Chapter 5 - My Sister's First Order
The next morning, Lauren called me at 0610.
"I need you here."
"Where?"
"My office."
"Am I being ordered, Captain?"
A pause.
Then she laughed.
It was the first familiar sound I'd heard from her since arriving.
"Please, Rebecca."
"I'll be there."
When I entered, Lauren was standing beside a window.
Two coffees sat on her desk.
She handed me one.
"You still drink it black?"
"Some classified information survives."
She smiled.
Then the smile disappeared.
"I read what I'm authorized to read."
My stomach tightened.
"About me?"
"About the unit."
I nodded.
She couldn't access everything.
She shouldn't.
But enough records had apparently been declassified or sanitized.
Lauren sat.
"You really commanded them."
"Yes."
"You were thirty-two."
"Unfortunately."
"Why unfortunately?"
"Thirty-two-year-old me thought thirty-two-year-old me knew everything."
Lauren almost smiled.
Then she opened a folder.
"Vale signed twelve readiness certifications during that period."
I sat across from her.
"Lauren, be careful."
"I am."
"No. I mean with me."
She frowned.
"You're the incoming commander. I'm connected to the old investigation. You cannot let this look like your sister came back and started directing your command."
She considered that.
Then nodded.
"You're right."
She closed the folder.
"My first official order was preserving the historical readiness files independently."
I looked at her.
"You already did it?"
"At 0430."
I couldn't hide my smile.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Rebecca."
"You're good."
Lauren stared at me.
"You sound surprised."
"I sound impressed."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she said, "Mom made me hate you."
That landed harder than anything else.
"I know."
"I spent years thinking you chose your career over us."
"In some ways, I did."
"Don't defend her."
"I'm not."
I leaned forward.
"I missed things, Lauren. Birthdays. Your graduation. Dad's last months."
Her eyes dropped.
"I made choices too."
"But you didn't abandon us."
"No."
She looked up.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"At first, I couldn't."
"And later?"
That question had no comfortable answer.
"Later, I thought you didn't want to hear from me."
Lauren's face crumpled slightly.
"I thought the same thing."
Fifteen years reduced to one stupid misunderstanding.
Then someone knocked.
Mother entered.
Lauren stood immediately.
"How did you get in?"
"I was cleared."
Mother looked at me.
"I came to correct the report."
I said nothing.
She placed an envelope on Lauren's desk.
"I submitted a written statement acknowledging that my original security concern was knowingly misleading."
Lauren stared at her.
Mother continued.
"I also disclosed every conversation I had with Thomas Vale."
"Why?" Lauren asked.
Mother looked exhausted.
"Because Rebecca was right."
I raised an eyebrow.
She almost smiled.
"Don't enjoy that too much."
"I'm trying."
Mother turned serious.
"I spent years telling myself I was protecting Lauren."
Her eyes moved toward me.
"But somewhere along the way, protecting one daughter became punishing the other."
Nobody spoke.
Then she said the words I'd never expected.
"I'm sorry, Rebecca."
I could have forgiven her immediately.
It would have made a cleaner story.
Life isn't clean.
"I hear you."
Pain crossed her face.
"That's all?"
"For today."
She nodded.
Fair enough.
Lauren looked between us.
"Security contacted me."
I turned.
"What now?"
"Vale's access is temporarily suspended pending investigation."
Mother closed her eyes.
Lauren continued.
"They found unauthorized access to your travel record."
"His?"
"His credentials."
That distinction mattered.
"Could someone else have used them?"
"Possibly."
My phone vibrated.
Ramirez.
I answered.
"Commander, we found something."
"What?"
"Remember the original equipment certification?"
"Yes."
"We located the archived copy."
"And?"
He paused.
"The version in the current archive isn't the version you signed."
I stood.
Lauren saw my expression.
"What happened?"
I looked at her.
"Someone altered the historical record."
Mother whispered, "Thomas?"
"Maybe."
I grabbed my jacket.
Lauren stepped around the desk.
"Where are you going?"
"Nowhere."
She frowned.
I handed her the phone.
"This is your command, Captain."
Lauren looked at it.
Then at me.
And I saw her understand.
This time, I wasn't going to take over.
She was.
Lauren lifted the phone.
"Chief Ramirez, Captain Mercer."
Her voice changed.
Calm.
Precise.
Commanding.
"Lock the archive."
She listened.
"No one touches anything."
Another pause.
"Preserve access logs and notify the inspector."
She looked at me.
Then delivered her first order in the crisis.
"And Chief?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Commander Rebecca Mercer is not part of the investigation unless officially requested."
I smiled.
Lauren smiled back.
"Understood?"
May you like
Ramirez laughed softly.
"Perfectly, Captain."
