It took everything in Captain Jeremy Jackson’s power to rein in his anticipation. He had to force his pace to remain steady and controlled as he strode down the hall.

Over the last week, rumors had abounded of strange events. However, every time he asked for more information, he was stonewalled. With his high level security clearance, this suppression was especially irritating to him.

However, now that he would be fully read in, that irritation was gone as if it never were. Jeremy could not wait to find out what was really happening. Visions of UFOs and little gray men filled his imagination as he marched down the tiled hallway of the Pentagon.

As he passed numerous high ranking service members, he was once again relieved he no longer had to salute. Instead of the dress greens of his fellow soldiers, he was clothed in black slacks, a light blue buttoned-down shirt, and a navy tie.

Technically, he was still in the army.

For the last year he had been a special teams member, based out of Fort Carson, Colorado. In that time, he was read into quite a few interesting operations. Unlike some, Jeremy enjoyed the constant training and readiness drills.

Which was why he originally turned down the transfer request. Yesterday, he was asked if he wanted a transfer to a newly formed unit in DC. He liked where he was stationed and had zero urge to be moved to the capital, where he would most likely sit around bored.

However, when his commanding officer conspiratorially mentioned he may receive some of the answers to the sensitive questions he had been asking, his attitude changed entirely.

After he signed the paperwork, which included numerous non-disclosure agreements, he was whisked on the first plane to Dulles Airport, set up in a cheap hotel, and ordered to report for briefing in the pentagon at thirteen hundred hours.

He grinned as he continued along the hallway. He had never seen the military move that fast. Something big was brewing.

When Jeremy reached the designated room, he glanced down at the printed copy of his orders to ensure he was in the correct location. Two enlisted stood on each side of the door and requested to see them before he was allowed to enter the secure room.

When he was finally allowed inside, he quickly glanced around. He saw the typical seats of a small auditorium, only half filled, yet not a single uniform was in sight.

They’re probably in their civies like me.

As he surveyed his surroundings, a confident voice interrupted his observations. “Captain Jackson, glad you could make it.”

The pudgy, balding man, in his late thirties, held out his hand. After Jeremy hesitantly extended his own in response, the man added, “I’m Scott Peters, CIA. I’ve been placed in charge of this operation by the joint chiefs.”

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What the hell? I’m working for the CIA now?

Jeremy was careful to keep his expression neutral as he shook his new boss’ hand.

“I wanted to introduce myself to you and your fellow soldiers, individually, before we began. I’m sure you have lots of questions, but rest assured, they’ll be answered before the day’s out. Now, go ahead and take a seat,” Scott ordered with a smile, “Just one person left before we begin.”

“Yes sir,” Jeremy responded and attempted to reflect the man’s easy manner. He found an empty seat on the third row, nodded to what was most likely a fellow soldier nearby, and waited quietly, albeit impatiently, for the briefing to begin. Around him, his fellow attendees seemed equally reserved as they remained silent in wait.

A few minutes later, on the hour, Mister Peters cleared his throat, loudly.

“Thank you all for coming. I’ve already introduced myself to each of you, but before I begin, I want to impress upon you all the importance of secrecy. There will be no handouts with this brief, and let me be clear,” he paused as he looked pointedly around the room. “Not only are you not allowed to disclose today’s information, but anyone who even so much as writes down notes will face severe consequences. Am I understood?”

A chorus of ‘yes sir’ filled the room, and Scott nodded to himself absently. “Excellent. Now, over the last few weeks, thousands of people across the United States have gone missing. As usual, local police and the FBI were notified and began investigating. It remained within their purview, until a few days ago, when one of those missing people returned.”

He paused dramatically, and Jeremy leaned forward in his seat, eager to hear what came next.

“Justin Miller claimed to have traveled to another world. Mister Miller stated that he transitioned through a portal to another planet, where he was forced to kill aliens before he was allowed to return.”

Jeremy’s eyes widened in disbelief.

What the hell? Is this for real?

“Now,” Mister Peters held up a hand before him. “I know what you’re thinking. The guy’s obviously nuts, and needs to be committed. That was exactly what the police thought as well, and they placed him under arrest until they could figure out what to do with him. However, after hours of pleading, the local PD finally agreed to look into it. Hours later, when the officers returned from their investigation, they corroborated Mister Miller’s statements.”

Mister Peters paused once again before he said, “The threat is real. Since then, numerous portals around the US, and the globe, have been discovered. We already have others in charge of quarantine and containment. Your job, however, is to enter the portals with your teams and report back on everything you find.”

“According to Mister Miller, the aliens were humanoid, with purplish-red skin, and had horns. According to him, they were identified as Tieflings by what he calls his ‘interface’,” Scott used air quotes, “and could somehow speak English.”

Jeremy frowned.

“He claims to have joined something called the ‘Collective’,” more air quotes, “and received nanomachines which can supposedly accomplish impressive things. That is currently under investigation as we speak, but the technology is real. We have confirmed that his tissues are infused with microscopic technology.”

Uh, what if that happens to us, too? Are we going to be guinea pigs? Is that the real mission?

Despite the numerous questions that raced through his mind, he and the others remained silent.

“Now, let me put your mind at ease. There’s no need to worry about an alien invasion. We have technology of our own that has been hidden from the public for decades. Back in the nineteen forties, we developed anti-gravity drives that run off of zero-point energy modules. You may have heard of some of the original test pilot’s failures. They crashed in Roswell, New Mexico.”

Jeremy’s jaw dropped.

“Since then, they have perfected the tech and improved upon it. Trust me, the United States is not in danger.”