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

by Douglas Howell

  “Jesus fraudulent Christ! What the hell was that!? Did someone set off a nuke or what!?” Coté yelled out when she saw the huge mushroom cloud in the distance. She was no Christian and it showed.

  “Ellis! Find out what happened!” Ramirez shouted.

  “I’m on it!” Ellis shouted back. Everyone was as nervous as hell. They started to think that the lab complex was destroyed. Dawson won the day. Lenkov lost his mind. They went wild as they waited “patiently” for Ellis to respond.

  “Alright… listen up everyone!” Ellis was informing them. “What we just saw was the death… and I guess the heroic death of Ensign Karl Russell. He used a torpedo that he smuggled out of The Hammer of Doom as a booby trap behind enemy lines.”

  “My god. What a fucking madman. He’s more nuts than Dawson.” Wexler mentioned.

  “Really.” Ramirez responded.

  (13)

  “What?” Captain Iverson asked his second in command.

  “It’s true sir. Someone set off a torpedo on Golden Hyperion.” His second in command responded.

  “Jesus! They’re trying to destroy that world.” Iverson responded. Everyone on the bridge was just absolutely shocked when they overheard that.

  One single torpedo is like a hydrogen nuclear bomb it has to weaken down a ship’s shields. It is the sole reason why all torpedo’s have a self-destruct mechanism on it. When a ship targeting systems fire one, it does not fire and forget, rather it fires and predict. And the most significant prediction of them all is that once the torpedo leaves a certain distance from the ship last known coordinates, or comes a certain distance to that of a celestial body with people on it, it simply self-destructs. This mitigates the collateral damage that will arise when two or more ships are fighting.

  “Sir the robots are back.” One of the bridge officers mentioned five minutes later.

  “Any updates?”

  “Same as the last two.” The officer responded.

  “Fine. Take us back to the fleet. I can’t take this heat anymore.”

  “Yes sir.” The officer responded quite enthusiastically. They all couldn’t wait to leave.

  (14)

  “So what are we looking at?” Mazzinghi asked Grumett.

  “71 megatons sir.” She responded.

  “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “Lake Russell.”

  “What!?”

  “Take your radiation pills and you will die another day.”

  “I am so sick and tired of…”

  “Look sir, if the radiation don’t kill us, then what will?”

  “What’s the fucking status of the enemy!?” Mazzinghi yelled at her.

  “Irradiated! Like everyone else! Get use to it! Sir!” Grumett yelled at him and then walked off.

  Mazzinghi just stood there taking it all in. Looking at the radiation ash falling from the sky. His own death was starting to get to him. He was the last of the overseers. (Shackley was the other one.) He also knew that neither Lenkov nor Omori would send him to his death. Grumett outburst finally convinced him of what he is dealing with. Death or victory.

  (15)

  The beast that is once was Captain Dawson woke up in a abandoned house and started to watch the news. He knew that both Lenkov and Omori saw the media as a mouth piece for the politicians. And so he knew that he will be watching both disinformation and misinformation rolled up into one. But there was no way one could hide the fact of what just occurred at the lab complex. A 71 megaton torpedo was detonated at the site. Dawson knew that Lenkov would never do what the media is opining about. As strange as it may be, Dawson’s humanity started to return. Despite his injuries and despite his drunken stupor he started to see everything differentially. As he listen to the media opining about his own humanity it forced him to re-evaluate his own humanity and thus his salvation. But his nightmare is about to begin anew. He will learn the hard truth that real salvation can only occur when there is real sacrifice. Maybe he should have learn to listen to Sayaka.

  (16)

  Chief Petty Officer Jaime Alvarez led the assault against the remaining enemy forces. Although there was only one third of them left they were still a formidable force. Nevertheless he could only get about fifty personnel to join him. His assault resulted in very little. Everyone including himself died in the so called “surprise assault.” Both his death and his assault did resulted in a bonus. The enemy made the stupid mistake of a counter attack. They were too disorganized and confused to have ever launch a true successful assault upon the lab complex. Chief Petty Officer Patrick Eckersley died in that assault. He didn’t hesitate when he saw the enemy approach. He was good. It was as if he did saw combat before even though he never did. Their sacrifice gave the defenders the chance that all of them was patiently looking for. But it wasn’t enough.

  (17)

  Lieutenant Commander North was just ordered to Captain Iverson’s ship. The reason: his own safe keeping. But he was not alone. The entire engineering staff of The Hammer of Doom was with him. At that point in time The Hammer of Doom was basically a ghost ship. But nobody could explain why either Lenkov or Omori would act that way. To make matters worse a couple of ZXC type of heavy attack ships with a ship that specialize in infiltration was entering into the system. All three were under the command of Lenkov but it was hard to say how they would react to all that was going on. Lenkov himself was not certain of their loyalties. These ships could cause a great deal of trouble should they decided to. The crisis point has just arrived and it’s about to get worse.

  (18)

  “So what are we going to do now?” Mazzinghi asked Grumett.

  “Now is the time to choose between death and honor sir.” Grumett responded. She was drunk and she didn’t care what Mazzinghi had to say or think.

  “Look I’m just trying to keep people alive and…” Mazzinghi was saying.

  “Bullshit sir! You are just looking out for yourself and now you know that you may die!” Grumett yelled at him. It was a truth that Mazzinghi knew was true but didn’t want to admit it.

  “Look… I now see the error in my ways and I need your help.” Mazzinghi mentioned. It didn’t work the way in which he’d thought. Instead it only made her more angrier with him.

  “Oh you got to be shittin’ me!” Grumett responded. She was very upset with him.

  “I want you to take up a defensive position at our center flank.” Mazzinghi ordered her. Grumett left without saying a word. She had deep hatred in her eyes for him and she wanted him dead. She was about to make a decision that will change the course of the war without realizing it. It is now up to the one person who is not able to make any combat decisions whatsoever – Mazzinghi.

  Valeria knew what she was going to do the moment she got to the center flank. And needless to say Mazzinghi will not be all that too happy. At first the enemy was just probing the defensives. It was on the third probe that they figured out that the center flank was the weakest and that is where they made the decision to throw the bulk of their forces. Grumett held her ground as long as she could but as soon as it became apparent that she was going to be overrun both her and her forces (at least 500) decided to retreat. They later collectively decided to go AWOL.

  “Sir our center flank just collapsed.” The Crewman just informed Mazzinghi.

  “I have eyes Crewman.” Mazzinghi responded.

  “So what do we do now sir?”

  “Hold our ground you idiot!”

  “But isn’t that suicide sir?”

  “Look, I don’t fucking care. We can’t let them take this facility.”

  “Why sir? What’s so special about this place?”

  Mazzinghi didn’t want to respond so he didn’t. He, along with Lenkov and Omori, knew what was under that facility and they knew that Captain Dawson knew it as well and neither one of them will tell anyone what is there. Everybody was right when they suspected that it was just more monsters. And nobody wanted to know what type of monsters. W
hy in the universe would they even ask? Because they were afraid to given the fact that Dawson was now a GET-ME. It is Lenkov, Omori and anybody else who is an intellectual who knows the real truth – it’s just Dawson’s insanity. As a matter of fact he never even cared what was in the underground lab complex because it’s just old experiments that has no value to him (not even as a GET-ME). But it is the human need to create rumors, and the human imagination, that over-inflate the dangers at the lab complex by implying there is far more within the underground part of the lab complex than what there actually is. It’s not surprising why so many would go AWOL. If Lenkov was there he would have put a stop to those rumors. He knew how destructive a rumor can be and the urgency in crushing them. Mazzinghi however, does not realize it and he is about to make a horrible mistake.

  “Sir, the enemy is now in possession of our center flank and the robotic guns in that sector has just been neutralized.” The Crewman just informed Mazzinghi.

  “Understood. Are they advancing?”

  “No sir.”

  “Make certain everybody stops them from further advancing.”

  “Yes sir.”

  (19)

  “Oh shit! It found us! Everyone take cover!” Grumett yelled at everyone. They were being tracked by a EOD Robotic Enforcement Drone. It had only one simple program – kill all retreating personnel who don’t have authorization to do so. It’s one reason why the EOD forces are just so damn tough. Lenkov never had the chance to deactivate them. Maxwell left it up to Grumett and she forgot. And now she has no way to do it even if she wanted to.

  “I thought that damn thing was supposed to have been deactivated.” One of the AWOL personnel said under his breath. Everyone looked at Grumett.

  “I… I um… I must have…” Grumett was responding.

  “Here it comes.” The same AWOL personnel responded through his teeth.

  “We have to shoot that fucker down.” A Petty Officer – Third Class mentioned. Everyone knew that is far easier said than done.

  “Oh God! I was the one who activated it. Procedures.” The Petty Officer – First Class mentioned.

  “That’s okay ma’am. It happens.” The Senior Crewman responded.

  “Oh shit it detected us!” The Crewman shouted out. He then opened fire only to be cut down. It also release three heavy robotic gunners. The bird then moved into flanking position to prevent them from escaping. Anyone who got near was cut down.

  “Take up defensive positions!” Grumett ordered everyone.

  Rather it is the bird or the three ground robots the defenders had their work cut out from them. They knew that these wretched robots will not quit until every one of them is dead. But unfortunately these robots was designed to take on hundreds of deserters. Worse still they have the most advanced combat AI ever conceived. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Hastati Sector (weapons control system) on The Hammer of Doom is running on emergency mode (like so much of the ship) then the ship would still be in control of them. Lenkov would have known what is going on and deactivated them.

  Fifty-seven of the AWOL personnel made the mistake of doing a flanking attack. Three of them was killed outright and another four was wounded. The remaining fifty took cover and started to return fire. In an effort to protect them from the bird twenty-five personnel opened fire upon it. The mechanical bird was able to kill eighteen of them before it broke off in an effort to change tactics. The rest of the personnel was wounded. Seeing an opportunity seventy-six personnel rushed one all in an effort to take up a strong defensive position. Unfortunately for them twenty-three was killed before they could reach the position. What’s more, another eight was wounded and could not be rescued. And that only left one more of the damn robot monsters to engage.

  “Ma’am… we got one more of them to deal with and…” The personnel was informing Grumett. A shell landed nearby throwing up dirt everywhere. “…we have no way to take up a strong defensive position! What are your orders!?”

  “We need to lure it to a strong defensive position!” Grumett responded.

  “And how do you propose that!?”

  “First we need to engage that damn fucking vulture! Then find a strong defensive position and then figure out the rest!”

  For the next ten minutes they tried their best to engage the vulture but it wouldn’t take the bait. And then three Chief Petty Officers had the idea to flank it and get it in the crossfire. But it took them five minutes and seven lives with four wounded before they could get into position. In that same length of time the last remaining machine was trying to flank the group. Maybe it “knew” what they were trying to do and was trying to stop them. But as Sayaka would have put it, ‘who knows what the algorithm could, or couldn’t, come up with. You’re not dealing with real intelligence.’ Nevertheless it made it harder upon them to take that position.

  “Ma’am… we are not able to acquire the defensive position! What are your orders!?” The personnel asked Grumett. She was starting to feel depressed because she was blaming herself for this.

  “For our own salvation we must distract it so that other’s may take their defensive position! I am so sorry for not deactivating them! But please understand that I was dealing with a bunch of psychos who didn’t care about life or death! I’m sorry! But we need to do our job in an effort to get away! Lenkov does not know what we are going through! If he did then he would stop them and let us go! I need you to come with me so that we can give others the chance to get away! Are you, or are you not with me!?” Grumett shouted to them. She had to shout to them because one: the machines were disrupting their helmet communications and two: the sounds of battle.

  Grumett led the charge against the final machine with 120 personnel. By the time her assault was over fifty-six of her personnel was dead and the rest, along with Grumett, was wounded. Grumett herself, took a round to her right hip which shattered her pelvic bone. After she fell she still return fire all in an effort to give her people the chance to stop it from further advancing. By that point in time there was 107 dead and, along with Grumett, 88 wounded. Nevertheless it allow her personnel to finally secure the strong defensive position. And now the only thing that they could do is wait. Wait for what? They didn’t even know.

  (20)

  Mazzinghi watched in horror as the enemy rushed through the defensive positions and begin their assault upon the lab complex. Lenkov’s defensives was pointless by this point in time and Mazzinghi realized that if something is not done he will die there. And so he cried out to Captain Iverson for help and the Captain informed him that he will wait for the help and that he (Iverson) is no miracle worker. It took almost seven hours before Iverson return back to the system. Of course Iverson got as close to the action as he could all in an effort to get Captain Maxwell back into the action as soon as possible. But it will take three-and-a-half hours before Maxwell will arrive at the lab complex.

  “What the fuck is going on here Peter?” Maxwell asked Mazzinghi after he finally arrived at the lab complex. Maxwell was drunk.

  “What does it look like? The enemy is attacking and Grumett, along with 500 personnel, just went AWOL.” Mazzinghi responded.

  “What!?” Captain Maxwell said. He was in no mood to deal with such indifference.

  “Well it’s true… she did.”

  “And the enforcement drones?”

  “They’re tracking them down.”

  “You did know that Lenkov did not wanted that to happen? Didn’t you?”

  “Well yes but…”

  “Chief Petty Officer!” Maxwell ordered him.

  “Now look I’m still the…!” Mazzinghi was saying.

  “Kill him.” Maxwell ordered the officer.

  “Now hold on a minute…!” It was Mazzinghi last words before he was shot to death.

  “Deactivate those damn things!” Maxwell ordered to his second-in-command. It took fifteen minutes before Maxwell got a hold of Grumett. The AWOL personnel kept on telling him that they were doing al
l that that could in finding her.

  “Sir you wanted to talk to me?” Grumett asked Maxwell.

  “How’s your people?”

  “Sir we have 107 killed and, including myself, 88 wounded.”

  “Understood. I have a message from Lenkov to all of you. ‘Citizens. You are dismissed. God speed.’ Maxwell over and out.”

  “And the enforcement drones?”

  “As you wish.”

  Grumett had her personnel destroy those enforcement drones. It was bitter sweet for all of them. Half of them upon learning that Mazzinghi was dead decided to return back to the lab complex. They had that much respect for both Lenkov and Maxwell. And the rest? They wanted to get their wounded comrades to safety before it was too late.

  (21)

  The ZXC heavy attack ships, along with the infiltration ship, finally arrived at Golden Hyperion. It should be noted that the lead Captain knew Sayaka about a year before she met Lenkov. That Captain became obsessed with her. He even went so far as to join the EOD just to get near her. He was never in a relationship with her but that’s not what he told everyone. Lenkov heard of the rumor and, although there was enough information not to believe it, there was also what appeared to him at that time period information to support it. Lenkov started to believe it and started to let her go (not to pursue her that is) but all of that change when five days later after he heard the rumor Sayaka came out and dispelled it. If she had waited two to three days later Lenkov would have fully let her go. Yes Lenkov wanted her for a few years before he finally ended up with her, but unlike Vaughan, Lenkov was not obsessed with her. That was proven by his willingness to let her go. It was all fate and now fate is showing just how cruel it can be.

  “This is Captain Iverson, it’s about time Captain Levine that you and your ships got here. We can really use your assistance.”

  “Oh… you were going by my alias. My real name is Captain Vaughan. Lincoln “Mark 13” Vaughan. I think Sayaka knows who I am.”