Operation Black Hole Scene 1

Year: 2023

Location: Fort Campbell, USA

Five men in uniform walked down the hallway into a room with a projector operating on the screen. Colonel Damien Ross strode in after a while. He was immediately greeted by the men with respect. “Alright, before we start, I would like you all to introduce yourself to your peers. Kid, you start,” he pointed at the young man sitting in the far left.

“Technical Sergeant Jacob Williams, US Air Force, Sir,” he said, standing up. He was a 5’8’’ foot tall, 24-year-old black man with a fairly muscular body.

“Airman First-Class Miles Kindermann, US Air Force, Sir,” the person next to Jacob followed the cue. He was a 5’7’’ foot tall, 23-year-old white man, with a lean body. He seemed a bit anxious yet honored to be chosen for the mission.

“Chief Master Sergeant Mark Henderson, US Air Force, Sir,” the 27-year-old, 5’10’’ foot tall white man introduced himself with utmost confidence. He had a very athletic and masculine body.

“Master Sergeant Weston Brooks, US Marine Corps, Sir,” the 28-year-old, 5’9’’ foot tall white man introduced himself. His body language and tone of his voice screamed the discipline and confidence of a true leader.

“Gunnery Sergeant Gael Castillo, US Marine Corps, Sir,” said the 27-year-old, 5’11’’ foot tall man in his deep voice. He had the physique of a bodybuilder, his uniform ready to tear itself apart anytime. He had an intimidating presence in the room.

“Good, now let us explore the premise of this joint operation,” Colonel Ross pressed a button that switched off the lights and played the presentation in front of them.

“Five days ago, a powerful earthquake ravaged the entire Indian subcontinent, killing over a billion people in India, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. The devastation is immense, and the toll seems to be rising every minute. This single event has dragged developing countries like India back to the 1900s,” Colonel Damien Ross stated in the meeting, “But this is just the beginning.” He moved on to the next slide.

“Mapang Yangcuo, or Lake Manasarovar, is a lake in the Burang County, China. Looks beautiful, isn’t it?” The five soldiers sitting in the room looked at the picture, appreciating the beauty with a nod. “This picture was taken fifteen days ago. This is what it looks now,” Colonel changed the slide again. “Whoa,” Miles gasped. “The lake seems to be swirling down into a big hole, a crater supposedly formed due to the earthquake. The diameter of this anomaly is about 2.5 miles. The anomalous behavior is, the lake doesn’t show any signs of drying up soon. The water is being perpetually generated from the edge of the lake. The depth of the hole, according to light sensors is, well, infinity.”

“Am I hearing what I think I am hearing?” Jacob asked, bemused. “Yes, you heard that right,” Colonel assured. The soldiers looked at Colonel in disbelief. “So, we have been assigned to…?” Mark asked the colonel. “To investigate the anomaly and report,” Colonel answered.

“But sir, why are we not using unmanned drones?” Mark asked. “We did. Chinese troops ambushed the drone as soon as it reached its destination. We somehow managed to dodge and enter into the hole. The cameras were damaged in the gunfire, so we lost all visuals. But we were able to gather a lot of data. Radiation levels, air pressure, temperature, everything. All conducive for humans to go down there. China is not so keen on sharing these details. The lake is guarded by a thousand Chinese soldiers while their researchers try to understand the situation.”

“Is that what we have been assigned to do? Understand the situation?” Weston enquired. “Alright, listen to me carefully. This is where things get interesting,” Colonel said, darting a look at Weston, “This location is sacred to the Hindus. They believe it to be the abode of God of annihilation-Shiva. Now, this is confidential information. But the Indian government knows this, and they believe it’s connected to their God.”

“Colonel Damien, Sir,” Mark interrupted, “I apologize, but are you telling me that we are going to fight some God? Just the five of us?”

“This is not a combat mission. Not according to the intelligence gathered so far. I am not asking you to believe the tales they say, that is not our priority. Our priority is to infiltrate into the Chinese territory and learn about this alien formation. India is willing to help us get in, given that we accompany a few of them with us,” Colonel said, “These are uncharted waters, so we are going to take all the help we need.”

“So, who is going to join us?” Weston asked.

“You’ll meet them at the base of Ladakh, where they will join you in the mission. You have their details as well details of the operation on your phone,” everybody’s phone pinged at the same time. “Operation Black Hole,” Gael read the title of the file with a smirk on his face.

“I still don’t understand,” Mark said, “Why do you think it is safe to send us into a supernatural hole of God of destruction?”

“God of annihilation, sir,” Miles corrected him but kept his mouth shut after watching the irritated look on Mark’s face. “Because we retrieved the audio recorded by the drone. You’ll believe it too once you hear it,” he said as he changed the slide and played the audio attachment. Everybody turned their ears eagerly to catch the tiniest of details through the background static. “Wait, is that, birds chirping?!” Jacob asked with a shocked look. “That sound, what’s that humming in the background?” Mark asked, curious. “You tell me,” Gael responded. They were listening carefully until everybody threw their head back in terror, as a roar echoed in the room. “Holy shit! Was that a fucking lion?!”

Note from Author: I know it may sound unreal because I am not an American, definitely not a soldier. Therefore, I may change some of the slangs, the tone of the characters as I progress in writing the story and develop it much better.