The rain in Groton tasted like salt and diesel fuel.

I pulled my damp wool coat tighter around my shoulders as I crossed the tarmac at Naval Submarine Base New London.

My ID badge labeled me as Sarah Mitchell, a civilian quality-assurance consultant.

To the guards at the gate, I was just another bureaucrat sent to audit the paperwork.

I carried a scratched leather briefcase that looked ten years old.

Inside it was the proprietary diagnostic hardware for the Navy’s most classified submarine drive.

The automatic doors of the command building slid open with a hiss of warm, dry air.

Lieutenant Carter met me in the lobby, his uniform immaculate but his collar looking a little too tight.

He kept wiping his palms on his trousers.

“Dr. Mitchell? Captain Turner is waiting for you in the tactical hub.”

“Lead the way, Lieutenant,” I said.

We walked down a corridor of drab green cinderblock.

The hum of server racks vibrated through the floorboards.

Carter opened the heavy steel door to the tactical hub.

Captain Mason Turner stood over a circular holographic projection table, his arms crossed.

Standing a few feet behind him was Chief Walker Hayes, a Navy SEAL whose posture was perfectly still.

Hayes looked at me, his eyes lingering on my cheap shoes and my damp hair.

Turner did not look up immediately.

He adjusted his collar, staring at the flickering blue light of the display.

“The Pentagon promised me a specialist, Carter,” Turner said, his voice flat.

“Instead, they send me an auditor with wet hair.”

“I am the specialist, Captain,” I said, setting my briefcase on the metal console.

Turner finally looked at me, his lip curling slightly.

“We are experiencing minor integration lag in our primary propulsion interface. It is a minor software bug.”

“It is not a bug,” I said.

“With all due respect, Dr. Mitchell, you review spreadsheets,” Turner said.

“I run this base. I know the capabilities of my systems.”

Chief Hayes shifted his weight, his gaze moving from Turner to me.

“The Chief knows the systems are failing,” I said, looking at Hayes.

Hayes nodded slowly.

“The helm feedback loop is sluggish, Captain. It’s getting worse.”