“Excellent,” I said. “Let’s make up some time.”

“Understood, ma’am.”

He returned to the cockpit, and the door clicked shut behind him.

I walked back to my seat.

The light outside had faded to deep blue, then black.

The stars were bright and clear above the clouds.

I looked at the paperwork on my desk.

It was my life, written in dry military prose.

It was exactly the life I wanted.

I turned the page and went back to work.