The heavy oak doors of the federal courtroom swung shut behind Nora, cutting off the chaotic roar of reporters, shouting attorneys, and bewildered spectators. The hallway outside was vast, lined with polished marble and bathed in the sterile, fluorescent light of government bureaucracy.

Nora took

Six months later.

The automatic doors of Sector Four slid open with a soft, pressurized hiss. Nora Sterling stepped into the pristine, temperature-controlled environment of her newly constructed core laboratory, the crisp white fabric of her lab coat snapping lightly around her knees.

There were