"He said there was a second file stored in the relay station."
Brooks looked toward the terminal.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Can Sergeant Reeves access it?"
Maya nodded.
MAYA CARTER:
"He should be able to."
The secretary returned to the microphone.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Sergeant Reeves, are you still connected?"
A faint sound of static came through the speaker.
NOAH REEVES:
"Yes, sir."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"We have identified both authorization signatures. General Sterling and Admiral Reynolds are now under investigation."
There was a short pause.
NOAH REEVES:
"Then you have found the first part."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"What is the second part?"
NOAH REEVES:
"The original personnel transfer records."
Brooks looked toward the security officer.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Explain."
NOAH REEVES:
"The parallel network wasn't only used to cancel the evacuation. It was used to remove the identities of people who discovered it."
Maya stared at the screen.
NOAH REEVES:
"Some personnel were listed as transferred. Others were marked deceased. Their records were altered so that nobody would search for them."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"How many?"
NOAH REEVES:
"At least twenty-seven."
The secretary slowly lowered his head.
Twenty-seven military personnel had disappeared from their official records.
Some might have been alive.
Others might have been killed.
And their families had been given false information.
Maya felt a heavy weight settle in her chest.
She had spent three days trying to save forty-two people.
Now she was learning that the betrayal extended far beyond the northern perimeter.
MAYA CARTER:
"Noah, are you saying there are other survivors?"
NOAH REEVES:
"Yes."
MAYA CARTER:
"Where are they?"
NOAH REEVES:
"I don't know all their locations. But the transfer records should tell you who was moved and who was deliberately erased."
Brooks looked toward the officer.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Can we retrieve those records?"
SECURITY OFFICER:
"If the relay station remains connected, yes."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Then establish the connection."
The officer began another verification request.
The terminal displayed a new authentication field.
Maya moved her glove beneath the scanner again.
The system recognized the sequence.
A new archive opened.
The display began loading names.
Twenty-seven personnel records appeared.
Some were marked DECEASED.
Others were marked TRANSFERRED.
Several carried the designation UNCONFIRMED.
Maya scanned the list.
Then she stopped.
A name near the middle caught her attention.
CORPORAL JAMES HOLLOWAY.
She knew him.
He had been part of the northern communications team.
He had been reported missing after the station was destroyed.
Maya moved closer.
Another name appeared.
LIEUTENANT SARAH MILLER.
She had been responsible for medical coordination during the operation.
Her record had been closed without a confirmed evacuation.
Maya continued reading.
The next name was one she remembered particularly well.
SPECIALIST DANIEL MERCER.
The technician who had supposedly disappeared before the operation was officially terminated.
His personnel record was marked DECEASED.
But the timestamp showed that his identity had been accessed three days earlier.
Maya turned toward Brooks.
MAYA CARTER:
"They're not all dead."
Brooks examined the information.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Not according to these records."
MAYA CARTER:
"Then we need to find them."
The secretary nodded.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"We will."
At that moment, the courtroom doors opened.
Several military investigators entered.
They wore formal dark uniforms and carried secure document cases.
The lead investigator approached the secretary.
INVESTIGATION DIRECTOR:
"Mr. Secretary, we received your emergency request."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"The original command records have been preserved. I want an independent investigation into Operation Silent Horizon, including every personnel transfer and authentication entry."
INVESTIGATION DIRECTOR:
"Understood."
Brooks turned toward General Sterling.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"General Richard Sterling, you are relieved of your command authority pending investigation into the unauthorized evacuation cancellation, manipulation of classified personnel records, and attempted destruction of evidence."
Sterling stared at him.
GENERAL STERLING:
"You cannot do this based on an incomplete investigation."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"The investigation will determine the full extent of your involvement. Your access to the command network is suspended immediately."
Two investigators approached the general.
Sterling looked toward Admiral Reynolds.
GENERAL STERLING:
"Admiral, say something."
Reynolds remained seated.
The admiral finally looked up.
REYNOLDS:
"I should have verified the order."
Sterling's expression changed.
REYNOLDS:
"I trusted your authorization without checking the original command record."
GENERAL STERLING:
"You knew the circumstances."
REYNOLDS:
"I knew what you told me."
He paused.
REYNOLDS:
"I did not know what you were hiding."
The investigators escorted Sterling away from the table.
He did not resist.
But as he passed Maya, he stopped briefly.
GENERAL STERLING:
"You have no idea what you have uncovered."
Maya looked directly at him.
MAYA CARTER: