Chapter I

Fairfield, New York, 1944

The sound of chalk scribbling on a chalkboard rang through the halls of Barnett College, a regular noise heard at the school. Just as regular a sound was the dogged voice of the college's archeology professor, Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. giving his lectures. "The Saga of the Greenlanders and The Saga of Erik the Red spoke of a new land called… 'Vinland'", Dr. Jones continued as he finished writing. "For centuries after its discovery, it was simply regarded as being somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn't until 1570 when an Icelandic scholar by the name of Sigurd Stefansson finally drew one of its first maps." Jones looked unto his class to see if they were paying attention. Much to his astonishment, they were. Less to his astonishment, however, were the female students in the front row gazing at him as if they were entranced by their handsome, rugged professor.

Now", Jones continued. "Scholars today have noted the possibility that this lost settlement may have very been in modern day Chesapeake Bay or St. Lawrence Bay. However, some subsequent maps placed Vinland as being within a landmass that stretched from Africa to Russia, which we all know to be false." The class chuckled. As the class had their laugh, a new face walked into the room. This was a soldier. A handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed, muscular soldier in an Army suit. The young women in the front row now turned their attention to the new soldier, more entranced with him than with their professor. "Now, in addition to the fact that there have been no finds of Norse artifacts or Norse occupation in Chesapeake Bay or St. Lawrence Bay, we can make the assumption that…" Jones turned to his class and noticed the new face that his students were ogling. "Theresa", Jones inquired. One of the brunette young women snapped back to reality in a daze. "Hmm", she dazedly piped up. "I trust you're taking notes on this for your dissertation right now, yes?" Theresa picked herself up and returned her attention to Dr. Jones. "Yes, um… sorry, Dr. Jones." Dr. Jones looked up quickly at the stranger, who nodded at him. Jones quickly nodded back, still not sure what to make of him and his presence. "Good. Now… since no artifacts of Norse origin have been found at either location, we can make the assumption that Sigurd's map was inaccurate. Any questions?" Dr. Jones had found that Theresa and several more students had returned to staring fondly and awe-stricken at the stranger.

Finally, the bell rang. The students returned to reality, packed their things, and got up to go to their next classes. "Alright, that's it for today, then", Jones announced. "And, um… and don't forget to read chapters four and five of Langworthy, and chapters eight and nine of Peart before next week's exam. And I will be in my office on Friday, but not Thursday!" Many of the students were leaving, many never taking their eyes off the stranger as they left. One even bumped into a desk because she was so focused on him. Dr. Jones rolled his eyes at the sight.

Once all the students had left, the stranger walked up to Dr. Jones. "You're not one of the boys on the football team asking for an assignment extension, are you", Jones quipped. The stranger quietly and politely chuckled. "No", he replied as he extended his hand to the professor. "Dr. Jones, I'm…" Dr. Jones shook his hand and cut him off. "Captain Steve Rogers. Yes, I've heard about you and your commandos on the radio. I've seen some of your films, too. I even had to take your one of your comics from a student because he was reading it during my lecture." Rogers tried to not let Jones know he was embarrassed of his acting career as Captain America before his alter ego became he known as a bona fide war hero. "Glad to know you already know who I am, Indiana." Jones was surprised that Rogers knew his own alias. "How do you know that name?" "I work for the government, Dr. Jones. You're not the only one with a not-so-secret double life. I was briefed on your involvement with the Geheimhaven Incident in 1936. I also know that the 1938 earthquake in Hatay wasn't any ordinary earthquake… was it?"

Jones nervously chuckled as he took off his glasses. "So, what, am I in trouble or something? The government knows about my involvement in all of this. They were the ones who had me go to Cairo in '36." Rogers could tell Jones was starting to get defensive. "Dr. Jones", Rogers assured. "You're not in trouble, not at all. I've actually been sent to bring you back into the fold, so to say." Jones picked his head up. "Back into the fold, huh", Jones repeated. Jones thought it over for a few moments. "Is it Nazis again?" "Yeah… something like that", Rogers answered. Jones nodded. "Alright", he replied. "What do you need from me." "We'll have a car send for you this evening", Rogers simply said as he began to leave the room. "You'd better pack your things, doctor."

Jones looked on in slight confusion. "Captain", he called out. Rogers poked his head out the door. "Yes, doctor?" "Who's 'we?'" Rogers smirked slightly. "The Strategic Scientific Reserve, doc. This isn't going to be a solo mission. I'm going with you." And with that, Rogers left the room for good. Jones looked off in the same slight confusion. "Strategic Scientific Reserve. They oughta shorten that down to something else."