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

by Douglas Howell

  Underneath the cloning vats is a drainage pipe that is just large enough for him to fit through, but is too small for the Demon Xs. The bio-liquid (milk is a form of a bio-liquid Illes reminded himself) is not harmful to humans. It drains to a holding container before being processed. Into what, Illes had no idea. The holding container has an access door for maintenance personnel. This very deep underground maintenance facility leads to a medical storage area and… FOOD! Yes! It leads to a storage area with six-to-eight weeks worth of food. Just enough time for him to recover from his wounds. It also leads to a elevator that leads to the surface. What’s more, for security reasons, the Demon X cloning facility is not connected to the maintenance area. There’s no way for those damn things to get there! Now he just needs to get that pipe off without those damn things hearing him.

  Illes turned and looked to his left and saw with astonishment that the pipe was dislodged. He can get in and get away from them without them hearing him! Hallelujah, praise the lord! God almighty in the highest! He can get away! He can make it! He can survive! Illes couldn’t believe his good fortune. He could only smile at it.

  Illes then heard one of them nearby. He looked to his right and saw that it was eating someone’s right arm. A light was swinging back and forth and Illes could almost make out who it belong to. And then he saw something. It was something that made him wanted to look harder. And then he realized that it was a tattoo. But who was it? Who did it belong to? It was too dark for him to make out the tattoo. He only had the light to go by and it was swinging back and forth. He then had the sinking feeling that he may know who it belongs to. And then he saw it clear as a bell. It was his! He then looked at his arm and saw that it was gone. And then he looked down at his body and noticed that they have been eating him alive. Illes could only scream until he could scream no more.

  (5)

  McIntyre’s shuttle finally landed in one the cargo bay on The Hammer of Doom. Both Lenkov and Omori was waiting for him. When McIntyre left the shuttle he handed Omori the red positronic brain. He was both glad to be back and that he went on that mission. He was glad that he went on that mission because of who and what the Flip Jumpers are.

  “Arigatou.” Omori said with a smile after McIntyre handed her the red positronic brain.

  “Doitashimashite.” McIntyre responded which sparked Omori’s curiosity.

  “Nihongo o hanasemasu ka?” Omori asked.

  “Watashi wa Nihongo ga sukoshi shika hanasemasen.” McIntyre responded.

  “Oh. Well in that case I’ll speak to you in English then.” Omori said.

  “If you keep it short and simple, you can debrief us on your mission right now.” Lenkov said after McIntyre didn’t respond to Omori.

  “Eight scientists who are no more. They knew nothing about that brain. There were Demon Xs there, but not any more. If you send anybody there, make certain that they wear a spacesuit.” McIntyre said.

  “Noted. You’re dismissed.” Lenkov said. When McIntyre was several feet away Lenkov added, “Hey colonel, you might want to go see Mad Dawg. He’s in sickbay. It can’t wait.”

  It was something that nobody wants to hear about a friend. Although he’s glad that his friend is still alive, he is deeply concerned in what condition his friend may be in. McIntyre’s tough macho exterior was struggling with his heart. He was deeply relieved when he saw Mad Dawg.

  “What happened to you?” Mad Dawg asked when McIntyre came into the room. Mad Dawg noticed the bandages on McIntyre’s arm.

  “Never mind about that. Do you feel up to the challenge of telling me what happen to you?” McIntyre asked Mad Dawg not knowing if he felt like it.

  “What do you know about my mission in that core tunnel?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “Just what Lenkov told me. He said that you wanted payback for the lost of your ship. He ordered you to take 500 of his personnel, along with several Dragon Clones, with you. And that you knew, or suspected, that the warehouse is in effect a cloning facility that is cloning Demon Xs.” McIntyre said.

  “That asshole Dawson let all of them out and then the fuckin’ coward escaped to the surface.” Mad Dawg responded.

  “So how many of your people did you lose?” McIntyre asked. The question made Mad Dawg cry.

  “Only Jaguar 42R survived out of Lenkov’s personnel. As for me? Nine out of 3,535 survived.” Mad Dawg mentioned. It shocked McIntyre.

  “Jesus! Oh god, I’m so sorry. Who do you have left?” McIntyre said.

  “When Colonel Blackburn ordered Jaguar 42R to infiltrate my ship I lost seventy-eight personnel and fourteen were injured. Of those who were injured who are still left alive, they are: Engineer Sulloway, Staff Sergeant Braddick, Corporal Spencer with a broken back, and Sergeant Major Bishop who was shot in the stomach. Later there was a fire in the barracks. Ten died and 22 were injured. Of them, only 2nd Lieutenant Vollmer is still alive. When I was ordered to put to rout Dawson’s forces at A10-36D, I lost 53 personnel. I lost another ten while they were defending the base from Dawson’s counter-attack. When I entered the core tunnel I had 3,375 personnel… I left with four.” Mad Dawg said with tears in his eyes.

  “Sir…” Private Esterline said to Mad Dawg as he came over. “…if you should become the captain of a civilian vessel, I don’t mind being apart of your crew.”

  “Why? Both you and Cochrane have always gotten on my nerves over that moonshine of yours. It’s the main reason why the two of you were demoted.” Mad Dawg said.

  “I know sir. I don’t know if you know this or not, but when the mutiny occurred on Galactic Prime I supported you. Whether right or wrong, you’re still the captain. It’s the job of the crew to support you, not to rebel against you. I had the time of my life serving under you and I will always be proud of that. When I get home I will ask my girlfriend’s hand in marriage. But I don’t know what I’m going to do as a civilian, given what happened on the Earth. You taught me to love space travel. It’s in my blood, not the moonshine. I want to serve on a ship and I can think of no other captain to serve under, than you.” Esterline said. It deeply moved Mad Dawg. It almost brought him to tears.

  “Thomas…” McIntyre said to Mad Dawg. Mad Dawg hates being called Tom and McIntyre respects him enough to never have called him that. “…I might as well join you on Andromeda. Then both of us could set up a business.”

  “You got to be shittin’ me. Me and you as business partners? And what would your wife say about that? Janelle (McIntyre’s second wife) don’t strike me as the type that would give up her business and then watch both of us start up one of our own.” Mad Dawg responded.

  “I left her.” McIntyre said a bit disappointed.

  “What? Why?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “Francis (McIntyre’s only son with his first wife) caught her in bed with another man.”

  “So what did she do when he caught her?”

  “Nothing. Because that other man… was Francis.”

  “Oh god. I’m so sorry.” Mad Dawg said.

  “Yeah, well it happens. Don’t it? Living on some godforsaken world with a small population. Cut off from major population centers. Sooner or later, it’s bound to happen. It’s one reason why I wanted to move away from there. But no. She said that she’d loved the peace and quiet. She loved the tranquil beauty of our home near a mountain lake. She got Francis to work with her and with the way that she was treating him caused me to suspect something. I have nothing to go back to.” McIntyre said.

  “What about Francis?” Mad Dawg asked.

  “He ran off to some unknown place. I tried to get in touch with him, but I couldn’t find him. My only son. My only child and that bitch… When he called me I wanted to tell him that I loved him no matter what, but he hung up on me before I got the chance. That was the last time that I ever heard from him.” McIntyre responded. The room went quiet after that.

  McIntyre, Mad Dawg and the rest of his Marines were classified as priority crewmembers until the mission to destroy Dawson
and the Demon X army was over. In due time all eleven of them would be given a choice, home or Andromeda. For security reasons they had to make the decision before they left Golden Hyperion. If they should later choose to change their minds than they would have to return back to Golden Hyperion and meet up with an agent.

  Although Mad Dawg could have chosen to go home he decided that Andromeda is the place to call his new home. McIntyre went to Andromeda, started up a business, fell in love, got married and started up a family. He would later be reunited with his son who was still struggling with what his step-mother did to him. Mad Dawg would later become McIntyre’s business partner and the captain of a large ship. Private Esterline kept good on his word to marry his girlfriend, head to Andromeda and would become the first of the surviving Marines to join Mad Dawg’s crew. The rest would later come to Andromeda with their family and join Mad Dawg’s crew. They mainly did it out of the uncertainty over the fate of the human race.

  When Mad Dawg died of old age (Lenkov, Omori, McIntyre and the surviving Marines were there at his funeral) both the people of Andromeda and Golden Hyperion built a monument to him. But it is the people of Golden Hyperion who would never forget the sacrifice of Mad Dawg and those who help to liberate them. They will live forever in the hearts and minds of the people there.

  “You wanted to see us sir?” Vaistll asked Lenkov.

  Lenkov, Omori and Maxwell (all three was standing up) was waiting for Vaistll, Taylor and Ramirez in the Conference Room. Lenkov motion for the three of them to sit down and read a PDA on the table. The PDA was Mad Dawg’s debriefing on the core tunnel. It had a chilling effect on the three of them. At that moment in time they realized that they made a horrible mistake in resisting Lenkov.

  “Sir, I’m sorry…” Vaistll was saying in a sincere tone of voice.

  “Save it captain. We trusted you, and by we I also mean McIntyre and Mad Dawg, to cooperate with us in our defeat of Dawson. But what did the three of you do? Stab us in the back. Over what!? Did…” Lenkov was saying.

  “But sir…” Vaistll was saying.

  “And I told you to save it captain. Like I was fixing to say. Did you seriously think that you could come all this way and defeat all of us? With no intelligence!? Did you know that Caparzo is deeply in debt to the Mafia on Roscadia? And if he can’t repay that debt, he’s a dead man? Did you know that he’s been here before? Or how about the real reason why Project 21 wanted you, I mean you captain, to come here? What, don’t you know? It’s because there is a ‘unmistakable Wol’ga’con presence upon Golden Hyperion.’ In their own words! What, you didn’t know? Of course not, because they didn’t tell you. Did you know that Sanchez tried to get the mafia on Roscadia to go after the EOD in order to find her husband? Or how about the fact that Sanchez became the messenger for the mafia warning Caparzo to pay off his debts or else? Now, how in the universe do we know all of that? Perhaps it’s the same way that we know that Hayes is responsible for losing half of your ammo. Then his behavior caused you to chew him out which only deepen his depression. But instead of reckoning that he is depressed because of his mistake, you gave him command of White Team. It only fueled his depression which, combined with the lost of ammo, caused him to suggest to White Team to betray your Task Force. You need us more than you can imagine.” Lenkov said.

  “Sir, like I said, I’m sorry.” Vaistll said.

  “Do you know what the penalty is on a EOD ship for doing what you were planning?” Omori asked.

  “Yes ma’am.” Vaistll responded.

  “Then don’t make us carry it out captain.” Lenkov said sternly.

  “We’re going to send your Task Force down to the Main Laboratory: Ultra 3X to find out how we can defeat the Demon Xs. We also want you to collect any Intel on any other… monsters that they are creating.” Captain Maxwell ordered her.

  “I understand.” Vaistll said.

  “And by the way captain, we’re sending the remaining Dragon Clones, all 212 of them, down there as well. Their orders are to kill you and your team if you don’t follow our orders. Prepare your team for departure. Dismissed.” Lenkov said.

  As the three of them got up and was headed towards the door Omori spoke to them. “Hey captain.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Vaistll responded.

  “Guess why those core tunnels were created.” Omori said.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Come on now, you’re a smart woman, figure it out.”

  “I have no idea.”

  “There’s explosives in them. Enough to destroy this moon and anything in orbit. Now you know why the LMPG was here.” Omori said which disturb Vaistll, Taylor and Ramirez.

  “Now take a wild guess at how many people live on Golden Hyperion.” Lenkov said.

  “I wouldn’t know sir.” Vaistll said under her breath.

  “Try 41-point-27 million people. Keep that thought in mind.” Lenkov responded.

  “I will sir.” Vaistll responded. Lenkov then motion for them to leave.

  (6)

  Fourteen minutes after Task Force ZH-3C and the Dragon Clones landed and headed towards Main Laboratory: Ultra 3X, they received a message from The Hammer of Doom. Although the ship was not in orbit over the stealth base, a satellite was over it and it detected a large number of Demon Xs that was headed towards the base. Task Force ZH-3C and the Dragon Clones immediately turned around and headed to the stealth base to deal with the threat.

  The Demon Xs was coming at the base from south-by-northwest, and Task Force ZH-3C was coming from north-by-northeast. The Demon Xs were the first to arrive and there was at least three hundred of them. Although the defenders who number only fifty-seven, had no trouble in dealing with the Demon Xs, some of the Demon Xs managed to knock a hole in a wall of the base. As more and more Demon Xs begin to slip through, the defenders had no other choice but to deal with them before they are killed by them. But in doing so it allowed more Demon Xs to slip through.

  “Tell Lieutenant Commander Siviero that we’re here.” Vaistll told Jaguar 42R.

  “Yes ma’am.” Jaguar 42R responded. He spent the next minute arguing with Siviero over the ability to send someone to assist him.

  While they were making their way to the base twenty-eight Demon Xs that has not yet went through, rushed their position after a Demon Xs saw both teams and let out a eerie howl/growl. The Demon Xs were killed with neither Task Force ZH-3C nor the Dragon Clones suffering any losses. As they enter the base through a hole in the wall, and stepping over the corpses of Demon Xs, Siviero ordered Jaguar 42R to tell Vaistll to “get her ass on the ball.” As they were trying to get to Siviero’s position, with him yelling at their slowness, they would off-and-on encounter a Demon X which was killed without effort, or loss of life on their part.

  “This is Dark Serpent 109T to Captain Dawson… the prey has come to die.” A unknown voice said in a large dark room. The voice was deep and mechanical. They then heard a Demon X howl/growl from where the voice came.

  “This is Tiger 22K to Jaguar 42R. Demon Xs are coming out of the…” He said over the helmet-com. It ended with Tiger 22K screaming.

  “Tiger 22K, say again. Tiger 22K do you read me!?” Jaguar 42R said over the helmet-com. He then ordered several Dragon Clones to check out the situation with Tiger 22K.

  At the same time that Jaguar 42R order the other Dragon Clones to check out the situation with Tiger 22K, Green Team was order to do a sweep and clear of the dark room. Chief Warrant Officer Chu and Crewman Anderson went into the back storage area of the dark room.

  “Oh my god! No!” Chu screamed as both he, and Anderson, was attack by two Demon Xs. Anderson was able to get off a couple shots, but missed both Demon Xs.

  The other members of Green Team came into the storage room and saw the two Demon Xs eating the lifeless body of their fallen friends. The Demon X that was eating Chu looked up at them and growl at them. Green Team then shot both of the Demon Xs dead and just stood there in disbelief.

 
“Ma’am.” Nakada was saying through the helmet-com.

  “Go ahead.” Vaistll responded. She could hear within Nakada’s voice that he was shook up.

  “Chu and Anderson are dead. A couple of Demon Xs got them.” Nakada said. He was deeply nervous and very scared.

  “Understood. Finish doing a search and clear of the room. Then get back here.” Vaistll ordered him.

  “But ma’am…” Nakada was saying.

  “You have your orders.” Vaistll snapped back.

  “Sir, this is Wolf 19R. The Demon Xs overran Tiger 22K’s position and killed them all.” Wolf 19R informed Jaguar 42R through the helmet-com.

  “Understood. Where are the Demon Xs?” Jaguar 42R asked.

  “We’ve killed them sir.”

  “Alright. Get back here on the double.” Jaguar 42R ordered him.

  “Goddamn it! Where in the hell are you sons-of-bitches!? I need you like right now! What the…!?” Siviero was yelling through the helmet-com. Everybody could hear gunshots and people screaming in the background.

  “You assholes… You goddamn fuckin’ ass…” Siviero was saying through the helmet-com with his dying breath.

  While everybody was trying to get to Siviero’s position in the communication room, they could hear Dawson laughing over the intercom. He then said, “I have a surprise for you. I’m in the com room.” He then laughed again in a insane way.

  Nobody knew how Dawson got into the base. There was no way that he could have. Unless there was a secret passageway. And that secret passageway was the elevator that he used from earlier. Dawson had two aces up his sleeve and he came there to pull both of them out. One was a trick, and the other was a new class of Demon Xs called Demon Cy-Xs.

  “Goddamn it! He got away!” Vaistll angrily said referring to Dawson. She said it when they got to the communication room.