PART 2
Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Vance kicked through the reinforced bulkhead door of Compartment 4-B, his rifle raised as red emergency lighting bathed the steel hallway. Beside him, Captain Sarah Miller zeroed in on a heavy shipping container stamped with classified Department of Defense insignias—markings that had no business being aboard an Australian amphibious assault ship.
“Sir, the manifest says this unit holds standard joint-exercise communications gear,” Corporal Jackson muttered, running a diagnostic scanner over the electronic lock. “But the power draw is off the charts. It’s pulling direct feed from the ship’s primary reactor line.”
Miller stepped closer, wiping grease from the digital interface. The access logs showed three unauthorized entries made at 0200 hours, logged under the credentials of a senior Pentagon liaison who had reportedly died six months ago in Germany.
Before Jackson could override the security panel, a metallic clunk echoed through the hull. The compartment doors behind them slammed shut, locking electronically from the outside. Panic flared in the tight space.
“We’re trapped,” Vance growled, pounding a fist against the reinforced steel. “Someone on the bridge knew we were coming down here.”
Over the ship’s internal comms, a distorted voice crackled through the static: “Captain Miller, step away from the container. You are tampering with evidence that does not exist.”
Miller ignored the warning, tearing open the maintenance access hatch on the side of the container. Inside lay a bank of hardened servers, actively transferring terabytes of encrypted tactical telemetry to an unknown server located in northern Virginia. But buried under the wire harnesses was something far worse—a series of forged clearance documents bearing Captain Miller’s own digital signature, dated three days in the future.
Did someone set up the Marines to take the fall for a rogue intelligence operation, or is an insider manipulating both navies from high above? What do you think was really on those servers? Sound off in the comments!
