Down the room, Lana did not look up from her bunk, but she was listening to every word of the group. In fact, she heard and logged everything they said, even the snide remarks and comments some of them made about her abilities. She had singled herself out from the class early on with her marksmanship and astonishing grasp of the navigational and engineering theory they had been forced to learn.

She was clearly going to be fast-tracked for promotion, and her colleagues were not foolish enough to doubt that she would one day be a powerful officer in the navy they planned to call home. But they were also not immune to some jealousy for her exceptional speed and intelligence. Physically, she appeared to be a match for most of the male officers; intellectually the school had no one who could challenge her.

So given her obvious focus and ambition, the other women in her barracks would have been surprised to learn that she was just as keen for the coming weekend leave as they were. But when the petty officer entered the room, she sprang to her feet just as quickly, and waited with equal anticipation for the official leave slips that the senior rating was handing out.

* * *

That Saturday morning, the roll call on the parade ground was more restless than usual. Marie and Latesha winked at each other as the master chief reeled off various information about where they could and could not go, and when they had to be back. Behind them, KC smiled a small but wicked smile to herself.

At the dismissal, Lana Wilson turned and walked directly toward the gate. In navy issue khakis she walked through the security checkpoint, flashing her pass, and down the street toward the bus station. As she was aware, the bus she planned to take was turning onto her street now and she broke into a sprint as she was informed in real-time what its speed and anticipated arrival time was. She slowed to a brisk jog as the bus pulled up to the stop just ahead of her, stepping in behind the last passenger as he climbed aboard. Though most of her colleagues did not plan to leave town that weekend, the few that had planned to take the bus to Fort Meade train station would be disappointed to find out that the next one was not for another twenty-five minutes.

* * *