Checkmate Mission

SCF Operators overlooking the Soviet Epochium power plant.

**Checkmate** is the fourth and final mission in the Ghost Stories series. The Sub-Continuum Force (SCF) follow the now fractured timeline and return to the Dominion of Muri where they attempt to locate and extract Jozef Kharov to help The Orb find the Space Time Continuum Task Force (STCTF). Unfortunately, the Soviet's have almost completely locked down the island and are keeping the surviving scientist secured in an unknown location.

## Synopsis

### Background

After what transpired at the DSRG mountain bunker in Chernobyl during the events of Crankbait, the SCF realized that there are only one of the two original scientists left who can help them solve all the missing pieces and locate the STCTF. The last one—Jozef Kharov—is located somewhere in a now falling apart Muri. If the team has any chance of locating the STCTF and stopping the destruction brought forth to their world, Kharov would be the best chance.

But there is a catch. This new failing timeline is teething with anomalies, and the island is now almost completely under lockdown by the Soviets who are trying to stop the armageddon that is about to befall the world. With little time left, the team must scramble to extract Kharov to the Time Gate with the information he possesses or be completely erased with the fracturing world around them.

### Radio Tower

Upon arrival, the SCF notices that they are unable to contact a coastal US Affairs office that would normally have been located in the capital for information on the situation in Muri. They suspect the large amount of energy present in the timeline is causing adverse effects on radio signals, so the team decides to split into two squads to tackle the problem. The first team travels to a nearby high-power radio tower in attempts to contact the US Affairs office through the interference.

Upon approaching the tower and securing the site, they send a signal only to be met with an emergency programmed response. The response notifies the team that the coastal office no longer exists due to a powerful category 5 hurricane that blew through the island earlier in the week. The unnatural weather patterns occurring was a cause for concern as Muri does not normally experience extreme weather like this. The radio tower team contacts the other team headed towards the capital city and notifies them of the message. Then they proceed to their next objective.

### Capital City Team

The second team moves towards the capital city of Muri in attempts to secure physical contact with the US Affairs office. Once clear of the jungle and underbrush, they discover something shocking. The entire capital city is flooded and completely submerged in water. As the team advances, they notice some Soviet patrols also looking through the wreckage. After engaging and clearing the patrols, the team notices that the US Affairs office is completely submerged under water. Taking note of this discovery, the team determines it to be highly unlikely anyone is still in the office, and instead they fall back to regroup with the other team.

### Soviet Power Station

The radio station team sets up a recon overwatch position around a Soviet power station that is radiating an extremely strong Epochium signal, implying a possible Epochium-based power station exists. The power output by this station is far greater than that of a standard nuclear power plant, so the team decides to locate the high-power energy cables that are leaving the base in order to find out where the Soviets are sending the energy. The team spots a structure of large pipes and cables leaving a central processing chamber and digging into the ground. If they followed this pipe, they would most likely find the main Soviet base on the island, and possibly find Kharov along with it.

Once the two teams rendezvous, they engage the power plant and take out the guards. Despite the station being half flooded by water, columns of smoke still emerged from the smokestacks, suggesting it was still in service. Once realizing there was no way into the factory structure, the team proceeded to follow the underground pipe through the forest and up a hill—hopeful that the Soviet base was at the end.

The cable was likely built underground to insulate the Epochium from the environment, and large above-ground air ducts were present along the length of the pipe for ventilation. These vents were followed and eventually led to a massive Soviet radar station.

### Soviet Radar Station

In a coordinated attack, the SCF assaults the large Soviet compound. Fighting through and clearing the buildings, the team locates a large hangar where all the pipes appear to be leading to. Inside the hangar was what appeared to be an old Time Gate that the Soviets were pumping with Epochium energy, likely to try and activate it manually. After capturing three Soviet scientists and interrogating them, they reveal that Kharov is being kept in a secured home just west of the radar base. The team kill the prisoners and move on to find Kharov.

### Kharov's Research Post

When the team arrive at Kharov's supposed secure research post, they are engaged by armed guards holding the compound. The team neutralizes the guards and secure the perimeter of the compound, then move in to see an unphased Kharov. He doesn't seem surprised that the SCF are there, and he begins to talk to them, surrounded by all his research.

A now on-the-brink-of-paranoia Kharov has understood everything. He knows mathematically about the two sentient singularities that exist in the Multiverse, he knows that there is an interdimensional war going on to defeat the eviler of the two, and he expected the arrival of the SCF to find him. He tells them them everything he knows about the anomalies and the impending doomsday. He also tells them about the interdimensional frequencies he recorded by receiving radio signals through space time rifts (the anomaly portals), and how the signals come from the STCTF. This is because when Minutemen short-warp, they jump from one place into the Cogworks and back to another place, almost using the other world as a vessel of transport. Therefore, signals transmitted in that world can be picked up through these portals, almost like a window into another universe.

The radio signals he received translate roughly into one singular phrase: *The answer you seek lies in the eyes dot*. Kharov's background in cryptography tells him that the message is intended for two purposes: to cover the SOS meaning in case someone (the world builder) is listening, and that it can only be fully understood by whoever was meant to hear it.

He also tells them that by his theories, Dr. Petrov is not dead and is in fact already here on Muri. Outside, a bolt of lightning strikes down the road and from a red smouldering crater emerges a Minuteman, but not just an average one. His deer skull is blood red, and his skin is almost entirely burned and scarred. The voice was the same as Dr. Petrov's. He was now a Fireborne General able to command Minutemen to his will.

### Retreat

With Kharov in tow, the team retreats towards the Time Gate, but is stopped by Fireborne Petrov and his Minutemen army. The Time Gate guardian warns the SCF that the timeline is about to collapse and that they won't have enough time to escape back to the portal. The team instead decides to head to the Time Gate at the Soviet Radar Station in attempts to warp back using that. In the retreat, the team is chased by both Minutemen and Soviet troops. They get inside the hangar, but Petrov managed to sneak in through the rafters on the ceiling. In a lightning-quick move, he snatched Kharov and held him up in the air outside. As soon as the SCF operators emerged outside, Petrov dropped Kharov to his death. A hail of fire using the Atlas rounds brought Petrov down as his body exploded in a bloody field of electricity.

The team ask the Time Gate Guardian to revive Kharov, as he is the most important part of the mission. The Guardian complies, but by doing so has activated the unraveling of the timeline and used most of its energy. As the stars begin to plummet towards the ground in raging fireballs of destruction, the Guardian tells the team that it only has enough energy to warp four people out. Kharov's revived body is carried into the portal, and the team send three of their members into the gate. With a flash of light, the four men are warped away just as a final fireball strikes the island—destroying everything.

## Trivia

* Petrov's Fireborne powers were granted to him by The World Builder.
* When Minutemen short-warp, they are really just phasing between the mortal realm and the Cogworks, using it as a vessel of transport. This is why regular humans who are sent through the rift into the Epochium enriched environment of the Cogworks emerge with severe side effects of Temporal Paralysis.
* This mission takes place two days before the events of the first episode, where the team knows that Kharov is still alive. However, this is now an altered timeline compared to where they had started.