Souris founded Bright Gate with the blessing of the Priory. I'm sure you can imagine how easy it is using compartmentalization and security classifications to keep something secret inside our own government's bureaucracy.
"We think Bright Gate didn't turn out as well as she- or more accurately, the Priory-had hoped. We're not exactly sure what happened, but after a year at Bright Gate, she left and founded another secret base in Alaska called HAARP. I'm going to Alaska shortly to find out what the hell is going on there. You've been ordered to report back to Bright Gate, haven't you?" Eichen asked.
"Yes, sir." Dalton was still trying to assimilate everything he'd just been told.
Eichen reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it across the coffee table to Dalton. "Read it. You can turn on the light."
Dalton switched on the small lamp next to the couch and unfolded the paper. The letterhead at the top read White House with the presidential crest below it. The note was handwritten:
TO: Sergeant Major James Dalton
FROM: The President of the United States
You are reassigned effective receipt of this letter to work directly for Lieutenant General Eichen, who works directly for my office. You are to share information of this reassignment with no one.
Dalton noted the signature and the imprinted seal at the bottom of the page.
"Turn off the light," Eichen ordered. He reached out. "I need that back"
Dalton handed him the note, and in exchange, Eichen gave him what appeared to be a compact cell phone.
"That's a SATPhone with a direct link to me," Eichen explained. "You flip it open and punch in number two and my phone will ring. I always have mine with me and you will always have that with you. I want to know what's going on at Bright Gate."
Dalton took the phone and slid it into a pocket. "Anybody could write that General," he said, indicating the pocket Eichen had the note in.
"True," Eichen acknowledged.
Dalton was tired. He leaned back on the couch. "And, sir, the last orders I followed like that were obviously illegal. What's different now?"
Eichen's teeth shone briefly in the dark as he smiled. "It's good you're starting to get paranoid."
"Sir, I’ve been paranoid my entire career. That's why I'm still around."
"You weren't paranoid enough when you were assigned to Bright Gate," Eichen noted.
"I was paranoid, but I received a legitimate order from my chain of command to report there." Dalton was stung by the implied criticism
"What can I do to prove to you this order is legitimate?" Eichen asked.
"Tell me what's going on, General. I'm tired of people withholding information from me, thinking I'm too stupid to understand. Why was Bright Gate developed? What is the goal of this Priory group you mentioned? What's the goal of Nexus?"
"’What's going on'?" Eichen repeated. He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "That's what we're trying to find out. All I can tell you is that the Priory has been manipulating our government, and others, for a long time. How long, we don't know, but-" Eichen paused, searching for the right words. "Let me put it this way. As near as we can tell, as long as there has been recorded history, the Priory has been in the shadows. We've discovered little snippets of information here and there that indicate that.
"How powerful they are, we don't know, but we do have evidence they are very powerful but also very small. They use others to work for them. Bright Gate and Psychic Warrior are just one area they’ve manipulated. There are many others; how many I'm almost afraid to find out.
"We think SD-8 in Russia was the same thing: a research facility that was founded by the Priory, and that those in Moscow never really had a clear picture of what was going on there either."
Dalton considered that. "If the Priory has such power to start with, why did it need SD-8 and Bright Gate?"
"That's a very good question," Eichen said, "which we don't
"We think Bright Gate didn't turn out as well as she- or more accurately, the Priory-had hoped. We're not exactly sure what happened, but after a year at Bright Gate, she left and founded another secret base in Alaska called HAARP. I'm going to Alaska shortly to find out what the hell is going on there. You've been ordered to report back to Bright Gate, haven't you?" Eichen asked.
"Yes, sir." Dalton was still trying to assimilate everything he'd just been told.
Eichen reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it across the coffee table to Dalton. "Read it. You can turn on the light."
Dalton switched on the small lamp next to the couch and unfolded the paper. The letterhead at the top read White House with the presidential crest below it. The note was handwritten:
TO: Sergeant Major James Dalton
FROM: The President of the United States
You are reassigned effective receipt of this letter to work directly for Lieutenant General Eichen, who works directly for my office. You are to share information of this reassignment with no one.
Dalton noted the signature and the imprinted seal at the bottom of the page.
"Turn off the light," Eichen ordered. He reached out. "I need that back"
Dalton handed him the note, and in exchange, Eichen gave him what appeared to be a compact cell phone.
"That's a SATPhone with a direct link to me," Eichen explained. "You flip it open and punch in number two and my phone will ring. I always have mine with me and you will always have that with you. I want to know what's going on at Bright Gate."
Dalton took the phone and slid it into a pocket. "Anybody could write that General," he said, indicating the pocket Eichen had the note in.
"True," Eichen acknowledged.
Dalton was tired. He leaned back on the couch. "And, sir, the last orders I followed like that were obviously illegal. What's different now?"
Eichen's teeth shone briefly in the dark as he smiled. "It's good you're starting to get paranoid."
"Sir, I’ve been paranoid my entire career. That's why I'm still around."
"You weren't paranoid enough when you were assigned to Bright Gate," Eichen noted.
"I was paranoid, but I received a legitimate order from my chain of command to report there." Dalton was stung by the implied criticism
"What can I do to prove to you this order is legitimate?" Eichen asked.
"Tell me what's going on, General. I'm tired of people withholding information from me, thinking I'm too stupid to understand. Why was Bright Gate developed? What is the goal of this Priory group you mentioned? What's the goal of Nexus?"
"’What's going on'?" Eichen repeated. He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "That's what we're trying to find out. All I can tell you is that the Priory has been manipulating our government, and others, for a long time. How long, we don't know, but-" Eichen paused, searching for the right words. "Let me put it this way. As near as we can tell, as long as there has been recorded history, the Priory has been in the shadows. We've discovered little snippets of information here and there that indicate that.
"How powerful they are, we don't know, but we do have evidence they are very powerful but also very small. They use others to work for them. Bright Gate and Psychic Warrior are just one area they’ve manipulated. There are many others; how many I'm almost afraid to find out.
"We think SD-8 in Russia was the same thing: a research facility that was founded by the Priory, and that those in Moscow never really had a clear picture of what was going on there either."
Dalton considered that. "If the Priory has such power to start with, why did it need SD-8 and Bright Gate?"
"That's a very good question," Eichen said, "which we don't
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