"Hey, Jack. Are you busy or can you talk for a sec?"

He smiled at the sound of her voice. "I'm supposed to be reading reports about geek crap, so I have all the time in world. What's up?"

"I've been asked to come to D.C. to testify for a senate subcommittee about women serving on the front line. It was a very last-minute request. My flight leaves in two hours but I am having trouble finding a room, so I was hoping I could sleep on your sofa tonight."

"You're always welcome to stay on my sofa. I'd be happy to show you the sights too."

Sam giggled. "I spent a few years stationed at the pentagon, remember?"

"I'm sure the whole place has changed a lot since then."

"I'm sure it has."

"Send me your flight details and I'll see you at the airport."

"Will do. Thanks."

She arrived around dinner time, so Jack took her out for steaks and a beer. After dinner they went to Jack's apartment, where Sam did not sleep on the sofa. They woke early the next morning, a bit tired but happy.

Sam was set to testify at 1000, the second woman called that morning. Jack went with her, so he could sit in the gallery. The room was less than half full. Aides were coming and going even as the first witness was questioned. The panel members were the only people who seemed to be paying any attention, and that was only when they weren't being interrupted by their phones and aides.

The morning's first witness was thanked for her account and her service before being dismissed. Sam was shown to the table down front and given a glass of water. Jack moved forward so he could sit behind her. The panel took a few minutes to check their emails and phones before beginning Sam's testimony.

"Thank you for joining us today Lieutenant Colonel Carter. Your service record is very impressive. You began as a fighter pilot and served in the Gulf. After a brief stint down the street at the pentagon you joined a unit at Cheyenne Mountain. According to the information provided you have worked on the front line while serving in Cheyenne Mountain. I must admit I am a bit confused."

Sam grinned. "My team travels out of the U.S. on various missions."

"Yes, Senator Merkel said your missions were classified and this committee couldn't delve into them, but he also felt your experiences would add to our discussions. Perhaps we can begin by having you tell us how you feel about women serving on the front line."

Sam nodded. "There's no reason to restrict women who wish to serve on the front line as long as they meet the training requirements and those requirements are based on the real needs of the job."

"What do you mean by the requirements being based on the real needs of the job? Are you saying some requirements aren't really needed?"

"Although it isn't common there are times when job requirements are set in order to keep otherwise qualified women from being able to serve. If a person has to be able to carry 150 pounds for five miles because they will be carrying heavy equipment long distances, then that is a reasonable requirement. If the job entails carrying a 50-pound pack five miles a day there is no reason to require a person to carry 150 pounds."

"Have you encountered situations where you felt the expectations were unreasonable?"

"I have but unlike many others I have managed to still obtain my goals even when people tried to stand in my way."

"Are you still encountering situations you would consider sexist?"

Sam puckered her lips as she thought. "As I have advanced in my career I have had fewer people question my skills. I still encounter men who see me as lesser and want to treat me as an object, but it happens much less these days. I am pleased to say that Cheyenne Mountain is the least sexist environment in which I have worked."

"That is good to hear Colonel." The senator looked down the row at Senator Merkel. "I am sorry I have monopolized your witness. She is all yours."

Merkel nodded. "Thanks." He looked over his shoulder and handed a packet of papers to an aide who walked down the row, giving a copy to each member of the committee. "Although I appreciate your insight into serving on the front line I have actually invited you here today to discuss a series of reports you and one Dr. Fraiser authored over several years."

Sam felt a rock settle in her stomach.

"Are you aware of the reports I am referencing?"

"I recall writing several reports with Dr. Fraiser, but it has been a long time. Some of the details may escape me." She felt Jack's presence behind her and wished he had gone to his office.

"I thought that might be case, so I prepared an extra copy for you." The aide walked down and handed Sam a packet of papers. "I'll give you a moment to reacquaint yourself with what you wrote."

Sam flipped open the cover and thumbed through the pages. She had written these reports over the span of almost a year and was surprised to see Janet had added to them later. All of the reports were heavily redacted.

"I apologize to everyone for all the black ink, but these reports do reference classified missions. I have done my best to preserve the portions that are relevant to our discussion without compromising the security of the United States or the fine people serving our country." Merkel glanced down the row at his colleagues before focusing back on Sam. "Perhaps you could give the committee a brief overview of these reports."

Sam swallowed as she flipped through the pages. "Of course." She straightened her back and squared her shoulders as she focused on Merkel, trying to ignore Jack's presence behind her. "Dr. Fraiser and I noted a number of sexual assaults occurring to team members serving out of Cheyenne Mountain. We made some recommendations to help reduce these incidences."

"I think we need a bit more of an explanation, please. Could you begin with the first report?"

Sam gritted her teeth. "Of course." She flipped back to the beginning even though she knew this report like the back of her hand. She ran her index finger over the redacted portions of the first three sentences.

"Colonel?"

She looked up. "Sorry. This report includes five separate incidences of assault of a sexual nature. The first involved a sergeant who was forcibly separated from their team and subsequently assaulted and killed. The team with which the sergeant was serving tried to stop the abduction and several of them lost their lives in the process. Another team was sent to retrieve the sergeant but that wasn't possible."

Jack remembered this incident well. He had seen the video of the sergeant's capture and led the team to rescue her. Sam couldn't discuss this woman's use as a symbiote incubator, but assault seemed like too light of a description for what happened to her.

"Were the individuals responsible for this kidnapping, rape, and murder apprehended?"

"It took a while but eventually, yes."

"Is that included in the report?"

"No, sir. The assailants were not apprehended until a few years later."

"The second incident?"

"In that case an officer was assaulted while on a mission outside the United States. The officer in question had been voluntarily separated from their team at the time. This left the officer vulnerable to attack."

"When you say attack do you mean raped?"

"In this case, yes." She heard Jack shift in his seat. She wanted to turn around and see his face, but she knew she couldn't.

"Was the officer killed in this instance?"

"No, the officer returned to Cheyenne Mountain."

"Was the rapist caught?"

Sam tilted her head as she pondered a response. "The rapist was punished, but not through our legal system."

Merkel nodded. "The third case?"

Sam took a deep breath. "An officer who was suffering a mental breakdown assaulted a second officer while both of them were serving outside the United States."

"Does assault again mean rape?"

Sam shook her head. "Not this time. The assailant inappropriately touched the victim as well as hit the victim but there was no rape."

"What happened to the assailant in this case?"

Sam ran her hand over the report. "He died."

Merkel nodded. "The fourth case?"

"An officer was drugged, separated from their team, raped, and they almost died as a result."

"And the assailant in this case?"

Sam pursed her lips. "Not apprehended."

"And the last case in this first report?"

"Multiple officers were drugged and assaulted while in Cheyenne Mountain. At least one person was raped but do to memory loss and the confusion related to being drugged it is unknown whether there were other assaults."

"You're telling us this happened in Cheyenne Mountain?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did one of our officers so this?"

"No, sir. It was a foreign combatant who had escaped custody."

"Were they caught?"

"Not at the time but later they were brought to justice."

"So what recommendations did you and Dr. Fraiser make at the conclusion of this first report?"

"We recommended that teams never allow one member to be separated, always working in at least pairs. Although the teams often work with locals and do not want to offend them by refusing their hospitality it was suggested that one team member eat and drink only U.S. military supplied goods, to avoid the whole team being drugged, either purposefully or accidently. We also recommended that even though we did not want to offend the locals our teams did not need to follow the local customs if they put one or more team members at a disadvantage."

"Can you explain that last part in more detail?"

"In one of the cases referenced in this report the locals kept males and females separated and the team felt it was best to follow those customs, leaving one team member more vulnerable to attack."

"I see. You recommended one of the officers involved be disciplined. Dr. Fraiser disagreed with your recommendation. That was the only mention of a reprimand I saw in this report and the recommendation was not followed up upon. Do you know why?"

"The commanding officer did not agree with my recommendation."

"Were any of your other recommendations accepted?"

"Yes, they all were. Training was updated within days of the report being completed. We also formed a support group to help those who had been affected by assault, on the job or off."

"I see. Dr. Fraiser documented three more incidents over the next two years."

"Yes, sir."

"I assume that means your recommendations did not help."

"I hope our recommendations kept the number of incidents lower than they otherwise would have been. There wasn't a good way to accurately determine that, but anecdotal evidence provided by teams seemed to indicate potential incidents were avoided. The next three incidents documented in the subsequent reports were all the result of hostile foreign assailants and the teams involved did not allow any team member to be especially vulnerable."

"So, in addition to their other jobs the men on these teams are responsible for the safety of the females on their team?"

"Yes, just as the women are responsible for the safety of the males on their teams." Merkel scoffed. "I suspect you are making an incorrect assumption, sir. Out of the eight incidences documented in these reports at least three include males as the assault victims."

"Oh, please." Merkel scoffed.

"Men can be sexually assaulted and raped." Merkel rolled his eyes. "If your daughter was drugged to the point where she was unable to make decisions on her own and someone had sex with her while she was drugged would that be rape?"

Merkel's face turned slightly red. "Yes."

"If your son was drugged to the point where he was unable to make decisions on his own and someone had sex with him while he was drugged would that also be rape?"

Merkel glared at Sam but did not answer. The woman beside him, Senator Wilson, leaned forward. "Perhaps if Dr. Fraiser could testify she would be able to provide Senator Merkel with the medical details to show both men and women had been raped."

Sam tensed her shoulders. "Dr. Fraiser died in the line of duty."

Senator Wilson grimaced. "That is unfortunate."

Merkel, whose face was screwed up in anger, crossed his arms. "Another woman who lost her life serving on the front line when she shouldn't have been there. Was she raped too?"

Sam's nostrils flared but she maintained her composure. "Dr. Fraiser saved hundreds of lives during her career, including the day she was killed. Like everyone else in the service she knew the risks and she chose to do the job. I know what could happen every time I leave Cheyenne Mountain and I keep choosing to go back out there. We all, males and females alike, face the same risks and we are trained to handle those risks."

"Were you really trained for this? Were you really told what could happen to you?"

Sam nodded. "Absolutely. I had no illusions about what could happen to me if I was taken captive and I make sure new recruits are similarly prepared."

Merkel nodded. "Why did you and Dr. Fraiser decide to write these reports?"

"Dr. Fraiser was the chief medical officer for our unit so she was often the first person who interacted with assault victims. She treated their physical wounds and went through the accounts of what occurred with her patients. She did not have much experience in the field however, so she sought my opinion on how field conditions and the team dynamics could be altered to be protect everyone without compromising the mission."

"At the time these reports were written you were a captain and new to Cheyenne Mountain. Wasn't there anyone with more experience Dr. Fraiser could have consulted?"

"There probably was."

"And yet she chose you?"

"Yes."

"You have no other idea why?"

Sam looked down at the table trying to decide how much she wanted to say on record. The room around her had gotten much quieter and she felt their eyes on her. She didn't really care that much about them though. She cared about the man sitting behind her and how this could impact her life with him.

She swallowed and looked up at Merkel. "We were friends."

"You do understand you are under oath, correct?"

"Yes, I do."

"So, Dr. Fraiser chose you because of your vast experience as a Captain who had been at Cheyenne Mountain for less than a year and because you were friends."

"Yes."

Merkel stared at her but as he prepared to push more he was interrupted by the senator sitting at the center of the row who up until now had been silent. "Thank you Lieutenant Colonel Carter, this committee appreciates your time and testimony."

The noise in the room increased as aides began circulating again. Sam slowly pushed her way to standing as the senators broke eye contact and picked up their tablets and cell phones. Sam looked over her should and found Jack was already standing, with his shoulders back and his jaw clenched. He turned to leave and she followed as he weaved his way out. She caught up to him in the central veranda and reached out wrapping her hand around his forearm.

"Jack, please stop." He slowed his pace but kept his stride long as he headed for the exit. Sam matched his stride even though she was in heels. "Jack." He stopped to the right of the door.

He looked at Sam and the anger in his eyes made her suck in a quick breath. She had known based on his walk that he was angry, but she had assumed he was angry about having to stay silent as Merkel attacked her. Jack was very protective of the people he loved. Now as he looked at her she knew he was angry at her and she didn't know why.

"Jack?"

"Were you raped while you served under my command?'

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Don't make me say it again. Were you?"

She took a small step closer to him. "You…you didn't know?"

"I don't seem to remember you telling me." Sam swallowed as Jack glared at her. "How many times?"

"What?"

"How many times were you…raped," he struggled to say it, "while serving under my command?" He wasn't yelling but his deep voice carried through the chamber.

Sam glanced around them. People were slowing down as they went out the exit, trying to determine what was happening. "This isn't the time or place?"

"And I'm guessing there hasn't been a time or a place all these years?"

"I…I didn't know that you didn't know. I mean I didn't want you to know at the time, but I thought you found out."

"So it's true?" Sam gave him a small nod. He pulled his arm out of her hand. "How could you keep working for me? How can you stand to let me…" He stepped back.

"Jack?" She reached out, but he moved further away. "Let you do what? Jack?" He turned away from her. "Where are you going?"

"I need to get back to work." He stepped out the door and she followed. He looked over his shoulder. "Just…just go home." She stood there as he walked down the steps and hailed a cab.