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

by Douglas Howell

  Both Lenkov and Omori was in a elevator when the EMP struck the ship. When the backup power came on, all the elevators took it’s passengers to the nearest floor. Three minutes later Lenkov and Omori finally got to the bridge.

  “Fleet Captain on deck!” A lieutenant said out loud when Lenkov entered the bridge.

  “Sir the LMPG knocked out…” Captain Maxwell was saying.

  “We’ve already figured that part out. Just give us the status report on all systems affected.” Lenkov said.

  “It’s everything sir. We only have backup power. Lieutenant Commander North (Father to Lieutenant North and Chief of Engineering.) is en route. His ETA is five.” Maxwell responded.

  Lieutenant Commander North was out of breath when he got to the bridge. He ran all the way there as fast as he could. He cursed the fact that modern ships don’t have a better way to communicate with the bridge when all power is out. Even the intercom is down. North knew what the first question would be asked of him and he already had the answer.

  “Sir… I know what you are going to ask. When a Battle Cruiser diverts all power to the shields… it creates the very slim possibility that a EMP… could overwhelm the ship’s system. Although that is… corrected by multiple redundant backup systems, in theory it could happen if, and that’s a big if, if the EMP burst is powerful enough.” North mentioned out of breath.

  “Take a breather.” Lenkov said.

  “Sir that’s not necessary.” North responded. Lenkov then motion with his hand for North to comply.

  “How long will the emergency shields hold out?” Lenkov asked when he could tell that North has caught his breath.

  “Sir, the most optimistic time frame that I can give you is one to two hours.” North responded.

  “And the pessimistic?” Lenkov asked.

  “Twenty to thirty minutes tops.” North responded.

  “How long will it…” Lenkov was saying. He then heard a loud noise that was an indication that the intercom was being tested. He waited for someone to call out that the intercom is functioning before he continued on.

  “How long will it take for you to get this ship fully operational again?” Lenkov asked.

  “If my crew and I works twenty hours shifts it should take five to six weeks tops.” North responded.

  “Why would it take so long to fix the ship up?” Captain Maxwell asked.

  “Because a full compliment of crew drains the ship’s system.” North responded.

  “What if we were to shut down all non essential system, and transported the non critical crew down to the surface?” Lenkov asked North.

  “Pulling a twenty hour shift. It would take no more than two weeks sir.” North responded.

  “Captain.” Lenkov said to Maxwell.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Make it happen.” Lenkov said.

  “Yes sir.” Maxwell responded.

  Maxwell then gave the order for the entire crew to report to the cargo bay for immediate departure. North left and headed back to engineering praying that nothing will happen to his son. He then put it out of his head because he knew that it would conflict with his duties. When Maxwell was done he turn to Lenkov and nodded his head once to let him know that he was done.

  “Attention on deck! Leave the bridge and take anything that may float. Then head down to the nearest cargo bay for immediate departure. Good luck and Godspeed.” Lenkov order the bridge crew. He then contacted Jaguar 42R.

  “This is Jaguar 42R.”

  “Let me talk to Captain Adnrwal.” Lenkov said.

  “One moment sir.” Jaguar 42R responded.

  “Captain Adnrwal here.”

  “I have to keep this very short and simple. The LMPG zapped us. We’re dead in the water. By any means necessary you must take that laboratory and kill Dawson. Do not let him get away this time. Our lives are now in your hands captain. If you fail, than we all die. Including the inhabitants of this place. Over and out.” Lenkov said. It was a very sobering moment for her.

  Lenkov and Omori than left the bridge, and using the intercom, informed the engineering staff that the bridge is now unoccupied. The engineering staff than locked the doors and shut off power to the bridge. Lenkov than looked at the numerical door code on the intercom system that basically said, “No power, no gravity, no admittance.” And soon, most of the ship will say the same thing.

  The Dark Hand of Nemesis

  (1)

  Captain Dawson, Dark Serpent 109T and several Demon Cy-Xs arrived at the lab complex. Instead of putting the lab complex on high alert for the impeding attack that will sure to come, Dawson called for the lead scientist to meet him in the garage. From Dawson’s demeanor, the lead scientist could tell that there was either something wrong, or there was something wrong with Dawson.

  “Why did you made me come all this way just to talk to you?” Jacob Browne, the lead scientist asked.

  “Shut up!” Dawson ruefully snapped back.

  “Sir, you don’t have to be so rude.” Browne responded.

  “And I said for you to shut the fuck up. What is the status of the Demon Xs?” Dawson asked.

  “The Demon Cy-Xs are not ready. We’re having issues with their cybernetics implants. The Demon Xs are being prepared for conversion into Demon Cy-Xs. We won’t be able to finish the conversion until we solve the implant issues.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “Days or weeks depending upon our breakthroughs.”

  “What are the issues that you are having?” Dark Serpent 109T asked.

  “We’re trying to improve the efficiency of the cybernetics implants to control them, due to the fact that our prime problem rest in their DNA makeup.” Browne responded.

  “How so?” Dawson asked.

  “There’s something within their intron segment of their DNA that is interfering with the implants.” Browne responded.

  “What is a intron?” Dawson asked.

  “It rest in a eukaryotic gene which does not code for protein. Which means that a intron contains dead genes. Genes that are in effect inactive.” Dark Serpent 109T responded.

  “How did you know that?” Browne asked out of curiosity.

  “Because of my age and the things I know.” Dark Serpent 109T responded.

  “What!? You’re only six years old. That’s hardly enough time for you to learn anything like that. No scientist would mention something like that in front of you guys. Nor would anybody download that into your neural interface. How could you know something like that? Who told you?” Browne asked out of confusion.

  “The algorithm that you’re using on the intron is wrong. A certain Jason M. Idelle changed it. It was changed to hide the truth.” Dark Serpent 109T responded.

  “And who is that? And what truth are you talking about?” Browne asked.

  “Both answers to those questions are classified.” Dark Serpent 109T responded.

  “On whose orders?” Browne asked.

  “That too is classified.” Dark Serpent 109T responded.

  “How can I do my job when somebody is undermining my work?” Browne asked.

  “Simple. You do your job and keep it a secret whatever you discover. Once you correct the algorithm, how much longer will it take on finishing the Demon Cy-Xs and converting the Demon Xs? ” Dawson responded.

  “With the Demon Cy-Xs, three hours. With the Demon Xs, a couple of days.” Browne responded.

  “Finish working upon the Demon Cy-Xs and do not convert the Demon Xs.” Dawson ordered him.

  “But sir…” Browne was saying.

  “We are about to be attack! We don’t have the time! We need as many hands as we can get! Do the job and get it done! You have less than five hours.” Dawson angrily said. He then motion for Browne to leave. Browne left grumbling under his breath.

  When Browne was out of ear shot Dawson turn to Dark Serpent 109T and said, “Kill all of them, if and when we lose this facility.”

  “Yes sir.” Dark Serpent
109T responded.

  “Who is Idelle?” Dawson asked.

  “The Founder of the EOD.” Dark Serpent 109T responded. To say that Dawson was surprised is to put it mildly.

  “Do you have permission to mention what the truth about the introns is?”

  “Only that it hides the truth about me.” Dark Serpent 109T responded.

  “What about the Dragon Clones and their introns?” Dawson asked.

  “Nothing special about them or their introns.”

  Dawson left and headed to the main office taking his “bag of goodies” with him. Against the wishes of Dark Serpent 109T, Dawson got his bag of goodies while they were heading into town. When he got to the office he sat down behind the desk, took out a bottle of tequila, drunk a little of it, open a drawer and placed the bottle in it. He then called the Chief of Security in.

  “You wanted to see me sir.” Lieutenant Dessauer asked.

  “Give me the personnel breakdown of those who are stationed here, along with the total number of Demon Cy-Xs and Demon Xs.” Dawson requested.

  “There are twenty-four scientists, seventy-five security personnel, one hundred and three Demon Cy-Xs and twenty-six Demon Xs sir.”

  “The lab complex is about to be attack by a small force of enemy personnel. I have reason to believe that they acquired the cloning technology to create Dragon Clones. If so, then you and your men must prepare for the possibility, no matter how remote, that the enemy will have Dragon Clones with them. Since I have no idea as to where they may attack from, you must assume that they may attack us from any location.” Dawson who knowingly lied, informed the security chief.

  “I understand sir.” Dessauer responded.

  “Dismissed.” Dawson said.

  Captain Dawson turned around in the chair and looked out the window. He had a spectacular view of the beach, the defensives, and the evening sky. In the distance he could barely make out the land to the north of the lab complex. In truth, he didn’t care where they attack from because he stop caring a long time ago. It is one of the reason why he was chosen for the mission.

  The lab complex sat atop a hill with half of it laying inside the hill. The storage area, which also held the cloning testing facility, was under the hill. North of the lab was the beach that Dawson was looking at. Gun turrets, pillboxes, tank traps, and water turrets (a turret placed several yards off shore) waited anyone who dares to attack from the north. On the eastern side of the lab complex is a mile wide river. Although very little defenses are on that side, there are gun turrets and pillboxes on the steep side of the hill. The hill that the lab complex rest upon used to run further south but it was scaled back in the form of a reverse “C” in order to add extra defense. Resting on top of the reverse c is anti-air guns with gun turrets and pillboxes on the inside part of it. South of the c is a valley were the forest was cleared in order for the defenders to see any, and all, approaching enemy. In the center of the lab complex is a very powerful communicational array. On the western side are two monorails and a car garage and it is the only way into the lab complex.

  Although Dawson is not a good military officer even he knows what will come next. And it made him laugh at the misfortune of everybody (accept him) at the lab complex. He then drank from the bottle of tequila and waited impatiently for the attack.

  “Come on! Bring on the slaughter!” Dawson said out loud. He then drank more tequila.

  While Dawson was in the office getting so drunk that he could hardly walk, Dark Serpent 109T was watching him on the monitors in the security station studying his every move. He then saw something in Dawson that most people would have missed. When he saw it, it made him smile because it told him the fate of Dawson.

  “You know… he’s going to get all of us killed.” Naomi R. Levitt, one of the scientists said to Dark Serpent 109T.

  “I know. I can sense it.” Dark Serpent 109T responded.

  “And it doesn’t bother you that he’s going to get you killed.”

  “Who ever said that I was going to die? Does it bother you that you are going to die? Or maybe you will live. But why would that be when he’s going to get all of you killed?” Dark Serpent 109T said.

  Both of them looked at the monitors when they heard Dawson fall over and hurt himself. It drove the point home that Dawson will, sooner or later, get everyone killed.

  “You know… maybe it is I who will be the one to save your life. But it doesn’t come cheaply.” Dark Serpent 109T said.

  “Name your price.”

  “All I want is information on how I came into existence. Why am I the most unique of my kind?”

  “Alright. Get me out of here, and to a save location, and then I will give you what you want.”

  “No dice. Give it to me now, or stay here and meet your fate.” Dark Serpent 109T responded.

  Naomi thought for a moment, nodded her head and said, “Alright. Get me away from that madman.”

  Both of them left and headed down to the data storage area. Naomi then put in her access codes and downloaded everything into his neural interface. He stood there for several minutes processing the data and doing a lot of thinking. When he was done he turned to her and said, “Intriguing.”

  “Now may I go.” Naomi asked.

  “No.” Dark Serpent 109T responded.

  “But you said…”

  “Shut up! You need to finish your work. Once you do then, and only then, can you leave. You must take the monorail and head over to the airbase. When you arrive you must go to the shuttle and put in the access code. Let me see your PDA.” Dark Serpent 109T said. He then put in the access code in her PDA and handed it to her.

  “Which shuttle is it?” Naomi asked.

  “You know when you see it. Once you are in orbit, and you travel ten thousand miles, you are then considered safe. After that your real nightmare begins.”

  “What!? What are you talking about!? I thought that you said that I will be safe!”

  “From this place yes. But not from the EOD. The shuttle has a security scanner in it that as soon as you put in the access codes it will scan you. If you are neither me, nor Colonel Blackburn or Captain Dawson, the shuttle will automatically send a signal to High Command telling them who you are. I don’t need to tell you what will happen next.” Dark Serpent 109T informed her.

  Naomi was quite distressed over what will happen when she boards the shuttle. She knows that High Command will liquidate both her and her family. Her family is included because of the importance of the work. But what she didn’t know, but Dark Serpent 109T did, is why High Command will not come after her and her family. While she was working she had to internalize her feelings and her fears. She couldn’t stop thinking about what she should do. Should she board the shuttle, or should she stay? No matter what she decides she knows that the outcome is the same for her, but not for her family. Fear of death will cause her to leave the lab complex, but what will cause her to board the shuttle and leave the moon? She will soon find out.

  Twenty-eight minutes before the assault upon the lab complex she left on the monorail. While Naomi was on the monorail she tried to sleep but couldn’t. Although she’s been awake for thirty-six hours, it was her fears that was keeping her awake. And all she could think about was what to do. Unable to fall asleep she finally arrived at the airbase. It was then that she realized what Golden Hyperion was and it disturbed her. It was a huge lab complex into itself. The shuttle was connected to a communicational array and from the looks of it, it was receiving data from all over the moon. Out of curiosity she went inside the array to have a look.

  Naomi was amazed at all that she could see on the monitors. She could see everything that anyone was doing on the moon. She then took a look at the battle at the lab complex both inside and outside and saw the fate of her friends. The Demon Cy-Xs killed all of them minus the security personnel. It was the enemy that was killing them. While she was looking at the inside of the lab complex she saw something that scared her. The other
monorail was missing. She then quickly brought up the airbase and saw Dawson coming. Without thinking she ran outside to board the shuttle.

  When Dawson saw Naomi trying to board the shuttle he yelled at her. He then fired at her as she was entering the shuttle. Although he got off three shots, none of them hit her. As the shuttle was leaving, Dawson screamed and kept on firing at it until he ran out of ammo. He then threw the handgun at the shuttle and screamed to the top of his lungs. Dawson just stood there watching the shuttle leave and knowing that his fate is the same as everybody else. He then laughed insanely.

  “It’s time for everybody on this retched world to die at the hands of the army of demons. It’s time to implement EOD Operation: Welcome to Hell.” Dawson said.

  (2)

  “You wanted to see ma’am?” Taylor asked Vaistll. Ramirez and Jaguar 42R came in as well.

  “I got some really bad news and I don’t know how to mention it.” Vaistll said disappointedly.

  “Whatever it is, just come out and mention it ma’am.” Ramirez mentioned.

  “The LMPG zapped The Hammer of Doom… and the ship is dead in the water.” Vaistll said after a brief moment.

  “What!? What do you mean ‘zapped’?” Taylor asked.

  “I’m only telling you what Lenkov told me. We have to take that lab complex before he’ll send any reinforcements.” Vaistll said. She then looked at Jaguar 42R and asked, “What do you propose we do in taking that lab?”

  “With the numbers that we got, very little. Our only option is to attack from the west.” Jaguar 42R responded.

  “Won’t they anticipate that move?” Taylor asked.

  “Yes. But we don’t have any other choice. All it takes is for them to place one security personnel at one of the other fronts and most of us will be eliminated.” Jaguar 42R responded.

  “Alright. We attack from the west. But I want you to stay with me.” Vaistll said to Jaguar 42R.

  “Ma’am I must protest. My skills are needed with my people. Especially if they have Demon Cy-Xs.” Jaguar 42R responded.