Further along, the overhead hologram of Earth had grown in size. Of the many eye-catching curiosities littering the underground base, the planet render begged for attention. At the top of a metal staircase, Jessica and the entourage passed a single door that led to an operating nexus underneath the globe. As soon as she entered the circular haven of technology, she was floored.
Floored.
A gallery of terminals populated the inside of a torus, Earth's hologram the epicenter. Computers on the left, computers on the right, the interior was illuminated by an endless stream of LED buttons. Jessica skipped past the operating staff of random uniforms, past the guards, up a short series of steps, and stopped just underneath the globe. There, she found the node. So cleared her throat, inhaled, and in her deepest and throatiest voice uttered a single word.
"Commander.