She pulled out her phone and sent messages to Morrison Walsh and two of her top students, a female Force Recon operator named Chen. No relation. And a SEAL named Rodriguez. Also no relation to the disgraced chief. The messages were identical.
"This is Captain Chen. I need you for a classified operation. High- risk. Volunteer only. If you're interested, reply within 1 hour."
"No questions until briefing." The responses came within minutes. All four accepted without hesitation. Sarah opened her laptop and began writing the tactical plan. the monastery, the cliff face, the impossible infiltration route that she'd thought she'd never use again. She pulled up satellite imagery, recent reconnaissance photos, intelligence reports.
She studied the terrain with the intensity she'd brought to every mission, looking for changes, updates, new threats.
By sunrise, she had a complete operational plan, infiltration route timeline, contingencies, extraction scenarios. She sent it to Patterson with a note. "Mission viable with estimated 73% success probability. Recommend insertion during new moon phase in 6 days for optimal darkness. Team will require specialized equipment list attached."
The response came 20 minutes later. "Plan approved. New moon insertion confirmed. Equipment requisition authorized. Report to Andrews at 0600 tomorrow for team briefing and climb refresher."
"Godspeed, Night Fox." She closed her laptop and finally allowed herself to feel the full weight of what she'd agreed to. One more mission. One more impossible task. One more chance to prove that Ghost Unit operators never left anyone behind.
Her phone buzzed. A text from Brooks. "Heard you got recalled. Want to talk?" She replied.
"Not much to say. Duty called. I answered. That's what Marines do."
"Your father would be proud." She hoped so. She really, really hoped so.
The next morning, Sarah arrived at Andrews Air Force Base at 0500, an hour early. She'd packed her duffel, said goodbye to her apartment, and left instructions with her lawyer about what to do with her belongings if she didn't come back. The briefing room was deep in the classified section of the base. When she entered Morrison Walsh, Chen and Rodriguez were already there along with General Thornton, Admiral Patterson, and a room full of intelligence analysts and mission planners. Morrison stood when she entered.
"Ma'am." "At ease, Petty Officer. We're all equals on this mission." She set down her gear and faced the room.
"All right, let's get started. I assume you've all signed the non-disclosure agreements and been briefed on the security classification." Nods all around. "Good. Then here's the situation."
She pulled up the satellite imagery of the monastery. "This is our target. Former monastery now, a fortified compound used by a hostile force I can't name in this briefing. Three days ago, a joint task force attempted extraction of a high value asset. Lieutenant James Park, currently trapped in the lower levels with critical intelligence."
She saw the shock on Morrison's face. Park had been their instructor, their mentor. Now, he was the mission objective. "Standard assault is suicide. The compound has three approaches, all heavily defended."