[b]Counter Project Genesis
Phase 1: Salvation – INITIATION[/b]

[i]At the New York Gate…
Near EXODUS Gate 1, 10 minutes before Project Launch[/i]

Progress United, being the global super-company that it was, had HQs in all the major cities of the world. From Manila to London, there were huge blue skyscrapers gracefully reaching up to the heavens. New York was no exception in fact, with the exception of their Honolulu HQ, it was the tallest and largest of their properties. Or at least, those publicly recognized as properties of Progress United. It was 121 floors of greatness, displaying their corporation’s pride and power to the people of North America.

Yet beneath those hundred and twenty-one floors, beneath even the numerous parking spaces of the building was a sprawling complex which was by now near-deserted. The only men that remained of the ten thousand workers in this massive building were a hundred men patrolling the lower floors. All of them were dressed in black cloaks with wide-brimmed black hats and masks which filtered out all gas. 3 of them stood in front of a massive screen in the center of the sprawling concrete basement.

“So, recap: Our task here is to remain until 10 minutes post-Exodus. We will maintain the communications systems throughout the city from our building for as long as we’re here and we’ll broadcast everything we can capture with our drones to the rest of the world.”

“And if whatever they’re hiding get down here?” Another asked.

“We fight”

“Until those 10 minutes are up?” Their third companion asked.

“Until our job is done. Don’t forget, we need to seal this place up so the other locations can’t be reached.”

“And when we’re done?”

“If we finish, we proceed down the tubes to our San Francisco HQ where we rendezvous with the other security groups from Toronto and Houston, then we seal off the whole network there and leave for Honolulu. That, all in all will take us about 6 hours. 12, maybe considering possible delays in the tubes and the evac.”

The two men crossed one of their arms across their chest and bowed.

“Understood” and with that, they left.

Soon, it was a minute before midnight. He stood there, looking at the map and waited. A red blip appeared somewhere in Russia but he paid it no mind.

Then, every EXODUS site on the planet lit up. Red blips appeared at every gate.

“It’s begun.” Suddenly, alarms went off all around the building. One of his comrades ran up to him,

“Sir, something is attacking the surface. What do we do?”

“Seal this place shut. It’s not our duty right now to clean this mess up. It’s Legacy’s problem now.”

[i]Area SALVATION, Midnight, New Year’s Eve[/i]

“So it’s begun…” Arthur said as he sat back and watched the carnage unfold on the screen before him. He clenched his fist as he muttered, 

“Legacy…”

“Sir, there are aerial and waterborne enemies appearing from the gate.” A voice from an opened channel said.

Crap, it’s too early, he thought. He hesitated for a few seconds while he gathered his thoughts.

“I guess we have no choice. Activate the SALVATION System.”

“Yes sir!”

Then, a window appeared onscreen. 

It read, ‘Birthright Administrative Council - Channel Request force-accepted’ in bright red letters.

“Director, are you sure this has to be done?”

“There’s no other way” Arthur slowly shook his head.

“So, all defensive measures then?”

“Yes, recall all our troops and have them brought here.”

“As you say.”

Sirens began to blare around the island the complex sat on. Slowly, the ground beneath began to rise.

That night, the somewhat calm waters of the Pacific were heavily disturbed as columns of water were displaced by a single, massive stone wall reinforced with sheets of metal armor. A ring of walls 250 kilometers in radius and 250 meters above sea level with the island at its center suddenly rose from the deep. Then, another ring of walls, 125 meters high also rose from the depths with a radius of 500 kilometers.

Every 5 kilometers along the inner walls, a turret mounted with guns stood manned by two people along with 8 main citadels equally spaced from each other. At the center stood what used to be an island, then a 750-meter-high tower.

However, despite these formidable defenses, the fortress was severely understaffed. Though its food supplied could possibly last them decades, the five thousand men garrisoned there at that moment and even with the seven and a half thousand more expected to arrive from Honolulu, they were still lacking the manpower to be able to man all the defenses properly.