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

by Douglas Howell

  “What Intel do have on the EOD forces here?” Ramirez asked.

  “Colonel Blackburn is the commander here. His forces, before they were reduced, numbered at least 8,000. However, I have reason to believe that he has a secret military base somewhere around here.” McIntyre said.

  “Do you know the number of forces at that secret base?” Taylor asked.

  “No. But I believe that it is much larger, perhaps as large as 10,000, than his main forces. Whatever their strength, they were never engaged.”

  “Do you know where they are?” Ramirez asked.

  “No. And I have no idea on where we can find the Intel to locate them.” McIntyre said.

  “God, we’re all going to die!” Hayes blurted out.

  “Boy you need to stop that belly aching of yours.” McIntyre said to Hayes.

  “It’s not that sir, it just I don’t see how we can take on a much larger force.” Hayes said.

  “Boy you got to be shittin’ me.” McIntyre said.

  “No sir. I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Then apparently you didn’t read your Intel on this place. Is that it?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “And you call yourself an officer. Project 21 has strong reason to believe that that army is robotic. So if they give us any problems just EMP ‘em. Or if you don’t want to do that you can always ask Lenkov for assistance. I’m certain that he will comply.” McIntyre said.

  After Colonel Blackburn’s men attack their position, some of Task Force ZH-3C who knew about the Hammer of Doom, thought that Lenkov may have something to do with it. Freaked out at the thought of a untimely death, White Team finally learned that Lenkov and Omori was there. For slightly more than an hour they argued over what to do. Hayes, because of his apathy, stayed silent as he was slowly accepting the fact that he is going to die.

  “I hate to ask you, but do you know what his troop strength are?” Taylor asked.

  “I thought you already knew.” McIntyre responded.

  “Well you see…” Taylor was saying.

  “We have no Intel!” Hayes blurted out loudly.

  “Goddamn it Hayes! What is your major malfunction!?” Ramirez shouted at him.

  “What does he mean you, ‘have no Intel’?” McIntyre asked.

  “There was a highly trained EOD assassin-slash-Special Forces agent at Roscadia who killed both Commodore Parker and Admiral Lowenthal. Whoever it was also destroyed our Intel on this place.” Vaistll said.

  “Why was Admiral Lowenthal there?” McIntyre asked.

  “Long story.” Vaistll responded.

  “So let me get this straight. Despite the fact that you guys had no Intel on this place you decided to come here anyway. Is that right?” McIntyre asked.

  “Yes sir.” Hayes said under his breath.

  “Oh god that’s rich. That’s so fuckin’ rich and spicy.” McIntyre said. “You’re all are going to die here. You have no idea what’s in store for you. Shit.” He added after he chuckled.

  “Well… like I was fixing to say, his forces attacked us at the subway station but we were able to defeat them.” Taylor said.

  “What were their approximate number?” McIntyre asked.

  “Roughly one thousand.” Taylor mentioned.

  “Can you contact Mad Dawg?” McIntyre asked.

  “No. When we last heard from him he said that there was a single Commando Unit on board. He said that his ship is being torn apart.” Vaistll said.

  “Do you know if his ship is destroyed?” McIntyre asked.

  “No, we just can’t contact him.” Taylor responded.

  “Then maybe you should contact Lenkov.” McIntyre said. His statement both shocked and confused everyone. They couldn’t believe that he just said that.

  “And why would we want to do a thing like that sir?” Sanchez asked.

  “One of the Intel that we collected here was that High Command wanted Lenkov and Omori to use one of the Dragon Clones to attack one of your units, and to have another one to infiltrate the ship that brings you here all in an effort to test them. You, as well as Galactic Prime, was just nothing more than guinea pigs.” McIntyre said.

  “So how, and why, does that prove that we should contact Lenkov sir?” Ramirez asked.

  “Lenkov was never the one to use such tactics unless he was ordered to do so.”

  “So what does that prove?” Taylor asked.

  “Colonel Blackburn was making the decisions and not Lenkov.”

  “But Lenkov outranks Blackburn. Blackburn can’t order Lenkov around.” Taylor said.

  “Not unless High Command said otherwise.” Ramirez responded.

  “Now why would they do a thing like that sir?” Sanchez asked.

  “Because they no longer trust him.” Hayes mentioned.

  “Exactly. “ McIntyre responded.

  “Why shouldn’t they trust him?” Vaistll asked.

  “How many ships do you think it took to destroy that Space Core fleet?” McIntyre asked them.

  “Another fleet?” Ramirez responded.

  “Nope.” McIntyre said.

  “A couple of Heavy Battle Cruisers? Maybe three of them.” Taylor asked.

  “Try again.” McIntyre said.

  “One.” Hayes said ruefully.

  “Exactly.” McIntyre said.

  “What!? No way. How could one ship do that?” Ramirez said.

  “The name of the ship is called, The Hammer of Doom, and it is a Heavy Battle Cruiser.” McIntyre responded.

  “No Heavy Battle Cruiser could do that.” Ramirez said.

  “Not if it can merge with that starbase in orbit.” Hayes said under his breath.

  “Exactly.” McIntyre said.

  “How do you know that sir? You weren’t here when Space Core attack.” Ramirez said.

  “There were survivors who landed.”

  “Yeah, and what happened to them sir?” Ramirez asked.

  “Those damn Demon Xs killed them after my team and I hooked up with them.”

  “Why would High Command allow the ship to be name after Lenkov and Omori?” Vaistll asked.

  “They didn’t.”

  “Are you saying that Lenkov and Omori built that ship without High Command knowing about it?” Taylor asked.

  “That is exactly what I am saying.” McIntyre responded.

  “Wouldn’t the EOD High Command get rid of both of them including that ship, sir?” Sanchez asked.

  “The ship is a killer of fleets, which means we’re all dead.” Hayes blurted out.

  “Damn it Hayes. Shut the fuck up.” Sanchez said.

  “He’s right. About it being a killer of fleets.” McIntyre said.

  “So what is High Command going to do about that?” Vaistll asked.

  “Don’t know.” McIntyre responded.

  “Do you have any Intel on why Lenkov and Omori is here?” Taylor asked.

  “The EOD High Command knows that ship exists, but they won’t do anything about it. It is mainly because Joseph and Sayaka downplayed just how powerful it is. However, High Command ordered both of them here, with that ship and starbase, to protect this moon at all cost. High Command said that they wanted to, ‘see it in action,’ and that it would be, ‘a new class of a ship.’” McIntyre responded.

  “Did Lenkov and Omori believe them?” Taylor asked.

  “In all likelihood… no.”

  “Why do you say that?” Vaistll asked.

  “Would you believe High Command if you were them?” McIntyre asked them.

  “No. No I guess not.” Vaistll responded.

  “Look, you guys got the following choices to make: you have Colonel Blackburn out there with at least 3,000 personnel at his disposal, so you could take him on like you did before. If Project 21 Intel is right on the money, and how often has that occurred, than you can throw EMP grenades and shells at that 10,000 android army. If the Intel is incorrect, and it is as I fear an army of 10,000 Demon Xs, you could take them on. Or you
could do both. You have no way to get off this moon even if out of some miracle you were to pull that off. If The Hammer of Doom, and I do mean the ship, is here, than you have to rely upon Galactic Prime to destroy a ship that, as your Lieutenant put it, is a killer of fleets. So what is your only other option?” McIntyre said. For more than a minute nobody said anything.

  “Forgiveness turns the most bitter of enemies into the closest of friends. I guess we should swallow our pride and call Lenkov.” Ramirez eventually said.

  “I can’t. Could you Alex?” Vaistll asked Ramirez.

  “Ma’am… you’re going to have to do it. It would be considered an insult if you don’t.” Ramirez said. Vaistll didn’t say anything, she only nodded her head.

  “I’ll go tell everyone. Looks like this mission was jinxed from day one.” Taylor said as he got up to leave. He had no idea what to tell them.

  “Captain Adnrwal. What do I owe the pleasure of this call?” Lenkov asked Vaistll.

  “I think you know why I called you.”

  “You’re right, I do. You’ve made the most wisest decision of your career. You decided to surrender.”

  “The EOD High Command knows what you’re planning.”

  “Oh, and what would that be?”

  “Treason.”

  “And how do you figure?”

  “Because we have Intel that says that you’re planning that.”

  “No you don’t. You don’t have any Intel on this moon or on me and Sayaka.”

  “Don’t be so sure of yourself. Do you seriously believe that my team and I would come here if we didn’t have any Intel?”

  “Yes I do believe that. Did you know that Commodore Parker let out Mynik’ny’nuta Ydxx’od’omaa? I wonder what your family would think about that? So when you mutiny against Mad Dawg, why did you give him back command of his ship? Oh wait, your rank is a misnomer. Ain’t it? So let me tell you what you’re going to do: surrender or stay there and perish. The choice is yours.”

  “Alright.” Vaistll said under her breath.

  “What?”

  “I said ‘alright’.”

  “Instruct your team. We’re going to send a Dragon Clone Commando Unit down there to collect you. Over and out.” Lenkov said.

  When the Dragon Clone Commando Unit arrived at their base, Task Force ZH-3C was waiting for them outside the hotel, unarmed. All of their weapons and ammo were in a pile nearby along with their gear. One group of Dragon Clones pointed their weapons at them, while the rest checked them for any weapons. The Dragon Clones then placed all of Task Force ZH-3C weapons and ammo on a drop-ship and the senior officers on another. The Dragon Clones then led the rest of the team (handcuffed) to a personnel drop-ship. Because of the number to be taken, four personnel drop-ships were used. Each drop-ship had two armed Dragon Clones on board. Nobody said anything, but in a strange way they were relieved to be off of that moon.

  When Task Force ZH-3C saw the, The Hammer of Doom, they realized that they never had a chance. As soon as they got on board they were taken to Mad Dawg’s Marines and then their handcuffs were taken off. Vaistll, McIntyre, Taylor, and Ramirez was taken to their assigned quarters. Just like with Mad Dawg they were assigned a armed guard. Fifteen minutes later an EOD Information Specialist came into the room of Vaistll, McIntyre, Taylor, and Ramirez to debrief them. Five hours later they were told to go to the Conference Room on the bridge.

  “McIntyre! Oh my god, you’re still alive!” Mad Dawg said when he saw an old friend.

  “You two know each other?” Vaistll asked them.

  “Yeah, we go way back.” Mad Dawg responded.

  “So what happened to you? On your ship that is.” McIntyre asked.

  Mad Dawg held up his hands and said, “Don’t ask.”

  “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” Vaistll said to Lenkov.

  “Yes. You’re family is safe.” Lenkov responded.

  “Oh yeah, our missing ship is located here in this system.” Mad Dawg mentioned.

  “What missing ship?” Taylor asked.

  “The one from the future.” Lenkov responded.

  “What’s is it doing here?” Vaistll asked.

  “Good question. But those who took it is on nobody’s side.” Omori responded.

  “How do you… Who is it? Who took it?” Taylor asked.

  “A second hive.” Lenkov responded.

  “What!?” Vaistll cried out in disbelief.

  “What are you talking about? There was only one.” Taylor said.

  “Captain… err, Commodore Parker informed the EOD recruiter that there was a second symbiote.” Mad Dawg said.

  “That can’t be. How could there be another one?” Vaistll said.

  “Your sister had a jar with a black liquid in it that was called Liquid Death, and Mynik’ny’nuta had a hard drive with a dead symbiote in it. When Parker…” Mad Dawg was saying.

  “That fucking asshole! I curse him!” Vaistll said out of anger.

  “What’s Liquid Death?” Taylor asked.

  “In my time it was a mythical liquid that was supposed to bring the dead back to life.” Vaistll said.

  “I’m not going into the details but Mynik’ny’nuta brought back La’jyn’eu Ikkry’o. Don’t worry, the hive doesn’t control him.” Lenkov said.

  “How do you know that’s true?” Vaistll asked.

  “Well… if it is not the case then we should go over there and destroy the ship. If it is true and we go over there and destroy the ship than you would destroy the opportunity for the Hau’rino people to be free of the hive. Not only them but also the Imperial family. Other than your family they are the closest you can get to your species. Besides, we can’t leave this area until we know what the Council has in store for us all.” Lenkov responded.

  “Why the Council? I thought High Command handles stuff like that?” McIntyre asked.

  “The Council felt that it was in the EOD best interest to liquidate High Command and everyone in it.” Mad Dawg said with a smile.

  “Well I’m glad that I’m not serving in the EOD High Command. That’s one promotion that I’m glad that I didn’t get.” McIntyre said with a smile. It caused Mad Dawg to snicker.

  “So, what Intel do you have Colonel McIntyre?” Omori asked.

  “Do you know about the Demon Xs?” McIntyre asked.

  “No. What is it?” Omori asked.

  “They make the Dragon Clones look tame like a pussy cat. As you already know the Dragon Clones were created here, but so were the Demon Xs. But for some reason the EOD High Command rejected the Dragon Clones in favor of the Demon Xs. Claudia Newman, a Medical Coryphaeus, left to some unknown destination while her medical specialists stayed here and is still working at Main Laboratory: Ultra 3X (3X means how secure it is – 1X is the lowest and 3X is the highest).” McIntyre said. He then looked at Lenkov and Omori and said, “The source of my Intel indirectly confirms that the Council is trying to get rid of you two.”

  “And what is the source of your Intel?” Omori asked.

  “It was a TV newscaster from the Evening Gazette.”

  “A newscaster?” Omori said snickering.

  “Does the name Rubin Blake and/or Christine McCloud has any meaning to you?”

  “Should it?”

  “No I guess not.”

  “So what’s so special about both of them?” Lenkov asked.

  “Christine McCloud was the newscaster and Rubin Blake worked at Advanced Cybernetic Research Labs as a specialist in software reverse engineering, robotics, and computer programming. McCloud was investigating possible fraud at ACR-Labs. She knew that he knew something and that it was far bigger than fraud. She then talked to the EOD Information Specialist who worked were she did and he gave her permission to pursue her investigation.

  Blake, as you might expect, was very tightlipped about what he knew. McCloud was ready to drop it when she got an anonymous tip that told her to check out the disappearances of several VIPs on the moon
. She then discovered that all of those VIPs share one thing in common: either they directly or indirectly worked for High Command. She then got another anonymous tip that told her to check the phone records of Blake. When she did she learned that each of those VIPs contacted Blake before they disappeared.

  While she was trying to figure out a way to persuade Blake to cooperate with her, the Information Specialist told her that Blake is single, has no children and no girlfriend and she should date him since she’s no different. At first she didn’t want to, but she eventually caved in. So I guess you can imagine what happened next.” McIntyre said.

  “Yeah. So what did she learn from him?” Lenkov asked.

  “There was a rumor that said that there was an underground tunnel under the ACR-Labs. But nobody knows where it ran to. The only thing that was known is that ACR-Labs did not have a warehouse on its premises but it must have access to one.”

  “What were they smuggling out?” Taylor asked.

  “They weren’t smuggling anything out, but rather in. The tunnel that he is referring to ran to a truck depot that lies four miles away. Do you know what they were smuggling in?” Omori said.

  “Blake mentioned that some of the cybernetic implants that you created was being reverse engineered and then sent somewhere.” McIntyre said to Omori.

  “I always suspected that. Besides, the implants that I created could have easily have been created by anyone with enough experience.” Omori responded.

  “Both Blake and McCloud knew that, but they suspected that something else concerning you might be going on there. Which would explain Blake’s work.”

  “Which is?” Omori asked.

  “Program androids to do something extremely horrible and then make it seems like you were the one who program them. His job was to learn your programming techniques.” McIntyre said. Lenkov didn’t like what he just heard. Omori had no reaction.

  “Let me guess, it wasn’t easy for him. Was it?” Omori asked McIntyre.

  “Not by a long shot. He attempted to create a AI that could outsmart your Guardian AI, but without any luck.”

  “What’s a Guardian AI?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “It’s a AI that I develop that knows all the techniques of software reverse engineering in a effort to defeat any attempt to reverse engineer any software that I developed.” Omori responded.