Book of Stone: Operation COLD FLARE

For April, Stone Soldiers.info is celebrating the A to Z Blog Challenge with daily letter-themed entries about the people, places, and things of the series. To view past and present entries visit the Book of Stone by clicking on the link on the righthand side of this page. 

OPERATION COLD FLARE

First Appearance:  Shadow Raiders

Description:  Joint Task Force Operation to Repel Extraterrestrial Invaders in 2016

Last Known Status: Successfully Concluded

In 2015, the Department of Defense initiated Project Flare, a program to prepare for an extraterrestrial invasion of the Earth. Multiple units of the military were assigned to the project, which was housed at Groom Lake Air Force Base, Nevada under the command of General Mark Kenslir, US Army.

In the Summer of 2016, nearly a year after training for the joint units had begun, a portal to an alternate reality was opened in Greenland by an archaeological team. Detachment 1039 responded to the site, investigating the breach and quickly determined hostile Fellish forces were amassing for an invasion. Operation COLD FLARE was initiated—a mobilization to Greenland and beyond to repel the would-be invaders and protect th Earth.

During the few short days of COLD FLARE, units the US Marine Corps passed through Project Flare’s own portal, the Sprocket, assaulting enemy forces from the air. Naval Construction Battalion teams erected a base in Greenland at the site of the breach, and US Air Forces from Thule AFB attacked the limited number of invaders who managed to pass through the breach and make it to Greenland.

In the aftermath of COLD FLARE, less than twenty US service men and women numbered among the dead, while an estimated three thousand Fellish soldiers had been killed. A detachment of Marine and Air Force security forces then set up a forward observation post past the breach, on the alien world of Asgard, were scientific teams continue to investigate the world to determine any future strategic value.

Behind the Scenes

The most difficult thing about COLD FLARE was coming up with a name. The US Military and allied forces have had hundreds of code names for operations and projects over the years. Eventually, I chose the obvious “FLARE” for the overall project, as the early Wyrmhole Ring Portals in the Stone Soldiers series emitted such bright light upon establishing connection. COLD FLARE seemed obvious in that Greenland’s glacier was the setting for the battle between Asgardian and Midgard forces. Future installments in the Shadow Raiders series will also feature “FLARE” in the name, e.g. “SAND FLARE”, “DARK FLARE” etc.