Hey guys! Yeah, I know updates have been stalled but you can blame school and the job and my stupid Dad for that and thanksgiving. I mean my Dad took away my car keys because he found a scratch on the side of the car and said I couldn't have it back until I figured out where the scratch came from. If I knew about the scratch why in the hell would I park it to where you could see it from the front door? Ugh, I abhor him...Well now that I'm done venting I must say that I love all of the reviews and comments the story has been giving. Keep it up guys by reviewing and commenting on the chapter and telling us how we did. Well...The main plot is beginning so let's see how this goes shall we? Finally, thanks so much for giving us your time to read the chapter and here is the chapter! P. S. The 2025 president is Condoleezza Rice haha. If you don't know who that is, look her up so you can just imagine it. XD


Ch. 12

(President's POV)

"Madame president, we have been given a report from the pentagon."

The secret service member said as he handed me the file. I flipped it open and my brown eyes scanned it before I closed it.

"Alright, thank you."

I said as he nodded. I stood up from my chair in the Oval Office and patted lightly on my clothes. I stacked some paper on my desk that I was working on and took a deep breath. Even though I had only been in office for almost a year, these trips to the pentagon were becoming a casual thing and I was getting used to it. It made me think of the Bush days when I was secretary of state. Those were the days...I walked through the many halls of the White House, my security guards close behind me, as I made my way outside to the presidential limo. The man in uniform saluted me and I saluted him back as I got in the limo. Ten secret service cars covered the limo in the front as well as in the back. It didn't take long before the cars started moving to their destination. The five-minute travel time didn't even come close compared to my other trips around the world.

"We have arrived Madame president. We will escort you to the situation room now."

The guard said to me as he did just that. I sat at the end of a long rectangular-shaped table in front of four or five men. Each men had a variety of metals on their chests for all of the accomplishments they have achieved in their line of duty. They were all relatively young for their occupation, but why would I complain about that? Once the doors were closed and sealed, the men looked at me and nodded.

"Madame president Rice, good evening."

They said. I nodded and they continued with their briefing.

"Since President Rubio's first term, we have really been looking into terrorist activity and recruitment. As you know, the program he wrote into law allowed us to put a stop to more ISIS operatives, and by 2020 we could safely say that The United States was ISIS-free. However, we have not called you here for middle-eastern negotiations. This is more on...international terms..."

He said after some thought about what he was going to say. I narrowed my eyes at him and leaned forward a bit more. This didn't sound good. We have practically destroyed ISIS, stopped Putin from creating his vision of a bigger Russia, joined South Korea and North Korea again after assassinating their leader, stopped the dictating government of Syria, and maintained our position in the south China sea. The only problems I could think of that was happening in the world right now was China. However, they are only a small threat to us now. Plus, they're kind of mad about the whole 'owing the United States for once' thing. Now we're making everything for them! But back on what the men in front of me were talking about, I had no indication.

"In 2022, a Japanese company, founded by Akihiko Kayaba, made a machine called 'The Nervegear'; a virtual reality helmet used for next-generation gaming."

"The SAO incident."

I said, remembering what had happened in Japan a couple of years ago. The man nodded and touched a pad in front of him. A giant holographic screen appeared before us showing the world map. I had to tilt my head up a bit just to see the whole thing.

"The American company, Zaskar, has created an alternative to the Nervegear called the Amusphere; a much safer and legit helmet for virtual reality video games. This helmet quickly became popular in America and Japan in record numbers. Reason for this? After the SAO incident, a system called 'the seed' was created by an anonymous player, giving anyone the option of creating their own virtual reality game. red dots will show locations where games are being developed around the world."

He told me as he clicked a button on the pad. Red dots popped up in the US and Japan but no where else.

"Just those two countries?"

"Yes ma'am. This is because nobody has really made the effort of expanding the games to other countries. Which might create anger...So on another note, during the SAO incident the FBI reported to us evidence of murders in the game. This evidence was given by other victims of the game. Now, these murders were caused by a group known as Laughing Coffin. Madame president, look at the map as I click the button showing the groups activity around the world."

He clicked the button and red dots began popping up in multiple places. Almost every single country in North America, Asia, and Europe. The pure magnitude of this group's influence was clear to me as soon as those lights of red hit my eyes.

"As you can see, Laughing Coffin is all over the world. We have enough resources to monitor those in the US, but we cannot monitor every single country other than our own. And other country governments do not have the updated resources necessary to monitor a large number of people. We are working with these countries on getting this technology, but until then we have set a plan. Laughing coffin's main primary goal is to hack 'the seed' and control the virtual world. Once they do that, they could possibly have an opening into our internet communications. Madame president, this is a threat on two fronts. One being the virtual one and the other the real world one; seeing as how the group is extremely dangerous. They will kill anyone who gets in their way but they do it in a way where it is...difficult to comprehend the cause of the victim's death."

I nodded as he continued.

"Now since there are many excited teens making their own game, they will probably be Laughing Coffin's main target. This is because they need enough networks to hack into the seed itself..."

"Couldn't the group make their own games and do it from there?"

I asked him in interruption. He nodded.

"Precisely, which is why we have a plan to check EVERY single group; Operation Solstice. Operation Solstice lays out a plan to monitor every single group in America and Japan, since those are the countries where games are being developed by fans. We suggest sending a trained unassigned marine, pretending to be a Zaskar employee, to every single group. They will serve to either protect or put a stop to a potential threat. We will notify the Zaskar CEO so he will understand the situation."

I nodded and stood up.

"I approve of this operation. If we're going to play it safe, we might as well do it early."

"Yes ma'am, one last thing. We need somewhere to start this operation and we predict we should do it in Tokyo. A group, led by Zaskar employee Thorn Royer, is developing a massive game that will be available to everyone around the world. They've been working very hard and Laughing Coffin is taking notice...Madame president, a few weeks ago there were reports that said Sugou Nobuyuki had escaped from the mental institution he had been sent to only a year earlier. We do not know of his whereabouts but we suspect he is living in the Tokyo tri-state area, right next to Thorn Royer's group. He was known to cause another potential SAO incident in another game but he failed before he could execute his plan. Mr. Nobuyuki is beyond unstable and has a history of supporting Laughing Coffin just recently. So the United States plans to send the first marine there."

The man said as he finally clicked the pad and the map disappeared. I sighed and nodded.

"Those kids need somebody there to protect them. How could they possibly know that there's a madman on the loose near them..."

"We agree. We are looking into possible marines and we will report to you as soon as we come to a decision. Thank you for your time Madame president."

He said as all of the men saluted me. I responded the same and left for the White House again. This whole...Laughing Coffin group has got me thinking. In fact, I couldn't stop thinking about it the whole way back to the Oval Office. After all, there's no telling when another terrorist attack on our soil could occur...


(Camp Pendleton in California)

(Burke's POV)

I ran the mile in four minutes and thirty seconds as I did every day. I could go faster but there was really no need. I, most of the time, was first to finish and I always met the other marines at the finish line with a bottle of water. Each one of them took it gladly and we all made our way to the gym. We had a set routine. We would wake up very early, take a run on the track, train in the gym for an hour or two, eat, and then finish off the day with weapon training. It was always hot though; unlike Minnesota, where I used to live, California is hot almost every single day of the year. It...Ugh, don't even get me started...

"Turn on the Tv Jim, I think O'reilly's on."

One of my friends said. Jim nodded and turned on the big flat screen that hung in the middle of the room for everyone to see. As soon as the television was turned on, the headline popped up:

Virtual reality gaming: safe or dangerous?

I rolled my eyes and turned around so I couldn't see the Tv at all. Even the thought of...what the headline said made me sick at the stomach and dizzy at the mind. Some of the guys liked to tease me about it whenever it was on the news but I just ignored them. It wasn't appropriate to talk about it...I lifted the dumbbell I was holding in my right hand up and down twenty times before I switched. It got easier and easier every day and the work was showing off in my biceps. I usually tried to get past my gym routine quickly so I could get to weapons practice. That was my favorite time of day because I could use any gun. And I mean ANY. I've even gotten some medals for my sniping skills. I don't know, the thrill of shooting keeps me going if that makes sense...

"Captain Chris Burke?"

A woman in uniform suddenly stepped in with a tablet in her hands. I immediately stood up and saluted her.

"Ma'am!"

"Come with me Captain."

She said calmly as I nodded. The both of us made our way over from the gym to the main building. Like always, we had to scan our I.D. cards to even get in. You don't even know how many times I thought I lost mine since it's so small. Inside, fellow marines were busy doing their business, walking to and fro wherever they were needed. The woman who led me here had me follow her into a double-doored room. The room was medium-sized and had a circle-shaped table in the middle of it. Each seat was filled with a commander except one. I guess that one was for me. The female soldier motioned me to sit down, and before I knew it I was sitting down with these men with the door locked shut. One of the commanders stood up and put his hands behind his back.

"Captain Burke, yes?"

"Yes sir!"

I yelled out in response. He nodded and turned to a screen behind him.

"Good...We have a mission for you...We need you out in the field again..."


And that is the end of the chapter! Yeah, this one is a bit shorter than the ones you know already but it's kind of like a teaser for the next chapter haha. And that is our new OC! Marine Captain Chris Burke. He will be a very important character in the story. CAPTAIN BURKE WAS CREATED BY MWseraph! MWseraph is a genius and I'm so glad he came to me with his idea because he actually propped up the main plot for me so you gotta give him a lot of credit guys! So it would be awesome if you reviewed and commented and told us how you feel about his character! I'm sure he would love to hear the advice or praise! But then again, he's just been introduced so he's kind of mysterious at the moment. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and we will see you next time!