Chapter 4 - Protocol Omega
The red emergency lights cast long, distorted shadows across the officers' dining hall as the klaxons continued to pulse overhead. Base personnel rushed toward the exits, following automated evacuation protocols, but the three officers remained anchored to their spot like figures carved in stone.
Lucas reached out, his fingers hovering just inches above the encrypted data drive resting on the table, before pulling his hand back as if it were burning hot.
“You lied to me during the entire mission briefing,” Lucas said, his voice dangerously low, filled with a bitter betrayal that cut deeper than the incoming threat. “Every time I questioned the flight parameters over the North Atlantic, every time I asked why our instruments were spinning out of control, you fed me standard-issue theater lies.”
“I was following Protocol Omega, Major,” Sarah shot back instantly, her tone razor-sharp. “The same protocol that Captain Vance wrote, signed, and swore to take to his grave. You were a pilot tasked with dropping depth charges on a seismic anomaly, not a theoretical physicist trying to decode a dimensional breach.”
Marcus Vance finally moved, his hand reaching out to snatch the data drive from the table with surprising speed. He slipped it securely into the inner pocket of his immaculate white dress uniform.
“Arguing about past lies won't stop whatever just punched through our airspace,” Marcus interrupted, his authoritative tone commanding immediate attention. “If your code is being broadcast from an incoming unknown signature, Lieutenant Commander, then the anomaly isn’t just tracking you—it’s hunting you.”
Sarah crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her dark eyes flashing with defiance.
“Then we stop running,” Sarah said firmly. “We take it head-on in the underground command bunker beneath the harbor. That’s the only place with enough electromagnetic shielding to handle the feedback loop.”
Lucas shook his head in absolute disbelief, stepping backward toward the exit doors.
“You’re both insane,” Lucas snapped, though his feet refused to carry him away from the unfolding nightmare. “You want to run straight into a black-ops bunker to converse with a ghost signal? I need to get my pilots in the air before the base command loses its mind completely.”
“Your pilots are already grounded, Miller,” a harsh voice echoed from the doorway.
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They turned to see a squad of armed naval security police blocking the exit, their rifles raised and pointed directly at their table.
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