Chapter 47: The Blue Room

The "Command Inquiry" took place in a windowless room known as the Blue Room. It was cold, lit by humming fluorescent tubes that made my vitiligo look like jagged shards of glass against my skin.

I sat across from two colonels and a JAG lawyer. They didn't ask about the Architect. They didn't ask about the lives we saved. They asked about the helipad.

"Specialist Ramírez," the JAG officer said, leaning forward. "Would you say Captain James’s relationship with you influenced his decision to allow a mutiny to occur?"

"There was no mutiny, Sir," I said, my voice as steady as it had been on the radio. "There was a unit protecting an asset. Major Sterling attempted to remove a mission-essential RTO based on personal bias. The men reacted to preserve the mission."

"And the 'relationship'?" the Colonel asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Captain James is my commanding officer," I replied. "He treated me with the same discipline and expectations as any other soldier in the 3rd Platoon. If you’re looking for a scandal to bury the fact that a Major tried to sabotage a combat unit, you’re looking in the wrong room."

The questioning lasted four hours. By the time I walked out, my head was throbbing. I found Thorne and Jax leaning against a wall in the hallway, looking equally drained.

"Still sticking to the script, Ghost?" Thorne asked, a tired smirk playing on his lips.

"It’s not a script, Thorne. It’s the truth."

"Tell that to the JAGs," Jax muttered. "They called me back in tomorrow at 0900. I think they’re trying to see if I’ll crack for a promotion."

"Would you?" I asked.

Jax looked at me, then at the scar on Thorne's forehead—the one I had stitched. "I’d rather be a PFC for the rest of my life than tell them what they want to hear."