80 kilometers south of Baghdad, US Military Base, Command Center.
03:20 AM.
Three rows of arc-shaped control consoles stretched out under the dim blue light, with more than twenty operators wearing headphones, fingers moving swiftly on touch screens and keyboards.
The central large screen was divided into twelve images—satellite cloud maps, real-time drone footage, various troop location tracking, encrypted communication channel status.
The air was filled with a faint ozone smell emitted by electronic devices, mixed with the metallic scent of excessive air conditioning.
Major Walker stood in front of the main console, the back of his OCP camouflage combat uniform already stained darkly with sweat.
All were cold sweat.
He had his hands on the edge of the console, knuckles whitened from the pressure.
On the screen, infrared imagery transmitted by an MQ-9 "Grim Reaper" drone was being updated in real-time.
