My fellow presidents," Roosevelt said to the four former presidents at the conference table. He nodded at the two explorers sitting side by side. "Captain Clark, Captain Lewis.... I also called Mister Kennedy to this briefing, but he appears to be... indisposed... We shall--"

Nixon scoffed loudly before clearing his throat. Roosevelt stared coldly at Nixon, sucking on his cigarette holder before expelling smoke from his mouth.

"As I was saying, we shall endeavor to make due with Captains Lewis and Clark subbing in for Mr. Kennedy. Please turn your focus to the far wall."

The large monitor on the wall kicked on. Walls of numbers and data cascaded down the screen before the view shifted to a map of Russia. A bright red dot in the southwestern part of the map pulsed. A label identified the pulsing dot as Chelyabinsk. A video beside the map started playing a bright ball of fire falling from the sky before exploding over the Russian countryside.

"This meteor entered Russian airspace last year. The heat from the atmospheric arrival caused a massive explosion that destroyed most of the meteorite in the process. The majority of the rock that made it through the atmosphere ended up in the Ural Mountains and nearby Lake Chebarkul. The Russian government and the global scientific community identified most of the meteorite fragments as ordinary chondrite."

Roosevelt waved a hand at the screen. The picture shifted to a zoomed in satellite photo of a piece of snow-covered land with several buildings grouped around each other in a semi-circle.

"Our spy satellite [I]Nelson[/I] picked this site up after the official inquiry into the meteor was closed. Our operative codenamed PINBALL was sent into the facility to investigate. Through PINBALL's investigation we were able to identify an excavation project funded by one Konstantin Shastin."

FDR nodded, the monitor changing to a picture of Shastin, a trim middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair. He was dressed in a three-piece suit, surrounded by other well dressed men as well as Saudi businessmen wearing the traditional Keffiyeh on their heads. Newspaper articles on Shastin and magazine covers flanked the photo and painted a picture of extreme prominence and wealth for the Russian.

"Shastin is a billionaire. He owns half the oil fields in Azerbaijan, the biggest telecom company in Russia, and is on the Executive Branch's watchlist. Shastin was a member of the Communist Party in the 80's, a member of the Soviet People's Geology Committee. We have reason to believe he has ties to the Secret Soviet Union, and has used his status with them to further his monetary gains. The site was put on immediate observation after PINBALL's discovery. We've been watching as they dig for something in the mountains, something related to that meteor. Almost twenty-six hours ago, the entire site went dark. No radio communication, no traffic in and out, and as far as we can tell no heat signatures from our satellite observations. 

"Your mission is to travel to the Urals with our science team and investigate the cause of the radio silence. I have assigned you each roles. General Grant will coordinate and lead the investigation. Mister Lincoln will act as Grant's second. Mister Nixon will be there in case magic was involved. General Jackson will lead a tactical team to act in support of our field investigators. Lewis and Clark, you will lead a small scouting party in advance of the science team's arrival, clearing the area for the Executive Branch's scientists. You'll be wheels up and on the way to Russia within the hour. Any questions, comments, or general insight?"