"The payload fairings are open."
Elena Vance struck the heavy return key on her console. Her exhausted voice broke the tense silence inside the Texas launch bunker.
Three hundred miles above the earth the commercial rockets released their cargo into the freezing vacuum. The titanium shells detached from the heavy lifters. The AuraStream Vanguard constellation drifted into proper orbital alignment.
The overlapping titanium armor scales caught the unfiltered sunlight. They gleamed like silver dragons waking up in the dark expanse of space.
"Baseband processors are online," Elena reported. A desperate smile touched her lips. "Initiating the global handshake protocol."
The sharp smell of scorched rocket fuel still lingered in the bunker. Ryan Parker stood near the reinforced glass window.
