him.
“Those records were archived decades ago.”
“Then unarchive them.”
A minute later, an old personnel record appeared.
The photograph showed a young woman with dark hair, sharp eyes, and an expression that suggested she had never been particularly impressed by authority.
The name underneath read:
MAJOR PAULINE E. SANDERS
Below it:
TEST PILOT
UNIT: CLASSIFIED
STATUS: RETIRED
The officer
swallowed.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“You need to see this.”
Colonel Reeves stepped closer.
He read the summary.
Then read it again.
His face changed.
“Get me General Whitmore.”
“Sir?”
“Now.”
On the aircraft, Mark was still trying to process what he was hearing.
“You were a test pilot?”
Pauline didn’t look at him.
“Yes.”
“For the military?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“It wasn’t meant to.”
Mark stared.
“You said you flew a YF-23.”
“I did.”
“You actually flew one?”
Pauline glanced at him.
“Several times.”
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