March 24th 1959

To Prof. Vandiver From Captain Omen

Subject Mission R7

On March 18th 1959  a Soviet launch vehicle crashed soon after take off
from the spaceport at Baikonur. US naval reconnaissance pilots observed
an apparently spherical object crash landing in the waters of the Arctic
around the time of the incident. We have been instructed to proceed to
the crash site, to dive,  search for and retrieve any artifacts
surviving the impact. We believe ships of the Soviet Navy will converge
on the area and Soviet submarines may also be operating near the site.
We are to remain undetected. Headquarters intercepted the enclosed
message intended for a Soviet surface ship in the region. It is not
enciphered since it was intercepted before broadcast but our source is
now closed down as there is concern that  cover may be blown. Future
signals from the Soviet fleet are likely to be encrypted. As the boat's
intelligence officer it will be your task to decipher all sigint. Future
messages between us should also be encrypted and we will alter
encryption schemes as necessary. In the first instance, while our
mission is undetected, light encryption should suffice and I would
suggest using a Caesar shift cipher for your first report to me. I note
that you are due for your annual Morse code test so while we are waiting
for signals for you to decipher you can practice on the Soviet message.






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