I was astutely aware that we were walking into a trap as we followed the two soldiers. It felt wrong to leave the ship with our crew on board, but I had to find Spencer. It was the only way to confirm who we were, and then we could power the ship enough to wake the crew. If that didn't work . . . I didn't know what we'd do.

    Officer Peterson and I stumbled our way through the forest. Our coordination was still pretty poor. I was so focused on listening to the two soldiers that I nearly tripped several times. Officer Peterson looked as if he had zoned out and stopped listening, but by the time we broke out of the tree line, I knew their whole plan. They had been sending signals back and forth to each other, forming their plan and discussing different ideas.

    Sure enough, the man turned toward me. "You are not allowed to enter the Settlement with a weapon, ma'am." He stretched out his hand.

    Fortunately, I had heard the way out of it in his head. "I'm an Official Officer. Just because I am not a Ground Officer doesn't mean I have to give up my weapon."

    He blinked, and I added for good measure, "I'm also the Commanding Senior of my ship at the moment. In fact, I can ask for your weapon and you'd have to hand it over if I so wished."

    The woman snorted under her breath. "Damn. Lady knows her stuff. I hope this plan still works. Man, I'm hungry."

    "Crap. This could get messy. I wish I had a way to tell the General we need backup."

    Officer Peterson looked worried, but he was forced to hand over his gun. The guy's eyes widened as he took it, stunned. "This is an actual gun! I've only ever seen these in museums. He must have stolen it. Does she have guns too?"

   That's a bad sign . . . I followed the two soldiers toward a small, grey building shaped like a cube. There was a small circle on top of it. A door slid open, and I fought not to look at the two new soldiers that were guarding the door from the tree line. The door closed behind us.

   Both soldiers in front of us drew their weapons. They turned around to meet my two pistols aimed at their faces. I smiled softly. "Well . . . it seems I'm a faster draw. Back up and get into that office. I'm sending a message to the Mayor."

   They were frozen in shock. "I didn't see her move!" The woman was stunned. "She has to have training. That was too quick." The man was more wary. He was the one I had to be wary of. They shot each other looks and backed into the office. I jerked my head at Officer Peterson, who moved to the desk. It was similar to the stations in the Bridge on the Patriot. He tapped some buttons and smiled. "They've actually labeled a contact on their list as Confidential -- Mayor Kal Spencer."

    "How very confidential. Dial it."

    "Yes, First Officer." He obeyed and pressed the button. A light turned on and I froze as a literal holographic image flickered to life. It was 2D, and a circle spun on the center. At last, the dial tones ended and an image of a vaguely familiar face popped up. "Yes?"

    "Mayor Spencer?" I asked, wondering what he could see. His eyes moved distinctly toward me. I decided he could see enough when his eyes widened.

    "Terrorists," he growled. "What do you want now?"

    I blinked. "I'm no terrorist. I'm First Officer Genevieve Autumn of the Patriot I. You are a descendant of Captain Malik Spencer, are you not?"

    He was so surprised that he sat there. There was grey in his hair, I noticed. I checked the two soldiers, but their thoughts were still complacent. Officer Peterson watched me.

    "You claim to be the First Officer of the lost vessel Patriot I?"

    "Yes. Surely you have information of the Patriot."

    Mayor Spencer rubbed his head. "I do. My great-great-great grandfather was the very first Captain of the Pioneer." He picked something up from the side. "Do you recognize this man?" He held it up. I squinted.

   "That is my Captain. Captain Silk Thorn. He goes by Sleek."

    The blood drained from the Mayor's face. "You're not joking."

   I raised an eyebrow. "No."

    "You're actually a crewmember that was cryogenically-frozen on the Patriot five hundred years ago?"

   "He seriously can't be considering that she's telling the truth!" The female soldier shot to her feet in protest. "Mayor, you can't be falling for this! They're insane!"

   The Mayor looked at her sharply. "Sit down. You're lucky if you aren't fired for not bringing First Officer Autumn to me right away. Stay there. I'll be arriving soon." And then his image vanished.

   "These guys can't actually be part of a crew of a ship that's a legend..." The guy soldier shook his head slowly. I looked between the soldiers. "I'm going to lower these guns. So help me, if I feel the need, I will not hesitate to blow out your kneecaps. Am I clear?"

   "Yes, ma'am," they mumbled together.