Mac Hodges has lived a long life for a guy just 30 years old. Friends call him an “old” soul, but he says “it’s not the years, it’s the miles”. A decorated Navy SEAL, retired. Raised by an uncle, a powerful and wealthy businessman in Virginia, now serving a second term as a US Senator following his parent’s death in a plane crash a quarter century earlier. Since retiring from the Navy, Mac has been bushwhacking around the highways and byways of America’s flyover country for months on end. Some said he was trying to “find” himself, others opined he had something he needed to forget…

Senator Hodges was none too pleased when he first heard about Mac’s planned nomadic adventure, but what could he say? Tough to make the case to a trained assassin that it isn’t “safe” out there. Besides, the boy had served his country and wanted some downtime. So long as he stayed out of trouble and out of any headlines that could come back to haunt the politician, he was happy to see him go. Their relationship had always been a bit strained. He did offer to buy him a camper or motor home for the journey, but Mac chuckled when he politely declined the generous offer and walked out the door.

An Uber dropped him at a large downtown rental storage unit. Inside was assorted hardware including camping gear, guns and ammo, and his recently updated bug-out bag. It also housed his most prized possession, a 1967 International Harvester Scout with 51,000 original miles on it. After loading the gear in the vehicle, he took one last look at his iPhone before shutting it off and placing it on a table where it would remain for months until a court order permitted someone to enter the unit to investigate. They would find the phone along with his drivers license and credit cards cut up in a neat pile.

He drove into the sunset and arrived at the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota after 48 hours on the road, some of it spent napping while parked in highway rest areas along the way.

That he left his phone behind meant he was at least partially off the grid, but it didn’t mean he was incommunicado. A licensed radio amateur since his 12th birthday, Mac carried portable microwave equipment along with field deployable antennas in his go-bag. He pulled a printed satellite pass schedule from his shirt pocket using coordinates set deep in the National Forest. He knew he would have eight more hours to setup before a first attempt at contact could be made. Soon enough he will discover just how important this wireless connection would be for any chance of success with this mission.