Chapter 5 - THE BRIEFING ROOMTwenty minutes later, we were sitting in the command briefing room on the top floor of headquarters.
The room was vast, dominated by a massive mahogany conference table surrounded by leather chairs, with panoramic windows overlooking the sprawling parade deck where thousands of Marines were currently assembling for the morning formation.
Captain Vance stood near the projection screen, sweating slightly despite the cool air conditioning, while three battalion commanders who had been hastily summoned stood at rigid attention along the back wall.
I sat at the head of the table.
Glenn sat at the far end, looking microscopic in the oversized chair, his fingers interlocked tightly in his lap, staring down at the polished wood as if it held the secrets of the universe.
"General Alvarez," Vance said, clearing his throat nervously as he clicked a remote, pulling up my official service dossier on the big screen. The screen flashed my full military record: thirty years of service, multiple combat tours across three continents, graduate degrees in strategic logistics, joint staff citations, and finally, the shining stars of a Brigadier General pinned to my collar during a private Pentagon ceremony two days ago.
"The formal change-of-command parade is scheduled for fourteen hundred hours," Vance continued. "The honor guard is formed, the band is tuned, and the division staff is ready for your inspection."
I looked down the long table at my brother.
"Glenn," I said softly.
He jumped slightly in his seat, looking up with wide, terrified eyes. "Yeah, Viv—I mean, General—I mean, sis..."
"You wanted to see the base," I said, leaning back in my command chair and folding my hands. "You wanted to stand out there, watch the Marines, hear the band, and understand what I've been doing with my life while you spent thirty years telling everyone I was just playing dress-up."
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Glenn swallowed hard, his face flushing crimson. "Viv, I'm... I'm an idiot. I was just joking around, you know how family—"
"Family doesn't spend three decades trying to shrink each other, Glenn," I interrupted, my voice calm but unyielding. "Family supports each other when the world gets dark. But you chose a different path. You chose to build your ego on the idea that my success was fake because it didn't fit your picture of what a soldier should look like."
