A red light flashed on top of the device.

He frowned and scanned it a second time.

The same red light blinked in the morning sun.

“Is something wrong, Corporal?” I asked.

“System says this ID is invalid,” Brandt said.

“It’s spitting back an error code for a rank discrepancy.”

The defense database was in the middle of updating my profile for the September fourteen promotion ceremony.

“I’m currently scheduled for a change of command,” I said.