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

by Douglas Howell

  “Captain Dawson, this is Captain Maxwell. A unit is coming to take over. The code phrase is, ‘The one thing not mentioned is: a new life makes others weak in the knees.’ The response phrase is, ‘Our strength will forever shine on.’” Captain Maxwell informed Captain Dawson. Maxwell then had the call discontinue since procedures dictated that Captain Dawson did not have to respond.

  “Captain Burton, I am Senior Ensign Jeffers. My team and I have been assigned to assist you and your men.”

  Jeffers is of British decent who, on his father’s side, have ancestors who served in the British military as far back as WW1. He was born on a British space colony and when he was twelve a unknown alien race attack and tried to wipe out the colony. Out of a population of at least 1,100, only 23 survived. An EOD military unit found what was left of the survivors in a church. Jeffers was the only survivor of his family. The only thing that he had left of his family was a photo album depicting his paternal lineage in the military. An EOD officer adopted Jeffers and, although Jeffers wanted to take on the last name of his adopted family, the officer told him that he should keep his last name to honor his paternal lineage service in the military.

  Jeffers’ personnel included twenty-five men, five women and eight Dragon Clones. Jeffers’ had to go with Mad Dawg since Captain Dawson would recognize him. The Dragon Clones had to come along in order to, “level the playing field.” Mad Dawg, along with his Marines, suspected that the only reason why Jeffers was coming with them is to make certain that they don’t pull a fast one on them.

  “That was never part of my boys training.” Mad Dawg said in a suspicious tone of voice.

  “My team and I will not be getting in your way sir.”

  “Yeah I bet. Is it that you are tagging along to make certain that we fulfill our side of the bargain?”

  “Permission to speak freely.”

  “Granted.”

  “I don’t like this anymore than you do sir. But I don’t have a choice in the matter. I wouldn’t want to tag along with you and your personnel anymore than you with me and mine. I guess it’s lack of trust on both sides. I don’t trust you and you don’t trust me. But my duty tells me to push aside my feelings and cooperate with you. And that’s what I’m going to do.” Jeffers said. Mad Dawg didn’t say anything because he knew that Jeffers is right.

  While the drop-ships were being loaded with both personnel and their gear, and leaving, a Dragon Clone approached Mad Dawg. Mad Dawg was in no mood to talk with any Dragon Clone no matter how nice they are or even if they were ordered to talk to him. And now here comes one who, what, want to chit-chat with him?

  “Whatever it is, it’s going to have to wait.” Mad Dawg said to the Dragon Clone when he came near.

  “I think you may want to hear what I have to say sir.” The Dragon Clone said.

  “I don’t think so. So move along.”

  “I think that you do sir.”

  “No… I don’t. So, move along.”

  “I was the one who was ordered to infiltrate your ship.” The Dragon Clone blurted out. Mad Dawg was deeply angered when he heard that.

  “So… you wanted to come along and see more of my crew get killed. To finish the job.” Mad Dawg said through his teeth and fury in his eyes.

  “No sir. I was ordered to come along.”

  “Why would they send you? To torment me.” Mad Dawg said again through his teeth.

  “Because I am the best infiltrator in this sector sir.”

  “Yeah. And what about when you were on board my ship? I supposed you volunteer for that, didn’t you?” Mad Dawg said. He still have fury in his eyes and he is trying his best to keep his temper.

  “Colonel Blackburn ordered me to go sir. I didn’t want to go because I though that it would a waste of life.” The Dragon Clone said.

  “A waste of life!? What a load of fuckin’ bullshit! You know that you enjoyed killing my crew. So don’t you DARE say that it was a ‘waste of life.’” Mad Dawg said as he was on the verge of losing his temper. He was exercising a great deal of restraint.

  “Then why did I let some of your crew members live? The ones outside the bridge. I was ordered by Colonel Blackburn to kill your engineering staff as well as to engage your security and eliminate them. Everything that I did was part of my objectives.”

  “Then why did he ordered you?”

  “I have no idea sir. I was trained to infiltrate military bases not spaceships.”

  “Fine. Just… stay out of my way down there.” Mad Dawg said with his anger subsided.

  Deep down inside Mad Dawg knew he was right. If Mad Dawg was ordered to infiltrate a enemy ship he would have done the same thing. Mad Dawg could not swallow his pride and admit that the Dragon Clone was right. It deeply hurt him to stand before someone who came so close to killing him. Despite the fact that Mad Dawg sees his ship as his lost daughter, it nowhere near hurt him as bad as losing his crew that he did. A ship is a ship and it always can be repaired. In a small way Mad Dawg appreciated the fact that the Dragon Clone told him that. It’s better to know now than to know later. It caused Mad Dawg to respect him a little more. Mad Dawg, Jeffers (along with a few other VIPs) and the Dragon Clone who infiltrated Galactic Prime, were on the same drop-ship.

  “So, what is your name?” Mad Dawg asked the Dragon Clone.

  “Chief Warrant Officer, Third Class, Jaguar 42R.” The Dragon Clone responded.

  “Why do they call you that?”

  “The cloning vat that I came from has a serial number in a alpha-numerical format. Mine started with the letter j so they picked jaguar as a name for all the Dragon Clones that come from it. The number 42 refers to the fact that I was the 42nd Dragon Clone that came from it. The number goes as high as 500 since the vat needs to be cleaned and some of the equipment needs to be replaced. After they clean it they restart at 1 and place a “A” at the end. When they restart it again they’ll place a “B” at the end and etc.” Jaguar 42R responded.

  “So what happens after Jaguar 500Z?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “The probability of mutation goes up to 8.8% and is therefore considered unacceptable. The cloning vat is than discontinued.”

  “So what if they need more of you guys?”

  “Manufacture a new cloning vat and start at the number 501 or used a different name.”

  “Would it bother you if I call you junior since your name starts with a j and ends in a r?” Mad Dawg asked him.

  “No sir.” Jaguar 42R responded.

  The rest of the trip to the surface was uneventful and quiet. There was little if any talking done in the drop-ships ferrying the Marines. Each of the Marines wanted payback for what was done to them on Galactic Prime. Although the individual who is responsible for inflicting the grievous wound upon them is on another drop-ship (none of them knew that but a few suspected it), each of them is more than happy to take it out on the one who gave the orders to have their ship infiltrated. (Lenkov had someone tell them.) And although that man is dead, the Marines are more than content with taking it out on his second-in-command. But like anyone else going into combat, they spent their time in deep self-reflection. Each of them handle the trip in their own way for they knew that it could be their last. Some made peace with themselves, others thought about their loved ones back home, and a few of them was looking at pictures of their spouses. Each one of them was reminded of who they will be fighting along side when they heard a corpse hit their drop-ship.

  Feeling entrapped into doing something that they don’t want to do, the Marines took satisfaction in destroying an EOD force much larger than theirs. They will do their job and they will love it, but they don’t like serving the way in which they are. They will never know the names of the corpses who hit their drop-ships, but a few of the Marines was thanking them for reminding them of who they really are. They will always be Marines first and foremost.

  The security station M16-Y09 has robots who do all of the maintenance. The security station was designe
d to receive military drop-ships and allow the occupants quick access to military vehicles for official business. For economical reasons robots were used to maintain the base, which made it easier for the strike force to achieve their objectives. Although regulation called for them to inform Captain Dawson that they are coming, Lenkov wanted to catch him off-guard.

  When they arrived at Dawson’s base they were able to get into their positions without incidence. The last group to get into position was the one that Mad Dawg is a part of. After Mad Dawg’s group got inside HQ they immediately left to deal with Captain Dawson. While they were in the hallway on the third floor that led to Captain Dawson’s office, they heard gunfire coming from outside. They all stop and listen for a moment and then ran into his office when they heard an explosion. Nobody will ever know who fired first, those who would have known died.

  When they got inside Captain Dawson’s office Jeffers shot at, and was shot by, Captain Dawson’s personnel. Jaguar 42R was able to eliminate some of the personnel which gave Mad Dawg the chance to rush Dawson’s position. Mad Dawg caught Dawson trying to climb out of a window. Mad Dawg shot Dawson in the upper right arm and lower right leg which caused him to fall out of the window. Mad Dawg went to the window, looked out, and was shot at by some of Dawson’s personnel. Mad Dawg stepped back as the broken window glass sprayed him in the face causing no injuries. Before he had the chance to react Jaguar 42R ran and jumped through the window. When Mad Dawg looked out the window he saw Jaguar 42R kill the last personnel who was standing there. Jaguar 42R than ran to catch Dawson who was being led away by some of his men.

  When Jaguar 42R got back he mentioned that he was not able to catch up with Dawson. He said that he was intercepted by some of Dawson’s personnel and Dawson then escape by a stealth helicopter. Nobody at the time perceive Dawson as a threat anymore. When Galactic Prime first arrived, Colonel Blackburn had 4,211 personnel. When his forces attack Task Force ZH-3C he lost 833. Of Dawson’s remaining forces 713 was captured, 455 was killed and 2,210 escape along with Dawson. Although Dawson’s forces are still a threat, it is a much weaker threat. For Mad Dawg, he lost fifteen of his personnel. Five of Jeffers’ personnel died. Jeffers himself would later die of his wounds.

  With the defeat of Captain Dawson and the capture of so many of his personnel it has render the EOD control over Golden Hyperion ineffective. Everyone on that moon, without them realizing it, just took a huge step forward of being free from the EOD. But they’re not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot. None of them realize just how much further they have to go.

  Mad Dawg’s Marines had to stay behind (temporary) and secure the prisoners while he and the rest of Lenkov’s forces return back to The Hammer of Doom. It was against procedures to take any prisoners on board any military ship other than a transport. Not one place in the star system could hold them and so, what was left of Captain Dawson’s forces were held as prisoners on their base until a suitable place could be found for them.

  It took three days before the Intel could be completely analyzed. It also had to be compared to what was already known. The EOD always use techniques similar to that of the police detectives when it comes to analyzing any Intel. They do that because of the possibility of disinformation. To sum it up: always have more than one way to get the Intel that you need. An intelligent agency such as the CIA may think that it means to use torture to extract information, but it don’t. Traditional forms of police interrogations work, not torture. Which is one reason why the EOD does not officially torture anyone, but turns a blind eye to it’s officers who do.

  All the senior officers, including those in Task Force ZH-3C (who had to stand [not enough chairs]), were in the Conference Room on The Hammer of Doom. Lieutenant Fisher and his intelligence team had just finished analyzing all of the Intel collect by Mad Dawg and his team. Ten Marines, twenty of Lenkov’s forces and fourteen Dragon Clones had to stay behind to secure the prisoners. While the Intel was being analyzed, Lenkov was sending equipment, robotic auto-guns, and construction vehicles to build up the defenses of the base. In effect, he turn the base into a heavily defended base. Lenkov also warned everyone at the base that if Dawson were to attack reinforcements will not arrive in time. They were under strict orders to be on high alert at all times.

  “Whaddaya got Fisher?” Lenkov asked.

  “Not good sir. They’ve built tunnels using those core boring machines, but the tunnels don’t reach the core.” Lieutenant Fisher responded.

  “Then what were they using them for?” Captain Maxwell asked.

  “I don’t know sir. Some of the tunnels went 50% to the core while others would bypass the core. A few of them were connected to each other.” Lieutenant Fisher responded.

  “Wait a minute… what do you mean ‘bypass the core’?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “I mean that at the angle that the core boring machine was traveling, it would have missed the core.” Lieutenant Fisher responded.

  “Was there any signs that they tried to correct it?” Omori asked.

  “No ma’am.”

  “Is there something wrong with the core?” Mad Dawg asked Fisher.

  “No sir.”

  “Is there anything in the tunnels that might account for why they obviously avoid the core?” Captain Maxwell asked.

  “A few of them have some type of a building in them.”

  “Do you have any ideas on what those buildings may be used for?” Lenkov asked.

  “No sir. It was given a Red Book Classification Code of Omega X.” Lieutenant Fisher responded.

  “What else do you got on those tunnels?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “Whatever those tunnels are used for the rubble was taken to be processed at the mining planet in this star sector. But they haven’t yet process it.”

  “Do you know why that may be?” Omori asked.

  “No ma’am. Each of those tunnels with a building in it also has something, maybe some type of a warehouse, in them.” Fisher added.

  “How large is the warehouse?” Lenkov asked.

  “Roughly three to five miles sir.”

  “I suppose you don’t know what is in them.” Mad Dawg asked.

  “No sir I don’t.” Lieutenant Fisher responded.

  “Alright Lieutenant that will be all.” Lenkov said.

  “Sir, there is something black floating in Ishtar upper atmosphere, at it’s equator and at both of it’s poles.” Lieutenant Fisher added.

  “What do you mean ‘something black’?” Captain Maxwell asked.

  “What I mean sir, is that it is man-made and it is at least four to six times larger than this ship.” Lieutenant Fisher responded.

  “What all three of them?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “Yes sir.”

  “What information do you possess upon them?” Omori asked.

  “None ma’am.” Lieutenant Fisher responded.

  “That will be all Lieutenant.” Captain Maxwell said. And with that Fisher left the room.

  “This is getting a lot more interesting by the day.” Mad Dawg said.

  “It’s probably something that going to kill us.” Lieutenant Hayes said under his breath. Everyone heard him, some, including Ramirez, gave him a dirty look.

  “And just how are you going to deal with whatever is in Ishtar’s atmosphere?” Vaistll finally spoke, referring to Lenkov.

  Lenkov didn’t say anything because he had no idea. Until they have direct confirmation on what it is, they can’t do anything about it. No sense in destroying something that is not there. What would be the point at shooting at shadows on a gas giant? Nor does it make any sense to destroy something that does not pose a threat to the ship. Yes they can destroy it, but their sensors cannot tell them what preciously it is that they would be destroying. And since they cannot board it (they have no idea if they could) they’re just going to have to leave it alone. But they’re fixing to find out what it is and they will not like it. Not by a long shot. But when they find out what it is it wil
l change everything for them. For it will change the whole dynamic of their relations to each other.

  (2)

  Captain Dawson just arrived at the secret stealth base. The base was under a large dome and the dome was a cloaking device. The helicopter that he was on could enter the base without the stealth features of either the base or the helicopter being disable. Dawson was still in a lot of pain when he arrived at the base. When he fell out of the window his left arm was pointed towards the ground and when he hit the ground he broke his left arm in three places.

  Dawson was not surprised by Lenkov and Omori betrayal (he never liked them and thought [wrongly] that their ambitions would lead them to commit treason). Their treason did, however, caught him off-guard, but not unprepared. His actions after Colonel Blackburn’s suicide helped him and the rest of his personnel escape. He did not plan nor prepare for any counter-attack that he would have to undertake. And now Dawson must figure out a way to do just that, but his arrogance blinds him to the group of officers that he faces and how formidable they can be to one such as he. Dawson’s arrogance may blind him to the hopelessness of trying to defeat them, but he still has an ace up his sleeve.

  Although Dawson is still in pain, he refused to be taken to sickbay because he wanted to strike back before it was too late. He ordered everybody (minus the pilot) to find all of his personnel and head to A10-36D base which has enough military vehicles to mount a counter-attack. Dawson was going to liberate his personnel at all cost (he knew that he desperately needed them), which is what Lenkov was hoping that’ll he do.