Could be.” He paused. Meg thought he seemed to be struggling with some inner decision whether to share more of his concerns, so she waited. After a moment, Red said, “The Far Horizon could have been destroyed by hostiles.”
    “An enemy incursion in this Sector?” Meg blinked, trying to assimilate the concept. “Last time I heard any news, the Mawreg were at least two Sectors away, and being pushed back all along the front.”
    “I don’t have any current intel, been out of the Teams too long, but the government never tells civilians the full story about anything.” He shook his head. “The fact that the rangers were pulled out of here says a lot to me. And the Mawreg don’t usually come in first. The overlords prefer to send one of their client races; the cannon fodder do the heavy lifting of first invasion.”
    Mind reeling with grim possibilities she’d never considered, Meg pounced on a hole in his logic. “But why attack this planet? It’s got no value other than the scenic beauties. No indigenous population. No particularly valuable minerals, despite the pretty colors they add to the water and the tree leaves. Nothing special here to covet.”
    He drained the last drop of the precious coffee and set the mug on the counter. “I found some kind of research station on one of the maps in the ranger office. Maybe this world has more to it than we know.”
    This was certainly news to Meg. “Was the research station active? Maybe the staff there can help—”
    “Mothballed several years ago according to the note, but it would make a good place for us to wait out our forced shore leave. It’s deep in the forest, probably several days walk from here.”
    “I don’t understand why you want us to hike through the undergrowth to reach another abandoned place like this station,” Meg said. “Why not stay here in relative comfort?”
    “If hostiles are planning to take over this planet, the landing pad and ranger station are visible and vulnerable, too exposed. I’d have preferred to start for the research complex this afternoon, but the idea wasn’t workable with the bunch of pampered civilians we’ve got. When we move out, I’ll take or destroy all the maps or references here showing our potential destination. We’ll be able to hide there. Once I get you and the others safely established at the site, I’ll come back to this area and keep a covert watch for a rescue or the resumption of normal civilian traffic. My best hope is there might be active coms gear at the station so we can call for extraction.”
    Meg took a shaky breath. “What you’re saying makes me want to wake the passengers now and move out in the dark.”
    Red laid his hand over hers on the counter. “Hey, I’m probably overreacting. Even if hostiles took out the two ships, or were sighted in the vicinity of the system, the enemy might not have any interest in searching for a few stray humans on the surface.”
    Drawing comfort from his touch, she allowed the contact between them for a moment before withdrawing her hand. Needing to do something with all the nervous energy after this unsettling discussion, she set about packing the robo. “Tell me something, are you normally given to overreacting?” She shot him a glance over her shoulder.
    “No.”
    His answer was what she’d expected. “All right then, let’s plan to get organized and hike out of here by noon. I anticipate some serious complaints and foot dragging from the guests, don’t you?”
    “We’ll tell them the truth. And again, the food goes with us, so if the passengers don’t relish hunting for their own—”
    “Which this crowd is highly unlikely to do.” She laughed, guessing he was trying to lighten the atmosphere. As he turned to exit the galley, she said, “Hey, Red?”
    “Yeah?” Turning to her, he cocked his head as if he