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

by Douglas Howell

  Vaistll would not talk much about the Half-Wits. This is due in large part because she was traumatized by them. She did mention that on her continent they are slowly becoming extinct. In all likelihood, and Vaistll strongly agreed, the Half-Wits are more than likely extinct upon her planet by now.

  When you first see an Apollinarian, their appearance would put you in mind of a sun conure with one color being the dominant color. There are five different types of dominant colors which are: red, blue, green, yellow and purple. Each one of those dominant colors is not perceived as a race since they are inherent together. Thus, two blues could produce a green or a red.

  On top of their forehead they have what looks like a “finger” sticking up. It is a vomeronasal organ, also known as a Jacobson’s organ. It is used primarily for tracking and identifying purposes. With it, they can tell that you are cooking meat and from what direction, but not what type of meat that you are cooking. It must be noted that each one of their genders, this “nose” looks different. With the fllaistl it would look like a finger. The fllustl it would look more like the male, but smaller.

  Note: The space traveler that Vaistll encounter did not have this “nose.”

  All Apollinarians have green eyes but this is not in the human sense. Their eyes can change color depending on their state of mind. It would only change if their state of mind changes in a serious way. Thus, if they lose their self-control in a major way, their eyes would turn brown. At death (or when they are dying and beyond hope) their eyes would glow a little. Their eyes do resemble ours however.

  Note: The space traveler that Vaistll encounter had blue eyes. Vaistll cannot explain why that might be, other than it could have been some form of mutation. At no point in time did Vaistll notice whether or not his eyes glowed.

  The longest life span of a typical Apollinarian is 290 years. At the age of 200 they are the equivalent of a 30 year old human. So, in order to calculate their human age equivalent beyond 200, just subtract 170.

  When an Apollinarian dies they lose all pigmentation in their skin, and it turns black. Later they turn a bluish-white or grayish-white color.

  Note: The space traveler that Vaistll encounter was a skeleton when she came out of cryo-sleep. It is therefore impossible to calculate how long she was in cryo-sleep.

  Warning: All Apollinarians have some type of psychic powers. All of them have Hyper-Sensory Perception. Some of them may have the ability to drain you of some of your life force. Vaistll said that they can use it to live longer or even to give themselves greater powers. She said that in her time it was considered taboo and some cultures would kill a person if they found out that they did that. She also said that if they kept on doing that they would, over a period of time, begin to look more like they are dead even though they are not. All agents should be the highest alert when encountering an Apollinarian.

  THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL INDIVIDUAL

  The extraterrestrial that we picked up name is, Vaistll Adnrwal. Which is pronounced, Vaistll = ve-stall-la, Adnrwal = Edna-raw.

  She is 6’8” and her age is 277. Her dominant color is red. Her IQ test showed that she has an IQ of 186. She has numerous scars on her body. She was run through with a sword (the same one that she has), shot in the face (right side lost some teeth) with an arrow. She was shot three times in the front part of her torso with arrows on the same day.

  She has thirty years of training as a warrior. The last ten years of her training was in surviving in all types of weather, minus winter. She has the equivalent to a red belt in the martial arts, and her training is similar to that of a ninja. It is consider tremendously advantageous to us to take full advantage of her training.

  Her health is considered to be fair. She still has the rest of her teeth. She said that a plant that she has, which is given to all professional warriors like her, is the reason why she still has her teeth. They chew on it (the taste is bitter) and it helps to keep their teeth longer. She is fully capable of eating or drinking, anything that a human can. Despite this she still need to see a doctor to see what type of effects eating and drinking Earth base food has upon her health.

  Note: Because of the value that she could contribute to us, it is considered imperative that her mental and physical health be well maintained. She is the only thing that we have to counter any negative intentions of the Apollinarians.

  Consult Case File: LGU-13AP for a detail report on her health.

  NOTES ON THE APOLLINARIAN LANGUAGE

  Note: This part is needed to help field agents - who are assigned with the task of finding any, or all, Apollinarian activities - recognize the Iomiyyan language. It is conceivable that by learning to recognize past Apollinarian languages we could spot any, or all, current ones.

  Vaistll comes from a civilization that is called Iomiyya. Neither the Iomiyyan alphabet, nor any of the other alphabets Vaistll described for us, resembles any human alphabet modern or ancient.

  The Iomiyyan language resembles English in the form of grammar and syntax. Like English, it is not a literal language. It has more than one word with the same meaning. And it also has word borrowing. Vaistll said that is because their language is a composite of many different languages. In short, the Iomiyyan language is the Apollinarian version of English.

  Both the letter a, and the letter I, as it is used in a sentence, is used the same way in the Iomiyyan language, as it is in English. Usage: in English; a man; in Iomiyyan; a wystl (vie-sta). With the letter I it is no different.

  Consult Case File: KEA 3085-X7 to learn the Iomiyyan language.

  Consult Case File 489-UR24 for examples of other types of the Apollinarian languages.

  Note: The difference between English and the Iomiyyan language is noted below.

  The “stl”

  The stl (sta) in their language is a suffix. It basically means a person. Examples: ainlstl (e-newl-sta) means parent, flastl (fla-sta) means woman, naistl (knee-sta) means child, yllstl (you’ll-sta) means girl, and zkstl (zeek-sta) which means boy.

  Names/Places

  You translate both a person’s name, and a place name, in the Iomiyyan language, as is. Meaning: Bob is translated as “Bob,” and Seattle is translated as “Seattle.”

  L’s and R’s

  There is a strict rule of grammar that states all double l’s have to be twirl. With the r it doesn’t matter, so you can if you want to.

  CONCLUSION

  Because the Apollinarians intentions are unknown, all occurrences of possible UFO sightings, alien abductions and the like must be investigated for possible Apollinarian involvement. All government agencies, and each of the military branches databases, must be searched. It is considered to be a grave concern for national defense and security that their intentions are made known.

  Note: The Case File K32-SF555 is used for any Close Encounter incident that is categorize as “Unexplained.”

  Vaistll is receiving treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As noted above, she got part of her PTSD from a Half-Wit army. The other part came from a slave trader by the name of Natas Ovast. It should be noted that Natas is the primary source of her trauma. Since she is a recovering alcoholic, great care needs to be taken in stopping her in becoming an alcoholic again.

  It is more beneficial to her mental health for her to receive the comforts of modern day living. Since she is an intellectual she is more curious about how things work. Nor does she believe that there is any magic involved. She took quite a liking to ‘80s music, and when she found out what a cat is, she fell in love with it. It is mainly because on her planet there are mice and rats, but no cats.

  At her request, the large book that she written entitled, “The Criminal Activities of the Slave-Trader Natas Ovast” will be translated and stored as a file. Since she does not care what happens to the book after it is translated, once it is translated, it will be sent to a materials lab.

  Consult Case File VBF-129 for all items that were collected from Vaistll that was sent to the mate
rials lab.

  Although she is enthusiastic about joining us, she needs ongoing treatment for her PTSD. When she recovers significantly enough, she is permitted to become a Project 21 agent. She is allowed to keep the sword that she has, since she absolutely has no desire to use it. Because of her strong sense of honor, it is permitted for her to receive an apartment in Seattle. Nevertheless, somebody needs to drop by now and then to check up on her, and to give her some company.

  Roscadia

  (1)

  He finished reading the Case File: S219-K4706 and he couldn’t believe he was about to meet her. It was just so amazing to him about Vaistll’s life. He had so much he wanted to ask her that he didn’t know where to begin. But there was one thing that he did not want to talk about - her mission. Not because it was too terrible to mention or she wouldn’t like it, but it was because he really needed the company. He was just so bored out of his mind. There was not much one could do in a city like Roscadia. As a matter of fact, the locals would tell you that there is nothing to do other than gamble your life away.

  He holds the rank of a Commodore, and like any other Commodore, he commands five ships and a base. But Commodore Parker strongly wished that it was any other base other than the one that guards the city, and the moon that it is on. He missed his days as a Fleet Captain where he commanded just the ships and not the base. Traveling across the galaxy and seeing things that he never would have. Getting his ships out of difficult situations where there seem to be no hope of escape. The people that he got a chance to help out. It will all live with him for the rest of his life. But those days are long gone. And now he waste his days in Roscadia thinking about a past that he so much loved. It wouldn’t be so bad if there was more to do in the city. Or if there was other cities on the moon that he could go to. But like so many other people in the city, he felt stuck in a lifeless dead end town wasting his life away. What can you do in a city that destroys your social life?

  Roscadia is a compression of the names for the three space colonial companies that built the city, and somewhat terraformed the moon that the city is on. What they wanted to create was a galactic version of Las Vegas. They went so far as to name the moon Vegas after the city. They wanted to lure people from all over the galaxy to Roscadia just to gamble. They built some of the most fabulous hotels, casinos and the like. Only the most beautiful and the most luxurious buildings could be built there. ‘Roscadia,’ they wanted people to say, ‘is the eye candy of the Milky Way.’ People wanted to come, to have fun, to enjoy their vacation, and most important of all, to spend their money. But as the locals would later learn the hard way, they never cared if you stay.

  The people who came looking for work had no idea of what they where getting into. Those companies hired their own people and gave them all the best jobs. What about the rest of the jobs in Roscadia? They were supposed to go to the androids. Before they could ship them to the city, the EOD came and made it impossible for Roscadia to receive any. The only reason why the EOD did that was to eliminate the competition. They didn’t always do that, but lately they have been.

  Because of what the EOD did two things occurred. First, Project 21 was called in to protect the city and the moon. But it was the second thing that occurred that doomed both the people and the city. Since those companies couldn’t send in those androids, they had to hire people to do the jobs that the androids were supposed to do. Unfortunately, if those companies try to create the support jobs for those people; all three of them would have gone bankrupt. Yes those companies did try to create some support jobs, but it was not enough. So the city didn’t get all of the jobs that it needed in order for it to survive. Worst still, those companies did nothing to stop either the police corruption, or the mafia from coming into town. And what did Project 21 do while all of this was going on? They were too busy investigating why the EOD stopped the city from getting those androids. The investigation turned up nothing because the EOD was too good at hiding the reason. And so the city, and the people, was left to the wolves.

  Too bad the city wasn’t on some place like that of the Earth, or near such a place. If that was the case, then it would have been irrelevant if any androids were ship to the city. And thus the city would not have anywhere near the problems that it currently has. Those three companies including Project 21 did try to help the city, but it was fruitless. Project 21 told them not to confront the EOD, that was their job, but Colonial Alliance would not listen. They sent in a shipment of androids which the EOD promptly destroyed. Then the EOD assassinated four of Colonial Alliance leaders. And that was just the beginning of their hell. By the time the EOD was finished with the company, it suffered an economic failure and was disbanded. What made matters worst for Project 21, was that the other two companies decided to cut and run. After that the EOD mysteriously left the city alone. Companies all over got the message: the EOD is at war with any company that creates androids.

  It was later discovered that the answer could be found on Golden Hyperion. Golden Hyperion is a moon that is 25% smaller than the planet Mars. Like Vegas, it encircles a gas giant. After seeing some of the images of Golden Hyperion, Commodore Parker wished that he could be there. He just hated Vegas. There is nothing beautiful about the moon, or the gas giant it encircles. The gas giant that Vegas encircle is just too bland looking. What’s more, the moon that is the closest to the gas giant is a constant reminder of Roscadia’s problems. That moon, which the locals call T (toxic) Dump, receives too much radiation from the gas giant for humans to live on it. So the three companies that built Roscadia used it as a toxic waste dump. They were planning on using some of those androids to mine T Dump for ore, and then ship the ore to Vegas to be processed by human workers. Commodore Parker is not the only person who hates both Vegas and Roscadia. All the locals (except for the mafia) feel the same the way.

  Maybe Commodore Parker should have gone on one of the missions to Golden Hyperion. If he did, he would have felt much different about Vegas and Roscadia. Yes it is indeed true that the planetary system is quite beautiful; there is the gas giant itself with it’s fabulous rings, then there is the moon Blue Marble with it’s blue ice, the desert moon Oasis, and the moon N (nature) Reserve, but it is all an EOD stronghold. Oasis was going to become a penal colony, but it was cancel because it cost too much to terraform the moon. Besides the EOD didn’t care because the main reason why they wanted to terraform it in the first place, was to test some new terraforming technology. With N Reserve there was already life upon it, so the EOD turned it into a nature reserve. Golden Hyperion was easy to terraform, and the final result of that turned the moon into a place that resembles the Canadian Rockies. It had only one ocean and two large seas. It had some of the most beautiful sunrise and sunset that you could ever see. Plus as an added bonus, Golden Hyperion is peaceful and serene. It’s just perfect for those who wanted to get away from it all. Get away from the problems of living in the big city. To have neighbors that is miles away, instead of a few feet away. Is it any wonder that living in a place like Roscadia, would tend to make somebody wished that they live on Golden Hyperion?

  If anybody where to ask the residents of Roscadia if they would want to live on Golden Hyperion, they would give you a very direct no for an answer. They know who is to blame for their problems. They remember this one ship that crashed landed on Oasis, and how the EOD ignored their cries for help causing two-thirds of the survivors to die. If Commodore Parker forgot about each one of the Project 21 missions that went to Golden Hyperion, the people of Roscadia didn’t. Project 21 investigations into the EOD conspiracy against Roscadia led them to send a ship to Golden Hyperion to do recon. After the ship sent the data back to HQ it mysteriously disappeared. So Project 21 had to send in a Special Forces unit to find both the ship and its crew. As Project 21 feared, both the ship and its crew were lost. So Project 21 had to send in multiple units; to take out the EOD jamming installation and to take out all defenses. But tragically every unit that was sent in was l
ost. Those missions paved the way for the mission that Vaistll and her crew is about to embark upon. Commodore Parker hated Roscadia so much that it didn’t bother him that 2,608 Project 21 agents lost their lives on Golden Hyperion. Nor did it bother him that he felt that way.

  He sat there with his face in his hands, dying on the inside for the way in which he feels. Not because it didn’t bother him about all of those Project 21 agents who lost their lives. Why should it? It was their duty to die with honor. Wasn’t it? Besides, he lost people under his chain of command before. He was dying on the inside because of the way in which the city is making him feel. As a Commodore, he could perform some of his administration duties. But that would be ridiculous! Who is he going to go see, the mayor? The mayor is just a paper tiger in the city. It is the mafia who is actually running the city. Same goes for the city consul. Hell far, the last mayor was a mafia boss! The only reason why he goes to see any of them is for their photo-op. His administration duty is nothing more than a joke. So what can he do… but nothing.

  He got up to find his favorite sweet nectar. That poison which would never let you down. He went over to the liquor cabinet and got it out - Martian Whiskey. It was red like the planet and sweet, but not too sweet. But damn was it strong. Did he care about the stigma that was attached to it? Nope. Want to get drunk and get away from it all? Try Martian Whiskey. It will never let you down. Like so many other people who tried the stuff, it reflected upon how he feels.