Back at camp . . .

-------------- ----------------

“Ms. Eliza! Ms. Adams! You’d better come here,” said an anxious looking young man as they were loading the last of their gear into one of the transports. “We . . . we went ahead and used the secure channel to let Fort Crass know we were heading back . . .” The young man was leading them to where the holographic communicator was located.

“And?” asked Eliza, suddenly worried.

“And we didn’t get a response . . . at first. Just static.”

“Is something wrong with the equipment?”

“No,” the young man continued, “and it wasn’t just a glitch in the...