11-27-2019, 06:25 AM
Z.I.S. Headquarters - M. Gaviria Building
Tofino, Zamastan
Kirk Faulkman, the Director of the Zamastanian Intelligence Service, sat stern faced at his desk. Freshly groomed hair, his beard trimmed short, yet thick, and his suit without a wrinkle, Faulkman was reading over reports of the recently leaked "Aurora Programme" on his desktop. The wide floor-to-ceiling window behind him in his office space gave a commanding view of Zian Avenue and the gleaming towers of Tofino across the bay. Moments ago, his assistants and several aides, as well as three intelligence officers, had sat in the thin swivel chairs across from him, updating him on the current revelations coming from across all 400 resident agencies across Zamastan, as well as over 50 legal attachés at Zamastanian embassies and consulates across the globe. His intercom buzzed, but Faulkman did not flinch an eye away from his screen.
"Director Faulkman," the woman's voice said softly over the speaker, "Director Amberson is here at your request."
"Tell him to come in," Kirk responded.
Through the glass doors, a fogged pane wall slid open, and Brett Amberson, Director of National Intelligence, strolled down the long hallway towards Faulkman with an agent in a crisp black suit by his side. The agent pushed the door open and held his gaze at a slight angle to the ceiling as Amberson passed into the office space. The door silently closed behind as he took a seat in the chair across from Faulkman.
"Kirk," Brett said, scorning growls evident in his voice, "how did this happen? How can you-"
"Stop right there, Brett." Kirk fired back. "I wasn't director when the Aurora's started, and I sure as hell am not the only one in the history of this department or your department that was completely oblivious - we've had speculations ever since the Haven Accords that Kerlian operatives could have been operating in Zamastan. At least now we know that our concerns and precautions were right - these people are more than likely here."
Brett scoffed, looking back at the glass walls behind him and the desks of agents and jockeys running back and forth, typing away at their desks, chatting with each other. It looked like business as usual, but they were doing something much more different to anything in the agency's history.
"Have they found anything?" Brett quizzed, looking back at Kirk with his head cocked to the side.
"No, but then again, these Auroras are supposed to be hard to find." Kirk looked back into the wider work area to make sure his agents were still working, and then pressed a button on his keypad. Blinds lowered from hidden compartments in the ceiling and blocked out the sunny reflections from the glass buildings in the skyline behind them, as well as the glass walls. The office darkened so that neither Kirk or Brett could see more than a few feet in front of them. Kirk's desktop lit up as the touchscreen capabilities booted up, projecting a computer screen across the entire surface. Kirk stood up, and with one hand swiped across a notice on the projection, prompting an image to pop up. A woman's portrait, posing in military uniform and a fighter-jet helmet in front of the Zamastanian flag stood in front of the two hard-line directors.
"Who is this?" Brett looked at the woman on the desk screen.
"Her name is Corporal Whitney Seet," Kirk said, touching a red circle next to her face, opening up a personal profile of the Corporal. "She's a 29-year old officer in the Air Force, operating out of Lewis Gayson Air Force Base in Duncan."
"Is she an Aurora?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out. We have agents working on it, but they're classified with sharing any information regarding their mission or delivering any word back to anyone except for me."
"Why do we think she's an Aurora?" Brett quizzed, "Her profile is impressive - a true Zamastanian stateswoman. An ideal soldier, outstanding record. She served in combat during the 2011 Vulkarian Insurgency, and last year she ran sorties over Gladysynthia. Hell, this is some development." Brett looked up at Kirk, eyes wide. "Kirk, why is she a suspect?"
"A trainee at the base gave us a tip. He says that during a training exercise, she seemed off and left the base a few minutes into the practice. That was four days ago, and she hasn't been back to the base."
"Okay, but this report here says that she was granted a leave of absence for a week by the base commanders," Brett responded. "If that's the case, why is she being monitored? It could be a family emergency, soldiers are allowed to rest."
"Except this soldier has no family."
Brett stared at Kirk. "What do you mean she has no family?"
Kirk pressed another red button on the screen. A biological tree chart came up with blank slots. "I mean she has no family - at least not that we know of. In addition, never in her 9 years of service has she ever taken a day away from work. She's so impressive that we're worried that her absence, just happening to correspond with the leak of the "Aurora Programme" report, might be what just gave her away."
"But, no family?"
"Auroras are deep-state agents. They don't always need family."
"A soldier?"
"Someone who works in the highest levels of our government structure. And not just a soldier, Brett," Kirk brought up another section of her profile. "A corporal - with in depth knowledge of this." An image of a fighter jet appeared on the screen. "The Z3."
"But, the Z3 Fighter isn't even operational yet. And if an Aurora was targeting Zamastan, why would they go after military hardware? Why not the government? Or something like the military higher-ups?"
"Brett, for God's sake. The Z3. It isn't operational. But, it's maybe the most advanced military equipment in the world right now. And this woman, Corporal Seet, knows every single detail about it. And as for targeting the structure of our nation - the Z3 not only houses its own information, but it has backup programs of every pieces of military hardware our armed forces has. Our land vehicles, our aircraft carriers, and our stealth bombers."
Brett sat back, stunned. "So, what do we do?"
"We wait to see. If she's an Aurora, then we have to take her."
"And if she's just a regular person?"
Kirk shut off the screen, and summoned the blinds to open. "Then we better hope that she doesn't mind talking to Z.I.S. agents in a dark room. We'll wait it out a little, see what the agents report. Then we'll make a move. One way or another, I want to be cautious."
Tofino, Zamastan
Kirk Faulkman, the Director of the Zamastanian Intelligence Service, sat stern faced at his desk. Freshly groomed hair, his beard trimmed short, yet thick, and his suit without a wrinkle, Faulkman was reading over reports of the recently leaked "Aurora Programme" on his desktop. The wide floor-to-ceiling window behind him in his office space gave a commanding view of Zian Avenue and the gleaming towers of Tofino across the bay. Moments ago, his assistants and several aides, as well as three intelligence officers, had sat in the thin swivel chairs across from him, updating him on the current revelations coming from across all 400 resident agencies across Zamastan, as well as over 50 legal attachés at Zamastanian embassies and consulates across the globe. His intercom buzzed, but Faulkman did not flinch an eye away from his screen.
"Director Faulkman," the woman's voice said softly over the speaker, "Director Amberson is here at your request."
"Tell him to come in," Kirk responded.
Through the glass doors, a fogged pane wall slid open, and Brett Amberson, Director of National Intelligence, strolled down the long hallway towards Faulkman with an agent in a crisp black suit by his side. The agent pushed the door open and held his gaze at a slight angle to the ceiling as Amberson passed into the office space. The door silently closed behind as he took a seat in the chair across from Faulkman.
"Kirk," Brett said, scorning growls evident in his voice, "how did this happen? How can you-"
"Stop right there, Brett." Kirk fired back. "I wasn't director when the Aurora's started, and I sure as hell am not the only one in the history of this department or your department that was completely oblivious - we've had speculations ever since the Haven Accords that Kerlian operatives could have been operating in Zamastan. At least now we know that our concerns and precautions were right - these people are more than likely here."
Brett scoffed, looking back at the glass walls behind him and the desks of agents and jockeys running back and forth, typing away at their desks, chatting with each other. It looked like business as usual, but they were doing something much more different to anything in the agency's history.
"Have they found anything?" Brett quizzed, looking back at Kirk with his head cocked to the side.
"No, but then again, these Auroras are supposed to be hard to find." Kirk looked back into the wider work area to make sure his agents were still working, and then pressed a button on his keypad. Blinds lowered from hidden compartments in the ceiling and blocked out the sunny reflections from the glass buildings in the skyline behind them, as well as the glass walls. The office darkened so that neither Kirk or Brett could see more than a few feet in front of them. Kirk's desktop lit up as the touchscreen capabilities booted up, projecting a computer screen across the entire surface. Kirk stood up, and with one hand swiped across a notice on the projection, prompting an image to pop up. A woman's portrait, posing in military uniform and a fighter-jet helmet in front of the Zamastanian flag stood in front of the two hard-line directors.
"Who is this?" Brett looked at the woman on the desk screen.
"Her name is Corporal Whitney Seet," Kirk said, touching a red circle next to her face, opening up a personal profile of the Corporal. "She's a 29-year old officer in the Air Force, operating out of Lewis Gayson Air Force Base in Duncan."
"Is she an Aurora?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out. We have agents working on it, but they're classified with sharing any information regarding their mission or delivering any word back to anyone except for me."
"Why do we think she's an Aurora?" Brett quizzed, "Her profile is impressive - a true Zamastanian stateswoman. An ideal soldier, outstanding record. She served in combat during the 2011 Vulkarian Insurgency, and last year she ran sorties over Gladysynthia. Hell, this is some development." Brett looked up at Kirk, eyes wide. "Kirk, why is she a suspect?"
"A trainee at the base gave us a tip. He says that during a training exercise, she seemed off and left the base a few minutes into the practice. That was four days ago, and she hasn't been back to the base."
"Okay, but this report here says that she was granted a leave of absence for a week by the base commanders," Brett responded. "If that's the case, why is she being monitored? It could be a family emergency, soldiers are allowed to rest."
"Except this soldier has no family."
Brett stared at Kirk. "What do you mean she has no family?"
Kirk pressed another red button on the screen. A biological tree chart came up with blank slots. "I mean she has no family - at least not that we know of. In addition, never in her 9 years of service has she ever taken a day away from work. She's so impressive that we're worried that her absence, just happening to correspond with the leak of the "Aurora Programme" report, might be what just gave her away."
"But, no family?"
"Auroras are deep-state agents. They don't always need family."
"A soldier?"
"Someone who works in the highest levels of our government structure. And not just a soldier, Brett," Kirk brought up another section of her profile. "A corporal - with in depth knowledge of this." An image of a fighter jet appeared on the screen. "The Z3."
"But, the Z3 Fighter isn't even operational yet. And if an Aurora was targeting Zamastan, why would they go after military hardware? Why not the government? Or something like the military higher-ups?"
"Brett, for God's sake. The Z3. It isn't operational. But, it's maybe the most advanced military equipment in the world right now. And this woman, Corporal Seet, knows every single detail about it. And as for targeting the structure of our nation - the Z3 not only houses its own information, but it has backup programs of every pieces of military hardware our armed forces has. Our land vehicles, our aircraft carriers, and our stealth bombers."
Brett sat back, stunned. "So, what do we do?"
"We wait to see. If she's an Aurora, then we have to take her."
"And if she's just a regular person?"
Kirk shut off the screen, and summoned the blinds to open. "Then we better hope that she doesn't mind talking to Z.I.S. agents in a dark room. We'll wait it out a little, see what the agents report. Then we'll make a move. One way or another, I want to be cautious."