The pod flew speedily over the terrain. Mayor Spencer had explained what we had to do to get to the Patriot. Mayor Zyre wanted to meet with us. Mayor Spencer's thoughts said he was convinced she didn't believe him that the Patriot I was real and had landed on Z-031 at last. Though his thoughts referred to Z-031 as Zoel. I noted that down mentally.

    Officer Peterson looked a bit sweaty. I had located a metal flask of water and given it to him. He looked like he wanted to decline, but obeyed nonetheless. I was certain that he wasn't feeling well because of how he was woken from his cryogenic-sleep. I was to blame. As the First Officer, it was my duty to put my Captain first. The Captain was the one tasked with the crew's safety. The First Officer was to make sure the Captain didn't rake that role too far. Though I didn't know my Captain well, I knew he would have wanted me to do my duty.

    "We're almost there," informed Mayor Spencer. "I likely should have insisted on letting these two rest first. Peterson looks close to fainting. Even Autumn doesn't look that well. Besides that, those clothes are going to draw attention. Perhaps that might help convince Nahla."

    Clothes. Our clothes would draw attention? I subtly looked at the robe he was wearing. The doctor had been wearing one as well. My memory of the crowd of people wasn't the sharpest, but I was positive they had been wearing the robes as well. It was as if the Romans had returned with their fashion. I didn't like attention, but I wasn't about to change clothes either.

    The pod hummed louder as it descended. I rested my hand on the holster on my hip. Officer Peterson sat upright. At last the pod landed. Mayor Spencer rose and the door opened. A cool breeze wafted through. The trees outside were coniferous. They didn't exactly look like the evergreens from Earth, but I recognized them nonetheless.

    The woman that came into sight was sharp. Her hair was black and cut at the shoulders. Slanted, dark brown eyes found us quickly. Her skin looked like the night beside the white robe she wore, identical to Mayor Spencer's. "My my, Mayor Spencer has either found himself a pair of imposters or has actually found someone who thinks they were on the Patriot I. Look at those clothes. They look exactly like the ones from the Earth Museum."

    My jaw ticked slightly but otherwise did not show a sign that I'd heard anything. Mayor Spencer walked out of the pod with a smile. "Mayor Zyre! It has been too long."

    "Perhaps," she agreed reluctantly. "Shall you introduce your friends?" "I regret taking him up on not allowing myself to be escorted by guards."

    "Of course, of course." I stepped out of the pod. My eyes scrutinized Mayor Zyre cautiously. Officer Peterson lagged a bit behind. He knew as well as I did that this woman was not impressed with me.

   "This is First Officer Genevieve Autumn, and Technical Officer Quinn Peterson. They are of the Patriot I." "I daresay she doesn't look very convinced..."

   Mayor Zyre's eyebrows went up ever so slightly. "You are the First Officer?"

   I offered my hand to her. "Yes, Mayor. I hear you can get me to the Pioneer."

    "Straight to the point. Either suspicious or admirable. I have a hard time believing Mayor Spencer could be fooled so easily, but I have seen no proof otherwise." Mayor Zyre shook my hand. I let go to rest my hand on my holster casually. She noticed. "She obviously wants me to see that. Either she's cocky and arrogant, or she has no reason to believe that I'm not a threat. She considers me dangerous. Why would she, unless I could do anything to her? She must be an imposter. Otherwise, she wouldn't be threatened."

    That was not the angle I had wanted. I felt like rolling my eyes. I had showed my gun to prove that I didn't consider her a threat. Either body language had changed drastically over five hundred years or this woman was too paranoid. I was betting on the second option.

    "I could," replied Mayor Zyre at last. "But I fail to see why I should believe any of this."

    Mayor Spencer stared at her for a moment. "You don't believe me?"

    "I believe you've been fooled, Kal. The Patriot doesn't exist. It's a bedtime story. These two obviously found some old Earth clothes and somehow managed to convince you that they are immortals."

    "We're not immortals," I said sharply. I didn't want her to try and test that myth. "We have been cryogenically-frozen for five hundred and fifty years. The state of my officer should be proof enough. He's close to fainting from the ordeal."

    "Then why aren't you?" She retorted smoothly. "I've got her now." I kept my face entirely calm while I worded my reply carefully.

    "I was awoken by the programmed computer. Officer Peterson was awoken manually. That leaves room for error. I am to blame for his condition." Officer Peterson looked toward me quickly, his eyes widening. Mayor Spencer blinked. "Well, that's news."

    Mayor Zyre arched her eyebrow sharply. "Well. There's still no way she can be telling the truth. She must be ill." "I'm afraid without sufficient proof, you aren't getting to the Pioneer. You very well could be liars attempting to break into the old ship and plunder it."

    I was starting to get irritated, but I didn't let it show. "I fail to see why you don't think I haven't offered proof. My officer and I have obviously undergone something damaging to our bodies. We clearly are not from recent times, much less Zoel. My clothes are from Earth. I don't have your accent. I have a gun and not a –" I snapped my fingers, pretending to have forgotten. "What are they called, Mayor?"

   "Zodiac?"

    "Yes. I don't have one. This is a glock." I drew it and turned it aside to let her eyes land on it. They widened. "I fail to see how anyone could have one of these. Or these clothes. Or this accent. You two clearly don't even have records of the original American accent from Earth or you wouldn't speak the way you do. Besides that, my officer and I are thin, pale, and weak from being cryogenically-frozen for five centuries." Now a bit of my anger seeped through and I stepped forward. "I'll be damned before I allow you to prevent me from waking the rest of my crew. If I don't get onto the Pioneer, they are going to suffer. If they do, I will make sure you suffer as well. Do I make myself clear?"

    My voice echoed off of the trees. A few odd-looking birds startled and took flight. Officer Peterson had paled slightly. Mayor Spencer was gawking at me. "Did she just threaten a Mayor? What is she thinking?" Mayor Zyre was impassive outwardly. "I can't believe this. She has to be lying. There is no way the Patriot is real. It's a myth... And yet..."

    I held perfectly still, watching with more patience than I had shown in ages. Her thoughts played out in front of me like a movie. "She's dangerous. Incredibly dangerous. I can't let this slide."

    I grunted. "Mayor Spencer, please do me the kindness of showing Mayor Zyre the image."

    He jumped in surprise. "What? How did she – I thought I was subtle!" Just because I'm from Earth doesn't mean I don't know what it looks like when you use a camera, Mayor.

    He still pulled a rectangle of glass from his robes. I hadn't seen a camera of the tablet, but there was obviously one. After turning the tablet on, he pulled up the picture he had taken of the Patriot I and offered the tablet to Mayor Zyre. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the image. "What is this?"

    "That's the Patriot I, as you know." I holstered my gun. "And at the moment, that's my ship and my crew on board. This is all the evidence you're going to get, Mayor Zyre. Now you have a choice to make. Either take me to the Pioneer, or I'll get there myself. I can assure you that if I have to go around you, you won't like what happens as a consequence."

    "To the Stars of old, this lady loves to threaten people..."

    Mayor Zyre's jaw ticked. "This is all the evidence you have?" She zoomed in on the image and the color suddenly drained from her face. "That's – That's the flag. The American flag. I haven't seen that since I was a little girl. How could this woman have gotten it? She can't be older than thirty!"

    The flag? What happened to the flag? I didn't voice it, instead listened further. "No one could have gotten hold on an image of the American flag. They were all destroyed during the Zoel Revolution. The only place they could have gotten it from . . . It must be Earth. She's telling the truth."

    "You're telling the truth," she murmured. "The flag..."

   "What happened to it?"

She looked up. Her hands shook as she passed the tablet back to Mayor Spencer. He grimaced, his thoughts running alongside her words. "The Pioneer landed on Zoel two hundred and forty-nine years ago. About a hundred years later, there was a revolution. The leaders took over the Settlements and forced all records of past countries and governments on Earth to be destroyed. My grandmother had a copy of the flag, so that's how I know of it. She later destroyed it before others could find out. There's nowhere else you could have gotten that flag from."

    Mayor Spencer looked saddened. "Such a tragedy... Because of the people's anger, they destroyed history. I hadn't realized that there was a flag on the ship's hull. I'm stunned she recognized it."

   I shook my head slightly. Telling apart voice from thought was getting difficult. A headache was starting to form. I was amazed I hadn't fainted like Officer Peterson had yet. "So you believe us?"

    "I have to. There's no other way." She straightened her robe. "I'll take you to the Pioneer."