I wasn't given time to question Captain Thorn because he disappeared soon after the discussion. Jaezmina was letting us remain in her home while she and Peterson worked on the battery. Most of the crew crashed in different rooms and fell asleep. I couldn't calm my mind. It refused to settle. I couldn't comprehend why Captain Thorn was keeping silent. He was entitled to his secrets, but not when they could put the crew in danger. He knew more about this group than he was letting on.

   He'd assured me when I'd asked in the alley that he had no idea. But now, I sensed that had changed. Something about our discussion had triggered something in him. He'd remembered something and now he was hiding it.

   To busy myself, I found where Peterson was working. The battery was taken apart on the table. Peterson was bent over it, a screwdriver in his hand, and explaining something to the nearby woman. She was shorter than him, which said something. Her hair was a bright purple. I was starting to sense a theme with her. Everything about her was eccentric. She wore a bright animal-pattern coat. What animal, I had no idea. Multiple-lensed spectacles sat on her narrow nose.

   "And you're saying this converter is from Earth?" Her voice was incredibly high-pitched. "That's a damn good bit of tech for five hundred years ago." "It's hard to believe, honestly."

   Peterson nodded, shifting the screwdriver. "This is the chip. You can see the Earth trademark with the old-fashioned green chip acting as a motherboard to keep the battery constantly working. Otherwise it would convert energy for a second before stopping. The chip keeps it in a loop."

   "Ingeniously simple, but highly outdated. I could get it up to par." Jaezmina groaned and sat up. "But you want this done in a day. Stupid deadline! What is this deadline, anyway?"

   "Nothing you need to worry about," I replied curtly. She screamed and nearly jumped out of her boots, whipping around. Her hair flew and smacked Peterson in the face.

   She swore. "Don't scare me like that! And who are you?" Her words matched her thoughts so well that they meshed together. It was a little surprising. And it was the first time we'd met someone who actually spoke their true mind.

   Peterson cleared his throat. "This is First Officer Genevieve Autumn. First Officer, meet Ms. Leshi Jaezmina." His cheeks reddened as he said it and I vaguely realized he was blushing. My eyebrow went up. "Peterson, don't tell me you—"

   His cheeks somehow got darker. "She's smart, okay? And she's an engineer. Women in engineering were rare when I was in college."

   I smiled slightly, unable to help myself. "Ones on your height level, maybe..."

   Jaezmina studied the darkening color of his face. "Are you holding your breath or something? Am I missing something?" "I gotta be. Lookit him!"

   "Nothing at all," I said smoothly. "How soon can we charge the battery?"

   She glanced back in my direction and lifted the glasses from her face. "As soon as the 3D printer is done. It'll be ready in about eight more hours. But it's a one-time use. The piece will probably melt as soon as it finishes charging the battery."

   "And what's the power going to be like? More than electrons or less?"

  She giggled and sat down on the table. "Oh, trust me hun, way more."

   My eyes narrowed and Peterson realized the mistake she had made the same moment. He jumped up and grabbed Jaezmina's arm. "Okay, what about—" He dragged her away with an apologetic look my way. I watched as he distracted her with another question, my mind churning. So sekrite would do more than electrons. Hopefully the one battery would buy us enough time to charge the rest with sekrite and wake the crew before Tase and his cronies could delay us any further.

   I busied myself with finding a private room and taking off the neque. I was sweating and tired of wearing it. Back in my dark blue shirt, white stripe diagonal across my chest, and grey pants, I checked the amount of weaponry I had left. I didn't like I had no other source of cartridges or bullets than the Patriot, either.

   The eight hours trickled past. I continuously checked on the device as it was being built. Everyone else was content to take a nap. I couldn't make myself sit down. All of this waiting . . . it felt like the calm before the storm. And my gut said it was going to be a hell of a storm.

   Captain Thorn only returned once Jaezmina said the device was ready to charge the battery. We all stood around the table as she and Peterson worked together. Peterson connected the device to the converter in the electron battery and wired it on. Jaezmina held a glowing blue flask. "This is the oxidized sekrite. There's a good chance it'll explode the moment we try this, but oh well." She shrugged. Bird was aghast as she slid the flask into the waiting place and waited for Peterson to tell her he was ready.

   "Here we go!" She flipped a small level on the underside of the flask. Peterson pressed a button on the device and held down the electron battery. I watched as the blue glowed brightly for a moment before white exploded. Everyone yelped and covered their eyes. To my surprise, Peterson cried out and jumped backwards. "The sekrite converter—" He held his hands to his chest and I saw the blood leaking from them. Byrne quickly grabbed his wrists and examined his hands, her face falling.

   "He'll be lucky if these aren't third-degree—"

   "It worked." Jaezmina held up the battery. The inside of it glowed blue with sekrite-powered energy. She watched Peterson in concern. "You okay?"

   He shook his head, face tight with pain. My heart sank. "Internal damage?"

  Byrne was pale. "There's no telling without a medical scan."

   All of us stood in silence. There was a very good chance that Peterson would never have the same use of his hands again. Though we had gotten the battery charged, what was the cost? I shook my head, angry. "Why weren't you using protective gear, Peterson?"

   He pressed his lips. "Gloves would have been too clumsy, F-First Officer. I knew it could happen."

   "Actually, I told him it would," Jaezmina snapped angrily. "And you didn't listen to me."

   "It had to be done," Peterson said miserably.

   "I should've done it!" Edwards suddenly said, his glare burning into Jaezmina's head. "I'm not tech-savvy. I don't need my hands in as good a state—"

   "Enough!" Captain Thorn raised his voice over the clamor. We silenced. I couldn't stop staring at Peterson's scarlet hands. "There's no point arguing amongst ourselves. What's done is done. While I'm unhappy about your lack of communication, Peterson, I'll chastise you later. We've got to get back to Zoel."

   "Captain," Byrne tried, but he shook his head. "We'll arrange for medical supplies on the HyperZipline ship. We only have two days before the Patriot loses the rest of its remaining power. If a scan orders Peterson into surgery, we'll be stuck here for too long. And I'm not splitting us up. Peterson, can you handle yourself until we get you to a doctor?" Though stern, the Captain's face was still concerned as he watched a pale Peterson nod shakily.

   "Thank you, Jaezmina. Now, let's move. The HyperZipline ship is already getting prepared." Captain Thorn's face was steel. "We're going back to our ship."