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The screen came alive with local maps, supply readouts, and a status panel I couldn’t read fast enough. He checked each one, then opened the external surveillance feed.

I moved closer.

The screen showed the ridge outside from several angles. Red-brown stone. Sparse vegetation. Empty sky. Nothing in the images suggested there was a transport sitting inside the mountain behind them.

“Those are live?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“From outside?”

“Yes.”

“How far?”

“Enough.”

I folded my arms. “That means absolutely nothing.”

“It means you do not need the exact distance.”

“We are going to have to work on your communication skills.”

“No.”

“See? Like that.”

He looked at me.

For the smallest moment, I thought he might actually be annoyed. Progress.

He brought up another panel. “This site has not been accessed since my last use.”

“How long ago?”

“Four months.”

I looked around again.

Four months without anyone here, and the air still circulated. Water still waited in sealed lines. Lights came on the second we arrived. Food sat stacked by expiration cycle.

The place had been left ready for a person who might return without warning.

Or never return at all.

“You just leave places like this sitting around?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“In case I need them.”

“For what?”

He looked at me.

I sighed. “Right. Working.”