(Prologue-Beg the Question)

United Nations Security Council Chambers
UN Headquarters, New York
18 months ago…

"…and the findings of this hearing conclude that despite the ultimate failure of his mission, the Lieutenant's action's were exemplary, rescuing five hostages before securing his own escape." the representative from Great Britain announced, "It is the opinion of this council that Lieutenant Thomas James Walker be promoted to Captain of the United Nations Armed Security Forces and that he receive an official commendation for his valor in combat."

"Thank you, Mr. Ambassador." replied the American representative, "This hearing is adjourned." And just like that, with a slam of a gavel, it hit him.

Captain? Thought Tom. They made me a captain? Jesus, I'm not even 15 yet! Why in God's name would they make me a captain! Especially after the Rael fiasco…

A tap on the shoulder brought Tom back to reality. Looking up, he saw the Major looking down at him.

"Something the matter, kiddo?" asked the Major, "You look a little confused."

"I just don't get it, sir." replied Tom.

"You mean why you got promoted despite failing the mission?"

"Exactly. The man I was supposed to protect died back there—"

"And you saved five more. You were a true hero. Combine that with your already stellar record, and it was a no-brainer."

"But Ambassador Townsend—"

"Look, kid, someday you'll realize that the success or failure of a mission can be mitigated by doing the right or wrong thing. If you had tried to save Ambassador Townsend, you would've gotten captured again, or killed. And those five hostages would still be in the hands of those rebels. Instead, you all are alive and free, and they owe their lives to you."

Tom looked at the ground. "I still failed."

The Major patted Tom on the shoulder. "Like I said, Tom, it may take a while, but someday you'll see that what I'm saying is true..."

(Chapter One-Operation: Lone Eagle)

Somewhere over Northern France
1955 hours
18 months later…

Captain Walker closed his eyes, put his head against the C-130's vibrating bulkhead, and wondered just what the hell he was doing here.

"Just a routine HALO jump." The Major had said. "Nothing you haven't done before." And that was true. Over his five years in active service to the United Nations, Tom had made three successful High-Altitude-Low-Opening jumps without serious injury. The only difference was that then he was dropping onto wide open plains either in training or over hostile territory, not aiming for a small forest clearing in an allied country.

They have to spend all of that money somehow, I suppose thought Tom. It also was an inordinate risk, a chance to fail the mission long before it got started. He could see the need for security for this operation, but this was just ridiculous. Hell, he thought, what's more ridiculous is that I will have made four jumps by the time I'm 16…

"Five minutes!" the crew chief shouted over the din of the engines, snapping Tom out of his reverie.

Okay, let's get it on. Tom stood up, snapped his flight helmet on, and did a final check of all of his gear while the chief opened the plane's rear hatch. The cabin suddenly got cold as the high altitude wind rushed to fill the pressure imbalance between the plane and the air outside.

"One minute!" the chief shouted. A large light to the left of Tom's head glowed red. He turned to face the rear of the plane, and his gaze fell on the sea of green forest below. He just hoped to God the GPS put him down in the clearing, and not snagged in one of the massive oak trees surrounding it.

The light went green. "Hey, buddy!" The chief shouted, "Don't miss!"

"Don't worry!" Tom yelled back, "I won't." And with a deep breath, Tom hurled himself out of the plane.

Forest Clearing
Boulogne-Billancourt, Northern France
2001 hours.

Murphy's Law, they say, states that everything that could possibly go wrong, will. For most people that can be an ordinate risk, but when falling tens of thousands of feet at a velocity of over 100 knots, there is absolutely zero tolerance for error. That is why gear was triple-checked, weather conditions verified several times, and the drop zone was checked visually by the pilot just prior to a jump, all to ensure Murphy's Law was broken.

So it was needless to say that a GPS calibration error sent Tom 8 meters short of his target, crashing through a copse of saplings before finally rolling to a rest at the clearing's edge.

"Perfect." Tom mumbled, pulling the flight mask and helmet off his head. "Just fucking great."

He checked his injuries and noticed that aside from a few minor cuts and bruises, he was ok. He looked back at the path of small destroyed trees, and thanked his lucky stars that he was smart enough to tuck himself up after releasing the main chute, which hung from the branches of a small tree a few meters away.

Collecting his chute, Tom mentally reviewed his immediate objectives. Okay, he thought, time to find the UN bunker and call it a night. After recalibrating the GPS once again, Tom set off towards the South, making his way stealthily through the night forest. About 50 meters from his LZ, Tom came across a wide path; probably wide enough to be a road should someone pave it, snaking its way westward. And, if the SAT photos were right, straight to the factory. The bunker's close, he mused.

UN Bunker ESL-117
Boulogne-Billancourt, Northern France
2016 hours

Tom slid down the ladder and shut the manhole cover behind him. Flicking on his combat flashlight, he made his way down a narrow corridor. After about three steps, the lights flashed on around him, his eyes hurting as they quickly adjusted to the sudden change in light. Another five meters brought him to a thick, biometrically accessed door. While he waited for the door's internal computer to verify that he was, in fact, Captain Thomas James Walker, Spartan number 014, he hoped the bunker would be everything the Major promised him it would.

Located just 10 meters from the path he had stumbled upon earlier, the Major had assured Tom that with all of the money from the back membership dues of several countries, as well as through the UN's own money gathering services, the new bunker would be state of the art. Built in secret, the bunker would contain communications gear, emergency supplies and enough confiscated weaponry to keep any UN mission happy.

Needless to say that despite the previous assurance, Tom was impressed when the security protocols finally cleared him through and opened the door. It was exactly how the Major had described it, and Tom whistled at the load of weaponry that the UN had confiscated from smugglers, arms dealers and warlords throughout the world only to be repurposed for UN usage. Pistols, mortars, grenades, assault rifles of varying makes (Tom smiled, noticing the plethora of AK rifles and ammo), shotguns, all of it. A lone RPG-7 launcher hung just below an American Stinger Missile system and above several disposable LAW rockets.

Tom just hoped he'd get to use some of that arsenal again while he was here. After all, he was trained to use all of it. He sighed as he undressed and crawled into the sleeping bag placed atop a large cot. He rested his head against the pillow and sighed again. He'd just completed the easy part. He was there. The mission truly began in earnest tomorrow. He closed his eyes, and reviewed the mission particulars before finally dozing off.

UN science programs have detected temporal anomalies emanating from this area in the Boulogne-Billancourt region of Northern France. A supposedly abandoned Renault factory is speculated to be the source.

After dispatching UN recon teams, Intelligence has determined that four students at the local Kadic International Academy, named Jeremy Belpois, Odd Della Robia, Yumi Ishiyama, and Ulirch Stern, are somehow involved with the anomalies. See attached files for personal information.

UN Special Forces' mission is twofold: to ascertain the intentions of above persons and aid them if intentions are friendly, and ascertain the source of temporal anomalies and bring it under UN control.

UN Special Forces recommends Capt. Thomas J. Walker, code name Spartan-014, due to his close age proximity to subjects as well as to his proficiency in espionage, investigation and persuasion.

UNESCO will establish said agent under an assumed identity of a student at the academy in question. Special arrangements have been made with school superintendent Jean-Pierre Delmas along with French investigative authorities in the area allowing Walker to more easily associate with subjects as well as to provide important intelligence to Walker concerning the mission.

This mission has been sanctioned by one or more permanent members of the UN Security Council based on the consensus that this anomaly represents the clear and distinct possibility of a breach of the peace as determined by Chapter VII of the UN charter. The use of deadly force is authorized at the agent's discretion for this mission.