“Yes ma'am, Samuel. Go by call sign Hacker. Coffee, coming right up, Ma'am!”
The General sighed, all of his protocols went against what he was going to do, but then again, savages invading the base of operations was not one of those protocols. He looked around the room, four faces looked back at him. Madam Commander was still sat on the edge of his desk, now sipping her black coffee. Hacker was still working the coffee machine for his own cup, and Scorpio and the bigger man, whose call sign, it had been found out, was Viper were sat on the opposite end of the room on a big leather couch, in which Viper had described as a 'nice dig'.
The General cleared his throat again and began. “Over ten years ago the nuclear missiles fell, it was the Russians who launched first. We did not detect them, because...” he closed his eyes and glanced to the side, “they had stealth missiles, of the type we had never seen in reality before.”
Hacker turned from the coffee machine, the churning of the machine died and the room was pitched into an unnerving silence. “Sir, what do you mean, in reality?”
The General rubbed his eyes, “there were plans for a stealth missile, undetectable by long range communications, no visible launch, nothing. Not until short wave radar picks it up, but by then it is within fifty or so miles of it's target and it's too late.”
The Commander interrupted, “What I don't understand is how we knew about Russian plans? Wouldn't they be top top secret?”
“Oh, they were very secret. Shared with only the President and Commander-in-chief at the time.”
“The President?!” The Commander spat out her coffee, “these were American plans?”
The General just nodded. We don't know why, how or who but they were leaked to the Russians, and they found out what we never could, how to make the missiles.”
“But what does that have to do with the operation?” It was Scorpio.
The General held up a hand, “this operation was set up even before the missiles hit, even before they were known about. The original brief and objective of the mission was to prevent World War Two from ever happening, technology back then was poor, compared to today. They didn't have the technology to attempt the mission. But now we do, and now the mission brief has changed, instead of World War Two, we need to prevent the missiles from launching, from being made, from secrets being leaked, whatever, just prevent it. It was called Operation Future Hunter, and it is the first time slip machine of its kind, the only one in existence.”
“Time slip?”
“It's what we call the process of time travel to the past. We really don't have time to discuss it though, I'll do my best though when you're all in the machine.”
Hacker choked on air, “all?”
“Not you of course Commander.” The General turned to Madam Commander and nodded, “you must stay here, it's far too dangerous for you to use the time slip.”
“Dangerous? It's dangerous!” Viper was up and at the General, “I am not going through any time slip, dangerous or not.”
The General held up both hands at the approaching Viper, “it's not my call.”
“Well, whose call is it then? Yours?” He pointed at Madam Commander. But she just shook her head.
“You three are the only ones left in this facility. You are the Past Hunters.”
“Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Us three?” Viper pointed to the three “Past Hunters”. “He's not even a soldier!” He jabbed a finger at Hacker.
Chapter 1: The Scorpio Protocol
Start from the beginning
