“I need it to carry all the way to the back wall.”

General Thomas raised a gray eyebrow.

He looked at the seating chart, then down at the blue folder holding my original admission documents.

“Are you expecting someone who might be hard of hearing?” he asked.

“I’m expecting guests who haven’t heard my name in fifteen years,” I said.

He picked up a red pen and tapped it against the metal binder ring.

“I’ll announce your commission loudly enough to rattle the windows, Candidate,” he said.