《Odyssey》Chapter 21: Blue Monday
Advertisement
Washington D.C.
Situation Room, White House
Sitting around a long brown mahogany table. The room they sat in was darkened, with only a small amount of light flooding in from the windows through the thick curtains. A strong aroma filled the air, a mix of coffee, perfume, and strong cologne. Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Cabinet, and analysts from the CIA. Laptops, folders filled to the brim with papers, and potted plants were among the props decorating the room.
"I'd like to thank everybody for coming on such short notice," General Greene began, "But apparently it's been made aware to myself and the rest of leadership in command of Mysterium that there is a possibility of foreign involvement in the new world. Is this true?"
"Yes sir," said CIA director Hughes, "The CIA predicts that there is almost zero chance that both Russia and China aren't working on their own Portal Experiments. And to make matters worse, we knew of this chance before the Marine Corps was deployed into Mysterium."
"Walk me through what happened," Greene asked.
Hughes stood with a remote in his hand to control a projector. A white screen descended from inside the ceiling. With a press of a button, an image formed. The blurry image of a balding man with a thick mustache carpeting his upper lip formed. He looked around fifty or sixty years in age, "This gentleman, is a Russian G.U. agent responsible for the seizure of ACRA data and the spurring of the Russian Portal Program. His name is only known to us as Victor."
"When the Portal opened for the first time, the ACRA was one of the first institutes that the President contacted. They were in charge of researching the portal, giving us a period of about a week before the first Marines were sent into the New World," Said Defense Secretary Lamarr, "In that period of time, the ACRA compiled all of the data they had collected from the Blue Monday experiments and earlier, and used the Portal in Florida to find the final piece of the puzzle."
"And that piece was seized, four days before the first Marines went through the Portal. The CIA is positive that Victor, and Russia at large, is in possession of that stolen data," Hughes finished.
Advertisement
That explained some things, but also brought up new questions for Greene, "Well… what exactly is this Blue Monday, that I've heard about."
"That depends," Hughes pushed up his prescription eyeglasses, "Do you want the long answer or the short answer."
"I've got time."
"Well, in that case, our story starts in 1945. The fall of Nazi Germany. The Soviet NKVD released a document with the Western Allies that they had found a Nazi Research facility in Poland unlike any other. They believed that it was among the first attempts to open a portal to a new world," Hughes recalled the historical roots of the situation, "American OSS and British SAS forces found a similar facility in the forests to the southwest of Frankfurt. We believe that Nazi scientists were attempting to open a Portal in some bid to achieve teleportation, but the project was canceled in 1943. Both facilities were found abandoned for years at that point. Most likely, it was too resource-demanding and needed materials that Germany didn't have."
"In the 1950s, relations between the USSR and the United States deteriorated, and both tried to sabotage the research facilities stationed behind their borders, while also actively trying to open portals of their own. NATO opened portal research facilities in Norway, New Mexico, Alaska, and Greenland. The Soviets opened their own facilities mostly in Siberia, Kazakhstan, and in Ukraine," Lamarr filled in, "But during the détente in the 1970s, Operation Blue Monday began, and the ACRA was founded to undertake it."
"Ah yes… Blue Monday," Hughes started up, bringing the attention of the conversation back to the mysterious operation, "NATO and Soviet scientists decided to partner up in the 1970s under Project: Blue Monday. The ACRA was founded between the United States and the UK to cooperate with the USSR, and as such, they contain the wealth of western knowledge on the portal. Blue Monday was a resounding technical success."
"They opened a portal?" Greene asked.
"Negative, but they came incredibly close. They advanced the cause of theoretical physics by a century. The ACRA reported that they were simply missing one piece in the puzzle. We now believe that we have that final piece. Blue Monday was shut down in the 1980s after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the election of Ronald Reagan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in '91, the CIA and MI6 both teamed up to destroy the ex-soviet Portal facilities. They managed to get all but two of them. One in Siberia, the other in Manchuria."
Advertisement
"So the Chinese have access to the portal as well?"
"We believe the Russian and Chinese governments are working together. That brings us to now, and our HVT, Victor. Victor was a leader in Russian intelligence during the '90s and he thwarted NATO attempts to shut down the last two remaining Portal facilities. Then, he became inactive. The CIA had tracked him ever since, and we correctly predicted that he would become active again once the Portal opened in Florida," Hughes pressed another button on the remote. And this time more faces and the map of a compound hidden in the mountains joined Victor's face shot.
"Three days after the ACRA gained access to that final piece in the portal puzzle, a copy of their data had been stolen. CIA analysts knew that it only could've been one man."
"Victor?"
"Sort of. Third-Party hackers based in China. However, we know for a fact that Victor was the one responsible for alerting them and potentially buying the information. The CIA organized a MARSOC force to track him down and recover or destroy the missing data. And the opportunity came," Hughes turned to Lamarr hoping he'd fill in the rest.
"For Victor to gain possession of the data, he organized an event to buy it from the Chinese firm. It was going to be organized in a villa far in the mountains of Baku, Azerbaijan. The entire event would be disguised as an international science expo, with legitimate civilians there to exchange research in the lower floors of the villa, while the trade deal went down between Victor and the Firm upstairs. MARSOC and the CIA organized a plan to raid the facility, recover or destroy the data, and take Victor and the hackers' prisoner. The Marine in charge of the MARSOC force…"
Lamarr pointed to a face shot of none other than Captain Newman, "Captain Newman…" Greene whispered.
"She wouldn't be alone. CIA also contacted MI6, and they sent in the SAS to assist MARSOC forces. At the head of the SAS team, was Captain Isaac assisted by Lieutenant Sherman. Both SAS. Their job was to raid the compound, keep the civilians safe, retrieve the data, and take the hackers and Victor prisoner with a CIA plant disguised as a potential buyer of the portal data. The operation, to put it bluntly, failed. While the data was recovered, the hackers were killed and Victor vanished without a trace. Judging by his activity, Victor managed to gain possession of the data, before the task force could reach him."
"So let me get this straight… you're telling me that Russia and China both have the capability to begin opening their portals into Mysterium, which could throw off our plans in the region?"
"Well not immediately. Opening Portals takes an extreme amount of time and resources. The last time the ACRA attempted to open a portal was in 1981. Since then, our facilities in Alaska, Greenland, and New Mexico have remained dormant. Even armed with the missing resource that they needed to open this portal, ACRA researchers predict that it will take a year and a half to open. A year if they work around the clock, which the president has ordered," Hughes told him, "Not only that, but we still have the advantage. We have more research compiled on the matter, and we have a head start with the only functioning portal in our territory."
"And what exactly is the missing resource, if I may ask?"
Hughes smirked, "Something that doesn't exist in our world… Ekron."
"I see, that comes from Dragon Scales correct?"
"Indeed. That gives us reason to believe that the portal in Florida was not a natural occurrence, but it was opened by somebody. Perhaps a rogue experiment. And some info from Unity squad inside of Mysterium, confirms that" Hughes passed Greene a sheet of paper.
The author… Hezekiah Brooks, "Staff Sergeant Hezekiah Brooks?" Greene asked.
"You've heard his name?"
"No. Who the hell is this guy?"
"He's a Marine based in Mysterium, under the command of Captain Newman. You might want to keep an eye on him."
Greene looked over the dossier of the man. From his photo image to the report he made, "I'll do that…"
Advertisement
Lethal Combo (Weapon-Based Martial Arts Adventure)
Quang is a slacker that doesn't have much going for him except for his skills in Chinese kickboxing and his proficiency with a pair of nunchucks. Selene is broke but still manages to overestimate herself. The fact that she's knows Hapkido and how to handle a set of tonfas doesn't help either. Together, they're going to get into a lot of trouble. Just like everyone else in the sweltering West Coast city of Isla Lucrecia, Quang Nghiem is struggling to get by. His family’s business can’t make ends meet, his childhood friend has vanished without a trace and the self-imposed local “Union” threatens to tear down the family restaurant if they can’t pay their dues. Fortunately for him, part-time lifeguard and fellow out-of-practice martial artist Selene Olwagen has nothing better to do and is more than willing to help Quang track down his missing friend. However, there’s more lurking in the shadows of Isla Lucrecia than typical street gangs and criminals. Almost every chapter will have illustrations to accompany it. Heavily inspired by fighting games and classic martial arts films. Expect that kind of tone of going in. Updates twice a week, (mostly) on Wednesday and Saturday. Illustrations and covers were done by Ati: www.instagram.com/serious_ati/ Check out more art of Lethal Combo and my other projects here: www.instagram.com/fgc_checkmate/
8 167Ruin - Soon to be Published!
The land of Ruin is a brutal, harsh, and unforgiving desert with little water and less kindness. Do not mistake its brutality for lack of life though. Thousands of traders and people from all walks of life travel its vast reaches daily looking to make their fortune in the trade of "black crystal" - the mineral that fuels everything from airships to, landships, to currency its self. There is even rumor of its magical properties. Jim is just such a trader and frankly, he sucks at it. But, things are about to change for him. Ever the introverted hermit, he's about to be thrust into a world of intrigue, magic, and colorful friends. Ruin gives few second chances. Don't waste yours.
8 184The Immortal
A story of a man who thought he had lost everything, only to be given a new chance with a particular caveat. Will he achieve his goals this time around? Will he bite off more than he can chew? Will he discover what he had tossed aside in his previous life? Find out when he is taken to a world quite unlike our own. An attempt at a slightly more serious and somber isekai cheat story.
8 496I, Mor-eldal: The Necromancer Thief
As a budding little necromancer, I soon discovered that the world of city people is complicated. When my master kicked me out of the cave, he warned me not to talk about my “dark” magic, because people here don't like the undead. I am not really an undead, I just have a skeleton hand, but it is better to be careful. Anyway, that's not my biggest worry. In the Black Dagger brotherhood, I learn a lot of things, such as illusionist magic, which turns out to be quite handy to survive in this maze of streets: in the Cat Quarter, we have thugs of all kinds that are best avoided. But we also have good people, goodhearted “gwaks”, as we say around here. Little did I know that I would soon be caught up in an infamous traffic that would entangle my life even more. With a mix of lighthearted adventure and picaresque, this story narrates the hectic life of a good-spirited street child and his companions in a medieval urban fantasy setting with some nineteenth-century influences. Updates Mondays and Fridays. This is a Creative Commons By work. It is a translation of a trilogy I wrote in Spanish between 2017 and 2018.
8 157Summer School In Another World
Josh and his friends, Bobby, Pepe, Manuel, and Erin had just graduated middle school and the summer was just starting. The plan was that they would have sleep overs, go camping, fishing, play video games and just not worry about going high school. Elementary and Middle School over it was time to have fun before that new stage in life called high school. All was going well, video games check, sleep over at Pepe's house check, camping and fishing was next on the list. Erin backyard had some woods behind it and that was where they would be camping. The night was filled with stories, games, marshmallow smores and some pop that Manuel had brought with him. They fell asleep thinking tomorrow would be as great as today, but tomorrow would change them forever. Now they are in a different world, a world they had not fallen asleep to. They and others are now stuck here, where they are slotted into roles like in a game. And they have to level and fight who knows what. And all they wanted was to have fun before starting high school. But the kind of fun in this new place includes getting hurt or possibility of sort of dying.
8 196Fire and Ice
Samantha, have you checked if you got accepted in the schools you sent application to? Mom no.... (busily using her phone).What are you waiting for? Mom can you check for me? I think I received an e-mail, I was scared to check. Yes madam Sam
8 217