Some time later, and with a full belly, Thomas returned to the control center. Looking over the displays on the console he saw that while some systems were reporting back green, many more were yellow or red. He would have to seriously dedicate some time to sit down and go over all that, but that was for the Thomas of later, he thought.

A blinking notification on the terminal display however, caught his attention. It looked like a video player icon, and the text beneath the icon read “Important Message, open immediately”.

Deciding to indulge his curiosity toward whatever message the system had for him, or more likely for the original planned occupants of this shelter, Thomas hit play as he sat down. It was a bit shocking when he heard music begin blaring outside the control center, and getting up to investigate he discovered that it was the national anthem playing.

Following the sound to the lounge area he found that the large TV on the wall was the source. On its screen was the department of defense logo and a please be seated message. Puzzled, but still curious, Thomas sat on one of the couches and waited.

As soon as the last notes of music faded, the logo faded to black and a well dressed man in a suit appeared on the screen. The face was immediately recognizable as the secretary of defense, mainly because his portrait hung on the wall nearby.

“My fellow soldiers, I record this video in the hopes that it will never be seen, that a situation will never arise that cannot be resolved diplomatically, but I would be derelict in my duties not to do so” the man said, briefly pausing with a visible look of sadness, before continuing “We live in an age of great marvel and possibility, but also of instability and grave threat.”

“You Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Civilian staff, gathered in this shelter face a daunting task. If you are watching this, then the worst has come to pass, and the world outside this shelter has been changed for the worse, possibly irrevocably.” Pausing to let that sink in, he stared into the camera, and after a few seconds continued, “The country we all swore to defend may have fallen or been destroyed, but the ideals that birthed it live on through you all.”

Pausing to take a drink of water, the defense secretary continued, “As of this moment, you are all the last, best hope of restoring and rebuilding America. Your mission will be to seek out and gather any and all who survived, and should the nation have fallen to invaders, retake our country.” As he sat back in his chair, still maintaining direct eye contact on the camera, a perceptibly pained expression crossed his face before he continued. “Your mission will not be an easy one, regardless of what type of disaster has occurred, and that is due to the Deadhand System.”

The secretary leaned toward the camera, “Several years ago, Congress and the office of the President authorized the creation of a system to be designed and implemented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This system would be a method of denying enemy occupation of the United States, its allies and select regions of importance around the world.” he said, “this system would employ biological, chemical and mutagenic weapons being released in key, critical locations.”

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“It was considered a weapon of last resort, only to be deployed in the event of irrevocable destruction of our country or the world.” he continuedThomas had sat there, face pale and eyes wide with horror at what he was hearing. Screaming denials of what the Secretary of Defense was saying, he continued to watch.

“This system was designed around one goal, one principle, an extension of Mutually Assured Destruction, if you will; that there is room in this grave for you.” the man said, and continued “This was a terrible thing that was created, and one that will affect you all in the coming years. You will face great challenges, and I whole-heartedly believe that you, the men and women in service to our great nation will overcome them.”

Taking another drink from the glass on his table, the defense secretary seemed to sag into his chair a bit, “I wish it were otherwise; and frankly pray that such a terrible tragedy never comes to pass, but when have politicians ever made it easy for the military?” he asked the camera, sadness heavy in his voice.

Straightening up, the man forced a smile onto his face. “You are the last, best hope for America, and possibly the world. You face an uphill battle, and we have attempted to supply you with the best tools possible; funding experimental technologies across the board, some of which may have been developed in the shelters you currently occupy.” he stated, “I have faith that we can avert the worst possible disasters, but should we fail, I am proud to know that we have the best of us, safe and secure, to one day return and begin rebuilding our home and saving our people”

The Secretary stood from behind his desk and gave a crisp salute to the camera, “On behalf of the people of America, I wish you nothing but success in your task. Godspeed, and good luck.”

With that, the video switched back to the Department of Defense logo and began replaying the national anthem.

Thomas sat stunned at what he had just heard. His thoughts kept circling around how the hell something this terrible had been created; not only created but authorized by his government.

Elsewhere, a woman in uniform began speaking into a headset microphone, seeking confirmation on the readings she was getting. After getting confirmation that the data was correct, she stood and turned to face a man standing before a map of the country. “Sir,” she said, “I have just picked up and have secondary confirmation that a shelter has just come online in grid area 17-Sierra.” she stated.

The man turned from the map and walked over to her station, looking at the data readout on the screen. Nodding in confirmation, he looked at the great map of the continental United States that took up several screens along the wall. “Are we sure it's not just a malfunctioning beacon?” he asked.

The woman shook her head in the negative, “Unlikely sir, the beacons are tied to manual activation”.

The Man took one more look at the data on her console, and then back at the grid map. “Excellent work, your reward is more work” he said with a chuckle. “I need you to pull every bit of archive information we have on what was located in 17-Sierra, because if I remember correctly, that is a dead zone.”

“I believe you are correct sir, I will let you know as soon as I have the info for you” she said. The man gave her a nod of acknowledgement before returning to the map. He tried to resume his tasks, but his eyes kept drifting to sector 17-Sierra.

Outside Emergency Shelter #5, a cloaked figure watched from the shadows of a nearby building. It had tracked the Human to this specific old world burrow. Its kind rarely survived encounters with Humans, and so it waited and watched, curious to see what the Human would do.