CHAPTER 1: The General’s Puppy
Part 1
✨ **General Augustus Reed publicly shamed his daughter’s ‘safe’ career — then her subordinate prepared a shocking classified reveal.**
Dr. Evelyn Reed merely attended her father’s retirement celebration, hoping for a quiet acknowledgment of his 30 years of service.
She stood by as General Augustus Reed, in front of 200 of his former peers, repeatedly called her “puppy” and openly mocked her choice of a “safe, desk-bound career.”
When a decorated Colonel, a former colleague of her father’s, publicly lauded her own impressive (if vague) service record, Augustus only scoffed, demanding Evelyn fetch him another drink like a servant.
As his hand reached out to pat her head dismissively, a stern voice cut through the laughter.
Lieutenant Colonel Elias Albright stepped forward, introduced himself as Evelyn’s direct subordinate, and motioned for a secure data-slate, its screen flashing a classified symbol.
General Augustus Reed’s hand froze inches from Evelyn’s head.
The casual, patronizing gesture hung unfinished in the air.
The ripple of polite chuckles from the 200 guests died instantly.
A heavy silence descended, thick with unspoken questions.
Augustus slowly turned his imposing frame towards the interloper.
His face, usually so jovial and commanding, contorted in irritation.
“Subordinate?” he boomed, his voice echoing in the sudden hush.
“What in the blazes are you talking about, Lieutenant? My daughter is a civilian. She organizes files.”
He looked around the room, seeking agreement from his former peers.
Several older generals nodded vaguely, looking bewildered.
Albright stood firm, his posture impeccable, his gaze unwavering.
“Lieutenant Colonel Elias Albright, sir,” he stated, his voice calm and precise.
“And Dr. Evelyn Reed is my direct commanding officer.”
Evelyn felt a cold dread settle in her stomach.
She hadn’t authorized this.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
Her father’s eyes, already narrowed, fixed on her.
A flash of betrayal, then confusion, crossed his features.
“Commanding officer?” Augustus scoffed, a vein beginning to throb in his temple.
“Of what grand, ‘safe’ operation could my ‘puppy’ possibly be commanding?”
He made air quotes around the word “safe,” mocking her earlier, carefully constructed facade.
Albright took another deliberate step closer.
His eyes scanned the room, acknowledging the stunned faces.
“Of Project Chimera, General,” he stated clearly.
“And several other highly classified initiatives for the Department of Anomalous Affairs.”
The guests stirred, a low murmur passing through them.
Department of Anomalous Affairs? It sounded like something out of a pulp novel.
Augustus stared blankly, then his gaze dropped to the object in Albright’s hand.
“And that… contraption?” he demanded, pointing with a thick finger.
Albright held up a sleek, metallic data-slate.
On its screen, a complex, almost arcane symbol pulsed with a soft, crimson light.
It was the agency’s highest-level classification sigil.
The sheer authority it conveyed was unmistakable.
A collective gasp swept across the room.
Someone dropped a glass.
It shattered violently on the polished marble floor.
Evelyn felt a tremor run through her.
Her carefully maintained composure threatened to crack.
This was the “vague” service record Colonel Carter had mentioned earlier, now made terrifyingly concrete.
Albright’s voice, though still calm, resonated with a new, steel-like edge.
“This, General, contains Dr. Reed’s *actual* service record.”
He paused, ensuring every ear in the room was strained to listen.
“A record which, I assure you, contains details far from ‘desk-bound.’”
“And which,” Albright added, a pointed look at Augustus, “your current security clearances would not allow you to view.”
Augustus’s face, usually so ruddy with good humor or anger, turned a pale shade of grey.
He looked utterly lost.
His eyes darted from Albright, to the glowing symbol, then finally locked on Evelyn.
He was searching her face for an explanation, for a denial.
But Evelyn could only meet his gaze, her own heart pounding with a mixture of fear and reluctant defiance.
She had protected these secrets for years.
Now, one of her most trusted subordinates was about to rip them open.
Augustus swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“You…” he started, his voice a choked whisper.
He tried to find a coherent thought, a dismissive word.
Nothing came.
He was completely speechless, his public humiliation unfolding for all 200 witnesses.
Albright’s thumb hovered over a button on the data-slate’s side.
The crimson sigil continued to pulse, waiting.
And Evelyn knew, with absolute certainty, that her quiet, hidden life was about to be irrevocably exposed.
Part 2
Albright’s thumb pressed down.
The crimson sigil flared.
The data-slate’s surface shimmered, projecting a holographic display into the center of the room.
It wasn’t just her military rank.
Highly classified agency reports scrolled past in rapid succession.
Words like “Eclipse Protocol” flashed briefly.
An image of Dr. Aris Thornton, her late mentor, appeared and vanished.
Hints of his disappearance flickered across the screen.
Then, just as quickly, the projection dissolved.
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