"It's not one person. Not a rogue operative. It's systemic." She continued. "The Director of ONI, the entire leadership circle, and around twenty-five percent of field agents—all compromised. Ties to illegal weapons trading, black-market financial channels, contracted hits, even human trafficking. And it doesn't stop there."
You leaned forward slightly, your fists curling as she spoke.
"They've embedded themselves in NCIS too. The Deputy Director, after assuming leadership, started pulling strings to integrate their own people. Over thirty percent of NCIS is now under their influence."
The list of crimes kept coming—laundering, espionage, smuggling, orchestrated assassinations, trafficking. Years of unchecked corruption, rotting the core of two of the NAE's most vital intelligence agencies.
And Victoria…
S's voice softened. "Operation Silent Ledger put Victoria too close to one of their financial arteries. And after they realized she could not be turned to their side; the Director himself ratted her out and signed her burn notice. Ordered she be cut off, marked for capture or death, whichever came first."
I don't know about you, but if I was the president of the NAE, I'd sock the ONI director in their jaw and damn the consequences. I imagine their reaction was a pretty explosive combination of enraged and horrified.
As the encrypted connection began establishing, your thoughts drifted to Frank. Francis Xavier Hummel. The man who had once been your commanding officer. The man that rose to prominence during the Liberation of Mexico campaign.
"From the movie 'The Rock'"
Back then, he'd been a force of nature, a general who wasn't afraid to get his boots dirty alongside the men and women under his command.
He wasn't like the political brass who only cared about climbing ranks. Frank was the kind of leader who put his soldiers first. You'd seen him take down enemy strongholds personally, rally civilian evacuations under fire, and lead black ops missions that would've broken lesser men.
It wasn't just respect you had for him. It was loyalty.
He was also one of the few high-ranking figures in the NAE you trusted implicitly.
The screen flickered. His face appeared—older, sure, but that same sharp-eyed steel remained. He broke into a grin when he saw you.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite grunt-turned-CEO." Frank chuckled. "John, son, how the hell does it feel to run the most popular company on the planet?"
"Jesus Christ, John." He muttered, voice low and dangerous. "This is worse than anything I've seen in years. I mean, I know that intelligence agencies have skeletons in the closet, hell, I always hated that bastard since he made director, but this…"
He looked away for a moment, collecting himself, before locking eyes with you.
"Twenty-five percent of ONI compromised. Thirty percent of NCIS. And all those ops—" His voice faltered, and his fists clenched. "Some of the missions where I lost good men and women... they were set up. Purposely made to fail."
The slap cracked like gunfire. Fast, sharp, across your cheek. You didn't flinch. You didn't stop it. You welcomed it.
Your jaw stung, but you held her gaze, steady and silent. Without a word, Victoria stood, her silky red sleepwear brushing against her thighs as she turned and walked toward her room.
You sat there, unmoving, the sting on your face lingering as you consciously told the nanites in your system not to heal the mark.
They were wreathed in a soft white aura—the same ethereal light that John had seen in his dream, the same glow that had surrounded Gale. It was the kind of light that didn't belong to this world, as if reality itself were struggling to hold them.
I don't know about you, but if I was the president of the NAE, I'd sock the ONI director in their jaw and damn the consequences. I imagine their reaction was a pretty explosive combination of enraged and horrified.
Given the fact that the President authorized Frank to use the military to arrest ONI/NCIS instead of using the FBI, state police or Marshalls; it shows how pissed off he was in authorizing this emergency action.
No she does not.
I am taking the fact that these is the Destinyverse, the universe where items/artifacts of significant backgrounds can be wonky/strange/dangerous.
I did state that the Hope Diamond does not exist in this universe, thus it's 'curse' got defaulted to the Heart.
I think we can all agree a 'cursed' item in the Destinyverse will defenilty quality as strange.
ONI Headquarters – Washington D.C.
Two Weeks After Operation Demon Slayer
The vast marble lobby of the ONI HQ echoed with their footsteps. Once one of the most impenetrable stronghold of the NAE's intelligence apparatus, equal to Langley and Quantico; it now stood silent—gutted after the purging raid led by General Hummel. The building smelled of scorched plastic and sterile dust, the result of the battle that occurred when some of the corrupt ONI forces refused to surrender during the raid.
Four people walked down the central corridor. Two were heavily armed soldiers, flanking their commander, General Frank Hummel, whose cold eyes scanned the hall like he was searching for the past. The fourth was a woman in her early fifties. Her steps were slow, measured, but not from fear.
She carried herself with the weight of someone who once ruled here, and now returned.
The soldiers didn't speak. They were here to guard, not to question.
"You sure you want to see this place again?" Hummel asked without looking back.
The woman gave a small, dry chuckle. "Frank, if I didn't want to be here, I'd be on a beach somewhere, drinking away the last decade and ignoring the flames."
"You never struck me as the beach type, Maggie." He smirked faintly.
She tilted her head, eyes narrowing just a little. "And you never struck me as sentimental." Her reply was sharp, but not unkind. "Yet here we are."
Frank gave a soft laugh. "No, you weren't the beach type… but don't act like you didn't have the body that made half the men on the shoreline forget how to walk. I still remember that one ladies' night my wife managed to drag you to. You stepped out in that red wrap and three guys walked into the ocean."
Maggie rolled her eyes. "Is that right? Does your wife know you're cataloging memories like that?"
"She's the one who made you wear it." Frank fired back with a grin. "Said, and I quote, 'Maggie, if you've got the artillery, don't leave it in the bunker.'"
That earned him a snort from Maggie, who shook her head in exasperated amusement. "I hated that wrap."
"You hated the attention."
"I hated the sand, it gets everywhere."
They both chuckled, the momentary levity a welcome contrast to the oppressive silence of the ruined corridor before they settled back to their old selves.
They turned the corner into the executive wing. Lights flickered above them. Many offices had already been cleared out, glass shattered, nameplates missing.
"You've been quiet since the op," she said.
"Had to be. Cleaning house ain't glamorous. And you've been… retired." He made air quotes without looking.
"That's what they called it," she replied, tone flat. "Ten years since they passed me over. Ten years of watching from the sidelines while that bastard turned this agency into a playground for traitors."
"You still had eyes in the building. Loyalists. Half the reason my forces were able to clean out the rats came from people who still called you boss."
Maggie smiled faintly. "Maybe I wanted to make sure ONI didn't crumble without me. Guess I should have tried harder."
Frank's voice dropped to a near growl. "The ones who voted against you back then? They're gone. Every last one of them. Arrested, disgraced. Turns out they were more loyal to wallets than flags."
"And your intel?" she asked, her gaze flicking sideways. "Who gave it to you?"
He said nothing.
Maggie gave a knowing smirk. "Keeping secrets already. Just like old times."
They passed the last hallway. The door to the Director's Office was cracked open, swaying slightly with the breeze from the shattered windows inside.
Maggie hummed thoughtfully but didn't press. Instead, she asked more softly, "And... how is little Vicky?"
Frank's expression softened slightly. "Safe. With John. Kid's done right by her. She's got scars from what happened in Belarus, but she's healing."
"Good." Maggie said. "She always had too much fire to let that place extinguish her. A damn shame she's not coming back though. I could've used her."
"You'd find a way to wrangle her eventually. You always do." Frank smirked. "You sure she's not your blood? The way she acts..."
Maggie just laughs softly, not answering back.
As they approached the final hallway leading to the Director's office, the soldiers instinctively slowed and flanked the corridor.
Maggie stared at the blackened double doors at the end.
"Let's see what's left of the kingdom." She said coolly.
The heavy black doors groaned open under Maggie's touch.
The former ONI Director's office was in shambles. Half-scorched, half-stripped, the grand chamber that once projected power and surveillance now echoed only failure. Empty picture frames hung crooked on the walls. Cabinets torn open.
The only things left intact in the room were a single chair, upholstered, luxurious; laying toppled behind the desk, the only other thing left intact in the room.
That and the windows which were oddly enough still intact, allowing sunlight into the room.
Maggie stepped inside slowly, scanning the wreckage with a calm, almost detached expression.
"I remember when this office meant something." she murmured. "Not just to us, but to the whole damn government. The eyes and ears of the Navy and even beyond."
Frank Hummel stepped in behind her. "It stopped being that the moment your predecessor sold it out for power and profit."
Maggie walked forward and picked up the chair. With a dignified thump, she set it upright and lowered herself into it like a queen reclaiming her stolen throne. She let out a slow exhale, as if settling an old weight.
"This chair was almost mine. Before the vote."
Frank's face was unreadable. "I remember."
"You know, I almost took the President's offer right after your raid." She said, brushing dust from the desk. "But I waited. I had to see this place again for myself. I had to make sure I wasn't just stepping into a ruin with no salvage left."
"And?" Frank asked.
She smiled—sharp and cold. "There's still bones left to build a new beast."
Frank moved to stand across from her, hands clasped behind his back. "The President's serious. He'll give you everything, command, oversight, discretionary budget authority, even black funding streams. He just wants someone who isn't for sale."
"Good." She said. "Because I'm not selling. Not this time."
He raised an eyebrow. "How long before you're operational?"
Maggie tilted her head, calculating. "One month. I already have a list of trusted candidates. Most from other branches. A few from the old ONI loyalist cells. I'll gut what remains of the rot, burn it, and bury the ashes."
Frank smirked. "Been planning this for a long time, haven't you?"
She returned the look. "Let's just say... I never stopped preparing. Retirement just meant I had more time to think."
They sat in silence for a long beat.
Then she stood, walking slowly toward the window, looking out at the capital skyline. "The faker is out." She said softly. "And the pests are gone from the kingdom."
Frank stepped up beside her.
"And the lost queen finally takes back her throne."
She gave him a look—half warning, half amused. "If you're expecting a knighthood, don't."
Frank grinned. "Wouldn't fit me anyway."
Then, he said her full name, with all the weight and reverence it deserved:
"Long live Queen Margaret Parangosky."
So yeah.
I am working on the rumor mill and my buddy sent me this.
And I could not but help use it as an interlude.
The ending he made it from the NCIS episode.
And for the record, and those that follow my Producer quest; can already guess who Maggie's appearance is based on.
The RNG Gods spoke over there and I fully agree with them.
It's gonna completely shatter whatever the current political alliances that currently exist. China is an obvious faction that would resist it, because it threatens their status of manufacture of the world, and by extension, their economy's whole foundation, but, there may be unexpected resistance points such as Taiwan and NATO. The former because even if it's still more efficient to get it made through traditional means, it's still a direct blow to the 'Silicon Shield' that is the deterrent towards invasion their chip manufacturing represents. While NATO, may find the trade deals to cement their alliance become irrelevant, greatly weakening cohesion and threatening the complete decoupling of the NAE from the alliance, as it could complete the decoupling painlessly for the UAENAE, and in truth remove the economic incentive to protect Europe.
And then there is the fact that the main ways to make Glimmer is mass, or energy. With us being the main provider of energy through our super generators, which will likely only exacerbate the tensions in Europe brought by the Anti-Gale Reactor factions, as energy becomes even more important.
It's gonna completely shatter whatever the current political alliances that currently exist. China is an obvious faction that would resist it, because it threatens their status of manufacture of the world, and by extension, their economy's whole foundation, but, there may be unexpected resistance points such as Taiwan and NATO. The former because even if it's still more efficient to get it made through traditional means, it's still a direct blow to the 'Silicon Shield' that is the deterrent towards invasion their chip manufacturing represents. While NATO, may find the trade deals to cement their alliance become irrelevant, greatly weakening cohesion and threatening the complete decoupling of the NAE from the alliance, as it could complete the decoupling painlessly for the UAE, and in truth remove the economic incentive to protect Europe.
And then there is the fact that the main ways to make Glimmer is mass, or energy. With us being the main provider of energy through our super generators, which will likely only exacerbate the tensions in Europe brought by the Anti-Gale Reactor factions, as energy becomes even more important.
Well the good news is it won't be unveiled until year four the earliest, by which the unnatural winters will have been revealed to have not been so much a freak occurrence as a persistent reality, which will shift the narrative a little, before the fact that with 3 or 4 more turns, we'll have an energy monopoly in Europe already, which, you know, invalidates tensions, by virtue of the opposition having lost.
