Chapter 9 - Sunrise at Great Lakes
By 0500, the sun was just beginning to streak the gray Chicago sky with pale amber light as I stood inside the secure operations center at Naval Station Great Lakes.
The hum of mainframes filled the room. On the massive wall-mounted tactical displays, global shipping routes across the Atlantic and Mediterranean pulsed with green status indicators. The breach had been isolated, the compromised nodes wiped and re-encrypted, and the entire logistical pipeline secured under my direct command signature.
“Nicely executed, Commander,” a voice said from behind me.
I turned. Admiral Sterling himself had flown in from the Pentagon on a red-eye transport, standing quietly behind my terminal with a cup of black coffee in his hand.
“Thank you, Admiral,” I said, standing at attention. “The grid is secure. All unauthorized domestic endpoints have been permanently severed.”
Sterling smiled faintly, taking a sip of his coffee. “Good. Because your leave papers are officially canceled, Nora. Your orders to Bahrain are being expedited. Your transport departs from O’Hare at noon today.”
I blinked, surprised. “At noon? But Admiral... my sister’s wedding is at two o'clock this afternoon.”
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“Your sister’s wedding is important, Commander,” Sterling said, his eyes crinkling with quiet amusement. “But keeping three carrier strike groups supplied and operational in the Persian Gulf is slightly more critical to national security. Suitcase packed?”
“Always, sir.”
