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

by Douglas Howell

  (7)

  Vaistll was in her assigned quarters pacing back and forth thinking about what Lenkov and Omori told her. She was consumed by the thought that her long dead tormentor was resurrected. Her fears and emotions were overpowering her better judgment. While she was pacing, she was talking to herself. She was trying in vain to disprove what they told her, but she couldn’t. Her fears were just too strong. Lenkov and Omori’s control over her was growing by the moment.

  “You wanted to see us ma’am?” Taylor asked Vaistll after he and Ramirez entered the room. She was still pacing to some degree when they entered the room.

  “Yes. Please come in. I need to talk to both of you about something.” Vaistll said. It was obvious to them that she was anxious about something.

  “Ma’am are you alright?” Ramirez asked her.

  “What? Oh. Yeah… I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” Vaistll responded. They could tell that her mind was not focused on anything.

  “It’s just that you seemed preoccupied with something.” Ramirez said.

  “Look Alex… um, just drop it. Please.” Vaistll said.

  “Yeah alright.” Ramirez responded. He knew her well enough to know that if he pushes it any further than she would snap off at him.

  “So what did you wanted to see us about ma’am?” Taylor asked.

  “I’m starting to believe that there is something far more sinister going on this world than meets the eye. Given our predicament, we therefore have no other option but to fully cooperate with both Lenkov and Omori.” Vaistll said. It caught both Taylor and Ramirez off guard because they didn’t expect her to capitulate that easy to them.

  “Permission to speak freely.” Ramirez asked.

  “Granted.” Vaistll responded.

  “Ma’am, I don’t think that is wise. They don’t care about us or the Marines. They’re just using us and the Marines. What do they care if we die? We need to stick to our original plan of figuring out a way to contact Project 21.” Ramirez said.

  “And just how do you propose we send a message? We’re on a ship that could block any messages that we try and send. Do you seriously believe that either we, and/or the Marines, could take over this ship? We’re seriously outnumbered! How many Dragon Clones do they have? Did you forget what one of them did to the Marines on Galactic Prime? We don’t stand a chance! And I hardly think that the Marines would be up for another fight with any more Dragon Clones. And how do you propose we talk with the Marines when they won’t let us speak in private with them!? We have no other choice but to fully cooperate with them!” Vaistll snapped back.

  “Ma’am I could easily…” Ramirez started to say.

  “Do what!? Use your skills as a former member of the EOD Spec-Ops to send a coded communiqué back home!? Have you ever served on a EOD Battle Cruiser before!? Do you even know it’s security systems!? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought that when building a Battle Cruiser the EOD uses a automated work force on the construction of the security systems? Which means, there is no possible way for anyone to know how it works. And all the engineers, and the security personnel, who works in any part of the security systems are either automated or kept under constant surveillance. It might have worked a long time ago, but not anymore.” Vaistll angrily said. It wasn’t like her to talk to either of them like that. They know something is wrong, and they know she won’t tell them what it is.

  “Ma’am, if you wish for both of us to cooperate with them… then that is what we will do.” Taylor said after both he and Ramirez looked at each other.

  “That is actually what I want both of you to do. Dismissed.” Vaistll responded.

  Vaistll is right about one thing, the security systems. Nobody has ever successfully infiltrated an EOD Battle Cruiser before. Other Battle Cruisers yes, EOD Battle Cruisers no. But what neither one of them could have possibly have known is that all EOD Battle Cruisers have cameras all over the place, even in the bathrooms. (Which is one reason why an AI does all the monitoring.) There is no place, other than outside the ship, that a person could go to escape the prying eye of the Big Brother on a EOD Battle Cruiser. It’s a good thing for Ramirez that Vaistll didn’t give him permission to try to send a coded communiqué back home. He would have been captured and shot.

  The Science of Terror

  (1)

  Mad Dawg, his Marines, Jaguar 42R, several Dragon Clones, and 500 of Lenkov’s personnel just arrived at what once was A10-36D. While they were both searching for Intel and collecting dog tags Dawson’s driver approached them. Nobody pulled their gun upon him since they could tell that he was shot and was dying.

  “Who are you!?” Mad Dawg asked Dawson’s driver.

  “That’s not important. You must stop Captain Dawson before it’s too late. He went insane after he was defeated. He shot me when I disagreed with him over…” Dawson’s driver said. He then dropped down to his knees with blood coming from his mouth.

  “Where is he?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “Here, take this. Please stop him before he…” Dawson’s driver said as he fell over dead. He handed Mad Dawg a PDA that showed a map of where they are, including the core tunnel that Mad Dawg was ordered to go to.

  After they finished collecting the dog tags (minus Captain Dawson’s personnel) they left and headed to the core tunnel. They arrived at the tunnel without incidence and was able to destroy the blast door to the tunnel without any alarms going off. Inside the tunnel there was a train terminal. After recalling the train back to the terminal, Mad Dawg had the Dragon Clones and 1,500 Marines to board the train and secure whatever lies at the other end of the tunnel.

  The tunnel ran for 25 miles and was near dark. Nobody in the train could tell if there was any side tunnels that connected it to another tunnel. Nor was there anything on the map that suggested that it did (a couple of Dragon Clones swore that they saw several side tunnel). The core tunnel also have special cooling systems which uses the internal heat of the moon as a power source. Nevertheless, it was still hot inside the tunnel reaching temperatures of 90-110 degrees.

  Once they got close enough to the terminal they disembark and continued the rest of the way on foot. They were able to overrun Dawson’s forces at the terminal and then they sent the train back to Mad Dawg. Jaguar 42R made the decision to have a third of the Marines to stay at the terminal while he, the other Dragon Clones, and the rest of the Marines search and clear the facility of Dawson’s forces. Mad Dawg, 1,000 Marines and the rest of Lenkov’s personnel arrived before Jaguar 42R got back.

  “What Intel do you have junior?” Mad Dawg asked Jaguar 42R.

  “Resistance was very light sir. Twenty-five Marines lost their lives. We have secured the command and control room of this facility. We were not able to investigate the lower regions of the facility.” Jaguar 42R responded.

  “And why not?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “They were in a strong defensive position and they were in control of a room that appeared to be the communications for this facility.”

  “Approximately how many are there?”

  “One hundred and fifty sir.”

  “Do you have any ideas on how we can take their positions?” Mad Dawg asked out of curiosity.

  “I could lead a group of Dragon Clones and attack their rear flanks sir, while you attack their forward flanks. A Dragon Clone could be sent to secure the communication room.” Jaguar 42R responded.

  “Let’s look at the map of the area first.” Mad Dawg said.

  While Mad Dawg was studying the map he had 1st Lieutenant Boyington (one of Lenkov’s personnel) go to the computer storage area and download everything. After Mad Dawg finished studying the map, he had a feeling that his career would soon be over. He thought that it was strange since the deal that he made with Lenkov and Omori suggested the same thing, but he never got the feeling that it would be over until now. Why now? And then he had the thought that maybe it meant that he was going to die down there. After all, he suspected that there co
uld be a cloning facility down there. It is one reason why all of his Marines was sent down there. Payback for the lost of Galactic Prime.

  “Sir, the rest of the Marines have arrived. What are your orders?” Boyington informed Mad Dawg.

  “Pick four Marines and have them guard the train terminal. Place twenty-five in each of the nearby buildings. Place fifty in this building. We are going to use this one to hold prisoners until we have to leave. Then report back to me.” Mad Dawg said.

  “Yes sir.” Boyington responded.

  Minus the building that they are in, there are five buildings. Boyington didn’t like the fact that 175 Marines are being used to guard the buildings when their orders are to see if the warehouse is indeed a cloning facility and if so, destroy it. Plus, he wants them to guard prisoners? Shouldn’t they have more Marines, preferably one hundred more, to guard this building with the fifty to guard the prisoners? It then dawn on Boyington that nobody cared. Everyone was too afraid of what is down there to care all that much, including the Dragon Clones.

  “Listen up people.” Mad Dawg said out loud with the senior officers coming near. “I decided that junior and the rest of the Dragon Clones, minus one, should go behind Dawson’s men and secure a position in case of a counter-attack. A group of my Marines will be accompanying the Dragon Clones. One Dragon Clone will infiltrate and secure the communications room. Lenkov’s personnel will cover and protect the com room from possible attack. One group of my Marines will attack from the rear and the rest will attack from the front. Any questions?”

  Nobody said anything, they only left to carry out their orders. For Mad Dawg, just as he predicted, the enemy practically surrender. The causalities of Mad Dawg forces were light. For Dawson’s personnel their losses were: one-third wounded and twenty-five dead. There was no counter-attack which made Mad Dawg worried even more. The only drawback was the lost of the communication room. One of Dawson’s personnel destroyed it after she heard the gunfight and after she’d informed Dawson who only laughed and said nothing.

  “Boyington, front and center!” Mad Dawg barked out loud.

  “You wanted to see me sir.” Boyington responded after he got to Mad Dawg’s position.

  “Find a secured room and put the prisoners in it. What is the situation with our causalities?”

  “Nothing too serious sir. A little medical attention and they will be fine.”

  “Junior, front and center!” Mad Dawg barked out loud.

  “You wanted to see me sir.” Jaguar 42R responded after he got to Mad Dawg’s position.

  “I need for you and the other Dragon Clones to scout ahead for Intel.” Mad Dawg said.

  “Yes sir.” Jaguar 42R responded and then left.

  Twenty-eight minutes later Jaguar 42R and the other Dragon Clones returned with disturbing news. It was something that nobody wanted to hear. Especially Mad Dawg who was worried that he might die down there. The only thing that Jaguar 42R said was that the warehouse is a cloning vat that is cloning Demon Xs - a whole army of them. When Mad Dawg heard that it turned him pale white. It took him a while before he finally spoke.

  “Alright. Then I guess that it is up to us to put things right down here. If we are to die, than let’s die fighting those sons-a-bitches.” Mad Dawg said in a sobering tone of voice.

  “Sir, don’t you want to set up a defensive position at the com room?” Boyington asked.

  “From what, or from whom? There is an army of Demon Xs down there. We need everyone with us. Besides, we can set up a defensive position inside the cloning vats.” Mad Dawg responded.

  As Mad Dawg and his forces got deeper into the cloning vats it became apparent that something was not right. When they were halfway in, everyone was expecting an ambush but none came. As they got near the command and control facility for the cloning vats, they met a few of Dawson’s men who were quickly overrun. Something wasn’t adding up. There should have been more of his men guarding the facility but there weren’t. Why? Where are they? As expected, they only encountered a few more of Dawson’s personnel inside the facility. As they got near the command and control room they finally heard from Dawson who was laughing over the speaker phone.

  “Who are you Marine?” Dawson said.

  “Captain Burton, but you can call me Mad Dawg.” Mad Dawg responded causing Dawson to laugh.

  “Oh, look at you. Some type of a big… bad… Marine… here to kill me. Don’t make me laugh. Do you seriously think that you stand a chance down here? You don’t know what we are cloning down here do you?” Dawson said.

  “Sure I do. And that’s why we are down here… to perform an exorcism.” Mad Dawg responded. His remark caused Dawson to laugh in a guffaw manner.

  “This is big father to one who calls himself alpha male.” Dawson was saying over the intercom. “It’s time for you to feast upon the flesh of the one who calls himself Mad Dawg.” Just then everyone heard the alarms going off indicating that the holding pins were opening.

  Mad Dawg and everyone in the facility quickly ran to the command and control room. When they got inside the room they noticed that Dawson destroyed the computers. Over the intercom they could hear the screams of Dawson’s personnel as the Demon Xs was killing and eating them. The gunfire and the screams, combine with the sounds of the Demon Xs, were blended into one strange nightmarish sound. Nobody could tell who, or what, was making the sounds. Off and on they could hear an explosion that told them that it all was occurring below where they are at (the cloning vats had two levels). They then noticed that Dawson was in a shielded room.

  “Oh, Mad Doggie… why don’t you kill me? Now’s your chance.” Dawson said in a mocking tone of voice through the intercom for the room. He then laughed.

  “Why don’t you come out?” Mad Dawg said. Boy was he pissed off.

  “Come and get me. This leads to an elevator. But when I leave… the elevator will be destroyed. See you on the surface Mad Doggie.” Dawson said. He was laughing when he said that. With that, Dawson left, laughing until they could no longer hear him.

  “Fuckin’-A!” Mad Dawg yelled out and then he hit the door.

  “Sir, we need to leave… RIGHT NOW.” Jaguar 42R said in a demanding tone of voice.

  Nobody wasted any time in leaving the facility. As soon as they left the facility a Demon X jumped at and attack a Dragon Clone. The two of them fought for several minutes before another Demon X got in the fight. The Dragon Clone was able to hold his ground until a third Demon X joined in the fight. As Mad Dawg was running towards the exit a Demon X jumped at him and was intercepted by a Dragon Clone who jumped at the Demon X and tackled him to the ground. As Mad Dawg watched, two more Demon Xs jumped on the Dragon Clone before he had a chance to stand up. Mad Dawg could hear the Dragon Clone cried out in pain as it was being eaten alive. The sounds of gunfire, screams, explosions, and dark shapes surrounded Mad Dawg. He knew that he was going to die and all he could think about was his wife.

  As Mad Dawg made it to the exit a Demon X jumped at him and was shot dead by someone behind the Demon X. The Demon X lifeless body landed on Mad Dawg and knocked the wind out of him. A Dragon Clone grabbed the lifeless body and pulled it off of Mad Dawg. As Mad Dawg was about to say something, two Demon Xs tackled the Dragon Clone to the ground. Mad Dawg shot and killed one of them but before he could kill the other Demon X, Jaguar 42R grabbed him and told him that they have to leave. As they were leaving, Jaguar 42R killed the Demon X and helped the fallen Dragon Clone to his feet. The Dragon Clone then told Jaguar 42R to leave him. As Jaguar 42R started to leave, a Demon X came at them and the fallen Dragon Clone killed it and was providing covering fire to all who needed it.

  They made it back to the communication room without incidence, but as they passed it the cloning vats went quiet. The silence was deafen as they knew that, either it was over for everyone in there, the Demon Xs left the area, or both. As they got near where the prisoners were being kept, they heard the Demon Xs got to the communication room area
. The fear started to overpower everyone as they knew that it was a matter of time before the Demon Xs would be on top of them.

  “Sir, what’s going on out there?” Boyington asked Mad Dawg.

  “Give the prisoners back their weapons and…” Mad Dawg was saying.

  “But sir…” Boyington was saying. He stopped when he heard gunfire and an explosion somewhere in the building.

  “Captain Dawson let out the Demon Xs and…” Jaguar 42R was saying. There was gunfire near the room and then a Marine came running in.

  “Sir…!” The Marine said. A Demon X came through the door and attacked the Marine. As everyone open fire on the Demon X (and a couple more that came in the door) Boyington ran, gave the prisoners back their weapons and told them what happened.

  “Is there another way out of here!?” Mad Dawg yelled out of fear.

  “Yes sir!” One of Dawson’s men yelled back.

  “Who are you!?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “Staff Sergeant… holy shit!” The Sergeant said as he saw a Demon X come into the room. “Overton, my name is Overton sir!” The Sergeant said after the Demon X was killed.

  “Sergeant, how do we get out of here!?” Boyington yelled when the Sergeant didn’t say anything.

  “Out the window and on the roof sir!” Overton yelled over the gunfire as he saw several Demon Xs coming down the hallway.