The intel wing sat deeper in the base. Fewer windows. More doors with keypads and card readers. More people with headsets and tablets who barely looked up when Albert passed.
Ward led them through another metal door that opened with a beep and a hydraulic hiss.
Inside, the room was cooler. Long tables held maps, papers, and unfamiliar devices. Screens lined one wall, each showing different images—terrain from above, symbols, lines of moving text. A faint hum filled the air from machines running somewhere out of sight.
Several officers stood around a central table. They straightened when Albert entered.
"Commander on deck," one of them said.
"At ease," Albert replied. "We're on analysis, not parade."
Chairs scraped. The room relaxed by a notch.
The three adventurers hovered near the doorway for a second. They looked like they weren't sure if they should stand at attention or bolt.
Ward jerked his head toward the table. "You're not prisoners. Move."
They stepped forward.
