[color=39b54a]Pacific Ocean[/color]
[color=39b54a]~1500 miles from Midway Island[/color]

Director Phạm Khánh Văn looked out over the Pacific, calm and contemplative. It was a beautiful clear day, with the sun shining overhead and nothing to sully the view from the bridge of the American cruiser. Or it would have been beautiful, were it not for the ugly silhouette of that American aircraft carrier, [i]Andrew Jackson[/i], less than a mile away in the tight formation. The old flattop stuck out of the horizon like a slab of concrete against a clear blue sky and deep blue ocean, ominous and foreboding. Khánh wondered to himself if his father would have seen one of these things when he flew against the Americans in the liberation war. Would it have seemed so unstoppable, so invincible to him as it did here? It was impossible to say.

"Thing's a beauty, ain't she?" the American Captain, the one whose name Khánh did not bother to remember, said glibly. "Pride and joy of the American navy."

"Certainly striking..." Khánh said coolly, his English rough but serviceable. "Though I am more interested in its cargo."

"Hey, don't get all worked up, your Stone is in there," the Captain said. "Dunno why that giant rock needs so much protection but hey, that's above my pay grade."

"That it is." Khánh hoped that his silence would send the message that he really wanted nothing to do with this American, but alas.

"Heard some spooky stuff about it though, apparently we've been trying to get it to do stuff since the seventies. Wonder if-"

The Captain was cut short as an alarm blared overhead, only to be snuffed out immediately. Both men lost their footing as the ship suddenly lurched, coming to a full stop.

"The hell?!?" the Captain shouted. "Lieutenant, why the fuck did we just stop?"

"We...didn't sir!" the Lieutenant said as the bridge crew desperately tried to restore functionality to their consoles. "Something just hit us and fried all our electronics, we're trying to get emergency power on now."

"[i]Midway[/i] and [i]Donaldson[/i] are reporting in sir, [i]McConnel[/i] no response, we have-"

The bridge went silent as a sudden, distant sound pierced the air. At first Khánh thought it was a scream, but it sounded...inhuman. Almost metallic.

"Captain, we have contact from [i]Andrew Jackson[/i], I'm putting them on now."

"[i]Andrew Jackson[/i]!" the Captain said importantly. "This is Captain-"

The screaming started before he could finish. Panicked screaming, drowning out whatever voices could be heard.

"...Captain, what's wrong with the [i]Jackson[/i]'s Deck?"

Khánh looked out to the carrier and suddenly knew exactly what that sound was. Tossing and turning despite its great sized, the whole bridge watched with horror as the Carrier began to bend, its deck twisting and filling the air with the sound of steel tearing itself apart.

"The Heart!" a voice suddenly called over the comm line. "The Heart! It's ripping us to pieces!" The line abruptly died mid-sentence, leaving Minister Khánh and the Captain stone-faced and terrifyingly pale, respectively. The other ships in the fleet, those who could still move, turned away and ran for their lives as something suddenly tore through the side of the mighty vessel. There was a flash of green light as a giant, massive blade pierced the side of the carrier and began to carve through it.

"God help those poor bastards," the Captain said weakly, falling limply into his chair.

Khánh shook his head. "God...has nothing to do with this, Captain..."

[hr]

[color=39b54a]Hanoi, Vietnam[/color]
[color=39b54a]TC2 Headquarters, Base of Operations for VKBT[/color]

Phan Kim Xuyến stepped into the TC2 Ministry, her notes for the meeting with the Iranian delegation still tucked under her arm. The call had been urgent, Black Level priority. Kim didn't even know the VKBT HAD a Black Level warning, it was so serious and rarely used, but it did the trick. She was here, frazzle haired and in real desperate need for a smoke break, but she was here, and not a moment too soon either. The ministry was already in chaos, with guards and politicians running amok trying to find out what was going on, or perhaps contain the situation before things got even worse. Kim did not envy the civil forces for the task ahead of them; she took the mass transit in and the fear and panic were settling in to stay if her ride in was any indication.

"Phan Kim Xuyến, over here!"

Heading towards the two official looking guards, Kim acknowledged them both with a nod and gestured them on, where they led her into an unmarked elevator. They descended into the earth, far lower then the basement of the ministry building, emerging into a dark corridor ending in an ominous set of double doors. "They're waiting for you in there, ma'am," the guards explained before leaving in the very same elevator. Pausing to take a deep breath, Kim strode in through the double doors, where she found a few dozen stone-faced military men waiting for her to arrive.

"Phan Kim Xuyến, please take a seat," the man at the head of the table, the TC2 Minister himself, said politely.

"Where's Director Khánh, sir?"

"Take a sit, Miss Phan."

Knowing better than to argue, she took her seat next to an army general with too many medals on his lapel as the Minister cleared his throat to get their attention, a rather unnecessary gesture. They all knew why they were there.

"Gentlemen, I'm afraid this is as serious as you've heard," the Minister said bluntly. "Approximately an hour ago, a shock-wave of unknown origin spread over the entire Earth. Since then, we've had scattered reports of mysterious, giant creatures being sighted around the globe, possibly agitated or awakened by this shock-wave."

Kim felt like a heavy weight was swung into her face upon hearing this. Giant monsters? No, it couldn't be. They were fantasies, science fiction nonsense designed to sell movies and toys. Even as someone assigned to study the extra-normal, this couldn't possibly be real...could it?

"Impossible..." the general next to her declared, echoing her thoughts.

"Very possible, General. We've coordinated with the PRC and their satellite network has confirmed many of the sightings, including one that you may be familiar with, Miss Phan. Are you familiar with the artifact Director Khánh was escorting?"

"The one codenamed Zeruel, of course," Kim confirmed readily.

"It seems it was more then just an unusual stone," the Minister explained, pulling out two photos from under the desk they were all seated at. "We have this overhead sattelite image from before the shockwave hit, depicting the escort fleet. This includes several cruisers and the American carrier [i]Andrew Jackson[/i]. This is from after the shockwave hit." Upon showing the second photo, Kim and the other leaders collectively gasped, Kim moreso because she knew what this meant for the Director.

"It's [i]gone?[/i] But...how?"

"Our agents reported several panicked emergency broadcasts before the fleet went silent," the Minister explained. "And later scans confirmed the area to be awash in the same energy signature seen near the other monster sightings in the area."

"So that rock was one of these monsters..."

"Precisely. And it could very well be headed towards out shores as we speak," the Minister concluded. "Director, do you have a plan of action here?" There was an awkward pause before Kim realized all the men were looking at her expectantly.

"Me, sir?"

"Acting Director of the VKBT, yes," the Minister repeated himself more clearly. "This is within your area of expertise. WHat's your recommendation?"

Kim took a moment to herself to adjust to the gravity of what was going on. In the span of a couple hours, monsters had invaded the Earth and the intelligence operator found herself in charge of the VKBT, an equivalent position to some of the top generals and admirals in Vietnam. But there would be time to address the overwhelming feelings about this situation later. Right now, she had work to do.

"Simple, Minister," Phan Kim Xuyến said with overwhelming confidence. "We stop these things in their tracks."