"Use my authorization."
The officer entered the secretary's credentials.
The screen flickered.
A second verification window appeared.
Then the encrypted record finally opened.
NOAH REEVES.
STATUS: ACTIVE REFERENCE.
LAST VERIFIED ACCESS: THREE DAYS AGO.
Maya took a small step backward.
Her expression changed completely.
MAYA CARTER:
"Three days ago?"
Brooks looked at her.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Does that date mean anything to you?"
MAYA CARTER:
"That was the night I found him."
The secretary looked back at the terminal.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Then Sergeant Reeves may still be alive."
Maya shook her head slightly.
MAYA CARTER:
"I know he was alive when I saw him."
General Sterling suddenly pushed his chair backward.
The sound of its legs scraping across the floor echoed through the courtroom.
GENERAL STERLING:
"This hearing has gone far enough."
Brooks turned toward him.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Sit down, General."
GENERAL STERLING:
"You are allowing an unverified personnel record to dictate the direction of a military investigation."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"I am allowing authenticated evidence to speak."
GENERAL STERLING:
"The captain has repeatedly contradicted official military records. Her statements cannot be accepted without independent confirmation."
MAYA CARTER:
"Then confirm them."
Sterling turned toward her.
MAYA CARTER:
"Open the original transmission. Compare the authorization with the records from the northern station. You will see that the evacuation order was canceled before the command center had any legitimate reason to cancel it."
GENERAL STERLING:
"You have no understanding of the intelligence available to senior command."
MAYA CARTER:
"I understand that forty-two people were waiting for an evacuation that never came."
Her voice remained controlled.
MAYA CARTER:
"I understand that our communications were deliberately interrupted. I understand that someone sent a false withdrawal order while my team was still inside the perimeter."
She looked directly at him.
MAYA CARTER:
"And I understand that Sergeant Reeves risked everything to make sure this evidence survived."
The secretary watched the exchange carefully.
He had spent years reviewing military investigations.
He knew how difficult it was for an ordinary officer to challenge a senior commander in front of a tribunal.
But Maya was no longer behaving like someone trying to save her rank.
She was behaving like someone who had already accepted the possibility of losing everything.
Brooks turned toward the terminal.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Display the original command signature."
The security officer selected the relevant file.
A new window opened.
Several lines of classified information appeared.
The first showed the original operational authorization.
The second showed the evacuation order.
The third displayed the command responsible for canceling the evacuation.
Brooks examined the information.
His eyes stopped at the signature field.
For several seconds, he did not move.
Then he slowly enlarged the display.
The signature belonged to General Richard Sterling.
The room became silent.
General Whitaker looked toward the screen.
Admiral Reynolds leaned forward.
Maya stared at the name.
She had suspected that someone inside senior command was responsible.
She had not known how close the truth would come to the center of the tribunal.
GENERAL STERLING:
"That document has been altered."
Brooks did not answer immediately.
He examined the digital authentication markers.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"The signature is valid."
GENERAL STERLING:
"Then the authentication system has been compromised."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"The signature was issued using your original command credentials."
GENERAL STERLING:
"Those credentials could have been copied."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"That is a serious possibility. Which is why we are going to examine the remaining records."
Sterling looked toward the security officer.
GENERAL STERLING:
"Close the file."
The officer remained still.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Do not follow that instruction."
GENERAL STERLING:
"I am ordering you to close it."
SECURITY OFFICER:
"Sir, I am operating under the Defense Secretary's authorization."
Sterling's expression hardened.
GENERAL STERLING:
"You are making a serious mistake."
The secretary stepped between the general and the terminal.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"The only mistake being made here is the assumption that nobody would ever examine the original records."
He turned toward Maya.
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Captain, you said Sergeant Reeves gave you this sequence. Did he explain why the original command had been altered?"
MAYA CARTER:
"He said the false evacuation order was designed to leave the northern unit without support."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"Why?"
Maya looked at the screen.
MAYA CARTER:
"Because the people inside that unit had discovered something they were never supposed to find."
DEFENSE SECRETARY BROOKS:
"What did they discover?"
MAYA CARTER:
"A second command network."
The secretary looked back at the terminal.
MAYA CARTER:
"Someone had created a parallel authorization system. It could issue orders that appeared to come from legitimate military command."