It Came from Outer Space

Aboard an Air Force DC-130, flying somewhere over Alaska. Morning.

Hidden inside the plane, inside a supply crate, inside a Veggie Omelet MRE, out of place among all the beef burrito MRE aboard the plane was the mission briefing for Blacksite-13. The packers certainly went above and beyond, and put the mission package quite literally -in- the veggie omelet.
Initiative Briefing, Agent “Thorn”

“Good morning, agent. We have a sensitive, critical mission for you. Here’s the known timeline of events: It had been half a year since the Boston phenomenon was observed and taken place, and that the previously dormant Anomaly at Blacksite-13 in Alaska had become active. As a result, personnel and resource allocation there had been quadrupled.”

“It has been 2 months since the Alaska Blacksite-13 Director, John R. Carpenter, has ceased all communications with any branch of the US Government, and 1 month since the first SEAL team the NSA sent in. The observation team had reported the Phenomena had been expanding, and the observation base has had to retreat, at a site without a landing strip. If this continued unabated the world would likely be threatened- the Russians in particular were keeping an eye on it from Uelen, just across the Bering Strait and were very unhappy.”

“Knowing that we’re facing an Anomalous Event, we’ve tapped our counterparts at the Iskatonic. The Institute has its hands full but is sending their own Liquidator team to look into this issue.  Your objectives today are the ff: 1.) Retrieve any intelligence related to the Phenomenon, be it from the original team or from the Institute. If their team has useful information, obtain it discreetly. 2.) Determine the fate of Director Carpenter. He is to be brought in for questioning or, to be liquidated if the former is not possible. 3.) If the Blacksite-13 Anomaly can be halted by any means available, do so. Otherwise report back the situation to HQ. 4.) If the Institute Team will recover Anomalous objects from the site and refuse to cooperate with us, terminate them.

"For further information, we’ve recovered this from the CIA Classified Archive. It is dated June of 1960."

A grainy film footage being to play, with a dated CIA Classified logo starting the footage. It cuts to a young Japanese woman who introduces herself as Ellen Nakamura, an Institute researcher. She is wearing an old style bio-hazard suit, holding an old microphone. The right side of her face is covered by her long hair. “The Unidentified object had crashed here in the remote wilderness of Alaska, and the Institute, in cooperation with Homeland security, have begun investigation of Blacksite-13.”

The film was likely a hastily put together affair, as it shows Ellen putting on the protective head gear and descending into the cave. The camera man must’ve been an exceptionally agile fellow to follow her into the cave and carry similar equipment. “…The crash is unusual… as it penetrated deeply into the… Alaskan Permafrost… the tunnels are… winding and irregular… Paul, you might want to turn off the camera if you don’t want to slip and break your neck.”

The film resumes in a large cavern where generators are spotlights had been set up. All the lights were focused on a singular object hidden in the bedrock- a large black rectangular monolith, easily three times as large as a door and three times as wide. A large bank of machinery from that era had been set up, and scientists from both the government and the Institute worked to make studies.

A man in a bio-hazard suit approached Ellen, his markings “Yes sir, the object is… inert, currently. Our readings detected no unusual telemetry. Whatever it is, perhaps its power source ran out?” Ellen speculated. The Government agent asked a question the mic didn’t pick up.

“…Yes that’s our final verdict. It may however… become active again in the future, so best to keep tabs on it. You'll also have to prepare- ” Ellen's explanation was cut short when, in the background, one of the scientists studying the Object suddenly collapses. The ground team halts their activity as a medic moves to assist the fallen scientist. Paul the camera man zooms in and focuses on the fallen man. Mere seconds pass, when the collapsed scientist begins to writhe and convulse, ripping off his hazmat gear and very, very visibly rips out the medic's throat with his teeth. Scrambling to his feet, he lunges towards the camera, the soldiers present drawing their firearms and shooting him to no avail.

The film shows the madness on the scientist's face, his mouth covered in blood and still carrying bits of flesh, before the film cuts off.

“This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds.”

Observation Post – Denali Nature Park

The Denali Nature Park was closed and had been taken over by the NSA and the Institute, in collaboration to tackle the Anomalous Event at Blacksite-13. Military trucks and Institute vehicles unloaded all manner of communication and detection devices, including the institute’s rather esoteric and “retro” equipment, big bulky machines that seemed half a century out of date. Nonetheless, the vacuum tube powered devices provided a more refined degree of detection, reaching into Anomalous Spectrums, such as “Thautmatological” and “Reality Disjunction” and other terms. The camp was now the staging ground for a joint effort between several parties.

The respective agencies had turned all the cabins into improvised living quarters, while the main function hall was the command center. Excess equipment not yet immediately used was kept in storage containers and were arranged in an orderly manner outside. A firing range was set up to allow those who would take to the field to get a feel of handling their weaponry in the biting, sub zero cold.

Once the equipment was all set up, Ellen Nakamura looked out the French windows to the vast, white Alaskan wilderness and slopes of mount Denali. It was a beautiful and breath-taking place, as Bob Ross would attest, though somewhere high up in the Denali mountain range there was a faint shimmering light barely noticeable by the naked human eye. This was Black Site-13, without a doubt, the distance and elevation a match from all those years ago. To her enhanced eye though, Nakamura could see the invisible tear in reality in the sky, and some yet unknown, malignant miasma rising up and falling down from the site, as it grows and grows ever more.

Ellen Nakamura rationalizes there is an explanation of what is happening up there, yet, deep down she felt she did not want to know. Nervous, she begins lighting a cigarette and starts smoking, inhaling the nicotine vapors deeply. Agents and Associates alike would arrive at the camp at their own discretion or by official channels, and once all were gathered would be briefed in a makeshift projector room, complete with a dated but still functional film projector. Everyone would see the documentary of what was found there years ago. There would be time for introductions and preparations, because failure to prepare for Blacksite-13 would be preparation o fail.

Thorn listened to the briefing impassively. The objectives themselves sounded rather routine - Thorn, while not taking joy in the thought of ending lives - simply accepted it as the reality of his profession - but it was the accompanying video feed that took him off guard. It was like something out of an 80s horror film. It was literally The Thing that he'd occasionally watch at the orphanage as he grew older - but unlike the 80s film or its 2011 prequel, it didn't seem to originate from a body.

Rather, it seemed to come from an artifact of sorts. It was inert...right up until someone started examining it. Was the object sentient in some sense? Perhaps creating bodyguards? There were too many questions and loose threads to make a judgment call at this point before he had an observation of his own to make. He could formulate a half-dozen theories on the subject, only for all of them to be rendered null once he had boots on the ground.

As he got his gear on, his mind replayed the scene of the video feed again. Goosebumps raised at the chilling image of the HAZMAT worker suddenly springing back to life and sinking his teeth into his compatriots. He dashed the image from his mind - Thorn's life had been one long stretch of craziness after his psionic abilities first manifested. It would have been very stupid to allow himself to get worked up about it now.

He tested to make sure the cloaking device of his suit properly functioned, as well as checking the close-circuit respiration system for leaks.  

He double-checked his Canister Rifle - a single 20-round magazine, plus a few in reserve. Based on the feed, standard bullets weren't going to drop infected individuals - no information on whether explosive rounds will be any more effective. Grenades were the tough part. Without knowing what exactly he was dealing with, it was best to take a balanced kit - he grabbed two fragmentation grenades, plus one flashbang and a smoke grenade. For less-lethal ordnance, he took a pair of sticky shockers - think of them as under-barrel launched tasers - for subduing enemies. If all else failed, he had his psionic abilities as a fall-back option.

He kept a single sidearm on hand and the knives, pulling an oversized arctic coat over hie HEV suit. The rest of his gear, he pack in a strong case with an altitude triggered chute.

"Get me GPS of the AO," he told the computer, which replied with a bird's eye view of the area. He eyed what intel believed was ground zero for the event based on the coordinates and the video feed. The Liquidators were likely waiting for an additional operator on the edge of the combat - they probably though Thorn was their backup. And if he was a spare, he'd be tagging along unannounced. Regardless, he could always retrieve the rest of the gear on the way.

He directed the pilot to do a circle several kilometers outside of where the SEAL Team went dark, picking out a spot to drop his gear.

The ramp opened over the anticipated drop-zone, and Thorn waited for the green light to drop the payload. With a ring and the light telling him he was clear to drop, he slid the case along the ramp and it flew in the air. He pulled up the personal GPS and tracked the transponder on the case as the DC-130 resumed course. The case slowed its descent as the chute opened before hitting the ground within the terrain.

Mission start... Thorn thought as he pulled a scarf over his face and fixed up the hood of the coat to complete the appearance as the flight continued to the destination: Denali.


When Thorn arrived at the Denali Nature Park, he was alone, with just a suppressed sidearm and his abilities for protection. What he wore looked a little bit thinner than what you would expect someone in the higher altitudes of Alaska to wear - but the HEV suit that Thorn wore under the clothing had a well-regulated internal climate control that would remain insulated even better than your average fur coat. The ultra-compact nuclear fusion battery gave plenty of power and then some to power all of the suit's essentials, even the cloaking device.

The kooks that were handling items that look like they came straight out of the 50s and 60s must have been from the Institute. Why they kept such outdated gear was beyond Thorn. Frankly, what surprised him was NSA Operatives. The NSA traditionally worked in Signals Intelligence and data mining, and generally didn't have boots on the ground. Chances are if you were put to work in the NSA, it would be behind a computer desk cracking encrypted codes.

It was the CIA and its subgroups that had people like Thorn on the ground working HUMINT (Human Intelligence) operations. People looked at him funny; of course, he probably looked like an alien from outer space with the unusual arrangement of his gas mask and goggle combination, And he was almost certain he raised feelings of discomfort with his mere presence.