Blink Mission

**Blink** is the first episode in the Ghost Stories series. The events of this mission occur asynchronously with those of the Golden Phantom series, right between the Carpe Noctem and Cogworks missions. The story follows a group of U.S. military veterans living on the island of Muri as they investigate the presence of Soviet scientific facilities on the island in relation to strange anomalies and missing locals. This is the first mission where players are inducted into the Sub-Continuum Force (SCF).

## Synopsis

### Background

The year is 1984 on the southern pacific island of Muri. During the end of World War 2 and much of the Cold War, the island was used as a cargo interchange, missile tracking station, and rest-stop for U.S. military personnel. As the war evolved in the early 80s and tensions rose in the east, the U.S. military began moving troops off the island for deployment closer to the threat zone. It was during this time that many of the retiring soldiers who had lived there for the better half of almost twenty years decided to stay with the families and lives they had established. The high presence of American citizens on the island created a very westernized culture in the nation.

Several months after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the island, Soviet cargo ships began docking at the island ports. At first they were few in numbers, but steadily their presence increased greatly as the Soviets began using Muri as their own stop-and-go port island. Although the Soviet presence was peaceful, some locals noticed cargo trucks marked with the hammer and sickle insignia transporting cargo up into the mountains in the thick of the jungle. Over the next few months to a year the majority of Soviet traffic in the ports decreased, however some facilities still remained in heavily marked-off areas.

Around late 1983 some locals to the south of the island began receiving disruptions to electricity supplies and radio transmissions. People began suspecting the Soviet facilities in the mountains were experimental testing grounds that were causing all these strange occurrences. It was not until early 1984 that the sudden disappearances of locals began causing insecurity to mount among citizens.

### Initial Investigation

On March 12th, 1984 a group of U.S. veterans gathered at a local sawmill to the south of the island where these missing person reports were being filed. They began investigating the nearby homes secluded in the jungle for any sort of clues towards finding the lost locals. It was during this excursion that the group discovered empty cars belonging to local hunters who trekked deep into the jungle suspecting there was leftover Soviet technology causing the anomalies. After following the hill into the jungle, neither the group of hunters nor the veterans were seen again.

### Andrew's Investigation Plan

Two days after the first group went missing, Andrew (a mutual friend of both veteran groups) planned an infiltration strategy into one of the Soviet test sites to uncover the secrets of their research. The group was made up of around 7 former Central Intelligence Agency operators who agreed to help discover what the Soviets were up to.

Andrew concocted a plan where he would detonate a fuel truck just to the north of the Soviet mining base in the mountains, drawing attention away from the southern gates where the group could infiltrate the off limits zone from. After successfully carrying out the plan, the seven men hopped the front gate and began moving towards the compound. Upon entering the base, the team noticed a warehouse building where bright lights were being emitted from. Looking in through the windows, the team overheard a Soviet officer speaking with a scientist in front of what appeared to be a large ancient stone artifact with two large totem pillars on either side of it.

In a coordinated attack, the team breached the building and neutralized the officer before subduing the scientist. Before even having a chance to interrogate him, a convoy of Soviet troop transports arrived at the front gate which prompted the exchange of gunfire. The team retreated towards the north end of the base where they could escape into a thick jungle and get to safety. Once they were clear of any threats, they moved towards a cluster of empty houses to interrogate the scientist.

After a bit of persuasion, the scientist who went by the name of Kharov explained that his science team was sent to the island directly from Moscow to locate and recover a surging energy source present on the island. He explained that using a radio device, the recon teams could get a bearing of where the energy source was coming from. However, every time a team approached the source they appeared to have members fall ill, hallucinate, or go temporarily blind. He told the team where the nearby recon unit's shack was, and was promptly let go by the team.

As soon as Kharov stepped out the door a strange light appeared akin to electrical surges from the floor, and within seconds the scientist lay dead on the ground in a mangled mess. This was the first anomaly the team experienced.

### Recon Shack

Moving cautiously towards the shack where the scientist explained the Soviet Recon Unit operates out of, the team proceeded to see more strange anomalies in the woods. The small house in the middle of the woods was boarded up and filled with supplies, but upon entering the building, bodies of Soviet scientists and soldiers were found dead on the floor. A quick medical investigation suggested that the soldiers had died with superficial wounds.

The team also discovered an officer log as well as the radio analyzing device Kharov mentioned. The log explained how the officer lost two of his men already to what he called a "bear attack", citing their eyes appeared to have been clawed out just before death. Moments after discovering the device, one of the men noticed two glowing red eyes in the underbrush, and after a brief firefight they discovered the corpse of a Minuteman.

While treating the wounds of one of their teammates, a local man emerged from the woods shouting for help. He explained that his car suddenly stopped running on the side of the road, and after being chased into the woods by some beast his friend was "nicked" by something in the bushes. The team followed the man to find his companion seizing up on the ground. While administering medical first aid the team was yet again ambushed by a Minuteman. While the two locals were left unattended, they wound up stuck in an electric anomaly promptly killing both of them. The team collected themselves quickly and ran into the woods.

### Gate on a Hill

Following the guidance of the radio frequency analyzer, the team moved uphill towards a peak where a red glowing light could be seen. Several anomalies surged on the hill nearly injuring the team as they climbed the incline. Upon arriving at the top, they noticed a greek looking gate (Time Gate) guarded by two more Minutemen. After engaging and neutralizing the threats, the men approached the gate. As they did, they heard a voice in their heads thanking them for clearing the Minutemen from around the gate. All of a sudden, The Orb emerged above the gate and explained to the men that their world was coming to an end, and that the only way they could stop the apocalypse was to help it. The Orb explained that it had men trapped somewhere in The Multiverse and it needed help finding them.

Not completely understanding, they agreed to help the orb. The men stepped into the Time Gate and were teleported away to begin their journey as the Sub-Continuum Force.

## Trivia

* An Epochium shard was discovered on the hill near the Time Gate by one of the men.