Brooks nodded.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Proceed."
The officer entered his credentials.
The terminal rejected them.
A second warning appeared.
CURRENT AUTHORITY DOES NOT MATCH ORIGINAL COMMAND AUTHORITY.
The security officer looked confused.
SECURITY OFFICER:
"That should not happen."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Try the archived authorization."
The officer entered another sequence.
This time, the terminal accepted the request.
A progress bar appeared.
Five percent.
Ten percent.
Fifteen percent.
The courtroom remained silent.
Maya watched the screen.
General Sterling stared at the officer's hands.
General Whitaker slowly closed his folder.
Admiral Reynolds looked toward the secretary.
Then the terminal stopped.
The screen displayed a new message.
ORIGINAL COMMAND RECORD LOCATED.
Below it appeared several lines of encrypted information.
The officer moved closer.
SECURITY OFFICER:
"Sir, I believe we have found the original transmission."
Brooks leaned toward the display.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Can you identify the issuing authority?"
The officer began processing the information.
A small warning symbol appeared.
Then another.
The terminal briefly flashed red.
The security officer froze.
SECURITY OFFICER:
"Mr. Secretary..."
Brooks looked at him.
SECURITY OFFICER:
"The original command record appears to have been modified."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Modified when?"
The officer stared at the screen.
SECURITY OFFICER:
"Three days before the operation was officially terminated."
Maya's expression changed.
That was the exact period when her team had begun receiving contradictory instructions.
The officer opened the record.
Several lines appeared.
One contained the original evacuation order.
Another contained the cancellation command.
A third contained the authorization signature.
Brooks examined the information.
Then he slowly looked toward the three officers seated behind the table.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Nobody leaves this courtroom until we understand what happened."
General Sterling's face became rigid.
GENERAL STERLING:
"You cannot issue that instruction without explaining the legal basis."
Brooks did not look away from the display.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"I have sufficient reason to preserve a classified military investigation."
The security officer continued processing the file.
Another line appeared.
COMMAND AUTHORITY VERIFIED.
A second line followed.
AUTHORIZATION SIGNATURE MATCHED.
Then the display began loading the identity attached to the original command.
Maya held her breath.
She had waited three days for this moment.
She had endured accusations, threats to her rank, and the possibility of losing her entire military career.
She had carried the damaged glove because she believed the truth was still hidden somewhere inside the system.
Now the truth was beginning to emerge.
The terminal displayed a final warning.
WARNING: ORIGINAL COMMAND AUTHORITY IDENTIFIED.
The officer moved his hand toward the confirmation key.
Brooks looked at Maya.
Maya looked back at the screen.
General Sterling slowly lowered his eyes.
And just as the officer was about to open the complete record, the terminal produced a second alert.
A new personnel reference had appeared.
It was connected to the same authentication sequence.
The security officer stopped moving.
SECURITY OFFICER:
"Sir, there is another identity attached to the original transmission."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Who?"
The officer did not answer immediately.
He examined the record again.
Then he looked toward Maya.
SECURITY OFFICER:
"Captain, I think you need to see this."
Maya stepped closer.
The name was still partially encrypted.
But the personnel identification number was visible.
She recognized the number immediately.
Her face lost its composure.
For the first time since entering the tribunal, she looked genuinely frightened.
MAYA CARTER:
"No..."
Brooks turned toward her.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"What is it?"
Maya stared at the screen.
MAYA CARTER:
"That number belongs to someone who was supposed to be dead."
The terminal continued processing.
The remaining encrypted characters began to disappear.
One by one, the letters of the personnel record became visible.
And somewhere inside the military system, an old file that had been buried for two years was finally opening.
The encrypted personnel record continued loading.
One letter appeared.
Then another.
The security officer leaned closer to the terminal, his fingers hovering above the keyboard.
The courtroom had become completely silent.
Captain Maya Carter stood beside the display, staring at the identification number.
She recognized it.
She had seen it on military reports, personnel documents, and the identification badge of a man she had once considered one of the most reliable soldiers in her unit.
It belonged to Sergeant Noah Reeves.
But there was something else.
The record was not simply identifying Noah as a member of Silent Horizon.
It was connecting his identity to the original command transmission.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Open the personnel record."
The security officer hesitated.
SECURITY OFFICER:
"Sir, the file contains a restricted identity confirmation."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS: