I slipped out of the ballroom through the service exit, leaving the noise of the celebration behind.

The hallway was quiet, the air cooler here near the administrative offices.

I walked down the corridor toward the secure communications room.

My security card swiped with a clean beep, and the heavy metal door clicked open.

Inside, the room was dark, the only light coming from the bank of monitors against the far wall.

A single duty officer sat at the main terminal, his face illuminated by the blue glow of the screen.

He stood up and saluted as I entered.

“Colonel Rogers,” he said. “Can I help you?”

“I need to access the archived deployment logs for July 14th,” I said.

The officer hesitated, his hand hovering near the keyboard.

“Ma’am, those are restricted archives,” he said. “They require a Level 5 clearance.”

I opened the leather folder General Drummond had given me and pulled out my new assignment orders.

I pointed to the red clearance stamp at the top of the page.

“I have Level 5 clearance as of today,” I said.