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

by Douglas Howell

  Colonel “Brown Dust” Durante was the only one in the group without a conscience. A true killer who won’t ask questions. An unfeeling uncaring predator that achieves his goals by any means necessary. But it is Joseph and Sayaka, not the EOD, who understands him very clearly. Durante is what Joseph and Sayaka calls a “thinking killer with stealth ambitions.” What they mean by a “thinking killer” is: he may appear to follow orders blindly, but he’s well aware of the consequences if he should ever get caught be the enemies of the EOD. What they mean when they say that he has “stealth ambitions” is: he keeps his ambitions to himself because he knows not everyone would support him if he told them what his ambitions are. Joseph and Sayaka knows that if he is ever captured by the enemy, and they give him immunity for his crimes that he committed, and they gave him something to please his ego, he WILL betray the EOD.

  Durante said that he had to liquidate a group of scientists who High Command claimed betrayed the EOD. Being the thinking killer that he is, Durante said that he remembers that those scientists worked upon creating a group of non-intelligent androids to man a ship, and then another group that can create a factory that could mass produce nanoprobes.

  “What do you got on your end?” Joseph asked Sayaka after he finished telling her what he learned from his contacts.

  “I had Hoffman (Parker’s secretary) to do a clean-up and clear-out.” Sayaka said.

  Clean-up refers to Hoffman destroying any evidence on her (and Parker since he betrayed Project 21) true identity. Clear-out means that Hoffman must leave Roscadia and head to a safe house.

  “She said…” Sayaka continued. “…that she contacted Little John’s father and had him contact some crooked cop and then had him to collect all information and evidence on Little John’s disappearance and had it sent to her. She then had the mafia burn down Parker’s home to destroyed any evidence that may have been left behind.”

  “So what did you learn from her?”

  “A large amount of Little John’s blood was found at Parker’s house. The police report said that by the looks of it, either Little John was stabbed repeatedly or someone cut him open. They also found a knife with Little John’s blood on it. The knife belong to Parker. But the strange thing is, another crooked cop said that he saw Little John driving Parker’s car later in the day. He said that there was someone else in the car. But he didn’t get a good look at who it was.”

  “Any description of the person?”

  “Not really, other than the fact that the person was well over six feet tall.”

  “Isn’t Captain Adnrwal over six feet tall?”

  “Yes.”

  “Aren’t her people suppose to be between six-four to seven-four?”

  “Yes. Are you saying that, that person who was with them was that person with the hive in them?”

  “If Parker wanted value, and he had access to that person, than what would he do? Would he let that person out and try to convince them to come with him?”

  Sayaka didn’t say anything, she only shook her head in disbelieve at Parker’s stupidity.

  “Did the cop say where they were headed?” Joseph asked Sayaka.

  “He said that they were headed to the Project 21 headquarters.”

  “Did he mention why they were headed there?”

  “Nope. They didn’t mention it and he didn’t ask. But the cop did say that Little John was listening to heavy metal music, a type of music that he always hated.”

  “So, one of the other two was listening to it.”

  “Not hardly. Parker hated it and the cop said that Little John acted like he was the one who picked it.” Sayaka said. She then noticed that Joseph had the look that he just realize something.

  “What?” Sayaka asked Joseph.

  “What if Little John was infected with the hive?”

  “If that’s the case then shouldn’t Parker be infected as well?”

  “Not if the hive can select who to infect. What about your contacts? What did they say?”

  “Most of them had nothing of value to add. But I did learn something quite interesting about Parker. He has been reduced in rank to that of a captain and was given command of a ship. As of now, Parker is heading back to Roscadia to provide support in an effort to learn more about the hive.”

  “They sure are moving fast with him. Looks like High Command is taking the hive far more serious than what we originally imagined.”

  “Yeah. So let’s see what type of Intel Shackley can provide us with.” Sayaka said.

  Sayaka tired to contact Shackley, but couldn’t. His secretary would not even answer her. Sayaka than decided to contact mayor Fletcher.

  “How may the good people of Raspberry serve you today?” Mayor Fletcher said with a smile.

  “Can it. Where in the hell is Shackley?” Sayaka said. She was a little ticked off by the way in which she is being treated.

  “He was skiing and he um… hit a tree. He’s fine but he is um… in a coma.”

  “Really. What’s the name of the ski resort?”

  “It’s um… the name of the resort is um… I’m so terribly sorry but I forgot it’s name. I’ll have to get back to you on that Sayaka.”

  “Omori. Call me Omori. Where is his secretary?”

  “She’s um… was sent home because of Shackley’s um… accident.”

  “What’s the name of the hospital that he was taken to?”

  “It’s um… hold on a sec.” Henry Fletcher said as he put her on hold.

  “Don’t you put me on hold! Hello!? Dame kisama.” Sayaka said. She was pissed off by the mayor’s apparent lying. Thirty seconds later Fletcher hung up on her which made her even more upset.

  “Do you think that I should call that kisama back up again?” Sayaka asked Joseph.

  “Naw. He’s obviously hiding something. And since we have no idea who he is cooperating with, we should show a greater degree of caution.”

  “Who do you think we should let handle it, Colonel Blackburn or Captain Maxwell?”

  “Let’s wait until Maxwell gets here. I have an idea on how we can shed some light on all of this.”

  Lenkov then told Sayaka his idea. She made some changes to it. Their plan may shed some light on the mystery of Infernus, the hive, the strange behavior of mayor Fletcher, or it may not. It all depends upon events beyond their control after Maxwell gets there. But they had to deal with a problem closer to home first.

  (8)

  Colonel Blackburn was at his office in the EOD Defense Force base on the northeastern side of the landmass that both Raspberry and the medium size city in located on. His forces once numbered 7,800, and although the Marines, Space Core and Special Forces reduced those numbers down to 4,200, his forces still gave them hell. Blackburn still has enough confidence that his forces can take on at least 5,500 of any, or all three of those military forces, including Project 21.

  Colonel Blackburn’s orders come directly from High Command. He has high hopes that maybe he could join High Command one day. His only regret is that in order for him to join he must be part-civilian. Both Joseph and Sayaka has a clear understanding of High Command of both Project 21 and the EOD. They said that it is, “man by those who are part-military officers, part-bureaucrats, part-politicians and all around assholes.” They also said of it that it is, “the single most dumbest thing that the human race ever adopted from any ET civilization.”

  When any military become as large as a nation it will start to develop all the problems of a nation. It may have whole families serving in it, but it will also have criminals serving in it. High Command is suppose to solve that by creating agencies (like the FBI, CIA, EPA, IRS, etc.) within the military. Thus High Command typically have about one-to-three million people serving in it.

  Project 21 High Command has 3.2 million people serving in it, and the EOD High Command has 3.8 million serving in it. And both are just as equally as bad as the other. The only real difference between the two is that the EOD High Comm
and is vastly more efficient at keeping secrets. It’s the sole reason why there are more people serving in it.

  While Blackburn was at his office he got a call from Lenkov. Every since the two of them arrived at Golden Hyperion, that is the first time that he heard from either Lenkov and/or Omori. He knows that it had to be very important, but he will not allow it interfere with his mission.

  “Fleet Captain Lenkov, what pleasure do I owe this call?” Colonel Blackburn asked.

  “Are you aware that a EOD Troop Development helicopter left carrying a motorcycle and a Dragon Clone on board?”

  “Of course sir.”

  “Are you aware of my objections to that?”

  “Yes sir. Beg your pardon sir, but what is your point?”

  “It has been brought to my attention that you have made a critical mistake concerning that tactic of yours.” Lenkov said.

  Colonel Blackburn was shocked when he heard that. The words “critical mistake” is something that High Command don’t want to hear when determining an applicant for possible hire. Lenkov knows that, but not Blackburn, and Lenkov knows that Blackburn don’t know that. Lenkov also knows that vengeful officers use those words when they want to ruin someone chances at joining High Command. Lenkov also knows that Blackburn don’t know that.

  “What!? How do you figure sir!?” Blackburn said.

  “You have viscerally suggested the tactic, over my objections, to High Command. You have use your contacts within High Command to supercede my authority to support the said tactic. You have perform these actions in cognizant that the Dragon Clones are experimental and you therefore did not listen to either my, or Sayaka’s recommendations. And as a result of your incompetence, an experimental and a highly dangerous Dragon Clone has been captured by the enemy.”

  “Sir I-I-I…”

  “You listen to me and you listen to me well. Right now I am very busy. I am willing to forgive you of this grievous action, but I need for you to do something for me.”

  “W-W-What is it sir?”

  “I need you to tell High Command of what happen. Tell them that I will assist you in the repatriation or termination of the said Dragon Clone. I then want you to immediately call me back.”

  “Yes sir.” Colonel Blackburn said under his breath.

  Colonel Blackburn then called High Command and told them what he did. High Command warned him that if he don’t resolve the issue he will be demoted and possibly face imprisonment. Blackburn realize that his chances at joining High Command is next to nil. He now knows that he has no other choice but to do as Lenkov says.

  “I did as you suggested sir. And they told me to cooperate with you fully.” Blackburn said.

  “This is what I want you to do. Send one-fourth of your men to the old regional capital. Have a small group to get into position north of the city. I want them to ONLY to force down, not, repeat NOT, to destroy the helicopter. Once the helicopter has been forced down, have the unit to head to the monorail station. They need to give enough time for the Task Force to send a unit to the monorail station. Once your men get to the station they must head to 5th & Main – the mini-mall that is. The mini-mall has a underground pathway that leads to the monorail station. Your men must take that pathway so that they can come up underneath the unit. Have your men eliminate the unit accept for one and then interrogate the individual. Then have the rest of your men to arrive at the station to prepare for a counter-attack. Do you understand your orders?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Don’t mess this up.”

  “I won’t sir.”

  “I want you to know that I have to contact High Command to let them know of your orders.”

  “Understood sir.” Colonel Blackburn said under his breath as he hung up.

  Colonel Blackburn sat there for a few moments feeling like a horse just kicked him in the gut. His future, the promotion that he thinks that he will receive when Golden Hyperion is resolved in a EOD victory, is looking far less likely to occur. His life is ruined. Blackburn will do everything that he can to repatriate the Dragon Clone even if it means the complete destruction of Task Force ZH-3C.

  “He took the bait.” Joseph said to Sayaka.

  “And like you said, the rest of Task Force ZH-3C is heading to that monorail station.”

  “They better like those weapons that High Command left for them.”

  “I’m certain that they will.”

  Joseph and Sayaka waited as Task Force ZH-3C unknowingly waited for the appending attack. They heard over the com-system the fate of Colonel Blackburn’s men. Those who took the pathway that led to the monorail station, expecting one unit, found three units and was wiped out. They were outgunned and never stood a chance.

  For Task Force ZH-3C they had to endure one wave after another until the 1,000 strong force was eliminated. Four-fifths of Colonel Blackburn’s men lost their lives. For Task Force ZH-3C they owe their lives to the EOD High Command for leaving behind those EOD weapons. Weapons that are far superior than what they had. As luck and skill would have it, no one in Task Force ZH-3C lost their lives. It was all over for Colonel Blackburn’s men when Blue Team got there.

  “Starbase VXN-2212/O, this is Captain Maxwell. My ETA is 19:16 hours your local time.” Captain Maxwell said.

  “Understood.” Lenkov responded. He then discontinued the call and then called up Blackburn.

  “Colonel Blackburn… your men failed. You are hereby instructed to inform High Command of your disgrace. We’re going to send someone there to relieve you of command. Inform High Command of my decision.” Lenkov said to Colonel Blackburn. He then hung up.

  Ten minutes later Lenkov received a message from High Command informing him that they approve of his decision to remove Blackburn. But they never got the chance. Blackburn committed suicide than to endure the pain and humiliation of being removed. Captain Dawson called up Lenkov to inform him of Colonel Blackburn’s death. Lenkov than told him that someone will be sent to take command.

  “Half of our problems have just been neutralized. And before 24 hours have passed the other half will be eliminated.” Joseph said to Sayaka.

  “And from Andromeda… all of them will learn why they call us… the Hammer of Doom.” Sayaka said with a smile.

  Andromeda refers to a planet that both of them found when they were being pursued by those who made the mistake of underestimating Joseph at being a Fleet Captain. Andromeda is a second Earth and was uninhabited when they got there. After they got rid of their pursuers, they claimed the planet for their own. They were able to smuggle in everything that they needed to build a city called Black Elixir. It was Sayaka who named the planet and Joseph named the city after Sayaka’s company.

  Whereas the Council and the EOD High Command went to the extreme to hide Infernus, both Joseph and Sayaka had a far more efficient way to hide Andromeda. Joseph and Sayaka pursuers were afraid that if they used their communications than Sayaka would hack them and cripple their ships. That gave Lenkov a huge advantage. Knowing that their pursuers will be using their sensors, Lenkov used that against them. He then tricked the crew of one ship to leave their ship. He than snuck up upon them and boarded their ship and eliminated the crew. Lenkov then had his men hide the ship. He then repeated the move with the remaining pursuing ships.

  With the lost of their ships, the pursuers had no other choice but to surrender. Especially since they were tricked into going to a lifeless moon and Lenkov waited until they almost ran out of oxygen. A sad lesson that they, and others, had to learn when they underestimate both Lenkov and Omori. Since neither Joseph nor Sayaka is a murderer, they gave their pursuers a choice: do actually as we say or be sent to a EOD prison.

  Lenkov gave them an ultimatum, he said, ‘You are nothing more than criminals. Your lives are not worth a damn. If you should die, than who cares. But to both of us you do have some value. You can help us to hide this world that we just found. What’s in for you? Your lives. The place of your defeat can be the plac
e of your rebirth. Help us to conceal that world and we will make it worth your while. Any ship without our permission, regardless of who owns that ship, who dares to stray into this sector is yours. You can keep the booty, but not the ship. We will give you advance tactical knowledge and weapons. But as for your ship, Sayaka will replace it’s brain with one that is loyal to us. Betrayal to us, or trying to circumnavigate our control over your ship, will mean that your ship will self-destruct. So what do we want from you? By any means necessary make certain that nobody knows that planet exist. Failure to comply in any way, shape, or form, will mean that your ship will self-destruct. If you choose not to do this than we will have you kill and make it look like you died from some alien virus. Than we will quarantine the planet. The choice is yours. Make your life or death decision.’

  The pirates complied and because of it, looking for Andromeda has become the last thing on anyone’s mind. Hiding Andromeda from astronomers was far more easier. Astronomers use computers to scan for planets and Sayaka hacked them to hide Andromeda. No one, not even the EOD, suspects a thing. It is a legacy of Infernus. Both Joseph and Sayaka had at times (when it bothered them) talked about how to hide a planet more efficiently than the manner in which the EOD did.

  Joseph and Sayaka does give those whom they trust the option of living at Andromeda. And typically it is their crew who gets that privilege. And what of the pirates? On the moon of their defeat, far from where Andromeda is (Joseph lied to them where it was, it’s not in that sector), the pirates turned it into a lucrative world. And because Joseph and Sayaka kept to their word (actually they forgot about the pirates since the pirates didn’t do anything to cause them to remember them) the pirates forgot about the world called Andromeda. And as for the EOD?