Like a Continental Soldier

When the starship Valerie Hall failed to reach the terraformed world of its original destination but found a habitable substitute instead, the settlers split into two factions. First Landing devolved into a rude replica of medieval despotism. Seccon might promise more. Or so hope Gilead Tan and his companions. Gilead spent three centuries in cold sleep, held there by a First Landing custom that decreed only one sleeper could be awakened every fifty years. Once awake, Gilead freed two dozen of his fellowsâ€"all soldiers like himselfâ€"and led them into the wilderness. But close to two hundred civilians still lie trapped in the decaying cryo-cells of First Landing. Their captive slumber haunts him. Unfortunately, despite its vaunted freedom, Seccon has one rule: no one goes back to First Landing.