😱 He Ripped My Shirt in Front of 40 Soldiers to Humiliate Me—Then a Decorated Colonel Saw the Three Scars on My Body, Snapped to Attention, and Saluted Me. “That's Impossible,” He Whispered. “You Died Nine Years Ago.”

Sloane appeared on television, praising discipline and refusing questions about Lantern.

That afternoon Hale was temporarily relieved of his current duties pending a command review. The notice didn't say he was guilty. It said his historical role and recent contact with witnesses created a conflict that had to be examined.

Hale called Olivia from his attorney's office.

"I can't give you orders or offer protection through my command," he said. "But you will still have the investigator's contact information and the support you're entitled to."

"You signed the report," Olivia said. "You never told me what you felt about it."

"I felt relieved. They told me the search was over, and I let that answer stand. I could have asked harder questions."

"Mara would have."

"She did. I ignored one of her warnings because it didn't fit what headquarters was telling me. That's something I have to answer for."

Olivia rested her forehead against the wall. His admission couldn't bring Mara back. It did make him human in a way his medals never had.

Chen's investigators located a former Talon dispatcher who remembered a shipment being diverted away from the authorized evacuation point. The dispatcher had kept a personal notebook because the company sometimes changed delivery records after the fact. Her notes supported the timing Voss described but didn't yet prove why the diversion happened.

That night, Olivia received a sealed notice through her attorney. Sloane's office had alleged she was falsely claiming to be a survivor for attention and was requesting a review of her enlistment.