Chapter 3 - Everett Told Everyone It Was a Database Error
Cassidy initially assumed clerical chaos.
Military systems were not magical.
Orders changed.
Personnel attachments were entered late.
Records sometimes required correction.
She expected the problem to take days.
Then weeks passed.
Everett Shaw, who had been the operational commander overseeing the deployment package, told her:
“Stop obsessing over paperwork.”
Cassidy stared at him from her rehabilitation bed.
“Two people died on that mission.”
“They’ll be taken care of.”
“They’re not on the roster.”
“We know they were there.”
“Then fix it.”
Everett’s expression hardened.
“You’re recovering from a major injury, Captain. Focus on that.”
Cassidy hated the implication.
Injured meant confused.
Traumatized meant unreliable.
She kept pushing.
Eventually she received a new personnel memorandum.
It stated that Cassidy and six others had been administratively removed from the mission roster twelve hours before departure because of a last-minute reassignment.
Signed:
General Conrad Whitmore.
That should have ended the issue.
Instead Cassidy became more suspicious.
Because Conrad Whitmore had visited her hospital two days after the blast.
He had looked directly at her and said:
“I’m sorry your detachment paid such a high price.”
Why would a general who supposedly removed them from the mission believe they were still assigned?
Cassidy started keeping copies of everything.
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Including the dog tags recovered with her personal effects.
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