In the frozen darkness of the Sierra Nevadas, a decorated Gunnery Sergeant publicly challenges a female Master Sergeant's right to lead. He thinks he knows her limits, but he has no idea what she survived to get here, or the promise she made to a dying man just to earn this day. The words sliced through the frozen air of the equipment bay, sharper than the January morning. “Die now or I’ll make you wish you had.” Gunnery Sergeant Derek Holloway stood at parade rest, but there was no rest in him.