The Cross of Mithras Vol. 1: EOD Operation Welcome to Hell

by Douglas Howell

  The human race first encountered the Necro-Mystics in 2267 and four years later went to war went them. It was the behavior of the Necro-Mystics that led to the eight year long war that claimed the lives of at least 100 million humans. During the war the EOD remained neutral, mainly out of fear. Out of everyone that the EOD ever encountered, only the Necro-Mystics struck fear into their hearts. If the EOD was afraid, then the human race was terrified of the Necro-Mystics. Nevertheless, the human race beat the Necro-Mystics into a drawl. Both sides may have claimed a victory, but it came at a high price for both sides.

  When the war was over the EOD did a ten year long tactical analysis of the war. Although they are a year away from completion, their conclusion is something that neither Project 21, nor the human race wants to hear. When they reach their conclusion sometime in the year 2289 it will state the following: if the EOD went to war with the Necro-Mystics, then in all likelihood the EOD would win that war. The EOD also calculated the odds of being defeated, which is 12.5 %. The only reason why the EOD can claim that is because they are becoming a galactic civilization.

  Whereas the human race is divided, neither the EOD, nor the Necro-Mystics, is not. The human race is not divided by will, but through the notion of nation states and space colonies. Both the EOD and the Necro-Mystics is united by a shared common belief. With the EOD, it is their notion of the struggle between utopia and dystopia. With the Necro-Mystics it is a shared religious belief, and the practice of drugging their adherents. What the EOD and the Necro-Mystics realized about the human race is this: power means far more to those who have it, then the survival of the human race. Before the second event occurred, the survival of the human race was never in any doubt. That is no longer the case. The EOD will not capitalize upon it, but the Necro-Mystics are a horse of a different color.

  Yes indeed it is true that neither the human race nor the Necro-Mystics can afford another war with each other, but that still depends upon whether or not the Necro-Mystics will start another one. The armistice between the two is always in danger of unraveling. Whether it is both sides ignoring the rules that stated that they must return captured lands, bases, etc. Both sides occasionally taking pot shots at each other ships. It tends to make the peace quite fragile At times it seems that there are too many sour grapes, and/or war hawks for peace to become a reality. And then here comes that second event to make things far worse.

  A new day comes for the people of Roscadia and for Task Force ZH-3C, but it brings uncertainly about the future. A future filled with fear and dread preventing them from thinking straight. Too many people are going to get too emotional upon this new day, and when they do, if they don’t make the right decisions, the human race will face its extinction.

  (2)

  Monday, a typical working day in a place where the locals would call the place a typical hellhole. Depending upon a person’s lifestyle and/or profession, there were many different reactions to that day. For Task Force ZH-3C and the crew of Galactic Prime it was just a typical day on some moon in some star system. Coming ashore and spending time there, celebrating the weekend, spending time with friends, and hoping that it would not turn out to be their last mission. A scene that has played itself out for them countless of times before.

  Some of the crew members of Galactic Prime, Task Force ZH-3C and Vaistll, woke up to a hangover. For Ramirez, he woke up in the arms of Maria Sadowayj. As for Caparzo, he woke up in a hospitable bed after he OD at that night club that he was at. Commodore Parker woke up at, some time around 11:30 hours to the sound of someone knocking at his door. Not only did he, not show up for work, but he also missed his photo-op with the mayor. Because of his insubordination he was yelled at by both his CO Admiral Lowenthal, and the mayor. He was then ordered back to Project 21 HQ to debrief Vaistll on Task Force ZH-3C mission. He was also reprimanded for not finishing the “paper” work for the debriefing, which was scheduled at 14:00 hours. He was ordered to “finish it” if he “knew what was good for him.”

  Parker was yelled at in the comfort of his home. He knew that the so-called paper work, including breaks, would take anywhere between 3 ½ to four hours to complete. He did have plenty of time to do the work over the weekend, but he decided to spend the time on his self-indulgence. Now, face with a growing crisis in his life, he had no other choice but to rush back to his office and do his job whether he like it or not. He arrived at his office, sat down at his desk, and began the long tedious work at 12:10 hours. Knowing that he had less than two hours to complete it.

  Parker finished the work with twelve minutes to spare. Five minutes later he got a call from Admiral Lowenthal. Lowenthal is a grandmother with both children and grandchildren who serve in one branch, or another, in the military. Three of her grandchildren serve in the CIA. She is a tough, but fair officer. Choosing to treat those under her command as if they are her grandchildren. She is well like by all those who know her. When she called Parker, he was too stressed out and fatigued by the paper work to care. He just wanted to find out what she wanted, get her off the phone, tell Vaistll about Task Force ZH-3C mission, and then call it a day.

  “Admiral Lowenthal... what can I do for you?”

  “Parker, something has come up that warrant that I should inform Captain Adnrwal of her mission. It is considered mission critical that I should be the one to inform her. Have you completed the mission report yet?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Good job. Now please send it to me.”

  “Ma’am.... How come I’m not the one to deliver it to her?”

  “Never mind about that.... just send me the report.”

  “Ma’am.... I-I just don’t understand why you...”

  “Parker... it is considered... mission critical. So here is a suggestion to you - don’t ask. And don’t go over my head and inform the CCO on this. Got it.”

  “Got it... ma’am.”

  As a Commodore, Parker knew that something was wrong. But what? He didn’t know. He knew what Task Force ZH-3C will face on Golden Hyperion. After all, he spent the last two hours working on the report, not her. So what could be considered mission critical, when the mission itself is critical? What is so important that an Admiral should take over? Why can’t he go to the CCO when an Admiral wants to change something that is considered insignificant and meaningless? With a critical mission like that upon Golden Hyperion he should have the right to go to the CCO.

  Parker should have known better than to think of stuff like that. All Captains know that the limits that space impose upon communications can warrant that an Admiral take over without being approved of by the CCO under certain conditions. The situation that presented itself (less than an hour ago) did in fact give Admiral Lowenthal the right to take over. She is close enough to Roscadia to make quick decisions. With the CCO it will take several weeks for them to be able to make the decision that she can in fact take over. Parker should have known all of that. But for whatever reason he seemed to have forgotten all of that.

  “Now download the report Parker... and I will forgive you of this insubordination.” With that, he then downloaded the report. She didn’t say anything and just hung up on him.

  “Bitch.” He said out loud and shook his head. But what really irked him the most was wasting two hours on that report. And then here comes Admiral Lowenthal taking it over without giving him any reasons why. It would have been different if she did give him some type of a reason. But that wouldn’t have been professional of her. She was right in feeling that Parker is being unprofessional when he didn’t understand what, “is considered mission critical that I should be the one to inform her,” meant. He should have known better that when something is considered mission critical, and an Admiral needs to take over, for him not to push it, and don’t ask stupid questions.

  Parker knew that everything that he did on that Monday will make it that much harder for him to get promoted out of Roscadia. He knew that his grave is getting deeper with the walls collapsing in
all around him. He knew that if he doesn’t do something real soon, then he will end up being buried in that god forsaken hellhole. He knew that if he keeps on appearing to be insubordinate in front of his officers then he will be demoted back to Fleet Captain - which is what he would like. But he also knew that he hasn’t been a Fleet Captain in awhile, and that means lack of experience. And therefore in all likelihood, he probably would be demoted back down to a Captain. Being just a Captain was always something that he hated doing. Without Parker realizing it, he is becoming not only a trapped soul, but also someone who is ripe for joining the EOD.

  (3)

  Monday 13:19 hours, the Communication Officer on Starbase 231 just alerted Mad Dawg that an EOD scientific vessel Ultra Class M1 was detected entering into the Vegas star system. Typically, any type of an Ultra Class scientific vessel, whenever and wherever it travels, will always be accompanied by one Battle Cruiser and five small attack ships. The M1 Class has 1,500 military personnel, and 150 scientific personnel on board. Each one of the small attack craft has 500 military personnel, and the Battle Cruiser has 8,000 on board. There are 12 thousand military personnel guarding an Ultra Class type of an EOD ship. But this one particular Ultra Class had no protection or battle scars upon it. No matter what the condition of an Ultra Class is in, the EOD would rather turn it into scrap, than to sell it at a handsome profit.

  Since Galactic Prime was the only military vessel that was docked at Starbase 231, they had to be the one to go and investigate. It became quite obvious from the start that Ultra M1 was either unmanned or the crew was dead. The ship stopped before it got to the starbase suggesting that it was on autopilot. But still, the crew of Galactic Prime, and Starbase 231 couldn’t help but to feel on edge in not knowing if it was an EOD trick. If it was a trick then it would be the first. But what type of a trick could it be for the EOD to use an Ultra Class M1 vessel? What horrors waited for the crew as they go on board to investigate? If it is not the EOD, than who is it, and why are they doing this? Who is powerful enough to pull something like that off? Successfully capturing that type of a ship, without leaving any battle scars upon it.

  After the elite units of Galactic Prime enter the EOD vessel they were greeted with a very strange sight. There were no signs of the crew. There were signs that the crew was there, but for some strange reason they all left. They did found two things on board that told them that this was no EOD trick. As it turned out, it was something far more than what anybody could have imagined. Not only did Mad Dawg have to immediately call Vaistll, but he had to contact Admiral Lowenthal as well. For what he had uncovered was that the ship traveled backwards through time. But not in a way that suggested that it was some new form of technology. Anybody could have done it if they knew what they were doing, and willing to risk going to jail over it. It was the other two things that they were far more concerned about. There was a dead pilot setting in the Captain’s chair, and seven people in cryo-sleep. But what really got their hearts to sink very deeply into their guts was the fact that the pilot, and the seven people in cryo-sleep, all shared one thing in common - they were Apollinarians.

  Mad Dawg and his elite team knew fear like never before. Knowing what it would take in order to capture a ship like that, plus how apparently easy it was for the Apollinarians to do it, really scared the shit out of them. They were tough, but nobody, not even the Necro-Mystics, were that tough. Even if there was somebody who could pull it off, there would have been battle scars on that ships and dead bodies, or blood, in the ship. How could the Apollinarians pull it off when nobody that Mad Dawg (or Project 21 for that matter) can think of could do it? Despite Mad Dawg lack of experience with the EOD he knew them well enough to know that they too would be deeply concerned (or scared if they could admit it). It is no wonder that Admiral Lowenthal would take over.

  After Mad Dawg finished talking to Admiral Lowenthal, she called Commodore Parker to inform him that she was taking over. She then got on one of the fastest ships that was docked at her starbase and then headed on over to Roscadia. After the ship departed, she sent an encrypted message to the CCO HQ informing them of what happened. She then spent the next few hours reviewing Task Force ZH-3C mission, and Vaistll’s record. She was looking for anything that might explain why those Apollinarians were on that ship. As much as she dreaded it, if it was true, she was also looking to see if there was a connection between the EOD and the Apollinarians.

  ‘God help us one and all... if they teamed up.’ She thought to herself as she read both reports, praying deep within her heart and soul that it was not true.

  (4)

  At some point after Vaistll, Ramirez and Commander Taylor arrived on the EOD ship, Commodore Parker, possessed by his paranoia and suspicions, started to dig his grave even deeper. Yet again he did not show up for his photo-op with the mayor. Instead, he decided to take it upon himself to find out what was so important that Lowenthal should take over. Because he didn’t show up for the photo-op, the mayor (when he heard that Lowenthal was coming) sent a communiqué to Lowenthal telling her how Parker treated him. After she finished talking to the mayor she decided to reprimand Parker for his insubordination. At that moment in time Parker days is numbered. In all likelihood he is going to be dishonorably discharged from the service for his continual insubordination. Even if he knew that he wouldn’t have cared because it would mean that Roscadia would permanently be out of his life. And if he thinks he’s lonely now as a Commodore... wait. Who would want somebody like him?

  But it was his next action that ultimately sealed his fate. Pushed beyond his breaking point with a city that he so much hate and scorn, his irrational hatred led him to contact Little John’s father who is a mafia boss. He had a plan to seriously hurt Roscadia in a way that would benefit the mafia and either drive away Project 21, or cause them to be associated with organized crime. Not once did he felt scared or nervous. Not by a long shot. He was just a man on a mission.

  Commodore Parker plan involved the assassination of both the mayor and Admiral Lowenthal, and to have his death faked. Then to have the EOD blamed for it. He lied to the mafia about the reason why Lowenthal was coming to Roscadia. He told them that she was, “coming to clean up the trash in the city,” and that she was going to, “take down the mafia once and for all.” He mentioned that he will use his knowledge and experience to assist the mafia. He mentioned that Project 21 plans would be thrown into disarray and they would send more troops to Roscadia in order to keep the peace. And therefore more people to gamble their lives away. In exchange for their help he would give them his life savings. All he wanted in return is for them to help him join the EOD.

  The mafia at first didn’t know what to make of Parker’s proposal. Even after he showed then how much money he was willing to give them. Parker knew that they were far more motivated by greed than by common sense. He knew that if he keep on talking about how much he’s worth, and show them the proof, it would convince them to reconsider his proposal. He also knew that if he keep on reassuring them about his knowledge and experience that should be enough to convince them. When they asked him why is he doing this, he responded in a truthful manner. Project 21 is too focused on the EOD to care about the city. He knows who is running the city. He learned that lesson, as he told them, quite well. And like so many people in the city, he wants out before its too late. At some point after that he finally convinced the mafia to go along with his proposal. He then gave them half of his wealth as a down payment, and the other half will be delivered to them when the EOD has taken him into their fold.

  But Parker’s plan will not turn out quite the way in which he’d planned. Yes the EOD will take him in. He is a Commodore with no money, so he would become totally dependent upon them for his own survival. But in due time he will learn that his EOD savior will condemned him to a life of mental torment, causing his view of Roscadia to become one of paradise. The part of his plan that will cause Project 21 to blame the EOD will backfire on him. Project 21 will
quickly put two-and-two together and realize what he did. Parker is right about one thing. Project 21 will send a ship to Roscadia, but not to protect it from the EOD, but rather to take down the mafia. Parker’s actions will finally convince Project 21 that something needs to be done about the crime in the city. His actions will remind Project 21 that Roscadia is an EOD recruiter paradise. That nobody who lives there cares about the struggle between Project 21 and the EOD; they just care about the crime. So what will Parker get in return for teaching Project 21 that? The mafia will eventually put a bounty upon Parker’s head after they realize that he lied to them about Lowenthal, and for not delivering on the other half of his payment. Parker just sealed his fate once and for all and there is no turning back for him.

  (5)

  Vaistll just arrived on the bridge of the Ultra M1 ship. Mad Dawg, Taylor and Ramirez were already there. Each of them was standing there like their whole world was spiraling out of control. They were standing in front of the Captain’s chair facing it. In the chair was a corpse of an Apollinarian. On the corpse right side, in the floor, is a small computer mainframe to a ship. The writing on the mainframe resembles the Iomiyyan language, but it is not Iomiyyan.

  Vaistll came over to them and looked down at the corpse. Her eyes then widen at the same time she put her right hand over her mouth and took a step back. When she removed her hand, she looked at them in a nervous scared way, and then she looked back at the corpse with a confused look upon her. They realized the obvious and looked at her in a confused manner.

  “What... you recognize him?” Ramirez said as a part of him was glad that it wasn’t Natas Ovast.