He woke late, missed the first shuttle, and ended up docking at the far side of Orbital One. He normally enjoyed walking through the station’s bustling corridors, but Admiral Yeats wasn’t fond of tardy officers. The yard technicians in their bright blue jumpsuits seemed to be everywhere. He’d never seen so many of them clogging the corridors before. He finally made it to the conference room ten minutes late. The room held several dozen people, about evenly split between Fleet officers and civilians. The civilians would be the senior scientific team leaders. Everyone turned to stare at Jared as he took the empty seat beside Graves. Charlie’s expression gave nothing away, but there was a deep twinkle in his eye. He’d be teasing Jared about his lateness for months. Admiral Yeats fixed Jared with an unfriendly stare designed to melt junior officers. “So good of you to join us, Commander. Would you like me to start over?” “No, sir.” He felt a flush creeping up his neck. “I apologize for my tardiness.”
