Chapter 15
No one spoke until they were nearly back to Ben’s shuttle. Luis stared up at the transports over his head, so vast and slow they seemed to hanging still. He couldn’t stop himself from watching the ground under his feet as they walked, hoping for one of Mr. Essena’s stray chunks of Bitan.
“So you’ll file your request with TransG,” Luis said. “Then we’ll see how long it takes? Any chance they could come through sooner?”
Tegwin shook her head. “We’re not exaggerating how slow they are, Luis. They’re locked into long-range thinking, which they have to be in a way. They started construction on the Bountyfield ten Earth years ago for this specific trip. It’s booked for at least the next thirty-five years already. Probably more after these meetings.”
“And if this colony collapses i
