Permafrost Mission

Monochrome agents disguised as Russian Armed Forces in front of the HDMS Thunderbird wreck.

## Story

### Unit Involved

Monochrome team

**Permafrost** is the eighth mission of the Hidden Order Saga (third mission in Act 2). Having discovered that Astra was attempting to find the wreckage of the HDMS Thunderbird (a Danish ship suspected of having the gold on board), the Monochrome agents race to the Arctic Circle to try and get to it first. In order to have a lead on the organization's activities, they needed to find Usam Kadiev, a legendary information broker being protected by the Russian Armed Forces (RAF), who had also aligned with Astra to find the gold.

## Synopsis

### Background

Nearly two months had passed before Monochrome received any word about their next moves. Following the tragic death of Sally Verduzco, the team’s most recent agent (and most recent casualty), the duo of Marshals were in full damage control mode attempting to salvage the team’s reputation within the organization. When Fischer finally returned to communications with the team, he had dispatched the full set of resources and support available exclusively to Marshals of the Order in order to track down Astra and their next moves.

It took considerable time for the team to uncover a promising lead. However, intelligence gathered from the Kiros Islands, combined with one of the agents' personal discoveries, revealed Astra's next target. The elusive organization had sprung back into action in no time and were already several moves ahead of the Order. Fischer’s informants noticed the organization was heavily active in the Siberian Tundra, likely pursuing a reliable tip on the location of the hidden gold.

To further complicate matters, Astra had aligned with corrupt officers in the Russian Armed Forces, ensuring protection and unhindered movement within the country. These officers, already harboring a grudge against Monochrome and the Order due to the attack on the Popov Winter Estate over a year ago, made Astra an even more formidable target.

Among these officers was a familiar figure—Usam Kadiev. A renowned information broker, Kadiev was regarded as the best in the business and had once mentored one of the agents personally. If anyone possessed knowledge of Astra's exact plans and puppeteers, it would be him. However, the Russian Armed Forces were well aware of his value and had placed him under strict security, recognizing that his knowledge could be as perilous as it was useful. To stand any chance of finding the gold and taking down Astra, Monochrome would need his assistance.

### Outpost Assault

The team began their operation having captured a two-man RAF patrol, from whom they asked the location of the next supply airdrop. Since the Siberian Tundra they were in was so remote from any other towns, most supplies (including weapons) were delivered by airdrop. Without the assistance of Sally Verduzco, Monochrome found it very difficult to source weapons especially in remote areas. Once the team signaled the airdrop and equipped themselves, they moved to a nearby RAF outpost to find intel on where Kadiev was being held.

The soldier captured at the outpost, Abram Popov, suggested the broker was being held in a very lavish estate in the woods and that his home was being protected from all sides by a minefield. The agents killed the soldier and continued on.

### Finding the Candle

A pair of the agents split from the main group during the outpost assault and investigated a home to the north where RAF transport trucks were moving in and out of. Upon assaulting the compound, the agents discovered a strange candle which seemed to be eternally burning with a very small ember. A supply log nearby suggested that the candle would burn slightly more brightly depending on which direction you walked with it and could not be put out. One of the agents took the candle and secured it to his backpack.

### Storming the Estate

Kadiev's compound was a heavily fortified structure in the forest surrounded by minefields. The team were able to use mine detectors they found in their apprehended vehicles to clear a path to the building from the outside. Once in position, an agent fired off a portable jammer to prevent outbound communications and the group advanced into the estate.

After clearing the guards, the team found and cuffed Kadiev who was more than willing to talk to his former student and her accomplices. He told them the story of the HDMS Thunderbird, which was a ship that belonged to a Danish prince who may or may not have returned from the Caribbean with Elbekian gold to gift to his newly wedded wife. He mentioned that the Prince's ship had gone off course for some reason and ended up stuck in the frozen Arctic, where the RAF was now searching.

Kadiev told the team that if they wanted to find the shipwreck, they'd need to follow the ice sheets and track the individual bases the Astra personnel established with the help of the Russian Armed Forces. Before they left, however, Kadiev told the team that Astra was not their real enemy, and that they were actually looking for a man by the name of Kevin Lopez, aka "The Dogfighter". He suggested that Lopez was the puppeteer behind all of Astra's moves until now and worked for a shadowy organization called the Yaga Order. He also mentioned The Narrator after one of the agents asked about the name, but Kadiev concluded he didn't know much about that person.

### Ice Sheets

The team reached the southern docks which Kadiev's private boat was parked. They used it to follow the ice sheets until they discovered a dock on the side of the ice. After taking out the guards at the dock outpost, the team commandeered their snowmobiles and used them to move between outposts in search of the wreck. As they explored, the candle they found earlier began burning brighter and brighter.

At the final site they visited, they noticed the shipwreck perching out from under the ice, with an entire military installation built around it. The team infiltrated the site by dressing as RAF hazmat troops and joined a rally where a commander was briefing the Astra personnel. The commander told the troops that what lied in the ship was the key to Mr. Lopez's plan to seemingly overthrow governments of the world. The agents embedded themselves in the crowd and followed along with the chants.

The Monochrome agents volunteered to be the first to examine the ship, where they discovered a golden Goblet as well as a faded map. As they checked the rest of the ship, one of the guards discovered an RAF body and sounded the alarms. The agents who were on overwatch began providing cover as the whole team made their way to the RAF helicopter on base. The agents were able to spin up the rotors and escape into the snow storm having took the only two things of value from the ship and setting Astra back.