The year is 1967
It is the height of the cold war, and the US has launched a series of satellites, designed by Mr Stirling Colgate, that will look for the tell tale gamma ray bursts that accompany the Soviet testing of nuclear weapons.
On 02 July of that year, it detects gamma ray bursts coming from all over the sky.
It is realised that these gamma ray bursts came from deep space, in fact, from outside the Milky Way Galaxy, to the edge of the known universe.
Over the decades, more satellites are commissioned to observe this phenomena. They are thought to come from extra large stars in stellar nurseries that collapse to black holes after a million years
A BBC Horizon science programme discusses this in 2002
The satellites for detecting alleged nuclear test bans, fall into apparent disuse.
35 years after the first gamma ray bursts were detected, a number of CIA satellite are requisitioned by the NSA, for a top secret project.
They are looking at the Earth, and detecting low level X-ray bursts of a certain frequency, these are labelled as gateways, or doorways from a parallel universe. A number of them are in Israel, Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq.
A number of them have been traced to London England, and a city in the North of England.
In light of the multinational element, secret agreements with the US, British and Israeli security services are formed.
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It is early November at "The Facility"
In a monitoring room, an alarm sounds on a monitor. It is a direct line to the Skyguard satellite system, and it has just detected an intrusion.
The man on duty is referred to as Mr Sepia, for security reasons. He looks at the screen and dials in to the location.
He picks up the telephone and presses a speed dial button.
The phone is answered.
"Mr Blue here"
"Intrusion in Northern England, co-ordinates being sent to your blackberry right now" Mr Sepia says in a cold business like manner.
"Got it Mr Sepia" Mr Blue replies, "I will use the ring artefact and handle it"
"Do you want me to sign it out sir for you"
"No need Mr Sepia, I signed it out this afternoon"
"Acknowledged Mr Blue, will get a holding cell ready"
"Oh, Mr Sepia, these intrusion locations are sometimes indicative of others, get a sweep squad out there ASAP. Call the local special branch, give them the usual spiel about Al-Qaeda terror cells".
"Yes Mr Blue, on it right now, By the way, the Americans will be with us by the end of the week"
"Typical, we get the goods and they want to muscle in." Mr Blue replied, with clear irritation in his voice.
"It is in the agreement sir" replied Mr Sepia with an air of resignation
"I know,it does not mean I have to like it though. Mr Blue out" With that, Mr Blue hung up.
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It is early November 2007
Shamus McTuckle is a leprechaun, he has been living among mortals in the Irish republic for a long time. He passes himself off as someone with
dwarfism when he has to mingle with unsuspecting humans. He has had to do this a lot more lately, as using his power to remain unseen, has become dangerous.
It is 23:30, and a mobile phone rings in his flat in Cork.
"Hello, who can be ringing me at this forsaken hour" he shouts into his telephone.
Over the telephone, comes a familiar voice, but the mear fact that he is ringing, fills him with dread.
"Shamus" the voice calls, "It's me your cousin Drack"
"Drack, I though you were still in the Mystical realms"
"Yes I was cousin, but I found this orb that let me travel, so I thought I would get away from the civil war, and drop by"
Shamus broke into a cold swear.
"Shamus, are you still there?" Drack asked down the telephone line.
"Drack where did you arrive" Shamus asked, trying hard to mask his terror.
"I arrived in some town in what the mortals call Northern England, there were the last co-ordinates on the orb"
Shamus, for a moment was relieved, then a thought occurred to him.
"Drack"
"Yes Shamus"
"Run, get out of there now"
"Why Shamus, what is the problem"
"Drack, they are tracking you right now"
"Shamus, chill out, as these mortals say, the Orcs never saw me. I found the orb in the old court building, no one saw me"
Shamus was by now in disbelief at his cousin's stupidity. He could ruin it all, but then Drak was never the sharpest tool in the box.
"Drax, you idiot, it is not the orcs tracking you, it is the humans, somehow they have twigged about us. Just by coming through, they can somehow find us. Just by using magic they can sense us"
"Should I come and see you Shamus"
"NO!" Shamus shouted into the phone, "Run, get out of that town and use the orb to return"
"Shamus, there is some mortal, that has just turned up here"
Shamus, listened horrified as he heard his cousin scream in pain, and then fall silent. He heard someone walk across and pick the phone up.
Shamus hung the phone up, and grabbed a prepared overnight bag he had done for just such an emergency, and left his flat. He switches off his mobile phone. He knew of only one place to hide, as soon as he got rid of his mobile and the sim card. Cousin Drack had fouled up big time. But how did they find him so fast.
The adventure is about to restart