The old man blinked once. The world flickered in his mind with echoes of propellers, explosions, a fading voice saying goodbye. Then Coronado returned around him.
Mason pulled harder — and a sailor behind the serving line moved.
Seaman First Class Leo Carter slipped into the kitchen and dialed the Master Chief.
The connection was immediate.
A veteran name carries weight unseen.
Admin Officer Blake Carter answered first, bored: “Submit a complaint with MAA.”
Leo cut him off. “No, sir. The veteran’s name is Arthur Grayson.”
Silence. Then footsteps.
Master Chief Raymond Carter came on the line, voice sharp as shrapnel: “Kid, keep eyes on Arthur Grayson. Don’t lose him. We’re coming.”
Offices emptied like a breached hull.
Mason released Arthur not because he wanted to — but because the doors exploded open.
Stepping in:
Commander Brandon Hawke, base lead. Master Chief Carter himself. Two Marine ceremonial escorts. And behind them — Vice Admiral Victor Sterling.
The hall snapped upright.
Sterling ignored the flurry of salutes and walked straight to Arthur.
Then — to Mason’s hand still inches from the old man’s sleeve.
The admiral saluted the veteran.